Water Colors Aquarium Gallery

Can you believe it’s been five years since we last talked about our top five holy grail fish in episode 59? Ben, Amy, and Calder decided to revisit the topic and see how they have grown, what’s changed, and what’s still the same. With holy grail fish, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and that’s what makes it so fun! Whether it’s a cool new guppy strain you saw online or building a thousand gallon shark system, there is no wrong way to fall in love with a fish. Let’s us know some of your holy grail fish, past and present. We would love to hear from you and share your enthusiasm.



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Sources mentioned in this episode:

American Killifish Association – https://aka.org/
American Livebearer Association – https://livebearers.org/
International Betta Congress – https://www.ibcbettas.org/
American Cichlid Association – https://www.cichlid.org/
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation – https://myfwc.com/

Species mentioned in this episode:

Rhinogobius zhoui

Diapteron cyanostictum

Betta macrostoma

Betta mulyadii

Nothobranchius symoensi

Neoheterandria elegans

Alcolapia latilabris

Xiphophorus

Wallacii regani

Poecilia velifera

Hoplisoma longipinne

Anableps anableps

Corella arnoldi

Pteronotropis welaka

Parasphrenemos linkeyi

Looking for a cichlid to add to your 55-75 gallon aquarium? Ben, Amy and Calder talk about five of their “favorite” medium-sized cichlids, but honestly how do you only pick five. Many of the cichlids chosen tonight are not only beautiful, but display interesting paretal behaviors and hold special places in our hearts being recoginzed by the CARES Fish Preservation Program. We would love to hear some of your favorites we didn’t mention tonight and  experiences you’ve had in your aquariums. Let’s make cichlids more popular in the hobby again!



Looking for more content? Become a YouTube member for exclusive access to behind the scenes livestreams! https://www.youtube.com/@watercolorsaquariumgallery

Enjoying the show? Support the gallery by shopping aquarium plants, merch, equipment, and more! https://watercolorsaquariumgallery.com/

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Sources mentioned in this episode:

New England Cichlid Association – https://www.necichlids.org/

Species mentioned in this episode:

Andinoacara pulcher – Blue Acara

Benitochromis nigrodorsalis

Aequidens diadema – Royal Acara

Iranocichla persa

Ptyochromis sp. “Hippo point salmon”

Neolamprologus tretocephalus – Five-Bar Cichlid

Thorichthys meeki – Firemouth Cichlid

Amatitliana kanna – Panama Convict Cichlid

Amatitlania nanoluteus – Yellow Convict Cichlid

Pterophyllum leopoldi – Leopold’s Angelfish

Stomatepia pindu – Pindu Cichlid

Aequidens metae – Yellow Acara

Paragobiocichla irvinei – Blue-Lipped Buffalo Head

Coptodon kottae – Yellow Tilapia

Wallaciia regani – Regani Dwarf Pike Cichlid

You may have seen our familiar faces in the recent release of the AMAZONAS Big Beauties magazine. This is because we had the privilege to interview Alex Rose, executive editor of AMAZONAS magazine and associate editor of Coral and Ocean Geographic magazine. It was truly a pleasure to have her here and we look forward to working with her again. She dives in, literally, to her work and what it takes to have your work published in a magazine. She talks about her diving experiences, AI and how it can be used in the proper setting, and current / up and coming projects. Thank you for  your patient wait, here is the amazing Alex Rose.

***We did experience some technical issues while recording, please skip to the 5:00 minute mark to hear Alex clearly.***



Looking for more content? Become a YouTube member for exclusive access to behind the scenes livestreams! https://www.youtube.com/@watercolorsaquariumgallery

Enjoying the show? Support the gallery by shopping aquarium plants, merch, equipment, and more! https://watercolorsaquariumgallery.com/

Join the discussion on the Water Colors Aquarium Gallery Podcast Listeners Facebook group! https://www.facebook.com/groups/788428861825086/

Join our growing community on Discord! https://go.watercolors.shop/discord



Sources mentioned in this episode:

AMAZONAS Magazine – https://www.amazonasmagazine.com/
Coral Magazine – https://www.coralmagazine.com/
Ocean Geographic Magazine – https://www.ogsociety.org/
Blue Ring – https://www.bluering.blue
Mission Blue – https://missionblue.org/the-mission/
Fins Up Creative / Sea America / Protected Waters – www.youtube.com/@DownUnderJenn
Got a cool story you want mentioned in AMAZONAS magazine? Email editors@aquaticmediapress.com

Species mentioned in this episode:

Amphiprion percula
Dichotomyctere nigroviridis
Aphyosemion striatum
Nothobranchius furzeri
Liopropoma carmabi
Zu cristatus
Carcharhinus falciformis
Oxymonacanthus longirostris

Happy late or early St. Patty’s Day! This week’s episode was temporarily lost but is now found. Enjoy Ben, Amy and Calder talk about their top 5 favorite green fish, some of which may surprise you.



Looking for more content? Become a YouTube member for exclusive access to behind the scenes livestreams! https://www.youtube.com/@watercolorsaquariumgallery

Enjoying the show? Support the gallery by shopping aquarium plants, merch, equipment, and more! https://watercolorsaquariumgallery.com/

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Join our growing community on Discord! https://go.watercolors.shop/discord



Sources mentioned in this episode:

Andrej Spec

Species mentioned in this episode:

Oparius pulchellus

Gastromyzon lepidogaster

Betta smaragdina

Ammocryptocharax elegens

Barbodes semifasciolatus

Balistapus undulatus

Pethia conchonius

Rudarius ercodes

Krenoketrodon travancoricus

L200 – Green Phantom Pleco

Distichodus teugelsi

Chromis virdis

Brochis splendens

Neolebias ansorgii

Wild discus

This week’s podcast is a little different than most… This week, we invite you to sit down and brainstorm some ideas for our breeder lab remodel with Ben, Amy, and Maddy. Our tenative plan is to work with wild type bettas and livebearers, killifish, and bristlenose plecos with a majority of the tanks used to grow out some of our favorite plants. We are so excited to get this project up and running but it’s so difficult to pick a select few species to work with. What do you want to see in our lab? What uncommon fish would you like to see more readily avalible in the hobby? Let us know using the resources below. We love and appreciate your ideas and feedback.



Looking for more content? Become a YouTube member for exclusive access to behind the scenes livestreams! https://www.youtube.com/@watercolorsaquariumgallery

Enjoying the show? Support the gallery by shopping aquarium plants, merch, equipment, and more! https://watercolorsaquariumgallery.com/

Join the discussion on the Water Colors Aquarium Gallery Podcast Listeners Facebook group! https://www.facebook.com/groups/788428861825086/

Join our growing community on Discord! https://go.watercolors.shop/discord



Sources mentioned in this episode:

Aquatic Gardeners Association – https://www.aquatic-gardeners.org/
Andrej Spec

Species mentioned in this episode:

Betta dennisyongi

Aphyosemion riggenbachi
Fundulopanchax gardeneri
Nothobranchius guentheri ‘zanzibar’
Epiplatys annulatus
Nothobranchius korthausae ‘Mafia Island’
Nothobranchius flammicomantis
Moema helleri
Aphyosemion ogoense
Kryptolebias marmoratus
Rivulus sp. “Colombia”
Anablepsoides hartii
Aphyosemion citrineipinnis
Aphyosemion splendopleure (and ‘Tiko green’)
Aphyosemion bitaeniatum
Aphyosemion bivittatum
Aphyosemion australe gold
Paraphanius mento
Aphanius farsicus
Epiplatys dageti
Epiplatys monroviae
Utricularia – Bladderwort
Microctenopoma ansorgii
Betta enisae
Betta pallifina
Betta patoti
Betta macrostoma
Betta mahachaiensis
Betta pallifina
Betta miniopinna
Betta chini
Betta hendra
Betta imbellis
Betta smaragdina ‘guitar’
Betta cocina
Betta channoides
Xiphophorus helleri guentheri
Xiphophorus pygmaeus
Xiphophorus nigrensis
Xiphophorus birchmanni
Ataeniobius toweri
Poecila velifera
Limia tridens
Limia tridens
Heterandria formosa
Xenophallus umbratilis
Plant species coming soon…