Fish in the News. Each week the Bailey Brothers start the Pet Fish Talk Show with some fun and interesting stories about fish in the news.         At Ohio State University Scientists Working to Breed Arowanas and Pacus. Ohio State University aquaculturists are striving to breed and rear the silver Arowana, shown above top, and the Pacu, shown above below, two Amazonian fish species highly valued in the United States and in other countries as ornamental fish and popular in their native regions as food. The goal of the research is to perfect the technology needed to sustain domestication and provide new opportunities for U.S. breeders to raise the breeds either as ornamentals or as food fish. "Culture of tropical fish has the potential to become a fast-growing industry in North America because of the high level of know-how required by the professionals and extremely high value of the product," says Konrad Dabrowski, an aquaculturist with the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center. "At present, wholesalers in the U.S. offer juvenile Arowana at $20-$60 per fish. By comparison, the current price for live exotic tilapia is $4-$6 per pound. Ohio and other Midwest producers of exotic tilapia can transition to production of ornamental fish and receive a much higher unit price per live fish." Click here to read more.       In Galveston, Texas, Extinct Cichlid Species Lives in Moody Gardens. A species of African fish thought to be extinct in the wild is alive and breeding at Moody Gardens. The two-stripe white-lip cichlids, shown above, have been wiped out from their African home in Lake Victoria, the world’s second largest freshwater lake, and now exist only in captivity at Moody Gardens. Last week, baby cichlids emerged from their eggs at the aquarium. Their hatching creates a whole new generation of harpagochromis, or two-stripe white-lip cichlids, at the island aquarium. Cichlid hatchings are vital to the aquarium where most of the cichlid population has exceeded breeding age, said animal husbandry manager Greg Whittaker. Many are now dying from old age, he said. The 20 baby cichlids, or fry, have been placed in their own tank alongside their parents. All are tucked away from public view in small aquarium tanks in the basement of the Rainforest Pyramid. Cichlids were native to Lake Victoria, which is shared by Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya. They were annihilated from the lake largely due to pollution, algae build up and the introduction of a fish called Nile perch, according to the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, the nation’s leading zoo accrediting organization. Click here to read more.       In Northern Europe The Black Goby Proliferates in the Baltic Sea. In less than three decades the round goby has become one of the most colourful features of the southern Baltic. The fish, which comes from the Black Sea, has rapidly adapted to Baltic conditions and can locally dominate coastal fish populations. This has led to competition with indigenous fish species, such as the flounder, but it has also become a significant contribution to the diet of important predatory fishes, such as cod and perch. This is shown in a dissertation in systems ecology at Stockholm University in Sweden. Click here to read more.       At the University of Queensland in Australia Mantis Shrimp Vision is New to Science. Mantis shrimp can see the world in a way that had never been observed in any animal before, researchers report in the March 20th Current Biology, a Cell Press publication. The discovery--which marks the fourth type of visual system--suggests that the ability to perceive circular polarized light may lend mantis shrimp a secret mode of communication. Click here to read more.       In Switzerland A New Law Protects the Rights of Social Animals. It is a world in which the goldfish are never lonely, the dogs are always obedient and the guinea-pigs are never tormented by children. Under a new Swiss law enshrining rights for animals, dog owners will require a qualification, anglers will take lessons in compassion and horses will go only in twos. From guinea-pigs to budgerigars, any animal classified as a “social species” will be a victim of abuse if it does not cohabit, or at least have contact, with others of its own kind. The new regulation stipulates that aquariums for pet fish should not be transparent on all sides and that owners must make sure that the natural cycle of day and night is maintained in terms of light. Goldfish are considered social animals, or Gruppentiere in German. Click here to read more.         From the Los Angeles Times Newspaper The Grunion are still Running along California. Grunion, those iconic California fish that mate on land, are expected to rush the beaches again tonight. So say the folks at the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium in San Pedro, who have made a specialty of studying the small, silver-sided fish. The grunion are expected to arrive at Cabrillo Beach about 10:35 p.m. Their ancient courtship (if you could call it that) ritual begins when females bury themselves in the sand to lay thousands of eggs. The males then wrap themselves around the females to fertilize the eggs. Isn't it romantic? Grunion "runs" are tied to phases of the moon, and the April 7 run brought thousands of fish to Cabrillo Beach, as well as some researchers in white lab coats. Click here to read more.     In Gilroy, California, Company Fined for Spilled Garlic that Killed Fish. A Gilroy garlic processing company will pay $60,000 to Santa Clara County after it spilled chunks of garlic into a nearby creek, killing hundreds of fish. Authorities say the spilled garlic from Christopher Ranch created a "swamp gas" that suffocated the fish. When raw garlic comes in contact with water, it forms hydrogen sulfide, which takes oxygen out of water. Several hundred suckerfish and at least nine federally protected steelhead salmon were found dead in Carnadero Creek in February 2007. Authorities say the garlic apparently fell off delivery trucks and was swept into a parking lot storm drain that was left open. Santa Clara sued the company, which agreed Monday to pay a $60,000 fine, in addition to upgrading its storm drainage system. Click here to read more. Special thanks to Brandon from Arizona who sent us an email with a link to this story.   Callers during this Show Westley from Massachusetts calls and says he got a new Betta fish about 9 days, and it has not eaten. Keenan from Washington, D.C., calls and says he just upgraded the aquarium for his four Mbuna Cichlids from a 10-gallan to a new 75-gallon with a nice stand and a Penguin 350 filter. He wants to know about other good fish for his new aquarium.     Jourdan from Connecticut calls and says he recommends Tetras Gel Food, which is called TetraVacation, shown above. Jourdan also recommends a tropical fish forum, which you can visit by clicking here. 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