1. •AAM7 Content overview
   

2. •  Cover Fish & Poster - Freshwater Angelfish
   

3. •  Cool Products - The latest technology, gadgets and product releases
   

4. •  AAM News & Events - Current news and events
   

5. •  Threadfin rainbowfish – Adrian Tappin provides us with an insight into these beautiful Aussie natives.
   

6. •  Freshwater shrimps – Dave Wilson talks about collection and identification in NT’s creeks, rivers and billabongs.
   

7. •  Halfbeaks – Dr. Neale Monks continues our new brackish section with excellent information on this unusual family of fishes.
   

8. •  Tetra’s from the Amazon – Dr. David Midgley gives us a first hand account of the blackwater Neon tetra
   

9. •  Freshwater Q&As – Ask the experts a question & win!
   

10. •  Aquarium Angels – A member of the cichlid family and our feature article by Amber Hinton & Anthony Ramsey
    

11. •  Giant clams – Aaron Sewell gives AAM a comprehensive introduction to an amazing marine invertebrate.
    

12. •  Marine Q&As – Ask the experts a question & win!
    

13. •  Easy Corals for your aquarium – Sara Mavinkurve’s first article for AAM about beginner’s corals.
    

14. •  Redfin Bully – David Cooper gives us the rundown on what he describes as a perfect introduction to NZ’s native fish.
    

15. • Amazon sword plant – Simon Voorwinde highlights this tough yet elegant aquatic plant.
    

16. •  A quick care guide on Bolivian rams – Radek Bednarczuk
    

17. •  Practical tips and tricks – Over tank trickle filter
    

18. •  Velvet disease – Dr. Richmond Loh
    

19. •  Quarantine Matters – Dr. Jessica Drake
    

20. •  Books & Dvds
    

21. •  Aqua Kids – Do’s & Don’ts for kids with aquariums
    

22. •  Store & Services Directory
    

23. •  Classifieds
    

24. •  Store & Service Directory

Pimp Your Tank (PYT)

Voting is now available for the Pimp Your Tank photo competition.

Vote closes on the 5th of July 2008. Voting is quick and easy. Just go to PYT website select the category and choose the sexiest tank.

From the publisher

Some said we’d never make it. Yet here we are one year and still going strong. In fact we’ve never been stronger! I am proud to say we just keep getting better as we continually aim to perfect and evolve AAM.

To give you an idea of our progress, in one year we have printed over 35,000 magazines we distribute to over 1000 newsagents  and 500 pet stores in Australia alone, we are an international magazine, we have nearly 1000 subscribers and have created a great magazine that is the first choice for fishkeepers in Australia. Not bad for a one year old. Just imagine what we can do by the time we turn two!

To our readers, advertisers and amazingly passionate support team, thank you. What a journey this has been. This has been the fastest year for me to date, to think we registered our trademark nearly two years ago certainly shows how time flies or in our case, goes “swimmingly”. A special thank you is in order for the participants in our survey. We thank you for your patience and assure all who completed the survey and have not received your gifts, you will receive them soon.

Year two starts with this issue. The survey information we have collected has given AAM and it’s advertisers an insight into our readership. Combined with the new Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) and the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC) commissioned study (available on our website. We have been armed with a plethora of information that is both promising for the industry and ultimately the consumers who benefit the most from a growing industry.

I look forward to giving you another new year of a bigger and better AAM.

Alex Cooney

In this issue

This issue has a distinctly New World flavour with many articles on fish from the Amazon and other parts of South America. In the current issue we have an article on that most iconic of freshwater fishes, the angelfish – along with a special on the genus to which the neon tetra belongs: Paracheirodon.

In addition, we have four articles by new authors Radek Bednarczuk, Sara Allyn Mavinkurve, Aaron Sewell and Dr. Jessica Drake. Radek writes about that underrated Mikrogeophagus: the bolivian ram, while Sara gives us a run down on easy coral species. Aaron Sewell takes us for a look at those most enigmatic of marines – giant clams, and Jessica tells why quarantine really matters. I’d like to take this opportunity to welcome these new authors to AAM! Add to this new talent, regular features from Dr. Neale Monks, Dr. Richmond Loh, Adrian Tappin, David Cooper, Simon Voorwinde and Dave Wilson and you’ll find this issue is packed to gills with information.

In some disturbing news, numerous platys (Xiphophorus maculatus) were found in river system on the Central Coast of New South Wales in late April. Platys are native to Central America and make fantastic aquarium fish. That said, platys don’t belong in our natural rivers and other bodies and introduced fish species can cause significant losses of native fish and invertbrates.
We urge all our readers to spread the word to the general community, return any unwanted fish to your local aquarium!

David Midgley

Errata

In AAM#6, Aline Sinclair’s article on Tropheus contained a number of typographical errors. Regretably these were made by the editorial team and were not in the authors original version of the article. The Editorial Team at AAM apologises to Aline for these errors.

David Midgley BSc. PhD.