This year I couldn't resist and, in addition to attending the congress, I enriched my trip to Žďár with a mountain bike tour, and I do not regret it. Along the way, we saw many ponds and small lakes, and thus the ride through nature prepared us well for the lectures and discussions with acquaintances as well as for getting to know new contacts.
Guppies and crustaceans were the central theme of the 22nd Akva Congress, organized by the Tetra association on April 12, 2025. The event began with the traditional morning assembly of Akva CZ associations and continued with an afternoon block of expert lectures.
Guppies
The first lecture was marked by guppies, and probably the expectation was not only for me a little tainted with the patina of old times, as most of us started with the peacock eyes. After all, the selection during the time of communism was not that large, and I remember that every visit to the pet store meant seeing the same or a similar shade of these livebearers. In my childhood, it didn't even occur to me that these livebearers could exist in other color variants. Of course, I no longer have this naive childish notion today.
Clean line
The world of guppies is incredibly diverse. A large part of the presentation was focused on the color and form variations. It was clear that the presenter has a clear idea of which varieties of guppies are worth breeding.
The best males are selected at the age of 5 to 6 months.If the fish does not meet the required standard after one month of age, it must be removed. The basins must be covered, as in the event that an individual, for example, jumps into the adjacent basin, the entire breeding would be affected.
Ing. Stanislav Brunclík has further clearly explained and demonstrated with photos what his breeding looks like and what has proven successful. The aquarium should be free of any substrate. A substrate-free environment ensures that the fish do not injure themselves and cannot become infected. The focus is on maintaining absolute cleanliness. He also emphasized that he didn't even want the treated fish. In the videos of his breeding that we could see, beautifully colored representatives of these livebearers were indeed swirling around.
Feeding Ing. Stanislav Brunclík recommends 2 to 3 times a day, so that the fish consume all food within 10 minutes, leaving no leftovers.
Color variants
The conclusion of the lecture was dedicated to the photos of representatives of the guppies, particularly from Asian breeds, which had the most diverse color combinations and color patterns and bore magnificent English names that likely contributed to their appeal to buyers. The names consisted of combinations like Cheetah, Tiger, etc. The speaker paused at such variants and occasionally shook his head disapprovingly.
His dissatisfaction with the variants available on the market was also demonstrated by the Crown tail variant, which allegedly looks as if it has undergone a bacterial infection and recovered.
There are countless variations. Prices can easily be around 30 dollars per pair. At the same time, however, it can be difficult to obtain a fish that also has offspring that are color-stable or at least uniformly colored. For example, after the acquisition Tuxedo blue From Holland found that his descendants have all color variants and thus it is not a pure line.
In summary
Gupky will definitely not leave you cold, and if you feel like reading more, you can consider purchasing a book from [#neprekladat]Ing. Stanislava BrunclíkaThe phenomenon of modern aquaristics. Actually, I had a completely different feeling after the lecture about peacock eyes than the one I remember from my childhood. There are countless varieties of guppies, and their breeding and acquisition can be very complicated.I apologize, but I do not have any text for translation. Please provide the text you would like to have translated.
Cancerous
The lecture by Ing. Jiří Libuse was already the second lecture on this topic that I have seen. After the beginning, when the content of the lecture was presented to us, Interesting facts about shrimp, detailed photos of their individual parts and various other quirky creatures, did not take long to arrive. Similar to the Rychnovská exhibition in 2024, the listener was often informed here in an entertaining way about everything that might not even have crossed his mind.
The slides in the presentation contained detailed information on each topic, but unfortunately, the small font was not easily readable from the back of the hall. Nevertheless, the speaker did not fail to convey important information.
The joy was also prepared for the listeners by Ing. Jiří Libus with the dispatch of a bag containing live water fleas and Moina, and probably reminded not only me of how wonderful and nutrient-rich food is that aquarists can breed themselves. I didn't take long to be persuaded and already have both representatives at home. Thank you very much for this useful reminder, including the note about the pitfalls of breeding flea beetles, which can settle in the substrate in such a way that they can no longer be caught.
Shrimp
The passage about shrimp was introduced with a quote. All living things come from an egg" - everything living comes from an egg*.
If you have ever observed shrimp as they constantly tend to the eggs they carry, it surely fascinated you, and perhaps you wondered how it is possible for them to move in such a way while staying in the same place. Everything was explained clearly. Eggs are hidden among the so-called pleopods and at the same time they are in a kind of slime. The pleopods look like small feathers at very detailed magnification, which hold the eggs in place.
The problem of breeding followed Caridina and interesting information about their specific requirements, especially regarding water. We were also informed that if it continues to get warmer in our regions, we might soon encounter wandering Neocaridina in the Czech nature.
So something Halocaridines they have come the farthest, because they are so highly tolerant that they were sent into space in a closed container with a coral branch, where they lasted for two years without major problems.
Listonohige
We have heard very interesting reproduction possibilities regarding the mudskippers, which can reproduce through "parthenogenesis" or self-fertilization if necessary.
In Asia, mudskippers are used to consume algae. Rice fields are initially flooded with water, and only after the mudskippers have cleaned the fields are the rice plants planted.
After we learned that they are decreasing because they actually lack military exercises that secured the creation of new and new ponds in the deployment areas of the soldiers. The nature conservationists are said to have already tried to ask the soldiers for at least a few occasional exercises, as was the case in old times.
Betain
If you have ever seen photos of shrimp or other animals gathering happily, betaine may be responsible for that. It is a strong attractant, but that does not mean it is a healthy diet. Therefore, it is advisable to pay attention to the composition of the diet of our protégés.
In summary
The influx of interesting information did not cease and left the audience no breathing space, and it would be a pity to actually reveal everything in the article. If you have the opportunity, do not miss the carefully prepared and humorously commented presentation by Ing. Jiří Libuse!
Social Evening
The one who believed the invitation that the visitors expect rich aquaristics raffle, he only did well. There were countless prizes and I had the feeling that everyone who had gotten tickets was happy about the winnings (myself included).
Although the buffet of typical Czech cuisine was not particularly tempting for me, the discussions with the aquarists were all the better.
I was very pleased that most acquaintances were present and that I was able to get to know new faces during the course of the evening. The getting to know each other continued on Sunday at Zdeněk Dočekal's place and it probably would have never ended if it hadn't been necessary to go home. The colleagues from Switzerland clearly had the longest journey, and so they set off before noon, which was over 900 km long. I am glad that they informed us afterwards that they arrived safely, and I look forward to seeing each other at one of the next events and staying in touch.
Many thanks to Luděk Zicháček for the excellent photographic documentation.
*William Harvey
