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:

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!

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Sources mentioned in this episode:

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.***

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Sources mentioned in this episode:

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.

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Sources mentioned in this episode:

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.

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Sources mentioned in this episode:

Species mentioned in this episode:

The Water Colors team gathers around the table with special guest, Andrej Spec, to talk about aquarium plants. Andrej shares his aquarium journey and how he quickly went from hobbyist to passionate collector. He talks about his successes, some of his methods to that success, and so much more. Thank you so much for your kindness and inspiration, Andrej and we look forward to seeing you again.

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Sources mentioned in this episode:

Andrej Spec

Missouri Aquarium Society – https://missouriaquariumsociety.com/

Christel Kasselmann – https://www.instagram.com/christel.kasselmann/

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

Dennis Wong – www.2hraquarist.com

Plants from Test Tubes: An Introduction to Micropropagation by Lydiane Kyte (with co-authors like John Kleyn, Holly Scoggins, and Mark Bridgen in later editions)

Species mentioned in this episode:

Crinum asiaticum – Crinum “Centorum”

Cuphea anagalloidea

Ludwigia inclinata var. verticillata – Ludwigia “Tornado”

Rotala ramosior ‘Florida’

Rotala ramosior ‘Sunset’

Lobelia cardinalis – Cardinal Plant

Lobelia kalmii – Kalm’s Lobelia

Lobelia siphilitica – Blue Cardinal Plant

Lobelia x Speciosa

Oomycetes

Xylaria

Vallisneria spiralis var. denserrulata – Lake Tanganyika Vallisneria

Cryptocoryne wendtii (‘Mi Oya’ and green)

Barclaya motleyi

Barclaya wellyi

Nymphae – Water Lily

Nymphaea sp. Peru Puerto Maldonado

Nymphaea aff. dimorpha (minuta)

Cryptocoryne keei

Cryptocoryne nurii

Cryptocoryne striolata

Cryptocoryne spiralis

Fenestratarum

Bucephalandra ultramafica

Bucephalandra kishii

Cryptocoryne striolata – “Red Tiger” Crypt

Osteogaster hephaestus – Fireball Cory

Corydoras sp. CW113

Lagenandra ovata – “Mayan Sword”

Pseudogastromyzon fasciatus “Zhejiang”

Pseudogastromyzon lepidogaster

Thank you to everyone who listened to our live talk! Ben, Amy, Calder and Maddy had an awesome time and are looking forward to next year. In this talk, we cover how / where to get killifish, their relavence in the hobby, and how we can do our part to make these great fish more popular amoungst hobbyists.

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Sources mentioned in this episode:

American Killifish Association – https://aka.org/

British Killifish Association – https://killis.org.uk/

Species mentioned in this episode:

Fundulopanchax gardneri (gold and P82)

Nothobranchius rachovii

Aphyosemion australe

Paracheirodon simulans – Green Neon Tetra

Trigonostigma espei – Lambchop Rasbora

Trigonostigma heteromorpha – Harley Quinn Rasbora

Epiplatys annulatus

Ladigesia roloffi – Jelly Bean Tetra

Nothobranchius patrizii

Anablepsoides

Diapteron

Aphyosemion striatum

Nothobranchius guentheri ‘zanzibar’

Aphyosemion splendopleure

Chromaphyosemion bivittatum

Fundulopanchax sjoestedti

In celebration of Cinco de Mayo, the Water Colors team talks about Mexico and some of their favorite species endemic to the North American continent. With such an interesting evolutionary history, it is no suprise that Mexico is home to many beautiful, unique fish and plants. Whether you are a cichlid or swordtail lover, Mexico has a fish for everyone.

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Sources mentioned in this episode:

Missouri Aquarium Society (MASI) – https://missouriaquariumsociety.com/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22863986520&gbraid=0AAAABArITQG8EzReaXm3iOuAaL_zcLsyW&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI4Y3lkIeolAMVMlN_AB19xgtwEAAYASAAEgLwk_D_BwE

Andrej Spec

Bluegrass Bash – https://bluegrassfishkeepers.com/bluegrass-bash

Species mentioned in this episode:

Xiphophorus pygmaeus

Xiphophorus alvarezi

Xiphophorus montezumae

Herichthys labridens

Vieja

Xiphophorus couchianus

Xiphophorus evelynae

Herichthys cyanoguttatus

Herichthys carpintis

Ataeniobius toweri

Xiphophorus milleri

Xiphophorus birchmanni

Hydrocotyle verticillata

Poecilia velifera

Cyprinodon longidorsalis

Thorichthys helleri

Astyanax mexicanus

Potamogeton illinoensis

Mayaheros urophthalmus

Amy, Ben and Calder come together after a fantastic time at KilliKarnival 2026. They had a blast at the live talk and so much fun meeting fellow listeners and fish enthusiasts alike. This week’s episode breaks down their time in South Bend, Indiana. They talk about the amazing fish they saw, what it’s like to help judge competitions, things they still see in the hobby that make them sad, and our upcoming projects, both personal and store-related. Special thanks to all of the people who made this weekend happen and we hope to see you there next year!

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Sources mentioned in this episode:

KilliKarnival – https://mas.fish/society-events/killifish-karnival/

David Hemmerlein

Species mentioned in this episode:

Aphyosemion australe

Aphyosemion bivittatum

Aphyosemion splendopleure (Tiko Green)

Aphyosemion striatum

Aphyosemion bitaeniatum

Aphyosemion pyrophore

Aphyosemion joergenscheeli

Aphyosemion coeleste

Aphyosemion citrineipinnis

Aphyosemion elberti

Aphyosemion dargei

Nothobranchius rachovii

Nothobranchius rubripinnis

Nothobranchius polli

Nothobranchius korthausae

Fundulopanchax gardeneri rayfield

Fundulopanchax gardeneri masangi

Epiplatys annulatus

Scriptaphyosemion banforense

Scriptaphyosemion guignardi

Chromaphyosemion riggenbachi

Lamprichthys tanganicanus

Lucania goodei

Aphanius dispar

Aphanius fasciatus

Paraphanius mento

Mesonauta festivus

Mesonauta egregius

Heros severus

Phractocephalus hemioliopterus

Chitala ornata

Rivulus mejial (Colombia)

Cupanichthys cubensis

Cupanichthys pengelleyi

Amatolebias patriciae

As Killifish Month comes to a close, the team wraps up loose ends and reiterates some important points. The topics include; what it takes to survive as a male, male vs. female hatching ratios, seperating breeding pairs, the various methods of raising healthy fry, raising live foods, and unofficial ways to catergorize killifish. If you are a true fan and have a strong stomach, stick around for the bonus content at the end of this episode. See you at KilliKarnival 2026!

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Sources mentioned in this episode:

KilliKarnival – https://mas.fish/society-events/killifish-karnival/

Species mentioned in this episode:

Fundulopanchax gardneri

Nothobranchius guentheri

Xiphophorus hellerii

Scriptaphyosemion etzeli

Scriptaphyosemion guignardi

Aphyosemion elberti

Aphyosemion citrineipinnis

Diapteron