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The tiger barb (Puntius tetrazona) or sumatra barb, is a species of tropical freshwater fish belonging to the Puntius genus of the minnow family. The natural geographic range reportedly extends throughout the Malay peninsula, Sumatra and Borneo, with unsubstantiated sightings reported in Cambodia. Tiger barbs are also found in many other parts of Asia, and with little reliable collection data over long periods of time, definite conclusions about their natural geographic range versus established introductions are difficult.

Physical Description
The tiger barb can grow to about 7 centimeters long and 3 centimeters wide, although they are often smaller when kept in captivity. Native fish are silver to brownish yellow with four vertical black stripes and red fins and snout.

Habitat
It has been reported that the tiger barb was found in clear or turbid shallow waters of moderately flowing streams. It lives in a tropical climate and prefers water with a 6.0–8.0 pH, a water hardness of 5–19 dGH, and a temperature range of 68–79 °F (20–26 °C). Its discovery in swamp lakes that are subject to great changes in water level suggests a wide tolerance to water quality fluctuations. Its average lifespan is 6 years.

Importance to humans
The tiger barb is one of over 70 species of barb with commercial importance in the aquarium trade. Of the total ornamental fish species imported into the United States in 1992, only 20 species account for more than 60% of the total number of species reported, with tiger barbs falling at tenth on the list with 2.6 million individuals imported. (Chapman et al. 1994). Barbs that have been hybridized to emphasize bright color combinations have grown in popularity and production over the last 20 years. Example hybrids of tiger barb include highly melanistic green tiger barbs that reflect green over their black because of the Tyndall effect, gold tiger barbs, and albino tiger barbs.

Name origins
The current taxonomic status of the species is far from being settled. There has been debate over the years as to the appropriate genus and species for this fish. In 1855, the German ichthyologist Pieter Bleeker described this fish as Barbus tetrazona. In 1857, Bleeker described another species under the same name. Then, in 1860, Bleeker used C. sumatraus to describe the original species. In the late 1930's, the mistake was discovered, and the tiger barb nomenclature was changed back to B. tetrazona (Alfred, 1963). More recently, Dr. L.P. Schultz has reclassified the barbs according to the number of barbers each species possesses (Axelrod and Sweeney, 1992).

However, as stated by some Zakaria-ismail (1993), "from my ongoing osteological studies that have been classified under Puntius, the genus Barbodes cannot be properly defined." Today, we are left with three generic classifications, Barbodes, Capoeta, and Puntius, all of which appear in the literature when referring to tiger barbs and other barb species.

In the aquarium
The tiger barb is an active schooling fish that is usually kept in groups of five or more. They are often aggressive in numbers less than 5 and are known fin nippers. Semi-aggressive fish, they form a pecking order in the pack which they may extend to other fish, giving them a reputation for nipping at the fins of other fish, especially if they are wounded or injured. They are thus not recommended for tanks with slower, more peaceful fishes such as bettas, gouramis, angelfish and others with long flowing fins. When in large enough groups, however, they tend to spend most of their time chasing each other and leave other species of fish alone. They dwell primarily at the water's mid-level. Tiger barbs do best in soft, slightly acidic water. The tank should be well-lit with ample vegetation, about two-thirds of the tank space. These barbs are omnivorous and will consume processed foods such as flakes and crisps as well as live foods.

Breeding
The tiger barb usually attains sexual maturity at a body length of 20 to 30 millimeters (0.8 to 1.2 inches) in total length, or at approximately six to seven weeks of age. The females are larger with a rounder belly and a mainly black dorsal fin while the males have a bright, red nose with a distinct red line above the black on their dorsal fin. The egg-layers tend to spawn several hundred eggs in the early morning in clumps of plants. On average, 300 eggs can be expected from each spawn in a mature broodstock population, although the number of eggs released will increase with the maturity and size of the fish. Spawned eggs are adhesive, negatively buoyant in freshwater and average 1.18 ± 0.05 mm in diameter.

Tiger barbs have been documented to spawn as many as 500 eggs per female (Scheurmann 1990; Axelrod 1992). With proper conditioning, females can spawn at approximately two weeks intervals (Munro et. al. 1990)

Once spawning is finished, they will usually eat any of the eggs that they find. It is usually necessary to separate the fish from the eggs after spawning in order to prevent the eggs from being eaten.

Common hybrids
Inter- and intra-specific hybridization is done to achieve different colors and patterns to satisfy market demand for new "tiger barb" varieties. Gold tiger barbs and albino tiger barbs are examples of commercially produced hybrid fish. Other examples are summarized below:

Reclassification of Barbs
Historically, fish commonly known as barbs were members of the genus Barbus, more recently many 'barbs' (including common aquarium species) have been reclassified into the genus Puntius and other genera.

Species
There are numerous species.

Wells Street Bridge
The Wells Street Bridge over the Chicago River was built in 1922. Standing east of the Franklin Street Bridge and southeast of the Merchandise Mart, it is the longest bascule bridge over the river and connects the Near North Side with "The Loop." The bridge is double decked, the lower deck carrying 3 lanes of traffic south over the river with sidewalks on both sides of the street. The upper deck serves as a bridge for the Chicago Transit Authority's Brown and Purple lines. Control houses for controlling the bridge are on the northwest and southeast corners of the bridge.

The bridge was constructed during the first term of William Hale Thompson. The Chicago Plan Commission and Chicago Art Commission provided design input to architect E.H. Bennett.

Balbo monument
A highlight of the fair was Italian aviator and prominent facist Italo Balbo leading 24 flying boats in landing on Lake Michigan after a transatlantic flight from Rome. Balbo's squadron left Italy on June 30, 1933 and arrived on July 15 after making several short stops. To honor his journey, 7th Street was renamed to Balbo Drive. As a return gift, Benito Mussolini later sent a 2nd century Roman column, which was erected in front of the Italian pavilion during the Century of Progress. Located near the lakefront bike trail east of Soldier Field, the monument is one of the few relics remaining from the fair. The column is from a portico near the Porta Marina of Ostica Antica and stands on a marble base with inscriptions in both Italian and English reading: "This column, twenty centuries old, was erected on the beach of Ostia, the port of Imperial Rome, to watch over the fortunes and victories of the Roman triremes. Fascist Italy, with the sponsorship of Benito Mussolini, presents to Chicago a symbol and memorial in honor of the Atlantic Squadron led by Balbo, which with Roman daring, flew across the ocean in the 11th year of the Fascist era."

Commission on Chicago Landmarks
The Commission on Chicago Landmarks, established in 1968 by a Chicago City Ordinance, is composed of nine members appointed by the Mayor and the Chicago City Council. It is responsible for presenting recommendations of individual buildings, sites, objects, or entire districts to be designated as Chicago Landmarks, therefore providing legal protections. The commission is staffed by the Landmarks Division of the Chicago Department of Planning and Development.

Landmark requirements
To be recommended for landmark status, a building or district must meet at least two criteria: critical part of Chicago's heritage, site of a significant event, association with a significant person, important architecture, important architect, distinctive theme as a district, or unique visual feature. It must also retain a high degree of architectural integrity. The commission is responsible for reviewing proposed alteration, demolition, or new construction affecting individual landmarks or properties in landmark districts as part of the construction permit review process.

In January 2005, 259 Chicago Landmarks had achieved designation, including 217 individual designations, 38 landmark districts, and four district extensions, totalling 6,500 properties.

Current commission members include:
 * David Mosena, Chairman
 * John W. Baird, Secretary
 * Lisa Willis
 * Phyllis Ellin
 * Christopher R. Reed
 * Edward I. Torrez
 * Ernest C. Wong
 * Ben Weese