Archive for the ‘Aquarium Care’ Category
Monday, November 19th, 2007 |
Sure you can pay 13 year old Suzie down the street that usually babysits your kids to feed your fish while you’re on vacation for $10/day, but if you are as big of a control freak about your fish as I am and want to save some money too then you probably want to make sure your fish are getting fed the right amount everyday and on time.
Dissolving Feeder.
These are quite simple to use and come in a large variety of sizes ranging from 3 day feeders to 14 day feeders. What dissolving feeders do is slowly dissolve over the stated amount of time and slowly release food to your fish for the length of the specified time. Simply drop these into the water and let them do their magic.
The only downside to these is that they can make your tank quite cloudy if you don’t have proper filtration.
Automatic Timed Feeders.
Automatic feeders such as the battery operated EKOMIXO Fish Feeder are very easy to use simply fill out when you want to have your fish fed and it will release the set amount of food into the tank. Some automatic feeders can feed up to 4 times a day. These are the best solution because it can be like you never even left.
You can even use these while you aren’t on vacation!
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Monday, November 19th, 2007 |
Setting up your first tropical freshwater aquarium can be very overwhelming. But I assure you that it is really pretty simple. Follow this guide and your freshwater aquarium will be ready in no time.
First we’ll need to find a place to put our aquarium. Try to prevent placing the tank in direct sunlight because doing so will promote rapid algae growth, and possible overheating. Alternatively you don’t want to place your tank in a place that gets a lot of cold drafts, such as near a window or infront of an air conditioning vent.
Before you do anything you’re going to need to wash everything you plan on putting in your aquarium with hot water. As stated in the Aquarium Cleaning Guide, you’re going to want to use sponges/brushes that contain absolutely no chemicals.
The Usual Suspects.
Note: Don’t turn on any of these devices for long amounts of time until water has been added to the tank.
I’m going to assume since this is your first aquarium you got a filter like the one pictured below. First rinse out the filter sponge and media place the setup media filter into the filter. Remember: that all filters are different so refer to the instructions provided with the filter to insure that
you’re using your filter correctly.
Its recommended that you always use a heater to keep the water around 74, however many will tell you different. But when dealing with tropical fish, you’re definitely making a smart decision for your fish, by choosing to use a heater.
If your tank is 10 gallons or larger I also recommend that you get an air pump. You simply connect tubing between your pump and some kind of air stone. And wire the air stone end into the tank.
Now before you put your gravel in make sure to put your aquarium on its stand or wherever you plan on putting it because the tank is now going to get increasingly heavier. Also before you put the gravel in be sure to wash that off as well, especially when working with colored rocks, because they carry a lot of paint residues. Once you have completed the above go ahead and add the gravel. One pound of gravel per gallon of water is the rule of thumb here, and you’ll need 0.5-1.0 inch thick layer of gravel.
Once you’ve placed your plants, decorations, etc. you can now add the water, trying to keep the temperature right around 74. Now is a good time to add your water conditioners (de-chlorinator, stress coat, etc.) to remove any toxins.
Now go ahead and plug in the filter, heater, air pump, and light.
Let everything run for 1-3+ days before adding your first few hardy fish. Places like PetsMart will test your water for free, try to do this before adding fish to make sure your water is safe. Ask your local fish shop, what their more hardy tropical fish are.
Posted in Aquarium Care, Freshwater Aquariums, Tropical Fish | 1 Comment »
Friday, November 16th, 2007 |
The Beautiful Frontosa
1. Disease: Most aquatic diseases are easy to spot. And if you can’t see the disease than one of the other 3 signs, will give it away. Some things to look for are spots or growths on their body or fins, irritated eyes, or loss of scales.
2. Irregular Eating: This sign usually takes a little longer for people to notice since we usually don’t watch our fish eat each and every time. But if your fish isn’t eating, it may be sick.
3. Trouble Swimming: You’d be surprised how easy it is for fish to get internal infections. These usually mess with your fishes buoyancy and will cause your fish to swim sideways, in the wrong direction, or even upside down.
4. Loss of Scales: As mentioned in point 1. This can either be cause by disease or your fish may be getting bullied by another fish.
Posted in Aquarium Care, Freshwater Aquariums | No Comments »
Friday, November 16th, 2007 |
Changing your aquarium water is something to do on a weekly basis. Wait wait wait don’t go running for the bucket and hose! Changing the water in your aquarium incorrectly can do some serious damage to your aquarium. Let me run you through the proper way of replacing aquarium water.
Ideally you should change up to %25 of the water weekly.
Why only 25%?
Well because your fish have grown used to their current water. That perfect mix of chemicals, that specific temperature, even that perfect amount of waste. Changing too much water will throw your fish out of whack causing them to stress out. And we definitely don’t want that! Be sure to add the appropriate water conditioners when adding the new water!
Hey while the water is low, now is a good time to clean the sides of the aquarium, change the filter media and pads.
Cleaning the sides:
I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to use proper cleaning supplies. Using 99% of household sponges or cleaning supplies WILL KILL YOUR FISH. Instead take the trip to the pet store or aquarium to get proper cleaning supplies such as sponges or scrapers.
For those that don’t like to get wet, you can buy these nifty magnetic sponges that will let you clean the inside walls of the tank without even touching the water. Keep in mind that these don’t work quite as well as the standard aquarium sponge.
The Gravel:
This step tends to be most people’s least favorite aquarium maintenance. There are basic gravel vacuum systems that work well for tanks smaller than 10 gallons and no more in my opinion. These require buckets, human started suction and usually end in a huge mess all over your floor. These are very messy!
If you’re serious about your aquarium I HIGHLY recommend you get a self-starting gravel vacuum system, you’ll save your self a lot of time and trouble.
What you do with these gravel vacuums is you push the open end under the gravel and the suction will pull the waste right out of the gravel without sucking up much gravel.
Final Points:
Its very important that you keep your aquarium clean. Once things start going downhill its usually very hard to make things better again, don’t be lazy and let your tank get dirty.
Keep the fish in the tank through the cleaning process. You’ll put more stress on your fish if you remove them than you would if you just left them in the tank.
Posted in Aquarium Care, Freshwater Aquariums | 1 Comment »
Friday, November 16th, 2007 |
So you want to get your first fish, but can’t decide what fish you want? Well since this is your first aquarium the choice is easy. The best kind of
fish for you are freshwater fish. Simply because they are by far the easiest fish to take care of.
Yeah, yeah, I know. The saltwater/marine fish you saw the other day were a lot more vibrant than those boring freshwater fish. I’d love to take care of saltwater fish too, but they are leaps and bounds more difficult to take care of. Heck I’ve had freshwater fish for 5+ years and have even worked in the fish section at a pet store and I still don’t feel confident that I can care for them properly.
There are 2 major groups of freshwater fish. Goldfish and Tropical.
Both types of fish tend to be very non-aggressive and for the most part can go with any other fish that fall into their category of goldfish or tropical, but saltwater fish are often times very aggressive and need much larger tanks.
While both fresh and saltwater fish can be very healthy and resilient if taken care of properly, you’re going to have to worry about a lot less disease and chemical imbalances when working with freshwater fish.
Ah I almost forgot to mention that saltwater fish are EXTREMELY expensive compared to most freshwater fish. God forbid you lose a fish or two, you’ll still be content that you only paid $1.99 for your guppy 
Posted in Aquarium Care, Freshwater Aquariums | No Comments »
Friday, November 16th, 2007 |
Unfortunately new aquarium hobbyists are bound to make mistakes when setting up and caring for their first aquarium. Hopefully this article will help reduce the number of mistakes.
Location, Location, Location:
Before you start setting up your aquarium its important to keep in mind that some places in the house are better than other for keeping fish. When choosing a spot you don’t want to expose the fish to too much light nor too much darkness. Don’t place your tank in direct sunlight such as in front of a window, instead put the tank in room thats well lit by the sun, away from the direct sunlight.
Shape and Size:
If this is your first aquarium your best bet will be to start with a rectangular tank as opposed to a round, hexagonal, or octagonal tank, because they are by far the easiest to clean and also give you the best view of your fish. Deep tanks are harder to clean as well, and if you’re uneasy about submerging your arm in the water, than the more shallow the tank the better.
When it comes to size you’ll have to figure out how many fish you plan on having. To determine what size aquarium is right for you see my article about how many fish can be put in an aquarium.
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Friday, November 16th, 2007 |
Note: This is way too many fish for 1 bowl.
There isn’t always 1 right answer when it comes to determining how many fish are appropriate for your aquarium. However there is a rule-of-thumb way of getting an estimate.
Goldfish:
For each inch of fish you will need 2 gallons of water.
Example: You have 3 goldfish, all measuring out to 2 inches each. So 6 inches of fish will require approximately 12 gallons.
Tropical Non-aggressive:
Each inch of fish requires only 1 gallon of water.
Example: You have 3 male guppies at about 1 inch each for a total of 3 inches. You’ll need 3 gallons of water.
Semi-aggressive Tropical:
Aggressive fish can be a little tricky since not all fish will get along, they may require more space, so ask your local fish store for specific setups.
However, they tend to follow the same rules as the non-aggressive tropical fish, and require about 1 gallon per inch of fish.
Posted in Aquarium Care, Goldfish, Tropical Fish | 2 Comments »
Thursday, November 15th, 2007 |
Fish make great pets for many reasons, but one common plus to having an aquarium rather than larger pets is ow easy it is to take care of basic fish!
And these 3 tips are no different! They are all very simple but if you stay on top of doing them then you can extend the life of your fish dramatically.
Tip #1 : Keep the tank clean! C’mon, you know you should be doing this anyway. This includes things like making sure your filter is running its best, keeping your aquarium fairly algae free, and clearing the gravel of waste.
Tip #2 : Feed your fish on a schedule. This is really a no brainer people! Feed your goldfish once in the morning and once at night. Tropical fish however can be fed only once a day. And some fish can even be fed as little as once or twice a week! And never feed them more than they need, as fun as it is to watch your little guys eat, it can be harmful to them or can make the water murky.
Tip #3 : Give your fish some space! I know how easy it is to get carried away with adding fish to your aquarium. Make sure to give goldfish 2 gallons of water per inch of fish. And give non-aggressive tropical fish 1 gallon of water per inch of fish. Aggressive fish require different amounts of space.
These 3 simple steps should have your fish on track for a healthy future!
Posted in Aquarium Care | No Comments »
Thursday, November 15th, 2007 |
Saltwater aquariums should usually have less fish in them than your standard fresh water tank, mainly due to the fact that Saltwater fish typically grow much larger.
When dealing with saltwater auqariums it important to remember that captive bred species are much easier to care for than your average wild caught fish. It is very hard for wild fish to adapt to a tame aquarium enviroment, so much so that they forget how to perform the most basic of functions such as eating.
Saltwater aquariums are usually classified into 5 different types.
The 1st type of aquarium is the fish only aquarium which are the easiest to take care of. This aquarium will either consist of tropical or coldwater fish but neither both for apparent reasons. Most people are fans of the tropical variety due to their more vibrant colors and more well known fish such as a Clownfish or a Tang.
Which brings us to our 2nd typ of saltwater aquarium, the invertibrate only aquarium. The types of aquariums obviously only contain invertibrates such as shrimp, crabs, or starfish.
The 3rd type of tank combines the first two types and brings the fish and the invertebrates togther in one tank. Some invertrbrates and some fish don’t mix together however making it difficult to preserve a tanks chemistry. Just be sure to do your research before hand so you don’t end up with predator and prey in the same aquarium. It may also be difficult to prevent disease.
The next type of saltwater aquarium is the reef aquarium which is in my opinion the most attractive aquarium. Coral reef tanks are by far the most difficult to stabalize and maintain.
And finally the last type is the Sepcialy saltwater aquarium, such as a shark tank, octopus or sea turtle tank.
No matter what you choose make sure you do tons of research before setting up a tank or buying fish.
Posted in Aquarium Care, Saltwater Aquariums | 1 Comment »
Thursday, November 15th, 2007 |
If you’ve been worrying about what to do with your fish when you move to a new home. Don’t worry this article is for you!
Since you’ve taken care of fish now I’m sure you know that fish can be VERY fragile. And moving can place a lot of stress on your fish.
If you’re going to need to fly your fish to your new location you’ll most definitely need to find movers that specialize in the field of shipping live fish. If traveling by car be sure to visit a local fish store and ask for instructions from an expert.
If traveling by car get some appropriately size insulated containers. A few days before the move change 1/3 of the water on a daily basis. And don’t feed your fish 3 days in advance as well. Don’t worry they’ll be fine without food for a couple of days. When traveling try to keep the fish in a dark place, it should help reduce their stress levels.
Its imperrative that your fish be placed back into as much of their old water as possible so try to transport the remaining water from the tank in seperate containers.
Remember to condition your water at your new home before placing your fish in their new home.
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