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How to Select The Right Aquarium Tank

June 11th, 2009    Subscribe To Our Feed

What occupants?

The kind of fish you wish to keep is vital to understand before deciding on the kind of aquarium to purchase. They require different care, conditions, space, and equipment to maintain healthy aquarium environment.

Research

Careful research is required to understand the size, conditions and location your marine world requires to thrive. You must also determine what marine life can occupy the same tank. Do they require warm conditions, and lighting. What size fish are required for a healthy. It is recommended that you purchase a good informative book to guide you in this new endeavor. So much depends on your understanding to establish a great tank set up.

Determine Space

Now you understand the marine life you want to occupy your tank, it is time to consider the location to install your aquarium. This is the time to determine your aquarium accessaries and lighting. All of these factors encompass a healthy marine world.

Determine Budget

What are you willing to invest in this new world? How mush time do you wish to invest in the care and maintenance?

Select Equipment

Visit your local pet store. Decide what equipment you need and its availability? Do you need to order any of your accessories before beginning to set up. Ask about special purchases, get a price quote before you order.

Evaluate Information

Take time at this stage to evaluate the information you have gathered. Can you set up your system within the budget and size of the desired location in your home? Can you spend more? Is it a little or a lot? How committed are you to your fish selection? Is one fish selection creating a costly adjustment? Is that fish even available in your area?

Purchase Equipment

Now that you have taken in to consideration the fish desired, the size and location of the tank, if a special order is required, if so have you placed your order? You are ready to make an informed equipment purchase.

Setup Equipment

Throughly clean the location you wish to use to set up your aquarium system. Expect to spend several hours just setting up your equipment up. Once it is set up, let it run unoccupied to be sure everything works like you want it to. Test the environment making sure the conditions you need are maintained.

Selecting Fish

When you get your tank working properly, start selecting your starter fish. They need to be hardy, inexpensive, small in size and fish you will want to keep in your tank in the long run.

Cycling Your Tank

Over the next 4 to 6 weeks, patiently monitor your tank’s atmosphere. Adjust water conditions, do not over feed, and clean the water as needed. Do not add additional fish at this time. Be sure your environment is stable before taking the next step to your marine life.

Tank Maintenance

As you feed your fish daily, check filters, at least twice a week. Perform a 10 to 15% water change and scrub the algae at the same time. Every month check hoses, fittings, clamps, cords, lights, and miscellaneous equipment. I know this sounds like a lot of activity to maintain your tank, but this few minutes a day will avoid months of disastrous results to equipment failure.

Accessories to Spruce Up Your Aquarium

June 11th, 2009    Subscribe To Our Feed

Having fish is a popular past time for young and old people alike. The first step is choosing which size aquarium you want and what type of fish you wish to have in your tank. For the purpose of this article, I am going to discuss accessorizing a fresh water aquarium. Most aquariums come with a hooded light and a filtering system. Here are a few things you can do to really make your aquarium stand out.

Add a background. These can be bought in a pet store or you can make them at home. They can be of a solid color paper or a beautiful painted underwater scene. Some people have been known to use just plain aluminum foil. They are taped or glued to the outside back of the aquarium so you see it when looking through the front. You might even consider a colored light bulb or bubble walls. These are very easy to make and will delight both you and your fish. Adding a bubble wall to an aquarium is simple since you already have an air pump. Just buy a bubble tube that is no longer than 12 inches long and has a nice stable base. It should be heavy enough to sink without risk of it moving out of place. It is best placed behind a few plants where it will create an endless supply of bubbles. Bubble walls are soothing to watch, and your fish will enjoy swimming among them.

Colored sand or pebbles on the bottom of the fish aquarium can add color to an otherwise plain aquarium. These can be arranged in colors, black, white, or even neon pink. The color is your choice. You might want to consider the decor of the room where the aquarium will stand.

Caves are both functional and aesthetic at the same time. They give the fish a sense of security. Many species of freshwater fish will be more likely to breed in your aquarium if they have a place to protect the eggs, not to mention they add a focal point in your aquarium. You could also place a shipwreck or arch to achieve the same goal.

In their natural environment fish love swimming in and around wood and plants.

Driftwood and larger rocks should be placed off center in your aquarium. Place larger plants behind the driftwood and small plants in front. To further enhance the look try stacking or piling rocks in one corner of the aquarium.

Finally, finding the right place to set up your aquarium is just as important as what you use to accessories it. It should be place where it is both accessible, yet out of the way. Try placing some of the ornaments you have in your fish aquarium around the outside, to create a complete theme. Remember too much decoration will destroy the effect. Besides too many decorations leaves the fish with too little room to swim around in.

Keeping fish is a fun and fascinating hobby. The decorating possibilities are endless. The goal to accessorising your aquarium is to have fun, while making it pleasing to look at, and an environment your occupants will thrive in.

Betta Fish - An Introduction

June 11th, 2009    Subscribe To Our Feed

Introducing Betta Fish

Betta fish additionally renowned as Siamese fighting fish are the most preferred variety of pet fish as they are lovely in their individual ways. Nearly all of the Betta fish possess brilliantly coloured lengthy fins, and scales. Males are more likely to fight than female Betas and they are also more vivid in colour as well. Betta fish are known in some parts of the world to be made to fight for gambling bets. They are habitually found in slow moving waters, and require warmer temperatures of water. Thus it is sensible to put in a appropriate heater to keep a warmth of at least 70 degrees in the fish tanks housing these Betta fish.

Apart from this, Bettas need a measure of small insects, or insect larvae along with normal regime of flake foods, or frozen fried fish foods. Adequate room in the fish tank is required for Betta fish to be able move about with their large fins and give them ample breathing space. Bettas need a good quality of oxygen as they breath it from the air, Bettas are Labyrinth.

Additional Attention Necessary

It is a common piece of information that Betta fish possess a pretty forceful temper. New Betta fish shouldnt really be added to a tank with an existing betta nor is it recommended that two males are placed in the same aquarium. This could turn nasty if the dominant Betta fish begins attacking or injuring the weaker fish. Seperating Bettas that are fighting should be done for the safe keeping of any others.

Thus if one has to add together two male Betta fish inside one tank, next there are the options of using mesh dividers or fish condos to part the Bettas. A fish tank with Bettas should if possible be kept covered.

Basic Tips on Building Koi Ponds

June 10th, 2009    Subscribe To Our Feed

Koi ponds are more than just a hole with water. Koi breeders should bear in mind that Koi, like any other pets need to have an environment that is safe and healthy for them to live. Breeders should learn the basic essential tools they need for making the koi pond conducive for living.

The secrets to a successful way of keeping koi fish are proper ventilation, water ponds and the fish itself.Primarily you need to determine the requirements for building the koi pond. Each pond needs planning for the specification of its features.

How big should it be? The pond where koi will live must be big because Koi gets large. A standard pond for this kind of fish should hold not less than 1000 gallons of water and must be at least 3-5 feet deep. Your decision on the shape and the size of ponds for the koi will basically depend on your preference.

The pond should be built in an ideal location. You may want to have a pond in an area where you could see the fish as often as you want. You should also consider the accessibility of the pond as you will be spending frequent visits on the area to feed the fish. You can also consider building a small pond indoor or outdoor whatever gives you the convenience.

You should however consider that Koi need to be exposed to sunlight for few hours everyday. The best times will be in the morning and in the afternoon. Koi skin can be burnt by direct sunlight at noon so they must be provided with safety abode. Your outdoor pond should be away from trees to prevent the pond from being damaged by the growing roots as the trees grow.

Placing a net above the pond can also provide protection against the falling debris from the trees.You may find delight of giving your koi both an indoor and outdoor pond but creating one should be properly conceptualized in terms of safety, accessibility and ideal environment.

When building the pond you will be needing pond liners. You can use PVC but a butyl rubber liner is recommended because of its strength. Concrete has the lowest or the cheapest building cost while fiberglass is recommended when you want to have a pond for an indistinct lifetime.

You have to make sure that it would be better to construct a pond with vertical walls for smaller ponds to boost balanced arrangement of water temperature. You should also consider providing protection of your koi from outside predators by creating a higher wall on the pond.

In addition to the mentioned requisites other koi pond equipments that you will need include biological filters, aeration, circulation pump and space wide enough to keep koi from being
crowded.

These are the things that you have to consider when preparing and designing a pond for koi. The filter will be the one to purify the water. It will be responsible for cleaning the water from waste products, microorganisms and other poisonous substance that can produce water contamination.

The aerator will supply air to the water and will keep the stagnant water continuously moving. The aerator will be providing the fish with oxygen. The pump on the other hand moves the water through the filter and the aerator. These are basic preparation when conceptualizing the ideal koi pond for your favorite fish.

Help Me Choose a Pump for my Pond

June 8th, 2009    Subscribe To Our Feed

We all have different reasons for building a garden pond. You may want a water feature with or without running water effects or possible want to keep koi carp or goldfish.

Pond pumps do what they say on the box. It pumps or turns the pond water. The type of pond pump you need depends on the purpose, effects and size of your pond. A pond pump may not be necessary for example if you are creating a wildlife pond you can use specific plants to help keep the water clear. However water in the average pond should be circulated every 3 or 4 hours and water in a pond for koi carp must be turned at least every 1 or 2 hours

When choosing a pond pump, it needs to be capable of pumping the volume of water in your pond. Here is a rough guide:

Work out how much water you have in your pond:Width (m) x Depth (m) x Length (m) = x Litres. E.g:

• 2m wide x 1m deep x 1m long = 2000 litres
• 3m wide x 1m deep x 2m long = 6000 litres

When you know the water volume work out the pond pump output required (in LPH) litres per hour bearing in mind the purpose (fish/no fish) as mentioned earlier

• A 2000 litre pond requires a pump with at least 1000 LPH output to circulate the water every 2 hours
• A 6000 litre pond requires a pump with at least 3000 LPH output to circulate the water every 2 hours

With me so far?

Pond pumps get more expensive the bigger the pond and you don’t want to make a costly mistake by choosing the wrong one! So you can always ask at the pond pumps shop for advice just to be sure.

It is always better to get a larger pump than you need, this is simply because once you have reached the limit of a smaller pump it can’t be turned up, but larger pumps can be turned down. So if you have a 2000 litre pond, don’t get a pump with a 1000LPH max output, opt for one a bit bigger.

You may also need other things from your pump such as a filter to clear small debris or remove things like blanket weed or you might also want a fountain effect. Because you will be asking the pump to work harder, having either of these will mean you need a bigger pump. However there are a great many combination pumps on the market that act as both pump and filter.

Finally, Most pump models use the output in the name such as the Oase Aquamax Eco Filter Pond Pumps or Blagdon Mini Fountain Pond Pump. These are combination pumps so you don’t need to do two separate sets of calulations for your pump and filter or pump and fountain.

 

Keeping an Eye on Koi Diseases

June 8th, 2009    Subscribe To Our Feed

Koi diseases can be of different varieties that can be detrimental to the health of your fish. Keeping a close watch on the common ailments that can affect your Koi is necessary in order to identify the typical indications that may suggest that your fish may be suffering from a disease.

Owners of this species should be aware of a wound that they may find on their Koi fish that does not seem to heal. Although at the beginning, the fish may seem unperturbed by the wound and show no signs of discomfort. However an apparent open wound that does not improve or may be spreading could be a sign of a cancer.

The cancer can prevent the wound from healing and it may be aggravated by some parasites that keep the infection going. Furthermore, high nitrates level can also contribute to the worsening of the condition. Failure to provide proper care to the Koi can lead to death. Taking the sick Koi fish immediately to a veterinarian is the wisest thing to do.

Home treatment for the condition involves debridement or removal of dead skin tissue that could otherwise help further infections to occur. Using a soft toothbrush or coarse gauze will do the job. Scrubbing off should be done without pressure.

Cancer in Koi is indicated by a tight ring around the wound that is white in color and shows pink color at its center. Genetics, high nitrates levels, pollution and photo-dermatitis are known predisposing factors of this Koi disease. Treatment involves excision of the cancerous tissues.

It is an upsetting condition to find your Koi fish having difficulty in closing their mouth. This Koi disease may be due to an ulcer or abscess that developed along the mouth area caused by bacterial infection. The infection goes through the suspensor ligaments of the mouth and its gill cover damaging Koi’s ability to close and open its mouth.

An ulcer along the mouth area can support these findings and antibiotic treatment can help control the spread of infection in acute conditions. However the damage can be permanent in some chronic cases.

Popeye or exophthalmia is another Koi disease that involves a protruding eye from its socket. It is thought to be caused by mycobacterial infection or Tuberculosis that promotes the development of abscess or eye granuloma. Viral infection, trauma and choroid infection can also be contributing factors.

This Koi disease may be hard to treat owing to the anatomical position of the Koi’s eyes where it has poor vascular supply and only few drugs can find access to reach the Koi’s eyes during treatment. The possibility of transmitting Koi’s tuberculosis to human is also high so always avoid contact of the affected eye. Water quality is important. Always provide the Koi fish with the proper diet along with ideal temperature in its surroundings to reduce further stress.

With any Koi diseases that you may encounter early detection of symptoms and proper treatment of the fish are necessary for better prognosis of any Koi disease that may afflict your fish.

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