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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.

Striking and Glamourous Freshwater Plants

June 7th, 2009    Subscribe To Our Feed

What really hurts for a fish-keeper, is the first major tragedy that happens to you - our early freshwater tropical fish experience wasn’t great. It was a particularly horrific circumstance which we could have circumvented but I didn’t count as “our fault”…

We had gone away for a long weekend and yes, you’ve guessed it, the thermostat on the tank heater broke, the temperature of the water soared – fish tank extinction ensued…and my family and I were in tears on our return…

I was so shaken by the situation that for a while we kept only plants in our aquarium as we didn’t have the heart to start again.

Slowly as time passed we realised how brilliant a properly planted tank can be and how exotic the plants can make the whole aquarium look, a properly landscape tank adds enormous visual impact. And of course, when fish are added to the tank, nitrites start to build up but with good plant life in the tank, oxygen is released, absorbing the nitrites leaving the water cleaner and healthier for the fish.

Some form of light is mandatory…

The sun is the most significant factor in the life of a plant, and in a freshwater tropical fish aquarium, lighting is equally as central to maintain the health and beauty of the plants.

Wayne Vandre, Horticulture Specialist, comments that light is the all-important source of energy used by plants in photosynthesis. But light is not just one simple, well-defined entity. Plant growth and activity are strongly influenced by the intensity quality and duration of the light source. Experiments show that maximum growth of most plants is under cool white fluorescent light.

Fundamental to the quality of plant growth is the quality of the lighting that is provided, giving the tank a much better overall quality.

Varieties of plants

Landscaping a tank can be fun and it is essential to get different types of plants to give the tank that exotic look. There are many diverse ranges of aquatic plants. Tubers need to be anchored by the root to the bottom of the tank. Floating plants plainly float in the tank do not need to be anchored and will not usually require fertilizer. Rooted plants, like tubers need to be anchored to the bottom of the tank normally tied to pieces of rock or wood. These species usually grow to be fairly tall and will help to fill the aquarium.

Normally, the water and the fish in the tank will supply the nutrients and fertilizers essential for plant growth. Extra supplements are rarely needed. The filtration system is crucial to maintaining healthy plant life in the tank. Under gravel filters restricts the composition of the gravel in which the plants are rooted and produce a steady flow of bubbles that disturb the surface. All other kinds of filtration systems should work well for plants and it is good to keep water movement in the tank, but not too mush disturbance at the surface as CO2 is lost, essential to the survival of the plants.

All our tanks now have healthy plant life which makes it easier to keep happy healthy and colourful fish.

How to Get the Critical Aquarium Supplies?

June 7th, 2009    Subscribe To Our Feed

Adding aquarium supplies into your aquarium will help the viability of your beautiful fish. So, wherever you locate the fish (in aquarium or in bowls), you have to make sure that it has the aquarium supplies inside.

In fact, you are not suggested to keep the goldfish in a bowl, because it is much too small to keep them alive for any length of time. Bowls also require daily maintenance because the water gets smelly fast. So, try to put them in the aquarium with aquarium supplies inside it.

If you’ve ever heard the story about the goldfish that lived for thirty years in a gallon bowl, that is the omission than the rule. Goldfish are regularly need larger tank to live in and don’t forget to add the aquarium supplies in it.

The Tank

This might seem obvious for a list of necessary aquarium supplies, but some people need useful advice. Get a new tank or a tank that only housed fish effectively in the past. For instance, you could take on old gallon goldfish tank that still good to put your goldfish.

If possible, you have to make sure that the tank for your goldfish is wide adequate for them to live in. Find the biggest tank that you can pay for. It is as smaller tank likelys to dirt sooner than bigger tank. If you place them in a smaller tank, you may need to clean it everyday since the water can smell bad.

The Filter

Filtration systems are also critical as the aquarium supplies for your fish. They are easier to maintain and less chaotic than the filtration systems on the past. It is strongly recommended to give the goldfish biological filtration systems. They usually hang over the side of the tank. You can also add the extra filter cartridges into your list of necessary aquarium supplies.

The Air Pump

You may also require some sort of water agitation system for your critical aquarium supplies. This includes an incredibly economical air hose, a variety of air stones or sometimes named bubble stones, and the most main thing is air pump. If possible, you can get two air pumps in case of the one air pump doesn’t work for you.

Thermometer

Although goldfish are categorize as cold water fish, they like better a constant water temperature of about 68 degrees Fahrenheight. Thus, you have to know exactly about the temperature of the water in order to keep your fish at the optimum health. Tank thermometer is inexpensive, but it is critical for the aquarium supplies. You can place it on the inside or outside the tank.

Electrical Outlet Strip

This might seem like a weird item to add to a list of critical aquarium supplies, but it makes life for you and your fish much easier. Fundamentally, a tank requires some electrical outlets and having a strip to plug them in saves you lots of time trying to figure out what wire goes to what home appliance.

We all understand that insert aquarium supplies inside the tank is very significant. It is because the aquarium supplies can determine viability of the fish and supply all the their lives.

Are you still at sea of knowing more about aquarium supplies? Just look around and click the links your best answer herein!

Black Koi: Facts About The Species

June 7th, 2009    Subscribe To Our Feed

The Koi come in a wide array of patterns. The black Koi are distinguished from the other varieties with their own coloring, and nothing more. They can live up to 35 years, the oldest of which have lived up to 200 years! They are seen regularly in ponds located in the outdoors throughout the world.

The males are distinguished by their concave anal section, and their breeding spots on their head. They can lay up to 1,000 eggs. The babies (called as the fry) will start to emerge within 4 to 7 days, depending on the water’s temperature. It’s amazing that their color will emerge when they’re about 3 to 12 weeks old. When they were first bred in Japan from carp mutations, they only had a color or two. More and more colors appeared due to breeding, which showed a variety of magnificent patterns and colors.

These species can reach up to about a length of 36 inches, which calls a need for them to be kept in ponds that are large in size. The Magoi Koi is considered as one of the first black mutations which can reach to great sizes in length. Their color is actually deep bronze, which can be seen as black when they are being viewed from above. Due to their unique possibilities in terms of size, the Magoi blood is re-introduced to other species to maximize their growth potential.

The Karasu ("karasu" which means "crow" in Japan) is another one of those extremely old species. It is characterized by its black body and fins. It has a white or orange-colored belly.

They can also have the ability to change color which is triggered by the environmental or dietary effects. The color changes range from duller shades to brighter ones. The Matsukawabake is known for such characteristic; black in color and has areas or white on its body. Depending on the water's temperature or the season, its color can completely change. It can turn to a full white or full black, and will go back to its original color once the temperature conditions will change.

The Kumonryu (”kumonryu” which means “dragon fish”), which first appeared in the 1980’s, is considered to be as the most popular of the species. They are called as such as it is reminds people of the bodies of dragons depicted in ancient paintings (others would say they look like dragons ascending through the clouds). This can also change their colors.

Pond owners are being attracted to the Koi's colors and patterns, and there's nothing more exciting than owning a fish like the black Koi that can change their color right before your very eyes!

Aquarium Set Up

June 5th, 2009    Subscribe To Our Feed

Prior to an aquarium set up, the details and the conditions about fish rearing and maintenance should be well studied as even small careless acts may lead to the reduction of the quality of the fish on sale. Things may get out of hand in case of spread of epidemic diseases among the fish if the maintenance and precautions are not handled properly. One single fish can cause a death spree in a fish tank and it is not a rare thing to see a complete loss for fish tank owners. The first and foremost requirement for the aquarium owners is to master their understanding of behaviours of the fish. Spotting the right signs and taking the appropriate precautionary steps will help in maintaining a good home aquarium.

Common Mistakes

Some of the common mistakes done by the aquarium owners are to add new fish within few days after they had set up the tanks. This can turn to be a blunder as in some cases the water would not have stabilised in respects of temperature or the non-neutralised harmful components. It is always advisable to not add too many fish at once with a new aquarium set up as the bacterial colonies may not have been fully established or the ammonia and nitrate levels would be high to suit large number of fish.

Tips

· Testing the water for the required specifications is always beneficial. Many beginners make the mistake of choosing their fish purely on the looks and failto realise the importance of the requirements of the fish and what its maintenance needs.

· Few experts suggest an aquarium set up with the use of bigger fish tanks is better as the errors made by the aquarium’s owner will be more evident in the smaller fish tanks and may thus cause bigger troubles. Fish medicines and the water cleanliness is an important part of any aquarium set up and needs to be followed carefully.

 

Big Fish Or Little Fish - What Should I Keep In My Home Aquarium

June 4th, 2009    Subscribe To Our Feed

Why Big Pet Fish?

I prefer a bigger pet fish as opposed to smaller ones as i feel they are more of a 'pet' and more personal. They have their own character and personality which can sometimes be hard to spot withthe much smaller fish! There are several types of big fish available in the market such as the little sharks, big goldfish, plecos, discus fish and more. Big pet fish can be quite expensive but this is not the only cost to consider. You will also need to budget for having the right sized aquarium that has the room for your big fish. There is usually a lot of excess space in these fish tanks that will need to be filled by a lot of decorations. Some of the breeds of fish are capable of growing to some pretty hefty sizes over the course of the years so be sure to enquire how big your chose fish are likely to get. If the funds are in place to set up and keep big fish then you are in fo a treat in fishkeeping! Ifyou just wanted to get a Biorb aquarium for easy setup then you may need to reconsider.

The Care for Big Fish

The big aquarium tanks are more commonly found in many places like hospitals, restaurants, and other social places. If you have made your mind up to purchase a big pet fish then the next step is to decide where to buy it from. Do your self a favour and buy from an aquatic store or website that knows what they are doing! Dont be afraid to ask questions about the fish no matter how simple they may seem. There is little risk to the fish by changing the fish food habits as most of these big fish should come with a diet sheet. It is very important to know the full details about the big fish, their temperature requirements, the possible diseases and their symptoms prior to purchasing them. Big pet fish are often raised as single lonesome fish as the demands that are needed to look after them correctly can be quite excessive. Big pet fish are a real pleasure to keep. Even with the extra work and demands that go with it.

 

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