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| Laced Moray (Tesselate moray, Honeycomb moray) - Photo: Krips Wikimedia |
2017-07-16
2017-07-15
The Slow and Steady Reptile: the TURTLE
Of all the reptiles that can be found in an average neighborhood, turtles are probably the easiest to catch. Let's take a tour of a turtle and see what we can learn from it. One of the most interesting parts of the turtle is the most obvious, its shell. The back of a turtle shell is formed from bones that have fused together into a hard structure. On top of the bone layer are large scales that cover and protect the surface of the bone, and give the turtle its distinctive color.
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| A female North American three-toed box turtle (Terrapene carolina triunguis) (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Some sea turtles have shells with bones that are separated, and the leatherback turtle has no scales at all, just leathery skin with little bony plates distributed in its skin. The shells of land turtles are typically quite high and round, in order to discourage predators from attempting to crush the shells in their mouths.
Water turtles generally have much flatter shells, in order to allow for faster swimming. The bottom of the shell, called the plastron, is also fused bone, but it is covered with a different kind of scale, in order for the turtle to move easily over its territory. A few turtles, such as the American box turtle, have hinges on the bottom of its shell. The box shell turtle can withdraw into the shell and then close the hinges, so that no predator can reach any of the turtle within. These hinges also protect against moisture loss on particularly dry days.
Like many other reptiles, turtles lay their eggs on land. Baby turtles generally grow rapidly until they reach young adulthood, and then the rate of growth slows. Large turtles often keep growing at a slow rate for their entire life. The shells of most turtles grow to at least five inches in diameter, and the monster of the turtle family is the Leatherback, which can have a shell six feet long and weigh up to fifteen hundred pounds. One of the larger common American turtles is the Alligator snapping turtle, which can have a shell of over two feet in length and weigh up to two hundred pounds. It is easier to tell the age of turtles than most other reptiles because the plates on their back often have growth rings, similar to trees. Each time a turtle stops growing it creates a depression in each scale, and so these can be counted to determine the age of the turtle.
A number of turtles have lived for more than one hundred years, and turtles might be the longest-lived vertebrates, up to two hundred years old. Some American families carved their names and dates into box turtle shells, and these markers indicate that even local turtles can live to be more than one hundred years old.
Next time you see a turtle, check it out carefully. Watch how slowly it walks (generally at about one third of a mile an hour), and look carefully at the markings on its shell. Turn it over to see the underside of the shell, and how the two connect. See if you can see any markings on the shell to count how old it is. Check out other interesting facts and behaviors about the turtles in your area at your local library or bookstore.
2017-07-14
Saltwater Aquarium Stories - My CARPET ANEMONE
Saying Goodbye to my Carpet Anemone!
I purchased the carpet anemone secondhand with my aquarium and it came with 3 clown fish that were hosting in it, it quickly became the prize of my saltwater aquarium. In the first month I found that the anemone would move around the aquarium until it found a comfortable position. This proved to be a nuisance as it would knock over various corals and in some cases sting some of my corals. I found myself repositioning corals on a weekly basis. I decided to not to add any new live stock until the anemone appeared to remain in the one location.
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| Clown fish taking safety in a Sea Anenome. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Over the first 6 months I noticed the carpet anemone growing further in size and although this looked amazing, it was quickly becoming a problem. Carpet anemones have a powerful sting (as I experienced first hand) and they are also very sticky. I am certain I lost a blue tang because it accidentally swam into the anemone. Most other variety of anemones such as the regular bubble tip to do not have the same level of stickiness as a carpet anemone which means fish can accidentally get stung however can quickly escape, unlike with the carpet anemone.
I made an executive decision to remove the anemone from my saltwater aquarium. This was difficult as it was the home for 3 clown fish and having this relationship between fish and anemone is never guaranteed. Nonetheless I wanted a coral rich saltwater aquarium which I just couldn't have with the carpet anemone. I would suggest that if you are thinking of keeping a carpet anemone that you base your saltwater aquarium around the anemone, this will provide a less stressful experience. They are truly remarkable creatures. In terms of feeding your carpet anemone, they eat almost anything you feed your fish. I would use a turkey baster to feed my fish brine shrimp and I would just squirt some towards the mouth of the anemone. Otherwise I know of people who have cut up some cooked prawns and used that. Just remember if you have clown fish that host in the carpet anemone, they actually provide food and you will find the anemone to be relatively self sufficient.
Later on I will discuss what happened with my bubble tip anemone's!
Article Source: EzineArticles
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2017-07-13
Breeding BLUE LYRETAIL KILLIFISH Is Slightly Tricky for Beginners
Fundulopanchax gardneri or Blue Lyretail killifish is a big species from the killifish group. There are a number of sub-species found in the nature. These sub-species are found in different parts of the world and there is noticeable difference among each of them. Each one has different color pattern on the body and the size also differs from region to region.
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| Fundulopanchax gardneri (male) (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
The most popular amongst them is the one found in Jos Plateau. This species is originated from West Africa are, mainly from Nigeria. They are famous for their blue body with red spots spotted all over. Their fins are also in sky blue color with a yellow border. Sometimes you will find red stripes on the fins which look very beautiful.
You can find all these bright colors in males. However the females are not very attractive. They are shorter in size and wider. They have dull colors and they are slow swimmers.
The original environment for Blue Lyretail killifish is ponds which are situated in forests. So when you keep them in the aquarium, you should see that the water is slightly acidic with the ph level of around 7.0 and the temperature should be in the range of 75-82° F.
There should be no movement in the water and the level of oxygen should be high. To maintain the oxygen level, you can keep air stone in the aquarium. As they are small in size, you can accommodate them in smaller aquariums.
Breeding Blue Lyretail killifish is slightly tricky. You should create a separate small tank for breeding purpose. Before shifting a pair of male and a female to this tank, you should feed them very well with live food and you should also see that the temperature of the water is slightly increased.
In the breeding tank the same temperature should be maintained. Keep the water clean with constant filtration. Ideally, you can change 40 per cent of the water every day. Feed the fish with nutritious diet containing flaked food as well as live food. If you feed large quantity of meaty food like brine shrimp, you can get bigger spawns. From the beginning, you should keep a spawning mop in the breeding tank so that the fish should notice it.
Usually, the spawning continues for about two weeks and the eggs will be laid on the mops or on the bigger leaves of plants around them. They will spawn about 20 eggs every day. The female will release the eggs during morning and evening. The eggs look clear and they are about three millimeters in size.
Breeders of Blue Lyretail killifish make constant experiments to get best results. The most popular method is to pick the eggs after spawning and keep them in a bowl with low level of water. You should transfer the eggs gently without damaging them. You should change part of the water from the bowl every day. For changing the water you should use the water from the breeding tank for easy hatching.
As the time passes, the eggs will become darker and you may be able to notice dark eyes through. You should watch the eggs carefully because if there is any egg which is white or carrying fungus, you should immediately remove it from the bowl.
The eggs will hatch if the temperature of the water is correct (around 75 to 80° F). Once the fry start coming out, shift them to another tank and they should be fed right from the first day. They will start swimming around and you should feed them with young brine shrimp. The water of the tank should be changed frequently and the food which is leftover at the bottom should be immediately removed from the tank.
In three weeks, the fry and will grow up to half inch and in about five weeks they will grow up to 1 inch in size. Some fry will grow faster than others but you can keep all of them in the same aquarium. The grown-ups will not eat the small ones.
Chintamani Abhyankar is a goldfish enthusiast and has been raising and breeding goldfish for many years. He is an expert on their care and an advocate for raising healthy goldfish the natural way.
Article Source: EzineArticles |
Lyretail ANTHIAS
The popular anthias family sees three of its species carry the torch in the marine aquarium hobby. They are the Lyretail Anthias, Dispar Anthias and the Purple Queen Anthias. No other Anthias is as popular as these three. Among them however, the Lyretail Anthias is the most popular.
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| Lyretail Anthias - Photo: Wikimedia |
They are especially social fishes that are ordinarily found in some of the largest numbers in the wild in areas where water flow is very high. Groups upwards of a 1000 are not infrequent as they swim through the water flows in spots where there is regularly a abrupt decline from the reefs. They are located all the way through the Indo-Pacific and are a exceptionally widespread marine fish in the marine aquarium fish trade.
Their scientific names are Pseudoanthias Squamipinnis and are one of the cheaper members of the genus Pseudoanthias. Costs regularly extend from $15 to about $30 per fish. Males almost always fetch a greater price compared to females. A male will usually have power over a harem of numerous females. In captivity, the rule of thumb is to keep no more than one male per aquarium. Putting two males together will result in extremely hostile behavior until one finally perishes.
While most people decide to buy this fish with the aim of forming a big group in their aquariums, a large amount fail merely because they do not have a large enough aquarium or a big enough group. The separate sexes have surprisingly diverse coloration. Females are frequently hues of orange while male lyretails are red. They are hermaphrodites that start off life as females and have the capability to turn into males in appropriate conditions. This is very much like Dwarf Angelfish.
Smaller shoals are incapable to properly disperse and absorb the hostile character of the males. As the lyretail anthias is an open swimming species that can achieve a length of about five inches, they need larger tanks. The bare minimum needed to keep these jewels is a 100 gallons. However, larger tanks more than two hundred gallons are recommended if a small group is desired.
On the whole, Lyretail anthias are one of the more hostile kinds within the family and must only be housed in bigger fish aquariums. Too often to people get trapped into thinking they can safely house a small group in smaller aquariums only to see them perish one by one. Always ensure they are well fed in captivity.
Although the Lyretail Anthias is a attractive and fairly low-priced member of the Anthias family, they can be pretty aggressive and can harass smaller aquarium mates. After they are familiar with their new environment and are eating prepared foods, they are a resilient saltwater aquarium anthias.
Article Source: EzineArticles |
2017-07-12
BLACK MOLLY Fish Makes the Aquarium Beautiful and Lively
There are some peculiar varieties of fish which requires special conditions for their existence. Black molly is one of them.
Black Molly is a brackish fish. Such type of fish cannot sustain in either pure freshwater or in pure saltwater. They must be kept in a tank with water which has some salt. The quantity of salt may not be very high like normal saltwater but there has to be some salt required for them to live. Naturally you cannot easily accommodate Black Molly with other fish in fresh-water or salt-water tanks.
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| Black Molly (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
You should make some on-line research and also consult your pet shop owner about how much salt needs to be placed in the water.
There is no need to get worried about their compatibility with other species due to their salt requirement. There are other species which can sustain in such partly salty water.
Besides this specific requirement, Black Molly is like any other average fish. Usually it resembles a black guppy fish. This is a live-bearer fish. So you need to provide a lot of baby fish around the adults. If you keep a pair of a male and a female with no young ones around, they may not be comfortable with the environment and may develop stress which may even result in their death.
In spite of these specific requirements, Black Molly is an easy fish to care. You should put the fish in a tank with the water capacity of 10 gallons or more. This is required for taking care of their living environment. The fish will grow up to two inches over a period of time. If you want to keep a family of them in the tank, which is recommended, you should calculate the water capacity at two gallons per one inch of fish. So if the family consists of 10 members, you can keep them in a tank of 20-plus gallons.
The temperature of water should be kept in the range of 75-85 degrees. You should install a lighting system to provide sufficient light for them. They will usually require 6 hours of light every day. Please do not keep the light for longer time. In that case, the temperature of the water will increase and the fish will get over-heated. Providing light for 6 hours will resemble their natural habitat.
This fish is peace-loving. So it will be happy to live with other species comfortably. It will not chase or hurt other fish in the tank. It does not have any territorial ambition, so it will swim around the tank happily with others without any stress.
Considering the acquiring costs, the fish is available very cheaply in the shop. So even if you bring a dozen of family members at home one time, that's within your budget. It may not cost you more than $25!
There are no specific requirements of food for Black Molly. They are happy to eat the food you will provide to the other species in the aquarium. You can feed them flaked food or pellets. They are happy to eat live food like brine shrimp or blood-worms, but you should not offer them live food very often. You can also make a few experiments to find out which food your fish like the most.
Black Molly fish very popular among the fish keepers and if you put a combination of mollies in different colors like black and gold, they can make your aquarium beautiful and lively.
Chintamani Abhyankar is a goldfish enthusiast and has been raising and breeding goldfish for many years. He is an expert on their care and an advocate for raising healthy goldfish the natural way.
Article Source: EzineArticles |
2017-07-11
Fact Sheet: DWARF GOURAMI - Colisa lalia
(Original Title: Keeping the Beautiful Dwarf Gourami)
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| Female and male dwarf gouramis (Colisa lalia) showing sexual dimorphism. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Keeping the Dwarf Gourami
The scientific name usually used for the Dwarf Gourami is Colisa lalia. It is native to India, Bangladesh and Pakistan, and possibly to Myanmar, Nepal and Borneo. It is found in the tributaries of the Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers, and is found in slow moving streams and lakes, and can grow in flooded rice fields.
It has been introduced to Colombia, Singapore, Taiwan and Florida in the United States of America. It is probably established in these countries.
It has also been introduced to The Philippines and Canada, but I do not know if it is established in these two countries.
Size
As its name suggests this is one of the smaller gouramis. Although 10 centimetres (4 inches) is reported as a maximum size for this fish, most of the ones I see are more like 5 centimetres (2 inches) long. Water Conditions The normally recommended temperature range for this fish is 25 - 28 degrees C (77-83 degrees F). The Dwarf Gourami comes from the tropics, and is basically a tropical fish. However, part of its range includes waterways in the mountainous areas of India, and it has been reported in Nepal which is not a hot country. The places it has been introduced to are mainly tropical, but it is surviving in the wild in Florida where it has apparently escaped from fish farms. The climate of Florida is not tropical although it certainly does not get as cold as most of the United States. They have been bred outside in Germany (In the summer). A single specimen survived in a garden pond in the Adelaide Hills town of Mount Barker right through the winter. These observations suggest that at least some of this fish species have better cold tolerance than is generally recognised.
A pH of between 6.0 and 7.5; with a hardness of no more than about 19 dH is suitable for maintaining the adults.
Nitrite
The Dwarf Gourami seems to be particularly susceptible to nitrites. A good filter should be used to prevent the build up of nitrites, and the general level of cleanliness should be high. However, this fish comes from sluggish waterways and should not have turbulence in all parts of the tank.
Plants
It comes from water with a lot of plants, so it should be kept in well planted aquariums.
Food
Dwarf Gouramis are omnivores, and they are easy to feed with normal fish foods. These should be supplemented with live or frozen foods like Blood worms or Daphnia. It is one of the types of fish that is capable of shooting water droplets at insects above the water and knocking them into the water.
Breathing
The Dwarf Gourami is a labyrinth fish and can breathe air as well as water. This allows them to survive in still water which can be low in Oxygen. My own observations suggest that this fish cannot get all its Oxygen requirements from the air, and does need some dissolved Oxygen in the water.
Companions
The Dwarf Gourami is a peaceful fish and can be kept with most of the tetras and similar fish. I would avoid the smallest tetras like the Neon Tetra, and also any fin nipping fish.
I would not recommend it as a companion for any of the other Gouramis, nor for Siamese fighting fish or Paradise fish. I would also not put them with any of the livebearers like Guppies, and also not with Australian native fish like the Murray Cod. The reason for the exclusions in this paragraph is to reduce the possibility of transmission of Dwarf Gourami Iridovirus.
Steve Challis has many other fish fact sheets and other articles on http://www.bettatrading.com.au, including one article giving information about the Dwarf Gourami Iridovirus at http://www.bettatrading.com.au/Dwarf-Gourami-Fact-Sheet.php.
Article Source: EzineArticles
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