Simply put; No reef tank is complete without invertebrates. Invertebrates provide numerous benefits to the marine aquarium, the same way they do in nature. Algae and fish waste removal are two of the main benefits, however, there are countless others. In this article, we will discuss some specific groups of inverts and how they can help you keep your reef healthy.
The first group of inverts we will discuss are algae eaters. Algae eaters can help keep an aquarium looking clean and presentable during cycling, algae blooms and normal growth in an established aquarium. Nuisance algae such as cyanobacteria (red slime), brown diatoms, bubble algae, green algae and hair algae can all be battled with diet specific inverts. Select species of crabs, hermits, snails, sea slugs, sea urchins, and starfish can provide excellent algae control, as well as add color and diversity to the tank.
Another group of inverts to address are the detritus eaters. Detritus can be described as an organic matter that naturally occurs in the aquarium; some examples are leftover fish food and fish waste. Detritus can build up in the tank, dissolve in the water column and cause elevated levels of ammonia, which is the number one fish killer in home aquariums. To avoid this build-up of detritus, we can put invertebrates to work doing what they naturally do in the wild. Select species of crabs, hermits, shrimp, sea urchins, starfish, anemones and sea cucumbers can help keep detritus under control, therefore keeping water parameters in check and your fish healthy.
We have only begun to discuss the need for invertebrates in the reef aquarium. There are many interesting species to learn about, and many beautiful critters that can safely be kept with your fish and corals. A good mix of invertebrates can help you achieve a thriving, healthy aquarium with a 24-hour-a-day maintenance crew!
Two colorful female Siamese fighting fish (Betta splendens), also called "Siamese fighting fish" or simply "Bettas"
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Does a Siamese Fighting Fish need a filter? The answer is yes and no. A Siamese Fighting Fish is a labyrinth fish, meaning that it is capable of removing oxygen from the air as humans do. So unlike most fish, a Siamese Fighting Fish does not need a filter to oxygenate the water in their tank.
However, like most fish, a Siamese Fighting Fish has little tolerance for ammonia. Ammonia poisoning is a common cause of death in Siamese Fighting Fish, simply because not enough water changes were performed when necessary. Ammonia in high levels will kill a Siamese Fighting Fish but the levels before this are enough to weaken a Siamese Fighter's immune system, leaving them vulnerable to bacteria and fungus infections. And this is why a Siamese Fighting Fish needs a filter.
If you are not prepared or have the time to set water and do waters changes every couple of days, then you may need to look at putting a filter in with your Fighter. With a good established biological filter in your fighter tank, water changes may be cut by more than half. Note established biologically. This is not something that happens overnight or as soon as you turn your filter on. A good filter will work three ways in your tank, mechanical, chemical and biological.
Once you have set your filter up in your tank and turned it on the mechanical, which pulls debris into the filter starts working as well as the chemical aspect, removing certain, not all chemical and metals from the water. However, it is the biological aspect that confuses most people.
Biological refers to the good bacteria necessary to break down fish waste, leftover food, and other decaying matter. And there is only one way to get instant bacteria in a new filter, and that is by putting either sponges, bio-balls or filter wool from a filter that is already established into the new filter.
A simple water test will tell you if the filter is established or not. If the ammonia and nitrite readings are zero and there is a nitrate reading then the filter is established and some of its filter media may be used to seed the new filter. However, if there is any reading in either or both the ammonia and nitrite tests, then the filter is not fully established and not ready to seed a new filter. If asked some Local Pet Shops will sell you some of their filter media to seed your new filter if you do not have an established filter at home.
You can establish biological in your filter from scratch, which can take from six weeks to six months depending on the method you use. But using your Siamese Fighting Fish is not a good idea at all. There is a good chance that your Fighter will not survive the cycling process, even with the help of live bacteria cultures that are available on the market today. While this information may sound daunting, time-consuming or simply too difficult, ask yourself which do you prefer, water changes every couple of days or water changes when then nitrate reading is 20 (which depending on the size of your tank, filter and how you feed maybe once a fortnight or month)?
Your Siamese Fighting Fish will be happier and his immune system better with an established filter in his tank, providing him with cleaner water for longer. Just watch that the current produced by the filter is not too fast for his long flowing fins. If your Siamese Fighting Fish suddenly goes into hiding, then you will need to slow the water flow down. This can be achieved by either controlling the output of the filter or using a spray bar to diffuse the water over a larger area.
The last important thing to remember with filters is that when you rinse them out when you do a water change, DO NOT USE WATER FROM THE TAP. Councils adds chlorine to our water to kill bacteria and this is what will happen to the good bacteria that you need in your filter. Rinse your filter out in water from your tank and by doing so save the bacteria that you need.
Koi, or Nishikigoi, are quickly becoming popular in the United States. However, few know of their origins.
The first Koi were produced by breeding Carp such as the Asian and German Carp. After years of selective breeding, various color mutations started showing up. The first color patterns were recorded as early as 1805. Today, there are literally thousands of color variations available. The most popular colors found are white, silver, yellow, orange, red, black, blue and green. Combined with the patterns available, the possibilities are almost endless. Each noticeable pattern and color have their own names, which are typically as unique as the color they are referring too. Favorite types vary by country and location.
Koi are raised for purchase in countries like Japan, Singapore, Israel, and in the warmer American states such as Nevada and California. Koi can be purchased at most local pet stores. If they do not have stock on hand, typically they can be ordered. Ordering Koi has its advantages and disadvantages. You have more options when ordering Koi since you do not have to pick from the stock on hand, but the disadvantage lies in the fact that you will not be able to pick specific Koi.
Koi, unlike most other fish, will continue to grow until they reach their breeds dictated size, no matter the environment that they are in. Baby Koi can be found as small as 3 inches. Jumbo Koi have even been known to reach lengths of three feet or more. The most common size found is around two feet in length.
Koi are omnivorous fish, which means they will eat both meat and plants. This means that their diets are very versatile. Koi will eat pretty much anything that you put in the pond with them, no matter if it is good for them or not. Since Koi do not have a sense of what is bad and good for them, as their owner you must control their diet. Another potential problem is overfeeding treats. Again, Koi do not have the knowledge to know when to stop eating, and weight issues may come from overfeeding none nutritional foods. The healthiest treats for Koi are what they would find naturally in their ponds, such as earthworms and tadpoles, but it will not hurt to feed Koi treats such as Lettuce, bread, fruit, and veggies. You should pay special attention to the certain foods such as corn, beans, and grapes, as they contain an outer casing, which cannot be properly digested if swallowed by Koi. If you must feed this type of foods to your Koi, be sure to completely remove the outer casings before giving it to your Koi.
Koi are none-aggressive fish. This means that they are suitable to live with other fish such as goldfish or comets. The only issue you may find is smaller, less able fish may suffer from lack of food, as Koi are quick eaters. Koi are so mellow that they have even been known to be trained to eat out of their owner's hand. Koi do not have teeth so you will not get bit if you decide to attempt to feed your Koi out of your hand.
Koi have been known to live up to 30 years under the right conditions, so if you are thinking about buying Koi, you must consider this. The record for the oldest Koi is held by a Japanese Koi, who was 233 years old when he died.
There are two areas of introducing new fish into an aquarium that you must be aware of:
1. Fish Quarantine
Fish quarantine is one big, singular factor that must be observed strictly before you can be sure that your new fish is of good health and not an apostle of doom for the other inmates. Most new fishkeepers don’t take consider this very important factor.
For the benefit of intending aquarists, quarantine in the fish world refers to the physical and chemical treatment of new fishes (either imported or caught from the wild) to rid them of disease and restlessness before introduction into a new environment,
A small quarantine tank (30x20x25cm) is advisable for any serious aquarist. The alternative is to be sure that your pet shop has a functional quarantine section to cater for bacterial, fungal and viral diseases.
This is a sure guarantee against fish deaths. The unfortunate thing with most shops in the country is the lack of space and inadequate expertise to build and administer the prophylaxis procedure on new fish, as the procedure is sure to last at least nigh days! To the average aqua-investor, this is an unnecessary tie down of capital and you know what that means.
Admittedly, the expense incurred on quarantine by way of chemical purchase e.g. copper sulfate, wescodyne, malachite green, teremycin etc) is high. This is more or less reflected in the final sales price of the fish, which is slightly higher in our shop. But, this would pay you off in the long run, as it is unlikely that you will complain of fish deaths any longer.
I am quite sure, some fish farmers reading this column would be more concerned about the application of this procedure to solve their farm problems especially those with hatcheries or those who stock with post-fry and fingerlings.
2. Feeding New Fish
When you just introduce a new fish to aquarium tank it’s necessary to feed the fish. Though this will not be instant because no matter how carefully you add the fish to your aquarium tank they will look very unhappy for a while.
Thus it’s necessary that you turn the flights out, and leave them overnight to get used to their new home first before thinking of feeding them. Then feed fish with aquarium fish food with fish flakes the next day, this will make the fish feel at home.
If you already have an established tank, it is advisable to quarantine new fish before adding them to an existing populated, and the cheapest way to do this is to purchase a plastic tank which will need no gravel or plants.
This can be used solely for quarantine and as a hospital tank. Leave the fish in this tank for about three days during which any disease harbored by the fish would be evident for which it can be treated using available chemicals from your dealer. The fish can then be introduced into the tank in the same way as before.
When you add new fish to an established community, there will probably be a certain amount of harassment of the new arrivals by the original fish. Try to divert their attention by giving them a good feed when the fish are introduced.
The suckermouth catfish was named Acipenser plecostomus in 1758.
A pleco fish is a bottom-feeding/algae-eating fish typically acquired for freshwater aquariums originally from South America.
They are those "sucker fish".
Plecos prefer warmer water and are pretty self-sufficient.
They eat the green algae in the tank and excess food off the bottom that the other fish can't or don't.
They clean when you don't want to.
One of the girls at the pet store loved them, one hated them.
Why?
Well, the girl that loved them loved them for all the reasons I mentioned above plus they are laid back fish...They'll find a small crevice or spot to hide during daylight and chill out. Then, they'll come out at night and clean/eat but keep to themselves.
The girl that hated them found that they grow very quickly and "when they poop, the pieces are long and stringy that float around the tank".
The first girl never felt she had this problem with her plecos at home.
Personally, I went home to ponder these dilemmas, as I was preparing for a trip away from home for 1.5 weeks.
What Did I Do?
I got 1 very small pleco, the smallest one I could find, to assist with the cleaning of the tank while I was away.
Apparently, my mother says the tank looks immaculate...although I only have 1 goldfish in the 10-gallon tank with it.
* By The Way: The pleco did a wonderful job...no algae in site 1.5 weeks later! We named him Mr Klean - Yes, another "K" name...LOL!
Loaches, also bottom feeders, are an option but seem to bother the other fish in the tank, from my observations...They never stop moving around. They are "Old World" freshwater fish coming from riverine environments throughout Morocco and Eurasia.
Female Apistogramma nijsseni in mating colors (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
It is not very difficult setting up a cichlid aquarium. This can be done by yourself with ease if you know how to go about the process.
The most important aspect is to choose the right sized aquarium for your cichlids. If you are a beginner, then it is recommended to choose a 20-gallon large aquarium. This will ensure that your cichlids have enough space to move around and do not fight with each other. It is also easy to maintain larger aquariums.
Fit a water pump and filter in your cichlid aquarium as fishes survive best in toxic-free, clean water.
Decorating the cichlid aquarium is an interesting process. Here, it is important to recreate their original habitat. Items you can put into the aquarium include limestone, sand, gravel, flat stones, mini caves, hardy plants, overturned flower pots and structures that can act as a hideout for your cichlids. Apart from enhancing the decor, flat stones are used by cichlids to lay eggs and the PH level of water is neutralized by sand and gravel.
Choose a cichlid aquarium with a lid. Being very aggressive, there are chances of cichlids jumping out of the aquarium. Be sure to leave enough opening for an exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide.
Keep your cichlid aquariums in a permanent place preferably away from any heat source including direct sunlight as heat is bad for them. As far as possible, do not move them around too much.
To ensure that cichlids are not affected by the temperature in your area, it is a good idea installing a water heater inside the aquarium. This will keep the tank temperature constant. In order to allow for stabilizing of water and to ensure that chlorine has evaporated completely, it is recommended to wait for a day after setting up the aquarium to put the cichlids in.
Setting up the cichlid aquarium is only the first step. You must ensure that they do not fight among them and live in a happy and comfortable manner. Here are a few tips -
Begin with just a small group of fish or maybe with just one cichlid. In a new aquarium, it takes quite some time for the nitrogen cycle to run smoothly. It is therefore not recommended to crowd the aquarium initially.
Be sure to keep the cichlid aquarium clean and tidy. At least once a month, ensure that you clean it without using soap as soap can leave a residue that is toxic and harmful for cichlids.
Do not overfeed your cichlids as too much food can make them sick. Excess food in the water can also deteriorate the quality of aquarium water.
It is recommended to change cichlid aquarium water every day. Clean the filters on a regular basis and ensure a twenty-five percent change every week.
Mixing other fishes with cichlids must be done carefully. Choose fishes that live in the same kind of habitat as the cichlids to ensure that they survive.
A well set up cichlid aquarium can keep your cichlids healthy and happy. Life of your cichlids can be prolonged by taking care of safety, providing water of good quality and ensuring proper diet. Take the advice of experienced cichlid owners or do your own research to find out everything you need to know about cichlids before purchasing them.
