Fact Sheet: PENGUIN TETRA - Thayeria boehlkei and T. obliqua

The Penguin Tetra is actually two related species, Thayeria boehlkei and Thayeria obliqua. The easily seen differences between these species are quite small. Both species have a tendency to swim in a tail down position, but this is more pronounced in Thayeria obliqua. Thayeria obliqua has a shorter black line than Thayeria boehlkei, and Thayeria obliqua grows a little bigger although these are both small fish.

Penguin Tetra (Thayeria boehlkei) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The species most often available in aquarium shops is Thayeria boehlkei. Some people prefer to keep the name Penguin Tetra for Thayeria obliqua and call Thayeria boehlkei the False Penguin Tetra. There are several other common names for this fish, some of them, like Penguinfish, Penguin Fish, etc are also based on its perceived resemblance to a penguin, while others like Short Striped Thayeria do not. In Australia, it is often sold as a Hockey Stick Tetra. Certainly the shape of the prominent black line is reminiscent of the shape of a hockey stick.

Thayeria boehlkei grows to about one and a half inches (4cm) long while Thayeria obliqua can get a little bit bigger. They come from the Amazon River and its tributaries in Brazil and Peru, preferring slow moving stretches with a lot of plants.

Water conditions

The Penguin Tetra is actually two related species, Thayeria boehlkei and Thayeria obliqua. The easily seen differences between these species are quite small. is a tropical fish. 24 degrees C (75 degrees F) is a suitable temperature to set your thermostat. The water they are used to in the wild is soft and acid, but in captivity they will adjust to neutral pH and some hardness. The penguin Tetra does better in clean water and care needs to be taken with the water quality. They are sensitive to Ammonia, Nitrite and excessive concentrations of Nitrate.

Food

Like many tetras, the Penguin Tetra is an easily fed omnivore. It will eat all normal aquarium foods, but will enjoy some live food like mosquito larvae and Daphnia. Frozen foods, including frozen blood worms are also appreciated.

Companions

The Penguin Tetra is a peaceful schooling fish. I suggest a minimum of four, and preferably more be kept together. They can be kept with most small, reasonable peaceful fish, including: Red Eye Tetras, Neon Tetras, Cardinal Tetras, Silvertip Tetras, Gold Barbs, Cherry Barbs, Pristella Tetras, Rummy Nose Tetras, Harlequin Rasboras, Scissortail Rasboras, Lemon Tetras, Emperor Tetras, Head and Tail Light Tetras, Glass Bloodfin Tetras, Swordtails, Platies, Mollies, Zebra Danios, Glowlight Tetras, White Cloud Mountain Minnows, Black Widow Tetras, Rosy Barbs, Tiger Barbs, Paraguay Tetras, Buenos Aires Tetras and Colombian Tetras, as well as the Corydoras catfish like the Peppered Catfish.

A school of Penguin Tetras can usually even be kept with slow long finned fish like Siamese Fighting Fish, Guppies and Endlers Guppies.

Sexing

There is not much difference between the sexes of the Penguin Tetra, but when in breeding condition, the females get a rounder belly.

Breeding

Thayeria boehlkei is the Penguin Tetra most likely to be available in shops and this fish is reasonably easy to breed. I suggest a water level lowered to about 6 inches (15cm) acidic and very soft water with a temperature of about 27 degrees C (81 degrees F). There should be fine leaved, bushy plants in the breeding tank.

The Penguin Tetra is a prolific breeder in the sense of producing a lot of eggs. A female of this little fish with a very well rounded belly can produce as many as 3000 eggs. These are very small. The male produces a large amount of sperm to try to fertilize all these eggs, and this can contribute to fouling the water. Partial water changes are recommended to maintain the high quality of water that the fry need. The addition of an aquarium fungicide is recommended to help protect the eggs from fungus early on. The eggs should hatch in as little as 12-18 hours. The babies are very small, and need protozoa (infusoria) at first.

Pest Fish

Although the Penguin Tetra is a delight in an aquarium, as with all pets, do not allow them to get into ecosystems they are not native to. Aquarist are frequently blamed for this, and there is no doubt that there are cases of accidental, or deliberate, release of fish by aquarists, but my own research suggests that the worst culprits for this historically have been governments and their departments.

By Steve Challis Steve Challis has many other fish fact sheets and other articles on http://www.bettatrading.com.au. Article Source: EzineArticles

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Tips on EIBLI ANGELFISH Care

Eibli Angelfish or Centropyge eibli are members of the family Pomacanthidae. This species is indigenous to the western Indo-Pacific. Geographical locations stem from Sri Lanka to Malaysia. This species inhabits reef formations from depths of 30 to 100 feet.

"Centropyge eibli"  Licensed under GPL via Commons.

Ebilies are larger dwarf angles reaching an adult length of up to 6 inches. Their pale gray primary body coloring is accentuated by thin orange or red vertical banding from just behind their heads to shortly before the base of their caudal fins. The most posterior region of their body and their tail fin is black. This fish is further accented with blue highlights. The top of their heads and their anal fins are overcast in blue for an overall grayish-blue effect. Dorsal, caudal and anal fins are rimmed in pale blue. Anal fins have curved orange markings prior to the blue rimming. These fish often have a hint of orange around their eyes and orange underbellies. This species is known by the names red stripe angelfish, blacktail angel, or Eibli's (in the possessive form) angelfish.

If you are a novice aquarist, this species is the perfect choice for your first angelfish in a multi-species aquarium. They are a dwarf angelfish so they do not require an aquarium the size of a small swimming pool. They can be housed in a tank as small as 30 gallons. They have an easy care rating so they are more likely to survive and even thrive in inexperienced hands. These are mild mannered fish but are assertive enough to hold their own against bullies. This means they can be house with a vast array of species of varying size and temperament. Eiblies can even be kept with large, more territorial angelfish. Of course never raising a marine species with larger more aggressive fish is advisable. Cardinalfish, gobies, tilefish, butterflyfish, fairy basslets and wrasse of less aggressive natures will all make excellent tank mates.

A small community of ebilies can be raised together provided they have adequate swimming room and plenty of hiding places. You should only keep multiples in the same aquarium if they are introduced as juveniles. These fish will exhibit territorial behavior toward other dwarf angle species. They are considered semi-reef safe. A juvenile that learns to derive its nutritional needs from aquarium food and grazing on live rocks will be far less likely to nibble at corals or ornamental clams and crustaceans than and adult introduced to the same reef environment.

Dwarfs are omnivorous. Juveniles are planktonic feeders. Adults live on worms, small crustaceans and mollusks and algae in disproportionate quantities. When keeping any species of angelfish an abundant supply of well established cured live rock is mandatory. A good quality marine angelfish food can be supplemented with chopped fresh clams and shrimp. Frozen preparations for omnivores are acceptable. If keeping multiples it is essential to their health to have a large enough algae base to sustain them. Dried algae sheets or frozen algae will help ensure their nutritional needs are adequately addressed.

In nature, these are harem fish. A single male is charged with the keeping of up to half a dozen females and as many as a dozen juveniles. This same community environment can be emulated in captivity by the introduction of several juveniles to an aquarium. This is a protogynous synchronous hermaphroditic species. Juveniles are always female. The largest, most dominant of the bunch, will transition into a male and take custodianship of his harem. This species rarely breeds in captivity.

A note of interest: Eibli Angelfish are exceedingly scarce off the shores of Bali and Flores, Indonesia. As a result, ebilies are known to breed with pearlscale angelfish (C. vrolikii). Their hybrids are typically very light gray with faint orange striping. The commercial availability of these hybrids is becoming more commonplace as an exportable community from Indonesia. Another hybrid variation occurs off the coasts of Christmas, Coco-Keeling Islands and Western Australia. These are the offspring of coupling between the Eibli and Lemonpeel dwarf angels (C. flavissima). These hybrids are a rare and coveted find in the marine retail industry.

By Stephen J Broy Technological advancements in the aquarium industry continually redefine the concept of "home aquarium owner." Just twenty years ago not even the biggest public aquarium was capable of keeping jellyfish alive in captivity. Now they make desktop Jellyfish Fish Tank Aquariums. And why would you want a jellyfish tank? Perhaps you should check out what the translucent bodies of Pet Moon Jellyfish look like under LED lighting. Pet Jellyfish give a whole new meaning to the term exotic pets. Article Source: EzineArticles

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BEIJING (Peking) AQUARIUM

Covering an area of 120,000 square meters, Beijing Aquarium is the biggest aquarium equipped with the most advanced facilities in Asia, and it is located in Beijing Zoo with Beijing Exhibition Center and Beijing Planetarium to the south, which combines recreation, popular science education with tourism perfectly as one.

"Beijing aquarium". Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Commons.

The aquarium is trumpet shell-shaped with blue and orange colors as background, fully representing the vast ocean and the infinite vitality of the marine creatures, and there are over 50,000 fishes available in the aquarium. Beijing Aquarium is composed of six theme exhibition areas, namely, the Tropical Forest Wonder, the Touch Pool, the Undersea Loop, the Shark Hall, the Dolphin-Whale Bay and the Oceanic Theater.

It seems as if you were in the mysterious Amazon Primitive Forest when walking past the winding path, vivid rockery, tumbling waterfalls, the old bridges, the gentle streams and exotic sculptures in the Tropical Forest Wonder, and there are 22 tanks collecting different kinds of fishes from the oceans and the freshwater rivers scattering among the "forest" and "rocks", including Blood parrot fish, sea elephants, giant salamanders, and anglerfishes. The simulated coastline in the Touch Pool is 48 meters long, where you can touch various marine creatures in person, including sea hedgehogs, sea anemones, starfish, soldier crabs and horseshoe crabs, and you can also walk on the "white sand beach" and listen to the murmuring of the sea waves here.

The main exhibits in the Shark Hall include white-tip sharks, tiger sharks, white sharks and Carcharhinus melanopterus, where the interactive activities are available at regular time in the forms of Man Dancing with Sharks and Feeding Sharks, creating an happy atmosphere for the visitors. The Dolphin-Whale Bay is the home to many marine creatures, where the clever dolphins practice their dancing postures and the clumsy sea lions play with the balls, receiving one ripple of laughter after another from the visitors.

The Oceanic Theater affords a romantic Hawaii-style seafront view and it can accommodate 3,000 visitors, which is the favourite of the children, and the main performances include Rocket & Flying Man Performance (two dolphins lifting men to a great height with their mouths as if launching a rocket), Dolphins Dancing with Man Performance and Dolphin Heading Balls.

The attractions nearby Beijing Aquarium include Beijing Zoo, Great Awakening Temple, the Phoenix Mountain, Capital Indoor Stadium, the Fragrant Hill Park, the Ruins of Yuanming Garden (the Old Summer Palace), Azure Cloud Temple, Chinese Millennium Monument and Baiwangshan Forest Park.

By Young M Qingwei I am a professional writer to write articles on tourism, and more information about Beijing Travel and Beijing Aquarium are available in my service. Please free free to ask any question on tourism, and your questions are always welcome. Article Source: EzineArticles

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FLOWERHORN FISH

Flowerhorn Fish

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White Spot (Ichthyophthirius) in Tropical Fish

One of the most common diseases encountered by tropical fish hobbyists, is the common parasite known as "ick" or "ich", for ichthyophthirius. In most cases, white spots on a fish's scales are the first sign noticed, although it's possible fish may begin rubbing themselves against objects as well, since it's a very irritating condition.

Two juvenile clown loaches with ich. The second can be seen hiding in the ornament. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In severe cases, the fish may even have a gray slimy appearance to their body. By the time obvious symptoms develop, your tank would be well-infested. In the initial stage, the parasite will burrow under the fish's scales and skin, where it lingers, feeding off the skin cells and blood of its host until it's fully developed.

The Ich then breaks through the skin of the fish and falls off into the water, landing on the substrate where it forms a cyst, and begins to multiply, producing up to 1,000 new parasites. The entire life cycle can take as little as 4-6 days.

Because the most vulnerable stage is when they are free swimming, it will be necessary to treat the entire tank, because once a parasite has started to replicate, the tank is already contaminated. You can however, remove severely infected fish to a hospital tank for some extra, topical treatments to try and help it recover, and to prevent secondary infections.

The home tank should be treated by raising the temperature four degrees, and adding a small amount of aquarium salt. Any inhabitants that can't tolerate the salt, should be moved to their own, separate tank until the original one is free of parasites. Medications for adding to the water are available at your fish supply store. Remember that because of their life cycle, and needing to treat the free swimming stage, you will need to medicate the tank every few days, and the entire course of treatment can take up to three weeks.

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IGUANA Facts - What a Newbie Needs to Know

If this is the first time that you'll be caring for an iguana, then it's probably best to acquaint yourself with the anatomy and basic behaviors of an iguana. By educating yourself, it will be easier to tell when there's something wrong with your new pet reptile. These are a few basic iguana facts you should know.

Adult male iguana (Iguana iguana) in Morikami Gardens, Delray Beach, Florida
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Iguanas Require Heat and UV Light

Iguanas are reptiles and, therefore, they need a consistent supply of heat and Ultra violet rays to stay healthy. Iguanas won't be able to function in habitat with a temperature which is lower than 79 degrees.

Ultra violet rays are necessary so the iguana is able to metabolize calcium and other minerals. Without Ultra violet rays, your iguana will probably experience bone mineral disorders that frequently result in their death.

Iguana Behavioral Characteristics

Iguanas can seem to be threatened fairly easily, and when you don't observe their mannerisms and behavior closely enough you may get bitten or hit by its massive tail. Unlike cats and dogs, iguanas will not vocalize a lot before biting, so be careful particularly if the iguana hasn't been fully tamed.

When you first bring your new pet home do not over handle him or overexpose him to strangers. 

It will take a few weeks to gradually acclimate him to his new environment. Once he is comfortable in his new surrounding, begin to socialize him gradually and the bonding process will go much better.

The dewlap, or the large wad of skin beneath the iguana's jowls, is additionally used to communicate. In the wild, an iguana may raise its head to extend the dewlap to signal a basic "Hello" to members of its own species.

An extended dewlap may also mean that it is attempting to protect its territory from the human owner or from other iguanas. During mating season an extended dewlap may mean "I desire to mate". This only applies should there be female iguanas in the same enclosure, and it's mating season.

If your iguana has been tamed, and is used to your presence, an extended dewlap may signify it is just a little drafty and it's making an attempt to make itself feel warmer.

Iguana Mannerisms

Head Bobbing: I am the man of the house?

Head Bobbing: (to owner) "Howdy Mate!"

Head Bobbing: (fast, laterally then up and down) I'm threatened do not go near me!

Tongue Flicking: Just exploring the air. Possibly eating something.

Tongue Flicking: I'm about to take a bite from something.

Sneezing: I'm purging my system of something.

Tail Whipping: I'm planning to attack.?

Squirming Around: I do not like being held.

Head and Front Legs Stretching: I feel great and I feel good!

Iguana Anatomy

Just like other reptiles, your iguana has a set of eyes that have evolved to scan the environment for food and potential predators. It has a pair of ears that are protected by a fairly wide element of skin called the subtympanic shield.

The iguana also forms spines along its back; these pliable spines are called the caudal spines and, as time passes, these grow in length and become harder. Iguanas also have a flap of skin under their lower jaw known as the dewlap.

Iguanas are herbivorous (they are nourished by plants only), so they are equipped with small, yet very sharp, teeth that are designed to tear apart fibrous plant matter. Be cautious when bringing your hands near the iguana's mouth, because those teeth can cause serious tears in your skin. If you look closely at the top of the iguana's head, you will observe a prominent, light patch of scale.

This is called the parietal eye, or third eye. The iguana uses its third eye to detect changes in light in a given area. It is thought this primordial eye is also used to detect flying predators, hence the iguana can make a run for cover before becoming another animal's lunch or dinner.

It is essential to learn about iguana behavior and mannerisms. The basic facts discussed in the article should help to decipher your iguana's moods. Don't forget that no two iguanas are exactly alike so you must also learn the personality of your new pet. Ask questions and gather as much information as possible to ensure that your iguana is long lived well cared for.

By Samuel Boothe Sam Boothe has been keeping reptiles since childhood. Learn more about iguanas and iguana care at http://iguanacare-site.com to ensure your new pet lives a long and happy life. Article Source: EzineArticles

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Everything You Need To Know About LIVE ROCK

Every reef is built upon solid rock. It's not quite the same as the rock you might find in your backyard, however. Instead, it's rock that has literally grown in place as corals have lived and died. Over countless seasons the skeletons these corals leave behind accumulate and eventually fuse to become solid rock. But, solid as it may be, this rock is still fairly soft and so, quite commonly, pieces of it break free from the reef- most often during heavy storms. These broken bits of rock are what is collected and sold as live rock. The rock itself is no longer alive. However, it is teeming with life

Photo by Moto@Club4AG

This life offers all sorts of benefits to the aquarists from improving water quality to providing your fish and corals with a home away from home to being just plain gorgeous.

Life

Live rock is home to all sorts of wonderful and beneficial lifeforms. Probably the most obvious is coralline algae. Good quality live rock will be covered in the stuff giving it a pink to purple coloration. Unlike most algae this is one you actually want in your tank. It's an encrusting type of algae that leaves behind a calcareous skeleton much like coral- hence the name. In fact this algae contributes a fair amount to building the reef rock itself and can actually fuse rocks together over a long enough time in your tank. So why would you want this algae? For one, it's beautiful. Purple is the most common color followed by pink.

However, it also comes in lots of other colors including red, green, blue, and yellow. Besides the looks the other benefit is that it can out compete the less than desirable algae. Coralline algae will encrust over the bare rock leaving nuisance algae nowhere to grab hold.

There's a lot more than just coralline algae living on, and in, live rock, though. It abounds with all sorts of tiny shrimps, crabs, worms, sponges, snails, and other interesting sea creatures. All together the wide variety of critters found on and in live rock can begin to build an actual food chain within your tank- ending with your fish and corals getting a healthy source of live food.

Filtration

Beyond the looks and the free meals live rock actually also serves a very important role in filtration. As it is incredibly porous it provides loads and loads of surface area to grow beneficial bacteria. A healthy and strong biological filter is extremely important in marine aquarium setups and live rock offers the perfect solution. Indeed in a marine tank the bulk of the biological filtration can actually be handled by a sufficient amount of live rock. Of course supplementing it with other sources doesn't hurt either.

Natural Beauty

The last important reason to use live rock is purely for aesthetics, both for you and for your fish. When keeping fish in captivity one of the goals should be to provide them with an environment that feels like home. There's no better way to accomplish that than to provide them with what is essentially a literal chunk of their natural habitat. Reef fish spend their entire lives in close proximity to the rock that forms the reef's foundation and rely heavily on it for food and shelter. It's an integral part of their lives. When keeping a marine tank the goal of most aquarists is to achieve something resembling nature and live rock fits the bill quite nicely.

So, when you go shopping for live rock for the first time you may be a bit lost on what you should get. Even with something as simple sounding as rock there are quite a few options. The options relate mostly to where the rock originates from as well as how much work has been put into getting it ready for your tank prior to your purchase.

Cured Or Uncured

When live rock is collected and shipped it is typically packed in bags with a minimal amount of water- really only enough to keep the rock moist. As a result when it arrives at its destination a large percentage of what was alive when it was collected has died. As you can imagine this makes it less than suitable for placement into your tank. The process of cleaning the rock up and getting it ready for entry into your tank is known as curing. The basic idea is to place the rock into a bare bones setup and let the die-off happen. The rock is regularly cleaned and eventually stabilizes and the life begins to regrow at which point it's ready for the main display.

So when you shop for live rock you are likely to see both cured and uncured rock for sale. Knowing what curing is, these names are pretty straightforward. Do note that cured rock can only be placed straight into an established tank if it is purchased locally, though. Any shipped rock, cured or otherwise, will experience die-off and so will need to be recured. The process will be much quicker with rock that was cured before shipping, however, and if you can get cured rock from a local store it can go straight into your tank.

So, why would you want to buy uncured rock? Cost. Uncured rock is much cheaper. The downside is of course that you need to do the curing yourself. It's not a difficult process, although it does take a few weeks and can be a bit messy. As a side note uncured rock can also be quite interesting. You truly never know what will emerge from the rock as the process proceeds.

Types Of Live Rock

There are a few types of rock as well that you are likely to encounter when you begin shopping. For the most part the difference between the types refers to the location from which they were collected but there are a few other categories to look out for.

Base Rock

When live rock starts to accumulate in the sand surrounding the reef some of it naturally ends up on the bottom of the pile. This rock has essentially the same structure as normal live rock and is loaded with beneficial bacteria just the same, but is more or less bare on the surface. This of course makes it rather bland to look at, but on the plus side it is cheap. So why would you want it? Well, when you start piling up the live rock in your tank you're likely to need some pieces to form the foundation. Using base rock for this means less of your beautiful top quality rock has to get buried.

Pacific Live Rock

Typically you will see Pacific rock sold under the name of the island it hails from- most commonly Fiji live rock. You may also occasionally see rock from Tonga, the Marshall Islands, or Indonesia. The rocks from different locations can have different appearances that can be great for achieving just the right look in your tank. Tonga live rock, for example, is often very branch-like. Pacific rock is generally the best quality as it is very porous and often loaded with all sorts of interesting creatures and heavily encrusted with coralline algae. When shopping for live rock this is most commonly what you will see.

Caribbean Live Rock

Also sometimes labeled as Atlantic or Gulf rock, or after one of the various islands in the region, Caribbean live rock comes from, well, the Caribbean. Quality can vary quite a bit from the different locations, but in general Caribbean live rock is more lackluster in appearance and often a bit on the heavy side. The price usually reflects this, although it's not actually that common to even see it for sale anymore.

Aqua Cultured Live Rock

The aqua culturing process for live rock works a little different than it does for fish or corals, which is done fully in captivity. The process for live rock actually takes place in the sea. Terrestrially mined rock, usually limestone or something similar, is deposited on the sea floor and left to be colonized for a year or more. This is a more eco-friendly option compared to harvested natural rock but the drawback is the quality. The majority of aqua cultured rock comes from the Caribbean so much like natural Caribbean rock it lacks the diversity you see in Pacific rock. Furthermore, it lacks much of the complex shapes you see in natural rock. Finally, depending on the type rock that was used it may be very heavy and rather non-porous.

So, how much rock do you need? Around 1 to 2 pounds per gallon usually does the trick. However, as a natural product, the density can vary quite a bit and so it may take more or less to achieve the desired look you're going for. The shape of your aquarium may affect how much rock you need as well.

The creatures of the reef are tightly woven community- reliant on one another for their very survival. And while recreating the diversity and bounty of the ocean within the confines of a small glass box situated in your living room is nigh impossible, it is always the goal. Live rock delivers an entire community of mircoorganisms to your aquarium and brings it closer to being a true ecosystem than any other method. Likewise, there's no better way to recreate the visual aesthetics of the reef than to use what is essentially actual pieces of reef. It's like having your own little spice of the ocean to admire.

By Kevin A. K. Keeping a marine aquarium setup is easy with the right knowledge. Learn everything you need to know at aquarium-setup.net. Article Source: EzineArticles

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