Exploring DIFFERENT FISHES

The discus, Symphysodon spp.,
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

If you had the chance to explore all saltwater and freshwater fish, it would take you thousands of years. Therefore, if you are just starting in fish care and aquariums you want to learn minimal details on starter fish. Everyone has their own notion as to which fish are best for starters, therefore my goal is to inform you, rather than instruct on starter fish. Still, I will provide you helpful information that you can use to sort through aggressive and passive fish. The passive, peaceful, and easy to maintain fish are in my opinion the best fish for starters. Now we start with the Symphysodon aequifasciata and s. discus fish, which is known as the Discus Fish.

The name alone would make the common starter take a run for a name they could pronounce, yet the fish name is a scare, which denounces the fish’s identity. This fancy fish is brilliantly colored in aqua green with a brownish tint that offsets his eyes, small mouth, and black marked body. The Discus is one of the tropical fish that lives in freshwater. Discuss prefers water temperatures set at 82 degrees and no higher than 88 degrees Fahrenheit. The pH level should set at 6.0 and not beyond 6.5. Density: 3 to 5 degrees:

The Discus is slow feeders that tend to reside by themselves. The fish will live in communal tank water, yet they will find their own corners to hang. Some of the recommended fish to share space with the Discus is the smaller and peaceful Corydoras catfish, cardinal tetras, and the Rasbora. Few of the Discus fish are decorated in bright cyan red and turquoise, which makes the fish appealing to tank water. Before you purchase discus breeds, take care to review the health of these fish. It is next to impossible to save an ill discus’s life.

Discus has a shy nature. The peaceful fish enjoys slowness, and is finicky when dining. The foodstuff desired includes, live bait, frozen foods, beef heart shredded, Tubifex, etc. You want to avoid Tubifex although the fish enjoy the meal well, since these fish are prone to disease. You can feed the pet Tubifex, yet it is advised that you wash the foodstuff carefully.

A pair of bettas spawning under a bubble nest.
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

If you want to feed a fancier fish, then checkout the Bettas, Gouramies and the Fighting Siamese Fish. The fish spread out in the waters of Asia and live well in aquariums. The fancy fish including the Siamese Fighting Fish, Fighting Cocks, and the Strains are popular fish that has been spotted on live sporting events. The fish are commonly exploited in Thailand’s’ land. The fish enjoy battling. Most of the fish available have a variety of colors to select from, including the beautiful shimmering red fish, blue fish, bicolor fish, and so on. Albinos are available as well.

In all fish are summed up as saltwater (Marine) fish or freshwater (Non-Marine) fish. The Freshwater fish include tropical fish and the coldwater fish. The tropical is more desirable for starters in fish care and aquarium keep. At pet stores, online, etc, you will find a wide array of tropical, saltwater, and coldwater fish.

Keep in mind that Marine fish are more prone to saltwater, since the fish come from salty marine waters, such as the seas, oceans, etc. Freshwater fish tend to come from rivers, lakes, streams, ponds, and so on. Having an idea of what type of water the fish dwells in can give you a running start to figuring out what type of water is best suited for your fish. Still, most pet stores provide instructions, which you should read carefully in your fish care expedition. Don’t forget the filtration systems.

Article Directory: Article Dashboard

---

---

BARBS and PUNTIUS Aquarium Fish - Tip On Their Care

Learning about fish care and how to maintain an aquarium is very important if you want to own fish. As living beings fish need a lot of attention, some food, oxygen, water and a clean environment to live in. You need to make a commitment if want fish to take care of, but if you want something easier to look after then you should, perhaps, collect rocks instead. In today's modern world, the aquariums are quite self-sufficient with tanks that have alls sorts of switches with controls to regulate them. 

Pentazona Barb, P. pentazona
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

There are lights, filters, pumps, food, dosage control and many other gadgets which you can purchase. You can soon learn how to look after after fish and plants without much stress over whether the water conditions are right and if it is pure enough. You can buy testing kits to measure the waters chemical intake, so that you can correct it if necessary. There are breeds of fish that you might want to consider when setting up your aquarium

Barbs belong to the largest groups of fish with many varieties for your aquarium and its waters. These fish are made up of colourful patterns and are usually happy in nature. Being very fish they are not too fussy when it comes to water conditions so are the easiest to feed. This is a good choice of fish to breed. Barbs will grow to 2 inches, 3 inches, or a larger size. Separate them and put them in communal tanks, with the smaller ones together, and the larger ones in a separate tank. The larger ones are nice to look out but will rip apart such goodies as the plants in the aquarium. Read up on all you can about the larger barbs which can brew up some trouble in a tank. As these fish breed, you should feed infusoria to the fry right from the beginning. Saltwater shrimp can be digested by the larger barbs.

How Barbs Live

A large, well oxyenated tank is preferable for barbs so it has plenty of room to swim around in. Smaller tanks make them feel stressed and more likely to cause some sort of disturbance.

The Eggs

When barbs lay their eggs they stick, so the aquarium should be laid with pebble all over the bottom, with plants of a high volume which is the ideal habitat for them. It is optional to place nylon and willow root. These fish are greedy, and the adult fish should be removed from the tank after spawning, as they will the youngsters.

The Red Barb or the Rosy Barb fish are the commonly known Puntius Conchonius. They originate from India, growing to a size of 2 1/2 inches. These fish have bodies of a silvery colour which light up well in a good, clean tank, showing off their deep rosy red. They can also change to a pale green shade. There are black tints which set off their fins. This fish is energetic, but has a quiet, calm nature. They are better off houses with fish of a similar size due to its boisterous side.

The Water Condition

The Puntius live in waters which are quite neutral and alkaline, and also the moderately hard waters. Temperatures of the water should be set at 78 degrees Fahrenheit. This is a choice fish if you are breeding for the first time as it will eat anything and likes to eat well. They spawn up to 300 layers.

Puntius Nigrofasciatus are closely related to the Puntius Conchonius which fish known as the Purple Head Barbs or the Black Ruby. These fish dwell in Ceylon and grow up to a size of around 2 1/2 inches. The males are different in colour to the females which usually have dark stripes, vertical to a body of yellowish-grey. Also an easy fish to breed, most water conditions are tolerated and foods too.

By Abhishek Agarwal Abhishek is an avid Fish Lover and he has got some great Aquarium Care Secrets up his sleeves! Article Source: EzineArticles

---

---

Exotic Pets: HERMIT CRAB

Hermit Crabs have no directly relation to crabs. They come from the super family Paguroidea. They are named as ‘hermit’ crabs because it is their characteristic to occupy abandoned seashells. They do this to protect their delicate abdomen. Nearly five hundred species of hermit crabs are known to exist and most of them live in water. They live in colonies of approximately hundred occupants.

A blue-legged hermit crab cleaning shells in an aquarium
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

As the hermit crab grows it changes its shell and searches for a bigger one. Also, hermit crabs with well fitting shells grow faster than the ones with tight shell and the later ones becomes a prey very easily. But the availability of abandoned shells is less and hence the hermit crabs fight each other so as to get ownership of a shell. The number of shells available depends on the population of gastropods around. Very rarely do hermit crabs trade each other’s shells. The new shell will be selected if it is at least one-third bigger than the present shell. The hermit crabs also have a tough exoskeleton, which doesn’t grow with the hermit crab. But the crab shed this exoskeleton and grows another one very fast. This process is known as molting. Molting cannot be determined before hand, but hermit crab does become inactive and may bury itself in the gravel for two weeks. A small hermit crab molts once a month and larger crabs molt once every eighteen months.

Hermit crabs are even kept as exotic pets. Pet owners like them because they are the one requiring least-maintenance of all the exotic pets. They do not grow more than the size of a peach and can be kept in a normal aquarium. They are scavengers and feed on algae and debris formed in the aquarium. Many of the species of the hermit crabs are part of the marine aquarium trade, some are herbivorous and some are omnivorous. Blue legged crab, zebra hermit crab, red reef hermit crabs, common hermit crab and red tip crab some of the types of hermit crabs which are kept as pets. The most desirable of them is the red reef hermit crab or scarlet hermit crab. It has a bright red body with yellow colored eyestalks. But some even grow to nearly twelve inches and feed on clams, corals, and crustaceans.

The aquatic hermit crabs live in salt water with salinity ranging from 1.023 to 1.025. The temperature should vary from seventy-five degree Fahrenheit to eighty degree Fahrenheit for the tropical species. The aquarium gravel bed should be filled with algae and they should also be provided with different types of shells for the hermit crab, to choose from. If they have a larger option they will change their shells frequently, which is an interesting activity to be watched. Food dishes can also be added as a landscape, but the dishes should be low so that the hermit crab can climb out of it. Even other activities like digging, climbing, etc. are very interesting to observe.

They should be fed and watered daily. Commercial food is available at the pet store. But along with that, fresh vegetables and fruits can also be added to the diet. Care must be taken that the fruit or the vegetable shouldn’t be left in the aquarium for more than one day or else it will contaminate the water. The gravel must be removed and the tank should be washed every month. They also must be watered, meaning that everyday they need to be sprinkled with lukewarm water. This applies for land hermit crabs.

It is very easy to train a hermit crab. Training is more like playing. The hand must be held out and the hermit crab must be allowed to crawl on the palm. If the hermit crab pinches and doesn’t let go, run the area under a little lukewarm water and it will immediately let go.

---

---

Save Money on Distilled Water in SALTWATER AQUARIUM

Once upon a time, people believed that heating distilled water was dangerous because it heated faster then regular tap water. This has since been proved to be untrue. Distilled water does not heat any faster then your everyday, run of the mill, tap water.

By Tappinen (Own work)  -  Wikimedia Commons

The definition of distilled water is water that virtually has had all its impurities removed through the act of desolation. Water is distilled by boiling it. As the water boils the steam is captured and then re-condensed into a clean container. Many companies have started considering cheaper alternatives for purifying water, one such method is deionizing the water. As of yet alternate methods, while successful, have been unable to completely purify the water.

Distilled water is commonly used in lead acid batteries, automotive cooling systems, and steam irons.

Another popular use of distilled water is in aquariums. Aquarium enthusiast use distilled water in their tanks because it lacks chemicals that are often found in run of the mill tap water. Many tap waters contain chlorine and chloramine, which are fatal to fish. 

All to often aquarium owners are stunned to learn how much money they spend each year just by purchasing gallon after gallon of distilled water. On way saltwater aquarium owners can save money is by distilling their own water, provided that they are willing to improvise. The first thing you will need to do is to find away to heat/boil the water, this can be done with either a gas or electric stove. Any normal cooking pot will do for the heating. The next thing to do is find a way to catch and cool the steam, because the typical cooler is made out of a long spiral shaped piece of copper tubing. Saltwater aquarium owners will have to find a different piece of tubing because water distilled in copper is fatal to the invertebrates that live in coral reef. If you are unable to find a spiraled pipe consider using a pot and to lids. As the water boils it will start to condense on the lid of the pot, this is distilled water. Cover the pot with the second lid and pour the condensed water into a cup. Repeat the process until you have enough water for your tank. It takes a long time to gather enough water.

When setting up a saltwater aquarium it is important to remember that the distilled water must be supplemented. By itself the distilled water is to pure to sustain aquatic life. It is also important to make sure that the distilled water you are using has not been stored in any containers containing copper. The addition of copper in the saltwater is lethal to the invertebrates that live in coral reefs.

Anyone who is unsure about the purity of their tap water should plan on using distilled water when they are setting up a saltwater aquarium.  Make sure you add a saltwater mix to the distilled water.

After filling the tank with water and installing your filtration system it's recommended that you let your tank sit empty for a few days. When the water quality tests accurately after the tank has been running then you can add your fish. Double checking your water could potentially save you from accidentally destroying your fish.

SUNCORAL- Tubastrea

Suncoral - Tubastrea

---

---

CHEMICALS in your Aquarium

You've seen all those chemicals at the Pet Store, and you've wondered if you'll need one bottle of each of them.  And then you wondered if you still want to get into this aquarium hobby after all.  Well, here's the good news, most of that stuff is unnecessary, even worthless.  Don't get me wrong, you'll occasionally need some of these products, but there is only one of these chemicals that you'll always use, so let's start there.

The tap water that you are using to fill your tank, it contains chlorine. It's harmless to people, deadly to fish, so you'll need to remove it.  Now, don't panic, you won't need one of those kits that Grissom uses on CSI.  Indeed, a single bottle of dechlorinating liquid is cheap and lasts for months.  Just make sure that you read the label because some of the products are concentrated differently, so some of them require fewer drops per gallon of water.

The chlorine in your tap water actually dissipates fairly quickly, completely breaking down in about 24 hours.  So in a pinch, you could just fill your bucket and let it stand for a day before using the water, but with the cost of dechlorinating products so low, it hardly seems worthwhile.  Just remember, if you chose to use the "let stand" method, make sure you place your water in a location where it will not be contaminated.

You should also invest in a bottle of test strips.  These strips, after being dipped into water, will show you a variety of information about your water.  Your Ph level, water hardness, ammonia level, nitrates, and nitrites can all be tested using the most common dip strips.  That's a lot of information; in fact, it is more than you'll actually need.

The truth is that most commonly sold aquarium fish will do just fine in any normal Ph range or water hardness level.  Don't worry if your fish type comes from Peru where it lives in soft acidic water because the fish you bought was probably born and raised in a fish farm in Florida.  Then it was packaged up in a big bag of water and sent to your pet store where it was dumped into the local tap water.  Most fish are NOT that picky, but they do need clean water, and that's where the test strips come in handy.

When your fish eats, it produces waste.  This waste then breaks down into ammonia, which in turn changes to nitrites, and then into nitrates.  Like chlorine, these chemicals can damage and even kill your fish.  So you need to remove them if they rise to a high level.  The test strips will tell you if your levels are too high, and if they are, your answer is fairly simple-it's time for a water change.

Once your tank has been established for a few months, you will not have to test it as often because your tank will develop beneficial bacteria that help break down these chemicals more quickly.  For the first few months though, you should probably check your tank once per week or so, making sure you have time to do a water change if it should prove necessary.

And that's basically it.  Oh, there are chemicals that will lower your Ph, or raise it, medications for sick or injured fish, chemicals to destroy algae, expensive aquarium salts, and all manner of other niche products that you really do not need.  These products are available to keep the fish store in business.  Most people and their fish NEVER need these products, so unless you have a sick fish, just stick to the basics.  You'll save some money and avoid driving yourself crazy.

---

---

Dangerous REPTILES

When people decide to buy reptiles for pets, some inevitably cross the line of safety and wisdom.  Although it may seem thrilling to own a pet that is harmful, it's best left up to the experts and people who are trained to preserve wildlife.

An eyelash viper, Bothriechis schlegelii , taken at Melbourne zoo in Australia. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Underestimating a dangerous reptile can mean a quick and certain death to the uneducated and careless pet owner.  But if you're determined to own a dangerous reptile, at least make sure you are aware of all the possible safety precautions.  Be fully informed as to what steps to take should you incur injury from contact with your pet.

A pet may harm an owner for several reasons.  A reptile has instincts that are inbred.  If you make the mistake of smelling like food, you will be in danger of being mistaken for food.  There's also the danger of underfeeding your reptile and having them strike out in desperation from starvation.  If you startle the reptile, you're likely to be harmed.  If the reptile is injured or ill, the pain may cause them to strike out.  Although it is easy to want to blame the reptile, you must take into account the reasons it may have chosen to bite, scratch, or otherwise harm someone.

Neglect to keep the cage, terrarium, or other enclosure secure at all times is crucial to your safety and to the safety of the reptile.

Some snakes have teeth, some have venomous fangs, and some have constriction to use as weapons.  Whatever the case may be, you can be certain it will be painful to the recipient.  Vipers and rattlesnakes are two dangerous snakes that use their poisonous fangs to inject venom into their prey or attacker.  Vipers can grow as long as 6 feet and don't need daylight to attack.  The pits between their eyes and nostrils alert them to their prey.  A beautifully dangerous reptile, the golden eyelash viper is a bright lemon yellow color.

Snakes aren't the only dangerous reptiles, nor are they the only dangerous reptiles chosen for pets.  Crocodiles and caymans are also big predators.  They latch onto their prey with their many teeth and powerful jaws, and then they drag the larger victims underwater to drown them.  Crocodiles have been known to gobble snakes for treats!

American alligators can be seen in many museums or zoos, live in exhibits.  Well known in the deep south of Louisiana, they are not only predators but also are hunted for food and to be cut up into trinkets sold to tourists.

The alligator disguises itself as a log in swamp water and is camouflaged very well.  They live in swamps and bayous from Texas to North Carolina.  Florida has an abundance of inland water that provides a perfect habitat for these reptiles.  Their diet of fish, birds, and small animals along with their size and vicious capabilities make them unwelcome to most as pet material.  Their habitat is hard to create as well.

You can tell the difference in crocodiles and alligators by the shape of their snouts and the way the teeth lay when the jaws are shut.  The alligator is able to conceal its teeth inside its mouth while the crocodile is not.

---

---