Learn About DANIO FISH, a Great Species of Fish For Any Aquarium

Add variety to your Aquarium; add a Danio

Danios (long-fin Zebra Danio) are really fun to have and can mix up the colors in your tank. Having multi-colored fish keep your tank from being a bust. Colorful fish add excitement to the mix. Danios average 4 inches but are known to grow up to 8 inches. Danios are a tropical fish so a community of tropical fish is perfect for your Danio.

Both colour morphs of Danio kyathit
 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Danios are smaller but don't underestimate these meat eaters. Danios are carnivores that can chow on crustaceans, worms and larvae. A staple diet of tropical flakes and pellets are a fair food to provide your Danio fish. Just follow the packaging directions so you don't over feed your Danio. Like other carnivorous fish you can feed your Danio frozen or freeze dried foods, blood worms, tubifex worms etc. If you are feeding frozen foods be sure to thaw them out first. Feed your Danio twice a day with staple foods and up to four specialty meals a week.

Danios are spend their time swimming in the middle of the aquarium but they also need a room to swim because Danios are social fish that swim in schools, even with other fish. The water Temp should be a medium between 70 to approx 80 degrees. Danio Fish are a personal favorite. These are the "big fish" in a small pond as they are tough little meat eaters. I see that they take to worms a lot more than other staple fish food.

By Nathan E Peterson Article Source: EzineArticles

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Types of Freshwater Aquarium SHRIMP

There are many types of freshwater aquarium shrimp. Some are well suited to life in captivity in a shrimp aquarium and some are not as they will die out once held in captivity. For the most part, though, it is fairly hardy and do well with minimal care. We will look at several different shrimp in this article.

Cleaner shrimp
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Firstly, the Red Cherry Shrimp. As you might suspect, the name comes from it red coloring. However, the red color in the shrimp is not widespread when you first get them until they get comfortable in their new surroundings. The female of this species is a darker red than the male. Both male and female can withstand water temperatures that vary.

The Bee Shrimp. The Bee Shrimp is so named because of the stripes along the outer shell that resemble the stripes on a bee. This shrimp eats either fish food or algae. If you want to breed shrimp, the Bee Shrimp is an easy one to breed but it will not thrive in water temperatures that get too hot.

Third on the list is the Tiger Shrimp which has jagged stripes like a tiger. It will also eat fish food or algae. For breeders, know that this shrimp will cross breed so if you want to keep your shrimp pure to their original coloring and species, then do not put them together in the same tank.

The Green Shrimp cannot tolerate water that's too hard. It belongs to the Indian Dwarf family of shrimp and when upset or unhealthy, it green color won't be the same. That's usually a sign that something is either disturbing the shrimp or it needs to be investigated for disease.

An interesting shrimp for most hobbyists is the Snowball Shrimp. Many assume because the shrimp has a pale color that is where the name came from. But it is called Snowball because the eggs look like snowballs. You can see the eggs through it body. It is sturdy and breeds easily.

The Malaya Shrimp is a rare shrimp that can thrive in ordinary tap water that is been treated for the chlorine that is dangerous to shrimp. Unlike some in the species, it will not interbreed. The unique Ninja Shrimp is a color changing mainly found in Japan. It has a high tolerance for a variety of water temperatures.

One of the rarest shrimps is nicknamed the Vampire Shrimp. The scientific name for this shrimp is Atya Gabonensis. It is a large shrimp given the nickname because the front legs resemble fangs.

The Yellow Nose Shrimp is a transparent shrimp with a long nose that can appear orange under some lighting. Before you set up your shrimp aquarium, make sure you study exactly what kind of water temperature and food your species will need to thrive.

By Brian Huat Wong Brian Wong is a freshwater fish enthusiast, and enjoys helping others get started in this amazing hobby. Article Source: EzineArticles

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Fact Sheet: BLACK STRIPE DWARF CICHLID

Black Stripe Dwarf Cichlid

Black Stripe Dwarf Cichlid - Taeniacara candidi - Wikipedia

• Minimum Tank Size: 30 gallons
• Care Level: Moderate
• Tank Conditions: 72-86°F; pH 6.0-7.0;
• KH 2-15 
• Max. Size In Aquarium: Up to 3"
• Color Form: Black 
• Temperament: Semi-aggressive
• Diet:  Carnivore 
• Origin: Farm Raised, South America 

The Taeniacara candidi is known in the hobby as the Black Stripe Dwarf Cichlid, and originates within the Amazon Basin of South America. The bodies of these fish are extremely slender and elongated, and have a dark stripe that runs horizontally from the nose to the base of the tail. Another distinguishing feature is its unusually low dorsal fin. 

The Black Stripe Dwarf Cichlid should be kept in a tank that is 30 gallons minimum, with densely planted groupings. They require plenty of open swimming areas but also need hiding places. A fine gravel to sand substrate is recommended. Although a semiaggressive fish, they are also timid and should not be housed with large, aggressive fish. They require good water conditions, and regular water changes are a must. 

The Black Stripe Dwarf Cichlid is an egg layer that prefers to spawn on the underside of leaves or pieces of driftwood. Once the female has laid her eggs, the male will follow to fertilize them. After fertilization, the male then leaves the brood for the female to tend to.

The fry will be free swimming within seven to ten days, at which time they should be fed newly hatched brine shrimp. They are a fast growing species, and the fry will reach sexual maturity in about five months. 

The Black Stripe Dwarf Cichlid is a carnivore, and will consume a wide variety of foods. Freeze-dried bloodworms and tubifex, flake food, and both frozen and live brine shrimp and worms will make excellent food for these fish.  Approximate Purchase Size: 1" to 1-1/2"

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A Day in the Life of a Fascinating REPTILE, the ALLIGATOR

Let's travel to Florida to meet one of the largest of reptiles, the alligator.   Alligators live only in the southeastern states of our country, like Louisiana and Florida.   Most of the time alligators are pictured in swamps, but many people in Florida have reported seeing alligators in the lakes near their backyards.  Having a reptile the size of a lizard in the backyard is normal, but seeing an alligator in a pond is something to get excited about.  For such a big reptile, you might be surprised to find that it often isn't easy to spot an alligator in the water. 

Two American Alligators (Alligator mississippiensis), Florida, USA (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Alligators like to float just beneath the surface of the water, with only their eyes and nostrils breaking the surface of the water.  The rest of their big body just relaxes underneath the water, legs spread apart and the huge tail hanging partway down.  The alligator can float at exactly the right level by using his lungs as a kind of inflatable raft, and keeps just the right amount of air for only his eyes to stay above the water.   An alligator stays mostly under water for one of two reasons.  

The first reason is to keep his body temperature cool. Like other reptiles, the alligator's body temperature depends upon the temperature of the air or water around him.   The sun can get very hot in Florida, and since the alligator does not sweat, there has to be another way for him to keep cool.  He first opens his enormous mouth, and that will cool him down a little bit.  If the alligator is still too hot, he will go into the water to lower his body temperature even more.  

The second reason that an alligator stays in the water is to hide himself and wait for lunch to come by.  Alligators can catch an amazing variety of animals to eat, including birds, fish, turtles, and even deer.  They are quite at home in the water, swim very quickly, and can dive underwater and stay submerged for an hour, or even more.  An alligator usually catches birds sitting on the water, but can raise itself up with a few powerful strokes of its tail to snatch one flying near the surface of the water, or just taking off. 

Female alligators use their formidable mouths for another reason, to protect her babies.  Baby alligators can already catch their own food and swim, but they stay near their mother for a year or more in order to be safe from predators.  Even before they are born, the mother alligator stays by the nest she dug in the dirt to keep others (like turtles) from eating her eggs.  When the eggs are ready to hatch, the babies inside the eggs start making noises.  Some babies come out of the eggs by themselves, but other eggs are taken into the mother alligator's mouth, where she gently rolls them around until the baby alligator can come out of the hard shell.  

This brief introduction to one of the most ancient and interesting of reptiles can be used as a starting place to assemble your own collection of alligator facts.  Make sure to watch the next wildlife show about these big reptiles, and considering visiting one the next time you take a trip to Florida.

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ZEBRA PLECO - Hypancistrus zebra

Zebra Pleco - Hypancistrus zebra

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Breeding CATFISH - The Bristlenose

Many aquarists tend to think of catfish simply as the "cleanup crew" and have them solely to keep the tank free of algae and to consume the bits of food that slip past the fish that feed higher in the tank. However this species is fascinating in its own right and breeding catfish is relatively easy in the home aquaria.

A Bristlenose Catfish (ancistrus dolichopterus) (male) is sitting on a coconut shell
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The bristlenose catfish are popular because of their novel looks and their hard work! Within days of adding a bristlenose to a tank, every trace of algae will be gone. They are easy to breed in a community tank. The mature male has much longer bristles than the female and tends to be larger. They are not overly critical about water conditions but do prefer slightly acidic water, with a pH between 6.5 and 7 and a temperature between 75 and 80 degrees F.

As the bristelnose is a cave spawner you need to make sure that there are plenty of suitable hiding places in the tank. PVC pipe, flowerpots tipped on their sides, coconut shells and bogwood which the bristelnose likes not only for hiding under but for eating as well, are all good choices. They will also welcome thick plants around the perimeter of the tank Keep the water well oxygenated with good filtration, an airstone and pump.

To condition your bristelnose for breeding feed them with shrimp pellets, and some semi- boiled vegetables such as zucchini and cucumber. Quite often a large water change or slight increase in temperature can trigger spawning. Courting behavior varies, some pairs will spend days in preparation while others get straight "down to business". The male chooses a nest site in the PCV pipe or flowerpot and the female will then join him to lay a clutch of around fifty adhesive orange colored eggs. The male then fertilizes them and begins fanning them with his fins to aerate them.

The male is on duty guarding the eggs until they hatch in about three to five days. In another week they will become free swimming and will then need to be fed. Suitable foods are finely crushed vegetables like blanched lettuce, peas, zucchini as well as baby brine shrimp and minced bloodworms. Remember that bristelnose are bottom feeders and make sure that the foods make it to the bottom for them and are not snatched up by the other fish. Another source of food can be created by putting some rocks in jars of tankwater and leaving them on a sunny windowsill where they will grow a good coating of algae. Then place the rocks in the tank for the fry to feed on. Regular water changes together with a varied diet will ensure the healthy growth of the fry.

By Jen Clements Jen Clements is an experienced fish breeder and aquarium specialist. Article Source: EzineArticles

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AQUARIUM PLANT: Importance and how to plant them in aquarium.

Cabomba aquatica 

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Aquarium plant is very important to aquarium as water is to fish. It add more life to aquarium and make it to looks beautiful while completing aquarium community structure. The main object to bear in mind when planting is to form an attractive background, leaving ample space in from where the fishes can swim undisturbed and be seen. The tall, grassy type is best planted at intervals in rows, while the feathery ones look better when they are bunched into small clumps, which makes them to appear like branching bushes.

When planting rooted plants, hold the tips of the bunch of roots between the thumb and second finger and rest them on the sand. Now with the first finger push the upper part of the roots (where they join the stem) about 2cm into the sand. Without moving this finger scrape with the thumb and second finger some sand over any uncovered portion of the root.

When putting in rootless plants in bunches, the method explained above is repeated, but this time the lower ends of the stems are placed together and treated exactly as if they were roots.

It is important that the water surface should be right up to the lower edge of the top angle iron of the tank, so that looking from the front the water surface can not be seen and the viewer gets the impression that there is no water in the aquarium. If the level is allowed to fall below the top angle iron the tank looks like a container holding water.

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