Tips on ANTHIAS Care

Anthias are members of the family Serranidae. Several different genera comprise this family including; Pseudanthias, Nemanthias, and Serranocirrhiti. All are collectively referred to as anthias. The anthias most familiar to saltwater aquarium owners belong to the genus Pseudanthia. There are several species within this genius. This article is meant to be a generalized description of the genus.

Anthias anthias - Photo: Wikimedia

Anthias inhabit all the topical oceans and seas around the world. These are considered the quintessential reef fish and often account for the majority of the fish population swarming around tropical reefs.

Anthias are typically among the smaller more docile fishes made available by the saltwater aquarium industry. These are extremely popular ornamental fish because of their intense and varied coloring. Common color variations found among Anthias include pink, purple, orange and yellow. They will live an average of five years but have been known to live as long as eight.

Anthias are generally considered hardy fish in their natural habitat but they have been known to have problems adapting to a life of captivity. They are quite often traumatized to the point of not bothering to eat. They have frequently been known to starve themselves to death. It is strongly recommended that you ask your fish store to watch them eat before purchasing them. If they are feeding they will be more apt to acclimate to your aquarium. Live food will often aid in the acclimation process.

These are a shoaling fish. In nature they congregate by the thousands very often schooling in larger populations. There are innate subdivisions within these schools typically referred to as harems. Harems have a hierarchical order. This hierarchy is comprised of one dominate and up to two subdominant males. Subdominant males are generally smaller and less colorful. And what is a harem without a female population? There are often as many as twelve females populating the harem all of which have their own hierarchy.

Anthais are considered good additions to a community tank. They are "reef safe" and are accustomed to living with a variety of other species. They range from 1.5 to 5 inches depending on their particular species. The size of a specific species should be inquired about to select suitable tank mates. You want to raise them with other mild mannered species. Despite their inherent nature to live in communities a single Anthais can be added to your tank. However several will allow you to watch them act as nature intended. A new arrival will often adapt to unfamiliar surroundings if you already have an established anthais community in your aquarium. Unless you have a very large tank you will want to have a single male to avoid territorial issues. However a few may establish a social order. A harem of females is appropriate when raising theses fish in a community. Anthais prefer subdued lighting. They are hiders by nature and should be provided with plenty of plants, rock work or hollow aquarium décor.

Anthias are dither fish. They communicate with each other. They will warn each other if there is danger approaching and then issue an all is clear signal once the potential threat has passed.

Anthias are protogynous hermaphrodites. All species are born as females. If the dominant male of the harem perishes this event will often trigger a hormonal response in the largest female transforming her into a male. This can lead to aggressive behavior between the two. The dominant male views the largest female as his potential replacement, while the largest female's body is surging with testosterone because of her rank in the harem's social structure.

Anthias are Zooplankton feeders. Zooplankton are microscopic organisms that float in the oceans and seas of the world. They typically float in columns. These columns are inhabited by crustacean larva, and extremely smaFll crustaceans like daphnia, and radiolarians.

Zooplankton can be purchased commercially. Anthias can also be fed vitamin enriched brine shrimp, other varieties of tiny crustaceans as well as frozen protein enriched food for marine fish. Anthias are active fish with healthy appetites and should be fed at least three times a day.

By Stephen J Broy Many home aquarium owners cringe at the thought of maintaining a saltwater aquarium. What most of them don't realize is that a Jellyfish Fish Tank Aquarium requires little more maintenance than a freshwater tank. Keeping Pet Moon Jellyfish is the hottest new trend in aquarium ownership. Article Source: EzineArticles

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The African CLAWED FROG as a Pet

Do you have a child who is longing for a pet but can't have one because of allergies? Do you want a low maintenance pet with a long lifespan and few needs? Then the African Clawed Frog is for you.

African clawed frogs; Xenopus laevis (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The African Clawed Frog or Xenopus Laevis is a wonderful pet for people who have allergies or live in a place that doesn't allow furry pets. They also are great learning tools for schoolrooms and for children to learn about how a frog changes from a tadpole to an adult.

You can purchase a frog from Grow-A-Frog online, or from the fish section of your local department store. These frogs are used extensively in laboratories for research because of the properties of their skin. They used to be used for pregnancy detection before more sophisticated tests were available and were released into the wild in the USA when they were no longer needed. Because the frogs will eat just about anything and have a long lifespan, they started to threaten the local fish and frog populations, and are therefore not legal in some states.

Habitat

African Clawed Frogs are from the cooler places in Africa. They like to live in areas of stagnant fresh water like ponds, rivers, and pools. For your frog, you will want to buy an aquarium and allow for ten gallons of water per frog. Because your frog breathes air, the water should be six to twelve inches deep so he can swim to the surface easily. The tap water has to sit for 24 hours before you put the frog in it, or use a dechlorinator crystal you can buy from Grow-A-Frog. Frogs are happiest when the water temperature is about 74-78 degrees F, so you may need an aquarium heater. A filter can be used to keep the water clean.

Whether or not to use gravel or stones on the bottom of the tank is debatable. Some frogs will eat the gravel if it is small, and they could die. If the stones are big enough, you could put them on the bottom. Also, provide your frog with some cover to hide, with plastic plants and decorations. Don't use real plants, because your frog will destroy them.

Be sure to have a tight fitting lid on the top of the aquarium. Your frog is a master at escape and can jump right out of most places.

You don't have to use direct light or artificial light for your frog. They like indirect light the best.

Food

African Clawed Frogs are not fussy eaters. You can feed them the prepared fish pellets from Grow-A-Frog, or you can feed them brine shrimp, meal worms, guppies, or Tetra Rept-min. They will even eat the fish in your aquarium, so be careful you don't put them in a tank with little fish.

Lifespan

These frogs have an official lifespan of eight to ten years in captivity, but most African Clawed frog owners will tell you their frogs can live fifteen to twenty + years.

Care

Clean the water once a week, less if you use a filter. Feed him. Watch him (don't hold the frog; they have chemicals in their skin which may cause an allergic reaction for some people). Listen to him sing! (males sing, females don't).

Benefits

The African Clawed frog if bought as a tadpole is a great learning tool for children. They will get to watch the frog grow from tadpole to adult swimming frog. If you buy a male and a female frog, with some luck, you can watch the mating process and enjoy the babies that may result.

The male frog has interesting vocalizations for different occasions. There is the 'feed me' song, the 'I want a mate' song, and the singing for singing sake song. Both sexes use their front legs to grab and eat, and look like they are begging for more food.

If you want a non-allergic pet with interesting habits and simple requirements, than the African Clawed Frog is for you!

By Mary Casey Mary Casey is the proud owner of a sixteen-year-old African Clawed Frog named Mup. Article Source: EzineArticles

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Top 10 Tips on Keeping DWARF GOURAMI

There are different names for Dwarf Gourami fish. Some call them as powder blue Gouramis while others call them as neon blue Gouramis. They have a peculiar habit of swimming together in a pair. Originated from India, they are tropical freshwater fish.

If you plan to keep Dwarf Gourami fish in your aquarium, here are some important tips for you -

1. While buying them from the pet fish shop, you should consult the shop staff and buy them in appropriate proportions. They should be bought in the proportion of three females to one male and you should buy at least a group of 7 to 10 of them at a time. They can live up to four years in aquariums and they will grow up to 4 inches in length.

Dwarf Gourami - Photo by jfinnirwin 

2. The food habits of Dwarf Gourami fish are slightly different from other Gouramis. They will prefer meaty foods as well as algae. Occasionally they will eat flaked food. So you should plan their diet plan carefully. If you notice that their color is fading out, you should increase the proportion of live food in their diet. They will not pick their food as soon as you feed them. Instead they will take it from the bottom of the aquarium once it settles down.

3. They will require a reasonable amount of water and swimming place around the aquarium. So you cannot keep them in a small aquarium.

4. They are playful by nature so they should be kept in a group. If they are kept alone, they will develop stress and get sick.

5. Though all they are comfortable in all types of waters, if you keep them in a tank with the temperature of 75-80° F and with the ph level of 6.0 to 7.0, they will be happier.

6. They require a calm and quiet environment. So if you plan to keep them in the aquarium, you should not set up your aquarium in a noisy place. You should also see that there should not be any direct sunlight coming to the aquarium. The lighting should be moderate and there should not be much movement in the water.

7. If you plan to keep several males, you should remember that they will have territorial ambitions. So they will fight over an area in a small aquarium and may hurt each other. If you see them in a shop, you will always find them fighting. If the aquarium is sufficiently big, they can live peacefully. So you should plan your aquarium size carefully before introducing them.

8. They are always described as wife beaters! Particularly at the time of spawning, they will be impatient and will hurt the females. As a precaution, you should introduce at least two or three females For a male and they all should be shifted in a separate tank. Once the female lays eggs, she should be immediately removed from the tank.

9. The males will take care of the eggs after the spawning. However, when the new ones start coming out, you should shift the male to the main aquarium.

10. Usually the fish keepers are interested in knowing the information about the frequency of breeding of Dwarf Gourami fish. They breed once in a month and at one time they can lay hundreds of eggs. However, they will take a break after 3 to 4 months. This break will be around one month and they will start spawning again.

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 Directory: EzineArticles

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CENTROPYGE - Dwarf Angelfish

The genus centropyge has within its family some of the most popular marine fishes in the aquarium hobby today. They are commonly known as the dwarf angelfish family. It has 34 members and they are generally a lot smaller than their larger cousins like the french or emperor angelfish.

Centropyge flavissima (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

They come in a variety of colors and sizes and some of them are exceptionally popular among enthusiasts. Sizes range anywhere to the tiny 3 inch cherub angelfish to the 7 inch giants of the family, namely the Japanese pygmy angelfish and the Keyhole angelfish.

While they differ in size with their much larger cousins, their diets are very similar. They are omnivores in the wild that will graze on algae, copepods and consume even detritus. While they are also known to nip on corals and clams, they are generally safer to house with corals than a Queen or French angelfish.

They are found throughout the worlds tropical oceans and can be found anywhere from 20 feet to up to two hundred feet plus in depth. Deeper dwelling species such as the highly prized Centropyge Boylei can cost up to $20000 per specimen. No that wasn't a typing error. That small three inch fish can cost as much as a brand new car.

Fortunately for most of us, the vast majority of dwarf angelfish are within reach. Some of the more popular selling species include the famous flame angelfish, lemonpeel angel and the cherub angelfish.

The flame angelfish is bar far the most popular within the genus centropyge. It isn't hard to see why. Its entire body is a bright flame-like orange to red coloration. This beauty hails from the Christmas and Marshall islands.

As a whole, most centropyge species do well in captivity. Those that don't are usually deeper water species that require low lighting conditions and are generally shy. An exception to this rule is the Centropyge Multicolor, an aggressive and boisterous dwarf angelfish.

Because of their small sizes, centropyge make excellent additions to smaller tanks. However, once established, they can start to dominate and bully their tank mates.

By Indran Manickam Article Source: EzineArticles

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The Latest Information On TREE FROGS

There are many cool and interesting facts about our great planet Earth that many people don´t ever take the time to think about. If you could, take a deep breath and close your eyes. Visualize planet Earth and think about all the different landscapes that make the world so beautiful. Now think about the animals and creatures that roam through these amazing landscapes. After doing this, I bet you never once pictured the great tree frog in any of the scenic images you had created in your imagination. Well, if you did, your the one out of a few thousand who might have thought of a tree frog. Regardless, tree frogs exist in our world and there a lots of different types of them.

Gray tree frog
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Tree frogs are slimy yet they are pretty interesting little reptiles. There are many different classifications that frogs belong to; tree frogs are frogs that are of the families Hylidae and Rhacophoridae. A thing that you probably don´t know is that many tree frogs don´t even dwell in trees. When it comes to tree frogs, there are arboreal frogs, terrestrial frogs, and aquatic frogs. Aroboreal frogs are tree frogs that live up to their name and live in trees. The terrestrial frog lives and roams on the ground, and I bet you can figure out that a aquatic frog lives in the water. The Arboreal tree frogs are more green while the other two types of tree frogs are more dull looking, like the color brown.

Tree frogs essentially chew on insects and other little invertebrates, creatures without a spinal cord. The bigger frogs though can chomp down on a good vertebrate creature however. The great tree frog roams in almost every region of the world. There are the European tree frogs, known as the Hyla Arborea, are usually found in the middle or southern part of the United States and in parts of Asia and North Africa. The American tree frog, also known as the Hyla cinerea, can be spotted in Northern America. There is a really cool type of American tree frog known as the Hyla versicolor because it is completely grey. There are other old world tree frogs that dwell the regions in India, Sri Lanka, China, South Eastern Asia, Indonesia, Japan, and as well in the West Indies.

Tree Frogs are more common then those other animals yo may have envisioned at the beginning of this article. Next time when closing your eyes and picturing the animals and creatures of the world, hopefully you´ll think of the great tree frog. If it is in the spring and summer evening time, you may not need to close your eyes to think about tree frogs. Several different types of tree frogs begin to croak really loud during this period when rain is about to approach. That means tree frogs are really smart as well because they can predict the weather. There are countless different types of tree frogs in the world that inhabit different areas and make the world the world we know it to be today.

Submitted by: Andrew Scherer About the Author: Written by Andrew Scherer. White's Tree Frogs can make great pets. Check out the White's Tree Frog Care Sheet for more information. Source: www.isnare.com Permanent Link: https://www.isnare.com/?aid=223635&ca=Pets

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WHIPTAIL CATFISH -Hemiloricaria parva

Whiptail Catfish -Hemiloricaria parva

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The History Of BUTTERFLY KOI

Butterfly kois, also known as Longfin Kois or Dragon Carps are characterized by their slender bodies and long flowing fins and barbels. They are usually white, yellow or orange in color and come in most of the traditional Nishikigoi patterns such as the Aka Bekko, Kohaku, Sanke, Shiro Bekko, and Showa to name a few.

Butterfly Koi - Photo: Wikimedia

They were crossbred in the 1980's in an attempt to cultivate a hardier koi. Its specific koi lineage however, is debated. Some say butterly koi are a cross between the Indonesian Longfin river carp and traditional koi. Others, that the New York Company, the Blue Ridge Fish Hatchery developed these long-finned mutations under the auspices of Wyatt Lefever. He had apparently bought some grey/black carp variety from Indonesia by mistake but decided to see how the resulting fry would fair when bred with traditional Japanese koi. In seeing this new breed of long-finned and brightly colored fish Lefever's son, Randy is said to have remarked that they looked like butterflies- hence the name. Previous to this particular breed, most traditional koi varieties interbreeding efforts with other carps of less ornamental advantage, such as the goldfish, led to sterile hybrids.

Butterfly kois tend to come from Malaysia, Indonesia, Taiwan, Japan, China and Singapore. Outside of Asia, the UK and Israel are also known to breed them. Currently however, they do not hold their own show class in traditional Nishikigoi competitions due to their comparative degree of difference with other kois in appearance (finnage, dorsal, tail, shape and length) and cultivation. For instance, butterfly kois are known to grow faster than other kois, but never as large.

Indeed butterfly koi growth is one of its most impressive features. The older the fish the longer the fins and barbel whiskers. Given adequate water, they can grow up to 40 inches. The gene for the long-finned feature of koi is said to be the dominant one since 80% of fry resulting from interbreeding between long-finned butterflies and Japanese koi result in long-finned fish.

Despite their "outcasted" koi status, butterfly kois have nevertheless gained a following of their own due to the graceful effect of their "wings." It is thus commnon that traditional koi enthusiasts keep a specimen or two of these longfins in their pond.

While there are reports that as of June 2006, The Association of American Koi Clubs (AKCA) introduced separate standards for judging butterfly kois or longfins in US competitions, these standards were not as refined as their traditional Japanese koi counterparts. However, in January 2009, AKCA published an article in its official magazine KOI USA detailing more specific criteria based on finnage appearance and length combined with anatomical information necessary to say a longfin was a more acceptable one than another. It also introduced a classification system of different sets of longfins, criteria for jugding small vs. larger longfins and recommendations for measuring longfins in general.

Currently, if there is any agreement at all, it is to hold fast to the criteria that applies to all koi across the board. For instance, the lack of abnormalities and absence of disease or parasites is a definite must for all competing koi. Another is the necessity of brilliant colors.

Most butterfly koi enthusiasts however, maintain that these separate longfin standards are still being determined at the local koi show level. Some judges like long flowing fins for butterflies and others like short ones. Market prices however, for butterflies, give the longer and more flowing fins, the higher the grade.

Until the standards have been set, however, it is unlikely to have any certainty at all that a butterfly koi purchase is a premium grade one or not.

By Jason S Williams Jason Williams is an expert on Koi Fish and their habitat. Article Source: EzineArticles

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