The Key to TREE FROG Care is Regularity

Tree frogs, unlike the common ground frog, are any frog that spends the majority of its life in an arboreal state. Arboreal locomotion is the locomotion of animals in trees.

If one is interested in caring for tree frogs they will most likely need a vivarium (Latin, literally for "place of life") is a usually enclosed area for keeping and raising animals or plants for observation or research. This artificially controlled area can often rather successfully mimic the natural environment of the tree frog.

Waxy Monkey Tree Frogs, Phyllomedusa sauvagii at California Academy of Sciences
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Sufficient planning and care are required if one is to care for amphibians in the home environment as tree frogs are easily stressed if subjected to unnatural conditions. Therefore equipment to further enhance the quality of life of the tree frog in this artificial environment has been created. Conditions such as relative humidity levels and temperature must be kept as constant as possible to successfully care or breed tree frogs at home.

In order to achieve this, some automated systems have been created to seamlessly integrate with your vivarium to make tree frog care a breeze.

If you are a first-time frog keeper then to not be alarmed by the exact figures required, keeping tree frogs at home is by no means supposed to be scientific.

To give you a little story of how getting caught up in the finer details can stop you taking the plunge and getting some tree frogs as a feature for your house.

When I first attempted to brew beer at home, I thought that the temperature had to absolutely stay between about 21 to 27 degrees Centigrade. When I actually gave it a go and I found that you could in fact successfully brew great homemade beer below that temperature.

If you happen to own a frog now and are looking for ways to give your tree frog a better life try these tips.

Frogs like regularity -

Say you have the tank in which your frog lives in your bedroom. Let's say that you leave the light on and don't go to bed until three in the morning. As you can imagine, this can be very confusing for your frog. Its body is telling it that it should be dark and out hunting. However, it's light sensing organs are letting it know that it is still day. Maintaining regular lighting patterns will make sure that you reduce the stress that you tree frog will live a happy life.

Here is another example, Let's say your frog lives in the living area. You get cold in the winter to you put the fire or heater on. I think you know where I am going with this one. What do you think that the frogs head is thinking when it is so hot in the middle of winter?

Well, it most likely does not know that season in your country but frogs like regularity and this mean a regular temperature too. Keep the temperature constantly warm and humid for your tree frog to ensure a long life. Ramping the temperature right up so it's hot and dry right after a cold period will be very stressful for your pet.

By Andrew Williums Article Source: EzineArticles

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FLAME ANGELFISH - Centropyge loriculus

Flame Angelfish - Centropyge loriculus

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FLAME ANGELFISH (Centropyge Loriculus) Care

Among the most spectacularly colored dwarf angelfish, the flame angelfish has become the most recognizable and the most popular member of the genus centropyge. Almost everyone in the marine aquarium hobby has at one time either owned a flame angel or at least considered getting one. A true testament to the beauty this angel possesses.

Flame angel, Centropyge loricula (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The genus centropyge contains 33 species that have been found thus far, making it the largest genus within the marine angelfish complex (Pomacanthidae). Our fish of interest goes by the scientific name Centropyge Loriculus. Its common name is the flame angelfish, so named because it is colored a bright red-orange with vertical black lines down its body. The tips of its anal and dorsal fins are accentuated with neon blue patches.

The flame angel is a little on the high side in terms of price so expect to pay between $ 40 and $ 50 US dollars for a specimen. While this may seem like a lot for an ornamental fish, it pales in comparison with rarer angelfish such as the golden angelfish. Considering the effect it has on most onlookers I’d say the price is a steal.

While commonly thought to hail from Hawaii, they are actually collected around the Marshall and Christmas Islands instead. True Hawaiian flame angelfish are very rare and are said to have a very specific coloration. They are uniformly red without any orange throughout their bodies and their black vertical lines are always thin.

As with all members of the genus centropyge this angelfish can be aggressive towards other tank mates. They are particularly hostile towards members of the same species. Putting two flame angelfish together in a small tank is generally a bad idea. The same goes for housing two members of the same genus together. Such an endeavor should only be attempted if the marine aquarium in question is large enough, 75 gallons or larger.

The flame angelfish should be kept in an aquarium no less than 50 gallons. Ideally, you’d want something like a 75 gallon or larger aquarium for them. The added space keeps issues stemming from territory to a minimum. This is assuming the tank isn’t chock full of fish in the first place. They require caves and holes throughout the rock scape so your live rock arrangement should reflect this.

Like all members of the genus centropyge, the flame angelfish has been known to nip on corals in a reef aquarium. There is no telling when such behavior will happen. I’ve heard stories of flame angels that have never bothered corals for years only to begin sampling them overnight. This is how it is with all dwarf angelfish. No exceptions. Unfortunately, once they start nipping they usually don’t stop.

Flame angelfish are grazers in the wild. They constantly pick at the substrate and rocks that surround their territory. Their food items mainly consist of tiny crustaceans and algae.

Ensure they are given a varied diet within a marine aquarium. Provide a good mix of algae based foods along with meaty foods. Nori, spirulina, frozen mysis shrimp and other meaty or algae gel cubes should be part of their everyday diet. A good dry food for flame angels is new life spectrum, formula one and formula two pellets. A great food that contains everything they find in the wild is the pygmy angel formula gel cubes by ocean nutrition. These only come in frozen form i believe.

In the wild, flame angelfish form harems, a single male will dominate up to 7 females. Each female maintains a separate territory within the male's territory. Every evening the male approaches each female in his harem until he chooses to mate with one of them. He then assumes courting behavior. Fins are flared, he darts around the female in circles and assumes mating colors.

Courting ensures anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes until they finally spawn. The male nudges the female up into the water column until they are perfectly positioned to release eggs and sperm at the same time. The actual mating process takes no longer than half a second. Having mated, they disappear into the rocks.

While there have been many cases of flame angel pairs spawning in the home aquaria, there have been no cases of their larvae being raised to adulthood. Dwarf angelfish have only been successfully raised on a commercial level by companies with a lot of money backing them. And even then, success came not more than 7 years ago.

The biggest breakthrough in angelfish breeding happened in Hawaii around 2002. It was found that the key ingredient to raising dwarf angelfish larvae was in finding an appropriate food for them. The food item had to fulfill 3 criteria. It had to be small enough for the larvae to eat, it had to be nutritious enough for them and it had to move in a way that elicited a natural feeding response from the larvae.

Frank Baensch of Reef Culture Technologies along with three others collaborated to find this food, and they were successful. What followed was the captive breeding of not just the flame angelfish but of rarer species such as the bandit angelfish, Colin's angelfish, and the Japanese pygmy angelfish. All very expensive fishes in the hobby. The breakthrough food is reputed to be an undisclosed copepod nauplii.

Such success has not been seen by hobbyists or even small scale breeders of marine fish. Baby brine shrimp and rotifers are the mainstays of home breeding but both of them do not seem to elicit a feeding response from dwarf angelfish larvae. As a result of the larvae usually, starve to death. So the key is finding an easily bred food that would work on this species. Until that time comes we are left with buying wild caught flame angelfish and even the occasional captive bred ones.

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AMAZON SWORD PLANT - Echinodorus amazonicus

Amazon Sword - Echinodorus

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Tips On Aquarium CATFISH Care - Adding Fun To Your Aquarium

Catfish are very popular in freshwater aquariums. They are very different and unique in their own way compared with other fish regarding their care and health. These catfish are so called because they have "barbells" which are a distinctive and prominent feature which resembles whiskers of a cat. Catfish also have no fish scales which are present in most other fishes. If the fish is in danger or irritated in any way, they can emit a stinging protein from a powerful, hollow ray which is found on their fins.

Spotted raphael catfish
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Most aquariums house the more popular catfish known as the armoured catfish which are the smaller sized catfish and look great in any aquarium. When setting up your tank, it is the best time to decide on whether you are going to purchase catfish, as you will need to buy the correct type of gravel or sand for your tank. You will also need to know the pH level of water required to house your catfish. A soft bottom material in your tank is the preferred option of the armoured catfish which like to forage for food within the substrate. Catfish like to hide from the light as they feel more secure so have some hiding places such as caves for your fish.

Caring for catfish is not much different to the care of other fish, although you should try to purchase food that settles to the bottom of the aquarium as they feed on the bottom. The water in the middle should be a temperature in the 70's and it should be neutral pH level. This set up is usually the same for the water balance of other fish that you will house as well, so it is not a major concern when choosing to house catfish.

Catfish are an amusing addition to your aquarium as they have funny and comical looks, but this also depends on the species that you buy. Their behaviour can vary, though they do look rather nice to have in your tank. Catfish can come in groups and schools which get on with each other quite well, but you can also buy loners which prefer not to have neighbours. When you have a communal tank full of different species of fish, the catfish is a good choice to have as they occupy the bottom of the tank, unlike many of the other occupants. They usually mix well with other types of fish, so you don't need to worry about them. You watch out for the larger Cichlids which are very territorial in trying to claim the whole tank.

Look at the other size of the other fish in your existing when choosing to add a catfish. Catfish, in general, get on with other fish, but they will also eat smaller fish. As they are nocturnal, catfish do not need to be feed until later on in the day or night. Adjust your schedule according to when you can feed your fish and to what types of fish you have in your aquarium. Armoured Catfish come in many different species so you can have an array of comical looking fish. The aquarium should be kept clean and healthy at all times so that all your fish stay healthy and you will get years of pleasure as you learn more about caring for them.

By Abhishek Agarwal - Abhishek is an avid Fish Lover - Article Source: EzineArticles

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RED DEVIL CICHLIDS - Aggressive But Tons of Personality

There are so many tropical fish keepers in this hobby today that own or are looking to own the red devil cichlid. These fish hold a very special place in this wonderful hobby.

Amphilophus labiatum, female, in aquarium
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The red devil cichlid also is known as Amphilophus labiatus, is originally from Central America. This cichlid is considered a medium to large cichlid often growing 10-12 inches in their lifetime. Males are often larger and develop a hump on their head as they age.

Red devil cichlids are often purchased from pet stores as a small 2-3 inch fish. Many people bring them home to their tank not knowing the personality of this Central American cichlid. This is the reason for this article. I would like to enlighten you on the unique personality of this awesome cichlid.

Red devil cichlids are extremely aggressive. Often, males will harass and chase females to the point of death. Many red devil owners choose to give this freshwater tropical fish it's own tank because of its hostility towards other fish.

One should be aware of this aggression if you plan to keep multiple fish in the aquarium tank. So many people get attached to this cichlid to only have it turn on them later and kill everything in the tank. If you choose to keep this tropical fish, you will not be disappointed because of their cool personality.

Red devil cichlids are territorial and they will protect what they claim as their part of the tank. This space will depend on each individual fish. Some claim a corner of the tank while others claim one-half to more than 75% of the tank. This cichlid will kill and often eat fish that can fit in their mouths. Do not keep this cichlid with any peaceful smaller fish. I would like for anyone that is interested in this cool cichlid to please be prepared to give it a tank of its own or be prepared to find another home for it later if you cannot handle the aggression. These fish make excellent wet pets and will do well in a tank to themselves.

The red devil cichlid is often known for jumping and leaving out of the water so ensure you have a tight lid or canopy on the tank. Provide plenty of cover and hiding spaces for this prized cichlid.

The Red Devil Cichlid can be hit or miss depending on the individual fish. Either way, you get a very unique tropical fish that can give you years of happiness and entertainment. To read more about freshwater tropical fish please visit Tropical Fish Success.  Article Directory: EzineArticles

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AQUARIUM PLANTS And LIGHTNING Mini-guide

Aquarium plants are as important to aquariums as water is to fish. Aquarium plants add more life to aquarium and make it to look beautiful while completing the aquarium community structure. 

The most important thing to bear in mind with plants is to form an attractive background, leaving ample space so the fish 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. 

Aquarium (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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. 

Aquarium Lighting is also important for aquarium plants 

This depends greatly on whether you intend to successfully grow plants or not. Lack of light causes colorful fish to fade and clanch-reds to pink, green to white. The two main methods of lighting aquarium are by the INCADESCENT and FLOURESCENT. 

The total amount of light required is a matter of trial and error. Too much light will turn the water green; too little will stunt plant growth. 

The lighting can be natural or artificial or a combination of both. The best position is near a north facing window. This should provide the ideal amount of indirect lights which an be supplemented by artificial light. 

The lighting should be housed in wood constructed stylishly with the furniture and placed above the tank. if there is no natural day light, the lights should be left on for approximately eight hours per day. 

If the water turns green, you cut down on the light. 

The best light for showing off an aquarium comes from behind.

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