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Aquarium

October 21st, 2007    Subscribe To Our Feed

Basic Diet

Like other vertebrates, fishes need carbohydrates, minerals, vitamins, fats, proteins, and water. The best way to give your
aquarium fishes all the nutrients they require is to feed them varied diet of good quality foods, including live food as
well as manufactured food.

Frequency of Feeding.

Feeding fishes “little and often” is preferable to providing them with one large daily meal. Add small amount of food two or
three times a day, and try to vary each meal so that your fishes don’t become bored with their diet. If other members of
your family also look after the aquarium, make sure that you have set feeding times or that everyone knows when the fishes
have just been fed, so that you do not overfeed them between you.

Choosing Pre-Packed Food

Make sure you buy some all-in-one, “complete”, dried fish food, which contains everything your fishes need to remain healthy.
Flakes are ideal for smaller fish as they can be crumbled into tiny portions. Specialized foods are available for
single-species tank.

Choosing Live Foods.

Give your fish live food as a treat. Fishes derive a good deal of nutritional benefit from live food, and they visibly
enjoy hunting the insects that you introduce into the aquarium. Brine Shrimp, Bloodworm and Waterfleas are available from
many aquatic dealers, Or collect specimens from your garden or a local pond.

Culturing Live Foods.

Small worms can be cultured to provide a disease-free, year-around supply of live food. Begin by buying a culture of white
worm from your dealer. Place the worms in a box of earth or compost and place a slice of wet bread on the top for the worms
to feed on. They should breed rapidly and provide you with a continuous supply of fish food. Alternatively, you can culture
brine shrimps by hatching shop-bought eggs in a warm saltwater solution (1 tsp of sea-salt to 1 liter of tap water).

Food Scarps.

Much of the food that we eat ourselves is suitable for fishes when served in appropriately scaled-down portions. Slivers of
meat, crumbled cheese, shredded lettuce or spinach leaves, tinned peas, wheatgerm. And oat flakes are all acceptable items.

Food For All Your Fishes.

If you have a community aquarium, you will find that it is not practical to make up a meal containing small amounts of the
different foods for each species, so the best thing to do is to feed tablets at one feed, flake at another, live food at
another , and so on.

Overfeeding.

Feed your fishes sparingly as any uneaten food will decompose in the tank and eventually cause pollution problems. A good
method for measuring out the right amount of food for one meal is to give as much as you can pinch between your thumb and
forefinger.

Holiday Feeding Needs.

As long as your fishes are well fed before your holiday, they will be able to withstand a two-week fast without any
ill-effects. If, however, you prefer to trust a friend to feed your fish, make up several small packet of fish food in the
correct amount for one serving and leave instructions for the serving times for each of the “packet meal”.
* Automatic feeders are available but these can be rather expensive.

Setting An Aquarium

October 20th, 2007    Subscribe To Our Feed

Setting Up An Aquarium.

Aquascape your aquarium using materials such as gravel, rock, driftwood, and plants to make it attractive as well as
functional. However, your main priority should always be to establish a safe and healthy environment for your fishes.
Try to simulate the natural habitat of your chosen species and select your plants and other decorative materials accordingly.
Use rocks and plants to create plenty of hiding places for the more timid species.

Cleaning Equipment For Aquarium Tank.

Whatever materials you use for aquascaping your aquarium tank, they must always be thoroughly cleaned and free from all
foreign bodies. It is worth purchasing cleaning equipment: a sieve to wash gravel; a bucket to wash plants and soak bogwood;
and a scouring pad or brush to scrub rocks. Thoroughly clean any plants that wish to use in your aquarium in order to avoid
the risk of introducing parasites or predators.

Base Coverings For Your Aquarium Tank.

Pea gravel with particle size of around 3 mm is ideal for most freshwater aquarium tanks. Other materials, such as aquarium
peat and coal, are also available if you wish to simulate a specific habitat. Sand or shingle collected from the seashore
are suitable materials for marine tanks. Crushed coral sand is also an option, but it is expensive.

Decorative Materials

Enhance your aquascape and conceal unsightly hardware with rocks, shells, and logs. However, take care that you do not
obstruct the filter pipes. Attach wood to bits of slate using sealant, to prevent it floating to the surface.

Starting Your Aquarium.

The key to setting up your aquarium successfully is to plan everything thoroughly beforehand. Not only do the fishes
need to be compatible, but everything that goes into the tank, including rocks and plants, must be suited to the system
you have chosen. Planning your aquascape on paper before you begin will save you both time and money in the long term.
A good design should hide technical hardware, while leaving plenty of space for the fish to swim freely.

The Importance Of The Plants.

Aquatic plants will visually enhance your freshwater tank and give fishes shade and shelter.
* Plants keep the water conditions pure by absorbing carbon dioxide and giving off oxygen.
* Aquatic plants also help remove another waste product: nitrate. If you have a biological filter installed in your
aquarium, this will break down ammonia (which fishes excrete) into less harmful nitrate, which aquatic plants are then
able to utilize as food.
* For a healthy aquarium, ensure your plants receive plenty of light.

Choosing Plants For Your Aquarium Tank.

Not only do your fishes need to be compatible, plants must also be suited to the particular system that you have chosen.
Some genera contain both coldwater and tropical species but this dose not mean that every species within these genera can
be used in both systems. Some coldwater types, however, can be acclimatized to tropical conditions.

Artificial Plant.

If you keep herbivorous fish species, they will quickly denude your aquarium tank of any plants. Artificial replicas are
available as inexpensive alternatives. Made of supple plastic in variety of colours, they have a base-plate that you must
bury firmly in the gravel at the bottom of the tanks.

The Marine Aquarium

Live plants cannot be kept in a marine aquarium, but you an add synthetic plants and corals to enhance your aquarium tank.
Sea-anemones are suitable for both tropical and coldwater system. Macro-algae, which make an excellent source of food for
many species of fish, are also available. Algae growth can become rampant under strong light, however, and will obscure the
tank if left unchecked.

Adding Plants.

When planting your aquarium, begin by placing the taller around the back and sides of the tank. But don’t hide the glass
completely – by leaving small gaps you will create the illusion of space beyond. Low – growing species look particularly
good in front of rocks and caves. Select a “star” specimen plant, which stands out from the rest of the plants, as a
centerpiece for your aquascape.

Aquarium Equipment

October 19th, 2007    Subscribe To Our Feed

Before you spend any money on fish for your aquarium, you must find out all the aquarium equipment you will need to provide
and maintain the right environment that is essential for your fishes’ well-being. Investigate the various different methods of
heating, lightning, and cleaning your tank.

Aquarium Tank Shape.

You can have any shape of aquarium tank you like, bearing in mind that the number of fishes in the aquarium depends on the
surface area, not the depth, nor the overall volume of water. The “standard” tank shape is based on the double cube,
with the longest side being the horizontal.

Siting Your Aquarium Tank.

Make sure that you choose a suitable position for your aquarium on a very firm, level base, away from cold draughts
and direct sunlight.

* Avoid window locations; too much sunlight will cause overheating, and excessive algae growth will result.
* Site your aquarium tank near to an electrical socket point to provide power to run airpumps, heaters, and filters.
* Cushion the aquarium tank with a slab of expanded polystyrene to absorb any irregularities in surface below.
* Leave enough space around the tank for all hardware, and to allow access for aquarium maintenance.
* Never attempt to move a full tank not even reposition it slightly.

The importance Of Filtration.

It is absolutely essential that the water in the aquarium stays clean and fresh at all times if your fish are to
remain healthy. No matter how your aquarium appears when you first set it up, the water will quickly become contaminated
by dissolved waste products from the fishes. this dirt, whether visible or not, cab be removed using a aquarium filter.
However, remember that the filter itself needs to be properly maintained because a neglected filter becomes nothing more
than a box of concentrated dirt through which the aquarium water is continually passed. Water returning from the filters
help oxygenate the aquarium.

Choosing an Aquarium Filter System.

Filtration equipment varies from simple foam filters to sophisticated “total” filter system.

* An external, air-operated filter has several advantages: it is inexpensive, efficient, and easy to access and clean.
* Internal filters, although often simple and effective, have a major drawback - cleaning and maintenance is difficult,
and as the filter is removed, dirty water can spill back into the tank.
* There is another type of internal filter which is Biological Filtration, this filtration system, which has no filter
medium, introduces a colony of benefical bacteria into the gravel surface in order to neutralize toxic substances in the
water. It has several advantage over other types of filter. It is relatively unobtrusive, need no long hoses, and is quiet
in operation. Suitable for all aquariums, it is obligatory for marine systems.

The Importance Of Aeration.

Not only dose the water need to be clean; it must also contain a healthy amount of oxygen. This is especially important in
coldwater aquarium during the summer months, when the dissolve oxygen level falls as the water warms up. An airpump is an
artificial aid that introduces more oxygen into the water and, at the same time, disperses some of the harmful carbon dioxide.
Aeration has a further advantage in that it helps to equalize the temperature throughout the aquarium.

Aquarium Airpump.

The larger the pump, the more air it produces. However, even the smallest airpump will provide enough air for a standard-sized
aquarium tank. You will need a large airpump only if you intend to use it for purposes other than simple aeration, such as to
operate filters, airstones, or brine-shrimp hatchers.

Heating The Aquarium Tank.

Unlike other aquarium hardware, such as lights, airpumps, and filters, heaters are only necessary if you want to keep tropical
species. Use a thermostatically controlled heater to maintain the water temperature at around 25oC. Some are fitted with alarms
to alert to changes.

Choosing A Heater.

The heater you choose for your aquarium tank must be powerful enough to heat it properly. As a guide, allow 10 watts of power
per five liters of water for a tank that is in a normally heater room. For yanks over 90cm (36 inch), heat distribution is
more even if you spread the heater requirement over two separate units.

Water Supply.

It is the best policy to give your fishes water that is as close as possible in quality to that in which they are found
naturally. However, the majority of aquarium fishes adjust well to domestic water supplies, provided that precautions are
taken to neutralize the effects of any chemicals that may be added.

Using A Sea-Mix

If you live near the coast, you will have access to a ready supply of natural seawater for your marine aquarium. However,
it is usually better to use a synthetic substitute known as a “sea-mix” to avoid the risk of introducing disease. Mixes are
available in different-sized bags to suit different aquarium tank size.

Water Don’ts….

Don’t make any sudden changes to the water conditions.

* Do not change the water in the aquarium tank unless it is the correct composition and temperature.
* Don’t change fishes from tank to tank unless the water condition in each of the tanks is exactly the same.
* Don’t use saltwater to top up evaporation losses in marine aquarium tanks, use freshwater instead as salts are not lost during evaporation.
* If you use rainwater in your aquarium tank. Don’t collect it from a dirty roof or from metallic containers.
* Water and electricity do not mix.

Lighting For Your Aquarium.

As well as allowing you to see the contents of your aquarium properly, light acts as a stimulus for life, both for fishes
and plants. Plants require the right amount of light in order to photosynthesize. This action is beneficial to fishes as it
helps keep carbon dioxide levels down to a minimum. Use fluorescent rather than tungsten lighting, which produces uneven
illumination and excessive heat.

Freshwater Tropical Fish Aquarium

July 22nd, 2007    Subscribe To Our Feed

Freshwater Tropical Fish Aquarium.

The most popular branch of freshwater tropical fishkeeping in the aquarium, the tropical freshwater system is also the easiest for the beginner, despite the fact that technical equipment is needed for freshwater tropical fish aquarium. The system supports a large range of species, most of which are relatively small and hardly. Tropical freshwater fishes are often brightly coloured. They require less space than fish from other systems.

Coldwater Freshwater Tropical Fish Aquarium.

The coldwater freshwater tropical fish aquarium system does not require as much technology as its freshwater tropical fish aquarium, but such tropical fish aquarium is more difficult to maintain. A more powerful fish aquarium filter is needed to keep the water clean and, because coldwater fishes consume more oxygen than tropical fishes, a larger tropical fish tank is necessary. Use aquatic plants to help oxygenate the water.

Know about Freshwater And Marine Aquarium

June 27th, 2007    Subscribe To Our Feed

Why keep an aquarium of fish?

There are many advantages to keeping fish with an aquarium: they are relatively easy to look after-
routine maintenance only requires a few minutes of your attention daily, supplemented by an hour or so once a week;

the aquarium fish don’t disrupt the home with messy fur or feathers;
they don’t need any exercise;
and they don’t make any noise.

Anyone can keep an aquarium of fishes, even in the smallest homes or in houses where other pets are prohibited.

Freshwater Aquarium or Marine Aquarium?

To avoid disappointment, gain experience with freshwater fishes before tackling the more demanding marine aquarium.
Although tropical marine fishes are undoubtedly the most spectacular species, many freshwater fishes also display quite
beautiful colours and long, elegant finnage.

Freshwater aquarium have the advantage of being able to support aquatic plants, which can make attractive features in their
own right.

Copyright © 2007 Fish Guide And Aquarium

Credits: Make Money Online | Matteo Turchetto | Andreas Viklund