Evan Almighty Fish - Or Me?

When I watched Evan Almighty with some friends and the fish tank scene came up they all shouted out - that's just like you!!! LOL Yip I admit it - I cannot go near my big tank without my fishies all following my every move - if I sit on the chair at the side of the tank you can see a nearly empty 460 liter tank because they are all clamped up at the side of the tank where I am sitting ... actually I really should take a foto... hey I love my fish and they love me ;)

Ramirezi & Otocinclus in the Wild

Filmed in their natural habitat - lovely to see them in their own environment...  I am amazed there is any algae left when you see the amount of Otocinclus caught with one swoop of the net!

                                           The Ramirezi

                                     The Otocinclus Affinis

Proud of your Aquarium? Want to show it off?

I have decided to start a new monthly - The readers tank of the Month so if you are super proud of your aquarium and want to show it off mail me at Fishaliciousfish@gmail.com - it will consist of a mini interview and piccies - cannot wait to see those lovely tank on here x

Amazing Tank - The Fish Highway

In the US you can find the Fish Highway - the pics speak for themselves ;)

What is a Fish Highway?
Imagine a means for fish to swim out the top of your aquarium, up to the ceiling, across the room and then down into another tank. That's a fish highway. Click here to see an illustration submitted in 1877 for the first one patented in the US. Today they're made of acrylic plastic, the same material used for many custom built aquariums.

Why doesn't the water spill out of the highway?
The highway tube is completely sealed except for the openings at each end which are submerged below the tank water levels. Like a large drinking straw, when the air is sucked out of the tube the water rises inside it and will stay there unless you let the air back in.

Does it harm the fish?
As the fish swim higher the pressure drops a little but it's only slightly lower than the pressure pressure in the tank.

How do you fill it?
When the air is sucked out of the sealed tube the water from the tanks flows into it. Eventually, after all the air is removed the tube is filled with water.

How do you clean it?
Water flows through the highway continuously so the tank filters clean the water in the highway. Algae is removed using cleaning magnets for acrylic tanks.

How does water flow through the highway?
Water is pumped through a separate pipe from one tank to the other using a small pump. As the tank water levels change (one rises and the other falls) flow is induced through the highway by the force of gravity.

For more foto's & info check http://www.fishighway.com/

Dry & Rain Seasons in Aquarium help with Spawning

Many fish from tropical areas have seasons when they spawn due to changes in their natural environment. Most often they spawn when the rainy season begins, because it brings increased food supply and increased possibility for the fry to find food and shelter. To try to re-create as many of the changes as possible that occur during the rainy season's beginning might be one way to spawn species that otherwise are very difficult to spawn. Many species are so easy to spawn you need not use these, in many cases cumbersome methods that are described below, but certain species and groups of species might need it. Begin with the general rules for breeding a certain species or group of species. If you don't succeed, try with the suggestions below.

The following is a compilation of a way to breed fish that come from areas with marked dry and rainy seasons i.e. the Amazon and Rio Negro areas in South America. Data and ideas have been collected from a lot of different sources, both from books, friends and the Internet, and are based on Kristian Adolfsson's experience of breeding catfishes and tetras from South America.

This simulated dry and rainy season cycle takes about 4 weeks to go through. Using a simpler method people have been able to breed Panaque nigrolineatus, Sturisoma sp., and Siamese algae eater, which are thought to be very difficult to spawn.

      
           Siamese Algae Eater (Crossoheilus siamensis)

Spawning triggers in nature

Below follows a list of the different changes that can occur during the rainy season's beginning and that might trigger a species to spawn. They are not listed in any particular order and which of them a certain species needs to spawn is not fully known.

1. Low pressure
   After a long period of high pressure in the end of the dry season the barometric pressure falls in connection with the first rain.
2. Increased food supply
   After a starvation period during the end of the dry season the food supply increases drastically. Certain species look like skeletons during the end of the dry season and have perhaps been without food for more than a month. Certain species even eat detritus to get some nutrition.
3. Changed food types
   During the dry season the scarce food might consist of bottom dwelling animals (red mosquito larvae) and decaying plant parts. When the rainy season starts the food changes to insects that fall down on the surface, mosquito larvae (especially white and perhaps black) and other water insects, pollen from flowers, seeds, fruits, fresh leaves and eggs and fry from other species that have begun to spawn earlier.
4. Increased water flow
   The rain results in increased flow of water. The fish have to get more active. Some species migrate up-stream to get to calmer and more suitable spawning areas.
5. Increased oxygen levels
   The rain that falls on the water surface increases the oxygen level in the water. The increased water flow also makes the oxygen level increase. In many cases a high oxygen level is a condition for the eggs and fry to make it during their first days.
6. Dilution of dissolved substances in the water
   The longer the dry season lasts, the more salts, humic substances and organic material will be concentrated in the amount of water that remains. When the rain starts the concentration of the above mentioned substances decrease in the water due to dilution. The river, the stream etc. is diluted with rainwater that has zero in hardness, which lowers the hardness and often even the pH.
7. Change of the water temperature
   The water temperature is most often lowered due to cloudiness and the cold rainwater. How big the difference is, depends on from where the fish comes. In high terrain the temperature differences are most often larger than down in the lowlands (10ºC compared to a few degrees).
8. Change in water depth
   The increased water volume causes the water surface to rise. The water pressure at the bottom increases and the fish gets a larger swimming space vertically. The distance to the water surface will be longer for the species that goes to the surface to catch air.
9. Spawning sites become available
   At the end of the rainy season there is often only water in the middle of the river or stream and there are very few plants or hiding places. With increasing water depth, the fish can find new flooded areas with plants, roots, tree trunks and shadows to be able to hide eggs and give the fry a better chance to hide.
10. Changes in the light
    The amount of light and duration of light decreases due to cloudiness in connection with the rain. Certain parts of the day can be very dark during the most intense rain. With more clouds in the sky it takes longer time in the morning before it gets light and it darkens faster in the evening.
    Even the angle that the light penetrates the surface varies from one part of the year to the other. The longer from the equator, the more the variation.
    Note that certain species want almost complete darkness to spawn (they live under dense vegetation, among tree roots and in black water).
11. Increased plant plankton level
    When the rainy season occurs the amount increases in certain waters. This is also a signal to the adult fish to spawn because there is food for smaller fry.
12. Right time of the year
    Certain species have a very strong "biological clock" that is linked to when the rain and dry seasons occurs in their natural distribution area.
13. Other fish spawn
    Hormones in the water from other fish that spawns might affect another species to spawn.
14. Sound
    Even the rain's splashing against the surface might be a signal to spawn. Maybe also the sound of thunder.

How do we simulate these things in the tank?

Below are suggestions on how to simulate the different stimuli that are listed above. Which to choose depend on which species is to be bred. Certain species might require only a few, i.e. good feeding and a water change with lower water temperature, while others need most of the items from the list. The list below follows the same order as above.

1. Low pressure
   Many have written about their fish having spawned during low pressures. The same species might in many cases spawn during a high pressure if the right circumstances are present though. Low pressure is of course impossible to simulate in a tank, so keep an eye on the weather forecasts and start a simulated rainy season during a passage of a low pressure. A barometer might be good to have handy to check the trend for the air pressure.
2. Increased food supply
   If the fish are in good condition when they are set to spawn they can manage to starve for several weeks. When the feeding later begins again this will trigger the instinct to spawn.
3. Changed food types
   A change of composition of food might trigger a spawn. In some waters in South America the amount of mosquito larvae increases (especially white mosquito larvae) during the beginning of the rainy season. If you don't feed mosquito larvae during the time before setting a species to spawn and then begin to feed with them during the simulated beginning of the rainy season is a way to simulate the change.
4. Increased water flow
   Easily solved with different forms of pumps and filters. Certain species lay their eggs close to the largest water flow in the tank, in front of the outflow of the filter.
5. Increased oxygen levels
   Use air driven filter and air stones. One can also let a motor filter "splash" in the surface to increase the amount of oxygen. An air diffusor can also be used.
6. Dilution of dissolved substances in the water
   Build a higher level of humic substances (i.e. peat and alder cones) and salts (fertilizer, CaCO₃, MgSO₄) during the simulated dry season. Later dilute with as soft water as possible when the rainy season begins (preferably RO water).
7. Change of the water temperature
   Use submersible heaters to keep the temperature up during the dry season. Note that certain species can't take too high or too low temperatures and that certain species prefer high temperatures to spawn. These species perhaps seek out flooded grassy areas to spawn where the sun heats up the shallow waters.
   To lower the temperature one only decreases the setting on the submersible heater until it can be turned off. To further lower the temperature one might ventilate the room or put an ?ice block? in the tank.
8. Change in water depth
   Lower the water level to 25% of normal during the dry season. Increase it to normal level during a couple of days when the rainy season begins.
9. Spawning sites become available
   Change the plants and decorations. If no gravel is used, plant plants in pots and move caves and roots to make it a new environment more suitable for spawning.
10. Changes in the light
    Light intensity: With several bulbs on the tank, it's easy to turn off all but one (or perhaps only use daylight). Other ways might be to put paper between the hood and the cover glass.
    Light duration: At the equator the duration of light is about 12-14 hours year round. The longer from the equator you get the larger the difference between the seasons. Shorten with 1-2 hours each in the morning and evening. Use a timer!
    Light angle: Hard to simulate in the tank.
11. Increased plant plankton level
    Not possible to simulate easily in the tank but one might try with infusoria. Even if it does not stimulate the spawning it might be a good first food for certain species with very small fry.
12. Right time of the year
    Wild caught fish might require that it should be during the rainy season in the area from where they come, for them to spawn in our tanks. Check exactly from where the species comes from and when the rainy season occurs there. Captive bred fish have most often had their sense of when it is the rainy season and when it is not reduced and might often be bred year round. The same could be true for young fish that are wild caught. If they have not experienced a rainy season it might be easier to breed them during another point of time than when they normally spawn in the nature.
13. Other fish spawning
    Let an easily bred species spawn in the same tank as the more difficult one. It works as a natural hormone treatment. An alternative might be to let an easily spawned species spawn in a separate tank, and take water for the tank with the more difficult species from the tank where the easily species spawns.
14. Sound
    Add water through a plexi glass plate with lots of very small holes. The drops that fall through simulate the rain beating on the water surface.

Further ideas that are used by breeders are:

• Filter over limestone during the simulated rainy season. Does make the water harder but it might be that the change in water chemistry that makes certain species spawn.
• Move the well-fed fish from one tank without optimum conditions (no spawning substrate, "wrong" water parameters, many fish that are "disturbing", etc.) to a tank with the right conditions for spawning. The move itself together with all the changes that occurs might get the fish to spawn (good way to breed many tetras).

Suggestion of a breeding scheme

Preparations and tips

Choose a tank with the right size for the species in question. The tank should have a volume that will be enough when only 25% of the aquarium is filled. The most important issue is that the oxygen level is kept high enough without filter and air stones. Arrange for hiding places and a few plants. The tank should look like the end of the dry season.

• Bottom material

  Whether to use bottom material or not can be debated. The most common is to have some kind of gravel but peat or filter floss can be used. When a bottom material is used it will help increase the surface for good bacteria to multiply.

  Advantages with bottom material:

  • some species prefer a dark bottom, other a pale one. Some pale Corydoras prefer a pale bottom.
  • many species "like" to probe around in the bottom for food
  • less risk of fungus attack on bottom dwelling fry (i.e. Corydoras)
  • eggs that fall to the bottom are harder for the parents to find and eat
  • no reflections from the bottom

  Disadvantages with bottom material:

  • Difficult to see if all food has been eaten
  • Difficult to clean without vacuuming out sand/peat
• If you don't know how the fish spawn you have to set up the tank with a little of everything. The plants can be varied with large leafed plants (Java fern, Echinodorus, Anubias, and Hydrocotyle), fine leafed (Myriophyllum, Cabomba, and Egeria), narrow leafed (Vallisneria) and other (java moss, Najas). Large plants can be planted in pots for easy removal. Use roots, plastic pipes of different diameters, etc. Plastic plants can be used instead of live ones. The can be easily disinfected and be cleaned from snails etc.
• The tank should be filled with the water from the tank where the fish were before and have the same temperature. Make sure the water has been changed newly (low nitrite and nitrate levels).
• A filter with adjustable flow should be used.
• The light hood should be able to give a high light level.
• The heater should be mounted along the bottom but yet be easy to adjust. Make sure it's a good quality heater that can be fully submerged.
• Cover the sides and top with paper to avoid scaring the fish when you are moving about in the room.
• Do not feed white or black mosquito larvae before the spawning attempt.
• Make sure you have peat (black peat is preferable), alder cones, leaves, peat extract or whatever you want to use. Make sure that the carbonate hardness is at about 2-3 kH to avoid to low pH levels when you add the peat etc.
• Choose healthy and mature animals in the right proportion between males and females depending on the species and put them in the breeding tank. They should be well fed to be able to survive a two-week dry season period.

Simulation scheme

End of rainy season. Still some food and the water level has not started to lower.

Day 1. Feed about 1/10 of normal. The lights should now have a level between full power and "cloudy", about 14 hours. Filter running at full speed.

Day 2. Lower the water level about 10%, feed 1/10 of normal. Add some calcium carbonate and magnesium sulphate to raise total and carbonate hardness 1 degree each. (An alternative is to take out 20% of the water and add half the amount with hard tap water if that's available.) Add a dose of plant fertiliser according to instructions of your product (gives more dissolved salts in the water).

Day 3. Lower the water level about 10%, skip feeding. Increase the temperature about one degree.

Day 4. Lower the water level about 10%. Increase total and carbonate hardness 1 degree each. Feed 1/10 of normal. Put peat, alder comes, leaves, etc. in the water. Tannins etc. will be leached from these items over the coming days.

The beginning of the dry season. Food supply decreases and ceases. The water level and current decreases. The temperature increases in the remaining water.

Day 5. Lower the water level about 10%, skip feeding. Increase the temperature about one degree. Decrease the flow by adjusting the filter. Check pH.

Day 6. Lower the water level about 10%, feed 1/10 of normal.

Day 7. Lower the water level about 10%. Increase total and carbonate hardness 1 degree each. Stop feeding until day 21. Increase the temperature about one degree.

Day 8. Lower the water level about 10%.

Day 9. Lower the water level about 10%. Increase total and carbonate hardness with 1 degree each. Shut off air stones. Take out the filter and clean it. Let the filter run in another tank so it has a working bacterial culture when it's needed in a week.

Day 10. Lower the water level about 10%. The water level should be down to 25% of the tank capacity. The temperature should be around 28 degrees. Put peat, alder comes, leaves, etc. in the water. Add plant fertiliser. Increase the lighting to max. Take away any floating plants. Start an infusoria culture. Check pH.

Day 11-19. Leave the fish in peace.

Beginning of rainy season. The first clouds can be seen in the sky but no rain has started to fall.

Day 20. Clean the filter that has been working in another tank. Decrease the lighting, both the intensity and the length (down to about 10 hours). Take out the peat, leaves etc. Check the pH.

First rain fall.

Day 21. Put the floating plants back in. Add more plants of the type the fish like for spawning. Add clean, as soft as possible, water (preferable RO), about 20% of the tank volume. The water should have about 3 degrees lower temperature than the tank. Put in the filter and run it at half speed if possible. One could try to turn off the light a couple of hours in the middle of the day to simulate thick clouds. Lower the temp on the heater 2 degrees. Feed a little twice with mosquito larvae and newly hatched brine shrimps. Add infusoria so that the water gets a slight cloudiness.

Day 22. Add the equivalent of 20% of the tank volume. The water should be about 5 degrees lower in temperature than the tank. Run the filter at full speed and make it "splash" in the surface. Lower the temp on the heater 2 degrees. Feed a lot and often. Add infusoria so that the water gets a slight cloudiness. Add a vitamin product and plant fertiliser according to instructions of your product.

Day 23. Add the equivalent of 20% of the tank volume. The water should be about 5 degrees lower in temperature than the tank. Add aeration at a low level. Lower the temp on the heater 2 degrees. Feed a lot. Add infusoria so that the water gets a slight cloudiness.

Day 24. Turn off the heater if the fish can take such low temperatures. Aeration at half speed. Fill the tank. The water should be about 5 degrees lower in temperature than the tank. If you can, open a window during the night to lower the temp further. Feed a lot. Add infusoria so that the water gets a slight cloudiness.

Height of the rainy season

Day 25. Aeration at full speed. Change 50% of the water volume. Feed a lot.

Day 26-?. Cary on as day 25 until they spawn!

Your Fishies are an Important Food Source Natively

Those fish in your home aquarium may be important food sources in their native lands. According to figures recently released by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization's (FAO) Fisheries Department many fish typically kept by aquarium owners figure significantly in the daily nutrition of people in tropical Africa, Asia, and South America. There's something to consider the think about the next time you pick up new pets at your local fish store.

                               Arowana for Dinner

In South America many of the larger catfish (algae-eating Plecos and shovel-nosed catfish), characins (like Pacus and headstanders), and cichlids (Oscars, peacock bass) are widely harvested from rivers by local people. The Oscar, a popular ornamental fish in aquaria worldwide, is fished extensively in its Amazon home. In 2002, FAO estimates that around 183 metric tons of Oscars were taken out of rivers and streams in South America. In comparison, in Africa some 12,567 metric tons Mormyrids -- a family which includes the elephant-nosed fish -- were harvested from inland waters in 2002.

 

Overfishing is a problem in some freshwater habitats -- even the enormous Amazon river suffers from over exploitation of its fisheries. For example, the Arapaima – which in the past was regularly found to exceed 10 feet in length (3 m) – is rarely encountered today at a size greater than 8 feet (2.45 m).

Fish do feel Pain...scientists say

This is an article written by Alex Kirby of the BBC

The first conclusive evidence of pain perception in fish is said to have been found by UK scientists.

                   

Fish have pain receptors like us

This complements earlier findings that both birds and mammals can feel pain, and challenges assertions that fish are impervious to it.

The scientists found sites in the heads of rainbow trout that responded to damaging stimuli.

They also found the fish showed marked reactions when exposed to harmful substances.

The argument over whether fish feel pain has long been a subject of dispute between anglers and animal rights activists.

The research, by a team from the Roslin Institute and the University of Edinburgh, is published in Proceedings B of the Royal Society, the UK's national academy of science.

The researchers, led by Dr Lynne Sneddon, say the "profound behavioural and physiological changes" shown by the trout after exposure to noxious substances are comparable to those seen in higher mammals.

They investigated the fish for the presence of nociceptors, sites that respond to tissue-damaging stimuli.

Multiple sensitivity

The researchers applied mechanical, thermal and chemical stimuli to the heads of anaesthetised fish and recorded their neural activity.

Dr Sneddon said: "We found 58 receptors located on the face and head of the trout that responded to at least one of the stimuli.

                   

               Fish just don't have the brains to recognise pain 
               Dr Bruno Broughton
               National Angling Alliance

"Of these, 22 could be classified as nociceptors in that they responded to mechanical pressure and were stimulated when heated above 40 Celsius.

"Eighteen receptors also responded to chemical stimulation and can be defined as polymodal nociceptors."

These polymodal receptors are the first to be found in fish, and resemble those in amphibians, birds and mammals, including humans.

But mechanical thresholds were lower than those found in human skin, for example, perhaps because fish skin is relatively easily damaged.

Double check

The mere presence of nociception in an animal is not enough to prove that it feels pain, because its reaction may be a reflex.

Proof requires demonstrating that the animal's behaviour is adversely affected by a potentially painful experience, and that these behavioural changes are not simple reflex responses.

                    

                       Hurt trout behaved differently

So the researchers injected bee venom or acetic acid into the lips of some of the trout, with control groups receiving saline solution injections or simply being handled.

All the fish had been conditioned to feed at a ring in their tank, where they were collected for handling or injection.

Dr Sneddon said: "Anomalous behaviours were exhibited by trout subjected to bee venom and acetic acid.

Different development

"Fish demonstrated a 'rocking' motion, strikingly similar to the kind of motion seen in stressed higher vertebrates like mammals.

"The trout injected with the acid were also observed to rub their lips onto the gravel in their tank and on the tank walls. These do not appear to be reflex responses."

The fish injected with venom and acid also took almost three times longer to resume feeding than the control groups.

Dr Sneddon said the team's work "fulfils the criteria for animal pain". Previous work on fish had looked at the elasmobranchs, fish including sharks, skates and rays with cartilaginous skeletons, and at primitive vertebrates like the lamprey.

Dr Sneddon said: "These studies did not conclusively show the presence of nociceptors.

 

"We believe our study is the first work with fish of the teleost family [those with bony skeletons], and the results may represent an evolutionary divergence between the teleost and elasmobranch lineages."

The Fish Veterinary Society described the research as "an interesting contribution to the debate".

Dawn Carr, director of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Europe), said: "It's shocking that people will still go fishing for fun.

"For every cruel thing people do, there is a compassionate alternative.

"There are so many ways to enjoy the outdoors - we hope people would go hiking, camping, boating; any sort of sport that doesn't involve animal suffering would be preferable," she said.

The organisation Compassion in World Farming called upon the UK Government to respond to the findings with legislation to improve the living conditions of fish living on fish farms.

The UK's National Angling Alliance described the study's finding's as "surprising".

Dr Bruno Broughton, a fish biologist and NAA adviser, said: "I doubt that it will come as much of a shock to anglers to learn that fish have an elaborate system of sensory cells around their mouths...

"However, it is an entirely different matter to draw conclusions about the ability of fish to feel pain, a psychological experience for which they literally do not have the brains," he said.

He quoted from a study by Professor James Rose of the University of Wyoming, US, in which it was found fish did not possess the necessary and specific regions of the brain, the neocortex.

Takashi Amano - his 9000 Liter home tank

Me Jealous???  Noooooo   (I am such a bad liar)   hehehehe

Now excuse me while I wipe the drool marks from my PC screen...

New Fish in the Tanks

So here are the newest fishies on the block:

6 x Corydoras trilineatus

 

10 x Pygmy Corydoras

10 x Boraras Maculatus

I am a bit sad that they did not have the Dario Dario in but next time ;)   They will be mine - muhahahahahaha

Shop Review - Kreeftengarnalen.nl

I have visited their site often to get information on shrimps (their speciality) and always find the site easy and user friendly to navigate. They also have a wonderful forum community.

I had previously ordered an aquarium from them - the Aquacube 40 and the owner was lovely enough to bring it in person (I live around 30km from them)

As well as shrimp they offer a wide array of fish including some very rare ones which are hard to find - they work via an order system - you order the fish and as soon as they have arrived or been imported they give you a call to let you know the fish are ready to pick up. With so many fish on offer to order from on their site get ready to be spending a long time in the shop trying to decide ;) ;) It is also worth noting that they also sell a lot of accessories and foods and in my opinion only the best foods.

So yesterday my order was ready and I called to make an appointment to pick them up...I also mentioned that my Aquacube lamp was broken and the owner was lovely and told me to bring it with me.

The shop itself is well maintained with many tanks for fish as well as plants - there are also some show aquaria to look at. Everything is laid out very professionally and it is very welcoming as are Daniel & Miranda the owners. Specializing in Shrimp I was expecting to see only a few fish but was pleasantly surprised by the fish on offer. I even spotted a fish I had never seen - the Channa micropeltes

A very striking fish indeed with a beautiful bright red stripe - easily an unusual fish to fall in love with - after checking online about it on getting home you suddenly realize that this beauty loses it's beauty (red stripe) pretty quick as it grows and that this little cutie grows upto 100cm and will pretty quickly clean your tank out of other fish!!!

So back to the fish I was there for - the corydoras were already lovingly packed and waiting for me as were the Otocinclus. Whilst I perused all the tanks and checking for a female Apistogramma Cacatouides Daniel took a look at my broken lamp for me.

Unfortunately I could only spot 1 I thought might be a juvenile female - they rest were definitely all males. The 3 Dario Dario's I had also ordered had ended up as lunch for another tank mate (hey these little guys are only 1cm - 1.5cm so it can easily happen)

Daniel & Miranda were easy about me swapping the order of 1 female caca and the 3 dario's for other fish and I even believe that the 10 Boraras I picked were even worth a bit more!!

The broken lamp in the meanwhile had been fixed and silly me had not brought any cash (I cannot enter a fish shop with cash as I always end up spending a small mortgage so I always make sure I only have change on me) Again they were lovely about it and told me it would be possible to transfer the money to their bank account.

I left the shop a very happy girl with my new fish and a fixed lamp.

Unfortunately the purchased 'female'' cacatouides has also turned out to be a male which became apparent as soon as it came face to face with one of my males - how hard can it be to find a female these days??? Arghhhhhz So I now have 4 males and no females <sighs>

Scores out of 5

Shop Outlay - 5
Cleanliness - 5
Knowledge - 4.5
Dead fish - 5 (not one single one to be seen)
Customer Service - 5

Thumb rating

out of 5

More on the fish I purchased and foto's later once they have settled ;)

Plant of the Month - Eustralis stellata

      From Asia
Height 25cm
Temp: 25-28C
Light: Medium to High

A fast grower with so much beauty!!   The less light the less red but if you have lower lighting the tips at the top turn red as soon as it get's closer to the surface

Can be a lovely red feature in the aqua as seen above in the middle                        

                         
                            How you get it from the LFS

Monty Python - Fish License

Typical John Cleese ;)

Water Chemistry in Simple Terms

If you have an aqua then you know there is a lot of chemistry going on in there ...  it can get pretty confusing so let's see if we can make this simple.  Once you know what is what then it make sure aqua a much healthier place and it let's your fishies thrive.  So invest in a nice little test kit - it is fun and makes you feel like a kid with a chemistry set all over again.

                       

Let's start at the beginning...when you first start up a aqua the following happens:  Ammonia   ->   Nitrite   ->   Nitrate

This is called the Nitrogen Cycle:

This cycle usually takes from 2-8 weeks to complete and will happen in all new aquariums. You could speed up the process by using the filter material or gravel from an established tank. Even then it could still take a few weeks for the tank to cycle. This is the cycle whereby Ammonia is converted to Nitrites and Nitrites are converted to Nitrates.  Once completed it is safe to add your fish - please don't do so beforehand as it can be a horrible death for fish.

                                        Ammonia:

                            

This chemical is the result of fish waste and decomposing food in the aquarium. Ammonia is the leading killer of tropical fish. New tanks that are going through the aquarium cycle or heavily stocked tanks will show ammonia readings with your test kits. Ideally, we want the ammonia reading to be 0 ppm.

                                        Nitrite:

                            

Ammonia gets converted to nitrite by the bacteria in your tank. Nitrite levels will soar in new tanks that have not yet been cycled. Nitrite is just as toxic to tropical fish as ammonia and the only way to quickly reduce nitrite levels is through a water change. Nitrites will eventually be converted to nitrate by the bacteria growing in the tank and filters. Ideally, in established tanks you want this reading to be 0 ppm

                                      Nitrate:

                           

Nitrites are converted to nitrates during the cycling process. Nitrates are not as toxic as ammonia or nitrites but they are harmful and will stress your fish at high enough levels. The only way to remove the nitrates is through a partial water change. Ideally you want to have test kit readings of less than 20 ppm

The above are the most important to get your head around first.  the next few things which are good to measure are:

                                         PH

                          

pH is the scale used to measure the acidity or alkalinity of water. The scale ranges from 0 to 14 with 0 being the most acidic, 7 being neutral and 14 being the most alkaline. It is possible to raise or lower your pH levels with water changes or chemicals from your local pet store (although I recommend more natural methods)   Check what kind of PH your tank has and match fish that thrive in this PH - it is not nice for fishies who love a high PH of around 8 (guppies, platies) to swim around with dwarfcichlids who love a low PH downwards of 6.5.

                                   Phosphate

                          

Phosphate can be introduced to your aquarium mainly from tap water, dead plants and fish food. High phosphate levels can cause algae outbreaks. There are products on the market to remove phosphates and you can do your part by keeping up with your aquarium maintenance and performing regular water changes try to keep this below 1

                                Water Hardness

                           

The hardness level of water has to do with the amount of minerals that are dissolved in the water. Calcium and magnesium are the primary minerals that are dissolved in tap water. "Soft" water has relatively few dissolved minerals whereas "hard" water has many dissolved minerals. Water hardness is not really an issue unless your water is excessively soft. Then you may have problems with runaway pH levels

Some other stuff that can get into your aqua via the tap:

Chloramine
Chloramine is a combination of chlorine and ammonia. It is a stronger disinfectant than chlorine alone and is used in areas where this extra disinfectant is needed. As with chlorine, you must eliminate this chemical from your tap water before adding it to your aquarium or it too will kill your tropical fish.

Chlorine
This chemical is found in most tap water and it is used to kill the bad bacteria in our drinking water. Clorine must be eliminated before entering your aquarium or it will kill your tropical fish.

Copper
This heavy metal can come in with the tap water if you have older copper pipes. It can also get introduced to your tank if you've used any copper based medications. Copper can be very harmful to fish and invertebrates.

The above can all be removed with water conditioners to the water before adding it to the tank.

The Bits & Bobs on a Fish - Anatomy

Ever wondered what all the bits & bobs are called on a fish or wondered what someone was talking about when they were going on about the soft dorsal fin of their fish ... here a piccy to help (this is general some fish have their own bit & bobs)



Click here for a bigger pic

What the Bug is that in my Aqua??

You are peacefully staring into your aqua admiring your fish & plants but then - ARGHHHH  what on earth is that????

There are many kinds of little bugs that can come into the aqua - depending on if you have an open aqua, what you feed and also how clean you keep it all.   Here is a little look at some of the lovely or not so lovely bugs you may come across.

Copepods, Cyclops

Size: 0,1 - 0,2 cm, 0.04 - 0.1 inches
Copepods are small and funny looking one eyed crustaceans. They usually move around the tank glass and other surfaces, usually with one short leap at a time. Harmless, cute, there's lots of different coloured species.

Water Fleas, Daphnia

Size: 0,1 - 0,5 cm, 0.04 - 1/4 inches
Water fleas are usually used as fish food. They are tiny crustaceans and are easily recognized of their jerky vertical "swimming". They are completely harmless and really interesting creatures.

Seed Shrimp, Ostracoda

Size: 0,1 - 0,2 cm, 0.04 - 0.1 inches
Seed shrimp are tiny seed shaped crustaceans. They are usually a bit bigger than Copepods. They move in a same fashion as Copepods, eating all kinds of nice things from the glass/plant/etc. surfaces and you can see them walking inside the substrate too. Sometimes they swim in open water looking like drunken bees. Here's a really young CRS baby looking at a seed shrimp. Really cute, harmless.

Freshwater Limpet - Acroloxus lacustris


Size: 0,1 - 0,8 cm ; 0.04 - 0.3 inches
Since freshwater limpets, Acroloxus lacustris, are so small and also move really slowly, it might be hard to identify them as snails. They are small and can't do much damage to plants, but since they are small, it's impossible to find and remove eggs and the baby snails. Harmless.
Something that looks a bit similar are Nerite eggs. They are singular, white, hard, round or oval shaped and about 1 - 2 mm in diameter.

Tubifex

Size: 2 - 5 cm, 3/4 - 2 inches
Red, yummy worms (used as fish food too) which live inside the substrate. If disturbed and dig up, they will form a ball, if left alone, they will gather pieces of sand/gravel around their body forming a sort of tube where they live in and they'll stick their head out of the substrate looking like red hairgrass. If there's lots of them, the substrate is too dirty and might be good idea to do something about it. Only a few Tubifex in the substrate isn't anything to worry about though. They are harmless.

Nematodes
Size: 0,1 - 0,3 cm, max. 0.1 inches
Nematodes are small, thin, white/transparent free-living roundworms and the "swim" moving themselves in a wave like pattern (well, forming an S shape). If disturbed, they will swim around wriggling briskly. You can find them from the substrate and they are the ones that might appear from the filter when you turn it on. These ones are harmless, but as with any other "pest", if there's too many of them, you are either overfeeding or just not keeping the tank clean enough of debris, decaying plant matter.

Planaria, flatworms

Size: 0,3 - 1 cm, 0.1 - 3/8 inches
Non-parasitic flatworms. Crossed-eyed grossness, just pure yucky! The only small creature I dislike (I get shivers down my spine even thinking about them). If you split it, it will regenerate and you will end up having 2 planaria. There seems to be several different colours in the common ones found in aquariums, transparent, white, brown and red. There's actually nothing really horrible about them, but they can bother small shrimp and snails and might eat fish/snail eggs.
They love shrimp pellets, pieces of meat, dead fish/shrimp and they will also eat small live creatures if they can catch them. They move on the surfaces, even under the water surface and are most active by night. If disturbed, they will retract themselves (shorter and wider), let go and drop down to the bottom.

Hydra

Size: 0,3 - 1,5 cm, 0.1 - 1/2 inches
Hydra are beautiful, but a wee bit annoying creatures. They spend their life attached to surfaces (plants, glass, filter, decoration), they can move a bit, but usually don't have the need to do that. If disturbed, they will retract their tentacles and body to small buds. They catch small creatures (copepods, Daphnia etc.) with their tentacles which can sting, making it easier for them to haul the pray in to their mouth opening. They pose no threat to adult fish, shrimp or snails (might cause some irritation if they touch the Hydra), but newborn fish and shrimp fry are in danger.
The species in the picture is Hydra viridissima and the green color comes from algae living inside the hydra.

Bryozoa, moss animals

Size: individual creatures are only a few millimetres long, the colony can be tens of centimetres long
Bryozoans are interesting colonial creatures. They look a bit like corals with the hard skeleton structure of the colony. The individual creatures, zooids, are inside their own small part of the colony and they eat small particles (phytoplankton, zooplankton) floating in the water by guiding them (and water) towards their mouth opening with the fan like tentacles. If disturbed, the zooids will retract their tentacles inside the colony walls. They are harmless and really interesting.

Springtails, Collembola

Size: 0,1 - 0,3 cm, 0.04 - 0.1 inches
Springtails are cool hexapods. They are used as live food for fish that eat from the surface, for example small Betta species and labyrinth fishes. You can find them more often from soil or leaf litter than from the water surface, but once in a while they will appear on the floating aquarium plants. If disturbed, they will spring to safety releasing their "spring" (furcula) that's normally bent under their body. They can jump surprisingly far (several centimeters). Harmless and cute.

Mosquito larvae

Bloodworms

Dragonfly larva/pupa 

If you are unfortunate to spot one of these in your aquarium - get it out!!   (have fun trying to catch it)   In it's growth on it's way to become a dragonfly this larvae will eat anything it can get ... including smaller fish!  It will also attempt to kill bigger fish so it can feast on it... these little guys can stay at this larvae stage for 7 years!  If you are lucky then you have large fishies in your tank who will eat this guy as a snack ;)

Happy Bug Hunting xxx

Best Blog of the Day Award Today

How happy am I? I will be walking around with a grin all day long...

I would like to thank my mum...my fish...

ok ok I am going a bit over the top now ... I'll shut up already and enjoy silently ;) ;) ;)

Nominated for Best Animal Blog

Woohooo..how honoured am I?? If you have stumbled across this site and enjoy it please click on the award badge in the top right hand corner. Although my blog is nowhere near as good as many of them I do believe it is the only Tropical Fishkeeping one on there... so support the tropical fishies and spent 2 seconds voting it doesn't cost you anything and it makes a little person very happy ;)

(I am just desperate really...how embarrasing if it stays on 1) LOL

New fishies in the Big Tank - Bleheri

The only tetra's who really seem to understand what swimming in a school is all about - the Hemigrammus Bleheri

                 
              Still a bit skinny and not fully coloured yet - 
                            just released in the tank

I now have 20 of these cuties in the tank...  they are also great to see if your water quality is good...if their ruby red noses turn dull then you know something is wrong with your parameters straight away.  They are quite sensitive to water quality so maybe better for the little bit more advanced fish keeper.

Discovered by Heiko Bleher (wonder where they got their name from..)
From North Brazil - Colombia from blackwaters
Temperature: 23-27 °C
PH: 6,0-6,8
GH: 0-4
Swims in the lower and middle layers
Character:  very peaceful
Sexing - very difficult male is usually slimmer
Size: 4-5cm
Minimum tank length:  100cm (these guys really swim a lot)
Minimum amount:  don't go lower than 7 or 10
Food:  They eat absolutely everything

Memorieeeeees (be grateful you can't hear me sing ;)

So in honour of a new tank being in the house - yes it is a disease called MTS (multiple tank syndrome)  and me getting ready to put new inhabitants in it (you'll have to all wait and see ) I ended up looking back over the years and the tanks and fish I have - talk about being embarrassed - back then I thought my tanks were beautiful and looking at them now I cannot help but cringe <grins>  Excuse the terrible foto taking also...

So this is the fish that started the madness - Kaiser Soze

             

             

He was a beautiful Half Moon Betta who I bought at a specialist European Betta Show and he had flown all the way from Thailand for the show...   his character was amazing - very hand tame and doted on me..whenever near the tank he would swim up and greet me and follow my every move - he was the start of a big love and passion for me - he was always housed in his own 30 liter tank as he didn't like any other company than mine ... a man with taste...  ;)         I still miss him daily....

 

One of my first tanks

 

Yes you may laugh...  it housed the usual fish people start with neon's, platies and corydoras

here another one of my first ones

Aren't the white stones just amazingly artistic not to mention the house plants used instead of aquatic ones  LOL

 

I won't embarrass myself further by posting more...  enough torturing already but I hope this give a bit of hope to other starters... it does get a lot better with the years

Stop Mutilating.... here come the balloons!

What on earth is going on in the fishkeeping world at the moment?? First there is a scandal about Genetically Modified fish injected with colours....tattoo fish...hybrids like the Parrot fish...Glow in the Dark fish .... people overbreeding and causing a lot of deaths just to get a veiltail version of a fish and now I keep coming across balloon varieties of fish!!! Balloons!!!???? Why? and emmmm Why? I could rant about this for a good few hours but will spare you guys ...

The Balloon Ram

The Pink Balloon Kissing Gourami

I can only ask that if you see these or any other Balloon versions of fish to please leave them at the LFS - only if there is a market for them will this stupidness go on ... please give a thought to what the fish have to all go through to get to this stage (many misformed and dying suffering fish)

Let nature be ... they are beautiful as they are...

AMAZING Fish Music Video - Must See

Get ready to get your dancin shoes on!!   This fishy video from the Chemical Brothers is just brilliant ...my fish could wake me up any day like this ;)     Although it is a mix of tropical and saltwater fish who couldn't really live together -who cares - I love it - Enjoy xxx

Did you know... Spots on Aqua Glass

          

The small round green "dots" that form on the sides of a tank are not algae. These are actually populations of Diatoms, microscopic animals that secrete a hard calcium shell on which green algae grows.

Things are looking up for the Celestial Pearl Danio

Things are looking better for the most talked about fishy of 2007 the Celestial Pearl Danio - I know many peeps who are now breeding them and very succesfully I might add. I even know of someone who has 50 of these little cuties swimming in a big tank with loads of moss and the breeding is going superb. I am hoping to visit and see the tank in it's full glory next week ;) I will take piccies...

If you want to read more indepth about these fish then a visit to http://rmbr.nus.edu.sg/rbz/biblio/55/55rbz131-140.pdf is worthwhile - has all the info you could ever want ;)

Where is my Catfish from?

Did you know that Asian Catfish usually have 4 pairs of barbels ( chin barbels ) unlike the catfish forms of South America who in the whole have three pairs. This can be a good way to identify your catfish if you are not too sure from where it originates from.

What's in a Fish Name?

Classification
You might remember studying the major groups (phyla) of the animal kingdom in school. All fish are of the phylum Chordata, which interestingly enough includes birds. The phyla is broken down into classes, which in turn are broken down into orders, which are further broken down into families. Families are broken down into genus, which in turn are broken down into species, and finally (if necessary) broken down into varieties - confusing stuff huh?

There are roughly 10,000 of species of freshwater fish, but less than 200 of them are commonly seen in aquarium stores. In fact a mere 20 species of fish make up nearly 90% of all aquarium fish sales.

Generally speaking, commercially available fish fall into the following seven groups:

Anabantidae - Gourami, Betta
Cichlidae - Angelfish, Cichlids, Discus, Oscars
Characiformes - Tetras, Silver Dollars, Pencilfish, Hachetfish, Headstanders, Piranha
Cypriniformes - Barbs, Danios, Rasboras, Loaches, Goldfish
Cyprinodontiformes - Killifish
Poeciliiodae - Livebearers (Guppy, Swords, Mollys, Platys)
Siluriformes - Catfish

Family and GenusFish in the same family usually have some general similarities. Fish in the same genus have even more similarities. Because fish are given a scientific name that is based on the genus and species, you can easily determine which fish are in the same genus. For example, the scientific name for the fish commonly known as the Blue Gourami is Trichogaster trichopterus, which means it belongs to the genus Trichogaster. Several other gouramis, such as the Moonlight, Pearl, and Snakeskin gourami, have a scientific name that also begins with Trichogaster, which means they all belong to the same genus.

Whales can Fart - emmz I mean flatulate

I have yet to see any little bubbles appear behind one of my fishies and I stare at them long enough to have witnessed it by now... for some stupid reason the thought tickles me ;) ;) Makes me wonder if they even can.... ??

Scientists have photographed a giant gas bubble emanating from a whale, suggesting that flatulence is just as common for ocean mammals as it is for humans and many other terrestrial animals.The picture, released last week by scientists from the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) in Tasmania, was taken by the captain of a U.S. research ship the Nathaniel B. Palmer, while on expedition between Marguerite Bay and Palmer Station, Antarctica."The picture is of an Antarctic minke whale taken from the bow of a ship," said AAD principal research scientist Dr Nick Gales. "The white bits in the photo are pieces of ice-floe, the stream of pinky colour behind the whale is a faecal plume - a.k.a. "poo" - the large circle in the water is indeed the physical eruption of the whale's flatulence."

Floaters - of the nice green kind ;)

Floating plants are not just pretty they can be useful in the aqua - some like to feed on nitrate keeping these levels down in your aqua - some fish really appreciate it and some I would say even need it (many labyrinth fish come to mind). A lot of middle swimmers also feel safer with floating plants and venture a little higher and swim a bit higher. They usually multiply at very fast rates so buying just a few is enough - just make sure your whole surface is not covered so that the lower plants also still get some light ;)

Here are a few that I like:

Azolla caroliniana

From South America

15-30C

Needs strong light

Multiplies extremely quickly !!

Eichhornia crassipes

Sometimes flowers

Likes some plantfood

Can sometimes be too big for the home aqua

Hygroyza aristata

South Asia

22-28C

Strong Light

A floating plant that is basically stalks and leaves - the stalks under bright light can turn a lovely red colour - they look like they should be planted but will die if planted

Limnobium laevigatum

South America

15-28C

Multiplies very fast

Grows very long roots (30cm) that float in the tank giving a nice effect - young fish and top layer fish love to hang out under these

Ludwigia Helminthorrhiza

South America

15 -30C

Another floating plant with a stem but this one you can if you want plant although it will shoot up to the surface as fast as possible

Floats on lovely little white 'pillows'

Leaves turn red if the light is very strong

Ludwigia sedoides

Mid-South America

23-24 C

The stronger the redder

A very beautiful and decorative floating plant - nice if you have a open top aqua

Another one that turns red in strong light

Phyllanthus fluitans

South America

15-30 C

One of the most wanted and loved floating plants

Turns red in strong light

The roots that float in the aqua grow longish (10cm) and are a lovely red colour

Pistia Straitoites

22-30C

This one can grow huuuge so make sure you thin it out often

beautiful thick and full roots that floatin the aqua

Salvinia natans

Europe & Asia

15 - 30C

This one is also suitable for very small aqua's

Multiplies quite quickly

Soft and velvety and grows very short roots into the water

There are many more... all of the above I have had at one time or another - for some reason the
Limnobium laevigatum remains one of my faves it stays nice and flat on the top surface and the roots are lovely and long in the water