Fish Care Articles Archive

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How To Control Aquarium Algae

Posted in: Fish Care Articles

Algae Bloom
Creative Commons License photo credit: nttrbx

For many fish keepers, aquarium algae can become an ongoing problem. This green algae can cover plants or other aquarium decorations in an unsightly film. It can grow on the glass of your fish tank making it difficult to see your fish or can even be waterborne, turning your water into a green soup.

Whichever way you cut it, aquarium algae isn’t good stuff but luckily there are ways to get around this problem.

Light

Algae is green for a reason, and that reason is that just like plants, it needs to photosynthesize to produce enough nutrients for life.

One of the most common causes of algal blooms in aquariums is quite simply that the tank receives some natural sunlight each day. Perhaps it is near a window or against a south-facing wall. Whatever the reasons, direct sunlight can affect the algae in your tank.

Equally, aquarium lights left on all night can also cause problems if the bulb you are using is specifically designed to aid plant growth.

One potential solution therefore is to ensure that no sunlight is able to fall on your aquarium and also to consider ensuring your lights are turned off each night to reduce the speed at which algae can grow.

Nutrients

Just like light, algae also need nutrients just like plants in order to grow. Another common cause of algal blooms is excess nutrients in the water, such as can accumulate in aquariums that are overstocked or have insufficient filtration.

In this way the nitrogen-rich nutrients which your fish excrete are serving as a potent source of energy for the algae that you want to get rid of.

Therefore try carrying out a water test to see if nutrient levels are too high, improve filtration so that excess nutrients are quickly removed, carry out water changes to physically remove these nutrients and also consider adding some live plants which will compete with the algae for the nutrients, thus making the algae weaker.

Chemicals

Lastly there are chemicals that can be added to aquariums which will kill of algae whilst being safe for most fish. However whilst this solution will work over the short term, you should be aware that if you want long-term success, you should fully investigate the other problems mentioned above to ensure that you do not suffer from similar problems again in the future.

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Siamese Fighter Care

Posted in: Fish Care Articles

Livingston 02
Creative Commons License photo credit: LaMenta3

Siamese fighters, often known as betta fish or Siamese fighting fish, are popular tropical fish with an unmistakable appearance.

Whilst the females are far less showy than the males, these small fish possess long, flowing fins of varying colors. Vivid reds and electric blues are the most common color forms though others are seen from time to time. These fins move elegantly through the water, making it look like these fighting fish are wearing flowing capes.

In short, whilst these fish do not attain a particularly large size, they are some of the most attractive, colorful and elegant fish a tropical aquarium enthusiast can own.

Luckily, these fish can be reasonably easy to care for if one is willing to bear in mind a few basic steps.

Firstly, Siamese fighters are so-called for a reason. Quite simply, two or more males if placed together will fight – often to the death – and so one should be careful to only ever keep one male in a tank.

Secondly, the long, flowing fins of the males can be a source of great entertainment to some other fish such as barbs which may nip the fins of these beautiful fish leaving them looking tired and unwell. Worse, the stress of this harassment has been known to cause death in extreme circumstances.

Fortunately females possess smaller fins and may be kept in multiples though they are far less showy than the males and so typically less popular amongst fish keepers.

The best way to keep siamese fighters is therefore either in a tropical community tank being very careful about the other inhabitants of the aquarium, or in a species-only tank where one male plus a number of females can be kept in the hope that breeding will occur.

Apart from these small steps, betta fish can be kept like most other tropical fish. Warm water of around 25′C tends to work well, with a base food of tropical fish flakes. We aware that color-enhancing foods are available should your siamese fighters start to lose their color with age.

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Acrylic Versus Glass Aquariums – Which Is Better?

Posted in: Fish Care Articles

Clownfish
Creative Commons License photo credit: Silvain de Munck

In the past most aquariums were made of glass however modern technologies have enabled manufacturers to start creating acrylic aquariums but which type of aquarium is really best?

On the one hand, glass aquariums suffer from a number of problems. First an foremost they weigh a lot, making the simple act of buying an aquarium and bringing it home something of a challenge. Glass is of course rather fragile and so chips or cracks are not uncommon and an aquarium with a hole in it isn’t going to hold too much water.

On the flip side though glass aquariums come in a massive range of different sizes and shapes and are very reasonably priced. They normally have excellent visibility and are easy to keep clean.

Acrylic aquariums are typically stronger than glass so are less likely to shatter, and they are also normally much lighter and hence easy to bring home.

However one downside to acrylic aquariums is that the surface of the plastic can suffer from scratches which can quickly appear. Not only can this reduce your viewing pleasure but can also make cleaning more of a challenge.

For example many fish tanks develop a “water mark” at the top where minerals deposit themselves and this can quickly look unsightly. Removing it in a glass aquarium is reasonably easy with a scouring pad but great care must be taken with a plastic tank so as to not scratch the surface.

The matter of glass versus plastic aquariums is not a clear-cut one, with many fish keepers having their own preference. Personally I like glass aquariums due to the ease of cleaning and general appearance with the weight being less of an issue as I’m really only likely to need to move the tank when I buy it. But, as the saying goes, the decision is yours.

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Do You Need An Aquarium Evaporation Tray?

Posted in: Fish Care Articles

 IMG_0317
Creative Commons License photo credit: Theo R

When it comes to setting up an aquarium most of us put a lot of care and attention into choosing the tank itself, our filtration and our selection of the fish themselves.

However the humble evaporation tray is often an after-thought at best. This thin piece of plastic goes above your aquarium but beneath your aquarium hood, catching any water that tries to evaporate out of your tank.

One of the problems with keeping fish in an aquarium is that of water evaporation which can have a number of negative effects. Firstly it can raise the humidity in your home increasing the chances of mould growing in under-ventilated areas such as behind furniture.

Secondly, evaporating water tends to leave a nasty scummy mark around the top of your aquarium where impurities have gathered and this scum line can be tough to remove without some serious effort and some scrubbing.

In addition, some fish like hatchet fish may try to jump out of the water and so your evaporation tray will prevent them from doing this, thus keeping them safe and sound.

Lastly of course your aquarium hood typically contains your lighting unit, which is electrical. In this way evaporation or even spills of water can cause real damage to your electrics increasing your costs through replacement and possibly even harming your aquarium.

The evaporation tray should therefore be an integral part to any aquarium, the only exception being when your aquarium hood comes with such a device built in as is increasingly the case these days.

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An Introduction To Aquarium Lighting

Posted in: Fish Care Articles

petsmart fish prison
Creative Commons License photo credit: nate steiner

One essential piece of kit for most aquarium owners is a lighting setup which most commonly comes in the form of one or more electric strip lights (tubes) fitted to a suitable starter unit and perhaps a timer to control the period of time that the lights are on for each day.

Lighting in aquariums serves a number of purposes. First and foremost, aquarium lighting serves to create a more natural environment for your pet fish than they might otherwise have if kept in a dark corner of the room.

This simulated sunlight will help keep fish fit, healthy and stress-free though it is equally important to ensure the lights are turned off at night to create a clear day/night differentiation.

Also appreciate that fish may prefer different light levels depending on where they come from. For example fish coming from the typically silty-waters of the Amazon may be used to more subdued light than those from clear, brightly-lit streams and rivers.

Secondly, aquarium lights can simply help your fish tank to look more attractive. Various lights are available to create different effects such as to create a “moonlight” effect in your tank or to bring out certain colours of your fish such as reds or blues.

Lastly, for those who opt to use live plants in their aquaria, the light serves as a source of nourishment enabling aquarium plants to photosynthesize and so grow strongly as well as produce oxygen for your fish to breathe and so without this artificial light aquarium plants are unlikely to survive let alone thrive.

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Are Longer Or Taller Aquariums Better?

Posted in: Fish Care Articles

 Here they are!! Part 2
Creative Commons License photo credit: bensonkua

Whilst the classic aquarium is a long oblong glass container, more recently a variety of taller aquarium have been appearing on the markets where they tend to be far taller than they are wide.

Understandably these tanks are very popular due to their aesthetics but when it comes to caring for aquarium fish one we must always start from the premise of what is best for our fish, and then find the best ways to accommodate these needs.

There are two factors worth considering in this context. Firstly, your fish tank typically absorbs most if it’s oxygen through the surface of the water and so the larger this surface area, the more fish you can keep in your aquarium, and the healthier they will typically be.

Secondly should you choose to keep aquarium plants, these will require artificial lighting if they are to photosynthesize and hence have a long and productive life. The the longer the distance from your lights to your plants, the stronger the lighting you will need to use to ensure your plants get sufficient levels of it.

Both of these factors mean that while taller aquariums aren’t necessarily *bad* per se, the longer, lower classic aquarium probably is better for your fish and so should generally be considered before taller tanks.

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How To Select Healthy Aquarium Fish

Posted in: Fish Care Articles

 Synchiropus splendidus Luc Viatour
Creative Commons License photo credit: luc.viatour

When it comes to selecting aquarium fish of course it’s not just a matter of deciding which species you want to keep, and selecting specimens that look particularly brightly colored (though often a brightly colored individual is a sign of good health).

You also want to start off with the best possible chance of success with your fish and also reduce the chances of introducing any diseases into your aquarium. So selecting healthy, vigorous fish is a must if you are to enjoy your hobby to it’s fullest potential.

The first step of course is in finding a reputable, reliable fish stockist who is well-known for selling good quality stock. Asking other fish keepers in your area, joining a local aquarist club or asking on one of the many fish forums can be a good way to judge the market and find suppliers worth dealing with.

This alone will greatly increase your chances of success but even then there are tell-tale signs you can look out for when selecting individual fish.

For example a healthy fish will typically be fast moving, alert and generally looking full of life while a sick fish may be slower moving, may skulk at the back of the tank near the filter or may be duller colored or have unusual swellings or growths.

So try to take the time to actually sit and watch the fish you’re considering buying. Certainly picking out individual specimens will make the life of your aquarium shop team a little more difficult but shouldn’t be too much to ask for.

Also, once the fish have been caught and bagged take a few minutes before paying just to look them over one final time for any problems that might be obvious to a carefully visual inspection.

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Easy Tropical Community Fish For The Beginner

Posted in: Fish Care Articles

peace with my buddies
Creative Commons License photo credit: Leino88

Getting started with keeping tropical fish can be a very exciting time indeed but it can be easy either to struggle to select appropriate fish from an ever-growing list of species available, or to overstretch yourself and unknowingly take on some of the slightly more difficult species.

The aim of this article then is to provide some guidance on great “starter” fish for the tropical community tank which are typically easy to keep, will live together happily and are also reasonably priced. This list certainly isn’t exhaustive so just because a fish isn’t on the list doesn’t necessarily mean it makes a bad starter fish.

I just wanted to select a range of reasonably-priced and commonly-found fish which most fish keepers should be able to find without problems at their local aquarium shop. So without further ado, let’s jump into the species list.

Neon Tetras

These small, brightly-colored fish instantly grab the eye in an aquarium environment and the fact that they “shoal” loosely means that investing in a number of these fish can really help to provide movement and color in your fish tank.

Guppies

Guppies are the classic tropical fish. Being brightly colored with a huge, showy tail these fish are available in an almost unlimited variety of colors and patterns meaning each one is almost unique so a decent number of these fish provides lots of opportunities for kids to have a “favorite”. Be aware how freely these fish will breed as some aquarium keepers have found themselves overrun by babies in the past!

Platy

The platy may not be the most exciting-looking fish here perhaps packing some of the impact of some other species mentioned here but will grow rather larger than, for example, the guppies and neons. Again, these fish are available in a variety of colors such as a golden yellow and even a black form so once again enabling you to add a variety of color to your fish tank.

Sword Tails

Sword tails superficially resemble the platies except that they male has a long “sword-like” projection from the tail which makes sexing these fish very easy indeed and like guppies they will often breed freely in a tropical community aquarium.

Corydoras Catfish

These ground-dwelling fish are peaceful if a little shy and should have some cover behind which they can hide from time to time. These fish may not be the most colorful available but provide a useful service filtering up leftover fish food from the bottom of the tank thus helping to keep it cleaner.

Danios

These little zebra-striped fish are once again hardy and easy to look after and some fish keepers have even had success keeping them as coldwater fish as a novel alternative (or addition) to standard goldfish.

Red Tailed Shark

Whilst the shark can attain a larger size than most of the fish here, the dark black body with red tail makes him a very attractive occupant and they really can look very shark-like in profile.

Plecos

These “sucker-mouths” look almost prehistoric and really add something to a tank. Just one or two of these fish will slowly work their way around your tank, feeding on any wood you have in your aquarium and also removing green algae from the glass walls of your aquarium. Like the cory catfish then these fish not only look interesting but also provide a useful practical service to you in helping your tank to look as good as possible.

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Fish Aquarium Decorations

Posted in: Fish Care Articles

Eles não deixam o Tesouro em paz...
Creative Commons License photo credit: SantaRosa OLD SKOOL

Whilst the health and welfare of your fish is paramount in an aquarium, many fish keepers for obvious reasons want the most attractive aquarium possible and like to use a variety of decorations for their aquascaping attempts. Of course the goal is typically to produce the most attractive aqaurium possible to not only produce a living work of art but to also allow aquarium fish to live a more natural lifestyle, hiding amongst plants, rocks and wood.

Whilst decorations such as pirate ships, buried treasure and artificial crabs are available, most serious fish keepers using a decent-sized aquarium, rather than a small goldfish bowl, tend to favor the more natural-looking aquarium for which there are typically three main types of aquarium decorations.

The three main sources of aquarium decoration are rocks, wood and plants and whilst this may sound reasonably limited, the vast range and natural variation in plants, wood and rocks mean that they provide almost limitless possibilities to the fish keeper.

When it comes to buying and installing fish aquarium decorations there are a few commonsense steps worth considering in order to produce the most attractive tank possible and also the healthiest fish.

Buy From A Professional

Whilst one can pick up rocks at the beach or wood from your local forest this is generally to be recommended against. The reason is of course that the chemistry of a fish tank is of paramount importance and aquarium decorations have the potential to leach unwanted chemicals into your fish water.

For example rocks from the beach may release salt turning your tank saline while wood may leach pesticides, herbicides or other unwanted chemicals into your fish tank.

The equipment from aquarium shops is carefully chosen and cared for to minimize the risks of introducing any unwanted chemicals into your aquarium and so should be carefully considered.

Prepare All Tank Decorations Appropriately

Even professionally-bought fish aquarium decorations need to be correctly “prepared” before inserted into your tank. Rocks may well have dust on them and wood may well leach tannins – brown dyes – which whilst of no real problem to your fish may turn your water cloudy and take many days to settle out, thus lessening the impact of your aquarium.

It is therefore wise to prepare aquarium decorations by washing them thoroughly in aquarium water. The easiest way to do this is to wait until you are doing a partial water change, then inserting your new tank décor into the bucket of removed water before giving it a vigorous brushing with a toothbrush or similar all over the surface.

In my experience wood should be soaked for several days before placing it into an aquarium as tannins can leach out for some time after inserting into water.

Once further benefit of this soaking is that some aquarium wood has an annoying habit of trying to float because it is often porous and contains little pockets of air. By soaking wood before use you will push out much of this air making it easier to work with in your aquarium.

Fix Down Heavy Objects

As the health and welfare of your aquarium fish is of paramount importance it is worth considering fixing down heavy objects so that there is no risk of it falling over on your fish at any point in time.

Aquarium sealant can be bought from most aquarium shops and can be used to stick down wood or rocks for safety. Please be aware that standard “bathroom” sealant should not be used because it’s antifungal element can poison your fish. Also be aware that silicon sealant for aquariums is very strong-smelling and should only be used out of the water of your aquarium.

In this way the fixing should be done in an empty aquarium with plenty of ventilation and then the water and fish introduced only once the sealant is perfectly dry after a day or two.

Be Careful Of Your Fish

Lastly, be aware that adding aquarium decorations can be stressful for your fish and worse there is a chance you could squash one of your fish when inserting rocks and wood so be careful when doing this. The ideal would be to remove your fish for a short period of time while adding aquarium decorations and then add them in again some time later once the tank is set up and has settled down.

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Selecting Aquarium Pet Food

Posted in: Fish Care Articles

金鱼嘴很大 Big Mouth
Creative Commons License photo credit: cutecool

Whilst there are hundreds of different species of fish available to the passionate fish keeper, there are also dozens of different varieties of aquarium pet food to select between and the range can sometimes be overwhelming. Just where do you start, and what is best?

The first key to selecting aquarium pet food is to understand the needs of your fish. And there are three ways to gather this information. Firstly, and possibly best, a decent book on fish care with detailed species accounts will provide advice on what your fish like to eat, and how. Secondly you can ask your local aquarium shop when you’re considering purchasing some fish for advice on how they feed theirs.

And then lastly you can examine the fish themselves. There are two keys to examine and whilst you won’t get as much information as from a book or an experienced fish keeper, it can at least provide you with some pointers.

The two elements to look out for are (a) where abouts in the water column your fish swim and (b) where their mouths point.

For example most catfish will spend the vast majority of their time on the floor of the tank, and have down-turned mouths to feed from the bottom. So putting in floating fish flakes is less than ideal as your catfish may not see the flakes floating on the top of the water and if he or she does, they may not want to swim to the top to get it.

Equally, betta fish tend to swim near the top of the water, and have an upturned mouth which means they will typically be happy to feed from the top of the water and so in this case fish flakes can provide an ideal basic food source.

Now that you have a handle on the needs of the individual fish you care for, let’s take a look at a few aquarium pet foods in closer detail.

Fish Flakes

Fish flakes are the standard fish food for most aquarium fish. Fish flakes are quick, cheap and easy to feed and also typically have a long shelf life making them a perfet base food for many tropical community fish and also smaller coldwater fish.

Floating Pellets

Larger fish such as some cyclids and also larger coldwater fish like koi tend to have considerable appetites and so fish flakes may not provide them enough nutrients or may become overly expensive and in this case it is possible to buy larger containers of floating pellets for feeding such fish. It is these “pond pellets” that most fish keepers use as a base for feeding fish in outdoor ponds.

Color-Enahancing Foods

Some brightly-colored fish benefit from color-enhancing foods which contain dies to help them keep their bright colors which may otherwise fade in the confines of a captive aquarium. If you notice that formerly brightly-colored fish of yours are starting to fade then consider asking at your local aquarium shop about these foods so you can supplement the diet of your fish.

Sinking Pellets

Sinking pellets are ideal for bottom-feeding fish and also bottom-feeding invertebrates such as crayfish who may not want to come to the surface to feed. A small amount should be used if you keep fish such as corydoras and care should be paid to ensure that all your bottom-dwelling fish get enough to eat without leaving leftovers to dirty the water.

Dead Livefood

One can buy tubs of insects and suchlike to feed to aquarium fish and while this can be more expensive that feeding flakes or pellets, a small amount as a supplement each week can help to add extra vitamins and minerals to the diet of your fish and so the use of various “livefoods” is well worth considering.

Frozen Livefood

Livefoods that have been frozen, such as artmemia, are available in a “blister pack” style where volumes of frozen invertebrates are frozen into small ice cube-like blocks. It is easy to store this food in the freezer and just pop out one or two cubes as a weekly supplement for your fish. Frozen foods like this may be fresher and contain more nutrients than the dried version mentioned above.

Livefood

The last option is to buy small bags of actual living invertebrates which provide not just nutrition but also some mental stimulation to your fish. Typically the taste and indeed the movement of these foods can cause quite some excitement in an aquarium as your fish hunt down and eat the live animals. Whilst this may repulse some people, many fish keepers swear by the occasional livefood treat to keep their fish bright and healthy.

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