Tropical Fish and its - Aquarium - Maintenance

Tropical fish includes fish around the world living in tropical environments including salt water and fresh water species. They are popular fish in aquariums because of their bright colors. Tropical also refers to tropical climate wherein the climate is warm or moist all throughout the year integrated by abundant vegetation.
Aquarium is an enclosed clear-sided container made of high strength plastic or constructed glass for keeping or raising animals and plants for research and observation. The ecosystem of the species is copied on smaller scale controlling environmental factors.
Tropical fish being put in the aquarium should be properly taken care of by regular monitoring of the fish and aquarium conditions by checking the waters for bacteria, parasite or fungi occurrences. There are ways on how to determine if the tropical fish are sick.
• Fish scales inspection. Examine for any discoloration, growths or wounds. Scales that is missing is a fighting indication.
• Observation of the fish respiratory rates. Slower or faster rate than normal is a sign of problem.
• Fish eyes clarity checking. Blood or cloudiness should not be present.
• Observation of the fish abnormal behavior such as unusual swimming pattern or sluggishness.
• Veterinarian consultation for any fish abnormalities being observed.
Aquarium serves as the new habitat of your tropical fish so it should be maintained regularly. The procedures are easy protecting the fish and plants lives.
• Regular checking of the tank to ensure that dying or dead fish is not present.
• Observation of all the fish individually for behavioral patterns familiarization so that it is easier to determine a sick fish in the future. 
• Feed your fish with one-day intervals using diet variations.
• Replace the evaporated water on the tank with dechlorinated water.
• Once a week, removed 5 to 10 percent of the tank water replacing it fresh dechlorinated water. Unwanted chemicals in the tank are diluted helping the tanks internal environment similar to tap water.
• Algae scraping from the walls of the tank done once a week.
• Filter pads checking every two weeks cleaning or replacing them if necessary.
• Water testing done every two weeks. Water change is done after one day.
• Ammonia, nitrate, pH levels or nitrite checking done every two weeks.
• Drain off the debris from the gravel done once a month.
Always keep track the chemical contents of your aquarium and schedule maintenance.

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The Process of Cycling a- Fish -Tank

As you have already learned, owning a fish tank provides hours of enjoyment and relaxation. If you think you might be interested in owning your own fish tank for whatever reason, you need to know some important pieces of information to ensure your tank looks great and the fish are healthy. When you get ready to set up your fish tank, you will need to "cycle" the tank, which occurs at the time of set up. In this article, you will learn how to cycle your fish tank so you have the perfect tank.


GETTING STARTED

In this section, you will learn what cycling is, how you do it, how long it will take, the number of fish needed, and much more!

What Is Cycling The Tank?

Unfortunately, many people have never even heard of cycling and if they have, many ignore it. However, if you want to ensure your fish live in a healthy environment, it is imperative.

• Cycling is also called "New Tank Syndrome", meaning you are making a bed of good bacteria in your biological filter as a way of removing toxins created by the fish's waste. While cycling is not necessarily difficult or time-consuming, there is a right and wrong way
• The goal of cycling a fish tank is to establish a bed or colony of bacteria in your biological filter to help eliminate toxins made by the fish's metabolism.
• The bacteria grown will then digest the ammonia from waste, turning it into Nitrite. Although Nitrite in hard water or water with a high pH level is actually more toxic than ammonia, what happens is that the bacteria filter turns the Nitrite into Nitrate, which is relatively less harmful to the fish.
• If the water in your fish tank is not changed on a regular basis, the Nitrate accumulates and becomes harmful, causing fish to stop eating and becoming stressed. Additionally, the growth of algae is accelerated. Therefore, it is imperative that you follow the cycling process and maintain a clean tank (which regularly removes nitrates) for the health of your fish.

ADDING FISH

One way to cycle a freshwater fish tank is with a small number of relatively hardy fish. To do this properly, we have provided guides for you to follow:

How Many Fish Should I Use?

To cycle your fish tank, start with the following steps:

• Begin with the smallest number of fish possible. For example, when you first fill your tank with water, you need to add no more than about two to three one-inch fish per ten gallons of water in your tank. However, these are not just any fish but ones considered hardy, which would include guppies and mollies, among others.
• Goldfish are not ideal fish for tank cycling. One reason is that goldfish kept in a tropical fish tank are much more susceptible to disease, meaning the tank can easily become diseased (Goldfish are cool water fish, and are not meant to be kept in tropical fish tanks that require warmer temperatures). Finally, the type of goldfish typically used for cycling are feeders. These fish are different from top quality goldfish and can carry diseases.
• In addition to the fish mentioned, other good species for a smaller tank would include Zebra Danios, White Clouds, and then Cherry or Tiger Barbs. If you have a fish tank that is 10 to 20 gallons, five fish would be adequate.
• One of the most important things is to remember to limit the number of fish with which you cycle your tank. If you cycle the fish tank with a large number of fish, you could have devastating results. For example: 
  
  
  • There would be a high production of excess waste, causing a great deal of stress to the fish. When this happens, chances are you will have fish die and the risk of disease rises significantly.
  • Water problems would increase dramatically during the cycling process
  • When you cycle with a large number of fish, the tank will develop a very unpleasant odor

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How to Choose the Best - Aquarium - Filter for your Fish

So you’ve finally decided to bring a new hobby to your life and that’s keeping a tropical fish, you might need all the equipment in order to keep the fish full alive. It’s true that before getting a fish, there are lots of thing to do. In maintaining an aquarium, you can actually take care of it without much work at all. Before anything else, you should know how to keep the tank in good condition.
To get started, you should choose what size of tank will fit your style. If you’re a beginner, it will be good if you start with a small aquarium first. This will take less expense plus the fact that it helps you concentrate in taking care of your aquarium. If time comes when you are at ease in keeping a small aquarium, you can shift to a larger one.
One of the important equipment for you to have in your aquarium is the filter. Filter is a device that removes impurities from the water of your aquarium by way of fine physical obstacle or by chemical procedure. It is recommended that you use an undergravel filter since it’s not expensive and it keeps the debris totally out. But how you can choose the best filter for your aquarium? Furthermore, getting the right filter can save you lots of hours in maintenance.
The following tips can be helpful for you to find the best filter around.
1. You should know the three kinds of filtering systems that is needed in your tank: biological, mechanical, and chemical.
2. Think about the different types of filters and their functions. Wet-dry filters are compatible to saltwater tanks since they give biological, chemical, and mechanical filtration. Although they are quite expensive but entail less maintenance operation than other types.
3. Mechanical filters are designed to remove impurities by way of filter floss and filtering particles.
4. Chemical filtration process uses activated charcoal just to remove unwanted dissolved wastes in the water.
5. Set up first the biological filter before adding fish to the tank. Biological filters use bacteria to crack ammonia and nitrates. If you wish to add more fish too soon, the bacteria can’t keep up then the level of ammonia will rise in the tank thus killing the fish.
6. In buying an aquarium kit, you will get an undergravel filter. This kind of biological filter pulls water that is rich in oxygen through the gravel.
7. You can opt to some sponge filters. Sponge filters are efficient and cheap.
With the above tips, finding the best filter for your fish will be easy for you.

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Choosing the Best Freshwater- Aquarium- Design

Setting up a freshwater aquarium is a rewarding project, but it can be somewhat daunting at first. Deciding on which fish, plants, filtration, and other accessories to get requires careful consideration. The whole process has to start somewhere and that, of course, is with the tank itself.
The number of choices of freshwater aquarium designs on the market today is quite large. The sizes range from 1 gallon to aquariums in the hundreds of gallons, and water volume is not the only variable. There are many differently shaped tanks now, too.
The basic rectangle is still far and away the most popular shape, but hexagons, 'L' shaped, square cubes, and more can be found. A new style that is becoming more popular in recent years is the bow-front aquarium. This is a rectangular tank with the front side bowed out (so from above it resembles a 'D' shape) to give a better viewing experience.
Choosing the right Richmond aquarium is not as simple as deciding what size and shape will look best in your home. It is important to know how tank shape will affect the fish that can be kept in it. It may seem a bit like putting the cart before the horse, but you should think about what fish you would like to have before you buy the tank. Why is this the case? How do the type of fish and the number of fish play into the tank shape?
Consider the issue of the number of fish first. Most everybody knows that you should not overcrowd a fish tank, but what constitutes overcrowding differs from tank to tank. A very common rule of thumb for how many fish an aquarium can hold is one inch of fish per one gallon of water. This is not entirely accurate, and it does not take into account taller, narrower tank shapes. A much better rule of thumb is based on surface area of the tank, not the volume, and it states that for every one inch of fish there should be 12 square inches of surface area (12 square inches, not a square foot).
With the surface area rules to guide you, a 40 gallon hexagon-shaped tank would only be able to hold about half as many fish as a 40 gallon rectangle-shaped tank. The rectangular tank would have much more surface area, so it can carry more fish. The larger surface area is important for the gas exchange in the water. The fish need dissolved oxygen that the water gets from contact with the air. More surface area equals more air contact which means more oxygen for the fish.
The type of fish you want also determines the best tank shape. Different fish prefer different water levels, i.e. surface dwellers, mid level swimmers, bottom dwellers. It would be a bad idea to fill a tall hex shaped tank with very active surface swimmers like danios or fish that like a large bottom area to roam. Slower mid-level swimmers like goldfish or angelfish may be a better choice.
Of course, if you are just getting into the aquarium hobby and have no idea what type of fish you would like to have, then you can buy whatever size and shape tank that you prefer. When it comes time to buy fish, though, the tank size, shape, and surface area must be factored into the fish buying decision. Above all, just make sure some planning goes into the process of choosing the freshwater aquarium design for your home. Do not rush the decision and everything will work out fine and you will have a healthy, beautiful aquarium to enjoy for many years.

 

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facts about the-clownfish

clownfish live in small groups among sea anemones. Anemones are flesh-eating animals that look like plants. clownfish are one of the very few fish that can co-exist with the anemones. clownfish and anemones are said to have mutualism. Mutualism is a scientific term for mutual understanding. The relationship between the clownfish and sea anemone is symbiotic. Our 'Nemos' benefit the anemones by eating the leftovers of the anemones. clownfish also eat the dead tentacles of the anemones, thus helping them to survive. clownfish help the sea anemones by circulating the water around them. In return the anemones protect the clownfish from the attack of other fish by their venomous tentacles.

Another interesting fact is that clownfish are not mammals, they lay eggs. They can lie around thousand eggs at one time, and unlike other fish, out of the thousand eggs, all can survive! The eggs are laid only during the full moon and they hatch only after dusk! The male clownfish guards the eggs.

clownfish get their name because of their stripes and their bouncing movements, which make them look like clowns! Apart from the orange and white color, clownfish are also found in black and white color. Their body is black in color and the stripes are white. These are called Ocellaris clownfish.

All clownfish are born males. But when a female dies, the most dominant clownfish changes itself into a female! Isn't this one of the most interesting facts about clownfish?

Though clownfish are shown as calm and modest in the movie, 'Finding Nemo', they are actually known to be aggressive fish! But there are exceptions, like the skunk clownfish. The skunk clownfish do not have stripes like the other clownfish.

One species of the clownfish, called the percula clownfish, dances when it comes into contact with the anemones for the first time!

clownfish have different names in different languages! In Japanese they are called kakure-kumanomi , in Russian they are called obyknovennaya rybka-kloun and they are also called klovnfisk in Danish. So, our clownfish are international!

One more interesting clownfish fact is that the clownfish are mainly found in the warm water of Indian and Pacific oceans. Coral reefs in warm waters are the clownfish habitat. In the wild, clownfish are said to live for six-eight years, and they grow up to only three to five inches!

clownfish are not pure vegetarians, they are omnivores. They eat algae, and the food left by the anemones. If you are to keep a clownfish in a fish tank, don't worry. clownfish care is easy as they can survive without anemones also.

Wondering how clownfish protect themselves from the poisonous tentacles of the anemones? Well, they are protected from the venomous tentacles of the anemones by a layer of mucus which is present on their bodies.

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The Basics of Keeping your own Aquarium

Did you ever dream of having an aquarium in your house? Most people think that having an aquarium inside the house requires a lot of task and maintenance but it is actually easy and very handy. If you are a beginner, you can easily learn a lot from it and you can get a lot of helpful tips to keep your fishes in good condition.
The first thing you need to decide on is the size of the fish tank. If you are a beginner, you can start off with a small aquarium. This will not be a burden or a problem because maintaining a small aquarium is not a heavy task. If you have learned the basics of taking care of your aquarium, you can just upgrade your present aquarium to a larger one.
Only that, you will need extra materials and extra amounts of water. You need to choose a good location or spot for your tank. Make sure that the table can hold the weight of your tank. The next thing to consider is the type of equipment that you need for your aquarium.
Choose the kind of water you want to feed in your aquarium. Choosing tap water can be a good option because it is cheaper than distilled water. Distilled water is a very good water option because it is sure to be safe and clean. If you choose tap water for your aquarium, you need to buy a product which can remove the chlorine in the water so that the fishes will not be harmed.
You need to add water very slowly especially there are a lot of fishes in the tank. You can also provide a heater for your aquarium so that the fishes will be in good condition and the water is also good. You will also need to have a good lighting for your aquarium so that the fishes can see clearly the surroundings.
Fishes need light in order to see the food. You will also need a hood to keep the fishes secured in the tank also by giving them proper lighting. Fishes need extra care and love just like humans do. So, if you can provide them with the best aquarium that you can, they will surely appreciate it.
Now that you know the basic requirements for putting up your own aquarium, you can gather all the materials and start choosing the fishes that you want.

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