Archive for May, 2010

The Discus fish is a large cichlid from the Amazon River, its tributaries and flood plains, in South America. Discus and the many varieties were first described in 1840 by Dr. Heckel as Symphysodon discus, this name is used now for the Heckel discus variety. The three original color varieties were green, brown and blue, but now a much wider choice are available.

The discus is a social fish and forms large groups in their native waters, and has ahighly advanced social behaviour; they are one of the few real schooling cichlids. Be sure when setting out to care for discus; always buy a number  of them. They need the social interaction to grow their character to its best potential.

Right now , it is hard to find the original color variants in pet shops, only the Heckel is sometimes imported. Most of the discus fish you see today are captive bred color varieties. Some of the discus have lost their stripes and thereby their natural ability to communicate in the school. One of the advantages of the captive bred discus is that they are now much easier to maintain than the imported ones.

It is getting increasingly simpler to keep Discus Aquarium Fish with the new technology improving water quality and Discus Fish health, which may explain the increase in demand. The number of new dealers and breeders is growing quickly and even small aquatic shops are stocking a range of Discus. They are beautiful, but still remain a challenge to keep and breed, with the breeding being very rewarding and will even cover costs for the hobby. Most people that keep Discus will sooner or later want to breed them as it is a great experience, though breeding Discus Fish can be challenging

Discus Fish are very shy fish and tend to hide when they are not confident so keep the tank away from loud and busy areas mostly near doorways and passages . The only other component to take note of is the height of the tank, as high as possible as Discus are distracted by movement above and this may cause them undue anxiety .

Discus should be given a varied , vitamin and protein rich diet, therefore it is important to use a number of different types of food: Fish flakes provide a complete diet, though Discus prefer to eat lower in the water, even at the bottom, so soak and squeeze out the flakes before introducing to the tank. Frozen brine shrimp, defrosted and rinsed, makean ideal supplement and the carotene helps enhance colors. Frozen irradiated bloodworms are a good daily addition, although the flakes contain them already. Do not over feed, Discus fish are grazers, and will eat a little at a time , so allow them time.

Although not easy to keep, these beautiful fish are a very rewarding hobby, if you have the patience and time for them: The exquisite colors are a wonderful addition to any tank or aquarium.

The African cichlid is really a fish, which is really a part of rather big family of tropical fish known as Cichlidae, which loved ones is further divided into two large groups – the New World cichlid group and also the African cichlid group.

The African cichlid species are also quite diverse and more than 1500 in number; unfortunately, when you go to a fish shop, you’ll almost never see the fish properly labeled and you’ll need to figure out the genus on your own in order to adopt the proper diet. According to their eating habits the fish of this family are vegetarian, predators or both – in general the smaller African cichlid species aren’t meat eaters; it should be noted that while some of these fish seek meals at the bottom from the aquarium, others will try to eat just about anything that floats.

The African cichlid species live in groups within the wild and within the aquarium alike; they’re really territorial and can be very aggressive and when mixed with other fish, they will very frequently attack them, but they fight each other as nicely. There are various views on how you are able to tone down the aggression inside your water tank and occasionally these views are contradictory – while some individuals believe that overcrowding the tank helps, others believe that bigger aquarium with a lot more rocks and plants is really a much much better environment.

Some kinds of African cichlid are mouth brooders; these are the species that come from three large African lakes – lake Malawi, lake Victoria and lake Tanganyika. The brooders are also divided into two groups: Ovophile and Larvophile – the Ovophile deposit the eggs in pockets, then the female takes them in her mouth, where they’re fertilized by the male. The Larvophile males fertilize the eggs while they’re within the pits and after that the female requires the fertilized eggs in her mouth and the female then holds the eggs from twenty to thirty days and during this incubation time period she doesn’t eat.

Obviously, this is just yet an additional characteristic from the African cichlid species, but this isn’t what makes them so popular amongst the fish lovers; they’re valued mainly for their unique and beautiful colors and their rather big size – some species can get as long as nine inches. They are also quite easy to take care of and they breed, feed and grow very easily in captivity; feeding them depends on the kind of the fish, but the vegetarians respond well to readily-made food or any combination of vegetarian rich meals and greenies like lettuce and spinach. The meals should be introduced slowly and overfeeding ought to be avoided; should you wish to make the food yourself, you can find plenty of African cichlid meals recipes on the Internet and you won’t need to fly to the other end of the World for unique ingredients – make a blend of frozen peas, lettuce and broccoli for that veggie-lovers and shrimp, krill and blood worms for that protein-hungry and your fish will blossom and prosper.

Freshwater fish tanks are more manageable than saltwater fish tanks. To brighten up your freshwater tropical fish aquarium, you can add some plant life to accompany the fish.

You have several choice and a wide variety of prices in selecting your freshwater fish tanks. Freshwater fish tanks comes in a variety of different sizes ranging from 10 gallons to 60 gallons. Glass freshwater fish tanks weigh a lot more than the acrylic ones, so it is necessary to cater for this and provide the extra space that is needed.

To optimize your fish environment you will need to put into place a filter, pump, inlet and oulet. Make sure that there is enough water circulation in the fish tank. The reason for a filtration system in your tank is to keep the water balanced.  It is not necessary to clean the freshwater tropical fish aquarium very often, and you can always replace the old water with normal fresh water.

You must select the proper filtration system as this is very crucial. There are three types of filtration system to choose from. They are mechanical, biological and chemical systems. The mechanical systems will take away the particulate matter in the fish tank. Also operating similar to biological filters.
Remove all chemicals such as ammonia from your freshwater tropical fish aquarium, this is vitally important.

You can decorate the freshwater tropical fish aquarium with plants to create a more natural environment, and one that is conducive to the fish. Plants also make the aquarium look more attractive. The types of plants to choose from include Java Fern, Amazon Sword, Argentine Sword and Umbrella Plant etc.

Assemble everything you need in your freshwater tropical fish aquarium and then check to see that everything is in proper working order.

To learn more about freshwater tropical fish aquarium visit fish aquariums for sale

Nearly everyone has seen a modern aquarium acrylic tank within his or her life time. In a friend’s house, a restaurant, a party, a local company trying to stand out… lots of people like to keep fish tanks, and you will find them nearly everywhere.

The word ‘aquarium’ in fact originates from the Latin terms ‘Aqua’ which means water (Shocked? Yeah, neither are we) and ‘rium’ meaning place or building.

Fundamentally, it’s a water building! There are literally thousands of various kinds of freshwater aquarium acrylic tanks that you can buy right this moment, and the detailing that you can do isn’t just extensive – it’s borderline absurd. You can choose from a simple fish bowl which can be found in many children’s houses to a detailed and sophisticated ecosystem of filtered water, numerous fish, and live vegetation climbing the extra-strength plastic.

The History of the Aquarium tank

The modern form of aquarium developed in the 1850’s, however modern-day things have a way of echoing traditional items. Even the Sumerians had a way of keeping their fish – they had ponds to help keep wild fish in until they were made into supper. Goldfish and Koi fish were being bred dating back to 2,000 years ago in China, and throughout the Song dynasty goldfish were kept in earthenware bowls. The history is detailed, and long! Even in ancient Egyptian art, we can see a kind of aquarium – fish were kept in rectangular temple pools, some thing unique and fascinating and what most of the people don’t think of when they picture a fish tank in history. Trying to keep fish as a hobby truly picked up after the First World War (Middle to late 1900’s). While you might observe aquariums at galleries and more, modern day lighting and purification let individuals care for fish in their own home. To make things even easier and cheaper the aquarium acrylic tank was developed within the last 15 years.

As fish keeping started to take even more root in modern-day culture, companies raced to generate distinctive and interesting things to put in tanks, as well as looking for better ways to keep fish healthy, and their water clean. This is actually the main reason that we have numerous choices for us when it comes to aquariums.

You can choose from 1000s of different things to really make your set up distinctive, exciting, and yes, even fun. I recommend that if you are a beginner you might chose an aquarium of acrylic as it is easier to keep and not damage.

Coming up with a name for a new pet fish is a great chance to be creative and have a bit of fun!  In actuality , a fish that’s well taken care of can live for between five to fifteen years, so you might as well put some thought into looking for the best name.

 The first step is to find out your fish’s gender so that you know whether to search for male pet fish names or female pet fish names.  For some species, like bettas, their gender is pretty obvious (the males are the more attractive ones ) but for other species such as goldfish, finding out if your pet is a boy or girl is a bit more involved .  In the worst case , you can always pick a non gender-specific name, like Bubbles, or take a shot in the dark at your fish’s sex (you have a fifty percent chance of being right)! 

Next think of your fish’s appearance.  What color is it?  Does it have pronounced characteristics , large eyes or big fins?  If you have a Goldfish, check out the many  great goldfish names such as Pumpkin, Sunshine or Garfield. 

If want to choose a name that’s a bit more exotic or unique, pick one from a foreign language like Japanese, Greek, Native American or Spanish. 

Try to use your hobbies and interests for inspiration?  You can name your fish after books, movies or celebrities that you like or after famous fish in film and literature like Dory, Nemo, Moby and Jaws. 

You can also find a name that refers to the ocean and marine life.   Triton, Neptune and Sinbad are names that legends are made of while Gill, Finn and Bait are playful , humorous names.

Speaking of humor, funny pet names for fish like Fancy Feast, Sushi and Bob are sure to bring a smile to your face or any one else who asks you your fish’s name.

My last Betta fish, Meow (a name inspired by my cat), lived to be four years old.  I just recently got a new one that I named Walter after one of my favorite authors.  Unfortunately, I’ve discovered that I seem to end up calling all my pet fish “Fishy”.  Hopefully you’ll have better luck!