Posts Tagged ‘animals’

Understanding Your Tropical Fish

Monday, June 28th, 2010

It does no matter if you are a season pro or just a beginner in fish raring, there are always more things for you to learn and apply. This attitude is especially important if you already own fishes as pets, because being a pet owner you are required to provide them with the best possible environment and food.

Today world have seen our technology in fish raring undergone changes that if you do not constantly keep up, you aren’t doing your job right. These changes can be in the form of water filter, fish food and even your aquarium and these newer technologies can no doubt provide better care for your fishes.

Thus this article will talk about the things you need to look out for and provide when raising your tropical fish as there is so much more than just feeding.

If you are a beginner in fish raring, you might want to consider starting out with a gold fish instead of an angelfish, gold fish are usually more resistant as compared to any other breed as such you will have more time to learn the proper technique and skills when it comes to taking care for your fish.

If fish breeding is your ultimate goal, then you might need to start learning how to differentiate the males from the females. It might be difficult especially for starters, because both will look the same! Generally males will be larger than females, however there are still breeds that might be the opposite, so you’ll want to have a good understanding of the different type and breed of fishes before you start raring them.

It is important to differentiate to make sure that you have a healthy balance of female to male ratio, especially when you’re trying to breed more of them. It is recommended to have 2 females to one male in order to increase the chance or reproduction. Also keep in mind that the female fishes are only ready to breed after four months, therefore you’ll have to learn how to manage effectively and segregate those that are not ready ones from those that are.

Finally, the environment you are providing to your fish will play a very important role! Make sure you get it right from the water temperature down to the decorations you have within the tank. Try to provide them with their little safe haven so that they can escape and unwind when they are feeling stress, also make sure that you keep your tank clean by cleaning it at least twice a month!

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Topical Fish Compatibility – An Essential Factor To Assess

Sunday, June 27th, 2010

If you are into fish raring and breeding, then no doubt you will understand that tropical fishes are some of the more popular breed of fish that many rare. The varieties and huge selection of these fishes have made them one of the most attractive breed to rare, that said, you have to understand that not every fish breed are compatible to each other, so before you go out and buy yourself with more different fishes, you ought to understand how they interact with each other as you want to aim to provide them with the safest and best environment for them to thrive in.

The simplest way to learn about various compatibility issues of the fishes you want to have is actually by asking the store owner of where you are going to buy them from. They will have insights for this as they have firsthand experience in dealing and handling with these fishes. Another easy way is to make sure you get the fish that are of the same size, because if you put a larger one and a small one inside the same tank, the smaller one will usually die! You can find all these information by simply logging on to the Internet and find out more.

Aside from fishy friends, you also have to take note of the compatibility of water temperature and the food you’re feeding to them. As with most fishes, extreme temperature does not go down too well with the, however there are some tropical fish that are even more delicate and sensitive to their surrounding water temperature, make sure you’ve sort that out before you let them inside the tank. To make the transition from store to your aquarium, one way is to submerge the inflated bag into the aquarium, this way your fish can have proper time to adapt to the temperature of your fish tank.

Another thing to pay attention to when taking care of your fish is to watch what you feed them, fish can either be herbivores, carnivores or even omnivores! Therefore understand and feed them according to their diet in order to provide them with the best possible nutrition and have you rewarded with their beautiful scales and color.

Finally, you also want to make sure that you are giving your fish the correct type of water, freshwater and saltwater fish needs different type of water and salinity, so make sure you have that right before you kill your fish!

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Taking Care Of Your Tropical Fish With A Guide

Monday, June 21st, 2010

If you are planning to rare a pet fish as a hobby, then you need to understand that taking care of a fish is very similar to taking care of other pets, as there are more to know than just understanding what breed are they and how they look like. You need information and knowledge on how to provide them with the best environment that they can thrive in, as well as whether they can actually stay together in the same aquarium with any other fish, all these are information that you should find out when you’re starting out on your hobby.

Then you’ll also need to know what you should be feeding them and should not, this is where getting help from tropical fish guide books comes in because generally they will give you the best information on how to make sure that you’re caring for your fish the right way.

The first place you should be getting a guide book is probably from where you get your fish, as they will usually sell breed related type of guide book for you. There should be plenty of stores around you that are selling it as tropical fish breeding is quite a popular hobby among fish enthusiast, however there are some breed which is less popular, therefore you’ll need to dig deeper to find more information about them.

Another good place that you can find guide books about caring for your tropical fishes are from your local bookstore; typically they’ll be located either under the hobby section or the pet section. Do bear in mind that you can seek help from them to order the book if they’re currently not carrying it in store, as they have a wide network with publishers and other bookstore, chances are high that you get just the book you’re looking for.

The Internet have help us progress so much in terms of searching for information, as such you will find plenty of smaller sites that actually have huge database of information on the various type of tropical fishes. You can also order books from online bookstore such as the Amazon when looking for the perfect care guide for your fish.

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Discus Fish Keeping Tips For Discus Keepers

Monday, June 21st, 2010

When it comes to raising and caring for discus fish, it can definitely be a tough thing to do. Particularly if your a first time discus keeper. You may not know what to do or how discus act and respond to their environment. Which is why I’m going do provide you a couple of tips on discus fish keeping. By knowing the tips, you will be able to raise healthy and lovely discus.

One of the most significant things you need to keep check on is the aquarium’s pH level. If the pH gets too high or too low, your discus fish will become sick. You will need to check the water’s pH level everyday. It will help you keep your fish disease free too.

Placing your aquarium in the right place is the second discus fish keeping tip. Be sure you don’t put the fish tank too close to any doors that are constantly being opened. Doing so will spook your fish and cause them to want to hide and not eat. If this happens, your fish will unquestionably become sick. So, follow this tip on discus fish care.

You should also remember that discus fish are schooling fish. They love to be around other discus, so if you plan on raising one, make sure you get a few of them. This way, your fish won’t be isolated and will be able to live happy. If they’re alone, they will start to stress and they’ll get sick from this. You can put discus with other fish, but make sure they’re not much bigger than the discus when putting them together. This could spook your fish.

The other tip that will help you when you are keeping discus fish is to be sure you feed your fish the right foods. Discus likes to eat different types of foods. But the primary food that the majority of discus eat are bloodworms. If you’re not sure if your fish will like them, just try them out and also give your discus some other foods to see which one it likes best.

The helpful tips on discus fish keeping will help you care for your fish. The tips will help you raise them and help you keep them looking beautiful. If you want to keep your fish healthy, make sure you follow the advice above.

Although caring for discus can be difficult, there are other tips that will make it very easy. To learn which tips to use, visit http://discusfishcareinformation.com

Tropical Fish Diseases Explained

Friday, June 18th, 2010

Rearing tropical fish is fast becoming many people’s hobby and life style. It is because it can be very rewarding and relaxing when you sit back and enjoy the vibrant color of your aquarium at the end of the day.

That said, it can also quickly turn to be one big stressful and frustrating experience for a lot of people when they find that their fish might not be as healthy. The fact that fishes are very fragile does not help and thus you would definitely want to learn how to properly take care of them before they fall sick. You will find about some of the common diseases that will afflict your fishes and how to treat them in this article.

One of the most common diseases in a fish is fungal disease, and the symptom you will see are white spots on your fishes. This is most commonly associated to stress experienced by your fish, as such those white spots suggest that your fish might be weakened due to prolong stress. What you should do is to isolate them from the rest and help your fish to relax and not further aggregating it.

Your fish might also easily get inflicted with bacterial diseases, and the telling signs are sores, swelling eyes, as well as ulcers. Bacterial disease can be controlled with the use of antibiotic medication that you can apply to the aquarium to stop the spread of such diseases.

Another different ype of disease is parasitic disease; this is easy to spot when you see your fish acting weird in the tank, such as rubbing their bodies on the floor bed or any other objects in the tank. What you should do to stop the parasite is to give your fish a bath with salt solution, as that will usually help stop the problem.

Finally, there are the viral diseases that you need to pay attention to. When you start seeing swelled up white spots on your fish, it is a symptom of viral disease. You need to immediately control the spread of these viruses before they end up afflicting on all your fishes, isolate the one which has the viral disease and clean your tank as soon as possible. While it might be difficult to find a cure and thus you might want to let it run its course, just be sure that the infected fish are not sharing the same tank with your other fishes.

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Proper Set-Up Of A Fish Aquarium

Monday, May 31st, 2010

If you are considering setting up a fish aquarium, consider some basic ideas that can save you time and money in the future. Fish generally require less day to day work than other types of pets, but an important step toward that is a proper initial set-up. There are lots of decisions to be made as well. Will you set up a freshwater or saltwater tank? Either way, there are great fish in regards to both that will fit everyone’s personality.

Fish are fairly simple animals. There is some basic knowledge that you should familiarize yourself with. Some fish are very expensive, while others are not. Some silly mistakes can cost you the lives of your fish, and all the money you spent on them. With some simple ideas on setting up your tank, you can make sure your tank stays clean and healthy.

An initial look around your local tropical fish stores is necessary. A type of a scouting trip to speak with experts about ideas and goals. Decide what types of fish you want to bring home, and then begin purchasing the equipment needed to support them. Don’t go about this backwards, selecting the equipment first and then buying fish that might not work well with that equipment.

Purchase a couple of books regarding the species of fish you are going to purchase, and research the important information you need to know. This is very important if you are going to put money into the more expensive breeds. All fish are different, needing various types of care, equipment and space.

If you have made your decisions on the fish you love and the equipment and decorations you need, bring it home and begin set-up. It is very important that all items placed inside the tank are washed off well. Don’t get frustrated, as the first time you set up a fish tank, it will require a few hours and reading the instructions. Set some special time aside and do it correctly. Once everything is set up, allow the tank to run and function without fish for a few days. This way, you can insure a proper environment.

Once everything is set up, go to the store and buy a few inexpensive, small fish to put into the tank first. Do this before you put an expensive fish in there, and make sure that they can survive. Pick fish you want to keep for a while. After you are satisfied that they are healthy and adjusting well, it may be time to finally add the more expensive species.

Daily maintenance of the tank is a must. It is important that you feed the fish daily and take a moment to observe them carefully. Look for any early signs of sickness that may be able to be treated if caught early. Scrub for algae often and check filter and hoses many times a week. Change the water occasionally as well.

Fish are pretty easy animals to care for, but some silly mistakes can put this adventure to a half very quickly. The initial set-up is very important. You must take special time and care, or your fish tank experience might not last very long!

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Online Tropical Fish Distributor – A Plausible Career

Monday, May 24th, 2010

One of the many things that the Internet has allowed is for individuals to run their very own business and retail stores. As such, it is no wonder that many have since turned their passion into a career; one such example is running an online tropical fish distributor business. As the world are getting smaller with our advance technologies, it is now possible to send live fishes over a courier service, provided you have managed to locate a good company to do so for you.

Courier service aside, you will also need to be able to locate a good tropical fish supplier before hand to ensure that you get all the supplies you need to run this business. This will definitely make living as an online fish retailer a reality for many of us.

So as with any other businesses, you’ll want to locate a retailer who you can get your stock supply from. Simply approach the supplier and tell them about your plans, and one of the most important thing to take with you when negotiating with your supplier is never be afraid to haggle and negotiate the price of the fish. If you can not get yourself a decent enough deal or high enough profit margin, then there really is no point in running your online fish business. Once you and the supplier have agreed on the conditions, pen it down and make it a legal binding to make everything official.

Knowing a supplier is only half the battle, the other is having the knowledge on how to market yourself over the web as a retailer or distributor. Most web surfer loves pictures and as such one way to increase the popularity is to have plenty of pictures of the fishes you are selling, also make sure you know your products by taking notes of the different breeds from your supplier. One advantage you have over normal retail stores is that you do not have to worry about shelves space, and thus giving you the edge on having a huge catalogue or selections.

Ultimately, price point is your strongest asset in this business, and since the operating costs over the internet can be cheaper than an offline business, you ought to offer them a more competitive and compelling price so that your customer will have good reason to order from you instead of others.

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Tropical Fish Care Info

Sunday, February 21st, 2010

A tank full of lively tropical fish can be a thing of beauty. The vibrantly colored fish and the silent way they glide around in the water can make it the focal point of any room. Watching the fish swim while the filter quietly gurgles can be a very relaxing experience. However, if proper care is not taken of the fish and the tank itself, it can very quickly turn into an eyesore that still attracts the eye but now for all the wrong reasons. Here are some basic guidelines to tropical fish care that will help you get started.

Now that you have decided that you want to set up a fish tank, what are the things you need to make that happen? Obviously you will need a tank. The size and shape of that tank is entirely up to you, but keep in mind that the larger the tank the more it will cost to set it up. There are a multitude of choices as to the types of decoration and fish to put into the tank but there are some things that you simply must have. They include gravel, a filter, a heater and a light source.

Take your time when you decide on the color and type of gravel you would like. It will be the single largest thing seen in your tank so you want to be sure to get it right. Think about the room you will be placing it in and the overall theme of the tank. In a child’s room, you may want brightly colored gravel while in a living room, you may want to go with the more muted, natural colors.

Filtering systems come in two basic types: those that are placed under the gravel and those that hang on the outside of the tank. Both are equally effective at cleaning the water. Some feel that the one placed under the gravel is a better choice because it cannot be seen, but they are much harder to maintain than the ones on the outside of the tank. In some cases, especially if the tank has many fish in it or is particularly large, you may find that it takes both types to keep the water quality high.

In order to keep your fish healthy, you will need to keep the water temperature around 72 degrees. A heater with a thermostat built into it is the best way to accomplish this. Tanks that are twenty gallons or below can be regulated with a single heat source. Bigger than that you will probably need two heaters placed at opposite ends of the tank.

Light fixtures often come as part of the tank’s hood. These hoods are designed to cover the entire top of the tank. This will keep the fish in and everything else out. You will have a choice of incandescent or fluorescent light fixtures. Fluorescent may be the better choice. The light bulbs last longer and they do not add any additional heat to the tank.

Once you have purchased everything that you need to get started, it is time to set up the tank. Do this where you intend the tank to stay because a tank full of water is very heavy and difficult to move. Turn on the filter and the heater and leave it to run for several days before adding fish. This will give you time to get the temperature just right and allow any chemicals that may be harmful to you fish to be filtered out.

Finally you are ready to add the fish. When you bring them home it is important to let the bags sit in the tank water for at least fifteen minutes before releasing the fish. This will give the fish a chance to acclimate to the temperature of the tank gradually. Now you can release them and enjoy their quiet grace as they move around the tank.

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A Simple To Follow Tropical Fish Guide

Saturday, February 13th, 2010

When you are ready to go from being a tropical fish observer to a happy tropical fish owner, you’ve got some things to take care of. You need to make sure that this is something you are really ready to take on because while it’s quite wonderful to own tropical fish, it’s hard work, too. Have no fear; you will be greatly rewarded for your diligence. This tropical fish guide may make things a bit easier for you.

It is recommended that you purchase the tank and accessories prior to buying the fish. Your tropical fish will not be happy or healthy for long in a plastic bag. You need to establish a clean and safe environment for them ahead of time. Give them something magnificent to come home to. When buying your first tank, don’t think that bigger is better. Since you’re a newcomer to the world of tropical fish ownership, start small. Once you see that you are good at taking care of them, you can increase the tank size. Just don’t bite off more than you can chew out of the gate.

If you don’t have a tank already, go purchase a small one. You also need a filter and light as well as other supplies to clean the tank. Buy the food you’ll need ahead of time as well. You can design a tank that is creative and colorful or if you prefer, very basic. Just make sure that whatever you do, you buy quality products. Things you buy that are less than well crafted can cost you down the road.

You of course need a strong and well built tank. Make sure the tank has no cracks or obvious defects. You will also need a hang on the back filter and a 5 watt light to keep your new pets happy and healthy. Wash your tank out well when you get it home and make sure that the water is pure before you begin introducing fish into it.

Make sure that your tank is completely clean and then add about an inch of rocks to the bottom of the tank. There is a variety of colored and ornate gravel that you can purchase for your tank. Get creative and give your new pets a beautiful home to enjoy.

Heat your new tank to about eighty degrees Fahrenheit. This is the prime temperature for your tropical fish. Make sure to check the temperature frequently once the fish are living in the tank. You don’t want to accidentally kill them by having them be too hot or too cold.

Set up your light in the tank before adding your fish. Fish like light but having your tank directly in front of the window will cause algae to grow out of control and you’ll have a difficult time with regulating temperature. Once you’ve got the water added, gradually warm it and then get to the pet store! There are a lot of places you can buy tropical fish from. There are specialty shops that can order any kind of tropical fish for you if they don’t have them in stock. You can also buy tropical fish in most local pet shops.

Ask the pet shop owner what the easiest to care for fish are, and then you can start with something easy. Make sure that the fish you are buying won’t eat each other. It’s very sad to wake in the morning and see that half of your fish are missing or half eaten by the others in the tank. Many pet shop owners are not truly well versed in tropical fish so you may have to do some learning on your own. If you’re in doubt, don’t mix breeds. Buy a few of one kind, bring them home and then do some online researching. You can always go back later and buy more kinds and colors of fish.

Take care when you go to feed your new pets. Tropical fish require a very specific diet and should be eating at the same time of day, every day. Never feed them too much and if you’re going away, have someone feed your fish. Take care of your tank and your fish should prosper. If you ever have problems, you can find the answers to your questions online. Good luck and enjoy your new tropical fish!

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Requirements For Testing Water In A Freshwater Aquarium

Tuesday, July 28th, 2009

Testing of water in a fresh water aquarium involves two steps, the first is when you first start an aquarium and the second stage is when the tank has already been established and you have fish in them.

Fish thrive or die, depending on the water quality, so it is imperative for their health that you understand the sort of conditions and the quality of water that your fish need to live healthily. This is not uniform for all fishes, so a bit of study is necessary.

Procedure for a new fish tank:

You first need to establish that the nitrogen cycle has taken place. This is important because after this cycle has occurred it is safe to add fish. Fish waste and undigested food lead to an ammonia spike. This is the first stage of the nitrogen cycle and you can detect this by an Ammonia test. After this friendly bacteria called Nirosomonas start to breed, causing a nitrate spike. This is the second stage of the nitrogen cycle.

The third stage occurs when nitrospira bacteria breed converting the dangerous nitrite into less harmful nitrates. Once this occurs it is safe to add fish. Add the fish gradually, testing the water every couple of days, partially changing the water if there is too much ammonia or nitrite in it. This cycle takes place over a few weeks so it is important to keep testing the water so that you know which stage of the cycle you are on.

There are three test kits that are a must for any fish tank owner, to monitor the nitrogen cycle, Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate testing kits. You also need a pH testing kit to check the water for acidity. This is important because if there is too much of a difference in the acidity level of the tank they lived in before you bought them, they may die of stress or shock.

Once your tank is established you do not need to keep on testing all the time. However, you still need to check the water for nitrates. Even though nitrates are not as harmful as the nitrites and ammonia, too much nitrate can also be detrimental to the health of your fish. To avoid any kind of problems, make it your habit to check the water quality and carry out regular water changes so that your fish are healthy and active. You can control the nitrate build up by adding plants and nitrate eating fish to your tank and monitoring the quality of water.

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