Petsmu

When we first started keeping tropical fish - we did have one major disaster which wiped out the whole tank. It was a particularly gruesome situation which we could have avoided but I didn’t count as “our fault”…

We had gone away for a long weekend and yes, you’ve guessed it, the thermostat on the tank heater broke, the temperature of the water soared - fish tank extinction ensued…and my family and I were in tears on our return…

I was so shaken by the experience that for a while we kept only plants in our aquarium as we didn’t have the heart to start again.

Slowly over time we realised how wonderful a properly planted tank can be and how exotic the plants can make the whole aquarium look, a properly landscape tank adds enormous visual impact. And of course, when you add fish, plants play an important role in aquarium life as they add oxygen to the water and help to absorb nitrites that are toxic to the fish.

The sun is the most significant factor in the life of a plant, and in an aquarium, lighting is equally as central to maintain the health and beauty of the plants.

Wayne Vandre, Horticulture Specialist, comments that light is the all-important source of energy used by plants in photosynthesis. But light is not just one simple, well-defined entity. The plant response is influenced by light quality, intensity and duration. Experiments show that maximum growth of most plants is under cool white fluorescent light.

It is important to realize that skimping on the quality of lighting will affect the quality of plant growth that you get and therefore the overall quality of tank life.

Landscaping a tank can be fun and it is essential to get different types of plants to give the tank that exotic look. There are many diverse ranges of aquatic plants. Tubers need to be anchored by the root to the bottom of the tank. Floating plants plainly float in the tank do not need to be anchored and will not usually require fertilizer. Rooted plants, like tubers need to be anchored to the bottom of the tank normally tied to pieces of rock or wood. These species usually grow to be fairly tall and will help to fill the aquarium.

Continue Reading »

Setting up an aquarium may not be a hard as what everybody thinks. It can be really easy if you are well prepared with knowledge and learn how to react to problems. Do bear in mind that patience and having the sense of tediousness are very important. There is no such thing as shortcut and people who think in such a way often fails. If you intend to successfully set up an aquarium, have it done to the best of your ability.

Finding the right location for your aquarium
Let’s begin by first choosing the right location to place your tank. I feel, this is the first step to start and novices often make a mistake by heading to your local fish shop only to discover that the purchased aquarium does not fit into any location. Believe me, most people often overlook on this issue.

You might want to consider these few important facts when finding the perfect spot.

* Access to electricity supply - This is important to ensure that air pumps, heaters, filters and lighting have reachable power supply. The shorter the distance, the better it is and ideally power point should be at higher location compared to the aquarium height for safety purposes.

* Source of lighting - Natural sunbeam although will ensure proper propagation of aquarium plants, it is not needed if you can stimulate artificial lighting. Placing aquarium too close to windows is actually not a good idea, as the high intensity of the sunbeam could cause unhealthy growth of algae. Instead, use artificial lighting whereby you can actually control light intensity and stimulate the day and night cycle.

* Make sure that the surrounding space is wide enough - This is important to ensure that no untoward incident such as accidental knocking could take place especially if you have to move between tight areas. Place it on a location whereby there are wide-open spaces around the aquarium left available. It is a good idea to have gaps between 12- 15 inches apart from the nearest object. This is also important to ensure that daily routines such water changing could be done easily without bumping into objects. Continue Reading »

If you are buying tropical fish for the first time or buying tropical fish to add to your aquarium, there are a few things you should look for to tell if the prospective tropical fish are healthy or not. Be careful not to buy diseased or unhealthy fish as disease spreads quickly in a fish tank and the other fish could easily become sick and die.

1. Activity: Tropical fish should be swimming easily around the aquarium with the other fish. If a fish is swimming upside down he his probably dying. A fish shouldn’t be at the top of the fish tank all the time nor at the bottom (unless he is a bottom feeder).

2. Eyes: The eyes of the fish should be bright and clear. Some fish will have strange looking eyes and still be healthy so know the characteristics of the fish you are looking to buy.

3. Fins: The dorsal fin should not be folded down as this is a sign of an unhealthy fish. He also should not have a split fin. There should be no signs of fungus or white spots on the fin.

4. Scales: The scales should be shiny and free of white spots and excessive mucus.

5. Aquarium: The aquarium should be clean and the water should be clear. Dirty water and a dirty fish tank are signs that the tropical fish are not being properly cared for. Improperly cared for fish are more likely to get sick. Continue Reading »