Petsmu

Fish like the natural balance in their living quarters and like humans require a healthy diet to remain active, alert and disease free. Just as in our own lives this means a good variety of food is better than a constant stream of one source.

In the wild, fish have to search out food and as such will get a good mixture of diet. But in an aquarium environment, some compromises are necessary. However there are a number of different types of food that can be sourced that will give your fish a good all round diet. Aquatics worms, crustaceans and insect larvae, green plant matter, and algae are good additions to the several flake products that are around. You can also include granules for mid-water fish, and some algae wafers and pieces of cucumber or courgette for the bottom-dwellers.

You also need to know how much food to give your fish and how often you must feed them. Continue Reading »

The most important objective in keeping tropical fish is to replicate the natural environment that the fish originally came from. There is a natural balance that fish like between water, plants, aeration and quality of water. If the tank is in balance – in general you will not get disease.

Out of Balance

However there are many simple reasons why your tank may move out of balance, causing stress to the fish and encouraging disease in the tank:

* The introduction of a new fish
* Too many fish
* Too little air circulation
* Too small a surface area
* Introduction of new plants
* Poor maintenance regime giving poor water quality.

Most aquarium disease can be avoided by making sure your aquarium water is healthy. Neglecting the appropriate tank maintenance and partial water changes will allow toxins to build up in the water, basically polluting your fish’s environment. As the water becomes more toxic your fish become more “stressed”, the more stressed your fish becomes the easier it is for the micro organisms present in your aquarium water to infect your fish with various diseases.

However, there are many diseases that can affect your aquarium fish and once your tank is infected, there’s a good change that all your fish will get sick. If disease does break out, doing a partial water change and treating the water for the particular disease is the best way to nip it in the bud. If you don’t do these two things your tank is liable to fail.

Stressed Fish

In addition to keeping good water quality in your aquarium, you should also keep an eye on your fish each day so that you can be alerted to any signs of stress right away and take the appropriate action.

Stressed tropical fish give out some tell tale signs you can be on the look out for including:

· Rubbing themselves against the gravel or aquarium décor

· Hiding in the corner or under plants or rocks all the time

· Floating at an angle with their fins close to they body

· Any growths or white fuzzy spots.

Of course, the first step in treating aquarium disease is preventing it…

Keep your aquarium in balance and it will help you enjoy beautiful healthy fish for years to come…

About the author: Pete owns Tropical Fish Advice which is a resource dedicated to helping individuals interested in all types of Tropical Fish
Source: http://www.articlesbase.com

Here are six pumps I will review :1. ReSun : - This pump (power head) was totally left off their list, although not as well known in the USA/Canada they are very popular in Asia and Australia. ReSun has some sizes such as the #6 that are quite capable for very “mucky” pond environments and yet operate very well. The stainless steel coated impellers along with the ceramic shafts found on the larger models) are extremely durable and almost never fail. These pumps are very reliable and start up without a problem; they also have very excellent head pressure (in fact among the best)! ReSun pumps can be submersed or place in line.

The models 3A, 5, and 6 are awesome in heavy duty applications such as ponds or very large aquariums where high flow and head pressure are necessary (as well as ability to deal with large amounts of particulates in the water). About the only con is that with their heavy duty construction, these pumps can be somewhat noisier than some others (although still not bad here either). ReSun power heads are also not as adjustable in flow as some other power heads, but this a minor inconvenience IMO.

2. Via Aqua : - This is a real workhorse line of pumps that is VERY widely used in the professional aquarium maintenance community yet did not even get mentioned by about.com (go figure!). These pumps in the power head line (not the basic line) also have ceramic shafts and very durable construction. Via Aqua pumps (along with ReSun) can be used in sumps or as a power head and have excellent head pressure. The Via Aqua power head line (such as the VA 1300) can be submersed or used in line which adds to versatility that not all pumps can match. For Aquarium sumps (usually in marine applications) the Via Aqua 2600 and 3300 are unsurpassed in usefulness.

Again the only con is these pumps are a little noisy, but only when used in line (they are a little quieter than the ReSun line when submersed). Via Aqua power heads (as with ReSun and Rio) are also not as adjustable in flows as some other power heads, but this a minor inconvenience IMO. This inconvenience is more than made up for in versatility! I will also admit to a couple of models by Via Aqua that I not recommend due to less than desirable durability and these are the 2300 and 4900.

3. Rio (by Taam) : - although no longer a preferred pump by me as the person who founded Rio started Via Aqua and improved on some of its problems. These are still excellent pumps IMO and although I partly agree with about.com with their assessment, I think they go overboard with their comments as to high maintenance. Rio power heads are very powerful with excellent head pressure (depending on the model).
The cons are the impeller (although very durable), seem to have problems in environments (especially ponds or dirty aquariums) that have a lot of debris and organics in the water column. However they still are very good at starting up when used as wave makers and are properly maintained. These pumps are also not adjustable in their flow

4. Maxi Jet Power heads : - I will have to agree the most with about.com on their assessment of these pumps. They are reliable and economical and start back up easily even when used as wave makers. However they do have their cons and that is they have poor head pressure and are not very versatile (unlike the Via Aqua, ReSun, and Rio pimps) as they are only power heads and nothing more.

5. Penguin Power Heads : - I do not generally agree with assessment by about.com on these power heads. Although they do have a neat feature with the reverse flow power head for UG filters (which are not very common anymore though), the other nice feature is the adjustable flow feature.
However nice these features are these power heads have a poor track record for reliability, they have very poor head pressure, and do not re-start well after the pumps have been in service for a while (in applications such as wave makers).

6. Hagen Aqua Clear Power Heads : - This pump is also over rated by about.com in my extensive experience with them. I have used more Aqua Clear power heads than ANY other (including the Via Aqua pumps I now generally recommend). When these power heads first came out they were industry leaders in design, however they are of 1980s technology IMO and although they are better than Penguins in reliability and head pressure, they still would stop and not re-start in many of my applications when power was even briefly interrupted, making them a poor choice for wave maker applications. Aqua Clear power heads also do not handle high organic/debris loads well and need more maintenance than the Rios that about.com claimed needed!

Bottom line with Aqua Clear power heads is that they are reasonable “retro” pumps, but certainly NOT the latest in technology!

7. ZooMed Power Sweep : - even though I sold these in my business, I rarely recommended them. They are basically a gimmicky power head with poor head pressure and low output. They are not real durable and the “sweeping” directional output feature is run by cheap plastic gears that often fail. These pumps do not handle high bio loads well and are best used in small aquariums or better vivariums where not much is asked of them.

SUMMARY:
I have had persons also ask me why many brands such as Via Aqua are not as commonly available as Hagen and does that make them of lower quality as no one really wants them?

The answer is quite simple; Hagen is sold through a larger network of mainline Pet Store distributors (although they are now transitioning to their own in house distribution system). This system promotes an all or nothing approach to marketing their products basically meaning you carry the whole line (good and bad) or not get discounts or even sell anything at all. This marketing system has been very successful (not to mention slick packaging), however this does not mean a better product.

Via Aqua (among many other high end brands) does not sell through traditional marketing distribution methods and systems, rather it sells many high end Marine fish importers and similar without all the expensive marketing gimmicks. This in particular places their products in the hands of Aquarium Maintenance Professionals who do not care about slick marketing or whether it is the fad, rather whether it works or not which is why Via Aqua and many other similar high end companies choose to sell this way.

For further information and pictures in an article that is still being added to, please visit this url:
Review of aquarium (& pond) power head pumps based on real world experience
About the author: I am 49 years old and have been in the Aquarium (& Pet ) business since I was 17. I have a spouse (Jodie), and 3 children (Michelle, Danielle, & Timothy). I recently sold my LFS in LA and moved to Oregon to be near my sister who is gifted in helping with our children, who all have special needs (Autism and more)
Source: http://www.articlesbase.com