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If a fish or coral in your saltwater aquarium contracts a disease, it is essential that you are able to identify this right away and quarantine any infected livestock, or you will quickly have an epidemic on your hands which will be distressing. Of course, not all diseases will be fatal to your livestock, and most are treatable. But, to prevent all of your livestock from perishing, you must act quickly. Here are some tips to help.

One of the more common conditions among fish when you first create your aquarium is called delayed mortality syndrome, or DMS. DMS occurs to a fish when new environmental conditions are thrust upon it like changes in temperature, oxygen level, or chemicals in different water then what they were transferred from, so all of your fish will be susceptible when first introduced into your tank. This condition is not the problem in and of itself, as it is not contagious and only serves to weaken the immune system of the fish.

It is important that when a fish seems to exhibit symptoms of a disease that your first step is to check all of your water factors such as ammonia, nitrate, nitrite, alkalinity, and anything else that, if at the wrong level, might harm the fish rather than provide a safe environment. If you have any doubt at all, change the water. If the problem was your levels instead of an actual disease, then you will see a change in your livestockfs behavior shortly after the water change.

However, if it is not the environment and your livestock does have a disease, then one of the best resources for identification and cure is the Disease Aquarium Identification Guide. Of course, if you can get your fish to a veterinarian you may get a quicker, more professional diagnosis. But if you canft, then the DAIG is your best bet for identification and cure.

If your environmental conditions are right, and you have changed the saltwater in your tank, then your fish are ill with either a disease or a parasite infection, and now you need to move onto the diagnosis phase by either seeing the veterinarian or using the DAIG. You know your fish and what they normally do in their little fishy lives. So if one or many of them start acting abnormally, start working to figure out the problem immediately. Here is a list of common symptoms that are indicators that your fish is not well.

• Scratching
• Rapid shallow breathing
• Hyperactivity
• Twitching
• Reduced appetite
• Clamped or enlarged fins
• Faded colors
• Hanging out near the top of the tank
• Cloudy eyes
• Little red dots lining the body
• Hides more than usual or becomes listless in behavior

Obvious signs of parasites are if your fish has lesions, is swollen, generates white patches or has stringy white feces.

Most diseases are curable as long as they are identified in the early stages. There are medicines available. Seawater livestock can get sick, get parasites, or will react adversely in conditions that are unfavorable. By understanding what conditions your fish may contract, you will greatly aid them in their time of need.

About the author: SaltySupply.com offers the most premium aquarium supplies on the net. We offer protein skimmers, powerheads, pumps and more for your saltwater aquarium.
Source: http://www.articlesbase.com

The canister filter has been in use for decades. Freshwater aquarists were the first to make use of them and they still do. Then along came the marine aquarium and the canister filter was employed to support those to. Canister filters have been around for so long that they are now very dependable and failures are rare.

Aquarium filtration techniques have progressed considerably in the last decade or so. Aquarists strive to make their reef aquariums dependant on natural filtration as far as possible. The use of ‘live’ rock is the major example. This rock can support the reef aquarium wonderfully, provided it is of sufficient quality and in sufficient quantity, and its capabilities are not abused by the aquarist. Live rock is probably the number one filtration method in use nowadays, in reef aquariums anyway. Another example of filtration is the DSB (deep sand bed) where natural methods provide support.

So what of the canister filter? With all these modern techniques perhaps the need for a canister filter is gone. Well, no it isn’t.

A canister filter can be used to house activated carbon, or filter pads or wool, to assist in keeping the seawater pollutant clear and dirt free. Some aquarists have put chunks (around ½” to 1? square) of live rock in the canister and report that the life within the canister is quite surprising - tube worms, tiny shrimps etc.

However, is the canister filter finished as far as a prime biological support function is concerned? No, it isn’t, is the answer (in my view). It is not the number one recommended marine biological filtration method nowadays, and rightly so. There are occasions though where the use of a canister filter is, what shall we say - convenient.

Live rock is very expensive, and there is little point in deciding to filter with it if sufficient quantity is not obtained. There are other decorative and marine suitable rocks that have no filtration capability, but are available at a far lower price. So the aquarist who finds the cost of live rock prohibitive is still able to consider a marine aquarium. Decorate with low cost rockwork and filter with a canister filter. There isn’t any need for a sump, another cost reduction.

I can nearly feel the hackles rising on some marine aquarists! But lets consider it further.

The low budget aquarist should, if finances allow, obtain two canister filters, though this is not absolutely necessary - canister filters are reliable as stated. One acts as a back up for the other. The compartments inside should contain coarse and fine filter material (the coarse before the fine). Following the filter material, and last in line, should come the biological media. This is easily obtainable and not too pricey. Sintered glass media is good, but there are others.

The canister filter is cleaned at least every four weeks, or as experience dictates. The coarse/fine filter material must be kept free flowing and the biological media protected from dirt. With two canisters, this can be achieved by cleaning one at two weeks, the other at four weeks, the first at six weeks etc. The biological media is not cleaned, just the coarse and fine filter materials. It goes without saying that the canister filters should have the correct capacity for the aquarium size they are to support.

Ah, I hear the question coming up! But canister filters are just nitrate factories aren’t they? Nitrate in excess is one thing the marine aquarium doesn’t need.

Up to a point that is correct. A canister filter is a nitrate factory. But the production of nitrate is not exclusive to the canister, it is produced by any biological filtration system. Another filtration system will produce the same amount of nitrate as the canister with the same amount of ammonia to start with. It is the nitrogen cycle, the natural breakdown of toxics. There is a difference however. The canister filter is having oxygenated water pumped through it, which means that the nitrogen cycle can only progress as far as the production of nitrate. Live rock, for example, will hopefully complete the full nitrogen cycle, breaking down the nitrate into gas that is released from the aquarium. Routine seawater changes are recommended for all aquariums. Where a canister filter is in use (for biological purposes) the seawater change must be completed as it is one of the methods for reducing nitrate. The aquarist using a canister can consider completing the nitrogen cycle by other means. A denitrator will remove nitrate efficiently, so that is an option. Sulphur denitrators are the best option (in my opinion).

Now things have become more complicated again. If denitrators are to be considered then, coupled with the cost of non-live decorative rock, and the canister filter(s), plus the bio media, the cost is rising. The option for a canister filter seems only sensible when a smallish aquarium is obtained (for example, seawater changes are more manageable and less costly). Larger aquariums seem better with live rock even though the overall cost is high.

This is not a recommendation for canister filters over other filtration methods. It is my opinion that live rock, coupled with a DSB in a sump, is a very good filtration option. However, for a smallish aquarium where water changes are not a problem and the bio-load is not particularly heavy, the canister filter remains a viable biological support possibility. The aquarist should, of course, cost the options very carefully, and use live rock where possible.

About the Author: Peter Cunningham and John Cunningham between them have been keeping saltwater aquariums for over 35 years. Check out their Aquarists Online website if you are interested in learning more about the saltwater aquarium hobby.
Source: http://www.articlesbase.com

Keeping fish is an endlessly fascinating and absorbing hobby. The size and shape of tanks is discussed below, as is the fish capacity of tanks.

Aquaria for decorative purposes should be made from clear glass, without the irregularities and flaws frequent in ordinary window glass, and the glass should be thicker than window glass in any but the very smallest tanks.

Shape and Size of Tanks

Aquaria should be as shallow as possible, since the surface of water exposed to the air is the most important factor in determining the number of fishes they can safely hold. However, a very shallow tank is an eyesore, and a compromise is always made between biological and artistic requirements.

Many prefer a “double cube” type of construction, with the tank twice as long as it is wide and high, i.e., 24 X 12 X 12 inches. This tank is still rather shallow for the full growth of plants and looks better if the height is somewhat increased, so that a common variation is 24 X 12 X 14 or even 24 X 12 X 16 inches.

Fish Capacity of Tanks

Until recently it was believed that the exchange of carbon dioxide and oxygen between fish and plants, taking place directly through the water, was more important than is really the case. In a crowded tank, with plants in a good light, this interaction matters considerably, and the same tank is often in a poor state at night.

With a tank not unduly crowded, either with fish or with plants, the exchange of gases between the air and water is more important than any other factor. This is why the surface area of the tank counts for so much and why, in practically all circumstances, the influence of plants may be ignored when fish capacity is considered from a respiratory point of view.

We compute fish capacity from surface area, and we may modify this by including the effects of temperature, water movement, and various other factors. The warmer the water, the lower the solubility of oxygen, and thus the lower the fish capacity. The following estimates assume an average temperature of about 75 degrees F for tropical and about 60 degrees F for cold-water fishes. They assume no aeration, and they also assume that young fishes and small fishes, even though adult, use more oxygen per unit of body weight than do larger fish.

This is in line with such experimental details as are available, though they are scanty, and with general experience. They are not based on the “gallon” or “inch of fish” rules, which give various estimates of the number of inches of fish per gallon which may be placed in tanks, because this type of computation is clearly fallacious and is not in line with either the practice or the experience of observant aquarists.

The general basis of the estimates is as follows. It is assumed that, age and activity apart, the same volume or weight of fish uses about the same amount of oxygen per minute, whether it comprises a hundred small fishes or one big fish.

However, small fishes and young fishes are usually more active and young fishes are still rapidly growing. They therefore consume more oxygen weight for weight, and allowance is made for this to the extent that 1 ounce of 1-1/2 inch fishes is allowed five times the oxygen consumption of 1 ounce of 2-1/2 inch fishes, and each ounce of 6-inch fishes is allowed rather less oxygen than that of 2-1/2 inchers.

The base line is the 2-1/2 inch tropical fish, which is allowed 20 square inches of surface area - a generous allowance - and all estimates should be divided by 3 for cold-water fishes and by 6 for fancy goldfish varieties. The 20-square-inch allowance is intended to permit further growth and good health. The fishes would not be expected to show distress if their numbers were doubled, but they would not flourish so well.

Following these few simple principles, an attractive and long-lasting aquarium can easily be set up.

About the author: Discover The Secrets Of How To Breed Tropical Fish And Amazing Oceanic Aquarium - It’s Easier Than You Think! Click here for FREE online ebook! http://www.oceanicaquarium.net/
Source: http://www.articlesbase.com