It is a well known fact that feeding live food to your fishes will help them to grow better, show better coloration, and improve vigor. Fish love a variety of foods, and live foods are more closely related to what they feed on in their natural habitat. Although raising live foods can take up a small amount of space, and a bit of your time, the results in seeing your fish thrive are well worth it! Vinegar eels are basically fry food, and very easy to grow. They are not really eels, but are classified as a minute nematode worm (Turbatrix aceti. and feed on vinegar or acidic, fermenting vegetable matter. These tiny roundworms are bilaterally symmetrical, approximately .08 in. (2 mm) long, and lives for around 10 months with a minimum effort of care.
To cultivate, fill a gallon jar with a quart of undistilled apple cider vinegar, a quart and a half of aged cool tap water, and an apple cut into 6 sections. If your water is typically hard, increase the apple cider vinegar to a 60% ratio. Introduce your vinegar eel culture to the container, and cover with a piece of cloth, held in place by a rubber band to keep flies out of the culture.
The media will need to be replenished about once a month, due to some evaporation and loss from harvesting the eels.
Culturing the eels is very low maintenance, as they have no temperature requirements and a long life span. One consideration is odor, for the apple cider vinegar will smell a bit like a winery, and some may find it objectionable!
Be patient with the culture, as it may take up to a month for the culture to be strong enough to see the eels in large numbers. When you are able to see them in quantity, it is time to harvest and feed to your fishes.
Harvesting vinegar eels is perhaps the most challenging part of the whole process. The easiest way to accomplish this is to draw the eel laden fluid up with a small baster, such as is used for basting chicken or turkey. Transfer this liquid into a funnel lined with a coffee filter placed over the opening of the culture jar to return the excess fluid to the container. When you feel that you have harvested enough for a feeding, gently rinse the coffee filter under a stream of cold fresh water for several minutes. Swish the inverted filter in your tank, and feed the fishes. If feeding several tanks, swish the filter in a beaker of water, and feed the eels using an eyedropper.
Vinegar eels will stay near the surface of the water, so aren’t good food for bottom feeders. Surface feeders such as rainbowfish will benefit greatly from feeding vinegar eels, but a lot of cichlid fry are bottom feeders. This is why a variety of live foods is important to feeding fry.
If you do not feed vinegar eels on a regular basis, don’t worry. The culture will keep indefinitely for a year with little care needed. A couple of times per year, thin out the culture by using a coffee filter and funnel, remove about half the media, and replace with fresh media in the proper ratio. You can then gift a fellow aquarist with the culture to begin a vinegar eel colony of their own.
About the Author
Alden Smith is a published author who has been marketing on the internet for over 7 years. His website, http://www.kingdiscus.com, is a resource for articles, software and information on the tropical fish hobby. Visit his website for more information on live foods, tracking software, and articles on the tropical fish hobby, especially if interested in raising discus fish. Weekly articles are posted, along with updates for Fish Minder software.
Written By: Alden Smith
Lungfish can survive in poorly aerated waters since they have lungs which make its possible for them to obtain oxygen directly from the air. The lungs are related to those in primitive amphibian animals. Today, there are six known Lungfish species in world, but they used to be much more common. Lungfish have been around since the Lower Devonian era and during earlier stages of the planets history there existed much more than six lungfish species. Those species that have survived have changed little since the Lower Devonian age. The Australian lungfish have for instance looked pretty much the same during the last 100 million years.
Today, you will find wild Lungfish in Africa, South America and Australia. The African and South American Lungfish species all belong to the family Lepidosirenidae, while the Australian Lungfish has its own family – the Ceratodidae. As mentioned earlier, all Lungfish species are capable of breathing oxygen from the air. Other shared features are their large, elongated and snakelike bodies. They are also predators and will eat pretty much anything that they manage to catch. Fish is their staple food, but they will happily also gulp down crustaceans, larger insects and other aquatic creatures. They are very robust and can survive in waters shunned by most other fish species. If you want to keep Lungfish in your aquarium you should however avoid the highest pH-values. Before you buy a Lungfish for your aquarium should consider their size. The largest Lungfish is one of the African lungfish species, a fish which can reach a maximal size of 2 metres / 6 feet which makes it unsuitable for hobbyist aquariums. Even the smaller Lungfish species grow very large and should only be housed in huge tanks.
In Africa, you will find four different Lungfish species. Protopterus annectens is the most popular species among aquarists. The three other ones are Protopterus aethiopicus, Protopterus amphibious and Protopterus dolloi. You should never get an African lungfish unless your aquarium is very large, since they grow rapidly. As long as you can provide them with enough space, they are however though fishes that will tolerate a wide range of water conditions. They will eat all sorts of food. Even though they are predatory fish, it is not very hard to make them accept dry and frozen foods. When kept on a diet of prepared food they will still appreciate occasional live treats. This means that your African lungfish should ideally be housed alone since it will happily devour any tank mates. If the other fish is too large to swallow, the African lungfish will simply bite chunks out of it until it is fully consumed.
On the South American continent you will only find one Lungfish, Lepidosiren paradoxa. This Lungfish can also be kept in aquariums and its requirements are very similar to the African lungfish species. Just like its African cousins, it must be given plenty of room. Lepidosiren paradoxa can reach a maximal size of 1.2 meters / 4 feet.
The Australian Lungfish, Neoceratodus forsteri, can also be kept in aquariums but you should be aware of the fact that they are CITES listed. You are only allowed to by Australian Lungfish from licensed breeders and if you live anywhere outside Australia it can be hard to get exportation and importation licenses. The Australian Lungfish is also known as Queensland Lungfish.
About the author:
Read more about different species of lungfish like the South american lungfish or ask questions about lungfish in our predatory fish forum .
Written By: William Berg
Buying Your First Aquarium, What To Look For
If you are interested in buying an aquarium and keeping several varieties of fish as pets, there are several things you should know before you start looking. Some factors to keep in mind are type of fish, number of fish, and what type of decor would you like. Buying an aquarium can end up costing a great deal of money but if you shop smart you can get a nice aquarium for a good price.
If you haven’t owned an aquarium before, you might think it would be best to start off small. In truth you are establishing an ecosystem, so buying a small tank and only a few fish, is actually harder than going a bit bigger. In order for your aquarium to survive, you need the correct pH balance and also some live plants. Think in terms of twenty gallons as a starting size. This will give your fish room to swim and not feel trapped in a tiny space. It will give you more to look at and enjoy as well.
Don’t purchase too many fish in the beginning. Four or five is a good number. You’ll be able to add more later on if you want to. Another consideration is deciding if you want fresh water fish or salt water fish. You can’t have both in the same aquarium. Most of the tropicals live in salt water.
Before you randomly choose some fish, do some Internet research or talk to the pet store employees. Some fish species don’t interact well and may actually eat one another for lunch.
Now that you know the tank and the fish you want, it’s time to think about decorations. There are a lot of choices at the pet store, and the right ones depend only on what you like. That doesn’t mean however, that you can just put anything in the water. Gravel especially must come from a pet store, since it won’t have an adverse affect on your aquarium system, like beach gravel would. You don’t want to upset the balance you’ve worked so hard to establish.
After having your fish and decided upon the aquarium you would like, next you will have to bring in the water. The chlorine in the normal tap water is harmful for the plants and the fish. This is the most important factor. You will have to treat the tap water to remove the chlorine content. Use a chlorine remover before adding the water to the aquarium.
Maintaining the correct water temperature is another important consideration for your aquarium. It needs to be between 70 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit, so be sure to purchase a thermometer. If the temperature isn’t just right, your fish could die.
The next thing to be considered is the food for the fish. Most fish are not fussy about the food they are given, fish flakes and pellets are both fine with the fish. Recommendation for any special food can be ascertained from the pet store.
Some people are of the opinion that just placing a few gold fish in a bowl and hoping that the fish will be fine. However it takes much more effort. Starting an aquarium and then maintaining it can be very enjoyable and satisfying.
About The Author
Kathy Strander runs a very interesting website at Rock Aquarium, visit there today for the latest Aquarium advice, and while you’re there sign up for the free newsletter. Read many more interesting articles on Aquarium at: http://www.rockaquarium.com/articles
Written By: Kathy Strander
Just as trees, flowers and plants help our environment, add a food source and make our landscapes beautiful so too do aquatic plants provide the same for your aquarium.
Just like us fish like to have areas where they can swim around and nibble at, but plant life in the aquarium plays a much greater part in the aquatic environment.
Toxins in the water created by rotting food and fish excrement pollute and starve the water of vital oxygen. Remembering that the fish breathe water through their gills we know that it is vital to keep oxygen levels up in the tank. Aquatic plants will help the process and uses the phosphate created in the nitrogen cycle to help them grow.
So what is the nitrogen cycle? Just like on land the leaves, plant life and animal droppings rot and mulch down into a fertiliser. Plant roots take the fertiliser and use it as a feed. In the aquarium rotting foods, and fish waste falls to the bottom of the tank and turns into a fertiliser for the aquatic plants. In turn they produce oxygen through photosynthesis just as the trees and flowers do above water. More oxygen means that the fish can breathe healthy clean and safe water.
Aquatic plants also play an important part in the breeding process of fish. Some species lay their eggs beneath the leaves away from other predatory fish swimming around the plants to ward off fish from nearing them until the eggs hatch, the leafy plants then offer a good food source for the young fry and indeed many adult fish enjoy nibbling on the fresh leaves as much as we enjoy our garden vegetables..
Not only are aquatic plants important to the tank environment but offer an exciting landscape for you and your fish. Imagine walking through the countryside and seeing no trees, no flowers and plant life, pretty grim thought yes? In the same respect the underwater garden offers you the chance to create dramatic and stunning plant effects that will give you hours of watching pleasure as you see your fish happily swimming and enjoying the garden you have given them.
Different plants have different visual effects, look around your aquatic centre and ask for advice as some plants are hardier than others and therefore easier to look after. You will also need to ensure you have a good substrate for the roots to grow and a plant food, this usually comes in liquid form and can be added at intervals to ensure your plants get what they need to survive life in the tank.
The plants come in all shapes and sizes, various colours can brighten a drab looking aquarium, this not only creates great effect for you and any visitors to your home, but also gives the fish a greater enjoyment. When you plant your garden, use your imagination, create an effect you will truly be happy with, and if you need an extra hand there are hundreds of ideas to choose from in websites and books readily available on the net, library’s and in your local aquatic centre.
About the author:
Cerianwen is a keen aquarist with many years personal experience in tropical and cold water fish keeping. This article has been submitted in affiliation with http://www.PetLovers.Com/ which is a site for Pet Forums.
Written By: Cerianwen Ball
Just as trees, flowers and plants help our environment, add a food source and make our landscapes beautiful so too do aquatic plants provide the same for your aquarium.
Just like us fish like to have areas where they can swim around and nibble at, but plant life in the aquarium plays a much greater part in the aquatic environment.
Toxins in the water created by rotting food and fish excrement pollute and starve the water of vital oxygen. Remembering that the fish breathe water through their gills we know that it is vital to keep oxygen levels up in the tank. Aquatic plants will help the process and uses the phosphate created in the nitrogen cycle to help them grow.
So what is the nitrogen cycle? Just like on land the leaves, plant life and animal droppings rot and mulch down into a fertiliser. Plant roots take the fertiliser and use it as a feed. In the aquarium rotting foods, and fish waste falls to the bottom of the tank and turns into a fertiliser for the aquatic plants. In turn they produce oxygen through photosynthesis just as the trees and flowers do above water. More oxygen means that the fish can breathe healthy clean and safe water.
Aquatic plants also play an important part in the breeding process of fish. Some species lay their eggs beneath the leaves away from other predatory fish swimming around the plants to ward off fish from nearing them until the eggs hatch, the leafy plants then offer a good food source for the young fry and indeed many adult fish enjoy nibbling on the fresh leaves as much as we enjoy our garden vegetables..
Not only are aquatic plants important to the tank environment but offer an exciting landscape for you and your fish. Imagine walking through the countryside and seeing no trees, no flowers and plant life, pretty grim thought yes? In the same respect the underwater garden offers you the chance to create dramatic and stunning plant effects that will give you hours of watching pleasure as you see your fish happily swimming and enjoying the garden you have given them.
Different plants have different visual effects, look around your aquatic centre and ask for advice as some plants are hardier than others and therefore easier to look after. You will also need to ensure you have a good substrate for the roots to grow and a plant food, this usually comes in liquid form and can be added at intervals to ensure your plants get what they need to survive life in the tank.
The plants come in all shapes and sizes, various colours can brighten a drab looking aquarium, this not only creates great effect for you and any visitors to your home, but also gives the fish a greater enjoyment. When you plant your garden, use your imagination, create an effect you will truly be happy with, and if you need an extra hand there are hundreds of ideas to choose from in websites and books readily available on the net, library’s and in your local aquatic centre.
About the author:
Cerianwen is a keen aquarist with many years personal experience in tropical and cold water fish keeping. This article has been submitted in affiliation with http://www.PetLovers.Com/ which is a site for Pet Forums.
Written By: Cerianwen Ball
Aquarium fish fall ill just like any other pet. The illnesses are as a result of disease. The common diseases that affect aquarium fish are mostly stress induced. The micro-organisms which cause these diseases may be present in the water as part of the normal micro fauna and grab the opportunity to infest or infect the fish when it is stressed and its normal defense are weakened.
Different ways aquarium fish suffer from stress
- Aquarium fish usually start experiencing stress starting from the time it’s about living the breeding farm till when the end purchaser finally picked it from retailer. Most beginners don’t really know how to handle fish.
- The quality of water is another cause of aquarium fish stress. Different fish species have different water quality that will make the environment conducive for them. Quality parameters like pH, water hardness, high nitrite and carbon dioxide level, low dissolved oxygen salinity of water, water temperature and others.
- Any change in environment like physical damage, leaches, lice and introduction of new fish that is not quarantine could lead to stress in aquarium, thus making life non conducive for fish in aquarium tank
- Change in weather condition is another factor that leads to aquarium fish stress. When there is heavy downfall as you know the weather will become cold and this could lead to stress in aquarium.
- Poor Diet as a result of lack in nutritional requirement always leads to poor performance in fish immune system. Fish immune system will struggle to operate efficiently. This will result in a stressed fish.
Warning signs of illness in aquarium fish
You can easily know when your fish are going through stress if you watch them very well and often. You will notice signs like fish swimming with clamps up (closed) in their fins, hovering in a corner, heavy breathing and fish brushing its body against objects. These are warning signs you need to act on immediately.
How to reduce stress in aquarium
To reduce stress in aquarium, you need to guide against factors that lead to stress. The following are tips on how to prevent stress that ultimately leads to illness:
- Make sure you have detail information about the fish species that you will be introducing to your tank. Enquiring about its requirements before you buy it will help you a lot. Thus, ask lots of questions before making your purchase.
- Knowing the right food for your fish is another important thing you have to know as this may vary from species to species. If you have this knowledge you will be able to provide foods that are rich in nutritional ingredients that your fish require.
- Keep the environment clean.
- When you want to introduce new fish, make sure it’s quarantined to reduce the risk of disease.
About the Author
For more great aquarium related articles and resources check out http://tropicalfish.aquariumspot.com
Written By: John Gorecki
Tropical fish are beautiful and are brilliant for keeping at home provided that they have the right habitat. When thinking of keeping tropical fish always remember to have a suitable home for them, a large enough tank, clean fresh water, a tank that resembles their natural habitat and plenty of food. When fish are happy then they are likely to live longer so making sure that you fish has all those things mentioned then you are already on your way to being a great fish keeper.
There are several types of fish that you can have in your tropical fish aquarium. You can keep smaller fish such as Neon’s, Tetras, Angel fish, Guppies and Gourami’s or you can keep larger fish for example cichlids or Malawi’s. When it comes to cichlids and Malawi’s there are different types of fish that fall into these categories. Cichlids are well known to be like cannibals, there are fish such as Oscars, black belts, jaguars, parrots and Jack Dempsey’s to name a few. The list goes on. Malawi cichlids have fish like Black Doral’s, blue nose, chidunga and luhuchi to name a few.
Tropical fish aquariums are made up with freshwater. The water needs to be completely purified, no salt or chlorine in the water. The best thing to do is set up your tank about four weeks before purchasing any fish and let the bacteria cycle, this will give your fish the best start in your tank. You get what is known as new tank syndrome, if you put your fish in the tank too soon. The bacteria has not had enough time to build up and the fish suffer. The bacteria is extremely important as this is what gets rid of the fish waste and if there is not enough bacteria the waste gathers and becomes toxic to the fish. This is also why a lot of learning needs to be done. Never use fresh water always take out boiled tank water to clean your filter so that you don’t destroy the good bacteria! When cleaning the gravel in your tropical aquarium always remember to have some water prepared a few weeks beforehand. Fill up a bucket of water and leave some chlorine solution in it. This will also help to protect your fish.
A tropical fish aquarium is an absolutely stunning piece of furniture for any home but it does require constant attention, so you have to make sure that you know what is involved before getting into fish keeping. If you are ready for the challenge and you can keep your tank clean and your fish happy, then there is no reason why you can’t be a great fish keeper, good luck!
About the author:
William Nabaza of http://www.Nabaza.com specializes in domains, webhosting, webmaster’s tools, netpreneur’s articles and resources. Stands out as a freebie provider, business opportunity provider and the like. Visit his site at http://www.nabaza.com or contact him directly at william@nabaza.com There’s more pet resources here: http://www.nabaza.com/pets.htm
Written By: William R. Nabaza of http://www.Nabaza.com/pets.htm
A balanced diet for your aquarium fish is essential to thier survival. Most of the commercially available dry fish foods are almost always unbalanced. In many cases, the vitamin content will gradually decline at room temperature and since majority of the dry food for tropical fish commonly used will only keep for about three months, it is always advisable to buy fish-feeds in many small packs rather than in one large pack. The feed could preferably be kept absolutely dry in a refrigerator. However, all fish appreciate a change of diet and will thank you for your consideration with more interesting behavior, better colours, and greater readiness to breed and better general well -being. This change of diet should be supplemented with live food; majority of which now come in irradiated freeze dried forms to make sure that they are disease free.
I will mention a few that could be found handy in some major aquarium shops and I will group them into two. And they are flake foods and freeze-dried foods
Flake foods
Most popular and highly recommended brands are Aquarian, Tetra, and Wardley. They are varying in cost and quality. Wardley is the least expensive among the three. However, the Aquarian and Tetra are richer in specialty flakes compare to Wardley.
Freeze-dried foods
You will also find freeze-dried foods available in aquarium stores. They are favorite foods for aquarium fish. They have single animal-ingredient like mosquito larvae, blood worms and Tubifex worm each. Aquarist should note that freeze-foods are not in themselves complete diet but they can be combine to flake food or other type of freeze-dried foods. We shall discuss more about Tubifex as a popular freeze-dried food.
TUBIFEX – This is a traditional favorite food relished by most fishes. They are small red worms that live at the bottom of streams and rivers particularly where large amounts of organic matter are present. Therefore, it is difficult for the aquarist to collect them life from their habitat. It is therefore preferable to buy Tubifex from pet shops where they are already clean, freeze-dried and concentrated into cube forms.
From personal experience, Tubifex tubes could probably be the most exciting feed to use for fishes. The cube can be stuck to the front inside wall of the aquarium. The fishes in the tank will immediately come forward and bit off pieces of worms excitedly until satisfied.
You need not bother to remove the rest worms since they seldom pollute and in most case fishes return to the feed for further fill.
About the Author
For more great aquarium related articles and resources check out http://fishfood.aquariumspot.com
Written By: Nathan Miller
When confronted with such variety of plants for your aquarium, there is a great temptation to take a piece of everything that appeals to you. If you do this, you will be wasting money needlessly.
A dozen different kinds of plants in a tank will compete for food and light, and before long the strongest will have gained all of the space, and leave the others dying off. So exercise self-restraint and limit your choice to only three kinds. Two of these plants should be for massing in the background, and one as a center-piece.
For one of the two plants to be placed in the background, I would suggest that one be either Vallisneria or Sagittaria (not both in one tank though, as they tend to compete).
For the second plant, it always looks nice to have one of the bushy plants, and of these, Hygrophila is the easiest to grow. But also note that Cabomba-Limnophila or Ludwigia are more decorative for the tropical tank. These suggestions are also the best ones if you are starting a cold-water aquarium.
And your third plant, the center-piece, a Cryptocoryne, Echinodorus or an Aponogeton are recommended for warm water aquariums, and a Hottonia, Muphar or Ranunculus do especially well for the cold water. Not to mention they are all very lovely to look at!
Healthy plants are plump, crisp and intense in color; refuse those that are limp and pale. Most aquatic plants are rather brittle when out of water and must be handled carefully. Never pick them up by the middle of the stem; the best way is to lift them by the base, so that they hang down from the fingers. Select young, half-grown plants rather than fully grown ones, and with as many leaves as possible.
Many of the plants which propagate by cuttings will be seen to have fine, hair-like roots sprouting from the nodes from which the branches grow; choose these, as they will “take” more quickly.
Plants with crowns must have good roots, and you should examine these to see that they are plump and bushy.
Of all of the aquarium plants available, the ones listed above have always proven to be the most reliable and attractive. Be sure to pick the healthiest ones of the bunch, and you will be creating a great looking, and happy aquarium.
About the author:
FREE information on all aspects of owning an aquarium! Discover how you can have the most attractive and clean aquarium, and the happiest and healthiest fish around. It’s FREE! Click here: http://www.SuccessfulAquariums.com
Written By: Jon Weaver
I have already talked about selecting great fish and how to transport them home and settle them in to there new surroundings. Today I’m going to tell you about the correct way to feed your aquarium fish because it is one of the most important factors of keeping tropical fish.
Overfeeding aquarium fish is the most common cause of death in tropical fish. I know this may be difficult to believe that something so easy could cause more problems and deaths of your aquarium fish than disease but overfeeding causes problems with water quality which is where problems seem to start. It is often not seen as important and therefore, notice is not taken.
You need to make sure you don’t give your aquarium fish too much food. Just a sprinkle should do however you do need to make sure you don’t underfeed them and cause stunted growth. Here are a few tips on how you should feed your new tropical fish.
1, Try to feed often but sparingly. This will decrease the uneaten food that will turn into ammonia that could be harmful to your aquarium and even kill your fish.
2, Observe your fish at feeding times and look out for how much they can eat within three to five minutes. You should then feed no more than that. This again will create less waste food.
3, Try feeding other foods that don’t pollute the aquarium water as much. Only feed meaty foods twice or three times a week as these tend to create the most ammonia.
4, Look into buying a more powerful filter or even a second filter. If you overfeed then, the extra waste won’t cause a strain on your existing filter. You could also do more water changes to keep ammonia levels down.
5, Buy some catfish or pleco’s. These bottom feeders eat the waste food that is missed by the other fish and will decrease the end waste. Pleco’s also eat algae and keep the tank glass cleaner.
Please look into using a few of these techniques above to try and avoid overfeeding and water quality problems caused by food. If you do use them then I’m sure you will see an improvement in your results and less fish deaths if you’re having problems with ammonia and nitrate levels in your tank water caused by overfeeding.
About the author:
Rob owns a few blogs on aquarium fish and tropical fish and freshwater fish and saltwater fish
Written By: Rob Mellor
