Aquarium Care Tips

Aquarium Fish illness: how to discover it!
Aquarium fish also falls ill just like any other pets. The illnesses are as a result of disease. The common diseases that affect aquarium fish are mostly stress induced.
The micro-organisms which cause this diseases may be present in the water as part of the normal microfauna and grab the opportunity to infest or infect the fish when it is stressed and its normal defence are weakened.
Different ways aquarium fish suffered 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 condusive 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 condusive 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 is 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. Following are short tips on how to prevent stress that ultimately leads to illness:

Make sure you have detail information about the fish specie that you will be introducing to your tank. Enquiring about it's requirements before you buy it will help you alot. 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's rich in nutritional ingredients that your fish require.
Keep the environment clean.
When you want to introduce new fish, make sure it's quarantine to reduce the risk of disease.

Aquarium Lighting: important factors you need to consider.

This depends greatly on whether you intend to successfully grow plants or not. Lack of light causes colorful fish to fade and clanch-reds to pink, green to white. The two main methods of lighting aquarium are by the INCADESCENT and FLOURESCENT.

The total amount of light required is a matter of trial and error. Too much light will turn the water green; too little will stunt plant growth.

The lighting can be natural or artificial or a combination of both. The best position is near a north facing window. This should provide the ideal amount of indirect lights which an be supplemented by artificial light.

The lighting should be housed in wood constructed stylishly with the furniture and placed above the tank. if there is no natural day light, the lights should be left on for approximately eight hours per day.

If the water turns green, you cut down on the light.

The best light for showing off an aquarium comes from behind.

Aquarium Plant: importance and how to plant them in aquarium.

Aquarium plant is very important to aquarium as water is to fish. It add more life to aquarium and make it to looks beautiful while completing aquarium community structure. The main object to bear in mind when planting is to form an attractive background, leaving ample space in from where the fishes can swim undisturbed and be seen. The tall, grassy type is best planted at intervals in rows, while the feathery ones look better when they are bunched into small clumps, which makes them to appear like branching bushes.

When planting rooted plants, hold the tips of the bunch of roots between the thumb and second finger and rest them on the sand. Now with the first finger push the upper part of the roots (where they join the stem) about 2cm into the sand. Without moving this finger scrape with the thumb and second finger some sand over any uncovered portion of the root.

When putting in rootless plants in bunches, the method explained above is repeated, but this time the lower ends of the stems are placed together and treated exactly as if they were roots.

It is important that the water surface should be right up to the lower edge of the top angle iron of the tank, so that looking from the front the water surface can not be seen and the viewer gets the impression that there is no water in the aquarium. If the level is allowed to fall below the top angle iron the tank looks like a container holding water.

Aquarium plant: Importance of natural plants 1
Use of aquarium plants in modern day aquarium is very important but some people don't really value the importance, thus they are still using plastic plants. Today I will discuss few importance of having natural aquarium plants.
Natural aquarium plants among others helps to….

Aids fish breathing and as a result the aquarium can thrive comfortably without the use of artificial aeration and electric light!
Reduction of toxic carbon-dioxide level (Co2 level) which happens to be a critical factor causing constant fish deaths. The plants use up the Co2 in the process of food formation.The nature of the carbon-dioxide gas is such that, once it is produced inside the water (e.g. by the fish), it stays put in the aquarium no matter the amount of aeration, because the Co2 gas is about three times more miscible with water than oxygen. The resultant effect of this is that there is a gradual build up of this waste gas leading eventually to suffocating of the fish unless there is a practical or complete removal of the aquarium water which could be rather cumbersome.
Natural aquarium plants also serve the most important functions of CONVERTING WASTE into harmless and useful products. In this way they generate a self-recycling process (the NITROGEN CYCLE) that automatically converts the waste produced by the fish and the excess food into fertilizer which the plants utilize for rapid growth.
They hidding and spawning areas for fish.
Natural plants in aquarium shelters aquatic insects.

Aquarium Plants: Importance of Natural Aquarium plants 2
Follows are other importance of using natural plants in modern aquarium…

The first obvious importance lies in the value as DECORATOR for the aquarium. A thickly planted aquarium needs no plastic or paper background (as is common with most aquariums around the country). Since the real stuffs are right there in your tank, an aquarium would look rather bare without the addition of plants much like a soccer pitch without grass!

Natural Aquarium plants also serve as food (mineral) SUPPLEMENT for fishes that require occasional variety to their monotonous flake meals. They also serve as CONDITIONER AND INDICATOR of water quality. Many plants, especially the Myriophyllum special water millfoils break into pieces when hard water is added into the tank, this could be an indication of unsuitability of the water for fishes.

Many large leafed plants help reduce the need for cleaning the aquarium front glass because of their role as INHIBITORS to the growth of the smaller plants especially the green and brown algae by shading, thus starving them and reducing their proliferation on the front glass. The large leafed plants also provide shelter and hiding places for the smaller and less aggressive fishes.

Egg-laying fishes can only spawn when there is a spawning medium in form of a bunch of feathery plants.

On the whole, plants provide a SECURITY FACTOR which is one vital attribute fish look out for before setting in as pets in your aquarium. They prefer a place that look more like "home" to them.

Aquarium Tank: Basic facts you need to know.
Without tank aquarium set up is not complete. Your tank is the basic element, and is of the most important in building an aquarium. The size of the tank depends on the number and size of fish you plan to have in it. That is why proper planning is quite essential when you want to set up aquarium.
But then it is important to make it as big as you can afford. By all means avoid a globe tank as much as possible. Rectangle shape is always good because of various reasons you will discover later.
Option (1)

You can buy ready made glass tanks already sealed professionally set up aquarium tank at any aquarium stores available.

Buy ready-made plastic models through distributors or mould-extrusion manufacturers.

Option (2)

By far this is the most practical way to get your tank. Here are the tools you need and the steps you need to take to set up completely new aquarium tank: -
Tools: -

Sheet of glass (4mm to 12mm)
Silicone sealant (clear and transparent)
Silicone gun or (syringe)
Dulling stove
Taperule
Sheet of paper, ruler, pencil and eraser
naphin (x2)
newspaper
hand glove (ruber type)
methylated spirit
blade
knife
toilet soap and soap case
masking tape
flat bench (made with plywood)
1/4 flash
water and siphon hoose
buckets (x2)
polythese sheet about the size of the table

Aquarium tank: Planning and equipment needed.
Setting up a new tank is a simple process, however if you are complete beginner it's advisable you buy a ready-made tank as your first tank. This will give you opportunity to learn more about aquarium and save you frustrations of unexpected events like mass fish death. Also you will be assured that standard accessories will fit and that the tank will not leak.
Having said that if you are ready to build your first tank you really need to pass through the necessary process. The first step you need to take into consideration is planning.
You really need to ask yourself series of questions that will guide you to having a successful aquarium. Questions like: - what you want to achieve with this aquarium; will it be fresh water or salt water, what type of inhabitants you want to keep and what are the necessary equipment for the type of aquarium you want?
Start researching online for more information to know more about what you need to put in place to have the type of aquarium you are interested in. You can research directories online to find out the price of necessary equipment that you need to set-up your aquarium.
Setting up new aquarium: equipment as needed.
The modern all glass tank consists of five pieces of glass, four sides and bottom. They are held together with a silicon sealant, which is inert and more pliable than old style aquarium cement. Bellow are list of basic equipment's you will need expect fish and plants which you don't need at first.

Tanks come in two basic styles: high and low. The high tank has a greater vertical height but a reduced surface area; whereas the low tank is the opposite, it has a low vertical profile and greater surface area. The low is the better of the tow because surface area is much more important than height (or water depth). Your tank must be 25 to 50 gallon capacity range in order to provide stable environment for your fish.

Lighting equipment.

A heater. Any of the submersible or semi-submersible aquarium heaters that rate between 100 watts and 150 watts.

A biological filter.

A mechanical filter. This is necessary if you are using under gravel filter. However if powerful biological filter is use, these are unnecessary.

An air pump or water pump.

Fine gravel or coarse sand.

Solids stand.

Rocks driftwood for decoration and the security of the fish.

A scraper to clean algae off the glass.

A soft net.

A good thermometer.

Constant aquarium fish Deaths: causes and solutions
Fish death aquarium tank is one of common challenges faced by aquarists. There are number of factors that could be responsible for the deaths experienced. These are outlined briefly bellow.

The aquarist selection of fish.
The removal and packing of the fish from the pet shop
Transport time and period and the handling of the fish in transit
Quarantine procedure.
Adjustment and adaptation into the new community or environment by the new fish.

When buying fish from the pet shop always spend some time at the place to inquire about the life history and habits of the new purchase. You can then make a selection from collection of the same species. Never buy the last specimen in reserve at any shop because if it had been a good specimen, you would not have met it there in the first instance.
Always form the habit of making your fish purchase during the cool periods of the day, preferably before 12 noon or after 4.30pm.
These are the only periods I can guarantee for fish comfort. This restriction is borne out of my observation that most pet shops and aquarists alike do not seem to care about insulation of the fish against temperature fluctuations after gassing them in a polythene.
When making your fish selection from the pet shop be sure the attendant has the expertise to pick fish out from a selection. This you can know through the swiftness with which your choice fish is removed out of the selection.
Reject a fish that has been chased around, gasping for breath... It is week already! Chances are that it gives up with the further stress that accompanies the transportation of the fish.
Make sure that your new purchase is quarantined. That's a single factor that affects fish survival as pets.

Coping with Brown and Blue-Green Algae
The blue-green algae are the ones that should give greatest cause for concern because the conditions that lead to their growth are actually harmful to fish.
In the case of the other two types, (the green and brown variety), conditions which stimulate their growth will not generally be harmful to fish, unless they are extreme.
Therefore, correction of conditions is absolutely essential where blue-green algae are concerned treatment with an algae remedy may remove the algae, but it will not re-establish healthy conditions for the fish unless you change up to half of the water in the tank.
Time and space do not allow for discussion of other type of algae such as seaweed!
The brown encrusting algae is a relative of the green algae, although the conditions that stimulate the growth are the exact opposite of the one causing the growth of the green. The later case, which is excessive illumination, has already been discussed.
With brown algae, the cause lies in the difficulty to estimate the correct amount by which the light level should be increase.
The case is obvious in the aquarium glass and components.
These brown stains are common with aquarist whose tanks are place in a dark corner away from the doses of natural daylight - Sunlight.
Sooner than usual, the aquarist loses interest since his view of the fish is impaired. Hose problem takes a worse turn the moment it develops non-chalant attitude towards increasing the light level.
The remedy is simple increase the light level by a third. The wattage of the light, for example should be 10 watts per square foot surface area per 10 hours per day.

Filtration: Necessary process to poison free aquarium water
In order to have poison free aquarium water, filtration process is a very important to aquarist. Since most aquarists are aware of the fact that their aquarium water gradually accumulates potentially harmful substances, which eventually poison their fishes. In order to prevent this from happening there is need for filtration therefore, for our purpose I would define filtration as the removal of unwanted substances from water.
Most aquarist uses three types: Biological, mechanical, and chemical amongst which the biological is the most important.
Biological filtration is also referred to as undergravel filtration, because the major equipment used (a flat plate of perforated plastic) is placed under the gravel bed hence it is invisible. Unless you are properly equipped, you can't see the process happening and cannot measure its effect. Yet this process is the major difference between success and failure, and the aquarist who does not take the time to understand it workings is doomed to watch an endless procession of dying fishes passing through his tank.
Biological filtration is solely the work of bacteria attached to the surfaces of the gravel, the grave and the under grave filter together constitute the filter bed. Bacteria normally reach the filter bed through the food you give the fishes.
The waste product of the fishes, the air, and even through your hands as you works in the tank.
As the water ages, their numbers increase until the gravel is loaded with millions of them. It is only then that the aquarium can function very well, because the wastes of the fishes and unwanted substances mainly ammonia are immediately broken down by those bacteria into harmless substances while at the same time the filtration action drags organic matter downwards into the spaces between the gravel's where the roots of plants can then extract essential growth substances hence the undergravel filter promotes healthy plants growth.

Mechanical filtration is the physical removal of debris, waste products, uneaten food, dead fish or plants. They use a filter medium such as foam, filter wool or sand/gravel to trap particles which are removed by later cleaning of the medium.

Chemical filtration changes the composition of some substances in the aquarium. Ammonia absorbers, such as Ammogon tm help prevent problems when water aging is done chemically (treatment with chloramines releases free ammonia). Other "chemical" filtration includes ion exchangers which reduce either carbonate or sulphur hardness.