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June 23, 2010

Common Tropical Fish Diseases

Fish rearing is one hobby that many have shared, and one of the more popular type of breed that people go for is the tropical fishes because it is very relaxing and enjoyable to just admire their vibrant colors.

However, it can also quickly become a very frustrating and stressful experience when you start realizing that there may be something wrong with your fish. This is not helped by the fact that most fishes are fragile and therefore you ought to learn how to take care of them before they fall prey to diseases. This article will talk about the most common type of fish diseases you can find and how you can treat them.

Fungal diseases is one of the most commonly contracted disease in a fish, it’s symptom includes white spots showing up in the skin of the fish. This is most commonly observed especially during stressful period for the fish, as white spots indicate that your fish is weakened by stress. Isolate them to a new tank and monitor them closely, and try to help your fish relax by not aggregating it.

It is generally quite easy to tell that there might be something wrong with your fish, ulcers, sores, bulging eyes are sure sign that they’re infected by some sort of bacterial diseases. Commonly, antibiotic medication is used to fight and control the spread of bacterial in your aquarium.

Another commonly observed disease is the parasitic disease. This is evident when you start noticing weird and strange behavior from your fish such as rubbing their bodies against the tank, the floor bed or any objects in the tank, as they’re trying to get rid of the parasite before it kills them. Giving your fish a bath with salt solution will usually help take care of this problem.

Lastly, you might also want to watch out for the viral diseases. It’s not unusual to find your fish contracted with virus, and they’ll show up as swelled white spots in the skin. When you find one, be sure to isolate the fish to prevent any more viruses from spreading and clean the tank as soon as possible. Locating a specific cure for the virus might be difficult, and thus the best thing to do is to let it run its course and try to keep the environment as clean as possible for the infected fish.

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Filed under Aquariums by Steve Busche

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June 19, 2010

Finding Out More About Your Tropical Fish

No matter how experienced or inexperience you are in raring and raising fish, there is always more room for you to learn. Since it is your responsibility as a pet owner, the need to understand and know how to raise your fish and take care of them in terms of their environment and food is important.

As more and more new technologies are emerging to ease and helps with fish raring, you might want to give some of them a try as some of these newer technologies can provide your fish with better care. Your water filters, aquariums and fish food might have undergone changes that you might not be aware off.

Thus this article will talk about the things you need to look out for and provide when raising your tropical fish as there is so much more than just feeding.

If you are a beginner in fish raring, you might want to consider starting out with a gold fish instead of an angelfish, gold fish are usually more resistant as compared to any other breed as such you will have more time to learn the proper technique and skills when it comes to taking care for your fish.

If fish breeding is your ultimate goal, then you might need to start learning how to differentiate the males from the females. It might be difficult especially for starters, because both will look the same! Generally males will be larger than females, however there are still breeds that might be the opposite, so you’ll want to have a good understanding of the different type and breed of fishes before you start raring them.

You also want to make sure that when it comes to the balance of gender, you want to have higher female ratio than male, preferably 2 females to one male. This will ensure your best chance for reproduction. Bear in mind that females are only ready to mate when they are about four months old, thus you want to learn how to separate the ready ones from the non ready ones.

Lastly, in terms of tropical fish, environment is everything! From the temperature to what get to stay inside the tank should be considered carefully! Always provide enough shelter and cover for your fish so that they do not feel too stressed, and also make sure you’re cleaning the tank twice every month to reduce the chances of bacterial and fungus growing right inside the aquarium!

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Filed under Aquarium Fish by Craig Raymond

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March 7, 2010

Feeding Cichlid Fry Basics

Knowing what to feed cichlid fry can be confusing if you have never raised cichlids or if you are trying to raise other aquarium fish for the first time. This can be a very exciting time for the new aquarist, or the seasoned hobbyist, so I am going to give you a few pointers.

There are two main types of breeding that you will find with cichlid fish. The different types of cichlid breeding are mouth brooding and open brooding. Different variations of these two distinctive types of brooding exist, but that is enough detail to get us started. Learning what to feed cichlid fry once they are free swimming is what we are trying to figure out.

The yolk sac is the main source of food for newly hatched cichlid fry, but it will be depleted after a few days or so. After the yolk sac is gone, they will become free swimming and will need food if you want them to survive. Freshly hatched brine shrimp are a great food for free swimming cichlid fry.

There is no doubt that brine shrimp make an excellent food for any type of fish fry, but if you are not prepared, you may not have any brine shrimp ready to go. So what else can I feed cichlid fry?

How about feeding cichlid fry hard boiled egg yolks. Bet you have never heard of that one before. Just take a small amount of the egg yolk and combine it will a little bit of water. Don’t make a soup out of it. You are after more of a paste like consistency.

Be careful not to put too much of the egg yolk mixture into the tank at a time because it will foul the water. Don’t put in anymore than the fry can eat in about 20 to 30 seconds.

Be careful to control the amount of egg yolk mixture that you are putting into the tank. Use a straw or a thin pipe to lower the mixture into the tank. Release it just above them so it will slowly drift down to them.

Visit cichlid fry to learn what to feed cichlid fry. And visit keeping cichlids to keep your cichlids happy and healthy.

Filed under Uncategorized by Carey Malloy

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February 21, 2010

Tropical Fish Care Tidbits

A tank full of lively tropical fish can be a thing of beauty. The vibrantly colored fish and the silent way they glide around in the water can make it the focal point of any room. Watching the fish swim while the filter quietly gurgles can be a very relaxing experience. However, if proper care is not taken of the fish and the tank itself, it can very quickly turn into an eyesore that still attracts the eye but now for all the wrong reasons. Here are some basic guidelines to tropical fish care that will help you get started.

Now that you have decided that you want to set up a fish tank, what are the things you need to make that happen? Obviously you will need a tank. The size and shape of that tank is entirely up to you, but keep in mind that the larger the tank the more it will cost to set it up. There are a multitude of choices as to the types of decoration and fish to put into the tank but there are some things that you simply must have. They include gravel, a filter, a heater and a light source.

Take your time when you decide on the color and type of gravel you would like. It will be the single largest thing seen in your tank so you want to be sure to get it right. Think about the room you will be placing it in and the overall theme of the tank. In a child’s room, you may want brightly colored gravel while in a living room, you may want to go with the more muted, natural colors.

There are two major types of filters: those that are placed under the gravel and those that hang on the outside of the tank. Many feel that the undergravel filter is more attractive because they cannot be seen. This may be true, but the outboard filters are much easier to maintain. In larger tanks or tanks with many fish in them, it may be necessary to use both types to keep the water clean and the fish healthy.

You will need a heater to keep the water temperature around 72 degrees. If the water is much colder than that, the fish will become sluggish and may die. Much warmer than that and you will promote the growth of bacteria and algae that will be harmful to your fish.

Lights can either be purchased as part of a hood that covers the entire top of the tank or as a single unit. Either way you will want to get a fluorescent light. Incandescent lights will add heat to your tank and tend to put off a harsher light.

Now that you have gotten all the things you need to get started it is time to set up the tank. Make sure you set it up near a power source and out of direct sunlight. Once everything has been placed where it belongs, you need to fill the tank with water, turn on the filter and let it sit empty for several days. This will give you time to make sure that everything is working properly. It also allows time for any harmful chemicals that may be in your water to evaporate or be filtered out.

Finally you are ready to add the fish. When you bring them home it is important to let the bags sit in the tank water for at least fifteen minutes before releasing the fish. This will give the fish a chance to acclimate to the temperature of the tank gradually. Now you can release them and enjoy their quiet grace as they move around the tank.

To get some more information about tropical fish care, please click on any of these given links: tropical fish care solutions tropical fish care instructions

categories: tropical fish care,pets,fish,reptiles,animals,home,family,hobbies

Filed under Aquarium Fish by Greg E. Johnson

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February 6, 2010

A Good Tropical Fish Guide For Amateurs

Owning tropical fish is both relaxing and fun. You can throw your stress and worries to the wind when you sit in amazement, watching your fish swim and frolic. If you have never owned tropical fish before, here’s a tropical fish guide to help you get started. Do some research on the kinds of fish you might like to buy so that once you’re ready to buy, it’s not a drawn out event. The first thing you need to do is purchase a tank.

It is recommended that you purchase the tank and accessories prior to buying the fish. Your tropical fish will not be happy or healthy for long in a plastic bag. You need to establish a clean and safe environment for them ahead of time. Give them something magnificent to come home to. When buying your first tank, don’t think that bigger is better. Since you’re a newcomer to the world of tropical fish ownership, start small. Once you see that you are good at taking care of them, you can increase the tank size. Just don’t bite off more than you can chew out of the gate.

If you don’t have a tank already, go purchase a small one. You also need a filter and light as well as other supplies to clean the tank. Buy the food you’ll need ahead of time as well. You can design a tank that is creative and colorful or if you prefer, very basic. Just make sure that whatever you do, you buy quality products. Things you buy that are less than well crafted can cost you down the road.

You need to buy a solid tank with a lid and a stand that will hold your fish tank. You also will need to buy a light and a filter for your fish tank. Before you do anything, clean your fish tank with warm water. If you use any sort of soap or detergent, it is imperative that you rinse your tank thoroughly. You don’t want to poison your fish!

Prepare your tank by cleaning it and drying it. Then add the rocks or glass beads to the bottom of the tank after you’ve washed them, as well. Any extra things you’ve purchased should be added to the tank before you start filling it with water.

Begin adding water and set your tank heater to approximately 80 degrees. This is the ideal temperature for most tropical fish. Be sure and check with the pet store before putting your fish in their new home.

Set up your light in the tank before adding your fish. Fish like light but having your tank directly in front of the window will cause algae to grow out of control and you’ll have a difficult time with regulating temperature. Once you’ve got the water added, gradually warm it and then get to the pet store! There are a lot of places you can buy tropical fish from. There are specialty shops that can order any kind of tropical fish for you if they don’t have them in stock. You can also buy tropical fish in most local pet shops.

Ask the pet shop owner what the easiest to care for fish are, and then you can start with something easy. Make sure that the fish you are buying won’t eat each other. It’s very sad to wake in the morning and see that half of your fish are missing or half eaten by the others in the tank. Many pet shop owners are not truly well versed in tropical fish so you may have to do some learning on your own. If you’re in doubt, don’t mix breeds. Buy a few of one kind, bring them home and then do some online researching. You can always go back later and buy more kinds and colors of fish.

Feed your new fish the right kind of food and always feed them at the same time of day. Don’t give them too much food and don’t starve them, either. This can lead to fish cannibalism. Again, not a pretty sight, especially for the young ones. Make sure your tank stays clean and your fish will be very happy to call your tank home.

If you want to read a more extensive tropical fish guide, then please click on any of the given links: tropical fish guide for amateurs tropical fish guide

Filed under Aquarium Fish by Harold Peterson

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