Benefits of Keeping Fish

If you read my intro, you'd know that at one time, I hated fish. But after keeping them for only a few months, I've grown to realize that most people misunderstand and underestimate fish keeping as a past-time. This post is dedicated to the benefits of keeping fish!

1. There's scientific evidence proving that watching fish lowers your blood pressure! That's why offices filled with stressed out employees and customers sometimes have fish tanks - to reduce social friction by distracting everybody with colorful swimmers! It also reduces the prevalence and severity of heart attacks!
   
   
2. Gives you something to do in your free time.
   
   
3. Teaches children and adults alike something called "RESPONSIBILITY" (ever heard of it? ;)
   
   
4. Puts you in a relaxed and meditative mood. My guess would be that you could probably find some correlates between fish keeping and lower susceptibility to heart disease, anxiety and depression.
   
   
5. Fish are lower maintenance than some other pets like dogs or birds or dinosaurs.
   
   
6. Aquariums add a splash of color and elegance to an otherwise bland room.
   
   
7. Fish will listen to your troubles without judgment. In fact, they might even stand on your side if you feed them a few worms. (i.e. You: "That big fat jerk dumped me! Do you think he was a bad guy? (feeds betta) Betta: "nods")
   
   
8. There's so much diversity in the fish kingdom! Thousands of species to choose from and care for.
   
   
9. It's much easier and just as educational to raise fish fry.
   
   
10. Fish keeping is a great way to learn:
    
    Chemistry (see: the Nitrogen Cycle, Master Test Kit, Buffers, water conditions, alkalinity, salinity, phosphates, nitrates, nitrites, ammonia, KH, GH, calcium, iron....),
    
    Physics (see: How to use a Gravel Vac, Displacement of water, oxygenation of water, filled aquarium weight, how fish swim, how a filter works, how an aquarium heater works, what are drip loops),
    
    Math (see: calculating the size of your tank, fish, how much gravel you need, aquascaping, densities, volume, weights),
    
    Art design (see: aqua landscaping styles, choosing aquatic plants, aquarium placement, color-matching fish / tankmates, fish tattoos, drawing fish, aquarium shapes (hex, bowfront etc),
    
    English (see: reading this blog, reading aquarium books, pamphlets, blogs, writing about aquariums, watching videos about fish keeping, writing poems about fish...),
    
    Psychology (see: why do fish follow your fingers, why do fish eat even when they're full, fish depression, fish under stress,)
    
    Biology: (see: fish reproduction, fish anatomy, how do fish breathe, eat, swim, excrete waste? Symptoms of fish diseases, pathogens, harmful bacteria and viruses, proper tank cleaning methods, fish sleeping, medical models of fish diseases used to treat human illness, diagnosing and treating fish diseases with antibiotics, antifungal treatments etc.)
    
    Geology (see: types of gravel, sediments, rock formation, slate, volcanic rock, river stones, rock decorations, colorful gravel)
    
    Economics (see: how to save money on aquarium equipment, why mom and pop shops have to sell things at a more expensive price, how chain stores (Petco, Petsmart, Petcetera etc.) use capitalism, marketing, outsourcing, importing and other mumbo jumbo to gain your customer loyalty and your pocket money. $$$ why do aquariums cost so much money, benefits of buying used aquarium stuff...)
    
    Socials Studies/ Sociology (see: unethical fish capturing techniques, endangered/extinct tropical fish, fish cruelty/abuse, funding towards fish research, educational programs about aquatic life, ethics of killing sick fish, fry, show quality fish conventions, contests, gatherings, why people help each other with fish questions on the internet, classes/seminars on fish keeping)
    
    History: (see: history of fish keeping, origins of fish watercolor paintings, Goldfish breeding in China, early fascination with aquariums, passing fish from generation to generation)
    
    Engineering: (see: how to design a gigantic aquarium as a tourist attraction, how to sustain the weight, filtration, heating of large aquariums, designing attractive but durable display tanks )
    
    Law: (see: illegal importing/exporting of fish, stealing prized, rare fishes, illegal sale of fishes, trapping endangered species, unethical treatment of fish in large fish stores)
    
    
    

*Srsly. You learn quite a bit if you put your mind to it. These are just some examples!!


Maybe I'll think of more later....But as you can see, the list is quite extensive already!! =D


*********Edit

11. If you clean your tank often enough, tanks won't smell
12. Fish don't take up much room at all.
13. Your furniture is safe. No claw marks or rips haha.
14. Fish and Fish tanks are extremely quiet. No yappin' and barkin' in the middle of the night.

Diversify Your Feedings

As promised, I went out and bought some new foods for my fish to try. This evening, I bought some algae wafers and white mosquito larvae (glass worms). Some people might think that fish don't really care, and that just feeding them artificial, sprinkles of tropical flakes will suffice. However, I think fish should be treated like any pet or animal: they need diversity to thrive. They'll appreciate the novelty, change of taste. Besides, frozen foods are cheap. Think about it, a package of frozen or dried foods only cost about $3-$10, and they last for months and months, sometimes even years! $10 is less than the amount you'd spend on take-out. C'mon guys, give the little fishies some good stuff.

This is a list of foods I currently feed my fish:

- Color-enhancing tropical flakes
- Sinking shrimp pellets
- Sinking algae wafers
- Betta pellets
- Blood worms
- Glass worms
- Brine shrimp
- Zucchini
- Romaine Lettuce


Some foods I hope to buy in the near future (once I find a place that sells them!):

- Daphnia
- Black worms
- Cucumbers
- Spinach
- Carrots
- White worms
- Mealworms
-Plankton
-Krill


***

Top Fin Algae Thins; Rating 5 stars!
- all my omnivorous fish love 'em!
-$4 for a 42 gram bag = awesome deal.


Frozen Glass worms; Rating 5 stars!
- all my fish love 'em
- $9 for at least 6 month's supply.


********Side Note on Types of Tropical Fish Foods******

Freeze-dried: super dry, you need to soak them first so it doesn't expand in your fish's stomach and give them belly aches. Long shelf life, not as messy as frozen food. Can be kept in a nice little container. It is messy though and will cloud your water.

Sinking pellets: As the name suggests, it sinks to the bottom and is designed for bottom feeders. Non-bottom feeders eat them too though~ They usually are designed to slowly break apart and dissolve into the water. It pollutes your water pretty fast, so don't overfeed this stuff. It can be designed for carnivorous, herbivorous or omnivorous fish. Varies in size. Personally I'd go for larger pellets because that way it won't break apart quickly into like a million pieces and also bigger fish won't try to shove it down their greedy little throats.

Tropical Fish Flakes: Really cheap, convenient, long shelf life. Many have color-enhancing additives as well as yeast and fatty acids for growth and digestion. Sprinkling above or just under surface of water for top level feeders. You could also sprinkle it near the bottom for bottom feeders, but the flakes won't sink properly as they're designed to float.

Species-specific Pellets: Bite-sized pellets designed specifically for bettas or cichlids or goldfish. Other fish will eat them too. Usually a small tubful will last years.

Live insects: Yup. You can feed your fish live insects you trap in your house or neighborhood. Caution: live insects may contain harmful bacteria. Feed at your own discretion. Yummy treat, and can give your fish a little entertainment and the thrill of the hunt.

Frozen insects: Much safer but a little messy than other foods. Frozen foods are decontaminated and packaged in blister packages with like 40 individually sealed cubes. Chip out a corner with a knife, dissolve it in tank water, and it'll yield approximately 40 worms. Don't overfeed frozen food, as it can be low in nutrients and high in fat.

Fresh veggies: Helps omnivores and herbivores digest better, and promotes health. They'll eat pretty much any leaf veggie. Cook it boiling water for a minute or two or just microwave it for 1 minute in a small bowl full of water. This softens up the veggies to make it easier to eat.


Feeder fish: Gigantic fish like Oscars will eat feeder goldfish, guppies, tetras. Any small fish that fits in his mouth. Ethics aside, keep in mind that goldfish are usually kept in poor tank conditions and may be diseased. Feed with caution. Some people also gut-load feeders by feeding them tons of nutritious food so that when they in turn are fed to bigger fish, they're more nutritious.


Infusoria and Rotifers: Commonly fed as fry food. Comes in liquid forms that you just squirt into the water with a baster or a syringe of some sort. These are tiny little micro-organisms too tiny to see.


I found a nice little chart that lists typical nutrient requirements

	Carnivore	Omnivore	Herbivore	Limnivore
Fat	3-6%	2-5%	1-3%	2-4%
Fiber	2-4%	3-8%	2-6%	5-10%
Protein	45-70%	30-40%	30-40%	15-30%
Moisture	6-10%	6-10%	6-10%	6-10%

References

- My own experiences
- The pet store
- http://fish.mongabay.com/food.htm




It might also be helpful to write down a feeding schedule. If more than one person is in charge of feeding the fish, make sure that they talk about who's going to feed what and when so overfeeding doesn't happen!

How to Breed Livebearers

You pretty much can't mess up trying to breed livebearers. They do it like crazy. Insert slot A into Slot B. ;) Livebearers are the group of fish that give birth to free swimming fry. The eggs are fertilized internally. As a result, when the mother gives birth, the baby fry drop and start swimming immediately.

Examples of COMMON Livebearers for sale at any fish store:

• Fancy guppies, wild guppies
• Mollies
• Platies
• Endler's Livebearers
• Swordtails
• Variegated Platy

How to Breed Livebearers

Requirements

• A nice decent sized aquarium, 10G+
  
• A suitable filtration system
• Heater
• Live plants for the fry to hide in (cabomba, java moss, hornwort etc)
• Decorative cave
• Breeding box/net
• A male and female fish. Sometimes more than one female is required to avoid harassment.

After this setup is complete, just let your fish do their business! Some people think breeding boxes ("cages" where females are kept so that when they give birth, the fry will drop down to a different compartment and can be "saved" from hungry fish) stress out fish and are cruel. I share a similar view. Personally, the best way to go (for livebearers) is to just let them be. Let them do whatever they do naturally.

***Remember ***

You are responsible for the fry! Livebearers produce up to hundreds of free-swimming babies. Please think about how to deal with so many babies BEFORE you start the breeding process.


Common Ways to Deal with Fry

- Put them in a separate, fry ONLY tank and let them grow.
- Sell them (if you're a breeder)
- Give them away to friends, family, people you meet on the street...
- Let them get eaten by hungry fish
- Let them get eaten by their own parents
- Cull them (Kill them) as humanely as possible
- Give them to the local fish store
- Sell them as feeders
- Give away the female fish to prevent further births

Feeding the Fry

- Baby Brine shrimp
- Finely crushed tropical flakes
- Liquid fry food
- Chopped up worms

Or you could do what I do: let them all fend for themselves in the big community tank. It may sound cruel but there's reasons why I do this:

- Ensures only the fittest fry survive
- Keeps population under control
- It's almost impossible to feed a fry raised in a community tank because they get so easily scared that they just dart away and hide
- Can't find them because they're so tiny




Strong babies show visible signs of growth sometimes overnight! They are so cute!! :)

Quick Overview of Fish Reproduction

Requirements: A healthy male and a female fish. Or a male and several female fish..(hehe)

These are how various fish reproduce:

1. Egg-Scatterers: Eggs are tossed about everywhere by the female. The lucky ones hidden safe from view in plants and what not will hatch and survive. The unlucky ones become dinner for the mother/other fish. Example: Characins

2. Egg-Buriers: Eggs get buried in mud or soil, awaiting the appropriate time to hatch...Example: Killifish

3. Egg-Deposits: Parents carefully place their eggs in a secret spot and guard it, nurturing their fry. Example: Catfish, Cichlids

4. Bubble-nest Builders: Bubble nests are blown. Once eggs are released, they are placed into these "nests" until they hatch. Bubble nests defended by parents until fry are hatched and ready to brave it on their own. Example: Betta fish, Gouramis

5. Mouth-Brooders: Eggs are kept in mommy's mouth until they hatch. Even after fry are swimming about, the parents may still snatch them up and relocate them to a safer place. It's quite cute actually because for a second you think the parents ate the fry...but then you see them gingerly drop the little babies out again. Example: Cichlids

6. Livebearers: The eggs are fertilized internally. As a result, the fry that drop out are free swimming and ready to go. Lots of livebearers eat the weaker babies. (Population control I s'ppose...crunchy snack for hungry momma after labor) (Example: Mollies, Platy, Guppy, Endler's Livebearers)

What To Do When Your Fish Are Sick

1. Quarantine sick and/or new fish if you can afford to set up a nice "sick tank" with a proper filter, heater and perhaps a hideout. No gravel to ensure easy cleaning.

2. Treat all fish that have been in contact with the sick fish, in case they accidentally caught something. Buy medicine if you haven't already. Try to make a precise diagnosis because if you give sick fish the wrong meds, they might die or get worse. What's worse, if you give healthy fish the wrong meds (as a precautionary prevention measure) they might get sick!!

3. Remove carbon from filter. Carbon is what usually absorbs nasty things dissolved in the water. In this case, it would deactivate the meds. Sometimes this means you have to take out the entire thing because some filter pads have built in carbon compartments. Again, if you could set up a qt tank, that'd be great. You could just run a simple sponge filter on the separate tank.

4. Observe fish daily. Keep track of medication, doses, water changes as instructed.

5. Don't stress fish with loud noises, movements etc. let them rest. Don't keep incompatible fish in the same qt tank!

6. Even after they heal, watch over them for another week to see if the symptoms are all gone!

7. Try to determine the causes for the disease so you can prevent it from recurring. Prevention is the best defense against diseases!


**************************************************************************


Tropical Fish Diseases (the following info is based on my readings, I haven't had experiences with any really sick fish yet! Thank goodness)


*means it could indicate some other disease

1. Stress/Depression

• Loss of energy - lethargy*
  
• No appetite, eats little or not at all*
  
• Seems sad =(
  
• Doesn't swim actively to greet you
• Hides often, rarely comes out
  
• Heavy breathing*
• Chased by other fish
• Tries to jump out of the tank!*
• Looks pale, thin, weak*
  

Treatment

1. Give the poor guy some time, your patience and keep a watchful eye from a distance.
2. Don't tap the tank glass or constantly press your nose up against it. You probably look larger than life and very threatening to such a small fish. Unless your fish is an Oscar. But maybe Oscars get stressed too??
3. If it's a new fish, give him/her a few days, sometimes even a week to adjust
4. Avoid housing fish with incompatible tank mates
5. Leave them alone.
6. Turn the lights off - rest time!
7. Most fish will snap out of it eventually. Just make sure you give him the best environment possible (good filtration, heating, hideouts, plants etc).
   

2. Ich/ White Spot Disease

• Fish has little white specks all over her body.
• Scratching against tank glass, ornaments, plants etc.*
  
• Highly contagious
• Easy to cure with Ich meds- Mal Green or Copper
  
• Brought on by stress and colder water temperatures
• Raise tank temperature to 80F
  
• Parasitic disease
  

3. Dropsy

• Extreme bloating not caused by overfeeding
• Puffy scales that stick out like a pine cone as many say
  
• Difficult to treat, contagious!
• Treat with antibiotics in food
  

4. Fin Rot

• Bacterial infection destroying fish fins
• Caused by stress, bullying, bad handling, poor water conditions
• Change aquarium water
• Melafix or other antibiotics
  

5. Nipped Fins

• Fins are missing or have torn bits*
• Usually will grow back in a week or two if fish are healthy
• Caused by incompatible tank mates, aggressive fish, pecking orders
• Can be fixed faster with Melafix
• If it doesn't stop after a week or two, separate fish.
  

6. Fish Tuberculosis (TB)

• No cure, fish must be euthanized
  
• Ulcers, bleeding*
• Lethargy*
• Loss of appetite*
• Curved back, weird swimming angle
• Extremely skinny, empty stomach*
• Scales fall off*
• Fins get frayed as if something bit it*

7. Velvet Disease

• Sprinkling of gold/yellow dust on fish
• Parasitic disease, much like Ich
• Can be treated with Methylene Blue and acriflavine
  

8. Pop-Eye

• One or two puffy protruding eyes
• Cloudy eyes = bacterial infection
• Might be caused by poor diet, bad water conditions
  

9. Ulcers

• Spots of blood INSIDE fish's body*
• Is a side-effect of other diseases such as TB
  

10. External bleeding/wounds

• Spots were scales came off and there's blood/scab
  
• Caused by aggressive fish, bullying
• Can be treated with Melafix
• Separate fish
• Reduce as much stress as possible
• Change aquarium water often
  

11. Gill/Skin Flukes

• Rapid breathing*
• Constant scratching/rubbing against aquarium & decorations*
• Red, inflamed gills*
• Gills wearing away
• Fungus/Mucus across body*
  
• Parasitic disease
• Sometimes you can actually see the little hooked worms hanging off the fish's side or gills (ew!)
• Look like thin black threads
  

12. Fungus Rot/ Mouth Fungus

• Cotton-y, wool like tufts hanging on fish's body, esp. mouth in the case of mouth fungus
  
• Sometimes look like white spider webs
• Loss of appetite, lethargy
• Treat with Fungal meds - Pimafix etc.
  

13. Hole in the Head Disease

• Parasitic disease
• Holes in head, along fish's back
• Caused by nutritional deficiencies - you should improve fish's diet!

14. Swim Bladder Disorder

• Very common
• Fish doesn't swim properly, wobbles*
• Sinks to the bottom or uncontrollably floats to the top
• Caused by constipation, overfeeding or infection
• If it's just constipation or overfeeding, it should heal in time by itself
• Feed fish peas and veggies to promote digestion

***If your fish stays still for a long period of time, unresponsive, and it happens to be night time, he's sleeping!! Stop over-worrying. Not every movement, speck and spot is a symptom of disease! Go out and do something else instead of pining by the tank, stressed out ***



References

http://animal-world.com/encyclo/fresh/information/Diseases.htm#Mouth%20Fungus


The Complete Aquarium by Peter Scott

The Tropical Aquarium by Dick Mills

Common Aquarium Plants for Beginners

*above: cool pic of a planted tank I found on Aquarium Advice

This post is as much dedicated to you as it is a reference for me.

Plant Name - Light Requirements - Level of Difficulty

1. Vallisneria - Med Light - Easy
2. Ludwigia - High Light - Easy
3. Java Fern - Low Light - Easy
4. Java Moss - Low Light - Easy
5. Hornwort - High light - Easy
6. Cabomba - High Light - Med
7. Anarchis - Med Light - Easy
8. Hygrophila - High Light - Easy
9. Water Wisteria - High Light - Easy
10. Anubias - Low Light - Easy
11. Dwarf Hairgrass - Med Light - Med
12. Dwarf Sword- High light - Med
13. Crypt - Low Light - Med
14. Moss Balls - Med Light - Easy
15. Frogbits - High Light - Easy
16. Lesser Duckweed - High Light - Easy

Top 20 Essential Aquarium Equipment

Checklist for Top 20 Essential Aquarium Equipment: (+ How much you should expect to pay if you buy a new one)

1. Filter! (canister, Air-powered, internal, HOB (hang on back), sponge, power-filter etc.) ($15-$300 depending on brand, size, features, store)
2. Heater ($25-$40)
3. Thermometer ($2)
4. Appropriate Aquarium Stand ($0- $300 depending on quality, material, store)
5. Water Declorinator ($12 for a 400mL bottle)
6. Food (flakes ($5), pellets ($3), bloodworms ($8), brine shrimp ($8), daphnia ($8), white worms, black worms, spinach, lettuce, cucumbers, zucchini etc.)
7. Gravel Vacuum ($10)
8. Large Bucket ($5)
9. Substrate/Gravel ($1.50/ pound. You need 1.5 pounds/gallon)
10. Plants (live or silk) ($5-$20)
11. Plant fertilizer ($10)
12. Fish net ($3)
13. Medicine (Melafix+ Pimafix = Prevention Kit) ($10-$15)
14. Decorations: hiding places i.e. caves ($15-$50+)
15. API or Nutrafin Master Test Kit ($40)
16. Multiplugs/ Electrical outlets ($10)
17. Tank background ($2/ft)
18. Canopy + Fluorescent Lights ($50-$100)
19. Algae scrubber / magnet ($3-$10)
20. Cloth/Paper Towels for the endless messes. ($10 trust me you need a lot of tissue)



Optional Equipment

- PH buffers ($10)
- Waste reducers ($10)
- Calcium, Phosphate, Copper etc. Tests ($15 ea)
- An extra filter
- Air pump ($10-$20)
- Air stones, valves, tubing... ($15)
- Aquarium Silicone sealant (extra sealing of glass tank edges, DIY decorations...) ($10)
- Ammonia chips (removes ammonia)
- Filter tube cleaning brushes ($8)
-CO2 / Oxygen for plants ($$$$)
- Automatic fish feeders ($20)
- Aquarium books ($20)
- Veggie clips ($3)
- Breeder net/cage ($6)
- Tank divider ($10)
- Plant trimmers
- Cotton string
- Strainer

Stocking Ideas

......I wouldn't be surprised if I ended up setting up more tanks. It's quite rewarding and really addictive! My poor parents would have a fit over the electricity bill though...But in my imagination, if I could buy more tanks, these might be some of the setups I'd choose:

*The larger the tank, the easier it is to maintain. Remember that! Try cleaning the gravel in a small 10G tank and you'll know what I mean. Before you even clean half the tank, 50% of the water is already gone!! Water chemistry changes, temperature changes....etc. stress your fish!*

Anyways. My dream setups, given that I could have unlimited space, energy, resources, power, money etc...*ahhhhhh* Don't laugh at my naive compilations. I'm a beginner, remember that! My stocking ideas are probably amateur-ish...but the whole point of this exercise is to have fun - so here goes!

1. 40G Long.
- 12 harlequin rasboras (~12 inches)
-12 neon tetras (~12 inches)
- 6 rummynose tetras (~6 inches)
- 6 spotted cory cats (~12 inches)
- 10 Ghost shrimp
- 4 Honey Gouramis (~10 inches)


2. 40G: Cichlid Tank

- 2 Rams (breeding pair) (~8inches)
- 6 Kribensis (24 inches)
- 2 Clown loaches (~12 inches)


3: 40 G tall
- 2 Angelfish (~14 inches)
- 1 Golden Nugget Pleco (~4 inches)
- 6 Steel Blue Killifish (~18inches)
- 6 Pygmy cory cats (~9 inches?)


4. 29 G Betta Tank + Planted

- 1 Blue Half-Moon male Betta (~3 inches)
- 6 Oto catfish (~12inches)
-10 cardinal tetras (~15 inches)
- 15 Cherry shrimps

5. 50G: Planted + Tetra Tank

-6 Bleeding Heart Tetras (18inches)
-10 Serpae Tetras (15 inches)
-6 Lemon Tetras (9 inches)
-6 Neon Tetras (9 inches)
-10 Amano shrimp

6. 10 G

- 3 African Dwarf Frogs (6 inches)
- 5 Cherry Shrimp
- 1 Male Betta fish (3 inches)


7. 10 G

- 5 female betta fish (15 inches)
- 7 cherry shrimp

8. 60 G: Dither Fish Tank

- 4 Silver Dollars (24 inches)
- 10 Pearl Danios (20inches)
- 5 Coolie Loaches (~20inches)
- 1 Red-tailed Black Shark (~6 inches)


9. 40 G - Barbs Tank - Planted

- 6 Rosy Barbs (12 inches)
- 4 Black Ruby Barbs (10 inches)
- 4 Cherry Barbs (10 inches)
- 2 Siamese Algae Eaters (8 inches)
- 10 Amano Shrimp


10. 80 G

- 3 Rosy-Line Sharks (~18 inches)
- 6 Silver Hatchetfish (15inches)
- 10 Neon Dwarf Rainbowfish (25 inches)
- 2 Kissing Gourami (12 inches)
- 2 Bristlenose Plecos (12 inches)
- 3 Pictus Catfish (15 inches)


11. 29 G

5 Glass Catfish (~15 inches)
5 Lyretail Mollies (~15 inches)
10 Ghost Shrimp
2 Oto catfish


12. 60 G

12 Adolf's Cory Cats (24 inches)
10 Black Phantom Tetras ( 2o inches)
10 Red-Eye Tetras (2o inches)
2 Dwarf Cichlids (4 inches)


13. 45 G

6 Paradise Fish (28 inches)
2 Three Spot Gourami (10 inches)
6 Tiger Barbs (15 inches)
6 Bumblebee Goby (6 inches)

14. 50 G Livebearers

6 Sailfin Mollies (18 inches)
6 Dalmation Mollies (18 inches)
6 Swordtails (24 inches)
4 Upside-Down catfish (12 inches)

15. 45 G Livebearers

15 Fancy Guppies (30 inches)
7 Peach Platys (14 inches)
6 Panda Cory Cats ( 12 inches)

16. 90 G Oscars

4 Red Oscars (56 inches)
1 Sailfin Pleco (15 inches)
4 Tinfoil Barbs (40 inches)


17. 80 G Discus Tank

5 Discus (40 inches)
12 Peppered Cory Cats (36 inches)
20 Neon Tetras (30 inches)



18. 70 G

3 Albino Severums (30 inches)
6 Jewel Cichlids (25 inches)
1 Bristlenose Pleco (6 inches)


19. 15 G

2 Dwarf Gourami (5 inches)
15 Endler's Livebearers (15 inches)
7 Cherry Shrimp


20. 1 G (Last one!)

NOTHING. Nothing will thrive in a 1 gallon tank other than algae, dust, and bacteria. Especially if it's unfiltered and unheated. Don't even bother trying.



Hope you enjoyed this ridiculously long post! More to come! Hopefully I'll update on a weekly basis. =)

About Me! (And my Aquariums)

I doubt anyone will be reading this blog...but if you happen to stumble across it, don't hesitate to say hi! I'm a total newbie when it comes to the hobby, so if you notice an error in my ramblings, please let me know. If you feel like adding something or making a suggestion, also let me know! I'd love to get to know others who share my passion for fish.

A little bit about me...(I guess this should've been the first post? I got a bit carried away...)

*side: a photo of the left side of my 29G tank.

I just started keeping fish as pets 2 months ago. I am a university student trying to maintain 2 fish tanks on a budget. So don't be surprised if you hear me mention some money-saving tips...haha. I have a 10 G Hagen tank which currently houses my prized Betta fish and 3 African Dwarf Frogs. I also have a 29 G tall Hagen tank with 4 Guppies, 2 Platies, 4 Cory Cats, 1 Oto Cat, 2 Ghost Shrimp.

My Complete Plans for the 29G Tank:

When I complete it, I want it to look like this:

7 Fancy Guppies
1 Breeding pair of Mickey Mouse Platys
2 Pearl Gouramis* (this is a maybe. I was also considering Golden Dwarf Gouramis)
6 Spotted (False Julii) Corydora Catfish
2 Oto Catfish
5 Ghost Shrimp

In terms of live plants, I currently have:

4 Ludwigia plants
6 Vallisneria plants
3 Java ferns
Large clump of Java Moss
6 leafy plants (can't find their names! Gah!)

I'm going for a natural look, so I added some carefully washed/scrubbed stones. I'm also trying to prepare some driftwood I found by the beach. I'd like to add a centerpiece driftwood, preferably one I find. This is a great money-saving strategy because a) it allows you to have more freedom of choice b) it's free!!

It's time consuming but hopefully it'll be worth the wait? Cured driftwood in pet stores look ugly to me. That's just my opinion. They don't really look artsy or stylistic at all. Plus, a small piece of ugly wood costs $20 where I live. Geez.

Side note: From my understanding, you prepare driftwood you find on the beach or wherever like so:

- Make sure it's dead wood (no green bits, no soggy bits)
- Peel the bark, scrub it thoroughly in hot water.
- Boil it in salt water for 2 hours to kill bacteria & pathogens.
- Soak it in a bucket full of clean water for 1-4 weeks.
- Change water daily as tannins will leak, making the water murky/brown
- Soak until the water no longer turns brown
- Soak until the wood sinks by itself* or you could just tie it to a rock so it'll sink.

Yup. That's what I'm doing right now. One small piece of wood I found already sank! Yay!

My parents liked the tacky look (castle, bridge, bright neon blue gravel...) but I think my fish are thanking me for providing a more realistic home.


Up next: Stocking Ideas

Feeding Time!

Fish are so greedy when it comes to feeding time. Seriously. You'd think they were half starved or something, the way they scramble and nudge for a few flakes. I suppose it's one of the evolutionary traits. If you're not aggressive enough, you starve, and then you die.

It's rare that fish starve to death in an aquarium setting. (Unless the owner is very neglectful and cruel) Usually it's just the opposite: people overfeed. I for one, am probably an occasional overfeeder. Can't help it. Whenever I pass by the fish tank, all my fish crowd around and look at me yearningly, almost like Oliver Twist asking for a little more gruel....Except of course all my fish are spoiled silly and are fat as pigs.

Most people say feed as much as the fish will consume in 1-5 minutes. I can never keep track of the time when I feed my little greedy friends. Sometimes it takes 2 minutes, sometimes it takes 1/2 an hour. I don't like the idea of feeding as much as they'll eat in a few minutes. Sometimes one fish will always go hungry because it didn't realize it was feeding time. (I feed at random times in the day. It feels more natural this way) I usually feed them until I notice that all of them have nice, round bellies. Not "pregnant-looking", stuffed bellies, but just nice and round looking. Trust me, you can tell. You can also tell if their stomachs are empty and they're hungry because it looks almost "bony".



So I sprinkle flakes or worms or shrimp a tiny bit at a time, focusing on the "slow ones" who aren't as aggressive in stealing food. All my guppies are ferocious eaters, stealing food from everyone else. My Platys on the other hand are very laid back, and will swim away if there's too much commotion surrounding the food. The cory catfish are most shy of all. They rarely even get to find their sinking shrimp pellets because their other tank mates stole them all! Even my 2 Ghost shrimp are more aggressive than the little cory cats.

The ghost shrimp "lunge" for my finger and latches on. Sometimes when I'm cleaning the tank, I have to actually shake my hand really hard to flick them off!! These two shrimp are massive (IMO), about 1.5 inches long...

I feed my omnivorous fish (guppies, platy, catfish, oto catfish) fresh veggies 1-2x a week. They LOVE Romaine lettuce and zucchini. I will try spinach, cucumbers and carrots sometime soon too. I've even heard some people feed them broccoli stems...though that seems too exotic for me. I'd rather give them fresh veggies than algae wafers. I'm not sure why.

My Oto cat does a great job of cleaning algae off my tank. I see him sucking on every possible surface in the tank: heater, filter, leaves, roots, stems, rocks, decorations, caves, gravel...He's absolutely adorable!! I do worry that he isn't eating enough though. He seems healthy but he doesn't have a pot-belly yet. He also won't even touch algae wafers....

Usually I just crush the tropical flakes up and sprinkle the fine pieces just under the water surface. If it's just on top of the surface, sometimes my fish can't find them. If it's too low, they won't see it. Plus, if the flake is too big, it kinda clumps together and sinks really fast. So fine, crushed flakes.

Bloodworms and brine shrimp: I dissolve 1/2 a cube in tank water and feed the worms individually to my fish using the round end of a toothpick. To feed my frogs, I net them into a "feeding bucket" and just saturate the entire tank with food. Else, they won't find it because again, they are pretty dumb and only hunt by sense of smell.

All my fish go absolutely BONKERS for bloodworms, especially my Betta. He will literally steal all the bloodworms he can find, even if it means his stomach is about to explode. I read that fish will eat until their stomachs explode...I believe it! Once, I dunked a gigantic load of bloodworms into the tank and before the neon tetras could even eat one or two, my betta had already gobbled down like thirty of them!

Bloodworms make your fish fat!

I would never dump an entire cube of bloodworms into the tank and just let them all "feast".

It would cause WAY too much "pollution". Uneaten food would make the tank terribly gross and messy. Besides, I like to control how much each fish eats, so the greedyguts don't overdo it.

In the next month, I'd like to try feeding my fish some frozen daphnia, white worms and black worms.

Catfish pellets. They are not fun to feed. They are VERY MESSY and chunks get ripped apart and spread everywhere. My poor catfish barely ever get to nibble the pellets before someone else snatches it away. The fighting over delectable shrimp pellets ends up tearing the soaked pellet into little bits and pieces. Gross.

I will try to feed my catfish after lights out. I hear that works better. But then again, I wouldn't know if the catfish really ate the pellets!?

My fish sure work hard for little morsels. When they learned this morning that I sprinkled some fish flakes onto a corner of the tank for the catfish, they began digging through the gravel (pretending to be catfish!) to peck up a few bits and pieces of flakes! My Betta did the same thing a while back. He would push his mouth into the gravel and rummage around in hopes of finding something. He was a terror when it came to stealing catfish pellets. He would try to swallow the entire thing, eventually spitting it out and slurping it back in again and again until it dissolved....

The thought of uneaten food rotting at the bottom of the tank irks me. That's probably why I'm constantly vacuuming the gravel. Maybe I'm just a little bit of a clean freak. (I vacuum the gravel 3 times a week.) To think, I once read that you could get by not vacuuming for a month!! I don't see how that is possible at all. Even if you fed sparingly, fish still poo a lot!

Speaking of waste...bottom dwelling fish WILL NOT EAT OTHER FISH'S WASTE. They may eat leftover scraps, but they don't eat the actual wastes. You should always feed them properly like the other fish; not let them "fend for themselves". Especially Oto catfish. They can't live off of algae in the tank! (Unless you have an incredibly well planted tank)

By the way, before I forget...buy good quality food. Don't buy dubious looking, cheap packages that have minimal nutrients. Fish need a balanced diet just like you and me. I have Nutrafin fish flakes with added Omega-3 and yeast extract, Hikari bloodworms, Shrimp pellets and brine shrimp.....


There. That ends my food rant.

The Nitrogen Cycle

All people new to fish keeping should know the Nitrogen Cycle at least pretty well.



The gist of it:

1. Plants + Air pump + Filter = INTRODUCE OXYGEN INTO THE WATER.

2. Fish consume oxygen, produce waste called Ammonia (NH4) as well as Carbon Dioxide (CO2). Rotting food, dead plants, dead fish also produce Ammonia.

3. Bacteria called "Nitrosomonas bacteria" suck up the ammonia and changes it into Nitrite (NO2). Ammonia level drops, Nitrite levels rocket. Nitrite is just as bad as Ammonia!

4. A second bacteria called "Nitrobacter" sucks up this Nitrite and changes it to Nitrate (NO3). Nitrite levels drop, Nitrate levels climb up.

5. Plants consume Nitrates and CO2 and produces oxygen, thus repeating the cycle.



Plants --> Oxygen -->Fish --> Ammonia, CO2 --> Nitrosomonas --> Nitrite --> Nitrobacter -->Nitrate --> Plants --> Oxygen etc.




Simple enough, no?


Nitrogen Cycle Gone Wrong

Many things may go wrong during this cycling process.

1. Adding too many fish at once.
- This increases the amount of waste. Bacteria can only consume so much waste at once! Once they can no longer convert wastes, the resulting ammonia and/or nitrite poisons your fish! Symptoms of poisoning can include red gills, rapid breathing, and sick fish.

2. Not testing the water. You can't eyeball how much bacteria or waste is in the water! That's why they sell test kits. If you don't test your water, you won't know if your tank is cycled.

3. Overfeeding. Rotting food creates excess waste! Think about it. Would you want to live in a house filled with rotting pizzas and donuts everywhere you turn? Yuck.

4. Not enough patience. This process takes up to 3 months sometimes. If you're too impatient, you might ruin your progress! I personally don't like the idea of adding bacteria supplements to speed up the process. However, logically, it should be fine...right? My suggestion would be to get a nice friend to give you a used filter pad FILLED WITH GOOD BACTERIA.

5. Remove and replace water regularly to prevent buildup of nitrates. Normally, nitrates aren't bad for your fish, but if you have too much of it, it'll also be dangerous. This shouldn't be a problem if you have live plants. A good rule to follow for water changes is: a)change water when it looks cloudy b) change water daily if there's sick fish c) change 15% water weekly d) change water after medication period e) change discolored water.



NORMAL Test Kit Readings of a Cycled Tank

Ammonia - 0ppm
Nitrite - 0ppm
Nitrate - below 40ppm
PH - 7 = neutral; less than 7 = acidic; greater than 7 = alkaline

My Fish Obsession: How It All Began

***Introduction

I used to hate fish. They seemed boring. You couldn't play with them or interact with them. I thought all they did was eat, sleep and swim around. So for the longest time, I yearned to have a dog or cat or even a leopard gecko at one point. Finally, after repeated rejections by my parents, they allowed me to keep an aquarium and a few fish.



*above: My 29 G tank as of March 1, 2011.


The thought was not immediately satisfying. My mom suggested I keep a little goldfish in a bowl. I hated the thought. Not only did it sound ultimately boring, it seemed unfair to the little guy. So I did a little bit of research. I visited all the pet stores in my neighborhood, and pretty soon, I became immensely intrigued by the diversity of available fish. I fell in love with freshwater tropical fish. They were so colorful and lively! I knew I still hated goldfish because they are extremely messy and were kept in tiny little tanks that were dirty, overcrowded, and filled with dead bodies.

I began my research. I spent endless hours hunting through fish forums and websites as well as scanning all the books I could get a hold of. I found myself faced with countless different viewpoints. Some people would say add aquarium salt in freshwater tanks, others claimed that salt would kill my fish. Some people insisted that I should keep 1 inch of fish per gallon of water, others said it depended on the species of fish and the dimensions of the tank...

The amount of information on the web was overwhelming. I wasn't sure WHAT to believe. I finally followed an important piece of advice: do what sounds logically reasonable. So I figured, it doesn't sound logical to put salt in a tank filled with freshwater fish. I also figured it didn't seem reasonable to put 10 one inch fish in a 10 gallon tank, even if some people said it would be okay. (They need swimming space too, right?) I mean, I'm not stupid. So I trust my common sense. For the most part.

(To be honest, my first experiences with fish the previous year had not gone well: I bought a pink betta fish with ZERO KNOWLEDGE of how to take care of it. Needless to say, I made a newbie mistake that cost him his life. =( )

But this is how I approached this exciting new hobby of fish keeping (the 2nd time around):


Step 1: Purchasing a Tank

The smartest thing I did was to buy a used tank that was already fully cycled. This ensured the health of the fish!!


Step 2: The Setup


I washed the tank with just water (can't use soap or detergents!!), filled it up with declorinated water, added the tank inhabitants + plants, and then it was just plug and play! Usually you should ensure that all equipment is submerged before plugging them in. Also, keep a drip loop so leaking water won't fry your outlets. Make sure all the equipment parts are assembled properly! Tropical fish like temperatures between 75-80F or 24-27C. Filter must be able to cycle the entire tank's water several times per hour, and should be the appropriate size or a little bit bigger than the tank size.

Step 3: First Feeding

I fed the Betta (who I decided to name "Neptune" because of his long, bright blue flowing fins) a few tiny pellets. I tried feeding the frogs too, but they weren't too bright. Apparently they hunt at night and by sense of smell, not sight. So obviously, the greedy little betta fish stole all the yummy bloodworms intended for my adfs (african dwarf frogs). Neptune's belly got so big I thought he was about to explode. I got quite worried because I'd read that overfeeding is the number one cause of fish deaths...

Step 4: Cleaning the Tank

A couple days passed. I learned to watch everybody closely to make sure they were healthy and energetic. My chubby Betta instantly grew attached to the sight of my fingers trailing just above the water...haha, the first time I heard him chomp down on the pellets, I got frightened until I realized that Bettas have teeth!

After 1 week, I anxiously decided to thoroughly clean the tank. I rinsed and scrubbed the filter, intake tubes, sponges, filter cartridges, tank glass...and realized I was missing a very important piece of equipment: a gravel vacuum! These cheap looking pieces of plastic are ESSENTIAL to tank maintenance! So I hurriedly went out and bought myself a small, self-starting gravel vacuum.

Needless to say, as a newcomer, I struggled with the seemingly easy device. It operated on some unfathomable physics principles....I learned how to use it efficiently after about two or three tries....the first few times weren't pretty: I spilled dirty water ALL OVER MY FLOOR! It wasn't frustrated though, thank goodness. It was disgusting how much waste was hidden in the gravel...

Later on, I also decided to add a plastic background so the back of the tank didn't look so weird.


Step 5: Choosing Tank Mates

Like most people, I thought my Betta was too lonely reigning over a 10G all my himself. So I ventured to the nearest pet store and bought him some neon tetra friends. Before anyone smirks at my decision, I would like to say that it wasn't a TERRIBLE decision. My Betta flared at the little tetras for about 10 minutes, but then proceeded to ignore them. Yay! However, I did make one newbie mistake: I bought 3 neon tetras without knowing a thing about them.

Classic mistakes: Buying 3 SCHOOLING fish you know nothing about.


By the time I got around to reading all about neon tetras, I was convinced that one of the paler looking ones had Neon Tetra Disease: a dreaded, incurable plague that could infect the entire tank. I returned the little guy...but turns out it was just due to natural color variations and probably stress (which turns them paler sometimes). Over the next few weeks, I added more neon tetras until I had a total of 6. They loved to chase each other around, and got along super well with my Betta. There were a few nipped fins here and there, but they all healed naturally.

Sadly, one day, tragedy struck. My previously innocuous ADF (female) decided to eat one...and then two of my neon tetras. Appalled by this uncommon behavior, I separated the neon tetras into my other 29G tank. The 4 of them seemed out of place and scared with my other fish so I had to give them away.....

When choosing tank mates, you must consider adult size and compatibility as well as water conditions. You should not mix fish that require vastly different water conditions (i.e. soft vs. hard water, warm vs. cold water), as half of them will be unhappy. Also, consider aggression and territoriality. Some fish are pretty bossy and don't like others getting in their face...other fish love schooling/shoaling together and need the company. If you add small fish to an aggressive tank, most likely, they'll get eaten. Tasty snack for the big guys. Not so great for the little guys.

You should also consider things like swimming level, need for hiding places, color, food requirements, ease of keeping and reproductive tendencies.



Step 6: Adding More Fish, Multi-Tank Syndrome

Given the endless varieties of fish to choose from, was it any wonder that I decided to buy more? I decided to start up my own tank from scratch. So I bought a 29G tank. Just the tank. Nothing else. Silly idea?

I then bought a cheap Whisper filter. Bad idea. It was super noisy! You get what you pay for folks! I went and had to buy ANOTHER FILTER. This time I bought an Aqueon 20 filter. It was (thankfully) very quiet and cycled water very efficiently. It also oxygenated the tank - bonus!

I bought a nice heater, and then some tacky blue gravel. I thought I could cycle the tank with some "mature gravel" from my 10G tank. WRONG! Fastest way to cycle: obtain a used filter cartridge from an established tank.

The gravel didn't do a thing, but the groggy green filter pad I took from the 10G did the trick. Test the water (with a testkit) often during the cycling process to see your progress. At first, I was reluctant to buy a test kit, but these little bottles of chemicals are your friends!

Side note on Test Kits

- You should have tests for: Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, PH at the very least.
- Some other people will test for KH and GH (hardness of water)
- Still others will go as far as to test stuff like Copper, Calcium, Phosphate...for planted tanks.
- Test kits cost around $50, and have little bottles of reagents, a dropper, test tubes and instruction booklets. You take a water sample from your tank with the dropper, add the indicated amount of drops of reagent, shake it around and match the color of the water in the test tube to a color chart on the instruction booklet. Sometimes you have to wait a few minutes.



Anyways. Where was I? Oh yeah. I then added more tacky decorations: a weathered looking castle and a weathered stone bridge. It seemed decent at the time, but very childish and amateur looking. I scrubbed everything thoroughly and must've washed the gravel a million times. It still made my water cloudy for a day or two. It does that.

Some people suggest quarantining new fish. In my opinion, if you don't have a proper quarantine tank, healthy fish might even get sick in a "quarantine tank" without a filter or heater! So I didn't quarantine my new fish, and didn't find any problems (so far!)

First I bought 4 lively zebra danios. Their movements gave me mini-seizures! (Just kidding) Danios are infamous for their restlessness. Their always so busy chasing each other around. To be honest, I didn't really like those Danios. They were mean looking with their glaring eyes and upturned mouths. Plus, they were constantly "fighting". I bought them for their hardiness, and thought I could cycle the tank with them.

Next, I bought 4 fancy guppies. I bought them for their gorgeous colors: I have 2 "blonde" guppies, 1 red tuxedo guppy and 1 yellow leopard tail guppy. They are very vibrant and active, and will peck at my fingers for food whenever I clean the tank!

Next, I bought 2 Sunburst Mickey Mouse Platys. The fish store guy told me they were both males, but one morning I woke and realized one was a Mama! (More on breeding later)

Finally, I added 2 Oto catfish and 4 Spotted Corydora Catfish. (Sadly, one of the new Oto cats died this morning probably due to stress)


***Please note that I added all these fish gradually over a period of 2 months.


It is important not to add too many fish at once because this over-stresses the filter. The beneficial bacteria can't cope with a sudden "flooding" of waste, resulting in ammonia or nitrite poisoning. Usually it's a good idea to add 2-3 fishes every 1.5-2 weeks.



To Be Continued (in about 5 minutes in the next post)