Kristine's blog

Cleaning the fish tank: A Habit to Keep!

Keeping your fish tank tidy is one of the most significant aspects of owning an aquarium. In the event that the water is grubby, not simply your fish tank look awful, but your fish are more likely to be unhealthy.

Every day Clean-up Habit

To keep you fish tank tidy, there can be a number of activities you need to do every day. To begin with, look into the temperature of your tank every single day. When you’re keeping tropical freshwater fish the temperature should be around 77 degrees. If the temperature is way too high, your aquarium will flourish plankton. You also have to examine the fish tank on a daily basis for unwell or dead fish. When they are not taken away from the tank they will affect the other mates. Lastly, make certain the tank’s air pump is functioning correctly.

Each week Clean-up Habit

Every week you have to get rid of waste from the top of gravel employing a siphon tube, which works just like a vacuum cleaner. Change the water that you just remove within this course of action. Make sure you condition the water to remove any chlorine. In addition, look into the ammonia and nitrate rates, as well as the pH to your tank’s water. If you’re nurturing live plants, tend to them each week. Slash them back if they’re becoming too large, and take away virtually any dead or ill leaves. Re-anchor new seedlings into your gravel. In addition, look at your tank for snails. You could get rid of snails by floating a chunk of lettuce leaf inside the tank. The snails will likely be attracted to the lettuce, and you can take them off with a net.

Every month Clean-up Habit

Lastly, there are certainly monthly things you can do to make sure you’ve got a clean aquarium. Each month carry out a partial water replacement. Take out about a quarter of your water by making use of your siphon hose. The following eliminates waste and water simultaneously. Make sure you condition the water before filling new water towards the aquarium, as chlorine and also other water chemical can kill your pet.

Every month it is advisable to clean your filter. In case your filter contains a filter cartridge, change this every month. You do not want to clean the filter too vigorously, since the filter collects helpful bacteria that help with biological filtration. You do not want to wash it so much and take away these bacteria. Lastly, each month you really need to clean the algae out of the top of the tank employing an especially made algae scraper. You may observe a serious accumulation of algae each month; consider purchasing algae eater, and look at your heater. If none of these options help, consider on always keeping the light off inside your tank till the situation solves. If proven not successful, replace your thermometer. Most likely the temperature is not appropriate.

Maintaining your tank clean on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis will ensure your fish to be contented and in good shape. You can guarantee that you develop an aquarium that you will be proud of showing and bragging it to your close friends and associates. Ignoring on clean out your tank will result on fish getting sick and die hopelessly.

If you are interested to get your child his own fish tank, aquariums for kids are out already in the market. See sample at KidsAquariums.com

Rocks and Woods as Aquarium Decors

If you own a fish tank, you might consider adding some decorations inside the tank so that your fish will not be lonely inside. Aquarium decorations also will help your tank not to look empty. Many people would love to gaze a tank that has rocks or woods inside.   Rocks and wood help to give a similar look of the natural environment for the fish. Yet, there are few things to be considered prior to adding these decors to your aquarium. We will talk about the advantages and disadvantages of using these decors inside your freshwater fish tank.

 Pros

 Here are the pros relating to the use of rocks and wood in your fish tank:

* Rocks or wood can be useful in setting specific water parameters that your fish needs. For instance, several kinds of rocks like Texas Holey Rock and Limestone will raise the pH of the tank and serve as a barrier at times. On the contrary, driftwood often lowers the pH and tends to soften the water.

* Some fishes feed themselves with algae from the rocks or wood on their natural habitat, some fish even eat the wood itself. Placing rocks or woods in your fish tank will give your fishes extra instinctual activities at the same time giving them a healthy and natural diet.

* These objects also provide a great area for certain bacteria to nitrify and build colony. These are good bacteria that help get rid of harmful substances such as ammonia and nitrites from your fish tank.

* Almost all aquarium hobbyists opt to keep fishes in an environment which is nearly similar to their natural habitat. This isn't as vital as before since many fishes today are bred in captivity, however, it's still nice to see fishes inside a tank which is a replica of their natural environment.

* Some fishes, especially the non-aggressive kind tend to hide themselves from the aggressive type, thus, rocks or woods are great areas to hide. Rocks or woods will also make fish feel safer if they are used in living in caves. Moreover, these decors are a possible breeding area or laying of eggs for fishes!

* The most common advantage of rocks or woods is just for visual purposes, just a decor. Your tank will definitely look fantastic if you incorporate gorgeous designs such as stylish rocks or a stunning piece of driftwood. For some aquarists who go for the natural look, adding stones or woods inside the tank will help you attain your goal of setting up a natural habitat for your fishes.

Cons

 Here are some of the cons regarding with the adding of rocks or woods in your tank.

* Too much is never good! So if you place a lot of rocks or woods inside your tank, it will be harder for you to clean your tank without removing all of them, added time will bother you. Naturally, uneaten foods will be trap on the back of the rocks which later on will cause a bad water quality and it is harmful for your fish. Some uneaten foods will sink to the substrate behind these rocks or woods, though you can use vacuum to clean the substrate it is still hard to do this if you have these objects, it will be ok if you remove all these from your tank while doing so. If you really wanted to put a lot of rocks or woods inside your tank, then tell yourself to be ready for the cleaning time, because you need to remove all of them to clean the tank properly.

* Putting rocks or woods also will make it hard to catch fish out of the tank or locating the dead ones. As said earlier, it is a good place to hide; therefore, catching fish will be a problem without taking these rocks or woods first out of the tank.

* There are certain rocks or wood that affects the water parameters in your tank, and this will be harmful to your fishes especially those who prefer a fix water parameter level. If you put driftwood in an African cichlid tank, the cichlids favor a higher pH and the driftwood will provide a more acidic environment.

* Almost all rocks are heavy. Even if you have a glass or acrylic aquarium which is ready for great weights, set limits on it. It is recommended not to put too much weight at the bottom of the fish tank or at the back glass of the tank. One good thing to do if you want to load too much weight in your tank is to purchase an egg crate, cut it to size and place it on the bottom of your tank, underneath the substrate. The egg crate will help scatter the weight of the rocks.

* At some instances, putting rocks or woods will serve an eyesore for some of the fish tank viewers. Driftwoods can stain the water of the tank if not boiled properly. This is great if you prefer a black aquarium or cloudy water inside your tank but obviously, we all know that you don't! Algae are known for having a good offer to the fish tank, but too much of it will harm the fishes and the whole tank. Rocks or woods can be a great place for algae to thrive in. A thin layer of algae is nice to see on rocks or woods but if a mass of algae thrives in obviously it's not good to see them.

Aquarium decors enhance the beauty of your tank, but be cautious of the things that might happen inside the tank if you have these decorations.

 

Fish Tank Therapy

Spending time to view and get connected with pets offers a welcome break from the stress of daily cares and concerns. Fish tanks are perfect for making a soothing, tranquil, meditative location to relax and connect to nature, in your home or office. They can even pull young kids away from mindless TV to discover about prehistoric species and the cycle of life. They're great conversation starters and provide entertainment for guests. For business owners, they can make those waiting room times fly by for your clients.

For busy people who want to experience the joys of pet ownership, but are concerned that they don't have enough time to look after them, tropical aquarium fish are the ideal choice. They are much easier to look after than dogs, cats, and many other animals, and occupy very little space. With the wide selection of aquarium tank shapes and sizes, they're able to slot in any specific home or office.

These are just a few examples, showing that in addition to both the educational and aesthetic benefits of aquariums, people who partake in aquarium watching and aquarium keeping, can reap health benefits as well.

 

When to use Aquarium Chillers?

Aquarium chillers are often required when owning marine aquariums so that you can lessen the ambient temperature of the water, particularly during the warmer summertime in case you have cold water fish.

There are 2 kinds of aquarium water chillers:

• Drop-in chillers

• In-line chillers

Drop-in aquarium chillers are exceedingly simple and work by having coils that you just put in place the sump and functions to minimize the surrounding hot and cold levels of water.

In-line aquarium chillers are somewhat dissimilar because they already have internal cooling coils. In other words, they function by just pumping the fish tank water from the coil where is it cooled and then come back to the tank at the lower hotness. Although this seems harder, there is one benefit in utilizing an in-line chiller over the drop-in type and that is the 'in-line' chillers can be used externally. Therefore you don't have to place them at any place close to the area of the tank to avoid having ugly equipment near to the tank. You can actually position the chiller in a different room or even in a cupboard, the option is yours.

In order to run an aquarium water chiller, then again, a device referred to as a 'temperature controller' is needed. Once again there are 2 sorts of controllers:

• Single stage controllers which solely control the chiller

• Dual stage controllers which can control BOTH an aquarium chiller and heater.

The main benefit of these controllers is they can minimize any large variations in temperature.

These types of aquarium chillers are available for purchase on your local stores and you can even find them online. If you are concern of the wellness of your fishes then get one now!

If you have kids at home, chances are kids would like to have their own aquarium to care with. Don’t say no if they’ll ask for that, that would be your chance to train them to be responsible as you know that having this kind of hobby requires a good maintaining approach for the whole aquarium to stay healthy. Get one now at KidsAquariums.com and enjoy the hobby with your kids.

 

 

Worried about Fish Stress

Even though they don’t handle rush-hour traffic jam, fish do go through pressure. Too much stress inhibits your fish’s capacity to heal and to ward off parasites and illness. As with humans, the lesser the stress on a fish, the happier they are with life. The causes of fish stress are diverse however; the main cause includes the condition of water aquarium. Signs may be a loss of appetite, gasping for air, keeping hidden constantly, or injuries that don’t heal.

In order to find out the indicators that your poor fish could possibly be suffering, you will need to spend awhile daily observing their behavior. Become familiar with the behaviors on the various fish you have so you will have the ability to understand when anything is wrong. If you want to check your fish, check also your aquariums, the water filter, air pump, and other devices you may have hooked up to ensure they are working properly. Apart from that, watching your fish is relaxing and it can lessen your blood pressure.

Equipments for the fish tank

Whether or not you want to invest in a heater it depends on where you reside and what types of fish you've got. Typically, goldfish and koi do not require a heater. Still, you need a heater for other fishes who needs it; this is warmer when compared to the natural room environment. Heaters often go wrong, so choose a heater of good quality and observe the tank everyday to keep away from cooked or frozen fish.

An air pump is mostly considered a good thing: At the same time avoid thermal layering, avoids film from forming on the top of the water (which inhibits the carbon dioxide/oxygen exchange), and this allows the good bacteria to cultivate. It could be best if you include foliage, rocks, or a different type of cover. Even if this really depends on the fish, most fish will strongly enjoy the chance to get out of sight.

You need a filter for the tank at the same time; basically there are three types of filter (biological, mechanical, and chemical). Certainly, a biological filter is vital as it helps wear out the nitrites and ammonia to the more benign nitrates. All filters must be cleaned regularly to help maintain the wellness of the entire fish tank.

Lighting can be necessary, most fish don’t like bright lights, additionally, the light in the room in daytime is often enough to help keep fish lively. If you wish to add glow to their world, don’t use an incandescent bulb; they’re too hot. Fluorescent bulbs generally fit inside of a tank’s hood, which is also useful to keep the fishes from bouncing out.

Less stress from fishes causes less stress also from the observers! If adults enjoy this kind of hobby, needless to say the kids also do! To check for these cute and amazing designs of kids aquariums, log in to KidsAquariums.com.

 

 

Best Fish Tank Shops: How to Identify Them

1.      Fish tank and Fish Conditions. Whenever you visit an aquarium shop and notice the tanks do not look nice as it is expected, it’s either the shop lacks of staffed or the proprietors don't give a darn. If this is the scenario, it’s better to find other stores. As for the fishes, search for marine life with well erect fins. It is advisable to look more for fishes in several tanks. Observe fish behaviors inside the tank. Are they all swimming upright? Do you see fish hiding in the top corners of a tank? Watch them closely, search for marks, blemishes and small white spots both in their body and fins. Observe their manner of breathing, are they experiencing heavy respiration? As a rule of thumb, at least two ill fishes inside an aquarium seems normal and acceptable, however, having a number of aquariums with dead fishes is not a good indication of being an ideal aquarium store.

2.      Don’t hesitate to raise questions. Ask the owner or a trusted staff if they do quarantine their saltwater fish. Find out what their guarantee policies are. How many times do they replace the water in their aquariums?

3.      More than three dead fish is a bad sign. For us human, death is normal as well with the fishes, however, if you notice more than three dead fish you should think twice before coming back to this particular aquarium shop.

4.      Foul Smell. If you visit an aquarium shop and they welcome you with this foul smell, they do not give importance on their public image. A good clean aquarium store may smell a little musty or may have an earthy odor, but should not smell like a seafood store or a public zoo. The main reason behind this foul smell is that they may not provide proper care to their animals. A straightforward notion that a tidy shop indicates that they are giving a right attention on their aquariums and fishes.

5.      The customer services do matters. This is applicable to all enterprise, poor customer service are not good in business. When you feel like you're being talked down to or patronized, you know you don't want to learn anything from the person talking to you. The bad result is the costumer may take their business elsewhere.

6.      What you want may not what a standard aquarium shop do. Only few stores offer outside maintenance services. Reliable Aquariums shops build a great relationship among the aquarium enthusiasts, but get disappointed on dealing on fish tank proprietors who only cares about the fish and not the fish habitat. In this case, if you do not want to clean the aquarium tank and some other activities to maintain your aquarium, then you can seek the help of aquarium shops that do maintenance services.

7.      Check around and search. Try to search local phone directories and online lists of shops within your area. Then take a tour! Set a free time for visiting these shops before you make your pick of what you think is the ideal aquarium shops for you. Sometimes it's worth it to drive a little out of your way to find an excellent aquarium store.

8.      Prices? Prices are not as important as quality. Don't expect a retail store to have prices as low as a mail order company or an e-commerce business. The drawback of having online stores, however, is that when you ask for help they may not be available for you.

 

If your kids have the same ineterst as you do, it's good to involve your kids in choosing the fish tank. There is a wide variety of kids aquariums styles in KidsAquariums.com.

 

Traits of a Young Aquarist

If facts should be told, everyone loves fish and aquarium including kids. Here are the signs showing that your kids possess the traits of an aquarium hobbyist.

 

1. Their favorite book is "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish" by Dr. Seuss.
2. They will force you to buy two articles of clothing with fish on them. 
3. They name their goldfish obvious and strange names like “Goldie and “Doggie”.
4. When the family is having a vacation on a beach they think how happy their fish would be there.
5. They think their fish must be happy since they're smiling at them.
6. They refuse to eat any seafood, or fish shaped crackers.
7. They do talk to their fish more than their siblings and playmates.
8. They wonder if there's a way to set up a fish aquarium in school.
9. They asked you to include 10 different types of fish foods in family’s grocery list, but only one box of chocolate bar.
10. They do wonder what their fish are thinking.
11. The only time that they offer to wash dishes is when they need the sink to clean   their fish bowls.
12. They could hardly wait for the day to go home and see their fishes.

 

 Well, we all could relate to this. Fish keeping is FUN!!!

 

To know more about fish keeping hobbies and customize aquarium for kids, please visit Kids Aquariums.com.

 

Dentists face less stress with Aquariums

Aquariums placed in a hotel or doctor's clinic improves the aesthetic appeal by attracting the attention of the visitors. It has been found that by having aquariums in children's hospitals, they work at captivating the children's fantasy, and in the process, helps them heal faster.

Even dentists have a lot of benefits and peace with an aquarium in their clinic. This is because by viewing an aquarium, the dental patients tend to experience the same effects as they would under hypnosis. Moreover, after viewing the aquarium, the patient requires less pain medication before dental surgery. People suffering from Alzheimer's eat more food.

Even patients suffering from Alzheimer's tend to see an improvement in their health after viewing aquarium fish. This is because they tend to consume more food with aquariums in their surroundings.


This leads to an increase in their weight, and thus a reduced requirement of nutritional supplements. Besides these nutritional benefits, aquariums tend to reduce the physically aggressive behavior of patients suffering from Alzheimer's disease.

All this proves that aquariums not only improve the existing décor of a home or office, but brings with it lots of peace with the therapeutic benefits it brings to both the young and old.

5 Kinds of Fish Aquariums

Fish Aquariums are glass or plastics enclosures designed to stimulae the natural environment of fish. Aquariums can be customized in many ways, with the main five categories being freshwater, saltwater, brackish, reef and planted aquariums. Each of them is really unique in the environment it provides and the creatures that it can accommodate.

 Freshwater Aquariums

 1. Freshwater aquariums emulate pond and lake environments with clear, fresh water treated to remove chloramines and other impurities present in tap water. Freshwater aquariums house goldfish, tropical fish and other freshwater fish varieties such as catfish and frogs. Freshwater aquariums require proper filtration, water chemistry and lighting to create a lifelike environment depending on what fish are being housed inside.

 Saltwater Aquariums

 2. Saltwater aquariums are also known as marine aquariums, and they emulate ocean environments for fish that require a certain level of salinity in their water to survive. The Marine aquariums can house a wider variety of fish and invertebrates including starfish, corals, eels, crustaceans and exotic fish. Saltwater aquariums are often said to be trickier to care for than freshwater aquariums as the water chemistry must be more maintained more precisely for the health of the inhabitants.

 The Brackish Aquariums Types

 3. Brackish Aquarium is a combination between saltwater and fresh, for fish that prefers some salinity in their water without a full marine environment. The Cichilds, for example, prefer water with a salinity level above that of fresh water but below the level found in a marine environment. The maintaining the right level of salinity is vitality important to maintaining the health of your fish.

 The Reef Aquarium Types

 4. The reef aquarium is a marine environment designed specifically to suit the growth of coral. Care requirements for a reef aquarium environment are unique depending on the types of coral household in the aquariums. Different varieties prefer different types of lighting, different levels of salinity and the different space. Meeting these requirements is vital to allowing the coral to thrive.

 Planted Aquarium Types

5. The Planted Aquariums can be freshwater,brackish or marine in nature , though they are focused on growing plants. The plants tanks can feature fish and other living creatures.

For aquarium inquiries,feel free to contact David Soto – (213)280-6939 or send email at kristinewilson023@gmail.com