Freshwater Aquarium

Everyone starts with just one pair, I know I did. I soon wanted more and then more. As you go along you keep adding to your collection. The good thing about breeding discus is that you can cover all of your expenses by selling your young one.

Now I know some of you are just getting into discus fish and might like to know how is the best way to go about breeding discus and getting a pair.

There are three options available if you want to acquire a pair of discus, here there are:

1, firstly, the most common way to do it is to buy six to eight young discus at around 3in and grow them up. By doing this you should be able to get one or two pairs of discus.

2, secondly you can buy a proven pair of discus from an importer. This is risky as you need proof and they will be very expensive.

3, the last way to get a breeding pair of discus is to buy two or three young adult discus at around 5in size. At this size there may be some signs of what sex the fish is and if you get three your chances of getting a pair can be good.

Now there are positives and negatives about all of these methods. Not one method is better than the next but it depends on the individual. For a beginner I would recommend starting which young less expensive fish as then you have room for mistakes.

If you require your pair fast for whatever reason the way to go is to get a proven pair from a trusted dealer. You are paying extra for convenience here of not having to pair the fish up yourself.

The method I like is to select young fish and grow them on as this enables me to select only the best discus for breeding and gives me more control. However I have in the past purchased adults of a new strain to give me a head start over other breeders.

Rob owns Discus Fish Secrets website http://www.discus-fish-secrets.com helping beginners and advanced fish keepers with discus problems including keeping and breeding them. Please visit the site for more information on discus and breeding discus.

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Good filtration is the prime priority in the discus tank. Basically, there are three types of filtration - mechanical, chemical and biological. Let’s start with the basics…

Mechanical filtration removes the uneaten food, waste products and acumulated plant waste from the tank. Different methods will accomplish this - pads, sponges, and floss, to name a few. The objective here is to capture the dirt before it pollutes the tank to high levels. Common filter floss is inexpensive, and highly efficient, making it a good medium for the tank filter. One must keep in mind, however, that the function of the mechanical filter is basically aesthetic.

Filtering using chemical filtration takes place at the molecular level. The most commonly used medium is activated charcoal. Activated charcoal adsorbs a huge amount of pollutants in the tank, and discoloration, antimony, arsenic, chlorine, chloramine, chromium, hydrogen peroxide, potassium permanganate, phosphate plus some of the heavy metals and other toxins in different degrees. (adsorbs: Formation of a thin film on a surface.) It does not, however, remove ammonia, nitrite or nitrate, so don’t expect it to do the job of biological or mechanical filtration. If your tap water is overly high in phosphates or nitrates, there is the chance that your fish won’t do well until you pretreat the water with activated charcoal or other specific resins. If you live in the city, chances are good that the city can provide you with an analysis of their provided water. If, however, you live in the country, and have your own well, then the water should be sent to a lab for testing.

Activated charcoal can produce crystal-clear water, but the downside of this is that one tends to rely on the activated charcoal to cover up sloppy maintenance. It should be used as a back up only, and you should not be dependent on activated charcoal to keep water safe and clean for the Discus. Frequent water change is the only real insurance you have of keeping your Discus safe and in good health.

I have saved biofiltration for last because it is the most important aspect of a good environment for Discus. Without good biofiltration practices, your Discus will not survive. Mechanical and chemical filtration results can be seen visibly - the tank just looks cleaner. Even though chemical filtration does remove some of the toxic materials from the water, it takes biofiltration to make the water safe for habitation.

Cycling a tank is a practice that reproduces the nitrogen cycle in the aquarium.
In the aquarium, we need beneficial bacteria, which are known as nitrobacters. (Proline Bacteria is a well known brand of bacteria strain used in aquaria. A kit for starting the normal freshwater tank is a little over $9.00.) These “good” bacteria colonize the filter media and every surface of the tank. The most beneficial of these bacteria is Nitrosomonas sp. which consumes the toxic ammonia that is produced by decomposition of fish waste, plant matter, and uneaten food. In the Nitrogen Cycle, the ammonia is reduced to nitrite. The nitrite is then consumed by Nitrobacter sp. and is reduced to nitrate, which is the least toxic end-product of nitrification. The nitrate is then removed from you system by a regular water-change regimen.

Maintaining a healthy bacterial colony in the biological part of your filtration system is quite simple if care is taken to not destroy the colony. When cleaning the media, use only tank water. Never use hot water or fresh tap water to clean the sponges or media, but instead gently rinse and carefully wring out excess water in a pail of tank water. The goal here is to maintain the highest rate of bacteria as possible on the media.

It is possible that your biological filter will crash if the aquarium is left without power for a day. The bacteria are without oxygen for a period of time which will cause them to die, your fish will be gasping for breath, and a foul smell is encountered in the tank. Never simply turn the filter back on! this will flood the aquarium with toxins, and the media must be replaced if a crash occurs.

Following these simple principles will help to insure that your Discus have a happy and safe environment for many years. Again, there is no subistitue for regular water changes, but by following these simple rules, chances of survivial of the Discus are much higher.

Alden Smith is a published author, and has been marketing on the internet for 7 years. His website, King Discus, is an active gathering place for discus breeders and lovers of discus fish.
His wife Betsy is the administrator of All The Best Recipes a site rich in online recipes and cookbooks.

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A 3D aquarium is made with the help of 3D technologies and animated with software like flash. It can be described as a beautiful underwater landscape, inhabited with colorful, beautiful and interactive fishes that look like real ones. These 3D animated aquariums bring to life the exotic fishes with vibrant colors and realistic movements. These 3D animated aquariums depict numerous colorful and vibrant fishes and realistic underwater plants swaying with the music and water in the aquarium. These aquariums give you a real life experience as if you are standing and looking at a real aquarium.

The most common and favorite fishes used in 3D animated aquariums are tetra neon, Tiger barb, Zebra fish, Guppy fish, gold fish, and Angelfish. These fishes in the 3D aquariums are made in such a way that they give you a realistic experience of enjoying an aquarium. The features of these 3D animated aquariums allow you to change the look and feel of these aquariums by means of adding new aquarium fish, creating a unique underwater world, and changing the coral background.

A favorite with kids and youngsters, it is one of the most popular screensavers that can be purchased for most types of PCs. These 3D animated aquariums can immerse you into a contrasting underwater world inhabited by beautiful aquarium fish. You can watch one for hours on end. There are also big screen animated aquariums, which are a popular novelty item in offices and other locales worldwide. It is often seen as a status symbol when a person devotes a big screen to just animated fish.

Aquariums provides detailed information on Aquariums, 3D Animated Aquariums, Aquarium Lights, Aquarium Fishes and more. Aquariums is affiliated with Bird Baths.

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