Freshwater Aquarium

Fish death is one of the main problems that beginner aquarist and even some expert aquarist face. It’s frustrating to the extent that most quit keeping aquarium fish.

But fish death can be avoided. Most fish deaths are caused as a result of both an internal and external types parasites that compete with the fish in tank.

As a result if you watch your aquarium fish often you should be able to discover when they have been infected by this parasite and be able to treat them to avoid fish death.

Look out for the following White Spot disease behavioral symptoms in your fish.

- Constant lying on the bottom or hanging at the surface.

- Rubbing of the body against rocks

- Gasping at the water surface

- No response to feeding

- General dullness and lethargy

- Hovering in a corner

- Fish swimming with clamps up

The most common of the visible signs is the development of the pin head-size while spots on the body or fins. This ailment is referred to as White Spot disease and is caused by the parasite - Ichthyophthirius Multifillis.

This parasite has a free-swimming stage, which attaches itself to the fish. The most common chemical used in treating infected fishes is Methylene Blue. You could buy a one per cent stock solution from a reputable chemist or aquarium shop and apply at 0.8 to 1.0ml per gallon of water. This amount should be added all at once. Repeat after one or two days.

The fishes must remain in this bath until every while spot has disappeared. A water change after treatment is necessary or else prolonged contact with the chemical may affect the fertility of the fish.

Another tip if you are using a side filter with activated charcoal should remove it to prevent the coal from absorbing the Methylene Blue.

Another tip… during treatment you should use artificial aeration with coarse bubbles near the surface, since a dirty bottom would inactivate the medicament by absorption. A better measure is to remove all dirt from the bottom before treatment.

Methylene Blue is harmless to young fish and unlike the general belief, it does not affect plants if used in weaker concentration.

For more great aquarium related articles and resources check out http://freshwaterfish.aquariumspot.com

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Betta fish or Betta Splendens or Siamese fighting fish are native to the lands of Thailand, Vietnam, China, and other related regions. They were first spotted in Cambodia, Thailand. In fact, Cambodia use to be known as Siam, hence the name Siamese fighting fish. They are called fighting fish, because they are extremely territorial. Males cannot be kept together because all they will do is fight until one or both are seriously injured. Betta fish can grow to three inches are famous for their long flowing fins.

You can pick out a betta fish right away in a tank because they look like something completely different from other fish. A betta fish is usually in shades of blues, reds, purples, or sometimes-even white. The way to spot a male is because males are more vibrant in color and their fins are longer. Females also have some vertical stripes when healthy. If you think that you may be looking at a female betta fish in the pet store, but don’t see the stripes, you may want to think again about purchasing one since it’s probably sickly. Betta fish prefer to eat live foods, but flakes or frozen foods will be just as fine.

Why are betta fish so popular as pets? Well the first thing that will attract an aquarium lover to betta fish is the way they look. They have rich colors and dramatic fins. Their size isn’t bad either since they are considerably small. Bettas also have a distinct personaility. They wag their tails like a pup and act just as cute. Remember, they have a mind of their own as well. To see a betta’s true personality it has to be happy.

When betta fish are happy and healthy you will notice that they are playful and they move with such grace. Unhappy and unhealthy betta fish will move extremely slow and in a very depressing way. Since there are many betta fish that are breeded specially to get certain colors that aren’t the traditional colors, you will find that you will soon be collecting these beauties. The only thing is that you have to give them enough tank space and also surface space. Surface space is important because betta fish cannot breath while in the water, but they breath directly from the surface.

When it comes to betta fish, you will need to know that there are only a few things to keep in mind. First, you need to keep in mind the temperature. You need to keep the tank between 75f-85F. The ammonia levels are sometime to worry about. Often new tanks will make the tank build up high levels of ammonia, which will kill, or make the fish sick. This is easily taken care of if you just make sure that the tank is washed properly and the water is changed on a regular basis. If the water is good, then your betta fish will surely live their full lifespan of two or three years. They could even live-longer with proper care.

About the author:

Magne Bjorklund: http://www.betta-fish.org/

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For Discus fish, there are 2 consideration in tanks - tank depth and volume. Because of their size and swimming habits, a minimum of 18″ is needed for tank depth, the deeper the better. Regarding volume, a good rule of thumb is that each adult discus will need 10 gallons of water. Larger tanks will also give more stable water conditions, and taking into account other considerations the minimum size for a discus show tank should be no less than 55 gallons. It is also advisable to use a rectangular tank. Not only are they cheaper, but are more efficient, because they maximize surface area. Surface area is the most important factor in buying a tank. Why? Because it is only at the surface of the tank that gas exchange occurs. (Oxygen in, Carbon dioxide out.) Assuming you have a seventy five gallon show tank, and it’s biological filter is working as required, up to twenty young fish 3 inches in size, or 6 or 8 fully adult discus can comfortably inhabit the tank. An outside filter may be added to large tanks to increase basic aeration and biological filtration needs.

Keep in mind that when young discus fish are small,they grow fast and become quite large in a short period of time if fed well and water quality is maintained. If your tank is too small they will not be happy and it will quickly stunt their growth. Juvenile discus should not be kept in overly large tanks. Being a social fish, Discus tend to become very skittish in large tanks. In our hatchery, we place 6 Discus up to 1.5″ in a 29-gallon tank. They will be moved tp larger tanks when they get to 2.5″, and show possible signs of “pairing off”. Always try to buy the largest tank you can afford for discus fish.

If breeding Discus is a consideration later on, tanks can be down sized to twenty gallons per pair. At our hatchery, 29 gallon rectangular glass tanks are utilized for every breeding pair.
A bare bottomed tank with at 2

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