Posted under
Petpedia by oahupet on November 19th, 2008 11:37 pm
by PATRICE LAPOINTE
Species name: Centropyge Loricula
Common names: Flame Angelfish
Family: Pomacanthidae (Angelfishes)
Order: Perciformes (perch-likes)
Class: Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes)
Maximum Length: 5.9 in.
Minimum tank size: 25 gal.
Hardiness: Easy to Medium
Aggressiveness: Medium. Can be aggressive toward members of its own genus, as well as toward fish with similar shape or behavior. It should be the last fish to introduce into a peaceful community.
Reef Compatibility: May nip at LPS coral, zoanthid and tridacnid clam mantles.
Diet: Unlike most anglefish, the Flame Angel is not as dependent on sponge for nutrition. Half of its diet should be algae and vegetables. Should be feed with spirulina, marine algae, mysid shrimp and meaty food. Feed 3 times a day. The presence of live rock in the tank will allow self-feeding on demand. Without sufficient algae to eat, the Flame Angel will lose its color, weight and interest in feeding.
Additional information: In the wild, this awesome dwarf angelfish is found in the reef and clear lagoons of Hawaii, Society Islands, Australia, New Guinea and Philippines at depth of 50 meters. It is one of the most beautiful angelfish that can be acquired by a hobbyist. It has a striking red or orange body with vertical black bars in the mid section. Their markings don’t change with age so chose one that you like. Under stress the flame anglefish is highly susceptible to Brooklynella and Oodinium (Amyloodinium) infections. To reduce stress, the aquarium should contain live rock with lots of broken rubble with small caves only the angels can get in.
The ideal tank should have a good water current to play in, a ph of 8.1 – 8.4, temperature between 75°F and 80°F (25°C – 27°C), sg 1.020 – 1.025, dkh 8 – 12°,
Visit AQUARIUM LIFE for more information about fish and coral. Photo and video related to this article also available on Aquarium Life
Posted under
Petpedia by oahupet on November 18th, 2008 11:49 pm
by PATRICE LAPOINTE
Scientific name: Zanclus Cornutus
Common names: Moorish Idol
Maximum Length: 7 in (4 in in aquarium).
Minimum tank size: 100 gal.
Hardiness: Difficult (For Experts only)
Aggressiveness: Peaceful
Reef Compatibility: Some individual will nip at LPS and soft coral polyps.
Diet: Omnivore.
Needs a varied diet including shrimp, squid, clam, mysid shrimp, live brine shrimp, worms, spirulina, algae and vegetable.
Only member of the family Zanclidae, the Moorish Idol is a close relative of the Tangs or Surgeonfish and lives in school along the reef of the Indo-Pacific and Red Sea. It is one of the most beautiful fish but unfortunately one of the most difficult to keep in aquarium. Long term survivability in aquariums is rare (2 years is good).
Ideal aquarium condition should be as follows: 78-80º F with a pH between 8.1 and 8.4 and a sg of 1.022 and plenty of light. Nitrates, nitrites and ammonia need to be almost zero. It’s recommended they be kept in small groups of 3 to 5 in a large tank with enough room to swim and hiding areas.
The Moorish Idol is difficult to feed. Many specimens will simply refuse to eat in aquarium and this is one of the main reason why they are so difficult to keep. They are bottom feeders and graze on marine algae and sponges. Having plenty of live rock will provide grazing opportunities in between meals. They need a varied died of small live foods mysid shrimp, brine shrimp, worms and sponge. Diet should be supplement with small shrimp, squid, clam, spirulina, algae and vegetable. They should be fed before you take them home from the store to help them survive the stress of being moved and acclimated.
Visit AQUARIUM LIFE for more information about fish and coral. Photo and video related to this article also available on Aquarium Life
Posted under
Pet Tips by oahupet on August 26th, 2008 9:17 pm
Submitted By: Janet Bugby
Once you have set up your tropical aquarium the next step is to ‘cycle’ it. This process produces beneficial bacteria that will process the waste ammonia from your fish and convert it into nitrites and then into relatively harmless nitrates. After adding fish to an uncycled tank the toxic ammonia and nitrite levels will rise to a dangerous high until there are sufficient numbers of bacteria to convert them into less toxic nitrates. In order to overcome this methods have been devised to encourage the growth of the bacteria. The traditional method is to add a few ‘hardy’ fish that will produce ammonia to encourage bacteria growth while the tank is ‘cycling’. This method is very stressful for the fish, many of which die or are damaged by the process. The toxic ammonia burns the gills and leads to permanent damage. At the end of the ‘cycling’ you are left with fish in poor condition which you may not want in your aquarium.
A better, more humane method to cycle the tank is to use a fishless cycling method. It uses household ammonia as a source, rather than live fish, and a bacteria culture obtained from a healthy tank or purchased from an aquarium supplier.
The Bacteria Starter Culture
You can obtain a starter bacteria culture by adding some gravel, filter medium or rock from a healthy, aged tropical fish tank. If you do not have a source there are commercial products available, for example StressZyme or Hagen’s Cycle. The culture will give a quick start to producing a colony of bacteria but you can also use this method without a starter culture. It will take a bit longer then to cycle your tank.
The Ammonia
Purchase some unscented, additive free 100% ammonia. Some aquarium supply shops are now selling ammonia for this purpose. If you know a chemist or science teacher they may be able to get you some pure ammonia from a laboratory supplier..
The Tank Temperature
The bacteria (Nitrosomonas and Nitrobacter) thrive best at higher temperature than is usually used for a tropical tank so during the cycling increase the temperature to between 30 and 35 C (85-95F). When you add the fish you can turn it down again.
Testing Kit
A testing kit to check the ammonia and nitrite levels is essential to test the levels and to indicate when cycling is complete.
The Fishless Cycling Method
Extra aeration is recommended while cycling as bacteria need oxygen to grow. Increase the aeration through the tank and filter if possible. You could add an extra air stone or even use an extra pump if one is available. Add your bacteria culture, then add about a teaspoon of ammonia for a small tank. Increase this for a larger tank. Allow about an hour for the ammonia to circulate then test. The ammonia level should be between 5 mg/L (or 5ppm). Add some more ammonia if the level is too low. Leave the tank alone for a few days then test again.
At this stage the ammonia level should begin to drop and the nitrite level to rise. This means that the bacteria are doing their job of processing the ammonia. Add some more ammonia when it drops to zero to give the bacteria more to work on. The nitrite level should rise until it reaches a maximum then begin to drop as the nitrites are converted into relatively harmless nitrates. Three or four days after the maximum nitrite levels are seen the nitrite level should drop to zero. The cycling is now complete.
Change about 50-70% of the water, carefully so as not to disturb the filter or the gravel bed where the bacteria are colonised. Reset the temperature to 25°C, or the recommended temperature for your intended fish and allow the temperature to stabilise for a few hours. Retest for ammonia and nitrites and if the levels are zero you can now begin to add some fish.
It is possible after cycling the tank to add all the fish in one go but this will result in a spike in the ammonia and nitrite levels which is stressful for the fish and could cause them to become diseased. adding the fish slowly will allow the bacteria to grow to cope with the added levels of ammonia excreted by the fish. Even for a fully cycled tank it is advisable to gradually add the fish. aim to take about a month to fully stock the tank.
A fishless cycling method is more efficient and produces a fully cycled tank in a much shorter time than the traditional method of using hardy fish. It is also more humane and you will not be left with unwanted, often damaged fish, at the end.
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