Month: November 2017

A Gravel Vacuum Can Help Keep Your Aquarium Clean

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Having fish at home entails having a large water tank. Though small fish tanks are indeed a common option for most buyers, some people opt for larger aquariums for design and storage capabilities. They want to include more fish and more decorative pieces that are set to emulate the natural marine environment of the fish. Though this provides a more functional and stylish aquarium for the fish, it also results in more responsibilities to cover. Since large aquariums house more fish and more decorative elements, it is also quickly polluted with dirt and bacteria that may affect the health and lifespan of your fish if not properly cleaned regularly. Fortunately, the use of aquarium gravel vacuum cleaners makes those time-consuming activities faster and more convenient for aquarium owners. The machine enables people to clean their aquarium within the least amount of time possible thus helping the fish live longer and healthier. However, one problem that has arisen in today’s market for aquarium gravel vacuum cleaners is that the wide selection of the machines available in stores and online sites have made it quite overwhelming and daunting for first time shoppers to choose which the best one is suitable for their needs. Here are some of the best vacuum cleaners for aquarium gravel that you can opt for during your search.

One ideal option is the Aqueon Siphon Vacuum Aquarium Gravel Cleaner. The device is ideal for fast water changes and boasts several cutting edge features that are rare within its respective product category or market niche. The cleaner features self-priming by means of using up and down movement to initiate water flow. It is also capable of efficiently separating dirt and debris from gravel components inside the aquarium. The machine is designed with an auto-start valve that makes water siphoning much simpler and easier for any level aquarium owner. You will need to simply shake the vacuum in an up and down routine for a few times while it is submerged in the aquarium and the water will start to flow automatically. The package includes a clip for conveniently attaching the drain hose to the bucket’s interior to avoid spills and mess during cleaning.

If you have a smaller aquarium to tend to, you can opt for the Marina Clean Gravel Cleaner from Hagen. The product is designed to provide easy to use and effective cleaning that is simply loved by aquarium hobbyists and owners. The device has a quick-start feature that enables ongoing siphoning of the aquarium. The nozzle is created to easily reach hard to reach places for thorough cleaning. It also features a non-kink hosing and a unique gravel guard capability that keeps the gravel inside the tank and not in the bucket.

So how does a siphon, also known as an aquarium gravel cleaner, work? The machine is operated with gravity and hydrostatic pressure. To get water to move up and down and out the aquarium, gravity is utilized to push the aquarium water down and outwards the glass through the downward force generated by gravity. Using a siphon is ideal due to several benefits it entails. Beneficial bacteria grow and live underneath and within the tight spots of goldfish aquarium gravel substrate making it unwisely to remove the elements from the tank during cleaning. When the gravel from the aquarium is taken out and washed in the sink with soap or bleach, the individual does not realize that they are killing the beneficial bacteria in the process. With the use of gravel cleaner, waste particles are safely and completely removed while enabling the beneficial bacteria to stay and continue benefiting the fish.

Frontosa Cichlid Breeding May Not Be Easy To Do

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Cyphotilapia frontosa cichlid are generally found in Lake Tanganyika with depths of about 100 feet. They are considered large cichlids with male size of 14 to 16 inches and females growing up to 9 – 12 inches long.

Preferably, Frontosa lives in hard and alkaline water conditions with a water temperature of 25 degrees Celsius and a pH value of 7.8.

Providing them with variations of diet is important to keep them healthy and may promote breeding. A high-quality cichlid pellet may be used as a base food and then supplemented with live foods. Frontosas in the wild eat live small fish but it is not very favorable to give them a feeder fish since it can be the source of a disease in the aquarium. However, cultivating your own meaty live food is favorable to your cichlid.

Although they are considered not easy to breed, however breeders claimed to have been successful in breeding them in aquariums many times than expected. If aiming to breed this variety it is advantageous to prepare a huge aquarium for that. Frontosa can grow as much as 35 centimeters even when kept in a tank. What’s good about these species is that they are calm and peaceful and tolerant of both conspecifics and heterospecifics. They also mingle well with 3 – 4 females in a 200 – 400 liter or 50 – 100 gallon aquarium. A sufficient number of decorations such as rocks, caves, or pipes may be provided for as hiding places.

Breeding frontosa cichlid is best done when owners help create a small “spawning area” for the pair in order to feel comfortable and secure. For instance, stones may be used to confine a particular area that would display as such and that a separate area was prepared for them in safety when breeding.

When the female frontosa’s body starts to show noticeable change with rounded belly and male frontosa begins giving her attention it is time to perform a major water change to induce spawning. Not for long that the female will start showing her breeding tube and with a shorter wait spawning will begin to take place.

Frontosa is a mouth brooding cichlid which means that the female will pick up the eggs and guard them inside her mouth until ready for a free swim. Nonetheless, as the breeder, be vigilant to keep an eye of the mother because sometimes they forget to care for the eggs but instead devour them. If this happens regularly it is best to strip the eggs out of her mouth and incubate it yourself in a separate aquarium. Do not forget to turn off the lights in the spawning aquarium and in the rest of the room. Give it 30 – 60 minutes to keep her calm. Fill a small container with water and use a net to catch the fish and gently open her mouth forcing her to spit the eggs out with your fingers into the container and return Frontosa Cichlid back immediately to the aquarium.

Aquarium By Ds And Fantasy Aquarium By Ds (2 Reviews!)

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Aquarium by DS: I kept seeing and hearing people say this is what the DS has been missing!! REALLY?? are you SURE? Cause yeah its neat and all.. but after you set up your aquarium its almost like having one of those VHS tapes you could buy at Urban Outfitters a few years ago with an aquarium for your tv.. or like that TV channel they had when I lived in the dorms at the University of North Texas up in Denton.. a television channel that was a just a loop of a video camera set up in front of someones aquarium going continuously all day and night.

You have 5 aquariums of different sizes, small to large, and you can change the sand and plants and rocks inside of them. Some are salt water, some just plain old water. By changing things such as sand you change the acidity, which means you need different fish. You can also change the temperature and light strength.

Now comes the fun part! Adding fish! You get bunch of different types of fish to choose from and can put up to 10 fish in each aquarium. Now pay attention to if the fish are tropical, like acidic water, saltwater, cold water, etc. because you need to put similar fish together in the aquariums. I didnt pay attention to that the first time. My fish all had complaints about being too cold or hating the acidic water or stuff like that.

And then one thing they didnt tell you: what fish eat other fish. I didnt really think about that even though Ive seen fish eat each other in real life many times due to poor judgment after catching minnows and starfish and other things at the beach. So half of my fish ended up being eaten by a big red lion fish I had. Oops.

The fish can have babies, so dont fill you tanks all the way up with 10 fish, leave room for babies! Although I was disappointment with that part. In real life baby fish are cute and tiny, but these were exactly the same size as the older fish.

At that point I was bored and I cleaned my aquarium and fed the fish and tried to make them happy by changing the temperature and acidic sand. I didnt really care if my fish at each other. It was kind of cool to watch them eat each other actually. It became my temporary goal.

Conclusion: Fun for 10 minutes, half an hour max. I looked at it a couple days later and a couple days after that and most of my fish were dying of old age (after 3 days? really?) or eating each other. I give it a 3.

Fantasy Aquarium by DS: Very much the same as Aquarium by DS, just with different animals and sea life. Everything works the same way as far as changing temps and acidity, etc. You just have larger (much much much larger) fish tanks and different creatures.

I made a few different aquariums. One had killer whales, penguins, sting rays, turtles and dolphins. The killer whales immediately ate all of the penguins and turtles. Oops again!

I didnt spend as much time with this aquarium. I played around to see what they would eat. Both games have lots of food choices and you can kind of mess around to see what different fish like. The red lion fish liked the meatballs, but still ate other fish instead.

Conclusion: I still wasnt impressed with this version of the aquarium game. Im not sure who these are supposed to be marketed towards. Maybe people who are desparate for something to occupy their time? Or people who absolutely love love love fish? Not sure. Maybe kids would find it fun, but dont completely count on it. Still give it a 3.

Betta Fish Background

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The popularity of Betta fish, also well-known as Siamese fighting fish, is because they are one of the most beautiful pet fish available nowadays.} Pretty much all Bettas have dazzlingly coloured scales and fins. Male fish are more brilliantly coloured by way of hues ranging from ruby to sapphire, and are more hard-hitting than their female counterparts. It is in addition accepted in a small amount of places to allow the Betta fish clash for bets.
They are frequently found in slow moving waters, and require warmer temperatures of water. This fact would also mean it is worth putting a heater in your tank to keep a temperature of at least 70 degrees to keep your Bettas comfy. In addition to their normal diet of flake foods, Betta fish will benefit from being fed insect larvae and small measure of insects.

Be sure to give your Bettas extra space to breathe and move about with their long flowing fins. They also need good amount of oxygen as these Betta fish are labyrinth, that is, they breath oxygen from air.

Additional Care Required

The fact Betta fish are violent in nature is well known. It wouldn’t be advised to have two male Betta fish together, or to add a new one along with an existing Betta fish. This might turn nasty if the stronger Betta fish start attacking, or biting the weaker ones. Care must be taken to segregate the attacking fish for the safety of the rest. If Two male Bettas do have to be added to one tank then it may be adviseable to add fish condos or mesh dividers to keep them apart. It is also better to keep the fish tank containing Betta fish covered when possible.

Using Live Plants In Your Tropical Fish Aquarium

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Getting plants into your aquarium is not something you should do just for beauty reasons. The plants are extraordinary food for the vegetarian fish, they also provide shelter and prevent green water.

The tank plants draw carbon dioxide from the water and oxygenate it, they recycle some of the waste products, and promote the growth of algae, rotifers, tiny worms, and protozoa, a live food for the fish.

Before you bring a new plant into the fish tank, rinse them thoroughly in warm water. By doing this, you remove insects and other things that can invade the aquarium. When you buy a new aquarium plant, choose the one with a solid root and strong leaves. Avoid the plants that smell funny because this is a clear indication that the plant is damaged and you don’t want to bring it in your fish tank.

Among the things that plants need, the proper nutrients are very important. The plants need a good food to stay healthy and green. The good news is that growing tank plants is not a difficult thing to do because most of the food the plants need is provided by the actual fish.

In few cases, extra food needs to be added. And keep in mind that the fertilization process is easy because that happens naturally in a tank, using the fish waste as a fertilizer. Of course, you can use commercial fertilizer but it is better to just rely on the natural process because if you add too much fertilizer into the water, the algae can develop problems.

Another important aspect in growing tank plants is the light. The tank plants need a lot of light in order to develop, almost 12-14 hours of light each day, just like the plants in the nature.

You can artificially illuminate the tank and provide more hours of light or light in clouded days. Specialists recommend 3-5 watts per gallon. They also say that compact fluorescent bulbs and par 20, 50-watt halogen bulbs are great and it is better to experiment before you decide on a type of light bulb and the number of watts.

Another organism that helps the plant grow is the snail. The snails help the health of the aquatic environment. They clean the plants of food by crawling on them.

But some snails can cause problems in the tank. For example, Pond, Ramshorn, and other species also eat the leaves instead of clean them, and this causes damage.

The good thing is that you can catch the snails that do harm and extract them from the tank. You can do that using your hand or by placing lettuce leaves on top of the aquarium. The snails are attracted to the leaves and when all of them are there you can remove them with a net.

How does the water temperature have to be? Most of the species of aquatic plants enjoy a temperature that varies between 72 and 78F, with the pH being between 6.8 and 7.8.

If you want to transplant aquarium plants, you should know that they adjust well to that process. They could loose some leaves in the process but don’t worry about that. Remove the dead lives, when they appear and always handle them with care so that you don’t break the roots.

Use aquarium plants to make your tank beautiful and keel your fish happy and healthy.