Archive for the ‘Fish’ Category

What is the best fish food for your pets and or for your tropical showcases of salt water fish? Everyone has a different opinion about this one. But some have chosen their fish food merely by what the pet store tells them. That really limits you and limits your fish. If you are looking to grow, large, healthy, creative and unusually happy fish, then you need to go one step above what the fish guy tells you.

First you decide the purpose for your fish, the reason why you purchased them or obtained them other ways and then after you figure out your purpose, you can then figure out the proper food for them. Do you want regular, tiny fish swimming in the tank, run of the mill fish? Or do you want prize fish, fish that look a little bigger, fish that are a little more happier? Do you want to see your fish run to the top of the tank to get their old, dried fish food or do you want them to eat more like they eat out in nature, in the wild, by hunting for their own food, and getting that exercise that this hunting gives to them?

If you want the more natural feeding, then you would choose , live food. Next step below that would be frozen food that was once live and last but not least, is that dried food or flake food that comes in those round cylinders.
Here are things to consider when buying fish food:

1. Are your fish bottom feeders or top feeders? Bottom feeders might enjoy food that will drop to the bottom and or float-either way. Buy some Tubifex live worms. The pet store guy will have these in the refrigerator there. They look like brownish, reddish messy ball of tiny string worms. They smell horribly but I gather the fish love this. If you drop a small ball in the tank your fish will scurry up to get them immediately.

2. If you have salt water fish or tropical fish, you might want to try live brine shrimp as their meals. Of course you can supplement any fish meals with dried or flake food also.

You can purchase brand name food or no-frills food and your fish will survive just as well. So , how do I know this? I was raising some feeding fish once, and I ran out of fish food. So I crushed some Cheerios between my fingers and I fed the fish that food. They loved it, thrived on it so I never went back to using regular fish food. These fish grew big, from tiny little feeding fish. So my Cheerios were successful. Do not try anything that I write about as this was my own experience and I cannot guarantee it works for you or your particular kind of fish. IF you were going to experiment with this, you might begin by using your regular fish food and supplementing with Cheerios. That is just a thought, not a suggestion or instruction. Good luck!

If you have a fish that has a good possibility to grow larger and you want a large fish, you can begin feeding that fish tubifex and graduate to real earthworms as the fish gets larger. You can have one astronautis oscellatus in your tank, that you purchased when he was about half-inch long, and by feeding and raising this fish properly, you can grow this same fish to be one or two feet big. Amazing growth for an amazing fish. We had one like this and fed huge, large earthworms to him. The original fish cost us under two dollars and grew to be quite a monster.

Remember when you are buying a fish, sometimes you will pay next to nothing for the fish itself. What brings the real expense to the hobby of raising fish is the feeding, housing, filtering of water and the decorative aspects of displaying the fish and tank. Hope this article helped you. Read my other articles that will be published in the near future about fish food, feeding fish, raising guppies, and more specific articles about specific fish and fish-related hobbies. The author has raised fish in the past, and has had experience raising and caring for many different kinds of animals throughout the years of her life. Any and all questions, comments and remarks are greatly appreciated.

I write from the heart about many subjects, and the experience that I write about is from life. If you read any pet articles here on my webpage, most times, I have had those pets, raised them or watched the pets for other people.

Linda Perry, a published author, creator of genuine, unique television shows that air on Time Warner and on Cablevision in New York City. A warm-hearted individual who gives a voice to those who have been silent all along. This author produces television shows about almost all topics that help people in their lives. Many of the shows are entertainment; some are information and resources and still others are festivals, fiestas, and community events that bring all people together in one place in the city or in the country.

Author: Linda A. Perry
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Unlike many people who started young in this hobby, I began keeping tropical fish as a hobby when the pace of my career switches to a slower gear and I suddenly realized the need to look for passions in life.

Over the last four years, my hobby of fish keeping has grown in size and depth. Not only have I increased the number of fish tanks from one to seven to-date, I have also experienced with breading of various kind of Cichlids species.

From my observations, many people are discouraged from taking up the hobby due to the perception that it is a chore to maintain the fishes and the fish tank. However, my experience tells me that the benefits of fish keeping greatly outweighed the chores that it requires.

1. Brings Home a Part of Nature

Whenever I see shoals of fishes in the reservoir or pond, there is always an instant rush of joy. As I engross in watching the fish, it gradually put me in a state of mental calm. Water and the fishes has the unique ability to calm the mind and evoke immense joy. I have always been curious about the fishes’ behavior, and always tempted to pursue a more intimate experience with the fishes.

Keeping the fishes at home provides the opportunities to watch the fishes up close and personal. I can study the unique behaviors of the fishes in the tank, which I cannot possibly do even at the reservoir or the pond. For less than a hundred dollars, it is possible to create a miniature piece of nature at home. It is indeed a wonderful and ingenious hobby. It gives me the convenience to appreciate the beauty of tropical fishes as and when I wanted.

It also satisfies my desire to gain more in-depth understanding of fish behavior like an aspiring aqua scientist. Over the last few years, I had experienced the joy of successfully breeding more than ten species of Cichlid fish. I consider this an invaluable and exciting experience not only for myself, but also my family especially my seven-year old son.

Keeping fish also provide another avenue to develop my creative talent – aqua landscaping.

Occasionally, I get to exercise my creativity in landscape design by changing the rock formation in the tank. The whole idea of doing this is to simulate a new environment for the fishes, and allow the fishes to re-establish their territories. This is in fact essential when new fishes are introduced into the tank whereby all territories have been entrenched by existing group of fishes. After changing the entire rock formation, the fishes will reward you instantly by spending the next few hours swimming tirelessly in and out of the new rock formation, trying to familiarize themselves with the new ground and to establish new territory for themselves.

Whenever I am free, I will sit in front of the fish tank and observe the fish, sometime for up to an hour. It is interesting to note that the fish demonstrates many kinds of social behavior that closely resemble human behavior in the corporate world. I will attempt to write another article on more details of these social behavior of fishes.

2. Relaxation

Watching the fish swimming gracefully in the tank with their dazzling colors can indeed put one into deep relaxation and even into a state of trance.

My mind instantly feel more relaxed when I watch the fishes. As I allow my eyes to follow the fishes and be fascinated by the fishes’ graceful body movement and moving colors, I drift deeper into relaxation. It is extremely therapeutic. It is an excellent way to give my mind a break away from work and get a power recharge. With the stress that we experience inevitably in our fast-pace lifestyle, creating channels for relaxation is an important aspect of healthy lifestyle to keep stress at bay and maintain good health.

Together with exercise, meditation and music, fish keeping has added another avenue to enrich my life, helping me to live a fully and healthier life.

3. Education for Children

Most of the children are fascinated by fishes when they see the fish for the first time, usually in the form of a trip to the local fish shop or fish farm. Keeping fish at home can teach the children a few good things:

* They will learn about the habitats of the fish and other aquatic life.

* They learn how to care for the small aquatic animals and plants.

* When they start keeping fish, they will be instilled a sense of responsibility towards another living creature.

* They learn and understand the basic of water treatment and how to maintain suitable water quality for the fish to live and even to stimulate breeding. This knowledge will serve then well in future when they study science and chemistry in school.

* They can witness the life cycle of fish species, which will enable them to appreciate biology.

* Most importantly, they will derive great pleasure from watching the fishes display a varieties of personalities. Through observing the intricate features and behavior of fishes, the children will improve their observation skills.

* The care of fish is a great learning experience for young children. When the child is able to take good care of the fish, they will usually be able to witness successful fish breeding. This will boost their confidence in the hobby as well as their ability.

4. Create Energy Flow at Home

I use the overhead filters for the few bigger tanks in the living room. The water flows down from the filter box through the pipe, creating a soothing water-trickling sound in the living room. As the water flow hit the water surface, strings of water bubbles are created. This bubbles synchronizes perfectly with the sound of water flow, like having a piece of relaxing instrumental music playing continuously.

Visually, it creates a sense of energy flowing ceaselessly at various corner of the living room where the fish tanks are located. From the metaphysical or the Feng Sui point, it creates an energy field operating non-stop at home.

I had started this hobby only four years ago. The immense joy that this hobby brings to my life and my family makes me wonder how I have been so blind to this wonderfully enriching and affordable hobby all this years.

As I discovered more about this hobby, it becomes increasingly addictive. I have no doubt that fish keeping will be a lifetime hobby for me. The vast species of fish, with their interesting and diverse antics, will take more than a lifetime to fully appreciate. Life is indeed wonderful and enriching with the fishes. To me, life has just began with fish keeping.

Jordan Cheng is the author of [http://www.jordancheng.net/] – a resource site dedicated to development of Mind, Body & Soul for Wealth, Success & Happiness. His is contactable at jordan.cheng181@yahoo.com.sg

Author: Jordan Cheng
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Betta Fish, arguably the most popular type of fish found in the home today across all the world. This astonishing fish displays a vibrant personality whilst posing the most magnificent colour and fin structure helping to create a truly jaw dropping aquarium that you can show off to your guests!

Originating from the paddy fields of Vietnam, Betta are an astounding fish and I will be answering in this article the 10 most popular questions I get asked on a regular basis about Betta Fish. So lets get started…

1. How Do You Stop Betta Fish From fighting?

This is probably one of the most popular questions I get asked!

In my experience I’ve found a few ways that work…

One way is simply to get a bigger tank. With the bigger tank you can include a couple of new plants, bear in mind you don’t want to over do it with the plants otherwise you will ruin your fish display (not very appealing to your guests!). By making the tank bigger and introducing a few more plants it creates extra hiding places for your Betta when the aggressive one is on the war path!

A second way is to simply separate the aggressive fish from the rest. This can be done by putting a divider into your tank, or by taking the aggressive fish out and putting it into a new tank. I would personally recommend putting a divider into your tank, size permitting of course, as your Betta will know the other Betta Fish are there. It also helps when it comes to the breeding process because introductions would have already been made.

Thirdly, you must NEVER, I repeat NEVER put a male Betta in with another male Betta Fish, period! Otherwise, they will fight to the death (this is why they are also known as Siamese Fighting Fish!). So by not keeping males together this will reduce fighting astronomically.

Female Betta’s have been known to be aggressive and fight between each other, particularly if you have 2 together. However, this is just an “I’m the leader” thing going on between them and usually wears off , but a technique I’ve used and seen have great success to stop this happening is to add a 3rd female into the tank. By doing this any tension between the previous two is removed – try it, you’ll be surprised how effective it is!

2. Can You Keep Male and Female Betta Fish Together?

Yes you can. However, I would recommend keeping a close eye on the male Betta just in case he becomes too aggressive and the female needs to be removed. As I mentioned above having plants in the tank can help the female hide if the male becomes aggressive.

3. How Do You Tell the Difference Between a Male and Female Betta Fish

I always remember the saying “It’s easy when you know how…” when I get asked this question because when I first started breeding Betta Fish it took me ages to recognise the difference between a male and a female…

You will tend to find that female Betta’s have fat bellies where as males tend to have a more streamlined structure. Also, you will find that males have a longer body and fins whereas the females are shorter in body size and fin length.

Also, male Betta Fish tend to have more colour and longer pointed anal fins compared to their female counterparts (sorry ladies!). You will also find female anal fins are more level to their body. The anal fin is the rigid looking fin coming from the bottom of the Betta Fish.

However, one giveaway of a female is her white spot on the underside of her belly. This white spot is called the ovipositor and is used during the breeding process.

4. What are the Best Caring Tips for Betta fish?

Lots of people have written books on the subject of caring for Betta Fish but I’m going to give you my best tips that I’ve picked up along the way…

- Test your water’s acidity level regularly. A PH level of 7 works best in my experience.

- Always try and keep the water temperature at around 75-80 Fahrenheit. I would recommend testing this regularly using a floating thermometer because big drops in water temperature can cause stress on your fish. Floating thermometers in my experience give the best accuracy reading because they are kept in the tank water.

- Always keep a lid/cover over the top of your tank with air holes in it because Betta Fish can jump and you might not be there to catch them!

- Any filtration system should be kept at a low level and you must take care not to put the air intake in such a position that it could cause your Betta to get hurt. Having your filter system at a high setting has been known to cause stress to your Betta.

- Try and clean your tank regularly, ideally twice a week. Remove bits of food caught under the stones, castles or leaves of your tank.

- As a rule of thumb I recommend 3 quarters of a gallon per Betta fish in your tank. Also, try and get a spacious tank to allow your Betta plenty of room to show off their personality, you’ll be surprised some are very exciting to watch!

I’ve always found if you love your Betta like you love your own then you won’t go far wrong, and with implementing the above you will be well on your way to having truly astonishing Betta Fish.

5. What Should I Feed My Betta Fish?

Surprisingly, Betta Fish are known to be fussy eaters (and you thought us humans were bad!). So it is best to feed them on a variety of foods, such as:

- Brine shrimp

- Daphnia

- Frozen Bloodworms

- Blackworms (Tubifex) worms

- Combination Betta Pellets from Pet Shops

- Powder Fish Food if feeding Fry

- Vegetables (such as green beans, not a whole one but in tiny portions)

I tend to find a regular feeding pattern of 2-3 times a day works best for Betta. Try as well to make portions eaten in one sitting otherwise any leftover food could lead to additional bacteria in the tank potentially causing disease for your Betta Fish.

6. What are Betta Fish also Known as?

Not a lot of people know this but Betta Fish are also known as Siamese Fighting Fish. The name originates because of the males aggressiveness and their “Fight to the Death” attitude if two males are put in the same tank together.

Betta fish are often referred to as Betta Splendens but this is a type of breed of Betta, which leads us nicely onto the next question…

7. What are the Different Types of Betta Fish Available?

There are many types of Betta Fish available, the most popular types I’ve listed below:

- Betta Splendens (the most common type)

- Betta Bellica

- Betta Coccina

- Betta Picta

Some of the most popular Tail Types of Betta are:

- Veil Tail (this generally the most common tail type that you find at the pet stores)

- Delta Fish (normally any fish under the 180 degree tail span is considered a Delta)

- Super Delta Fish (normally any Betta with a tail span of 120-180 degrees)

- Fan Tail (the Betta’s tail displays a smoothly rounded edge)

- Half Moon (as it’s name suggest it’s tail is the shape of a half moon – a 180 degrees span, this is the fish most breeders strive to achieve and display a truly fabulous colour!)

- Pin (Spade) Tail (the Betta’s tail is pointed at the end)

Depending on what you are looking for this should hopefully give you enough information to choose a Betta fish at the pet store!

8. Can I Put Bamboo in With My Betta Fish?

Bamboo or Lucky Bamboo as it is also known, the type that is sold from pet stores, can be put into your tank with your Betta Fish. The bamboo can make your tank look more attractive and appealing to your guests, which is always a bonus!

However, what I recommend is that the bamboo is washed thoroughly before entry into the tank to help ensure there are no chemicals on it that could hurt your Betta. Also, it is a good idea to check the bamboo regularly just to see if it is rotting because it could release bacteria into your tank’s water that could potentially harm your Betta fish. Changing your tank’s water often will reduce the threat of bacteria happening.

9. What Ammonia Level Should My Tank Be At?

Ideally, you want an ammonia level between 0-0.5. By changing your water regularly (about 30-50% twice a week, if you have high ammonia) this will help reduce the ammonia in your tank.

It is a good idea to monitor ammonia levels on a regular basis, because a high level is not healthy for your Betta Fish.

10. Would a Father Betta Harm His Children?

Unfortunately, a male (Father) Betta would harm his children (Fry). Although, the Father is very protective of the Fry during the spawning process it is common for them to attack the Fry as they become bigger and able to look after themselves.

I recommend removing the Father from the tank once the Fry are able to swim freely, usually 7-10 days after birth because he can become very aggressive towards them and potentially cause them harm.

That’s the answers to the 10 most asked questions I get on a regular basis. I hope you found this information useful and are able to put it to good effect.

Simon Anderson is a recognized Betta Fish Expert and has researched 37 different breeding and caring programs for Betta Fish on the Web! The best 3 he found are revealed along with his jealously guarded secrets on how to breed Astonishing Betta Fish at

http://www.BettaFishSpecialist.com

Author: Simon Anderson
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