Tropical Fish Care

There’s nothing more beautiful than having a fish tank aquarium full of tropical fish.  Tropical fish comes in many different colors and sizes.  Their vibrant color is what set them apart from other fish.  Keeping tropical fish in your aquarium is not hard and with the proper knowledge, they can live happily for many years.

There are literally thousands of tropical fish to choose from.  You will find all sort of tropical fish at your local pet stores.  If you want a larger selection of the fish, try going online.  With online stores, the shipping and handling charges is what you should consider.  The fish will need to be flown in overnight or they will not survive.  However, if the store is a large retail chain, they might be able to ship the fish to their store for you to pick up.  This can save you some money.

All tropical fish will need the proper environment to thrive.  This will include the correct lighting, plants, decorations, and temperature.  Since the tropical water is usually warm, the aquarium water should be kept warm at all time.  A proper aquarium heater is necessary to accomplish this–a major drop in temperature can hurt the fish and can even kill the fish.

When it comes to feeding them, buy only tropical fish food flakes.  Feeding them twice a day is enough: once in the morning and once in the evening.  They can also be fed blood-worms if desired, but only once in awhile and in small amounts.  Make sure when feeding them, that there is just enough food for them to consume.  Don’t overfeed them because the extra food sinks to the bottom.  Uneaten food can foul up the water and make it harder to clean the aquarium when it comes time to clean it.

Some of the tropical fish that are popular for the freshwater aquarium are Angel fish, Dwarf Gourami, Zebra Danio, Tiger Barbs, Mollies, Oscars, Tetras, and the Puffer Fish.  These are just a few and you can find more species of tropical fish online or at your local pet stores.

Keeping tropical fish in an aquarium is not that hard as most people think.  As long as the equipment in the aquarium is in good working condition, the water is clean, and the fish are fed on a daily basis, you shouldn’t have any problem caring for the tropical fish.

To get the most of out your fish tank aquariums, check out our aquarium care ebook today and find out how you can keep your fish healthy, safe, and happy.

Clownfish

Clownfish are normally found in the Western Pacific and East Indian Ocean, but now are found in just about every saltwater fish tank aquarium.  For most people, if they have a saltwater aquarium, more than likely, they will have a couple clownfish.  Clownfish are a very popular saltwater fish.  These fish are very peaceful and can make the aquarium more lively with their brightly colored bodies.

Clownfish will need more care than other fish.  They need a stable aquarium to live and thrive.  Stores will mostly like provide very specific instructions when you purchase these fish.  If the proper care is not taken, the fish will die.  The aquarium will need to be setup with the correct lighting, aquarium heater and filtration systems.

Another thing that the clownfish needs to live happily in the aquarium are Sea Anemones and other aquarium plants.  Sea Anemones provide the clownfish protection and a place to sleep.  It is recommended to have at least two Sea Anemones in the aquarium.  However, Sea Anemones can be hard to keep alive in the aquarium so it is necessary to know as much about them as possible. Sea Anemones generally don’t live for more than 2 years.  You can find them at most places that also carry clownfish.

In the wild, they will feed on just about anything they can get a hold of.  You will want to feed them the food that they are used to feed in their natural environment  Clownfish diet consists of small shrimp, algae, zooplankton and copepods. At your local pet stores, you will find there are many frozen fish fish foods that consist of shrimp, clams, scallops and Selco.

Clownfish do better in pairs so be sure to have at least two clownfish at all times in the aquarium.  Clownfish have an amazing ability to switch sexes.  When they are born, all of them are male and they will switch their sex when the time comes to mate.  By pairing up a male and female clownfish together and breed them to have offspring.

Clownfish do require a lot of care, but the results will be an aquarium full of colorful and beautiful fish swimming around.  As long as the aquarium is kept clean and healthy, the clownfish will give you many years of joy.

To get the most of out your fish tank aquariums, check out our aquarium care ebook today and find out how you can keep your fish healthy, safe, and happy.

Keeping Lionfish In The Aquarium

One of the most exotic fish to keep in a fish tank aquarium is the lionfish or volitans.  These are highly beautiful but venomous fish that need to handled with special care.  Lionfish live in the tropical water of Indo-Pacific and the Red Sea.  They are mostly found among the reefs and rocky crevices where they spend most of their time hunting for prey.

Before deciding to have them part of your aquarium, be sure at what you’re getting into.  These fish are carnivorous and have a large and voracious appetite.  They will attack any fish that is smaller than they are.  Lionfish are usually better off  in their own aquarium than with other fish.

There are 11 species of lionfish from two distinct genera (Pterois and Dendrochris) that is is available to the home aquarists.  Pterois lionfish have long flowing fin rays that are individually sheathed by the membrane.  Dendrochris lionfish have fins that form a solid fan with individual fin rays held together by a connective membrane.

All the lionfish share the same characteristic which is their fan-like fins.  Their fins are long and house very venomous spines.  This is the reason why no other fish want to eat them, let alone get near them.  Strangely, their fins are not actually used for protection from other fish, but instead are used for hunting.  Once they find their prey, lionfish use their large fins to box in their prey.  If their prey tries to escape, they will bump the wall of fins and get stung by one of the venomous spines.

Depending on the species of the lionfish, some require a large aquarium, usually 100-125 gallon tank, while others need just a 30 gallon tank to survive.  Be sure to check with the species of lionfish first before buying the tank.  Lionfish can grow in an excess of 15 inches and will live for over 10 years.

Since these fish live in a coral reef in their natural habitat, you will want to have reef-like setting in the aquarium.  Be sure to when placing the objects in the aquarium, there is still room for the lionfish to move around easily.

Lionfish are not for everyone.  Only expert aquarist should keep them in the aquarium.  Improper handling can cause injuries to yourself, and even worse, death!  So be sure to read everything you can about the lionfish first before purchasing one.

To get the most of out your fish tank aquariums, check out our aquarium care ebook today and find out how you can keep your fish healthy, safe, and happy.

Picking Fish For Your Aquarium

Photo by: barron

When picking your fish tank aquarium inhabitants, it’s important to do your research. It can determine the success or failure of your new fish aquarium. Some fish do not get along well with others and some prefer warmer temperatures than others.

Here are a few things to consider when selecting aquarium fish:

Water conditions:

Make sure you have enough room to house all the fish you plan on buying. Don’t overcrowd with too many fish and make sure you change the water once a week in your fish tank aquariums.

Fish Tank Temperatures:

Cold water fish do not like warm water and tropical fish do not like cool water. Make sure you take this into consideration when picking your fish.

Types of Fish Food:

Make sure you know what types of food your fish eat before mixing them together. Some fish are OK with just the normal fish flakes but some fish may need something more substantial like meal worms or brine shrimp.

Types of Fish:

Some fish do not play nice with others. Try not to mix non aggressive fish with aggressive fish. Stick to one or the other

Health of the new Fish:

Make sure you inspect the health of the new fish before buying them. Be on the look out for white dots on the fish. Inspect the gills and fins. You don’t want to buy an infected fish because it could make your other fish sick.

To get the most of out your fish tank aquariums, check out our aquarium care ebook today and find out how you can keep your fish healthy, safe, and happy.

Big Fish Tank

Photo by: olvwu

Supposedly the largest fish tank aquarium in the world, the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, Georgia contains more than 8.1 million gallons of fresh and marine water that’s home to more than 500 different species that total over 100,000 animals. Some of the special creatures include beluga whales, whale sharks and a manta ray.

The Georgia Aquarium was mainly funded by a $250 million dollar donation from Bernie Marcus, better known as the founder of Home Depot.  His generosity created a beautiful place where people could come to look at fish in their natural habitat.

Feeding these animals is a daunting task. All meals are prepared in a specially designed kitchen which actually has to maintain a higher standard than your typical restaurant kitchen. The freezer holds some 20,000 odd pounds of food and the refrigerator holds around 6,000 pounds of food.  Imagine trying to feed a small army every day.  That’s what it’s like at the Georgia Aquarium!

If you want to create the beauty of the Georgia Aquarium in your own fish tank aquariums, check out our aquarium care ebook today and find out how you can keep your fish healthy, safe, and happy.