Pacquiao and Cotto

Acclimating Fish and Coral

Acclimating fish and coral to your fish tank is a very important process of owning an aquarium. Just like any other animal, if you try to change their surroundings very quickly, the fish and coral can become ill or even die. You need to go through a slow process to get them used to the water conditions before you try to plunge them right in there. In this article I will be going through a few of the various steps you will need to take when acclimating new fish to your aquarium. So without further introduction, lets get into how to properly acclimate fish and coral.

First you will need to get the proper materials for acclimation. You will need a clean bucket, a net, a bucket with water at the exact conditions of your aquarium, and a cup. You should always have these materials on hand before you order the new fish to your aquarium. Once you get your fish home, you will want to start the acclimation process as quickly as possible and avoid leaving the fish in the bag it came in for an extended period of time. There are different methods for acclimation, but I will go with the more simple straight forward method.

First you want to empty the bag and the fish into the clean bucket, being very careful not to drop the fish too roughly. Now you need to condition the water in your second bucket the same condition as the water in your aquarium. At this point you want to take a cup of water out of the aquarium and add it to the bucket with the fish in it. You will continue to add a cup of water every 5 minutes for 45 minutes. At the end of the 45 minute period, you can scoop your fish out and place them in the aquarium. Now with the treated water in the non-fish bucket, you will fill up the water level in your aquarium. Be careful to not pour it too fast and cause too much of a disturbance in the aquarium.

With corals, you can place them directly in the aquarium. Live rock is another story. When you receive the live rock you should place it in a new garbage can of around 30 gallons. Completely submerge your live rock in saltwater with a specific level of 1.021 to 1.025. Place a heater in the trash can and set it to 80 degrees to speed up the process. You should provide constant water flow with a pump in the garbage can. Also during this process you should do 100% water changes twice a week to keep the water from festering. Gently use the brush to remove any dead particles from the rock during these water changes. Your live rock will be ready and able to place in the aquarium once the ammonia levels in the trash can are non-existent.

I hope you found this guide helpful for the acclimating fish and live rock to your aquarium. Just remember to take your time and get the process down and do not rush.

Feeding Flowerhorn

Flowerhorn like similar sized fish, astronotus ocellatus for example, need a live food integration to be healthy and in shape. Their diet can consist of live food, frozen food, and standard dry fish food. The live food should be of good dimension, or the fish could not notice it, earth worms and big meal worms or wax worm are accepted; moreover you can give small fish, poecilia reticulata could be a good choice since the high number of fry they spare monthly. Remember to feed every live food you choose, and in case of live fish be sure they are healthy.

Frozen food is another good solution, especially when you do not have the live one. Young Flowerhorn usually eat chironomus, brine shrimps and other frozen fish foods, while older ones could not notice them; at their place you can offer frozen fish for human use, you have a great choice, anyway if possible get freshwater fish and avoid the sea ones.

Both live and frozen food can pollute the water, so be sure that Flowerhorn eats all the given food in 5 minutes maximum, in case of rests remove them fast; for this reason it is better to have an aquarium set up that allow you to clean fast without needing to move objects.

Dry standard fish food is a good complementary option, especially if it is of good quality. You can find special foodproduced for cichlids that usually consist of big pellets that Flowerhornlike. 

A Flowerhorn cichlid should be fed two times a day, everyday, anyway be careful with the quantities and avoid to overfeed it, reducing the food amount specially if it is really rich of nutrients.

Flowerhorn Aquarium Set-up

Due the big size they can reach, Flowerhorn need big aquarium with a lot of free space for swimming; a 200 litres tank is the minimum you can offer to an adult fish to let it live healthily. It is a really strong fish and can live in different water conditions without having problems, anyway it is important to provide a temperature between 25°C and 30°C; pHvalue is also important, because acid water can tone down fish colours and make it sick, the ideal condition is a lightalkaline water, with a pH between 7 and 8. Moreover it is necessary to avoid sudden condition changes of temperature and chemical values, because they can make Flowerhorn being more sensible to sickness like bacteria attacks.

Water filtration is really important because this big fish produces lots of refuses that end increasing nitrite and nitrate levels in the water. You can choose both internal and external filtration, even if the second one is preferred to leave more free space to the fish. The biological part must work properly, so be sure to have a well activated aquarium before to house a Flowerhorn cichlid. 

Take also a look to the water current, an excessively strong one can damage the fish, anyway it is important that a slow movement is present, because it oxygenates the water, and avoids that the water heats only near heater.

Tank decorations are important to make the fish feel quieter. Use a layer of fine gravel and be sure that rocks and woods are stable and do not risk to fall easily on the fish; be sure, as well, that all the decorations do not make the tank cleaning too much difficult. Live plants are important for filtration and oxygenation, anyway choose strong plants like big anubias, because any Flowerhorn cichlid use to dig a lot; you can also use plastic plants, even if they are not useful and you can risk that the fish accidentally eat them. 

Being big and aggressive is better not to house it with other fish species, specially if they are smaller. While if you plan to house more than one Flowerhorn, provide a big tank and divide it with accessories to let fish divide the territory; to avoid fights it is recommended not to keep more than two or three fish together in the same tank.

Flowerhorn Illness

Flowerhorn are susceptible to all the same diseases as other fish. Fortunately, these fish are tough, and less vulnerable. So you should not be fighting disease very often.

All of disease in Flowerhorn requires poor water for it's start.

Fish tanks which are too small, or fish tanks without adequate water changes, or filtration are the most common cause of illness.

If a Flowerhorn appears sick, you should IMMEDIATELY check the pH of the system. The pH should be above 7.0 for best results. If the pH is lower than this, the fish won't mind much, but the bacteria in the filter will not work up to par, and nitrogen will accumulate.

To keep the pH "up" you can use Baking Soda in small quantities, crushed oyster shells, or Buff It Up.

If the pH is not out of whack, you should check the Ammonia, Nitrite, and NITRATE of the system. High nitrates is a common cause of illness in established tanks. It's immune suppressive and it causes poor healing and color in fish. Here's a test kit that has everything for all the testing you need.

If the water quality is good, it still would not hurt to change some water.

Flowerhorn should have their water changed as follows:
10% per week
20% every 2 weeks
or 30% every three weeks.
Whichever suits your schedule. If you keep up your water changes, the nitrates will be down and the growth rate will be HIGH! You will also notice that the hump on your fish grows more.

Diseases can be broken into three groups, or treated with shotgun remedies.

Bacterial Infections
Bacterial infections in Flowerhorns are effectively treated with medicated food. The best one is actually for Koi and contains THREE antibiotics. It's called MediKoi. Click here.

Parasites
Ich, Trichodina, Scyphidia, Epistylis, and other ciliated protozoan diseases in Flowerhorns can be treated with salt. It's easy, safe for you, and for the fish and it works! 
Their primary mode of killing would ostensibly be through the accumulation of large numbers. Especially in fish fry, the numbers of flukes encountered area accepted as the cause of mortality simply because they take such a toll on the victim when they occur in large numbers. Based on observations made in practice, however, I would like to introduce my opinion of how just a few flukes can kill a larger fish.

In the process of attacking a host, the flukes dig deeply into the epidermis and gill tissue with their happens. Regardless of species, the flukes are known to carry and inoculate pathogenic bacteria. Flukes from certain areas, and on certain batches of fish carry more and more dangerous and virulent bacteria on their hap tens. In this way, discovery of a few flukes on the gills or skin can account for rapid and mortal outbreaks of Aeromonas and Pseudomonas funrunculosis (Ulcer Disease).

Control of flukes has become increasingly easy with contemporary medicine.

Materials Use in Planted Tanks

The Tank: 

   A tank between 10 and 30 gallons is the best size for beginners. Smaller tanks can be managed, but require more attention to detail. Larger tanks often take up more space than can be spared and are more expensive. Certainly, if you have a tank that is outside this range, don't hesitate to use it, but be aware that these instructions will have to be modified. 
   If possible, use a tank that is longer than it is tall. Tall, narrow tanks and those of unusual shapes are difficult to light adequately, and are also hard to work in. Some of the best tanks are: 
   Standard 10 gallon, standard 15 gallon, 20 gallon "long", 20 gallon "high", 29 gallon "high", 30 gallon "long". 
   All of these tanks can be outfitted with commonly available aquarium equipment.


Other equipment and supplies: 


- Enough good quality fluorescent lighting to reach at least 2 watts per gallon. An exception to this rule is the 10 gallon tank. This tank is small enough and shallow enough that you can usually get adequate growth of shade tolerant plants using a single 15 watt bulb as long as the bulb is less than 1 year old, and of good quality. Except for the 29 gallon "high" tank, all of the other tanks mentioned can be adequately lit with two bulbs of the largest size that will fit on the tank. i.e., two 24" 20 watt bulbs over the 20 gallon tanks, and two 36" 30 watt bulbs over the 30 gallon tank. For the 29 gallon size, you will need three 24" 20W bulbs for adequate light. Aquarium strip light fixtures come as either double or single bulb fixtures. You can use any combination of single or double bulb fixtures that will meet your needs. 
   Some good brands of bulbs are: 
More expensive: VitaLite Pennplax Ultra-Trilux Triton 
Less Expensive: GE Chroma 50 Phillips Ultralume 5000 Phillips Daylight 
- Glass canopy 
- Heater: 150W heaters are probably adequate for the 10-20 gallon tanks, 200W heaters will be adequate for the larger tanks. Buy a good quality submersible heater. Don't skimp here... a tank is left unattended too often to risk your plants and animals to a faulty thermostat! 
- Thermometer: Any aquarium thermometer will do, but I prefer the stick-on-the-glass liquid crystal type for several reasons. They are unobtrusive, but easy to read, they are inexpensive, and most are marked with both Fahrenheit and Celsius scales which makes them another useful learning tool. 
- Filter: Do not use an under gravel filter or other air driven filter in a planted tank. It will drive off needed CO2. Use either an internal or external power filter. There are many good ones on the market. My preference is for those that have rinsable, reusable filtration media rather than those with disposable "cartridges". They are less expensive to maintain, and more environmentally friendly. Any good pet shop can tell you which size filter to get for your particular tank, but it is better to slightly oversize the filter rather than skimping. A couple of reliable brands of outside power filters are Marineland and Hagen. Duetto internal power filters are excellent in a number of applications. 
- CO2 Generator: See specific directions for making a yeast reactor. 
- Electrical equipment: Use a heavy duty power strip to provide power for your aquarium equipment. If you cannot locate the tank near an outlet, use a heavy duty extension cord. You will also need a light timer (like the ones used when people go on vacations) to turn the tank lights on and off each day. 
- Support: Remember that an aquarium is heavy! Filled, it will weigh close to 10 pounds per gallon. 10 gallon tanks can be placed on a sturdy table. Larger tanks really need a properly designed aquarium stand. 
- Gravel: Use fine non-coated natural color aquarium gravel. It should be between 1-3 mm. in size, and not contain calcium carbonate bearing rock. You can test this by placing a drop or two of muriatic acid (available at the hardware store) on a sample of gravel. If it foams, don't use it. 
You will need about a 25 pound bag for a 10 gallon to 20 "high" tank, you'll probably need a 50 pound bag for the larger tanks. 
- Laterite: This is an iron rich tropical clay that will serve as the nutrient base for your plants. Your local pet store will either carry it, or can order for you. 
- Another very good alternative for the substrate of a planted tank is Seachem Flourite. This product is attractive, easy to use and grows plants very well. You do not need to add laterite or other materials to a Flourite substrate; it can be used as-is.

Introduction to Aquarium Plants

Foreground plants are species that are quite short and small. They mostly form carpet-like matting at the bottom. They do this by producing numerous runner plants. These plants are often used in shallow aquariums because they need plenty of strong light. Glossostigma sp. is one of the most popular carpet plants around. It is not very easy to grow but looks absolutely stunning. Water Wisteria can be used a carpet plant too, if you put some stones on the stems till they catch root. The middle ground plants are taller than the foreground plants. Their main use is in hiding the stems of the background plants that are much taller. The background plants grow quite fast and can be used effectively to hide all the accessories in your aquarium. They usually need lesser sunlight too. 

Bunch plants – plants that look good in a group – are usually middle ground or background plants. Some plants, called the specimen plants, are large decorative species that are usually highlighted at the center. Floating plants are an attractive option, but care must be taken to place floating plants away from the heat of the light bulb. Floating plants also propagate very quickly and may block out all the light in your aquarium. 

Java Moss and Java Fern are some of the most common aquatic plants and they are very suitable for beginners. Initially, Java Fern should be attached to a piece of driftwood or rock. After the roots are formed it will stick to its surface. Java Moss and Java Fern are very hardy plants that can thrive in a wide range of soft and hard waters and even do well in a brackish aquarium. These plants will also tolerate a lot of different pH-values. New plants form on the older leaves of existing plants. The new plants will break themselves off from the original plant, but can also be cut away. These shoots can then be replanted. They grow quickly and give a very lush appearance to your aquarium. 

The Amazon Sword is another very popular aquatic plant. Just like Java Moss and Java Fern, the Amazon Sword is a very hardy plant that is popular both among beginners and expert aquarists. Amazon Sword grows pretty fast and therefore prevents algae formation. 

Wisteria is yet another example of a beautiful and undemanding plant that is suitable for your first aquarium. The plant grows quickly and also helps to inhibit algae growth. But Wisteria also sucks a lot of nutrients from the water. Pale leaves indicate that there is a shortage of nutrients in the aquarium, and that fertilizers need to be added to the substrate. The Anubias Nana plant is also popular among beginners, since this plant thrives in virtually all conditions. Best results are obtained by tying the plant to a tree root or stone. This plant often flowers in water and is usually left alone by herbivorous fish. If your aquarium is provided with strong light, you can keep Lillaeopsis. Lillaeopsis looks more or less like grass. It grows fast, but does need bright lighting and can therefore be an unsuitable choice for your very first aquarium before you have learned how to control the algae. If you want to keep an amphibious plant, you can try the Cryptocoryne Beckettii. It is a popular plant among aquarists and it grows really well when it is submerged. 

Beginners must take some factors into mind when they select plants. Since you are new to the whole concept, it is best to stick with plants that are not very exotic or pricey. As a rule of thumb, very colorful plants are unsuitable for beginners and green plants are a better choice. This is mainly because colorful plants typically require more direct light. Providing this light may play havoc with the temperature and algae levels in your aquarium. If you are not equipped with enough know-how and experience in dealing with these situations, you will find that your aquarium will turn green with algae in no time. Availability is another matter to consider. Some plants propagate themselves and give off shoots that will develop into new plants. Such plants are usually available in most pet shops since they are easy to grow. You will also be able to plant new shoots without spending more money. Plants that are not easily eaten by fish are also good for the beginner.