January 18, 2008

Great Tips About Domestic Fish keeping

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Fishes breeding at home are kept in aquariums and ponds. The hobby of fish keeping is categorize into brackish, saltwater, and freshwater fish keeping, out of which freshwater fish keeping is the most popular. The fishes which are popular for fish keeping with the fish hobbyist are angelfish, goldfish and guppies. Different species of fishes can be retained together and sometimes fishes of the same species are kept together for breeding purpose. The favorite fish species with breeders are guppies, mollies, catfish, killifish, cichlid, and characin.

Fish keeping as a hobby was started centuries ago. And now worldwide fish keeping hobby is a multi-million dollar industry. At that time fishes were raised for food in ponds and pools. Also, due to religious reasons, fish was eaten on days when meat was not allowed. The Chinese and Japanese traditions included fish keeping for food purposes. But later the kings began keeping goldfishes and koi, because of their attractive colors. They were kept in ponds and when guests used to arrive, the fishes were shifted indoors in fish bowls. Romans were also known to have kept lampreys in pools with salt water. In ancient Egyptians Oxyrhynchus fish were kept in captivity in temple pools.

Saltwater or marine fish keeping are generally more difficult and expensive to maintain. Hence, it tends to attract experienced fish keepers or aquarists into this hobby. This is certainly not for beginners. However, marine aquaria for sure is very attractive with colorful and attractive fishes along with different types of corals. While brackish fish keeping involves both freshwater and saltwater fish keeping, due to the fact that the salinity of the water is in between that of seawater and freshwater.

Fish keepers which are into this hobby focus on the aquatic plants rather than the fish. Some hardcore marine aquarists attempt to grow coral reef with the help of living rock, worms, and calcareous rocks with algae growth, sponges, and worms. When the corals begin to grow, echinoderms, crabs, mollusks, shrimps, and as well as small fish are also added to the aquariums, which are also called as reef tanks.

The aquarium should have ideal ecology which is similar to the natural habitat of the fishes. This is an extremely difficult task to accomplish. Also, it is important to maintain the predator prey relationship balance in the aquarium. Also more than the volume of the water, the surface volume is important. This is because, more the surface volume, more the oxygen levels in the water. Air pumps also are used to increase the dissolved oxygen in the water. This is part of the nutrient cycle, which should be maintained and controlled for the welfare of the fishes. Larger aquariums are more preferable and they make things easier, for example the event effects are diluted easily and the systemic shock is absorbed well.

Other factors to controll are nitrogen cycle, dissolved gases and balanced food supply. The salinity of the water should be checked regularly depending of the aquaria being maintained. The pH level should be checked to test the acidic nature of the water. For freshwater aquarium, most of the aquarist use tap water, which is a mistake as it contains chlorine. Chloramines should be used in tap water to make it chlorine free.

Depending on temperature, the aquarium can be differentiated to have tropical and cold water. For tropical aquarium, the water should be warm and the temperature should be nearly seventy-seven degree Fahrenheit. For cold water aquarium, the water temperature should be less than room temperature. For this purpose, a refrigeration device called chiller can be used.

Plants and certain organisms can be introduced in the aquarium which metabolizes the waste, especially nitrogen. But the more number of organisms added to the fish tank, the more difficult it is to maintain. The needs of all the aquatic organisms must be considered. Introducing many types of species in an aquarium is known as biological loading. Two important factors should be considered which are filtration process and oxygen levels. Aquarists interested in fish breeding should be more careful. Firstly, they shouldn’t mix many types of fishes together. They should also develop special conditions called spawning triggers for proper breeding.

Artificial ponds can be also made in the garden. It is very similar to freshwater keeping, except that they are big and out in natural conditions. Tropical fishes are a good choice for such garden ponds. But where the temperatures are cold, goldfishes, orfe and koi are good options.

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September 30, 2007

Discus breeder - Tips on how to be successful discus fish breeder

With the coming of the advancement of internet as an alternative market place, it has opened new avenues for discus breeders to conduct profitable commercial transactions. A lot of professional discus breeders promote their businesses online because is less expensive and it also give them exposure to wider audiences from different part of the world that would not have known their existence in offline world. Hence, if you want to buy some exotic fish from an authorised discus breeder simply perform a search on the internet and see which facility in your neighborhood is closest to you.

With many informative materials about discus fish on the internet, it has actually proved that breeding discus fish is not difficult to handle and any careful discus breeder, amateur, and professional can be successful at forming a nice colony. Discus fish breeder forums on the internet for example are a great source for information for those new to fish breeding or keeping to learn as much as they can about the secrets of breeding discus. In the past, it was only the professional discus breeders that were likey to raise or breed this charming exotic fish but all that have now changed because of the availability of informations on the internet and discus fish now make a wonderful pet to millions of aquarists all over the world.

For anyone who wants to be a discus breeder, it is a good idea to acquire all the necessary knowledge to make breeding a true success. In the attempt of becoming a discus breeder, a site such discus fish secrets.com will prove a great help, as it provides advanced information and tips for wanna-be discus breeders. First and foremost, you should learn about the tank dimensions and adjust it to the area where you want to place it. Discus breeders mention the importance to keep the fish away from noise or heat sources and preferably somewhere a little higher.

You should also know that you can always seek for advice from discus breeder especially if you buy the fish from an authorised discus fish dealer. Such people have years of wealth of experience or even decades in the field and can fill you in on all the necessary details. Even after buying the fish from an authorized discus breeder, you’ll still have to keep them quarantined in a separate tank before you put them together with your other fish. Make sure you follow all the environment-associated measures in order to create most ‘natural’ conditions for your pets. There will be challenges for you as a discus breeder, but immense rewards too. Enjoy discus breeding experience!

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