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Keeping Seahorses is a cinch!

Caring for Tropical Fish

Many of you would know that I am a qualified aqualculturalists, which means that I studied the care of fish. Studying aquaculture involved learning about the latest techniques and advances in fish care. But I believe that to understand where a field is headed you need to look at where it has come from.

Cleaning your aquarium

In an aquarium we see fish swimming around and plants growing all of which appear healthy and happy. However, what is actually occurring in the water is a mix of production and consumption and actions and reactions which if not monitored and kept in balance can lead to an unhealthy aquarium, full of algae and stressed fish. Cleaning an aquarium incorrectly is one of the common causes of fish loss and an unhealthy aquarium, the following is a basic guide to cleaning your aquarium correctly. Read more •

Can you conserve your aquarium water?

One of the longest droughts in the history of Australia has got us all thinking about how we use that precious resource, water. Many people now use the grey water from the laundry on the garden, some have installed water tanks and our habits with regard to washing the car and hosing the driveway have changed.

Filtering your aquarium

Why are some people very successful in keeping a healthy beautiful aquarium whilst for others it can be an ongoing struggle? There are a combination of factors that ensure success in an aquarium and these include not overcrowding the aquarium, changing about a third of the water every two weeks and not overfeeding the fish. These successful aquariums have also been set up correctly from the start with a filter that is adequate for the size aquarium and number of fish being housed in it.

Growing aquarium plants

When people first buy an aquarium, the focus is on the fish and how to keep them alive. Live plants are placed in the aquarium for decoration and given little if any further thought. Usually by the time they turn attention to growing plants, it may be too late to save the plants they already have. So here are some basic tips to get a jungle happening in your tank.

Is your aquarium going green?

Rarely a day goes by in the store without a customers looking for answers as to why their aquarium keeps turning green. Whether the water has gone green or the sides of the aquarium are covered in green, it is caused by a simple plant called algae. A green aquarium does not mean that the environment is unhealthy for the fish to live in, but they do look unsightly so keeping algae in check is important.

What are you watching at home tonight?

One of the manufacturers of aquariums has started a new advertising campaign with the slogan of “ what are you watching at home tonight?” the ad features a family seated in their living room with their television off gazing at their beautiful aquarium in the corner of the room.

Looking after your fish is all about the water.

At some point in your life, you have probably owned a fish as a pet or lived in a house where someone has kept one and for many the humble goldfish is their first introduction to pet ownership. Goldfish can be particularly long-lived creatures and according to the Guinness Book of World Records, the oldest goldfish in captivity was called Tish from the UK who lived to the ripe old age of 43!

Fish keeping, a great hobby for the kids!

If you have school-aged children, then at sometime throughout the holidays you are likely to hear the phrase, “I’m bored”. If this is the case with your children you could consider setting up a small aquarium for them. Aquariums can provide children with plenty of hours of enjoyment and fascination as they watch the fish move about. Furthermore, they teach children about the responsibility of caring for a living animal. Unlike dog or cat ownership, as a fish owner you can go away for a few days without needing to find someone to feed and exercise them and they don’t bark during the night so they are very neighbour friendly too!

Why did my fish die?

I know it’s a fairly morbid title to an article but it is not uncommon question. Fish can die for a whole variety of reasons. They can catch diseases, they can suffer organ failure and the can even injure themselves. However most fish deaths are directly related to the quality of water in an aquarium and there are three major factors that influence water quality. I tell everybody that keeping fish is easy. Change some of the water regularly, do not place more fish in your aquarium than it can comfortably hold and don’t over feed.