Rarely we can get such good Red cap orando ... Nice picutre .. i have
been looking for such red cap orandos for almost 6 months not able to
locate one .. all i got was some what close to red caps ...
So any one .. like to share about the Gold fish .. and their ..
eating. growing and breeding habits ??
Raj
Hello all,
Moved to bangalore recently .. looking for having my bettas
again ... or some Lion head ... Like to know the price of small tanks
where i can have one pair of any kind of fish ... Just the tank ..
and place where i can get from .. .or what should look for ..
Raj
Nice little article that I saw. Useful for beginners.
Bye
NAga
The Nitrogen Cycle
The Nitrogen Cycle is probably the most important invisible process that goes on within the confines of the aquarium. In essence it is nature's answer to the simple fact that fish and other oganisms produce toxins in the environment that can easily build to concentrations that are high enough to kill. The most imprtant organic toxin produced within the aquarium is ammonia [NH3]. The fish release it directly through respiration and more indirectly through urine and eliminated solid wastes. Other sources are from the natural decay processes produced by bacteria acting on dead organic material such as excess food, dead leaves, dead fish and the fluctuating populations of invisible bacteria as well.
Ammonia and nitrosomonasFortunately mother nature has produced organisms which use toxic ammonia [NH3] as a n energy source. the result, nitrosomonas bacteria are essentially universal, found most often in soil. They are "lithotrophic" and aerobic. The bacteria form colonies wherever their needs are satisfied, they must have an adequate supply of oxygen passing as well as the ammonia that is their energy source. Ammonia is extremely toxic. It is deadly in relatively small concentrations in the aquarium. The only two reliable ways to eliminate ammonia are with a chemical removal using zeolite (often termed Ammonia Remover) and biologically. Between the two methods, I personally prefer the biological removal by promoting nitrosomonas populations. Most ammonia removers - though rechargeable - never show a color change, so there is no way to know when the product stops working. The biological bed will adjust to environmental changes over time and is the best defense against stress on the fish that I know about.
Nitrite, the by-product manufactured by nitrosomonas as it reduces ammonia is not as deadly as ammonia, but it was much easier to test in earlier times before a reliable test kit for ammonia became easily available at a reasonable cost. In fact I grew up with the "Nitrite Cycle" simply because the role of ammonia in the cycle was not readily understood. Roughly double concentrations of nitrite can be tolerated before death occurs. Nevertheless, the whole idea is to understand the role of both toxins to control them and keep your fish alive.
The New Aquarium and the Nitrogen Cycle
The best way to a basic understanding is to discuss the events that occur in a new aquarium set-up - this is time when most novice aquarists endure massive losses without having a clue as to what is wrong, and ultimately becoming discouraged and leave this enthralling hobby.
Day 1Your new aquarium is just set up, think about what you have in front of you. The aquarium is dust free and probably rinsed well. A brand new filter is busy removing non-existent particles and the freshly rinsed gravel sparkles at you. The water from the tap was treated, so it will not kill the fish you already added. Everything is perfect, the tank is ready to keep all those fish you want alive, right?
WRONG!!!
The aquarium, in its brand new state is sterile. It can support fish and other life simply because there is no chlorine or chloramine to kill them. But the tank will not support a full population for quite a while yet!. If there are too many fish they will simply poison themselves. How is this possible? Quite easily, as they live and breathe, the fish will excrete and create ammonia. Unlike a natural pond or river, an aquarium has a limited surface area for ammonia to dissipate, so it builds up in concentration. It doesn't take all that much to cause serious damage.
Note the above picture. It shows the main causes of ammonia production. The fish breath in water across the gills, removing some oxygen and exhaling carbon dioxide and ammonia. The fish excrete urine and feces. The urine contains ammonia while the feces is deposited on the bottom of the aquarium as mulm where decay bacteria begin to break it down into ammonia and other by-products. In addition, when live plants are kept, leaves die off and are decayed in their turn. Any fish which expires and is not found rapidly also provides ample food for decay bacteria and creates large amounts of ammonia. The invisible life active at the bacterial level also creates their own quantities of dead material. This also adds to the ammonia production in the aquarium. The aquarium and all the life within it creates an active ammonia factory manufacturing a huge quantity of ammonia solubilized into the water of the tank. The concentration rapidly builds to lethal levels well before the beneficial bacteria nitrosomonas can reach adequate populations to reduce and eliminate the ammonia as rapidly as it is produced.
Characteristics of Lithotrophic bacteria nitrosomonas (and nitrobacter) are termed lithotrophic bacteria, they require oxygen and their food source to survive. In addition, since they are soil bacteria, they prefer to anchor and build populations on clean hard surfaces. They are quite slow to replicate, as far as the rapid world of bacteria are concerned. In fresh water they tend to replicate geometrically every 8 hours, salt water slows the reproductive rate to about once every 24 hours. Going back to the sterile environment of a new aquarium, and we assume a single bacteria drops in from the outside [it really makes no difference from where], then the reproductive cycle of the bacteria determines the speed at which the aquarium will become optimally able to process ammonia and nitrite as it is produced.
Day 1 - 10
Note the first 10 days on the above graph. Ammonia begin a rapid rise up to lethal levels and then drops dramatically to close to a zero level. The replication of the bacteria determine this rise and fall. Since they replicate geometrically, the hypothetical first "bug" becomes 2 in 8 hours, then 4 (16 hours) then 16 (24 hours) the 32 (32 hours) then 64 (40 hours) and so on..... It takes about ten days in relativiely ideal conditions for the bacterial to replicate to population where all the ammonia produced within the aquarium is immediately reduced to nitrite. What is shown on the graph is the sudden drop of ammonia concentration slightly after the 10 day maximum.
Day 10 to 21
The next 21 days, after the ammonia spike drops to minimal, now show a low to zero level of ammonia residue, but a steadily increasing concentration of nitrite, rising much higher in concentration than the ammonia graph, about double in fact. Nitrite is toxic, but not as toxic as ammonia, thus the simple fact that the concentration can rise so high without a total loss of fish. As nitrite becomes more evident, so do the populations of nitrobacter removing the nitrite from the system and changing it into nitrate [and energy for the bacteria]. As the populations grow, they gradually become able to reduce nitrite as soon as it is created by nitrosomonas acting on ammonia production. After 21 days from the beginning of nitrite build-ups the spike falls rapidly to the low levels of the graph. From there the nitrate levles start to rise over time.
There's a Glitch
There is a problem with the above simplistic view, Mother Nature has thrown a curve into the straightforward Nitrogen Cycle reviewed above. The bacteria that reduces nitrite to nitrate, nitrobacter is inhibited by a free concentration of ammonia in the water. This is the reason that the nitrobacter population is essentially kept at a zero level until day ten when the ammonia spike reaches the minimum level. Once the ammonia inhibition is removed, then (and only then) nitrobacter can begin to replicate. They are also lithotrophic so they require the same things that nitrosomonas require, oxygen, their food source and clean hard places to attach and populate.
After Day 31
Once the nitrite is removed as fast as it is produced by nitrosomonas, the final by-product of the Nitrogen Cycle is nitrate. It is a compound which is not easily reduced any further by aerobic bacteria. Because of this, the nitrate levels begin to slowly rise and continue to build over the rest of th life of the aquarium. The best way to get rid of nitrate is simply to practice proper water maintenance procedures. With regular water changes, nitrate is diluted, removing water with high nitrate concentrations and replacing it with low nitrate conditioned tap water is one of the most effective ongoing ways to eliminate nitrate. A second method tried in various ways is to promote anaerobic bacterial growth, this takes nitrate and reduces it to nitrogen and other by-products. In my opinion, this is dangerous, and extremely difficult to control. If it doesn't go correctly, hydrogen sulfide and pother toxic gasses are released into the water column in bubbles. I have found proper water maintenance is much better than relying on questionalble anaerobic techniques to remove nitrate.
Biological InnoculationWhen biological innoculation products such as Hagen's Cycle are created, they must take into account this little glitch. It precludes a "magic potion" where you simply add a culture of bacteria and suddenly the Nitrogen Cycle's run-in period is eliminated. Cycle does noticeably reduce the run-in time of a new aquarium, and it dramatically lessens the ammonia and nitrite spikes within the run-in period, but it must be regularly added to the aquarium to overcome the fact that ammonia inhibits nitrobacter. Using a regular weekly dose, the little glitch mentioned earlier is overcome by the regular addition of high numbers of both nitrosomonas and nitrobacter.
Enter your vote today! A new poll has been created for the
AquaInfo group:
Has anyone becomeinterested in
aquariums after seeing your collection?
o Yes
o No
To vote, please visit the following web page:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AquaInfo/surveys?id=664893
Note: Please do not reply to this message. Poll votes are
not collected via email. To vote, you must go to the Yahoo! Groups
web site listed above.
Thanks!
Okay, thanks, I'm gonna go with the 12m glass.
One question though. A friend said that a concrete
tank (with a glass front) might grow moss on the
inside. Is it true??
In the end, it seems that the best option would be to
make the tank out of concrete in a workshop, with a 12
mm glass front, and then have it transported to my
house. With this setup, I can go with two tanks, as
one, in the form of a cascade, as mentioned on a
website I read.
Someone suggested that I could use glass bricks, the
ones he claimed could be seen at Udipi joints.
Apparently, it's supposed to be pretty cheap, and
since it's so thick, I can just use araldite or
silicone sealant to stick the bricks together, with
just one clear glass front of 12mm. Now that I think
of it, it might look really good, specially with the
light on top, which will get diffused by the glass
bricks and water, thereby creating a very surreal
effect.
What do you think?
How do I construct a tank out of concrete??
__________________________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
The New Yahoo! Search - Faster. Easier. Bingo
http://search.yahoo.com
Hi all,
I am looking for a hood and stand for my 30" x 12" x
12" tank. Any suggestions as to where I can get a good
one and how much will it cost me.
Regards
Rajesh
--- "S.Naga Siddharth" <suphala@...> wrote:
> Hi,
> Keeping with the tradition of cost cutting and
> innovation,I thought of starting a discussion on the
> tops that one could possibly use (or not use) for
> aquariums.
>
> One of my tanks has a thick growth of fox tail(
> plant for those who don't know). It seems to really
> help. Swordtails that are known for jumping are in
> the tank.
>
> Another tank has cabamba with silver mollies in it.
> The breeding has been phenomenal.
>
> One small tank of mine has a mosquito net(netlon)
> for a cover and it has worked well so far.
>
> Looking fwd to continuing the discussion............
> Naga
>
>
__________________________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
The New Yahoo! Search - Faster. Easier. Bingo
http://search.yahoo.com
I guess Mr.D is a little off target with 8 mm glass without support. 10mm should do without support or 8 mm with support. By support I mean the glass strips used to secure the top or the base.
As for the concrete tank. It will be a good option. But consider the off side that u cannot move it around.
The front glass for the concrete tank will have to be 10 mm. With a concrete tank you can have a wonderful system to recycle , drain and fill water. Lighting will also be easy as u won't need a top.
I guess that u should get small oscars (not albino , the last time i went to my LFS, the guy claimed that they had no resale value.)
and grow them anot to mention possible breed them too.
I'm planning to get another tank, whose dimensions are:
Length = 4 feet = 48 inches
Width = 2 feet = 24 inches
Height = 2 feet = 24 inches
Total Area = 32 sq feet = 4608 sq inches
Capacity = 120 gallons = 450 liters
I plan to use this tank as an oscar tank, coz I hear that oscars are
intelligent fish, and although they're messy and carnivores, they can
recognise owners quickly. Since they're so territorial and get upto a
foot large, I thought of getting this huge tank.
Since they're also so destructive, the tank will be bare, with no
gravel, decorations, plants or heater. There will be just one aerator
and a small over turned basket which can act as a filter. Cleaning
and maintenance requires me to siphon off waste once a week.
Initially, I thought of getting 4 albino oscars (juveniles, of
course), but my local store guy, lets call him Mr D, said that it
would be better if I got 4 albinos and 4 tigers. That way, when they
grow up, I will be assured of at least two pairs. When I asked him
about overcrowding, he said that oscars were so territorial, that of
the 8 fish, I might be left with just 3 or 4 at the end of one year.
This is a scary thought, coz I'd hate to see the fish kill each other
like that. That's one thing that seems to be deterring me from
getting oscars. If any of you have useful advice about keeping
oscars, please do let me know in detail.
Now the tank itself. According to Mr D, such a huge tank cannot just
be transported to my house using a rickshaw, cab or car, and there's
a chance that some damage might occur. He suggested that he will send
the glass directly to my house, where he will also send a labourer,
who will cut the glass and seal it in the form of the tank. Of
course, all I have to pay for is the cost of the glass and the labour
charges.
He suggested using glass of 8 mm thickness, and said that it costs 65
bucks per square feet, which works out to about Rs 2080 for the tank.
Not to mention the labour costs, so my total might be close to Rs
3000.
Another fish store, from whom I had got my original big tank of 30(L)
x15(W)x18(H) inches, said that 8 mm glass would be too weak to
support so much, and that I should use 12 mm glass, which works out
to about Rs 5000 for the tank, not including transport charges, which
I'm assuming will be not more than 1000 bucks by lorry.
Now I'm feeling pretty low about this. Not only are my fish going to
kill each other, but the cost is also so high. I'm also very unsure
about the thickness of the glass.
Does anyone have a tank of these dimensions for sale? Or for that
matter, does anyone in Bombay have a tank for sale?
There is one other alternative, about using a large concrete tank
with a glass front. Details on this would be helpful too, such as
weight of such a tank. If it's cheaper and less hassle, I might as
well have an 8 feet concrete tank with a glass front.
Please do reply to this mail, I am in urgent need of advice on this.
Thanks,
Nischint.
Keeping with the tradition of cost cutting and innovation,I thought of starting a discussion on the tops that one could possibly use (or not use) for aquariums.
One of my tanks has a thick growth of fox tail( plant for those who don't know). It seems to really help. Swordtails that are known for jumping are in the tank.
Another tank has cabamba with silver mollies in it. The breeding has been phenomenal.
One small tank of mine has a mosquito net(netlon) for a cover and it has worked well so far.
Looking fwd to continuing the discussion............
I love to have Bettas .. espcially the Opaque Marble .. Iam in
bangalore ...do let me know if some has a good collection of
bettas ... especially Butterfly tail etc ...
Thanks
Hi,
Does anyone know where I can pick up a strater culture of Grindle
worms.
Also are there any live foods (besides microworms and mosquito larve)
that can be cultured at home. If so can anyone provide me with a
starter.
I have a culture of microworms going but they are very small and not
good for my bigger fishes. I guess they are good for fry or very
small fishes.
Regards
Rajesh
Hello,
This email message is a notification to let you know that
a file has been uploaded to the Files area of the AquaInfo
group.
File : /FishFoodInfo.pdf
Uploaded by : rajesh_patalay <rajesh_patalay@...>
Description : Comprehensive information on how to grow your own live food and
make good nutritious food for your fish.
You can access this file at the URL
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AquaInfo/files/FishFoodInfo.pdf
To learn more about file sharing for your group, please visit
http://help.yahoo.com/help/us/groups/files
Regards,
rajesh_patalay <rajesh_patalay@...>
Hello,
This email message is a notification to let you know that
a file has been uploaded to the Files area of the AquaInfo
group.
File : /AquariumBeginnerFAQ.pdf
Uploaded by : rajesh_patalay <rajesh_patalay@...>
Description : An excellent source of information on everything to do with
aquariums including aquarium maintenance, type of fishes, plants, fish diseases,
lighting, food, etc. A must read for everyone having aquariums.
You can access this file at the URL
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AquaInfo/files/AquariumBeginnerFAQ.pdf
To learn more about file sharing for your group, please visit
http://help.yahoo.com/help/us/groups/files
Regards,
rajesh_patalay <rajesh_patalay@...>
Since Rajesh has started the discussion, there is one more sure shot way of sexing guppies. Males have a sharp anal fin.Females have a rounded one( more like a japanese paper fan.) This applies for many of the live bearers like mollies, guppies, swordtails and platies.
By the way if anyone has a sure shot method of sexing young goldfish, do let me know.
There could be various reasons for this happening. Nead more details to pin-point the exact cause of the deaths.
What is the kind of setup you have (size of tank, what do u have in it besides fish and water, gravel, age of aquarium, etc)?
How many fishes do you have in the tank?
How often do you do water change and how do you do it?
I have a document with me that talks about the basics and dos and donts about freshwater aquarium which should help you figure out what you are doing wrong. Let me know if you need it. I shall be glad to share it with you.
Regards
Rajesh
--- In AquaInfo@yahoogroups.com, "Rohan Menezes" <rohan_m@v...> wrote: > Hi, > These are my tank details > 8 * 9 inch > i have catfish, guppies, black mollies, orange mollies. My carps just died today. > if anybody knows the reasons or what i should do stop my fish from dying every 3 days. please tell me. some days back a b;lack molly died. after 2 days a catfish died, again after a few days a carp died and today the other carp died. > bye
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: AquaInfo-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
Hi Rohan,
There could be various reasons for this happening. Nead more details
to pin-point the exact cause of the deaths.
What is the kind of setup you have (size of tank, what do u have in
it besides fish and water, gravel, age of aquarium, etc)?
How many fishes do you have in the tank?
How often do you do water change and how do you do it?
I have a document with me that talks about the basics and dos and
donts about freshwater aquarium which should help you figure out what
you are doing wrong. Let me know if you need it. I shall be glad to
share it with you.
Regards
Rajesh
--- In AquaInfo@yahoogroups.com, "Rohan Menezes" <rohan_m@v...> wrote:
> Hi,
> These are my tank details
> 8 * 9 inch
> i have catfish, guppies, black mollies, orange mollies. My carps
just died today.
> if anybody knows the reasons or what i should do stop my fish from
dying every 3 days. please tell me. some days back a b;lack molly
died. after 2 days a catfish died, again after a few days a carp died
and today the other carp died.
> bye
Hi Rohan,
Male guppies are much more colorful and smaller in size than the
females. Their tails are much bigger and are brightly coloured.
The females have a much shorter tail and are much bigger (sometimes 2
times the size or more) than males of the same age.
Hape this info helps.
Regards
Rajesh
--- In AquaInfo@yahoogroups.com, "Rohan Menezes" <rohan_m@v...> wrote:
> hey
> kindly tell me how to distinguish between a male and female guppy.
there were a few doubts as to how many fish to keep in an aquarium,below is an article that I came across.
Bye
Naga
Virtually every fish owner has gazed at their aquarium and wondered just how many fish can be put in there. Unfortunately aquariums don't come with a stocking chart slapped on the side. As a result many owners unwittingly overstock their tank, sometimes with a disastrous outcome. So how does a fish owner know how many fish they can keep? There are a number of factors to consider, as well as several methods for calculating safe stocking levels.
One Inch Per Gallon Rule The most widely known rule for stocking a tank is one inch of fish per gallon of water. While this type of calculation works as a rough estimate, it leaves plenty of room for error. Like people, fish are not all the same size and shape. Stocking a ten-gallon tank with ten inches of slender shaped zebras is not the same as stocking it with ten inches of full-bodied goldfish. Larger bodied fish create far more waste, and therefore require more water volume.
Furthermore, the fish may not be fully grown when first brought home. The adorable little catfish that is scarcely an inch long today could reach a half foot in size when it grows up. The true adult size of the fish should be used in the calculation, however many owners have no idea how old their fish is or how large it will grow to be.
Another place for error is assuming the size of the tank is equivalent to the number of gallons of water it holds. A ten-gallon tank filled with gravel, rocks, plants, and an assortment of decorations does not hold ten gallons of water. In reality the water volume is often ten to fifteen percent less than the size of the tank.
So while the one-inch per gallon rule is a reasonable yardstick, it has it's flaws.
Surface Area Calculation The larger the surface area of the water, the greater the oxygen exchange, which in turns supports a larger number of fish. Therefore, surface area of the water directly impacts how many fish can be kept in an aquarium. A tank that is tall and thin may hold the same number of gallons as a tank that is short and wide, yet they have vastly different surface areas.
Using the surface area rule, the shape difference between the tanks is taken into account. The surface area is calculated by multiplying the width times the length of the tank. Under the water surface area rule the tank can be stocked with one inch of fish for each twelve square inches of surface area. However, this calculation has many of the same flaws as the one-inch rule. For instance, it assumes a fairly slender fish, which isn't always the case. If wide-bodied fish will be kept in the tank, the calculation should be changed to one inch of fish for each twenty inches of surface area
Like the one-inch rule, the surface area rule isn't perfect. Its primary advantage is that it takes into account unusually shaped aquariums.
Which Calculation to Use? Generally the one-inch rule works just fine, and is very easy to calculate. Care should be taken to use net gallons of water, and take into account the adult size as well as the shape of the fish. If the aquarium is a non-standard size, the surface area rule is the better choice to use. In either case, always err on the side of going under the limit rather than over.
Also do not fully stock the tank all at one time. No more than 25% of the total volume of fish should be introduced at one time. Fish wastes, which are toxic, are eliminated by colonies of beneficial bacteria. Those bacterial colonies need time to adjust to changes in the bio-load. By introducing fish a few at a time, the bacterial colonies have sufficient time to grow and take care of the toxins produced by the fish waste.
For starts, please do not overcrowd the fish. I guess your tank must be less than one ft in height. There are a lot of equations on the web for calculating the number of fish based on your tank dimensions. Get hold of them.
Also please do water changes everyday (50%) as your tank is very small.
Condolences for all the mortalities. please do not add any more fish in the same tank.
A good tank size to start off wouldbe 2ftx 1ftx1ft
Contact me outside the group for more details.
If you want to continue with the same tank, then you can have one male betta splendens aong with one female.
i have catfish, guppies, black mollies, orange mollies. My carps just died today.
if anybody knows the reasons or what i should do stop my fish from dying every 3 days. please tell me. some days back a b;lack molly died. after 2 days a catfish died, again after a few days a carp died and today the other carp died.
bye
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: AquaInfo-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
i have catfish, guppies, black mollies, orange mollies. My carps just died today.
if anybody knows the reasons or what i should do stop my fish from dying every 3 days. please tell me. some days back a b;lack molly died. after 2 days a catfish died, again after a few days a carp died and today the other carp died.
Dear Aquainfocian,
our group has a few new members. Welcome to the newcomers.
I request the new comers to write in with their experiences, the
number of tanks that you have, kinds of fish and anything else that
could be interesting.
Bye
Vasu
I have made ua a member. u should be getting a mail to this effect very soon from yahoogroups.
I am going to the breeder at chennai tomorrow, So if u want any stuff, call me at 9448225282
As for you aquarium, I need more details---what is the size?
--------What is the water you use?
-------what r all the fish u have ?
---- and anything else.
As for the molly, It is quite normal with the commercial fish(the ones u buy at shops) to have severeinfections and urs probably going by the symptoms had a bout of dropsy.
The catfish as you have rightly said, are shy creatures and so are found at the bottom of the tank.
I have an aquarium. And some problems with the fish too.
today a black molly passed away. I don't know the reason but when i saw it was just sitting down on the gravel. When it was sitting it was not dead but very sort of drousy. I also got some fish which look like cat fish but the aquarium shopkeeper says they are sharks. Well these sharks just stay down without any movement on the gravel, but unlike the molly they did not die so far. please give some solution for these problems. Thanks. bye.
Dear everybody,
I heard there are concerns about budget vs. tops. In this regard, I
fell a generous use of the plant commonly known as foxtail should do
a world of good. I looks good and acts as a cover to prevent fish
from jumping out. They will usually not jump out if they feel secure.
However do not apply this to sword tails.
Bye
Vasu
welcome to this group. AS for your plans, I do not think any filteration is required if you only keep fish in water. If you want to go in for gravel, use a ug filter, but then use atleast 12 kg of gravel in your tank. ug filters are good for plants. As of now, go in for a simple bulb of 60W in your tank. it will serve a dual purpose of lighting and keepng the water warm.
Hi Naga,
Thanks, This can be a useful forum for beginners, having little or no prior
knowledge of fishkeeping. Already i have bought a tank of 2'x1'x1' and sand.
But still i 'm having some apprehension for filter and type of light source for
plants.
sanjay
Quoting "S.Naga Siddharth" <suphala@...>:
> Hi Sanjay!
> Welcome to the group. This group has been formed to take care of the needsof
> novice aquarists and wanna be breeders. You can feel free to ask any kind of
> question on your mind about aquaria.
> Reply to the group id aquainfo@yahoogroups.com giving a brief intro and the
> plans (aquatic) that you have
> Bye
> Naga
> Do popularise this group
>