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Popular Small Aquarium Sharks

August 25th, 2008    Subscribe To Our Feed

When setting up an aquarium people soon discover that there are many tropical fish to choose from. There are school fish such as tetras and guarmis and more aggressive fish such as cichlids and oscars. In addition to these types of fish small aquarium sharks are now becoming more popular and readily available for the home aquarium hobbyist. If up are interested in adding small sharks to your aquarium this article will provide some background information.

Red Tail Sharks

The red tail shark is a popular small aquarium shark. This small shark is a semi-aggressive fish, however unique beauty is a great addition in an aquarium. They have a solid black body with red tipped tail that stands out well. These sharks are not very sociaable and it is recommended that you only keep one per tank.

Red tails love hiding as it provides them with a sense of security and safely, so provide them with plenty of hiding places in the tank. Do not try to keep them in too small a tank as their aggressive nature will cause them pick on other fish. You’ll need a tank that is large enough to accommodate all the fish

The red tail shark likes to search the bottom of the tank for food. They will eat most fish flakes, live food or other food that drifts to the bottom of the tank and they like to eat at least once per day.

Epaulette Sharks

The Epaulette shark is an ideal small shark for a home aquarium as they like to live in small confined areas. They are usually white with brown spots all over their body. Unlike most sharks they do not swim around the tank but prefer to swim on the tank floor where they will search for food. At times, their slender bodies make them look like eels and they easily slip around the rocks and other aquarium decorations.

Although they are not the smallest of the aquarium sharks, they are also not the largest. Epaulette sharks can grow quite large, an adult can grow up to eleven inches long. So when selecting one ensure that your tank is large enough for them to move around when they grow.

The Epaulette shark feeds mainly on small crabs and worms. They may also eat shrimp and other small fishes. Their teeth are quite small so avoid larger types of food.
You will find a variety of sharks to choose from at your fish supplier. The red tail shark and the epaulette shark are two of the most popular varieties of sharks and they make rewarding additions to many aquariums.

Using Aquarium Air Pumps

August 23rd, 2008    Subscribe To Our Feed

When setting up your home aquarium, it is important that you properly set up the aquarium air pump. Without an air pump, the fish won’t be able to breathe and will die fairly quickly. Here are some of the essential things you must know about setting up an aquarium air pump.

Do Need An Aquarium Air Pump

Almost all aquariums will need an aquarium air pump. In most cases, the air pump pumps air through the tubes, into the water and through the filter. They provide the needed oxygen that most tropical, saltwater and freshwater fish need for survival. There are different types of air pumps. The type of aquarium you have and the number of fish you have in your tank will determine what type of aquarium air pump you should purchase.

Air Stones And Bubble Wands

One of the easiest and most common aquarium air pumps are air stones and the bubble wands. These are ideal for smaller aquariums and tanks. With this system, one end is attached to tubing and air circulates through the tubing and into the water through the stone. This type of air pump circulates air while creating bubbles in the water.

Under Gravel Aquarium Air Pumps

The under gravel aquarium air pumps are those systems that are place under the gravel in the bottom of the tank. The air is pumped through tube and then up through the underwater gravel. This type air pump is greater suited for larger aquariums or tanks. The under gravel air pump is nice because it is easy to stow inside of the aquarium and it gives it a more natural look.

How To Use An Aquarium Air Pump

The use of an aquarium air pump is really easy. You purely follow the instructions that come with your air pump. Basically, you take out the air pump from the box, put it into the aquarium and start it. If the air pump attached to a filter, then you have to clean it recurringly, because it gets very dirty. Make sure you read the directions compactly when you have a new air pump. That is greatest way to learn to use it properly. If you have any product specific questions, most air pumps have a toll free number on their box that you can call, or you can purely ask your questions to the local pet store employee.

Aquarium Angelfish Species

August 23rd, 2008    Subscribe To Our Feed

No aquarium is confirm without at smallest one Angelfish. There are more than twenty varieties of aquarium Angelfish species. Any one of them will add color and drama to your home or office aquarium.

Varieties of Angelfish

One of the most popular aquarium fish species is the dwarf Angelfish. Because of its petite size, the dwarf Angelfish is perfect for a small home aquarium. The Coral beauty Angelfish has a red body with bluish-black and orange fins. It will grow to a maximum size of four inches, and is easy to care for. The Eibli Angelfish grows to a length of six inches. It has a tan body with vertical brown-colored stripes and very distinctive black blotches that cover the entirety of the back of the fish. The Flame Angelfish can securely live in a reef tank. This dwarf aquarium Angelfish species is six inches long and has an orange-red body with black strips running from top to bottom.

The Orange-black Angelfish is an alternative popular aquarium fish species. This three-inch long, dark blue fish has a golden blaze that runs from the face down the dorsal fin. The half-black Angelfish is a difficult aquarium fish species to care for. This fish comes in colors of grayscale, except for its eye, which has a vibrant orange accent.

Herald’s Angelfish is four inches long and is a buttery lemon yellow, with a brown-colored accent at the eye. The Lemonpeel Angelfish is an alternative difficult fish to raise and care for. Like Herald’s Angelfish, the Lemonpeel Angelfish is bright yellow with a dark semicircle near the eye.

Barred Angelfish is only four inches long, with black and white vertical strips extending from head to tail. The Barred Angelfish is also difficult to care for. Potter’s Angelfish is yet an alternative difficult aquarium fish species to own. It is a graceful fish, with a blue body and reddish fins.

The Pygmy, or Cherub, Angelfish is vaguely easier to keep. This blue-bodied fish has an orange yellow head and grows to a length of three inches. And the Rusty Angelfish lives easily among coral reefs. Four inches long, it has a tan body with dark spots and red near the rear.

Omnivorous Fish Species

All dwarf Angelfish are omnivores, eating both animals and vegetables. Macro-algae are their vegetable matter of selection. Other than the Flame Angelfish, Dwarf Angelfish aren’t considered safe around reefs. Add them at your own risk if you have a reef tank. However, if you have an average aquarium fish tank, Dwarf Angelfish will thrive in their environment and provide you with many enjoyable hours of fish watching.

What The Heck Is An Aquarium Overflow Box?

August 23rd, 2008    Subscribe To Our Feed

Also known as siphon boxes or prefilters, an aquarium overflow box helps keep your air pump and filters working by making sure they won’t be damaged by any power outages.  If you have a goldfish aquarium of less than 40 gallons or if your tank has been thriving for years AND you have working spare filters and air pumps, then you don’t have to worry about adding on an aquarium overflow box. 

Mainly For Salt Water Wet Pets

Aquarium overflow boxes are used mostly by professional aquariums and hard-core aquarium hobbyists as insurance for their expensive and vital equipment.  If the power goes out, then water can back up to short circuit the air pump or the filtration unit.  Some folks make their own aquarium overflow boxes but there are also ready made ones.

Power outages can also lead to your tank suddenly overflowing.  If your tank is not on the ground floor level of your home and it is more than ten gallons, then you should really consider some kind of aquarium overflow box.  A filled tank with gravel or sand and ornaments weights hundreds of pounds.

How To Tell If You Really Need One

Most salt water tanks will have some gentle of sump pump that are far stronger than for a freshwater tank.  When it’s on, the water is kept level because it’s moving around all of the time.  But when the power goes out, the water has nowhere to go except into the tank and onto your floor unless you have an aquarium overflow box.

Get a lot of old towels and newspapers around the floor of your tank, because things might get wet.  Get a bucket and a coffee can to bail if need be.  If you can, arrange for a friend to turn the power on and off while you’re there at the tank.  Turn off the power.  If the water level suddenly rises more than one inch — or if you have a suddenly saturated floor — then you know you need an aquarium overflow box.

Going Shopping

Aquarium overflow boxes are available at many pet stores and aquarium forte stores and their online equivalents.  There are ones specially made for big freshwater aquariums, so be sure you have one for fresh or salt water for whatever tank you have.  They vary in prices (like everything else) from under $50 (US) to $200 (US).  Most work with a gravity flow system so you don’t need to break out a drill.

Clearing Up Cloudy Aquarium Water

August 23rd, 2008    Subscribe To Our Feed

Having an aquarium full of tropical fish is a great hobby and it is a great addition to any home. However, once in a while you will have cloudy aquarium water. There are several reasons why one would have murky aquarium water in their tank. One of the most excellent ways to clear up this murky water is to understand why it is murky. Knowing the reason will help one clear up the murky aquarium water.

The Forecast Calls For Cloudy Aquarium Water

There are several reasons why an aquarium would get murky water. When this happens, one has to look compactly at the cloudy water to determine the cause of it. If the water is a green cloud, this means that there is too much algae in the tank. This usually occurs because of overfeed and overuse of the light. To eliminate the green cloud, one should clean the gravel and filter more often, then lower the amount of food the fish is given on a daily basis and turn off the light for awhile.

White tinted cloudy aquarium water indicates the growth of bacteria in the tank. This can occur when you first set up the tank, or when you add new fish or decorations. The greatest way to clean this type of cloud is to filter the gravel recurringly, rinse the decorations and change the filter. The white cloudy aquarium water should clear up before long.

Adding The Additives

If none of the above suggestions work, then you can go to the local pet store and purchase a special additive that you can add to the water to clear up the murky aquarium water. Sometimes these chemicals work, and other times they don’t. It all depends on what is making your water cloudy. If you don’t removed the source of the cloudiness from the water the cloudy aquarium water will merely return over and over again. Therefore, make sure you know what is causing your murky aquarium water before deciding to add the additives.

Understand what is making your aquarium water murky is the first step in understanding how to clean it up. If you try these steps and the cloudiness still doesn’t clear up, you may want to seek advice from a fish expert at your local pet store. Cloudiness may not be dangerous to your fish in the beginning. However, if it is left untreated it could possible grow into a deadly problem.

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