A while back, I had difficulty raising my spawns. Thus, I end up with only one or two fry only. It is fairly recent (during the summer when it was not rainy yet) that I was able to increase the size of spawns.
Why "Bad Luck From The Survivors"? In bad conditions, there will only be less than a handful of fish or fry left. There is little chance that you can find a suitable pair especially with obviously one or two survivors. Also, the spawn could be huge but with a strike of bad luck, they are all males or all females. Although, this second incredibly unlucky scenario has a small chance of occurring but it still happens. Then, the continuation of the line is now a problem for the breeder.
Friday, May 25, 2012
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Going on Holiday
Sometimes we can't avoid going out of town and of course, we can not bring any of our fishes, so here are
MY TEN COMMANDMENTS FOR VACATION
1) Get someone to feed your fish if (a) you'll be gone for more than a week and/or (b) you have eggs/fry.
2) Instruct that person face-to-face and provide a demonstration on feeding.
3) Label the tanks accordingly with what, how much and when to feed.
4) Give instruction on the preparation of these foods (e.g. hatching Baby Brine Shrimp (BBS), harvesting microworms (MW), catching mosquito larvae, etc.)
5) Pre-pack food to make it easier for the caretaker!
6) Make a manual. This will summarize everything you have taught about feeding, food preparation and everything else.
7) Do a water change (WC) a day or two before leaving.
8) Do not leave any aggressive fish pair together.
9) If parents are with eggs, leave them together. Don't if the parents won't show any parental care. If parents with fry, remove the parents. Fry have less likely to die than eggs to have fungus.
10) Provide a simple solution (fool-proof) to any problem that might arise while you are away. For example, WC in goldfish tank in case fish show difficulty breathing.
MY TEN COMMANDMENTS FOR VACATION
1) Get someone to feed your fish if (a) you'll be gone for more than a week and/or (b) you have eggs/fry.
2) Instruct that person face-to-face and provide a demonstration on feeding.
3) Label the tanks accordingly with what, how much and when to feed.
4) Give instruction on the preparation of these foods (e.g. hatching Baby Brine Shrimp (BBS), harvesting microworms (MW), catching mosquito larvae, etc.)
5) Pre-pack food to make it easier for the caretaker!
6) Make a manual. This will summarize everything you have taught about feeding, food preparation and everything else.
7) Do a water change (WC) a day or two before leaving.
8) Do not leave any aggressive fish pair together.
9) If parents are with eggs, leave them together. Don't if the parents won't show any parental care. If parents with fry, remove the parents. Fry have less likely to die than eggs to have fungus.
10) Provide a simple solution (fool-proof) to any problem that might arise while you are away. For example, WC in goldfish tank in case fish show difficulty breathing.
Saturday, May 19, 2012
How Low Can You Go?
At one point in our fish-keeping hobby, we aimed for high-tech and almost completely automated tank while at the same time, housing so many colorful fish of many different species. Maybe, some are still dreaming of it to this point. It is easy to get these ideas of technology and fish-keeping in planted tanks. There is a lighting system, a filtration system, a CO2 diffusion system and of course, fish and plants. There are also some fancy sounding items like rain bar unit, gravel jet, undergravel filter, etc. It is so easy to plan this high end tank with all its high end components. But, it is also easy to go beyond a reasonable budget.
So, let us start trimming down the tank system. How low[-tech] can you go? Remove the rain bar unit, gravel jets, CO2 diffuser and every other fancy apparatus. What's left? All that remains is the lighting system, the filter (or maybe an aerator), gravel (and maybe some decor) the tank, water and the inhabitants. This is considered as the "basic" system. But, how low can you go? Remove the lighting system and also the filtration (or aeration). Using natural light is fine for most hobbyists. However, some would say that taking out the filter might be too much already.
The "below basic" system would include the tank, the water and the fish. The plants and gravel are other components that can be explored. The "Below Basic Tank" (BBT) is maintained like any other more equipped tank. Feed everyday. Water change weekly or on any other schedule the hobbyist desires. Remove algae. Everything is the same. However, there are some adjustments the aquarist must make for a BBT.
So, let us start trimming down the tank system. How low[-tech] can you go? Remove the rain bar unit, gravel jets, CO2 diffuser and every other fancy apparatus. What's left? All that remains is the lighting system, the filter (or maybe an aerator), gravel (and maybe some decor) the tank, water and the inhabitants. This is considered as the "basic" system. But, how low can you go? Remove the lighting system and also the filtration (or aeration). Using natural light is fine for most hobbyists. However, some would say that taking out the filter might be too much already.
The "below basic" system would include the tank, the water and the fish. The plants and gravel are other components that can be explored. The "Below Basic Tank" (BBT) is maintained like any other more equipped tank. Feed everyday. Water change weekly or on any other schedule the hobbyist desires. Remove algae. Everything is the same. However, there are some adjustments the aquarist must make for a BBT.
Thursday, May 10, 2012
My Old Betta Drip System
This system is a few years old. DIY with what I have at home.
I revived it recently and changed the tanks used inside. Upgraded the 4"x4"x4" tanks to 4"x6"x8". Here is the link
top view
pump & sponge filter
pipe
drip to tank
Basically, this is how it works:
1. Pump brings water up the PVC pipe then distributed to the tanks with the air hose
2. Water overflows from the tanks and flows to the catch basin (bigger tank)
3. Water in the catch basin is filtered by the sponge as it is sucked in again by the pump
I revived it recently and changed the tanks used inside. Upgraded the 4"x4"x4" tanks to 4"x6"x8". Here is the link
top view
pump & sponge filter
pipe
drip to tank
Basically, this is how it works:
1. Pump brings water up the PVC pipe then distributed to the tanks with the air hose
2. Water overflows from the tanks and flows to the catch basin (bigger tank)
3. Water in the catch basin is filtered by the sponge as it is sucked in again by the pump
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