Search
Related Links




 

 

Informative Articles

A Brief History Of Baseball
A Short Baseball History The game of baseball is said to have begun in the early 19th century, but that's just half the truth. The game was played much before but the first baseball clubs were formed around that time. An Englishman named...

Faultless Big Wheel Bike Tours in Palm Springs
Faultless Big Wheel Bike Tours in Palm Springs Read Jetsetters Magazine at www.jetsettersmagazine.com Read this entire feature FREE with photos at http://www.jetsettersmagazine.com/archive/jetezine/sports02/bike/bigwheel/bigwheel.html Aaaah! This...

Football/soccer premiership preview 2005/06
Premiership preview 2005/06 The 2005/06 Premiership season gets underway on August 13th, and if the bookmakers are to be believed, the title will once again be contested by three teams. Two of those – Chelsea and Arsenal – meet on 7th August in...

Holiday Health: Give Get-Fit Gifts
‘Tis the season to celebrate -- and a time to eat! Most of us gain a few pounds during the holiday season. With family dinners, holiday parties and gift baskets loaded with goodies, who thinks of staying fit? Instead of giving a pyramid of...

What you need to know to buy a good used boat
More than 60 percent of first-time boat buyers purchase used boats rather than new ones off of the show room floor. For many, this is a practical solution to save money, especially when you're not sure how well you are going to take to boating or...

 
Causes and Solutions of Frequent Aquarium Fish Deaths

Aquarium tank fish death is one of the common challenges faced by aquarists. There are number of factors that could be responsible for the deaths experienced. These are outlined briefly below:

- The aquarist selection of fish.
- The removal and packing of the fish from the pet shop
- Transport time and period and the handling of the fish in transit
- Quarantine procedure.
- Adjustment and adaptation into the new community or environment by the new fish.

When buying fish from the pet shop always spend some time at the place to inquire about the life history and habits of the new purchase. You can then make a selection from collection of the same species. Never buy the last specimen in reserve at any shop because if it had been a good specimen, you would not have met it there in the first instance.

Always form the habit of making your fish purchase during the cool periods of the day, preferably before 12 noon or after 4.30pm.

These are the only periods I can guarantee for fish comfort. This restriction is borne out of my observation that most pet shops and aquarists alike do not seem to care about insulation of the fish against temperature fluctuations after gassing them in a polythene.

When making your fish selection from the pet shop be sure the attendant has the expertise to pick fish out from a selection. This you can know through the swiftness with which your choice fish is removed out of the selection.

Reject a fish that has been chased around, gasping for breath... It is week already! Chances are that it gives up with the further stress that accompanies the transportation of the fish.

Make sure that your new purchase is quarantined. That's a single factor that affects fish survival as pets.

Another thing to watch out for in a newly installed tank is the quantity of food: very little of this should be


given during the fist three weeks. Mind you! I am not suggesting that you should not give them food at all, because without food, no bacterial flora forms. The food supply to the bacteria should be increased only very gradually.

Fish keepers with old functional aquariums should avoid general cleaning that is washing of sand/gravel, scrubbing of tank wall and complete water changes so as not to disturb the bacterial flora.

When you have to service, it should just be the removal of the mulm and dead leaves sufficient to ensure adequate flow through the filter and no more. The bad habit of replacing the entire filter material or the soiled part with fresh materials is detrimental to fish life. Most bacterial live in the sludge at the bottom of the tank, so don't throw them away.

Many pet shops that operate a house-to-house maintenance routine on aquariums are used to the habit of complete overhaul which invariably lead to fish death. I have met many people who have said, "I used to service my tank myself. On close scrutiny I discovered that he indulge in the unforgivable habit of washing the aquarium with detergents!

In real life situation, no one can attest to having experienced a complete overhaul of a river bed. The only thing that happens during heavy rains or flood is the partial/complete change of the water body. The bed, sand and gravel components get cleaned but not overhauled.

This is nature's method of 'servicing' the fish's natural environment. So why don't we all adopt nature's method. Professional aquatic pet dealer’s service aquariums in the same way, and to the committed aquarist, I will advice you to do this yourself!

About the author:
For more great aquarium related articles and resources check out http://aquariumfish.aquariumspot.com



Sign up for PayPal and start accepting credit card payments instantly.