Because patience and proper acclimation are the most critical elements in ensuring the survival of your new

Georgia Aquarium - Fresh Water Tropical Fish Tank

arrivals, it is essential to read and understand all steps before beginning.

NOTE: Water in the fish bags will naturally be high in fish waste created during transport, therefore no water from the bags should ever enter your quarantine tank or aquarium.

The following steps must be precisely for success. All fish must be acclimated as follows. Many species will act sluggish or dead due to the stress of shipping. They will frequently rebound quickly and will flourish.
1. Never rush the acclimation process! Take a minimum of one hour to allow the fish, corals, and invertebrates time to adjust to their new home. Two to three hours is not unusual and allows the specimens the best chance for survival.
2. The inhabitants of the quarantine tank or aquarium that will be receiving the new animals should be fed. After feeding, turn the aquarium lights off for the remainder of the day. Room lights should also be dimmed to reduce stress.
3. The UNOPENED bags should be floated in the quarantine tank or aquarium for 20 minutes.
4. It is critical not to open the bags until after the shipping water has had time to match the quarantine tank or aquarium water temperature. If opened prematurely, the water will quickly lose dissolved oxygen causing possible suffocation. Air stones must never be added to the shipping bag. The aeration process will rapidly raise the pH and cause an increased ammonia level, each of which is toxic to the fish.
5. Carefully cut the shipping bag as close to the stainless steel clip as possible.
6. Roll back the edges of the plastic to form a float ring. Continue floating the now open bags. For heavier items that are prone to sinking, such as corals, place the items and all of the shipping water in an acclimation container. An empty bucket or Rubbermaid container works well for this.
7. Add 2 ounce (approx a shot glass) to a couple of ounces of quarantine tank or aquarium water, depending on the size of the shipping bag, into the bag or acclimation container containing the new item. Add no more than 20% of aquarium water into bag at any time. For fish that ship in smaller bags, the amount should literally be six to eight drops. A more gradual water exchange ensures the best chance for a successful transition.
8. Repeat Step 7, adding the small amount of water every 10 minutes.
9. When the bag is nearly full, dispose of half of the water from the bag.
10. Repeat Steps 7 and 8.
11. Your new specimens are now ready to be transferred to the quarantine tank or aquarium. Again, remember that no water from the shipping bags should enter your quarantine tank or aquarium. Use a net or a cup to transfer your new animals from the bag your quarantine tank or aquarium.

Image via Wikipedia

There are many different types of aquarium filters. The two main categories I would divide them into are internal and external.

Rather than go into the differences I’m going to flaunt conventional wisdom and say that any filter that exposes the aquarist to flooding is off the list as far as I’m concerned.

Then I will go one further and say that I prefer natural filtration which reduces the possibilities to very few.

Live rock, macroalgae, and water.

Let me begin with water.

The more water in an aquarium relative to what is living and inhabiting the tank the better the capacity of the aquarium to absorb the biological wastes generated by the inhabitants. The ideal set-ups are often found at public aquariums where the source of water is sometimes nature – such as the ocean for a marine aquarium or a lake for a freshwater aquarium.

To be continued ….

Image via Wikipedia

Aquarium Lore: Betta (Siamese Fighting Fish)

Betta Splendens, the Siamese fighting fish, more commonly known simply as a “Betta,” is a small colourful fish that originated in Thailand. Males have elongated fins to attract females. The male has long colorful fins, while the females have shorter fins and are not as colorful. They vary in size and shape. The short-fin fish are categorized by color and color combinations, such as the solid color, the bi-color, and the multi-color combinations, such as the solid color, the bi-color, and the multi-color. The long-fin fish are categorized by the shape of the tail, such as delta, paddle, and half-full tail.

Related articles

• WRITERS – opportunity to syndicate your content on up to 150++ blogs (africanfishes.com)

The goal is to convey to viewers and visitors the signficance of the role humans play in the preservation as well as the destruction of the planet earth.

Facts and media should support authors opinions and reinforce the credibility of the article

Here is a very small sample of recommended related sub-categories & guidelines:

▪ future technology, endangered species, aquarium, R&D, efforts by individuals & organizations, education, applied science, innovative solutions & ideas

▪ text and data should be accompanied by supporting and related media to optimize the viewers reading experience. i.e. photography, graphs, tables, polls, slide shows, videos, podcasts, widgets

Choice of subject matter is up to the writer and these guidelines are meant to be both broad and very flexible.

However a heads up should be sent to the publisher before submitting or writing the article

Articles will be reviewed for errors or inappropriate content and if needed corrected by the author prior to release.

As compensation for articles adsense ads may be embedded in the article by authors and linked to the authors personal adsense account, Links to other websites are permitted as well. Ads and links should not detract from the article content & appearance.

The publishers network of blogs will syndicate and publish any article deemed to be of special merit, meaning and interest to readers.

There are upwards of several dozen blogs currently active and overall a total of approximately 185 affiliated blogs/websites in the network.

It is all around you – look out your window at the trees and beyond at the rivers, lakes and streams. Is anything able to live in these bodies of water? Is life diminishing due to human based pollution and human caused climate change?

The answer is yes  – and the result is that the planet is dieing.

It’s quite simple  – healthy oceans, air and freshwater means humanity continues to exist – otherwise the planet will disintegrate down to microscopic life and start all over again.

Life is a circle.

Related articles

• Aquarium Filters (aquariumscience.com)