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Rainbow Shark Care

18
Aug 2011

rainbow-shark

Rainbow Shark or Red fin shark, Ruby shark, Red Shark is known for its 2 pairs of sensitive barbells beside the mouth which are used to search for food. Rainbow shark has also different shade of body ranging from brown, blue, gray, or black with it’s famous red fins.

Rainbow Sharks feed on the leftover food that are mostly found in the bottom of the tank so with them, you are sure that your tank is  always clean.

 Rainbow Shark Care

Rainbow Sharks cannot eat pellets, they rely on the left over food by its tank mates. These food are usually powdered or crushed by other fish.

Rainbow Shark is aggressive towards another Rainbow Shark so keeping a couple is not really advisable. It is semi-aggressive to other fish but usually can be kept with most aquarium fishes.

The Rainbow shark needs at least 55 gallon tank size and with rocks, shades, plants. It needs hiding place.  The water temperature should be between 24 -27 degrees Celsius.

Rainbow Shark Breeding

Since Rainbow sharks are aggressive towards each other, breeding is difficult and with low result.

My rainbow shark has been to all the tanks. It has been the tank mate of molly, guppies, cichlids, parrot fish, and others. He always keeps my tank clean :)

 

 

Category: fish care, guidance, rainbow shark  Tags: , , ,  2 Comments

Discus Fish Care

05
Aug 2011

red-spider-discusfish

If you decide to keep a Discus Fish, make sure that you are not a newbie in aquarium fish keeping. Discus fish is considered as the king of all aquarium fish. Their grace, perfect round shape, flashy color, and tiny mouth make them the favorite of aquarium hobbyist.

red-spider-discusfish02

Setting Up a Tank for Discus Fish

Discus fish are not aggressive so be careful of selecting other fish to join them. It is better to keep them from other kinds of fish.

Discus require a higher temperature water setting than most other tropical aquarium fish, somewhere around 28 degrees Celsius. The pH level is also critical and should be around the 7 range.  Constant change of water for at least 10% is advisable, they love fresh water. Poor water quality will affect their appetite.

Keeping Discus Healthy

Discus fish are prone to diseases, so make sure to constantly clean the tank and everything in there like filter and plants and gravels. Separate ill fish to avoid contamination to other Discus fish.


 

Category: discus, fish care  Tags: , , ,  Leave a Comment

Black Water for Aquarium

12
Jul 2011

oceanfree-supernatural-blackwater

Ocean Free Super Natural Black Water

Black water is an additives or supplements for fish which live in soft water aquariums. Soft water has low minerals and by adding black water, it helps improve the quality of the water with added elements such as calcium and magnesium. Black water also helps lower the water pH as soft water has a strong tendency of pH instability.

Where to Buy

Black water extract can be bought in aquarium shops. They come in bottles in different brands and bottle sizes. Experienced aquarists make their own black water by using driftwood, leaves, peat moss, and a variety of other natural substances to extract a substance called tannins.

How to Use

Black water is added to the water in aquarium after every changing of water.

rb-aquariumseries-superior-blackwater

RB Aquarium Series Superior Black Water

For my aquariums, I used before the Ocean Free Super Natural Black Water especially for my discus fish. The lights in my aquariums seem so bright and adding black water makes it dimmer which is good for fish. Right now, I am using R.B. Aquarium Series Superior Black Water.

 

Category: aquarium, fish care  Tags: , ,  One Comment

Three is a Crowd?

08
Jul 2011

The beauty of keeping an aquarium is that your fishes will give you some surprises from time to time like this one which I captured with my camera.

 

The three fishes are a big and a small parrot fish and a red devil.  I usually switch off the light after feeding them, so when I switched on the lights, I saw that these three fishes were sleeping together. So, is three a crowd? For these fishes, I don’t think so :)

Category: blood parrot fish, fish keeping experience, red devil, Uncategorized  Tags: , ,  6 Comments

Red Devil Cichlid: Care and Breeding

24
Jun 2011

red devil cichlid

A Convict Red Devil Cichlid which I bought from Mathsya Mela 2011.

Red Devil Cichlids, which has a scientific name of Amphilophus labiatus, come from Central America. They grow up to 10-12 inches and are typically an aggressive fish. Male Red Devil fish are larger than the females and they develop a hump on their forehead, with sharper, more pointed anal and pelvic fins

Since Red Devil fish are known for aggressive behavior, it is advisable to keep it alone in the tank, or choose an appropriate tank mates. They are territorial so a big tank like 55-gallon aquarium should be enough for one Red Devil fish, and bigger tank if keeping more than one. It is important to put hiding spots like plants and driftwood. Red Devil fish tend to jump, so put a cover on the tank. They are hardy fish but a water pH of 7.08.0 and temperature of 76-82°F would be suitable for them.

Red Devil fish would eat pellets, flakes, live food such as bloodworms, shrimp, brine shrimp, insects, and earthworms.

Breeding Red Devil fish is difficult. They are monogamous, that means a male Red Devil fish would only take one female Red Devil fish as his partner.  The female lays eggs on a flat surface such as rocks, logs, or breeding dish. The male will then fertilize the eggs and protect them. Red Devil fish protect their eggs and young fries so do not separate them.

I had two Red Devil fish but one jump out of the tank when I forgot to put the cover. My lone Red Devil which I have been keeping for several months had already killed two African Cichlid and injured a Severum and a Parrot fish. However, my Red Devil didn’t harm my other two Parrot fish and three Gouramis when he was sharing the tank with them since I bought him until a month ago. I decided to remove him from the tank where the Parrot fish and Gouramis are so that I can put back the other Parrot fish which he attacked. Right now, my Red Devil fish is living with several African Cichlids.


 

 

 

 

Category: aquarium, cichlids, fish care, fish keeping experience, guidance, red devil  Tags: , , , ,  2 Comments
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