Salt : Simple And Effective For Cleaning Aquariums

  I read a lot admittedly.I've come across many essays and blogs debating the best thing to use for

cleaning your tank.Some suggestions make it seem as if the fish owner is trying to poison the fish.The

worst I ever heard is someone who recommended that you wash your tank with diluted bleach.No

disrespect to those who do this but I would simply never take that kind of risk with my fish.Bleach is

extremely hard to wash off and it's really poisonous.If you've ever washed your bathroom with

bleach,you will know that it releases some really terrible fumes that can make you really nauseous.

  I'm not condemning people who use bleach to clean their tanks.If done correctly and diluted with

enough water,it may be quite effective.My point though is,why take the risk?Furthermore,many of us

use tanks which are made out of acrylic or in layman terms,plastic tanks.Bleach can cause chemical

reactions when it comes in contact with acrylic.It can make your plastic tank hazy if not used

properly.And worse still,if you don't clean it thoroughly,it may just kill your fish.
 
  Currently I have two tanks.A glass one that is probably 7 or 8 gallons and a plastic 2+ gallon one.I

keep the glass one at home but I bring my plastic one with me when I study at college.As a

student,we aren't allowed to keep pets and frankly buying expensive cleaning agents is out of the

question.My solution is cheap and simple.Salt and hot water.

  A scientific experiment by Dr. Sarah Forgie, a specialist in pediatric infectious diseases(haha yeah I

know,it's dealing with kids and their diseases but it still involves bacteria so we can use this bit of info

here) discovered that using a saline solution properly can be as effective as using disinfectant wipes

when it comes to cleaning plastic.

  So don't look down on the humble pinch of salt.It won't harm your fish if any residue is left behind

on your aquarium.A bit of salt may be beneficial for your fish.Sometimes if I want to thoroughly

clean my tank and the gravel,I soak the tank in a warm saltwater solution.For the gravel I soak it in

hot water and salt and keep changing the water until the algae and dirt are totally removed.The algae

will die and fall off pretty quickly when the hot saltwater hits it.Don't be stingy with the salt.More is

better than less.Salt doesn't damage your tank or harm your fishes.If you want to be extra

careful,letting your tank get a little exposure to sun will kill off bacteria as well.Just be careful if

you're using a plastic tank,don't let it be under too direct sunlight for too long.You can leave rocks and

gravel under the hot sun though.Kill's off bacteria effectively.

The Sushi Jumps!

  Paul Toth's book, How To Entertain Your Betta, got me thinking. He said that he trained his Betta to

leap out of it's tank to get at the food dangling above him.

  So I thought,why not?After all Pete is an energetic lil guy with time to spare and a whole lot of

enthusiasm.So I wetted the ends of an old paintbrush and stuck bits of fish feed on the ends of the

bristles,letting the brush hover over the water.Needless to say Pete got the hint pretty quickly.

  At first he kind of swam under the brush.After awhile,he started making these cute little movements

that looked a little like a sprinter getting ready to sprint and *plop* !! He made his first

jump!Triumphant,he jumped again and again.Now he can jump up to 2cm out of the water.One

day,we shall reach for the sky!Which is perhaps 5cm :)I included a video of Pete jumping for his

food,sorry if it's lopsided!

How To Entertain your Betta's By Paul Toth

  I was Googling Bettas today and I stumbled upon this gem of a book by Paul Toth

  For newbies this may come in handy on ways to entertain your Betta. Warning : You may look

ridiculous following some of the suggestions in this book.All in all though it was a really fun read!

  I like Paul's humorous writing style and the way he talks about his "Fishy Wishy." This book is all

about one mans determination to keep his Betta entertained and his constant struggle to convince his

wife that he has not gone insane over what she deems as "Just a Fish."

  The book is short and funny, you won't regret reading it :D Here's a link to the PDF version

http://www.google.com.my/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=5&ved=0CGEQFjAE&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww3.telus.net%2Fstarthere%2Fbettabook%2Fpdf%2FHowToEntertainYourBettaFish.pdf&ei=wh8BUOr8OMnNrQeEqJinBg&usg=AFQjCNHMLb7wlRwzhoWt496QfYu-AMSb3A

Happy reading!

Tribute To Bill

  I was painting this one a few days before Bill passed away.It's not a drawing of Bill yet somehow it's

eyes seem to capture the spirit and intensity that Bill had.Love you Billy boy :)

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Tropical Fish and Temperature

 

  I'm not an expert when it comes to fishes.To be very honest,most of my knowledge of fish rearing

stems from much trial and error and a whole lot of them were erroneous as I kept fishes mostly when

I was a young kid up to my teens.

  Here's one thing though that is really important when you're keeping tropical fish :water

temperature.

  Recently,I lost my beloved fighting fish Bill and his mate Dottie.Previously,my dad and I thought

that Dottie had brought a disease with her from the shop we bought her in.Turns out we were wrong.

  Dottie developed white spots in the span of less than a day when she showed no previous symptoms

of being ill.Bill on the other hand didn't have any visible white spots but then again I could be

mistaken because he is rather white.

  After seeking the opinions of some serious fish enthusiasts,we came up with what may be the

answer to their sudden and weird deaths : low water temperatures.

  I live in Malaysia,the land of eternal summer so you may be wondering what business does this

woman have with low water temp.Well I made a bad call in two areas.

  Firstly,I kept my aquariums in my bedroom. Usually bedrooms are not the ideal place to have

tanks.Why?Because you might just place them in a place where there is hardly any sunlight or in

some dark and hidden corner.My room was pretty sunny though but it was still a mistake to keep the

fishes in my room,bring me to my second point.

  In my room there was an air-conditioner.And I used it occasionally.Bad move.Tropical fish are just

what they are,tropical.You can't put an Eskimo in the desert or a Bedouin in the

Alaska.Likewise,tropical fish need warm temperatures to thrive.The lower the temperature,the

weaker their immune system gets.This makes them susceptible to all kinds of diseases and death.A

friend of my fathers and who is a real fish enthusiast,kept a whole school of

cardinals.Overnight,nearly the whole school was wiped out.The culprit?Them blasted AC's.
 
  From what I've read,some sites recommend that you keep your tank at 70 to 80 degrees F or 21 to

26.6 degrees C.Still 70 degrees F is a lil chilly.To be safe I would recommend a temperature of 82.4

degrees F / 28 degrees C and above.Still, check out the real experts if you're worried.I'm an amateur.

  If you live in a tropical country,you don't have much of a problem then.Just make sure the tank is

somewhere warm,not necessarily somewhere in direct sunlight.You may end up with a whole tank of

boiled fish and a unstoppable mess of algae to deal with.If you have planst that need sunlight

though,keep your tank somewhere that is sunny but not directly so,for example next to a window.If

you live somewhere that has the four seasons,just make sure you have a heater for your tank or place

your tank near the heater.I don't really recommend putting it directly on the heater though.If you have

a glass tank,it might crack or cook your fish.Oh,and if you live in the Artic region,you're just gona get

frozen fish.

  So I thought I might give you some examples of tropical fishes if you have no clue what they

are.These are fishes grouped together by their genus

- Characins(All types of Tetras,Silver Dollars)
- Catfish
- Cichlids
- Labyrinths(Bettas,Gouramis)
- Livebearers(Guppies,Mollies,Swordtails)

  These are just a few groups of fish,there are hundreds of tropical fishes out there.Keep yer fishies

happy!

More Than Just A Fish

  Everyone has someone or something that has entered their lives at a critical point where hope

 seemed impossible and pain the only emotion left to feel. In my case, God sent me Bill.

  I never did mentioned why I decided to get Bill. After all, there was a hiatus of quite a few years

since I last kept fishes.

  It was my first year in university and I was really happy that I had been accepted into a government

university.My studies were going well and my boyfriend was living a train ride away. Life seemed

perfect.Then everything crashed because my Indian boyfriend decided that he didn't want me

anymore because he was superstitious and listened to the advice his mother gave him.She had seeked

the services of a medium who said he would never marry a Chinese girl.So he dumped me.That

turned my life upside down and it happened near my 1st semesters final exams.I did not study and I

thank God my parents were there for me everyday through skype and calls.God was good to me and I

passed with excellent results.

  When I started my 2nd semester I got Bill because i was lonesome. He was so energetic even

though there was no space for him to move in that tiny container they kept him in and he was

beautiful. And best of all, he reacted well towards me. I upgraded him to a two gallon tank and kept

him illegally in my dorm room.Everyday he was there to greet me when I woke up in the morning by

bouncing up and down energetically and following the movement of my finger and hands.I loved

him, and bonded with him somehow unlike the other fishes I had kept.I would buy R.O water instead

of using tap water when I wanted to change his water and bought him different kinds of fishfood,and

also caught him his favorite mosquitoes.At night if I studies till early in the morning,he'd look at me

and my books and watch me study.I'd play peek-a-boo with him behind my books.And I would cover

the top of his tank with a book to keep the light from entering his tank at night if I was studying.He

was always active,and when he saw me coming back from classes,he'd start swimming like a

maniac.He was sweet.

  He was there when I was dumped a second time by the guy and when he tried to get at me the third

time.Bill was there.The days where I felt so alone and had no one to talk to.He swam for me,nibbled

my fingers and flared his gills at me.He was my best friend.

  I do believe that the Father sent him to me in the times when I needed a friend the most.And now

when I'm better and strong again,he went away.For that short time when Bill was with me,so many

people came to know and love his crazy personality.My dad,my friends and even my mom who

doesn't like me keeping fish,came to love him.She once took a three hour drive to make sure Bill

wasn't badly shaken in the car,when the drive in reality took 2 hours!Bill,will be missed by so many

people,especially me.He was my guardian angel :) I love you Bill