Search
Recommended Products
Related Links


 

 

Informative Articles

A Guide To Gas Powered RC Cars
Gas Powered RC cars offer many realistic features and come in a variety of types and styles. To help you choose what's right for you, this article covers the main considerations you'll face. If you're a fan of radio-controlled...

Extreme Slying
EXTREME FACTS: HUMIDITY Hotter air can hold more water vapour than cold, so as the air temperature falls the relative humidity rises. When it reaches 100% it is known as the Dew Point and condensation will occur Even desert environments can have...

Golf Training Programs For Women
Golf training programs designed to help condition the body for better golf have really taken off in recent years. Male golfers have not been the only beneficiaries. Many women golfers have also taken full advantage of what must be the most effective...

Online Golf Instructions Are Cheap But Effective
The number of online golf instruction programs on the net has grown tremendously in recent times. And yet they still continue to grow in leaps and bounds. One of the reasons for this phenomenal growth is that many of these online golf instructions...

The New Discovery That Makes It Possible To Get An Effective Workout In Less Time
Copyright 2005 William Mackie The Art of Multifunctional Training People often complain about how they just do not have enough time to spend working out in a gym. It seems every year the lives of many Americans become more hectic and they have less...

 
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