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Plants for goldfish tanks…that they won’t destroy.
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These are not buried in substrate. Can tether to decorations.
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Narrowleaf Vallisneria: Graceful Grass-Like Elegance for Your Aquarium
Narrowleaf Vallisneria (Vallisneria nana) stands out as a resilient and visually striking addition to small to medium aquariums, making it an aquarium hobbyist favorite. Its grass-like appearance and low-maintenance nature contribute to its popularity.
Key Features:
Care Guidelines:
At-A-Glance Characteristics:
Care Snapshot:
Narrowleaf Vallisneria offers both beauty and resilience, making it an excellent choice for aquarists seeking an enchanting and undemanding aquatic plant.
Are you excited about adding new aquatic plants to your established tank?
Before diving in, it’s crucial to consider potential threats like pests, diseases, and unwanted chemicals that could accompany those vibrant green additions.
In this post, learn about the importance of quarantining new aquarium plants and provide practical methods to ensure a safe transition into your aquatic haven.
Why Quarantine Plants?
Whether sourced from a local store or received through online orders, aquarium plants may harbor pests, parasites, algae, diseases, or pesticides.
From harmless snails to harmful planaria and hydra, introducing these unwelcome guests can disrupt the balance of your tank, leading to potential fatalities among your fish and shrimp. Algae, diseases, and lingering pesticides are also silent threats that may take away the focus from your thriving tank.
How to Quarantine Aquarium Plants
Similar to quarantining fish, it’s essential to keep new plants in a separate, fish-free tank for 3-4 weeks before introducing them to the main aquarium. Performing routine water changes during this period is advisable. For those looking to expedite the process to one week, daily water changes and the use of a water conditioner like SL-Aqua Black More Stabilizer can be effective.
Recommended Methods of Sterilizing Aquatic Plants
Before placing plants in the quarantine tank, a thorough sterilization process is recommended. Here are three effective methods:
Conclusion
Quarantining new aquarium plants is a crucial step in maintaining the health and balance of your tank. By following these sterilization methods, you can enjoy a clean start and ensure the safety of your fish, shrimp, and the overall ecosystem. Whether you’re a seasoned aquarist or a beginner, prioritize the well-being of your aquatic inhabitants for a thriving and beautiful planted tank.
Introduction: Keeping an African dwarf frog in captivity can be a rewarding experience, especially when you see your aquatic companion thriving and happy. In this guide, we’ll explore the key indicators that your African dwarf frog is content and in good health.
1. Swimming Actively: African dwarf frogs are known for their constant activity in the water. Observing your frog swimming actively is a clear sign of happiness. These fully aquatic creatures seldom stay idle and exhibit playful behaviors, such as burbling, which adds to the joy of owning them.
2. Surface Breathing and Jumping: Healthy and happy African dwarf frogs will consistently come up to the surface to breathe, showcasing their robust respiratory behavior. Additionally, their occasional attempts to jump out of the water, especially during feeding, reflect a content and lively demeanor.
3. Bottom Dwellers’ Behavior: While these frogs are active swimmers, they often spend a significant amount of time at the bottom of the tank. This behavior is perfectly normal and indicates a happy dwarf frog. However, floating at the top may be a sign of distress or illness.
4. Reaction to Handling: A content African dwarf frog will instinctively swim away when approached or handled. This behavior is a sign of well-being. Conversely, a stressed or unwell frog may not exhibit the same swift reaction.
5. Clear Eyes and Smooth Skin: Examining your frog’s eyes and skin is crucial. Clear eyes and smooth, unharmed skin are indicators of a happy and healthy African dwarf frog. Any discoloration or fuzzy patches may signal an underlying issue.
6. Quick Food Consumption: A voracious appetite is a positive sign of a happy African dwarf frog. These frogs typically finish their food quickly. If your frog shows a lack of interest in eating or takes longer to consume its meals, it could be a sign of unhappiness or illness.
7. Shedding Skin in One Piece: Regular shedding is a natural part of an African dwarf frog’s growth. If your frog sheds its skin in one piece, it is a good indication of overall well-being. Multiple pieces of shed skin may suggest underlying health issues.
8. Interaction with Tank Mates and Owners: African dwarf frogs are social creatures. Interacting positively with tank mates and responding to the owner’s gestures are signs of a happy frog. Lack of interaction or avoidance behaviors may indicate stress.
9. Hiding Behavior: Frequent hiding during the day is a normal and instinctual behavior for African dwarf frogs. If your frog retreats to hiding spots, it suggests a healthy adaptation to its environment.
10. Humming or Buzzing: The buzzing sound produced by your African dwarf frog is a notable sign of happiness. This behavior, often mistaken for singing, is more pronounced during mating periods, reflecting an active and content state.
Ways to Ensure Happiness:
To maintain a happy and healthy African dwarf frog, consider the following:
Conclusion: By understanding and observing these signs, along with providing proper care and attention, you can ensure a happy and thriving life for your African dwarf frog. Remember, a joyful frog is a healthy frog.
It’s important to keep our aquariums within a certain temperature range to make sure the fish and other aquatic creatures we keep are happy and healthy. Too high or too low, and our aquatic pets will suffer. The temperature range that’s best for each creature depends on what part of the world they’re native to. Tropical fish, for example, do best between 75° and 80°F, goldfish and other “cold-water” species prefer temperatures below 70°F, and temperate fish can be found in habitats that overlap tropical and cold-water realms.
Fish are cold-blooded – aka ectothermic or poikilothermic – animals, meaning they cannot control their body temperature. Instead, they rely on the temperature of their environment to regulate their metabolisms and activity levels. When it’s too cold, they’re less active, their appetite is reduced and their immune systems are compromised, making them more susceptible to disease.
When it’s too warm, their metabolisms and breathing speed up, and they use more oxygen. The problem is, as water warms up it holds less oxygen, which further stresses the fish. Once again, they become more susceptible to disease, and in extreme cases, they can experience organ damage or even suffocate. Making matters worse, above 90°F, the beneficial bacteria that maintain balance in an aquarium begin to die, creating the potential for dangerous ammonia and nitrite spikes.
Water temperature in nature isn’t always constant. In fact, it can fluctuate quite a bit. Some days are sunny, some are cloudy. There may be seasonal changes as you get further away from the equator. Sometimes it rains, which can cool things down considerably. The water near the surface is usually quite a bit warmer than just a few feet below. And what happens when the sun goes down at night?
There are two major differences between natural habitats and our aquariums when it comes to temperature. First, fish in the wild can usually move to a more desirable spot if they don’t like the temperature. And second, temperature changes tend to occur gradually in nature due to the massive volumes of water involved, so fish have time to adapt, or move. Not so in an aquarium.
Unlike nature, where water temperature can vary in different micro-habitats, the temperature in an aquarium tends to be uniform throughout the tank. Aquarium fish can’t move from a less favorable spot to one that’s more comfortable if the temperature is outside their preferred range. In addition, temperature changes are often more extreme and happen much more rapidly in an aquarium, giving our fish less time to adapt.
Fish that are kept at the wrong temperature long-term may not grow as large, their colors may be muted, they may be less inclined to breed, and they may not live as long. A sudden drop in temperature is often linked to the onset of Ick and other parasite outbreaks.
Now that we understand how important maintaining proper water temperature is for our fish, let’s look at how to achieve it:
Heating an aquarium is relatively straight-forward, but what happens when hot weather makes your aquarium too warm? Dialing the A/C down a few notches can be expensive, and what if you don’t have air conditioning? An easy solution is to open the tank lid and direct a fan across the water surface to create evaporative cooling. (Lower the water level slightly to prevent fish from jumping out.) Aquariums with cold-water fish or sensitive corals may require a chiller. For additional tips on cooling your aquarium, visit How to Keep Your Aquarium Cool in Summer Heat.
When stocking your aquarium, choose fish whose preferred temperature ranges match the temperature of your tank. Things can get a little tricky, however, when the upper limit of one species coincides with the lower limit of another. Trying to find a happy middle ground may stress both fish because one is always a little cold, and the other is a little warm. While they may tolerate the situation, neither of them will thrive. Always set your heater for the middle of your fishes’ preferred temperature range and choose fish that share the same temperature requirements.
Maintaining a stable temperature that matches your fishes’ needs isn’t difficult, and your fish will thank you for it!
Source: https://www.aqueon.com/
By far the most tedious aspect of owning an aquarium is the initial setup. This involves setting up the pumps, filters, and decorations before adding appropriately filtered water. Once the tank’s components are put in place, the longest of setup processes, cycling, is ready to begin. Aquarium cycling is often overlooked by beginners who wish to see their tank alive, but it is a crucial step in creating an environment for happy, long-living fish. Below you can find information on what cycling is, why it is important, and how to cycle your aquarium.
Aquarium cycling is the process of creating a biologically safe environment for fish in a new tank. It involves introducing nitrifying bacteria into the aquarium to regulate the nitrogen cycle. These bacteria curb the effects of ammonia buildup caused by the breaking down of fish waste. To complete the nitrogen cycle, ammonia must be converted to nitrite, and the nitrite must be converted to nitrate.
Before fish are introduced into the environment, nitrifying bacteria must spread themselves across the aquarium’s biological filters to handle the volume of ammonia produced by the fish. If fish are introduced to the tank too quickly or if too many fish are introduced at once, the biofilters will not be able to keep up with the amount of ammonia produced by the fish. Even after cycling an aquarium properly, it is best to introduce your fish one at a time to ensure the tank is biologically prepared for more fish.
If you do not cycle your aquarium, the nitrogen cycle will still occur, but your fish will likely be harmed in the process. The effects of built-up toxins in a new aquarium contribute to what is known as “New Tank Syndrome.” Species of fish that are not hardy are more prone to symptoms of ammonia exposure and require a cycled aquarium to live healthy lives.
Aquariums generally take four to eight weeks to cycle. Factors such as the size of the tank and the water’s pH and temperature can affect how long cycling takes. To prevent the cycling process from taking longer than necessary, closely monitor the temperature and pH of your aquarium’s water. The pH should remain between 7.0 and 7.8, while the temperature should maintain a range of 83°F to 87°F. Not only does this expedite the tank’s cycling, but it will also ensure the stability of the environment the fish will live in. You should also test the tank’s ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels every one to two days when cycling your aquarium. If the aquarium is cycling properly, you will first notice a drop in ammonia and a significant spike in nitrites. Once the nitrite levels are high enough, nitrate-producing bacteria will begin populating the tank. Once these bacteria populate the tank, nitrite levels will fall. Once the ammonia and nitrite levels reach zero and nitrates are being produced, the cycle is complete.
Before cycling an aquarium, ensure you have the following items available:
An aquarium cannot be cycled until it is equipped with all of the components it requires to house the fish. Certain water contaminants, such as chlorine and chloramine, affect the nitrogen cycle and the water’s PH, so a quality water filter is necessary when filling your tank.
Learn more: Why you should use reverse osmosis water for your aquarium
When cycling your aquarium, you have the option to cycle without fish, with fish, or with plants in the tank. It is highly recommended that you cycle your tank without fish, especially if you are a beginner. Fish in the tank during this process are exposed to higher-than-normal levels of ammonia, and even hardy fish can suffer as a result. Plants, on the other hand, are unpredictable and can lead to frustration when cycling a tank.
Cycling an aquarium without fish is more time-consuming than cycling with fish, but it is also more humane. Consequently, it is the more popular way to cycle an aquarium. Note that you should introduce fish with this method once your aquarium shows signs that it has cycled.
Before cycling the tank, you must ensure that the pumps, filters, substrate, and other tank components are set up and functioning properly. While the aquarium is cycling, all bubblers, heaters, pumps, and filters should be kept running. This allows nitrifying bacteria to accumulate on the surfaces of the aquarium, particularly the filters and substrate. The bacteria that cling to these surfaces reproduce and maintain the nitrogen cycle when fish are added to the tank.
Learn more: What is an aquarium air pump? | What is an aquarium water pump?
Maintaining a pH of 7.0-7.8 is ideal for the nitrogen cycle to occur the most efficiently. It is also the perfect pH for most freshwater fish. Water that is too acidic (pH of less than 7.0) is particularly detrimental to the nitrogen cycle because it allows ammonia levels to rise when it is not wanted. Chlorine, a chemical present in tap water, drops the pH of water below desired levels. In contrast, too high of a pH is also detrimental to the nitrogen cycle. When the pH rises above 9.0, ammonium converts into ammonia, disrupting the tank’s environment. Throughout the whole process of cycling and after fish are added to the aquarium, it is important to check and maintain the water’s pH to preserve the health of your fish. The pH of water can be tested with pH test strips or an all-in-one test kit.
To begin the nitrogen cycle, ammonia must be present in the tank. A simple and effective way to raise ammonia levels in an aquarium is by adding fish food. You should add the amount of food that you would if fish were present in the tank. If you plan on incorporating six fish in your tank, for example, you should add an appropriate amount of food for six fish. When the food decays, it releases ammonia into the water, kickstarting the nitrogen cycle.
Once the food decays, check the ammonia levels of the water. The ideal ammonia concentration in a tank is about 3 parts per million (ppm). Ammonia levels as high as 5 ppm are acceptable, but fewer than 3 ppm of ammonia may fail to produce enough nitrite to properly cycle your tank. If the ammonia levels are too low, add more fish food, allow it to decay, and check the levels once more. If the ammonia levels are too high, change out about 10 to 20 percent of the tank’s water with treated water.
Check the ammonia daily for one week and add food if the ammonia drops below 3 ppm. Likewise, perform a water change if the ammonia rises above 5 ppm. Ammonia, alongside pH, nitrites, and nitrates, can be checked with an aquarium test kit.
Once the water has maintained appropriate ammonia levels for a week, the nitrite levels in the tank should be detectable. If nitrites are not detectable yet, allow a little more time and continue to monitor the ammonia levels and pH. Once nitrite levels begin to rise, they will spike quickly as there is nothing to regulate them yet. The nitrites feed on ammonia, so you must maintain ammonia levels during this stage as well. If the ammonia runs out, the nitrates can disappear, and you will need to start the cycle over again. Once the nitrite levels begin to drop while the ammonia levels are suitable, you can move on to the next step.
When nitrite levels decline in a tank, that is a sign that either nitrifying bacteria are feeding on the nitrite or that ammonia levels are too low. If nitrates are detectable in your tank, that is a sign that the nitrite levels are declining due to the presence of bacteria. Once nitrate levels are detectable, it is the beginning of the end of the cycle. To ensure the bacteria have enough to feed on, add half as much fish food as you did on the first day about once every two to three days. You should notice that the ammonia and nitrite levels continue to decrease. Once the ammonia and nitrite levels reach zero and the nitrate levels remain, the tank has finished cycling.
Once the tank has finished cycling, incorporate fish into the tank slowly. To begin, add one or two fish so the bacteria do not become overwhelmed. After a day or two, check the ammonia levels in the tank. If they remain at zero, you can incorporate more fish into the aquarium. Continuing to monitor and regulate the ammonia, nitrite, and pH levels of the aquarium is essential in maintaining the health of your fish.
Learn more: How to maintain a freshwater aquarium
Cycling a tank with fish is similar to cycling a tank without fish, but the source of ammonia differs. Rather than adding food to the water, the fish provide ammonia in the form of waste. In addition, you will need to perform frequent water changes with fish present. Fish-in cycling is not recommended in most situations, but it can be effective if you populate your tank with hardy fish.
This step is identical to step one of fishless cycling. Before you add fish to your tank, ensure all components are installed properly and are in working order. This includes all pumps, filters, bubblers, temperature regulators, and all other components. This creates a suitable environment for your fish to live in.
Hardy fish are less affected by ammonia and other contaminants than most fish species, so they are the only suitable type of fish to be in the tank while cycling. Do not add more than three fish to the tank. If too many fish live in the tank during the cycle, they will produce too much waste and cause ammonia levels to spike too high.
Once the fish have been added, you will want to feed them sparingly. This can mean feeding them less frequently or feeding them smaller amounts at a normal frequency. Avoid overfeeding the fish, as this will cause them to produce more waste and lead to the additional production of ammonia via decayed food. Once the cycle kicks off, you can begin feeding the fish regular amounts of food.
Change about 10 to 20 percent of the tank’s water twice every week. This helps regulate ammonia, nitrite, and other contaminants’ levels. Water changes of this frequency should continue as long as your aquarium operates.
While making water changes, you will need to constantly monitor the tank’s ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels. Once the nitrate levels remain consistent and the ammonia and nitrite levels are undetectable, the cycle has been completed. Additional fish can then be added to the tank.
Aquarium cycling with plants is far less predictable of a method than fishless and fish-in cycling. Plant death and algae growth can cause the cycle to fail and require you to start the process over. As a result, this method is not recommended over fishless cycling, but it is more humane than fish-in cycling. Before cycling a tank with plants, you will need to purchase nitrogen-containing fertilizers.
Like step one in the previous methods, ensure that all pumps, bubblers, filters, heaters, and other components are added to the aquarium.
Before adding plants to the aquarium, disinfect them to reduce the risk of outside bacteria and parasites from harming the tank’s environment. Hardy plants are the best plant type to add to an aquarium while cycling. Water column feeders are ideal because they absorb ammonia and nitrate better than other plant types.
The lighting of a planted aquarium is essential in allow the plant to photosynthesize. Ensure that the lighting setup you use is optimal for your plants both while cycling and after. At this stage, plants should receive about ten to twelve hours of light per day.
Now that the lighting is set up, you can add fertilizer to the tank. If you are using water column feeders, liquid fertilizer is the best option. For root plants, place root tabs directly under the plants’ roots.
When cycling with plants, you should change about 30 percent of the tank’s water each week. This reduces algae growth, especially in the first few weeks after introducing plants to the water.
If you see new growth in your tank, that is a sign that the tank is completing its cycle. You may notice some algae growth along the tank walls and substrate. In this phase, some algae growth is acceptable because it signals there are enough nutrients for the plants to thrive. If your tank has an abundance of algae, lower the lighting duration to about eight to ten hours a day.
Throughout this process, you will need to monitor the ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels of the aquarium’s water. To test if your tank is cycled, add around one ppm of ammonia to the tank. If ammonia levels are undetectable after 24 hours, nitrites are undetectable, and nitrates are present, the tank has completed its cycle.
Adding bacteria manually can help a tank cycle quickly, but it can lead to problems for your fish later on. If you choose to speed up the hydrogen cycle in your tank, you will need a filter and substrate from an already cycled tank to produce the most desirable results. While bottled bacteria and recycled filters and substrate speed up the nitrogen cycle, the best option for your aquarium is to let the process carry out naturally.
Source: https://www.freshwatersystems.com/blogs/blog/how-to-cycle-a-fish-tank
The Salt and Pepper Pygmy Cory Catfish (Corydoras habrosus) is a very animated, distinctively marked schooling fish that is perfect for the community and planted aquarium. As its name suggests, it has a light tan body covered with black and shiny silver spotting and broken striping. This is a much smaller species than the similarly-named Peppered Cory Catfish (Corydoras paleatus), which we also offer.
The Salt and Pepper Pygmy Cory Catfish is a very peaceful schooling fish that is compatible with most nano aquarium animals. It might eat dwarf shrimp fry, but is generally safe to keep with adult dwarf shrimp. It is a classic scavenger and will inhabit and feed at the aquarium floor, which should be comprised of sand or smooth gravel. Very coarse substrate can damage its delicate barbells and underbelly. This fish is otherwise very undemanding as it will accept most dry and frozen foods. It is adaptable to most tropical freshwater conditions as long as standard regular maintenance is performed.
Source: https://aquaticarts.com/products/salt-and-pepper-cory-catfish