Yesterday was April 15th and I added all of my goldfish into my above ground pond yesterday. Boy does that feel great... The pond now consists of....
One Red and White Ryukin about 6 inches
One Whitish Calico fantail
one longer dark red calico fantain
5 babies from the fish above. Probably the two callicos
4 of the babies are mainly gold calico
1 is all black.
These fish were all in my 29 gallon at work since December. So about 4 months of the year... Here's the best part. The few goldfish I left in the pond over the winter were bigger!
Gold fish wintering in Kentucky is a great testament to their hardiness, another reason to love them.
I also added 3 hand selected fancy goldfish (ok, so I always hand select, but these ones are sweet) that I have been keeping in my 125 with two angels,6 diamond tetras and 3 cory cats.
The goldfish in the 125 were doing a great job of eating the Algae I have.
Well they are all together now and are patrolling all over the pond slowly grazing.
Life is good. Glad to have them outside again.
Friday, April 16, 2010
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Areal Advantage in the planted aquarium
One of most over looked aspects in the aquarium hobby is how do things actually grow in nature?
As you know, plants don't always grow underwater in the wild. Things happen and plants can grow up out of the water and up onto the shoreline ect.
But why should we concern ourselves with this if we are keeping plants in our tanks? The answer is that the plants will thrive given the opportunity to grow above the water line. This is called the Areal Advantage.
What do plants need a lot of? CO2. And guess where they can get a whole lot more of it? Yep, in that wonderful atmosphere. Heck, I'd go as far to say that your normal close up house probably has more CO2 in the air then being outside.
It is interesting to look at just how plants grow on there own in an attempt to climb up out of the water. As I type this I am staring at a 125 with Amazon Swords that have shot runners up and are heading to the surface. This can be seen with all kinds of other plants.
Bryan had a tank at the old fish store that had a piece of Anubias that was growing out of the tank. Though I have never witnessed it with my own two eyes, I believe that the major aquatic plant nurseries use this as well
As you know, plants don't always grow underwater in the wild. Things happen and plants can grow up out of the water and up onto the shoreline ect.
But why should we concern ourselves with this if we are keeping plants in our tanks? The answer is that the plants will thrive given the opportunity to grow above the water line. This is called the Areal Advantage.
What do plants need a lot of? CO2. And guess where they can get a whole lot more of it? Yep, in that wonderful atmosphere. Heck, I'd go as far to say that your normal close up house probably has more CO2 in the air then being outside.
It is interesting to look at just how plants grow on there own in an attempt to climb up out of the water. As I type this I am staring at a 125 with Amazon Swords that have shot runners up and are heading to the surface. This can be seen with all kinds of other plants.
Bryan had a tank at the old fish store that had a piece of Anubias that was growing out of the tank. Though I have never witnessed it with my own two eyes, I believe that the major aquatic plant nurseries use this as well
New Author Coming to Aquatic Jungles...
There is a new author coming to Aquatic Jungles. It's Bryan Campbell. He has been my ace with fish since I've moved to Lexington. He has been keeping tanks for several years and worked at Just Fish alongside some of the most knowledgeable people I've ever spoken to.
What he brings is a more sound technical knowledge then me. He is great with water chemistry and has built some very solid projects from scratch. (his two TV tanks are a testament to this.)
The best part about Bryan is that he has the passion for aquariums and I am excited to see what he'll unleash on here!
What he brings is a more sound technical knowledge then me. He is great with water chemistry and has built some very solid projects from scratch. (his two TV tanks are a testament to this.)
The best part about Bryan is that he has the passion for aquariums and I am excited to see what he'll unleash on here!
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Top Three Starter Plants.
Top Three Started Plants.
When Starting to plant you planted tank it is important to have some success early. Early success in the planted aquarium or planted tank will give you momentum to push through some obsticals that are inevitable going to happen. With a healthy start you can feel good about the growth that you have and start working your way towards other more advanced aquarium plants and planted aquarium techniques.
The most important factor in having success in the planted aquarium is in the plant selection early on. With a little bit of plant knowledge you can start off your planted tank in the right direction. The following species are listed as I have personally kept them for several years and am confident in my knowledge of them. While I am sure other plants will do the trick, these are my top three.
The first aquarium plant that I recommend a newbie to use is the classic Amazon Sword. This Genius Econdodorus comes in several variations. These variations are all splendid and can be the next step in your aquascape. In the beginning, get your hands on some plain old Amazon Swords.
Amazon Swords will be great at helping you learn the ropes of the planted aquarium . You can pick these plants up at nearly any worthy pet store. We all so have well rooted Amazon Swords for Sale on Aquatic Jungles. Take a good look at the plant. Ideally we are looking for the healthiest species we can find. The leave should be a nice dark green and the roots should look white and healthy. Beware of rotted looking roots, this is a no no. We
Jungle Vallisneria is the another great plant. It grow long and skinny and is the fastest growing plant that I own. (besides duckweed) Tall in height and great for a background it is really a must have. I have tons of Jungle Val For Sale on www.aquaticjungles.com (with out the blogspot;) Great grower in your planted tank.
The last one is dwarf sagitaius or dwarf sag. It looks like grass and grows like it. It stays short and is a great tank filler. You will have to pull it out in clumps at some point, but it is better to have too many plants then not enough right?
Get you hands on these plants and give them a shot. Heck. Post a comment and tell me what you think are the best starter aquarium plants.
When Starting to plant you planted tank it is important to have some success early. Early success in the planted aquarium or planted tank will give you momentum to push through some obsticals that are inevitable going to happen. With a healthy start you can feel good about the growth that you have and start working your way towards other more advanced aquarium plants and planted aquarium techniques.
The most important factor in having success in the planted aquarium is in the plant selection early on. With a little bit of plant knowledge you can start off your planted tank in the right direction. The following species are listed as I have personally kept them for several years and am confident in my knowledge of them. While I am sure other plants will do the trick, these are my top three.
The first aquarium plant that I recommend a newbie to use is the classic Amazon Sword. This Genius Econdodorus comes in several variations. These variations are all splendid and can be the next step in your aquascape. In the beginning, get your hands on some plain old Amazon Swords.
Amazon Swords will be great at helping you learn the ropes of the planted aquarium . You can pick these plants up at nearly any worthy pet store. We all so have well rooted Amazon Swords for Sale on Aquatic Jungles. Take a good look at the plant. Ideally we are looking for the healthiest species we can find. The leave should be a nice dark green and the roots should look white and healthy. Beware of rotted looking roots, this is a no no. We
Jungle Vallisneria is the another great plant. It grow long and skinny and is the fastest growing plant that I own. (besides duckweed) Tall in height and great for a background it is really a must have. I have tons of Jungle Val For Sale on www.aquaticjungles.com (with out the blogspot;) Great grower in your planted tank.
The last one is dwarf sagitaius or dwarf sag. It looks like grass and grows like it. It stays short and is a great tank filler. You will have to pull it out in clumps at some point, but it is better to have too many plants then not enough right?
Get you hands on these plants and give them a shot. Heck. Post a comment and tell me what you think are the best starter aquarium plants.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Water Quality in the aquarium
Water Quality in the aquarium
Water Quality is the single most important element you have in maintaining a health aquarium of any kind. Weather you have a Salt water reef tank, a cichlid tank and yes, a planted aquarium. I like to relate water quality in the fishtank to a party scene.
Say you are at a house, (your fishtank) and in that house there are a bunch of people (your fish). The more fish you put in there the dirtier the house is going to become. Sometimes house parties get carried away and way too many people show up. This causes the house to get trashed. Note that while it might be a good time while you are there afterwards it is still a mess.
The same a holds true with an aquarium. The more fish you put in it, the more you are going to have to clean it out. Unlike the party scenario, these fish don’t leave after they make a mess. They stick around and make more and more of a mess. The mess or waste factors growth is exponential because there is never a break from making a mess. (You aren’t taking the fish out so there is constantly a mess growing)
So what is the solution to this?
There are a few options…..
The first option is to not have a big party or a bunch of fish in your tank. It sounds simple, but you have no idea how often people over stock their fishtanks There are rules that loosely say one inch of fish per gallon, but I live way under that rule. Personally I keep my tanks lightly stocked. The reason for it is simple. If you have less fish you have less waste production in your tank. Typically when you are dealing with a lot of fish you are running your tank at a “higher RPM” The tank can run, but you need to keep up with it. It pains me to hear about all of the novice fish keepers who try keeping fish but don’t stop constantly adding new fish.
Adding new fish to a crowded tank only adds more waste. It also brings on more stress to all of the other fish in the tank. There are exceptions, but most fish don’t like to be crowded. Adding other new fish might make your current tank mates unhappy. What happens when fish get unhappy, they get sick.
So by crowding your fish you are stressing them both physically and mentally. Physically, with more waste, and mentally with more fish to worry about at feeding time and when looking to rest.
There are options to keeping a heavily stocked tank however. One option is to get a bigger tank. You can’t go wrong with more water volume. The bigger the tank; the more room for error. I try to practice this with my tanks. I am fortunate to have a knack for finding larger aquariums pretty cheap. My average tank size is a 75. If you don’t have the space, then you don’t have the space. Then the option is to add another additional tank
The biggest thing you can do is water changes. The more fish you have the more water changes you are going to need to be doing. When in doubt, change the water out!
Water Quality is the single most important element you have in maintaining a health aquarium of any kind. Weather you have a Salt water reef tank, a cichlid tank and yes, a planted aquarium. I like to relate water quality in the fishtank to a party scene.
Say you are at a house, (your fishtank) and in that house there are a bunch of people (your fish). The more fish you put in there the dirtier the house is going to become. Sometimes house parties get carried away and way too many people show up. This causes the house to get trashed. Note that while it might be a good time while you are there afterwards it is still a mess.
The same a holds true with an aquarium. The more fish you put in it, the more you are going to have to clean it out. Unlike the party scenario, these fish don’t leave after they make a mess. They stick around and make more and more of a mess. The mess or waste factors growth is exponential because there is never a break from making a mess. (You aren’t taking the fish out so there is constantly a mess growing)
So what is the solution to this?
There are a few options…..
The first option is to not have a big party or a bunch of fish in your tank. It sounds simple, but you have no idea how often people over stock their fishtanks There are rules that loosely say one inch of fish per gallon, but I live way under that rule. Personally I keep my tanks lightly stocked. The reason for it is simple. If you have less fish you have less waste production in your tank. Typically when you are dealing with a lot of fish you are running your tank at a “higher RPM” The tank can run, but you need to keep up with it. It pains me to hear about all of the novice fish keepers who try keeping fish but don’t stop constantly adding new fish.
Adding new fish to a crowded tank only adds more waste. It also brings on more stress to all of the other fish in the tank. There are exceptions, but most fish don’t like to be crowded. Adding other new fish might make your current tank mates unhappy. What happens when fish get unhappy, they get sick.
So by crowding your fish you are stressing them both physically and mentally. Physically, with more waste, and mentally with more fish to worry about at feeding time and when looking to rest.
There are options to keeping a heavily stocked tank however. One option is to get a bigger tank. You can’t go wrong with more water volume. The bigger the tank; the more room for error. I try to practice this with my tanks. I am fortunate to have a knack for finding larger aquariums pretty cheap. My average tank size is a 75. If you don’t have the space, then you don’t have the space. Then the option is to add another additional tank
The biggest thing you can do is water changes. The more fish you have the more water changes you are going to need to be doing. When in doubt, change the water out!
Monday, March 29, 2010
Tank TV
I'm going to put up 500 videos on not only youtube but every other video site out there.
My goal is to be making money with my hobby in 5 years. I won't go into the details, but here are some topics for the quicky 1-3 minute shows.
Tour of my tanks = 15 shows right there!
Species sound off = I'm going to call this 20 for and easy start (my 20 plants)
Equipment Reviews= Call it 20 but this could be very ongoing.
Special Fish guests= probably about 8. but people are shy who knows
Favorite Fish Killing stories= I've got 3 i'm sure there are others
Dumbest things you've heard people do. Endless
Lighting reviews 4-5
DIY, figure CO2, lighting, ph tricks ect
Substrates 5
You get the picture there is PLENTY to talk about. I'm also going to be moving this blog at somepoint. (get us on something sexy)
You've been warned
My goal is to be making money with my hobby in 5 years. I won't go into the details, but here are some topics for the quicky 1-3 minute shows.
Tour of my tanks = 15 shows right there!
Species sound off = I'm going to call this 20 for and easy start (my 20 plants)
Equipment Reviews= Call it 20 but this could be very ongoing.
Special Fish guests= probably about 8. but people are shy who knows
Favorite Fish Killing stories= I've got 3 i'm sure there are others
Dumbest things you've heard people do. Endless
Lighting reviews 4-5
DIY, figure CO2, lighting, ph tricks ect
Substrates 5
You get the picture there is PLENTY to talk about. I'm also going to be moving this blog at somepoint. (get us on something sexy)
You've been warned
Sunday, March 28, 2010
The things we do for lush plants.
I messed up.
I put too much CO2 in my 220 without watching my water parameters. In another post I showed how to do CO2 at home. The problem is that I didn't watch my KH.
I lowered my Carbonated Hardness, stressing the hell out of my fish. Rainbows come from very hard waters with above 7 ph. I lowered my PH with the CO2 and the growing plants sucked all of the KH out of the water.
I lost 3 rainbow in the process. Oddly they were all female. I wonder why that is? Perhaps they were the ones getting chased around and were the most stress.
Learn it from me. Don't add CO2 with out watching your levels.
I put too much CO2 in my 220 without watching my water parameters. In another post I showed how to do CO2 at home. The problem is that I didn't watch my KH.
I lowered my Carbonated Hardness, stressing the hell out of my fish. Rainbows come from very hard waters with above 7 ph. I lowered my PH with the CO2 and the growing plants sucked all of the KH out of the water.
I lost 3 rainbow in the process. Oddly they were all female. I wonder why that is? Perhaps they were the ones getting chased around and were the most stress.
Learn it from me. Don't add CO2 with out watching your levels.
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