A Guide to Keeping Aquatic Pets
My family and I have been entertained by many aquatic pets. We have owned a variety of aquarium and terrarium pets through the years. If a person thinks they can not become attached to fish, they should own two Oscar boys for seven years. I can’t tell you the hours and hours of entertainment that we received out of our aquatic pets. Just watching them you can tell how finicky they all are. Creating and adjusting their selves, cleaning out their areas and adjusting things in front of them. My family and I have been entertained by many Aquatic Pets. We have owned a variety of aquarium and terrarium pets through the years. If a person thinks they can not become attached to fish, they should own two Oscar boys for seven years. I can’t tell you the hours and hours of entertainment that we received out of our aquatic pets. Just watching them you can tell how finicky they all are. Creating and adjusting their selves, cleaning out their areas and adjusting things in front of them. Aquatic Pets just amaze me! Learn more about our stories and more information on aquatic pets and other unusual pets. The First Thing You Will Need is an Aquarium, Try This Site. Betta Fish - "Siamese Fighting Fish"
Aquatic Pets like Betta or "Siamese Fighting Fish" (Betta splendena), one of the most popular species of freshwater aquarium fish. It is native to the rice paddies of Thailand and called pla-kad or pla-kat ("Biting Fish") in its native country. These are very beautiful fish. The males have very large Labyrinth organs, (gill-like) organs in their heads that allow them to take in oxygen directly from the atmosphere, as well as oxygen from the water. If Bettas can't reach the surface, they will drown. Bettas "puff out" their gill covers to either impress in courtship or to intimidate rivals. The female Bettas are smaller than males and quite fragile. The females are still colorful, very friendly and loving to humans. Do not place two males in the same tank, they will kill each other. That's where the term "fighting fish" comesto play. Aquatic Pets:
Check Out This Link on How to Take Care of Bettas.
Aquatic Pets: A Betta is inexpensive to purchase at your local Pet Store. They thrive in low oxygenated water and will gulp air from the surface of the water. There are over fifty species of Bettas in the world from the Giant Bettas, which exceed three inches to the Wild Bettas which are dull green and brown. The brightly colored are still the most popular among hobbyists in the United States. Their nickname is “The Jewel of the Orient”. The upturned mouth of Betta aids them in sucking insects from the water's surface like flies, crickets and grasshoppers. The Betta is carnivorous but has a wide variety to its diet which prolongs its life, enriches its color and help heal fin damage quicker. Commercial Betta food contains mashed shrimp meal, fish meal, brine shrimp bloodworm and vitamins. Sometime Bettas will be fed finely chopped high protein vegetables to try to bring out enhanced coloration. Bettas mate in a dance called “Nuptial Embrace” where the couple weave around each other as the female releases her eggs to be fertilized by the male before the eggs settle to the bottom of the tank. The male sucks one or two of the eggs in his mouth, swims to the bubble nest where he blows them into it. Incubation lasts for up to two days, with the male repairing the nest as needed and making sure the eggs stay in the nest. After the fry hatch the male is removed from the tank because they resemble newly hatched brine shrimp, one of a Betta's favorite foods. Aquatic Pets:
Check Out These Three Different E-book Pet Links to Find The Best Ways to Take Care of Your Betta.
Cichlid Fish Care and Advice
Aquatic Pets like Cichlid (pronounced/ 'SiKlid) are fish from the family Cichlidae, at least 1300 scientifically described species, making it one of the largest vertebrate families. Many species, including the Angelfish, Oscars, and Discus are also highly valued in the aquarium trade, because of their beauty and hardiness. Cichlids are also the family of vertebrates with the largest number of endangered species. Many Cichlids that have been accidentally or deliberately released into freshwater outside of their natural range have become a nuisance species. A lot of Cichlids are still being discovered and ichthyologists say there are many more species remaining. The actual numbers are unclear but are estimated between 1300 and 3000 species. Cichlids come in a wide range of sizes from as small as one inch to three foot in length and come in a wide assortment of body shapes. Cichlids are very efficient feeders because of their jaws. In fact, they have two jaws, “True Jaws” and “Pharyngeal Jaws” with a complex set of muscles this makes Cichlids so diverse. Cichlids are commonly found in freshwater but are sometimes found in brackish and salt water.Cichlids reproduce in four basic methods: Open brooders, Cave brooders, Ovophile mouthbrooders, and Larvophile mouthbrooders. Open brooders lay their eggs in the open on logs, leaves, or rocks. The female is primarily the main nurturer while the male patrols the couple's area, rebuffing any threat to the brood. Cave brooders lay their eggs in abandoned shells, caves, crevices and holes, usually attaching the eggs to the roof of the objects. Ovophile mouthbrooders pull the eggs into their mouth the moment they are fertilized and for several weeks the free-swimming fry when in danger will end up in the parent’s mouth. Larvophile mouthbrooders species lay their eggs in the open or in caves but when the eggs hatch into a larvae stage that’s when the parents gather the fry in their mouths. Aquatic Pets:
Check This Link Out About How to Breed Cichlids.
Aquatic Pets: As an aquarium fish Cichlids have become very popular because of their size and the wide range of food they can eat and their coloration. Most of the popular Cichlids come from South America, the Amazon River Basin. Cichlids can be kept in aquariums with other fish but “a word to the wise”. Keep all the fish about the same size or the Cichlid might have the smaller fish for lunch because they are after all diverse in terms of diet.
Find Out More Information About These Beautiful Fish at This E-book Pet Link.
Keeping Your Goldfish Healthy
Aquatic Pets like Goldfish are a direct descendant of the Prussian carp bred over a couple of thousand years ago in Asia. The Goldfish was first bred for color in China, in the Tang Dynasty (618 - 907). Through dominant genetic mutation a mating of silver colored carp would make a yellowish orange fry. They would keep their prize Goldfish in ponds, in the back yard but for special events to show them off the Chinese would put the Goldfish in small containers and return the fish to the pond after the event. There are more orange Goldfish varieties than yellow because in 1162, the Empress of the Song Dynasty had a big pond built and ordered her people to surrender their yellow and red Goldfish - yellow being an imperial color.
Check Out This Link to The Middle GA Koi Society to See Some Colors of These Beautiful Fish.
Aquatic Pets: Today main Goldfish varieties are: Black Moor, Bubble Eye, Butterfly Tail, Calico, Celestial Eye, Comet, Common, Fantail, Lionchu, Lionhead, Oranda, Panda Moor, Pearlscale, Pompom, Ranchu, Ryukin, Shubunkin, Telescope Eye and Veiltail. Chinese classify Goldfish into five major types which are Dragon Eye, Egg, Wen, Ce and Jikin. Goldfish are popular with people with ponds because they are inexpensive, colorful and very hardy. The depth of the pond needs to be a minimum of thirty inches to avoid hard freezes. In winter a Goldfish will almost go in to hibernation remaining at the bottom of the pond. The experts say to make sure you have a lot of aquatic plants to boost the oxygen level in the pond. The aquatic plants will also provide sustenance for the Goldfish. Filtering the pond will aid in oxygen levels and also to keep the water clean. You also need a few snails to help control the algae that will grow in a pond.In an aquarium environment Goldfish are classified as a coldwater fish which means they can live in a bowl without a heater. Goldfish feces produce a lot of waste which builds up to toxic levels fast. If keeping a Goldfish in a small bowl or small aquarium make sure to change the water often to avoid killing the fish. Only feed a Goldfish enough food that it can consume in one to two minutes because anything more will turn to waste as a Goldfish has no stomach.
Learn How to Keep Your Goldfish Healthy For Years in This E-book Pet Link.
Secrets to Raising Health Hermit Crabs
Aquatic Pets: The reason a Hermit Crab got it’s name because, just like a Hermit it lives in abandoned dwellings. Aquatic Pets like Hermit Crabs grow they are constantly looking for empty Sea Snails and/or Mollusk shells in the Tide Pools where they are mostly found. Their long soft abdomens act like a finger to grab on to the Colum Ella of the shell which also aids in the Hermit Crab’s ability to retract their entire body into the shell to avoid predators.Aquatic Pets: Most Hermit Crabs that are kept as pets are terrestrial species (land based), of which there are about fifteen species around the world. Hermit Crabs will not reproduce in captivity unless Commercial Breeders fool them by simulating a Shoreline or Tide Pool. After mating the female carries the eggs in her shell. The developing baby crabs go through four stages: the nauplius andprotozoea in the egg, the zoea and megalops in the water. A molting process continues as they grow, which makes them very vulnerable and inactive. Toprotect themselves they burrow into the ground. The process of molting take around ten days and in this time they can regenerate any lost or broken legs and claws. Hermit Crabs molt according to their age from two months to eighteen months. Hermit Crabs are commonly used in Saltwater Aquariums as scavengers to keep the tank free of algae and debris.
Learn How to Take Care of These Unusual and Fragile Creatures in This E-book Pet Link.
Enjoying Your Oscar Fish
Aquatic Pets like Oscars in the wild have been known to reach lengths of eighteen inches and weights of up to three and a half pounds but kept as pets, the size and weight will depend on the size of the aquarium. Oscars are found in South America along the Amazon River Basin in slow moving whitewater. The male come of age to reproduce at one year and will stay active for the next ten years. When Oscars spawn is said to be associated with South Americas rainy season, but little more is known about Wild Oscars reproduction. In captivity Oscars will clean a flat surface to lay about one to three thousand eggs at a time. It is said that the best aquarium size for Oscars is seventy five gallons. Don’t worry about the arrangement of things in the aquarium because your Oscar will rearrange things to suit him. Oscars are one of the hardiest fish to have in an aquarium and live a very long time. This will be a long-term commitment to a pet, like owning a dog or a cat and not like a guppy or goldfish. Always remember to close the lid on the aquarium, Oscars like to jump.
Learning to Enjoy Your Oscar Fish and Their Personalities.
The Care of Tropical Fish
Aquatic Pets: Aquarium is a structure having one transparent side which houses plants that thrive in water and Aquatic Pets. All kinds of things are kept in aquariums, from turtles to marine mammals to invertebrates to amphibians and especially fish. The first aquariums were no more than marble ponds in Roman’s homes. With the introduction of glass panes, the Romans removed one of the marble pond walls and replace it with a glass panel which enabled them better viewing. At the same time the Romans living by the sea would take Venetian glass jars and fill them with saltwater and keep marine life in them but kept the jars outside. In the 14th century the Chinese made large porcelain tubs to house and maintain goldfish. Everything stayed about the same until the 1950s where both marine (saltwater) and freshwater aquarium flourished with new methods of shipping tropical fish were invented. There were all types of jugs with bicycle foot pumps for aeration. Now fish could be shipped for long distances and not have great die-off rates. Electricity allowed filtration, artificial lighting, aeration and water heaters. They where still having problems with metal frames for marine aquariums because of the corrosive nature of saltwater. In the 1960s, with the invention of silicone sealant, it allowed the first all-glass aquarium to be built. The basic aquarium was 20 gallons which is still the most popular size today. The modern aquarium has about the same equipment as in the 1960s with the exception of a chiller for cold water applications. Unlike in the passed, today you can not use regular tap water to fill your aquarium because it now contains chloramines. You need to use additives formulated to remove chloramines and check on the package for how much time to allow the chemicals to work. You also have to think about the temperature of your aquarium. If you will be setting up a tropical system, the average temperature is from76 degrees F to 82 degrees F and if your setting up a cold water system the temperature is from 50 degrees F to 75 degrees F. You will find there are two types of saltwater set-ups, the tropical marine and temperate marine. Also there are two types of freshwater set-ups, the tropical and the cold water. Saltwater tanks are usually more bright and colorful than Freshwater tanks, but Saltwater tanks require more maintenance.The fish are more costly and water tolerances has to be more critical in a Saltwater tank. A Freshwater tank has more variety of fish and is easier to maintain with less effort.
Enjoying Your Saltwater or Freshwater Tropical Fish With These Two E-book Pet Links.
Turtle and Terrapin Care
Aquatic Pets like Turtles have a two piece shell. The upper shell is called the carapace and the lower is called the plastron. Both the shells are extensions of the turtle’s ribs and backbone, so is the bridges, a bony structure that holds the carapace and plastron together. The carapace is covered with scutes made up of keratin (a fibrous protein) which provides extra strength to the shell. Most turtles and terrapins can retract their heads into the shell but a few can’t, so they throw their heads to one side. All turtles breath air and if not land based must surface from time to time to replenish their air supply. All turtles and terrapins lay their eggs on land. The texture of their eggs are soft and leathery. Just like alligators and crocodiles, temperature makes the difference in the sex of the offspring, high ambient air temperatures will produce females and low ambient air temperatures will produce males. Most of the turtles hatched will head towards a water source.
If you are considering a turtle or terrapin as a pet and will keep them indoors, the experts say, depending on the size of the turtle or terrapin, the aquarium or terrarium must be 20 to 40 gallons. Hold the temperature around 80 degrees F in the daytime and 70 degrees F at night. Half wet and half dry in most applications. If you plan to keep your turtle outside in a pen, be prepared for the turtle to hibernate in the winter. Make sure that you build a hide box out of wood or rocks to give the turtle some place to hide. Be sure there is some shade in the pen, but it is essential that the turtle can sun itself to produce vitamin D. Do not try to induce hibernation with the use of a refrigerator because this could be dangerous in a power failure and the shock to the turtle’s system.
Learn How to Take The Proper Care of Your Turtle or Terrapin With This E-book Pet Link. Get Help With Your Aquatic Pets, Click Here!
New! CommentsHave your say about what you just read! Leave me a comment in the box below. |
