|
|
|
Home::Animals
Tropical Fish And Aquariums
Author : Dave Klein
The hobby of aquarium keeping and tropic fish as pets is fairly recent in the Western World, and took a while to catch on. The keeping of fish in small indoor tanks was only seriously considered in the middle of the last century, when both in Britain and the rest of Europe a considerable interest in the subject developed...
At the beginning of the 1900’s aquarists around the world began to keep tropical fishes, and it was the "trend" of so doing that started a new wave of popular fish culture (keeping fish as pets)...
The older aquarists were obsessed with copying nature in their tanks—or rather with the attempt to try and copy nature—whereas the keepers of warm-water fishes had to experiment and create suitable environments for them...
Often they started only with the knowledge that the fish must be kept warm, and this in itself raised problems, including the death of favorite weeds and water snails at higher temperatures...
So the aquarium gradually came to be regarded as most of us see it today, as a beautiful display, not a mirror held up to nature...
However, until the keeping of tropical fish, it seems that aquarists in general thought that the proper aim of an aquarium keeper was to reproduce a segment of nature...
They now realize that their task is the maintenance of a highly artificial and restricted community of animals and plants, with a balance that can easily topple with disastrous results to at least some of the members. At the same time, aquariums can generally be easily maintained as long as a few fundamental facts are recognized and applied with commonsense to the problems that arise...
So lets talk now about some of the characteristics of aquariums and tropical fish...
The old fashioned fish bowl has almost completely replaced for serious fish-keeping by the rectangular glass tank, either made wholly of glass or with a metal frame and glass sides and a bottom of glass, slate, or other rigid material...
Except when used for spawning, for exhibition purposes, or as a hospital tank for the treatment of disease, the tank contains growing, rooted plants; these are set in a sand or gravel layer 1 or 2 inches thick. There may be decorative rocks, but the chief decoration is usually the plants themselves, which contribute more to the attractive appearance of a well set-up tank than do the fishes...
Rectangular tanks are usually between 5 and 25 gallons in capacity; a 15-gallon tank measures 24 X 12 X 12 inches and is a favorite size. Smaller tanks than these cannot house many fish or allow proper development of the plants...
Larger tanks are very attractive and give scope for beautiful planting arrangements and for fine growth of the fishes, but they are expensive and not likely to become generally popular. Most fish lovers therefore prefer a range of medium tanks rather than one or two very large ones, but it must be emphasized that fine fishes can be grown in large tanks...
In general, tropical fishes can be housed in smaller tanks than cold-water fishes. This is because they are usually smaller and are also better able to withstand a relative deficiency of oxygen in the water...
Size for size, most tropical fishes can be crowded a good deal more than the common goldfish and very much more than fancy varieties of goldfish. A 15-gallon tank might comfortably contain a dozen 3-inch rosy barbs, four or five 3-inch common goldfish at the most, and not more than a pair of Orandas of the same size...
Fish consume solid food and excrete solid faeces. They breathe oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide, and therefore they tend to deplete their environment of oxygen and to pollute it with carbon dioxide and excrement...
Plants also breathe oxygen, but in sufficiently bright light they manufacture sugars, etc., from carbon dioxide taken from their surroundings, whether air or water, and they release oxygen. This is done in the green leaf...
Plants also absorb dissolved salts and use these together with carbon dioxide in building up complex organic compounds. Very few higher plants can utilize solid or very complex substances, and before animal excrement (usually known as "mulm" in the fish tank) is available to them it must be broken down by fungi or bacteria and made soluble...
So plants, in adequate light, tend to restore oxygen to the environment and to remove the waste products of animals. In poor light or in darkness they deplete the water or air of oxygen just as animals do. It is only in the daytime, or under bright artificial light, that they perform the complementary function to animals...
From these facts grew the concept of a balanced aquarium, with the waste products of the fishes absorbed by the plants, and the oxygen necessary for the fishes provided by the action of the plants in light...
The moral of the story? A well-planted tank with adequate illumination will usually stay clear and sweet for months or years with little attention...
Hopefully this article has given you a great insight into tropical fish as pets and the healthy keeping of aquariums.
About the Author: Dave Klein is the author of http://www.tropicalfishltd.com" target="_blank">http://www.tropicalfishltd.com a comprehensive resource on tropical fish and aquariums. Visit http://www.tropicalfishltd.com" target="_blank">http://www.tropicalfishltd.com to learn more about tropical fish as pets and how to keep them happy and healthy.
Source: http://www.isnare.com">www.isnare.comRelated articles
|
More related feeds |
Tropical+Fish+And+Aquariumshttp://blogsearch.google.com/blogsearch_feeds?hl=en&q=Tropical+Fish+And+Aquariums&ui=blg&ie=utf-8&num=10&output=rssLittle white bugs on water surface of tropical fish tank? | Fish ... Fish Tank Aquariums I have a planted tropical aquarium and today during the water change, I noticed some VERY small white bugs on the surface of my aquarium.What is a good combination of tropical/semi-aggressive fish for an ... Fish Tank Aquariums My boyfriend and I have between a 40-50 gallon aquarium which currently contains no fish. We have browsed at the pet store and talked about. fish tank help please? | Fish Tank Aquariums Fish Tank Aquariums i am thinking of getting some fish i use to have some before when i was younger and thinking of getting some for my flat i have seen this. ... good luck with the fish. alssooo get goldfish coz tropical fish need a heater in the tank and will cost a hell of a lot more!! abibaigent@btinternet.com says: September 4, 2010 at 3:26 am. i would 3 4 at the very most. It's Me :) says: September 4, 2010 at 3:26 am. its a nice size tank i would probably only put ... Fishless Cycling For Your Tropical Aquarium Once you have set up your tropical aquarium the next step is to 'cycle' it. This process produces beneficial bacteria that will process the waste ammonia from your fish and convert it into nitrites and then into relatively harmless ... I can't stop my fish tank water being cloudy, any ideas? | Fish ... Fish Tank Aquariums I have a tropical aquarium, been up and running for about 4 months now. Water started off fine and clear, but is becoming constantly. filter tube problem it makes me so mad i come home to see one of my fish wrapped around the tube thing thats happened 3 or 4 times what do i do, ps i got this from the tetra 30. ... Tropical Fish and Aquarium Information ... Tropical Fish Species - Do I Need To Try It? | OSHA Veterinary Yet you must watch for the exceptions like Kissing Gouramis who incline to territorializes and Giant Gouramis - obviously large in size that need fine broad aquariums. Once you have started with sturdy tropical fish species, ... 40 Gallon Tropical Aquarium | Tropical Pet Fish 40 gallon tropical aquarium with eheim canister filter. Nine fish total including Pink kissing gourami, tinfoil barb, bala shark, albino rainbow sharks, and. COULD it be considered normal behaviour? Tropical Fish and Aquarium Information · Go Back · Fish Lore Tropical Fish and Aquarium Forum > Freshwater Aquarium Fish Forum > Freshwater Beginners. COULD it be considered normal behaviour? .... Similar Aquarium Fish Forum Threads ... Help: Honey gourami not eating Freshwater Beginners A place where beginners can go to post their questions and hopefully get responses from those more experienced. Also check out the Freshwater Fish Beginner's Guide and Aquarium Setup Guides ...
|
|
|
|