FILTER
There are lots of brands and models in aquariums. It’s up to you to choose what suit for you. Under gravel filter is the most simple and the cheapest. But it can’t be cleaned without emptying the tank. My choice is an underwater power filter. It’s very powerful and you don’t need an air pump with this. You can mount this type of filter to the glass wall so it can be cleaned whenever you need. (That’s why I mentioned you need a practical roof) Some models come with a carbon cartridge which gives better results.
I can’t recommend a filer for you because there are lots of different mechanisms. You must consider facts like water type, species in the tank, how often you can clean the tank and also your budget & electricity bill.
GRAVEL
I have seen three colors of gravel in my country. White, Black & Brown-yellow color. You can use any color combination but more white color will give more light. Lay a thick layer about 1.5 inches. Most important thing is you must wash the gravel at least 10 times before you put the in your aquarium because there is lot of dust in them.
PLANTS
Plants will add your aquarium a natural look and a alternative food source for fish.It can be a problem to you when fish eat a whole plant even you feed them well.This is a big problem to myself and I keep a backup tank which with some small fish so the plants can be grown freely :without getting eaten:.Plants release O2 so you good backup for the sudden loss of air supply!.But remember plants give out CO2 in the night.
Amazon Sword Plant | Scientific Name | Echinodorus amazonicus |
|---|---|
| Size | Up to 20 inches |
| pH | 6.5 - 7.5 |
| Temperature |
|
| Aquarium Light Needed |
|
| Water Hardness | 2° to 15° dH, |
| Origin | South America |
| Care | Grows better in softer water than hard water. Optimal growth may not occur if the water is too hard. Plant in a loose substrate and supplement with an iron fertilizer.
|
| Scientific Name | Microsorium pteropus |
|---|---|
| Size | Up to 8 inches |
| pH | 5.5 - 7.5 |
| Temperature | 68°F - 82°F |
| Aquarium Light Needed | Should be able to grow in even low lighted tanks. |
| Water Hardness | 2° to 15° dH, |
| Origin | Southeast Asia |
| Care | You will see better results if you tie the roots to drift wood or rocks instead of planting the roots. |
The Swordtail comes in many different colors with the males being easily identified by their signature "sword" tail. This is an extremely hardy fish that can adapt to a wide range of water conditions.They are livebearers which means that the baby fish come out free swimming. Like their livebearer counterpart, the guppy, the swordtail is a prolific breeder and a female will give birth about once every 28 days.Some hobbyists have reported problems with aggression among male swordtails when keeping multiples. It may be a good idea to limit the number of male swordtails in your tank. A good mix may be three females to one male.
They will eat most fish foods including flakes, frozen, freeze dried and live foods such as brine shrimp.
Scientific Name : Xiphophorus helleri
Common Names : Black Swordtail, Gold Tux, Green, Lyretail, Neon, Red Simpson, Spotted, Red Velvet Swordtails, Black Velvet, Belize, Atoyac
Swordtail Care Level : Easy, good fish for freshwater fish beginners
Size : Up to 5 inches (13 cm)
pH : 7 - 8
Temperature : 72°F - 82°F (22°C - 28°C)
Water Hardness : 9° to 15° dH,
Lifespan : 3 - 5 years
Origin / Habitat : Central America
Temperament / Behavior : The swordtail is a tough litte fish. They can take care of themselves when there are bigger fish in the tank. The males may become aggressive towards other males.
Breeding / Mating / Reproduction : They are livebearers, so it is fairly easy for them to breed. Be sure to give a lot of floating cover for the baby swords. Try to put the babies in a separate tank otherwise the adult fish will eat them.
Tank Size : 10 gallon or larger
Compatible Tank Mates : Don't keep with tropical fish big enough to eat them. They should be able to handle themselves with many fish their same size or larger.
Diet / Fish Food : Omnivore but they need some greens in their diet. They will take flake, freeze dried and live foods.
Tank Region : All over the tank
Gender : Easy to determine - the male has a signature long anal fin.
Originating in Central America and a very popular tropical fish, the Platy is very easy to take care of and well suited for the freshwater fish beginner. The Platy fish comes in many different color varieties including the salt and pepper platies, the red wag tail and the tuxedo platy. There is even a variety called the Mickey Mouse. They can be a very active tropical fish if given good water conditions.The female Platy is usually larger than the males of the same age. Females can reach a size of up to 2.5 inches whereas the males usually get to be about 1.5 inches. Breeding them is fairly easy since they are livebearers.
Platies will accept most fish foods including flakes, frozen, live and freeze dried foods. Try to vary their diet for optimum health and coloration.
Scientific Name : Xiphophorus maculatus
Common Names : Many and usually based on the color patterns - Southern Platy, Red Wagtail Platies, Mickey Mouse, Red Tuxedo, Moon Fish, Topsail Rainbow, Sunset, Golden, Calico, Salt and Pepper, Coral Red, Black, Blue, the list goes on and on and on and on.
Care Level : Easy, good first fish for freshwater fish beginners
Size : 2 inches (5 cm)
pH : 7 - 8
Temperature : 65°F - 78°F (18°C - 26°C)
Water Hardness : 10° to 25° dH
Origin / Habitat : Central America
Lifespan : 2 - 3 years
Temperament / Behavior : This is a good tropical fish for the beginner. They are a very peaceful tropical fish. Also, it can be a good idea to have two females for every one male. Doing this will prevent the male from harassing a single female.
Breeding / Mating / Reproduction : They are livebearers which means that the babies can swim immediately after birth. Usually, not much effort is required to get them to breed. If you have a male and a female, chances are they will breed. The parents must be separated from the young after birth. For more information on breeding them, please read the breeding livebearers article..
Tank Size : 10 gallon or larger.
Compatible Tank Mates : They make an excellent fish for a community tank given their peaceful nature.
Fish Disease : Freshwater Fish Disease - Diagnose, Symptoms and Treatment
Diet / Fish Food : Give them a varied diet consisting of flakes, live and freeze dried foods for optimum health.
Tank Region : All over the aquarium
Gender : The female is usually bigger than a male of the same age. Males also have a modified anal fin called a gonopodium.
Obviously named for its translucent flesh, the glassfish is an interesting, slightly odd addition to the right aquarium. They are a schooling fish, and prefer to be kept in groups of five or more. They can be kept in smaller numbers, but they will be shy and will spend much of their time hiding. Even when kept in larger numbers, they tend to not be aggressive, though they can get to be very bold and energetic.
Glassfish have a reputation for being difficult to keep alive, but this belief largely stems from the myth that they require brackish water to survive. In nature, these fish live in standing water such as bodies created from dammed mountain streams, not estuaries or other areas of brackish water. If they are kept in true freshwater, they seem to be fairly hardy fish, no more difficult to keep than many tetras.
I am currently unaware of the difficulty of breeding glassfish in the aquarium. In the wild, they breed prolifically during the rainy season. If the tank's water temperature is raised to 85° and the fish are fed a healthy diet of high protein food, they may be induced to breed in an aquarium.
One particular note about glassfish is that, due to their transparent flesh, they are often injected with fluorescent dye. The result is a glassfish with fluorescent dots floating in its body. Most of these fish do not survive the dyeing process, and those that do are four times as likely to develop certain viral infections as undyed glassfish.
Scientific Name: Parambassis ranga (originally referred to as Chanda ranga)
Common Names: Glassfish, Glass Perch, Siamese Glassfish, Glass Fish
Care Level: Moderate
Size: 3 inches
pH: 6.5 - 7.5
Temperature: 68° - 86°
Water Hardness: 7 - 19 dGH
Lifespan: Unsure
Origin: Southern Asia from Pakistan to Malaysia
Temperament/Behavior: Very energetic yet peaceful
Breeding / Mating / Reproduction: To induce spawning they need slightly brackish water conditions with elevated temperatures. They may place eggs on plant leaves. Raising the fry is another story all together. Considered difficult.
Tank Size: A few specimens could likely be kept in a species-only 10g. 20g and at least five glassfish is preferable.
Compatible Tank Mates: Many. Would likely make excellent dither fish in groups of five or more. Would also make good "target" fish for species that get aggressive during mating. Glassfish are very fast swimmers, and also seem to be playful. Obviously, avoid predators large enough to eat the glassfish. Purely aggressive tankmates may not be the best choice, though glassfish may do well in a tank with semi-aggressive fish and plenty of hiding places.
Fish Disease / Illness: Freshwater Fish Disease page includes symptoms, diagnosis and treatment info. Only painted glassfish seem to be particularly susceptible to any particular disease. Painting seems to encourage ich and fin rot immediately after paining, and makes the fish more likely to develop Lymphocystis, a viral infection that causes white cysts on the body and fins, throughout its life.
Food / Diet: Frozen or fresh, mostly carnivorous diet. Generally do not eat dry food, according to several sources. That being said, I have fed my glassfish nothing but flakes and freeze-dried bloodworms, and they are always eager to eat.
Tank Region: Supposedly mid to bottom. This may be a result of lethargy induced by brackish water. In purely freshwater tanks, they range across the entire depth of the aquarium.
Gender: Males develop dark edge to their dorsal fin.
They may not do very well in planted aquariums because they may nip at the plants. If you have a heavily planted tank you may be able to keep a few of these, but if your tank is sparsely populated with plants they may rid you of your plants.
Behavior wise, they do best when kept in a school of 5 or more and they may bicker among the school about the pecking order. Avoid keeping them with long finned fishes such as Bettas, some of the long finned tetras and Angelfish because they may nip at their fins.
The Golden Barb is a good eater and if they aren't eating it may be safe to assume that something is wrong with the water paramters in your tank. A flake food can form the main part of their diet, but supplement with other foods.
Scientific Name : Puntius sachsii
Other Common Names : Goldfinned Barb, Golden Barb
Care Level : Easy and can be good fish for freshwater beginners
Size : Up to 3 inches (8 cm)
pH : 6 - 8
Temperature : 72°F - 82°F (22°C - 28°C)
Water Hardness : 5° to 25° dH,
Lifespan : 5 - 7 years
Origin / Habitat : Asia, Singapore
Temperament / Behavior : Peaceful and best kept in schools of 6 or more.
Breeding / Mating / Reproduction : Moderate. It is believed that the reproductive cycle of this fish can be closely tied to the cycles of the moon. Hmmm... Males may take on a slightly different color when in breeding mode. They will need an aquarium with plants because they spawn in the plants, such as java moss. You will have to remove the adults because they most likely will eat the eggs. Fry should hatch in a couple days and then you'll need to feed them liquid fry food and baby brine shrimp or other good fry foods.
Tank Size : 20 gallon or larger since they like to school.
Compatible Tank Mates : Many, given their generally peaceful nature. Would do well in community tanks and Barb themed aquarium setups. However, use caution if you have long finned fish such as Angelfish andBettas. They may fin nip at these longer finned fish.
Fish Disease : Freshwater Fish Disease - Diagnose, Symptoms and Treatment - Can sometimes be one of the first to show signs of ich. Use a quarantine tank for all new arrivals.
Diet / Fish Food : Omnivore, they will eat flakes, live and freeze dried foods such as brine shrimp, blood worms and daphnia.
Tank Region : Middle to bottom regions of the tank
Gender : The male is usually smaller, more stream lined and sometimes turns a more golden/orange color when it is ready to spawn.
The Molly is a tropical fish that prefers a little salt in their water. A teaspoon of aquarium salt per 5 gallons of water will go a long way in helping them. This is a very attractive tropical fish that comes in many different colors such as orange, green and black. Some of the more popular varieties include the sailfin, balloon and the dalmation.This is a livebearing tropical fish that can be fairly easy to breed. For many aquarists the biggest problem is not getting them to breed but stopping them from breeding. If left in a tank with other adult fish, the baby mollies will get eaten.
Mollies will eat flakes, frozen, freeze dried and definitely live foods.
Scientific Name : Poecilia sphenops
Common Names : Black Molly, Lyretail, Sailfin, Liberty, Mollie, Pointed Mouth, Short Finned, Mexican, Golden, Piebald, Ghost Pearl, Gold Dust, Red Sunset, Dalmation, Ballon, etc.
Care Level : Easy, very good for freshwater beginners if keeping a single sex. Keeping both sexes could cause problems since this fish is such a prolific breeder.
Size : 2 to 4 inches (5 - 10 cm) depending on the species
pH : 7.5 - 8.5
Temperature : 70°F - 82°F (21°C - 28°C)
Water Hardness : 10° to 25° dH,
Origin / Habitat : Central America
Life Span : 3 - 5 years
Temperament / Behavior : Peaceful
Molly Fish Breeding / Mating / Reproduction : These are livebearers so it is fairly easy. Adding a little aquarium salt will help. Size : 20 gallon minium, prefer tall aquariums
Compatible Tank Mates : Not many - some feel they should only be kept with others of the same species.
Fish Disease : Freshwater Fish Disease - Diagnose, Symptoms and Treatment
Diet / Fish Food : Give them a varied diet consisting primarily of flake foods but supplement with live and freeze dried foods occasionaly.
Tank Region : All over the tank.
Gender : Males are more slender, females more round. Males also have a modified anal fin.
Posts
