Betta channoides

Betta channoides, the snakehead betta. A mouthbrooding betta.

Very delicate. 

In first one is a female, a normal one maybe. The second one is the male, a very large one at that.Also hoping them to breed. I place them in a planted tank and feeding it with grindal worm for weeks now. It absolutely refuse pellet. I have to train to eat pellet as grindal worm as singular food for betta is not very good. The food has to be diverse so their diet can be balance. The new male only gotten today so will try coerce it to eat first.

Betta Bellica - A New Beginning

After a few of business, I finally started to have time to purchase some new wild betta. Well maybe its not wild but the term i for no is wild betta. After a few trial with betta bellica, the slender betta. After getting my third pair after the first two died, i tried my luck with a third one. The third one is different in temperament compared to the first two. The first two has no problem in one tank. For the third one the male is very very aggressive to the point the female once jump and stuck at the side glass. After that i separate the male for a while and try again. After a few weeks, the aggression has worsened (At least it did not chase the female every time it sees it). Some breeders say they are easy comparable to show betta. Some say it is very hard due to the male aggression. Well I hope mine is willful enough to breed.

Betta Macrostoma

I had bought a pair of Betta Macrostoma (aka Macs) in early 2011. The color of the male is striking red with a patch of black at the mouth. The female was drab in color, not much color on her body. I fed them with Tetrabits(TM) . While the female eats it with no problem the male just munch it then spit it out. I wonder how it can live until now although sometimes it will eat insects and mosquito larvae. I saw it spawn twice now but no baby have been observe. Still hoping for an answer how to make it breed.

Betta Imbellis

Recently i got a pair of betta imbellis from the internet for RM10 (less than US$3). Anyway i place them in a 6 L aquarium. It was planted with Java ferns ( i didn't attach it to any driftwood). i added black water extract. They started to breed after two weeks of conditioning. I feed them with Tetrabit(TM) and they certainly love it like crazy. The male build a nest of bubbles with some duckweed attach to it. Now the fries start free swimming. The problem is now the micro-worm I ordered are all dead. I ordered a new one and will arrive in two days time.

Two severums made using Bryce.

Otos and Shrimps....

After a few a trial and error I finally manage to make them stay alive. Now the aquarium holds 7 otos (Otocinclus affinis) , around 11 Red Cherry Shrimp (Neocaridinia sp) , and about 9 Green Shrimp (Caridinia cf Balbauti green I think). Although i had the otos around two weeks now and the shrimps around 3 -4 months now, they are still not breeding. Aquarium are heavily planted to initiate breeding but still no sign of fry or shrimplet. Using a sponge filter as power filter can suck adult shrimp easily.

An oto cat sitting on the driftwood

An oto cat and red cherry shrimp eating together.

A green shrimp. Very hard to find in the aquarium

Shrimp Shrimp Shrimp............

My first experience with shrimps when i bought them at a local pet shop in Serdang. With RM1 I can get a handful of that almost colorless shrimp( I just do not know what kind it is). It looked almost like a ghost shrimp. Anyway its breeding like crazy now. My next goal is finally breed this 4 kind of shrimp - cherry shrimp, green shrimp, tiger shrimp and bee shrimp. After two attempts of breeding them I failed miserably. Now its time to change plan as new method must be reinforced.

Pleco... It is that hardy?

Last year I bought a total of 5 pleco. (2 were bought by my mother but influenced by me). All of them died within a month. They manage to live under me for about 2 - 3 weeks. No injuries or diseases were seen . Its tank mates were 4 firemouths (juvenile) and one adult krib.

My New Fire Mouths

I bought 4 fire mouths last year. 2 died while i am in college. Than during my break I bought 2 more. I still cannot figure out which one is male or female. The 2 survivors are a lot bigger than the newbies. The largest usually chase the others for no good reason ( dominant feeling). I am hoping it will start breeding this year.

Red Vs Green Colour Food

Most cichlid(and most fish that I have reared) for no good reason at all like to eat like pellet food that is red in colour. Maybe they just like the red colour. Or maybe green is for softies. I have experimented this hypothesis with jewel cichlid and the result is red pellets are eaten much faster than green ones. Coincidence????

9 Convicts Vs 2 Hybrid Jewels. Who Will triumph?

The images shown where the fight takes place. The jewels are a pair and those 9 convicts are in doubt at each other heads. Technically the convicts control 2/3 of the aquarium and 1/3 to the jewels. And to add the commotion is a silver Siamese Gourami act as the middleman.

Tilapia: Is it hardy enough?

Tilapia are considered one of the fastest breeding fish. But it is considered hardy enough? I bought 8 tilapias (fingerlings) last week at a price of RM1 ($1 is equivalent to RM3.50 so do your own math) and by today all are dead. So i say to myself "What the hell is this?". The first one died because it jump out while transportation. Then 3 more died because of fin rot. Then 3 more died for unknown reason after I gave some medication and added some salt. And the last one died today. So this fish is not as hardy as it tought it be.

Live Food

Any kind of fish would love to devour any kind of live food based on their species though. Some fish will only accept live food as their main diet. Some channa sp are like this. Some can be taught to accept commercial food but mostly are to stupid to eat it. My haruan (channa striata) still eat live food. I tried giving it food stick but it spits it out. Darn stupid. 

Look out more in my blog the secret technique on how to persuade wild fish to accept commercial food. 

Carbon

Carbon are used by plants to make glucose. Same as underwater plants. For aquarium used it is to make the plants stay green. It can also make the water much clearer. Sometimes even there is fish in the aquarium the carbon produced ny them are not sufficient. So it is essential to add a little bit of carbon to your tank.

Peat Soil

Peat soil is used to reduce the pH of the water. Peat is made of composting material that gave the acidic pH to the water.

Some fish prefer acidic water rather than hard water. Most of the South American fish like to live in soft acidic water.

To use peat soil put in the water and wait for it to fall. Usually it takes about 2-3 days for it to fall. Once all of it settled down the water should be brown in color.

Snakehead (Channa Striata)

Channa Striata or haruan is one of the snakehead in Malaysia. Its colour its not striking or colourful but rather its behavior toward its owner.

With its aggresion and its snake-like mouth its bite can be devastating. Some rhave been reported that one bite and you can loose your finger.

This fish. is really nasty. This fish is really bad. It's really nasty and bad. But they taste really tasty.People like to roast or fried it. Some just make soup out of it.



Well you can see it although the water is greenish at the front. Some people catch it from some stinking swamp and just eat it.

For the conclusion this fish is very hardy and does not really need specific requirement. Just try to keep the water clean. All the best.

Making Infosuria The Easiest Way

Infosuria is a small microorganism that is very small to see with the naked eyes.They are microscopic and can only be seen under the microscope. So why are we bothering with this little guys?

Because almost egg-laying fish will need them as their first source of food. Using crushed flake food will only get you a handful of the babies like gouramis, bettas, and even angelfish. Some babies can accept can accept crushed flake like kribs, most large cichlids, and even some type of catfish.

To make a culture of infosuria you need a glass jar(small one is good enough), a piece of potato, fish food, anything you can think of. Put it in the jar and pour some free-chlorine tap water. Leave it out of the way in the open light for at least a week. The water will smell like "something". To feed the babies just pour about 3/4 of water in the jar and add again water after that.

The idea of putting something in the jar is to start a small bacteria culture to be the food for the infosuria. The infosuria will it the bacteria and multiply.

Last word, if you want to breed fish just got yourself a jar of infosuria.

Jewel Hybrid

I have bred a hybrid of between Red Forest Cichlid (Hemichromis lifalili) and Jewel Cichlid (Hemichromis bimaculatus ). Its offspring look some like a bit of each but mostly like the Jewels. The pictures shown above are not very clear but you can still see the colouration. Most are drabber like the ones on the front but some are stunningly red.

Some have interbreed among itself and have come in sort of colour pattern and sizes. But most show intense colouration during breeding time like the one shown below.

The one at the front is most likely the male and at the back is the female. The female is at normal size but the male is dominantly larger than any other jewel x red forest hybrid that I have.

Sexing the jewel fish is relatively quite simple. Look at the blue dots on its gills.If the dots are large it is most probably a male. If it is small then it is likely a female.

The above picture show the eggs laid by the pair.

Breeding would likely take place after a couple is form. Once they dominated an area it will clean a site and lay eggs after a few days. The eggs will hatch for 3-4 days depending on the temperature. Then it will disappear but wait don't be to hasty on the situation. The fry will start to appear after a few days when it is free swimming. The fry can be given crush food on the first day it started free swimming.

Saltwater Fish

A large salt water fish tank intimately resembles the environment found in oceans that supports the salt water fish as against fresh water fish. It is not easy to upkeep the salt water fish in a large salt water fish tank. This is because salt water fish, unlike the fresh water fish, are less tolerant to fluctuations that may happen quickly in the enclosed space of the large salt water fish tank. It is important that the large fish water fish tank is able to function on a self-supporting basis, because every element in the large water fish tank is dependent on every other element for sustaining itself in a stable manner. This imply that salt water fish that are kept in an environment such as the large salt water fish tank is a balancing act that involves maintaining specific parameters to ensure that the entire eco system remains stable.
Salt Water Fish Prefers A Large Salt Water Fish Tank, Or A Small Salt Water Fish Tank?
It actually does not matter whether you choose a large salt water fish tank or a small salt water fish tank. The most important factor is that you actually choose a suitable fish tank that is of a right size for your salt water fish, and more importantly, create a stable environment for the salt water fish.
You need to remember that our ocean environment is typically quite stable, which is exactly what the salt water fish needs. It is important that you create this stable environment within the large salt water fish tank. An example is to not to allow a sudden drop or rise of the temperature within the salt water fish tank. Temperatures within the large salt water fish tank must either rise or fall slowly - just like the ocean. Otherwise, a sudden change of temperature in your fish tank will almost likely cause your salt water fish to fall ill.
There are other factors, you need to consider of having a salt water fish tank. An example if the pH level. The pH level should be 8.2. The nitrates should be <20ppm for salt water fish and <5ppm for invertebrates. This applies to both the small or large salt water fish tank.
It seems quite difficult to keep a salt water fish tank. However, it is a very rewarding experience to be able to recreate the environment of the ocean, and have it within the compound of one's home. It is even more rewarding to see your salt water fish swimming happily and elegantly in that large salt water fish tank that has been so carefully maintained.

Tangopang is the author and owner of http://www.fishtanksupplieshome.com For more information on Saltwater Aquariums visit Fish Tank Supplies Home

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tango_Pang