Underwater Pets

Firemouth cichlid Factfile Scientific name: Thorichthys meeki Size: 15cm Origin: Central America Family: Cichlidae Social Grouping: Pair or group Tank size: 200+ litres Water requirements: pH 6.8-8 Temperature: 25-30℃ Lifespan: 10 years

Checkerboard Loach Factfile Scientific name: Nemacheilus masyai Size: 1--12cm Origin: Thailand Family: Cobitidae Social Grouping: Shoal of 6+ Tank size: 75+ litres Water requirements: pH 6-7.5 Temperature: 18-25℃ Lifespan: 7 years

Polar Blue Parrot  Factfile Scientific name: Cichlasoma sp Size: 20cm Origin: Hybrids Family: Cichlidae Social Grouping: Pair or groups Tank size: 240+ litres Water requirements: pH 6.5 - 8 Temperature: 24-26℃ Lifespan: 10 years

3 types of filtration: Biological Chemical Mechanical Biological Biological filtration is the part of your filter where beneficial bacteria grows, this bacteria plays a vital part in maintaining healthy water in your aquarium. Bacteria in your filter helps break down ammonia which is caused by the waste fish produce, it breaks ammonia down into nitrite and then into nitrate which is the least harmful.  Chemical Chemical filtration contains additives which remove disolled waste from the water. Activated carbon if the most commonly used chemical filtration. Mechanical Mechanical filtration is used to remove solids from your water and arrests the water as well. Due to the small particles and solids being removed this needs replacing every month and is normal a fine white pad.

The fry are now 6 days old and are all doing really well, I have seen no dead fry so far. There are about 200 fry in the tank now hopefully I will be able to keep all of these alive! They are currently being fed only baby brine shrimp and interpet liquifry No. 1 as well. The baby brine shrimp is newly hatched with my own DIY hatchery, however the hatching time is between 24-36 hours so when waiting for more to hatch I have been using the liquifry No.1 to ensure there is a consistent supply of food in the tank. They are currently being fed 3 times a day and are growing really well, with some being double the size of others now. I am impressed with the liquifry No.1 product which gives immediate nutrition to the fry and also stimulates natural microscopic organisms in the tank like infusoria. This is an easy and effective way to provide a constant food source for the fry. There is also a liquifry No.2 which is intended for fry which are from live bearing fish. I have also tried feeding e

Keyhole Cichlids Factfile Scientific name: Cleithracara maronii Size: 12cm Origin: South American Family: Cichlidae Social Grouping: Pairs Tank size: 100+ litres  Water requirements: soft water, pH 4-7 Temperature: 24-26 Lifespan: 8 years  Feeding: Cichlid pellets, frozen or live bloodworms and brine shrimp, can use flakes for juvineils

Black Venezuelan Corydoras Factfile Scientific name: Corydoras venezuelanus Size: 5cm Origin: Venezuela Family: Callichthyidae Social Grouping: Shoal of 5+ Tank size: 90+ litres  Water requirements: pH 5.5-7.5 Temperature: 22-29℃ Lifespan: 10 years

Convict Cichlid Factfile Scientific name: Archocentrus nigrofasciatus Size: 7.6cm Origin: Central America Family: Cichlidae Social Grouping: Pairs or groups Tank size: 120+ litres Water requirements: pH 6-8 Temperature: 26-28 Lifespan: 8 years Feeding: Cichlid pellets, frozen or live bloodworms and brine shrimp, can use flakes for juvineils

Factfile Scientific name: Hemichromis Size: 12.7cm Origin: Africa Tank size: 180 litres+ Water requirements: pH, 6.5-7.5 Temperature: 25-27 degrees celsius Lifespan: 5 years Feeding: High protein diet - flakes, pellets, frozen or live bloodworm, brine shrimp. The jewel cichlid is thought of as the most colourful freshwater fish. This cichlid when fully grown is a bright red colour with electric blue spots all over its body and fins. Originating from African the jewel cichlid is considered to be one of the more peaceful african cichlid. Keeping these cichlids can be challenging and it is essential that you have done your research beforehand to ensure they thrive in your aquarium. Their natural environment includes muddy bottoms of rivers in africa and therefore these fish prefer a substrate they can dig like sand. Due to the sand shifting behaviour of these cichlids it is often advised to avoid keeping them in planted tanks. If you do want to have a well planted aquarium or even just

Free Swimming Fry The wigglers have broken free of their eggs and are now free swimming fry, just 6 days after being laid. It's been an exciting and nervous few days but they all seem to be healthy and swimming around well. From this morning to tonight there are already exploring more and swimming higher in the tank. Both  parents, bubblegum and BB are staying close and looking after the fry. Everytime one strays too far they collect them in their mouth and take them back to the group. For first time parents they are doing a fabulous job, with what looks like at least 200 babies! Now the parents have done all the hard work. It's time for me to step in with feeding and keeping these little cuties alive. As previously mentioned I  have built a DIY brine shrimp hatchery which after 36 hours was a success and many baby brine shrimp hatched. Due to the fry absorbing the egg yolks for food their first feed will be tomorrow night, hopefully by this time the second batch of brine shrim

Denison Barb Factfile Scientific name: Puntius denisonii Size: 15cm Origin: Southern India Family: Cyprinidae  Social Grouping: Groups of 3+ Tank size: 200litres + Water requirements: pH 6.8-7.8 Temperature: 18-25°C Lifespan: 5 years Feeding: Omnivore, flakes, pellets, occasional frozen bloodworms

My First Attempt After lots of research on food for fry baby brine shrimp has come out top without a doubt, so I decided to build my own hatchery. Freshly hatched brine shrimp is great for fry because it provides high amounts of protein and fatty acids which help with growth and boost survival rates. It also stimulates natural feeding behaviour in the fry as the brine shrimp moves through the water.  What you will need for this DIY hatchery: X2 1 litre bottles Lamp  Air pump  Airline Measuring Jug Baking Powder Salt - rock salt, table salt (non ionised) or aquarium salt Airstone (optional) Check valve (optional) I hope you found this video useful and have a go at this easy DIY yourself, there are a few important points to be aware of when hatching brine shrimp eggs. Buy brine shrimp eggs from a reputable source and buy the highest hatch rate that your can. Avoid hatching too many eggs at one go 1-1.5 grams per 500ml is ideal, us

Jack Dempsey Factfile Scientific name: Rocio octofasciata Size: 25cm Origin: Central America Family: Cichlidae Social Grouping: Pairs or groups Tank size: 200 litres Water requirements: pH 6-7 Temperature: 22-30 Lifespan: 10 years Feeding: Cichlid pellets, frozen or live bloodworms and brine shrimp, can use flakes for juvineils

So only 50 hours later and we have wigglers! I came home tonight and when I went to check on the eggs I was gutted, they were no longer in the pot. At this point I assumed they had been eaten again, however as I looked around the tank I saw the male acara hovering over a certain area in the tank. On further investigations I was astonished to see the eggs had become wigglers, yes wigglers already! All the reading I have done in preparation for raising the fry stated that the eggs would become wigglers in 3-4 days and then would spend a further 4 days in a pit as wigglers before they came free swimming. So you can imagine my surprise when after just 2 days the eggs have already developed into wigglers, now on the count down to the wigglers becoming free swimming fry. Debating whether I should try and hatch some baby brine shrimp myself in preparation for the fry. Since fry needs feeding 3 times a day and buying live brine shrimp from my local aquatic shop is 80p a bag, so it is going to

Female Betta Factfile Scientific name: Betta splendens Size: 5.5cm Origin: Thailand Family: Belontiidae Social Grouping: 4-6 Tank size: 45 litres Water requirements: pH 6.5-7.5 Temperature: 25-27℃ Lifespan: 3 years Feeding: Flakes, frozen and live bloodworms.

So yesterday turned into a very exciting sunday afternoon, at roughly 5 o’clock my female blue acara started laying eggs again! My female blue acara is called BB and my male electic blue acara is called bubblegum, these guys are my breeding pair. It was not intentional to end up with a breeding pair but these guys had other plans As mentioned in my previous blog post BB laid eggs last month in my main community fish tank, the eggs along with the parents were moved into a breeding tank. Unfortunately this led to one of the parents eating all the eggs that night, which I guess is from stress of moving. I decided to leave them in the breeding tank to settle and was hoping they would breed again. Research on the internet stated that blue acaras are ready to breed again just 2 weeks after, which is very impressive! Sure enough 13 days later and BB is laying her second lot of eggs, result! I watched the process in which BB laid a line of eggs and then bubblegum went over the line to fertilis

  Cherry Barb Factfile Scientific name: Puntius titteya Size: 5cm Origin: Sri Lanka Family: Cyprinidae Social Grouping: Groups of 6+ Tank size: 75 litres+ Water requirements: pH 6-8 Temperature: 22-27°C Lifespan: 5-6 years Feeding: Omnivore, flakes, pellets, occasional frozen bloodworms

Pygmy Leopard Catfish Factfile Scientific name: Synodontis Petricola Size: 10.2cm (4inch) Origin: Native to Lake Tanganyika in Eastern Africa Family: Mochokidae Social Grouping: Ideally 3-4 Tank size: 80 litres+ Water requirements: pH, 7.5-8.5 Temperature: 24-28 degrees celsius Lifespan: 10-15 years Feeding: sinking pellets and frozen or live food. Synodontis petricola catfish is commonly known as the pygmy leopard catfish because it is a dwarf catfish that grows to about 4 inches. Pygmy leopard catfish are distinguishable by the white edge on their fins and the white spots on their body. They are native to Lake Tanganyika in Africa. This species is very popular within the hobby and the price reflects this with the average cost being £15 for one that is less than an inch in size. This catfish was commonly used in malawi cichlid tanks but over time has been used in many community tanks as it is considered the most peaceful of syno catfish. They are a relatively hardy fish and can sur

  Golden Barb Factfile Scientific name: Barbodes semifasciolatus      Size: 5 -8cm Origin: Asia, Singapore Family: Cyprinidae Social Grouping: Group of 6+ Tank size: 75 litres+ Water requirements: pH 6-8 Temperature: 22-28°C Lifespan: 5-7 years Feeding: Omnivore, flakes, pellets, occasional frozen bloodworms

    Flying Fox Factfile Scientific name: Epalzeorhynchos kalopterus  Size: 15cm Origin: Southeast Asia Family: Cyprinidae Social Grouping: One per tank Tank size: 130+ litres Water requirements: pH 6.5 - 7 Temperature: 20-25 degrees celcious Lifespan: 8 years Feeding: algae eaters but are omnivorous

Green Tiger Barb Factfile Scientific name: Puntius semifasciolatus Size: 3 inch Origin: Singapore Family: Cyprinidae Social Grouping: Groups of 5+ Tank size: 75+ litres Water requirements: pH 6.5 - 7.5 Temperature: 25-28 degrees celsius Lifespan: 6 years Feeding: Flakes, frozen, live brine shrimp and bloodworm