Some hobbies need almost nothing to start and not much more to continue, like for example Origami. What do you need? You and paper, that’s about it. But when you’re starting a tropical freshwater fish aquarium you do need a tank, fish, accessories, and, most importantly, research prior to starting.

If you think you can start a freshwater fish aquarium by chucking some water into a tank with a few fish and a filter thingy then think again ‘cos that ain’t how it’s done folks.

What size tank will you get? Will it fit into the available space in your house? What do you do to the water before fish can live in it? Can you get a mixture of fish species or will some eat each other? Can you use real plants or will the fish eat those as well? How do you treat algae before it treats the fish?

You really need to research the subject before doing absolutely anything, this is crucial as without it you will certainly fail after a very short time. If you think the word “research” sounds a bit heavy then it’s time for a re-think. Research is simply reading up on a subject, and in the case of fish aquariums it’s really interesting, you’ll be amazed at the information out there. It doesn’t take long and besides you’ll really enjoy it, honestly you will.

So come on folks don’t let lack of information stop you entering one of the most enjoyable, rewarding and interesting hobbies out there. Get that information and you can start a freshwater fish aquarium in no time and without wasting time and money. Do it right and you’ll have a superb and stunning fish aquarium for life.

Source:ezinearticles.com

The Yellow Tang (Zebrasoma Flavescens) is one of the most recognizable fishes in the marine aquarium industry along with the blue tang, percula clownfish and the flame angelfish. It is also the most popular tang in the surgeon fish family and its very easy to see why. Its entire body is a stunning pastel like yellow.

The yellow tang is commonly collected from Hawaii and the nearby islands. Once acclimated the yellow tang is a hardy fish that is peaceful with other fishes (Outside of the tang family) which makes it a popular choice for community aquariums.

Care should be taken when choosing specimens as most tangs and surgeon fish are itch magnets and also susceptible to lateral line erosion.

The yellow tang is heavily traded in the live fish market, with juveniles going for about $30 to $40 while adults retail for about $60 to $70 per specimen.

A peaceful fish, the yellow tang does not normally bully larger or smaller tank mates. Making it an attractive candidate for all aquariums.

When keeping multiple tangs it is important to provide enough space for all of them or there might be aggression between them.

In they wild they are a schooling fish and such behavior can be witnessed in captivity.

If more than one is desired they should be introduced into the tank at the same time.

The Yellow Tang can reach up to 8 inches in length so its best to stick with larger tanks. Nothing smaller than a 100 gallons should be used, 150 gallon or bigger is recommended.

This popular fish is all too often bought when they’re 2 to 3 inches and kept in tanks as small as 30 gallons. They will quickly outgrow such tanks, leaving the owner with the headache of finding a buyer for it, or finding a larger aquarium to house it.

Live rock is needed for shelter despite the fact that are a brave “open” swimmer.

The yellow tang grazes on live rock throughout the day as it forms huge shoals in the wild. They feed mainly on algae so such foods should be offered frequently. {Ensure they get enough algae based foods in captivity as algae makes up the bulk of their diet in the wild}. Unlike marine angelfish, they are completely reef safe and do not bother corals, one of the reasons why they’re so popular in marine reef aquariums.

Seaweed/Nori sheets are a great food for tangs. You can either buy seaweed produced and packaged specifically for marine fishes (Julian sprungs sea veggies) or you can go to your local supermarket and buy some nori sheets there. Be sure to get unflavoured nori.

They will normally consume anything that is offered in captivity despite being strict herbivores in the wild. So they should be fed not just greens but a wide variety of items.

They should be fed good alga and seafood mixes like Formula One and Formula Two by Ocean Nutrition as well as a good pellet. New Life Spectrum produces some excellent pellets for all marine fishes.

Many fish stores can be seen giving their tangs lettuce to nibble on. Never feed your tangs lettuce. Nutritionally they do not offer much to the tang (Iceberg or Romaine lettuce).

Source:ezinearticles.com

Hopefully you realize the utter importance of research prior to starting a tropical freshwater fish aquarium. No research means no success so it is mandatory, and while the internet and book research is the obvious place to start, don’t under estimate the pet shop assistants. They know quite a bit more than you might think.

When folks first get the idea that a fish aquarium may be just the sort of hobby they were looking for they usually haven’t thought about how exactly to make a start and what maintenance is involved throughout the life of the fish. The internet and books are indeed the first place most of us would carry out our research, myself included, but lots of folk have this idea that pet shop assistants don’t know that much at all.

Folks, let me tell you, that just isn’t true. The owners of most businesses want their customers properly informed of all products, maintenance and best practice. You’ll notice in a lot of pet stores that fish tanks normally take up all the wall space, in other words there are lots of them. Why? Because they’re very popular.

Now that being the case, the assistants need to know the ins and outs of how to start a freshwater fish aquarium and how to then maintain that aquarium You’ll be very surprised at how much knowledge they have and therefore how they can be a huge advantage to making your new hobby a success for life.

So listen up folks. Use the internet, books and magazines as most, if not all of us do, but don’t forget the pet shop assistants. By the way I am not one, but I do have lots of praise for their knowledge in the hobby of starting a freshwater fish aquarium and keeping it for life. Don’t be afraid to approach them for help that’s what they’re there for. So go on, use the internet and books but get that person to person information as well. You won’t go far wrong that’s for sure.

Source:ezinearticles.com

Setting up an aquarium isn’t difficult, just about anyone can do it.  Buy a tank, fill it with water, add some fish and it’s done.  Nothing to it really.

If you want to keep your fish for more than a couple of weeks then you probably need to adapt a slightly more scientific route than this.  Fish keeping is easy, but it isn’t simple.  What I mean by that is that once you know your subject, the day to day fish keeping is easy.  Feeding them, watching them, do a spot of cleaning and an occasional water change, trim the plants if you’ve got any.  None of it is difficult or particularly time consuming.

So why do Eighty percent of people who start the hobby give up within a year?

Because they didn’t do their research.  Now the word research might put you off a bit.  It sounds really heavy, like what you would do before writing a thesis.  In actual fact, it is just reading.  That’s all you have to do before you start this hobby.  Read up on it and make sure that you understand what it involves.

If you’re serious about this it must be worth an evening or two to find out how to do it properly.  If you were taking up any hobby, it would probably involve some research, it’s just that you don’t think of it as research so it’s easy to do.

There is loads of information on the internet, hobbyists, enthusiasts and suppliers are all posting huge amounts of information on the fish keeping hobby every day.  Just log on and fire up Google and away you go.  Ask around, do you have any friends who keep fish.  Most of them will be delighted to talk for hours on the subject.

Setting up an aquarium successfully is more about water keeping than fish keeping.  Yes you need to know about the fish but you need to know more about managing the water quality than anything else.

Did you get a goldfish as a kid?  How long did it live?  Goldfish can live fifteen to twenty years if looked after properly.  The record is forty three years.  The goldfish that we had as kids never stood a chance simply because there wasn’t the information around then that there is today.

So before you start keeping fish do the research, sorry, reading and be a successful fish keeper.

Source:ezinearticles.com

When it comes to popular marine fish, the Ocellaris clownfish (Amphiprion Ocellaris) is the undisputed king. It shares its title with the Percula Clownfish (Amphiprion Percula), since they look entirely alike to most people. Both the ocellaris and percula clowns are the marine aquarium hobby’s greatest ambassadors. Most people might think this is due to the hit animated film, Finding Nemo. They don’t realize these clown fish were already popular before the film was released.

The ocellaris clownfish is a staple offering in the hobby. They are heavily collected from their natural habitats in South East Asia, they are the most plentiful ornamental marine fish at the moment. Walk into any saltwater pet store and you’ll find at least one ocellaris there for sale. They are also heavily bred in captivity with tank-raised ocellaris priced a little higher than wild caught specimens.

Ocellaris clownfish are entirely orange with three white bands (outlined with black) around their heads, body and near their tail. To the untrained eye, both ocellaris and percula look exactly the same. Yet they are both slightly different physically. Percula clownfish have 10 dorsal spines while ocellaris has 11. Thankfully there’s an easier method to tell them apart. Percula clownfish have thicker, more pronounced black outlines while those on the ocelaris are always thin.

One of the cheapest marine fish you can buy, with specimens costing as little as $10. A few dollars more can buy a tank-raised specimen. Given a choice, never go with wild caught specimens as tank-bred ones are generally hardier and better suited to the aquarium.

Ocellaris clowns are also known as the false clown anemonefish and the false percula clown. They are called anemonefish because they share a symbiosis with anemones. They have figured out how to escape the anemones powerful sting, it is thought they have a layer of mucus on their bodies that fool the anemone into thinking there’s nothing there. Anemones are not required despite clownfish needing one in the wild.

Generally peaceful, these clownfish get along well with a wide variety of tank mates. However, they do not get along well with other species of clownfish, especially those outside their species. There are three routes you can take when looking for pair:

* Purchase a mated pair

* Get a large and a small one, introduce them together and pray they pair up

* Purchase two small ones and put them together, eventually one will dominate the other and become a female, pairing up in the process

I cannot give a guarantee that options 2 or 3 will work 100% of the time.

Reaching a maximum of 3 inches in length, they are considered a small fish. All clownfish are site attached, which means they are usually around their territory (a small area) most of the time. Their territory can be anything from a pile of rocks to an anemone. Mushroom and elegance corals have been hosted by the ocellaris when an anemone isn’t available. They can be housed aquariums as small as 20 gallons due to this behavior.

These fishes are very easy to feed because they will eat just about anything. While they are omnivores in the wild, they consume both meaty and algae based food in the aquarium. A wide variety of foods should be given. Prime reef, Formula One and Formula two are some good dry foods to offer. Formula two has an added amount of algea mixed in with seafood while Prime reef is mostly made up of seafood.

The best pellet food on the market are those made by New Life Spectrum. Mix in some frozen foods like mysis shrimp or krill and they will be very happy.

Overall, the ocellaris clownfish is a hardy fish that is a great choice for both beginners and experienced hobbyists alike.

Source:ezinearticles.com

A cichlid is a specific type of fish. There are many different species of cichlids. Many people have cichlids as pets. In order to take the best care of their cichlid they need to investigate and find out just exactly what species of cichlid they have. Many times this information is not given by the store where the fish were purchased or it was provided and soon forgotten by the owner.

I have just recently started studying these fish and have came up with four different groups of these cichlids. As my study continues I will be able to add any new information I find. So far the cichlids are in one of the following groups:

1. Neotropical
2. African
3. Madagascar
4. Asian

This is where the studying begins. After you figure out what group your cichlid is in then you can find out alot about your fish.

Neotropical cichlids are also known as New World Cichlids. They are popular and beautiful to look at in fish tanks. They are happy fish and they are very colorful. These fish are found from Central America through South America. These fish can usually be categorized into 3 different groups.

1. Dwarf cichlids
2. Larger Amazonian cichlids
3. Larger Neotropical Cichlids

Each of these groups have different care levels. Dwarf cichlids are more passive than the others, which makes them better for a peaceful aquarium. The Larger Amazonian and Neotropical Cichlids are easily adapted to larger bodies of water than the Dwarf cichlids.

Along with larger bodies of water the Larger Amazonian and Neotropical can adapt to an aquarium. When keeping these Larger cichlids in an aquarium you should use caution. These fish are predators and are highly territorial. These South American Cichlids are very intelligent fish and are one of the most popular groups to use as aquarium fish.

Source:fishcaretips.com