Tuesday, September 29, 2009

The Oscar Fish


The Oscar Fish, or to give it its scientific name, Astronontus ocellatus.  Astronontus actually means being marked with a star on the back.  Ocellatus means bearing an "eye spot"  The Oscar is a fresh water fish that is a member of the Cichlid (pronounced sick-lid)  family which is native to the Orinoco, La Plata, and Amazon river in South America where they inhabit the many slow-moving rivers that are attached to the Amazon.

During the rainy season the Amazon rainforest floods to depths of 9 m and covers an area the size of California. The Amazon river is home to some of the largest fish in the world including massive catfish and the elusive Arapaima which can reach lengths of over 4 m.

The Oscar has also found its way into other tropical and subtropical parts of the wild such as some of the canals in Florida USA.  However these are not native and were probably introduced accidentally, or released on purpose.
The oscar  has various names such as velvet  and peacock cichlid. It is fairly obvious why people sometimes refer to an Oscar as a peacock cichlid, you only have to look at its tail to realise why this has come about.  The reason it is sometimes called a velvet cichlid is because of the size of its scales, if you look very closely, it almost has a velvet appearance.  Having said all this, is most commonly known as an Oscar with aquarium hobbyists.  Nobody is actually sure where the name Oscar came from. It probably came about from an early importer of tropical fish that for reasons of his own, gave the fish the name that we all love.  The Oscar can reach 16 in + (2LB +) in size and weight.  However,  fish normally only reach their maximum size in the wild. An average sized for an Oscar in captivity is probably between 9 and 12 inches.   There are various different types of Oscar, some of which include the Common or Wild Oscar, this being the original Oscar from the wild. Oscars bred from this wild Oscar include  Red, Tiger, Albino, Lutino, yellow, Lemon, Veil Tail. And then of course you can have all your cross breeds such as Red Tiger, Red Albino etc.

You may come across what is commonly referred to as a dyed or tattooed Oscar. These fish often display extremely bright colours that look very unnatural. We would advise anyone not to purchase any fish that has been dyed artificially. Whereas the colours may be bright and vibrant, the chances are they won't stay like this. This practice is very much frowned upon by serious fish keepers as the fish is put through quite an ordeal when artificially colouring it.

Friday, September 25, 2009

Origin Of Piranhas



Piranhas inhabit exclusively the fresh waters of South America. Their geographical distribution extends from the Orinoco River basin (Venezuela) to the North, down to that of the Paran (Argentina) to the South. Over this whole area, which also embraces the entire Amazon Basin, biologists have recorded 28 carnivorous species of these fish (2). In spite of the evolutionary success of this subfamily of fish, the mechanisms that generated the species richness of this group are still insufficiently known. 

A team from the IRD, working in partnership with Bolivian and Peruvian scientists, aimed to establish how these species were able to evolve over the past 15 million years. They consequently took samples from around their whole distribution range. Between September 2002 and June 2003, numerous specimens of piranhas were collected from the Bolivian part of the Amazon. Complementary sampling was then conducted in the Brazilian and Peruvian sectors, from the Orinoco in Venezuela, and the So Francisco and the Paran-Paraguay in Brazil. The team selected 57 specimens representative of 21 different species of piranhas, from 15 collection points distributed over the whole South-American hydrographic network,. 

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) of piranhas has a especially high mutation rate and thus could be used as a molecular basis for reconstructing the evolution of the present-day species which are different yet very close to one another. These techniques using mtDNA sequences led to the conclusion that the origin of the piranha species inhabiting the rivers of South America today dates back to some ancestor at only a few million years B.P. Yet dating from fossils, whose morphologies are strikingly similar to those of present-day piranhas, strongly suggests that this fish subfamily already existed in South Americas hydrographic system 25 million years ago. The modern species must therefore stem from a recent diversification. 

Further investigation involving the construction of a phylogenetic tree by categorizing the studys 21 species allowed phylogenetic relationships between each of them to be established in order to test alternative hypotheses for the diversification that occurred over time. Examination of these data alongside geological-scale changes that have affected aquatic ecosystems with time brought out evidence that marine incursions played a fundamental role in the appearance then the distribution of piranha species. Five million years ago, the Atlantic Ocean advanced, its waters finding their way far onto the Amazon flood plain. The saline water invaded the lowland expanse of the great river and penetrated its tributaries situated below 100 metres of altitude, provoking the disappearance of a number of species of freshwater fish. Some of these would nevertheless have succeeded in finding refuge at high altitude, in particular in rivers that flowed on the Guianan and Brazilian shields. 

DNA analysis confirmed this hypothesis and showed that the piranha populations present in the Amazon flood plain but situated 100 metres above sea-level have been in existence for no more than 3 million years. Hitherto, certain specialists had suggested that the present-day piranha species had arisen in the lower sections of the great rivers of South America. The researchers thought that from centres of speciation, piranhas would subsequently have dispersed to colonize the more upstream reaches of the river system. However, the results of the study give sustenance to another scenario. 

As per that new hypothesis, during the marine incursion phase some piranha populations would have survived in the upstream parts of the network. Such populations would have differentiated into speciesfollowing the fragmentation of their zone of distribution, but probably also in response to ecological constraints specific to the basin where they were kept in isolation from each other. Once the ocean had regressed again, 3 million years ago, these piranhas could finally have dispersed downstream, finding their way back to the Amazons lowland plain which would have served as a gathering ground for biodiversity. What now remains to be found are the ecological parameters that could have favoured the diversification of piranha populations so confined to the upper reaches of the river network. 

One of the hypotheses advanced highlights water quality as a factor in stimulating ecological and morphological differentiation of species. The field survey observations indicated that some of the species were highly localized, in both geographical and ecological terms. For example, Serrasalmus hollandi is mostly found in turbid, sediment-laden waters flowing down from Andean mountain streams. In contrast, a new species the biologists discovered, lives in the same hydrographic basin but only in rivers with crystal-clear waters bearing very little sediment content. 

However, water quality cannot be considered as the sole factor behind speciation, seeing that a third piranha species was found living in either of these two categories of river. The research results as a whole suggest that the superimposition of factors associated with geographical history and ecological conditions, intervening at different spatial and temporal scales, is responsible for the diversification of the piranhas. This is an evolutionary progression which should be transposable to other fish communities inhabiting South American waters. 

Acclimating fish and coral


Acclimating fish and coral to your fish tank is a very important process of owning an aquarium. Just like any other animal, if you try to change their surroundings very quickly, the fish and coral can become ill or even die. You need to go through a slow process to get them used to the water conditions before you try to plunge them right in there. In this article I will be going through a few of the various steps you will need to take when acclimating new fish to your aquarium. So without further introduction, lets get into how to properly acclimate fish and coral.

First you will need to get the proper materials for acclimation. You will need a clean bucket, a net, a bucket with water at the exact conditions of your aquarium, and a cup. You should always have these materials on hand before you order the new fish to your aquarium. Once you get your fish home, you will want to start the acclimation process as quickly as possible and avoid leaving the fish in the bag it came in for an extended period of time. There are different methods for acclimation, but I will go with the more simple straight forward method.

First you want to empty the bag and the fish into the clean bucket, being very careful not to drop the fish too roughly. Now you need to condition the water in your second bucket the same condition as the water in your aquarium. At this point you want to take a cup of water out of the aquarium and add it to the bucket with the fish in it. You will continue to add a cup of water every 5 minutes for 45 minutes. At the end of the 45 minute period, you can scoop your fish out and place them in the aquarium. Now with the treated water in the non-fish bucket, you will fill up the water level in your aquarium. Be careful to not pour it too fast and cause too much of a disturbance in the aquarium.

With corals, you can place them directly in the aquarium. Live rock is another story. When you receive the live rock you should place it in a new garbage can of around 30 gallons. Completely submerge your live rock in saltwater with a specific level of 1.021 to 1.025. Place a heater in the trash can and set it to 80 degrees to speed up the process. You should provide constant water flow with a pump in the garbage can. Also during this process you should do 100% water changes twice a week to keep the water from festering. Gently use the brush to remove any dead particles from the rock during these water changes. Your live rock will be ready and able to place in the aquarium once the ammonia levels in the trash can are non-existent.

I hope you found this guide helpful for the acclimating fish and live rock to your aquarium. Just remember to take your time and get the process down and do not rush.

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Warning on Facebook

Hi ....,

Facebook has limits in place to prevent behavior that other users may find annoying or abusive. These limits restrict the rate at which you can use certain features on the site. Unfortunately, we cannot provide you with the specific rates that have been deemed abusive.

Your account has been disabled because you exceeded Facebook's limits on multiple occasions when sending messages, despite having been warned to slow down.

After further review of your account, we have determined that you violated our Statement of Rights and Responsibilities by misusing our site features to harass other users. We will not be able to reactivate your account for any reason. This decision is final.

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Breeding Flower Horn

Breeding Flowerhorn cichlids are easy but it can be hard to get the offspring you want as this requires selective line breeding. You have to carefully choose the parents you want to breed from if you are looking to get a specific type of Flowerhorn fish as the outcome of the planned spawning.

To breed your Flowerhorn cichlids after choosing the parents you want to use you can proceed in the same way you would with many other large South and Central American cichlids. Which is quite natural since Flowerhorn fish is a result of selective cross breeding of different South and Central American cichlids.

This text will teach you the basics surrounding Flowerhorn breeding and is assuming that you have basic aquarium and breeding knowledge.

It is best to keep your Flowerhorn cichlids in a large aquarium to breed them and to decorate the aquarium so that there are hiding places for the female and so the male doesn't always have a clear line of site to everything happening in the aquarium. Flowerhorn cichlids can be very aggressive towards their partner and a well decorated aquarium is not always enough to protect your female from the male's advances and aggression. Keep and close eye on the couple and if you se that the male is to aggressive you should remove the female from the aquarium . You will in that case have to attempt Flowerhorn breeding using a separator so that the male can't get to the female and hurt her. Leave a small gap between the bottom of the aquarium and the divider. The gap should be too small for any of the fish to fit through. The only decorations in the breeding aquarium should be a flat stone placed with the female next to the divider. This is done to force the female to deposit her eggs on the stone where the male still can fertilize them thanks to the gap between the bottom and the divider. The filtration in the aquarium should when attempting Flowerhorn breeding be arranged in such a way that the water flows from the males side to the females side as this facilitates fertilization. Flowerhorn breeding can be achieve in most water conditions but a neutral pH level and a temperature around 28°C / 82°F is optimal.

You will have to condition your Flowerhorn cichlids prior to breeding. This is relatively easy achieved since Flowerhorn cichlids accept most kinds of food and a diet consisting of pellets and some shrimps and other food for variation will do well. Feed them several times a day and do regular water changes as the large amount of food will but a large stress on the water.

The spawning is preceded by the usual cichlid courting behaviour the eggs are than deposited on an flat rock or other flat surface. Flowerhorn cichlids are usually very good parents once you gotten you Flowerhorn fish to breed. They guard their egg and fry fiercely. The fry is relatively large and will accept newly hatched brine shrimp once they are born. After a week or two you can start to feed the fry crushed flake food and pellets.
The potential problems that can surround Flowerhorn breeding is not over just because the fish spawned and the eggs have hatched. You will still have to keep a close eye on the fish since the male sometimes becomes aggressive towards the female and guards the fry from the female. The female must in such situations be removed or she will most likely be killed.

Basic FlowerHorn Keeping

The Flower horn is a sturdy fish that is not hard to care for. Providing your Flower horn with a suitable environment is not difficult. You need to give your Flower horn cichlid an aquarium that is large enough, suitable aquarium decorations, neutral or slightly basic water, a water temperature around 28º C and nutritious food.

The aquarium has to be quite large, since the Flower horn can grow big. A larger aquarium will also reduce the amount of aggressive behaviour. You can keep your Flower horn alone in the aquarium, but it is not obligatory as long as the aquarium is large enough to house other species of roughly the same size and temperament. Large cichlids from South America that will not tolerate being bullied by the Flower horn is one example of suitable tank mates. Since the Flower horn is a territorial species you should fill the aquarium with decorations that create natural borders. If the fish can keep out of each others way and stay inside their own territory, the amount of aggressive behaviour will decrease. Keep in mind that some Flower horns like to destroy plants.

As mentioned above your Flower horn will appreciate neutral or slightly basic water conditions. It is however a though fish and will survive in a wide range of different water conditions as long as you avoid the extremes. A Flower horn will produce a lot of organic waste since it eats a lot. You must therefore perform frequent water changes to keep the water chemistry at suitable levels and prevent the organic compounds from reaching toxic levels that will harm the Flower horn. A 20 percent water change twice a week is the best solution, but once a week is usually okay if you change 25 percent. If you notice that certain food types cause the levels of organic waste to sky rocket in your aquarium, you can naturally avoid these.

It is not hard to introduce a Flower horn to new food. If you have kept other South American cichlids you will recognise the feeding habits and adaptability. The Flower horn is an energetic and active fish and its metabolism requires plenty of food which makes this fish surprisingly hard to over feed. Feeding your Flower horn two or three times a day is a good rule of thumb. High quality pellets can be a good base and should be supplemented with more meaty foods such as shrimps and worms. With a varied diet it will be easier for your Flower horn to receive all necessary nutrients in order to stay healthy and good looking.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

How do I euthanize my fish?

The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines Euthanasia as follows: the act or practice of killing or permitting the death of hopelessly sick or injured individuals (as persons or domestic animals) in a relatively painless way for reasons of mercy.

As a fish keeper, there may come a time that you need to euthanize one of your fish. In this article we will look at the various methods available to us. I will not recommend any of the methods as I have not yet come to the point that I needed to euthanize a fish. While I won't be recommending any of the methods I discuss, there are methods that I will suggest you not use for various reasons.

Toilet Flush - Not recommended
This is probably the most common way a lot of beginning fish keepers use to euthanize their fish. It is a misconception to think that flushing a fish is actually going to kill it relatively painlessly, which is what we are trying to do. Flushing your fish will subject it to various things in the sewer system, none of which are very pleasant to think about.

Hit it on the head - Not recommended
While this method can accomplish our goal, it is very difficult to do on most fish. To be effective you need to strike the fish in the head hard enough to kill it, all while keeping hold of it. Otherwise you may end up dropping the fish on the ground thereby losing it, only to find a crispy critter at some point in the future.

Cut the head off - Not recommended
For the fish keeper that is also a fisherman this method may be acceptable as they have the experience to do it. I don't like this method for a variety of reasons. It can be gory. It can result in bodily harm to the fish keeper and I think that there are more humane methods than this.

Freezing the fish
This method involves putting the fish into a container that will fit into the freezer and that you are willing to discard. Put some water into the container and then introduce the fish. Put the entire thing into the freezer. There seems to be some debate as to how long you need to leave the container in the freezer but I would suggest leaving it for a minimum of 8 hours. Do not "check in on" the fish during this time. If you do, it could cause the process to take longer. Since the goal of euthanasia is to be relatively painless, I don't think I will be using this method when I finally do need to euthanize a fish. I say this because I question how painless freezing to death is.

Sudden temperature change - colder
This method is different than the one mentioned above. Instead of putting the fish into the container then putting it into the freezer, we will first get the water in the container very cold. This can be accomplished in a couple of different ways. The easiest is to fill the container with ice (much like making yourself a drink) then put in very cold water from the tap. Let it sit for a few minutes and then your ready to use it. Another way is to put some water into a container then put it in the freezer. The goal here is to get the water as close to freezing as possible with out actually freezing it. Once you have your container of very cold water (using whichever method you prefer) simply put the fish into the water head first as quickly as possible. The shock of the sudden drop in temperature should kill the fish almost instantly. This method is not suggested for coldwater fish.

Sudden temperature change - hotter
Use this method for coldwater fish instead. For this method we need to get some very hot (not necessarily boiling but over 120 °F) water into a container and then drop the fish head first into the container. Again the sudden change in temperature should kill the fish almost instantly. One side effect of this method is the fish keeper may feel like he/she is cooking a beloved pet. Use this method with caution as it can also cause injury to the fish keeper.

Alcohol
I'm talking about the really pure stuff like Jack Daniel's or vodka not a beer or a wine cooler. Put enough alcohol to cover the fish into a container and drop the fish in headfirst. The alcohol will cause almost instant paralysis and respiratory failure in the fish, which accomplishes our goal of a relatively painless death. Only use this method if you are of legal age to posses the alcohol or have someone that is of legal age with you while you are using the method.

I'm sure there are other methods out there that may work just as well as the ones mentioned above. As fish keepers we may not want to euthanize a fish but I believe euthanasia is better than letting the fish live in pain if it is obvious that it will die anyway. If you have found a quick and painless way to euthanize a fish that is in pain then you are a better fish keeper and a better person for it.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Acclimatizing Your FH When It Arrives

Acclimatization Procedure

1.Newly arrived fish may suffer severe stress or trauma resulting from sudden exposure to bright light, so be sure to switch off the aquarium lights, and dim the room's surrounding lighting where you open the shipping box. Do not open the box in bright light.

2.Float the sealed bag in the aquarium for 15-20 minutes. Do not open the shipping bag yet.  You need to allow the water in the shipping bag to adjust slowly to the temperature in the aquarium, while maintaining a high level of dissolved oxygen.

3.Remove or cut the tied bands at the top of the bag while it is still afloat in the aquarium. Roll the top edge of the bag down one inch to create an air pocket within the lip of the bag. This will enable the bag to float on the surface of the water.

4.Add 1/2 cup of aquarium water to the shipping bag, and repeat the process every 5 minutes until the shipping bag is full.

5.Lift the shipping bag from the aquarium and discard half the water from the bag.

6.Float the shipping bag in the aquarium again, and proceed to add 1/2 cup of aquarium water to the shipping bag every five minutes until the bag is full.

7.Now your fish is ready to be released into the aquarium. Submerge the bag in the aquarium, and slowly allow the fish to swim out from the bag into its new home.

8.Remove the filled shipping bag from the aquarium and discard the water. Try not to release the shipping water directly into the aquarium.

Monday, September 14, 2009

How to set up an aquarium for a quality FH?


You should have at least

1. 25 to 40 gall tank with cover to prevent the fish from jumping out. (yes they do jump out so just cover the tank)

2. Lights(optional)

3. Heater(optional) if you are somewhere near Thailand, Philippines, Singapore or Malaysia you don’t need a heater, but if you are outside this Asian continent region, you got to buy a heater, any ways heater prevents sickness to the flower horn itself so better to buy one.

4. 2 Power head filter not an under gravel filter

5. Decoration notes – if you like decorating the aquarium... you can put a small layer of gravel, just be sure you can clean the tank easily, but from my opinion just stick to a bare tank don’t put gravel because flower horns like to dig pit of wholes on the gravel using their mouths, the mouth can get wounded and if they get chocked which really happens… say bye2x to your quality flower horn. Putting plastic or solid structure in the aquarium is not advisable, putting plastic plants can harm the fish, flower horns like biting things that are in their territory (what’s their territory? It’s the whole tank!!) And if they bite sharp objects, they can be harmed so please stick with the bare tank, just put a nice back ground wallpaper in the back of the aquarium, that’s what I did.

Friday, September 11, 2009

Ways To Determine The Gender Of FH

Here are a few ways to tell the gender of a flowerhorn:


#1 dorsal black spot:

Flowerhorns are hybrids,therefore this method will not be 100%accurate.this method is usally use on pure bred cichlid. However the rest of the method we are going to talk about here will not apply to fries under 3 in therefore this one is included.

90%of fry with out dorsal spots,will be males.
60% of fry with dorsal spot will be females.



#2 Body Structure.

Male flowerhorn often have more angular and muscular lines ,while females often have a rounder,smoother body line.

#3 Dorsal Spine Method.

Look at the first 6 dorsal spines of your fh, males often have rounded and thick spines, while females have a more flatened and thiner look to the first 6 dorsal spines.

#4 Pelvic Fin and Pelvic Spine Method.

Female flowerhorn need to use their pelvic fin as a fan to fan the eggs while breeding,therefore when you touch the pelvic fin and pelvic spine of your fh,if it is soft,and the spine is not as hard that will make you bleed,your fish is highly possible to be a female.


#5 Chest Line(chin line) Method.

If you view your fish from the side,behind the gill jucture and before the pelvic fin,right under the petoral fin,this is the chest of your fish,if your fish have a bulkier chest,the it is more possible to be male,females often have a smaller,and smoother chest(unlike human)...


#6 Anal Venting method.

Hold your fish upsidedown,look at the anal vent,males have a V shape and females have a U shape.
Now look from the side,males should have their tube pointed toward the back ,while females have straight tubes.

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Caring your Fish (FH)


What to do daily? Before you turn the lights off the flower horn tank

1. Siphon the nitrates (poop) of the flower horn quickly as possible to prevent sucking to much water, just be sure to take all the nitrates out. 

What to do weekly? Do this once a week 

1. Siphon the tank up to where the water reaches the power head filter then turn off the power head filter, then siphon the water until the water level reaches 10% and don’t touch or do anything to the flower horn.

2. Clean the tank, wipe the glass and wipe any algae that are growing.

3. Get the power head filter and the hose connecting the filter box, get all of them.

4. Clean the power head inside and out, that means disassemble it and clean the inside part, be sure not to wet the plug.

5. Clean the hose because 40% of the filtered material (nitrates) is in there so twist and wash the hose properly.

6. Clean the filter box and the filter material

7. Put the power head, hose, filter box back in place then fill the tank back with water. Put 5 tbl spoon of rock salt to prevent illness from occurring.

8. Turn on the power head filter.

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

SALVADOR KOK

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Monster leo Frogstone kok

Frogstone Kok

Excellent Round Waterkok

Perfect Waterkok

Forward Kok

Semi Waterkok

Hard kok

5 Stupid Act of FlowerHOrn

1. When their huge head get stuck on the power head and wound them self, its only a minor wound when that happens just add 1 tbl spoon of rock salt to the tank.

2. When it start to bite your fingers while cleaning the tank, that’s good it shows how aggressive and active your flower horn is.

3. Weird pimples on the flower horn’s head, body or tail, its because of bad water quality, its because you didn’t follow the steps on cleaning the aquarium, once the water is already clean the pimples will be gone in no time, its only a minor illness, nothing to worry about.

4. When eating it splash around water to the floor, and get all the floor wet, well that’s because its just playing around, or still not used to eating when you are looking at them. They will get used to it after a month or so.

5. Get a first aid kit, like having a medicine ex. Rid-all flower horn special etc. just incase things get out of hand in the aquarium.

Friday, September 4, 2009

Tips on buying FH

How to buy a quality Flower Horn?

There are many breeders selling flower horns, but you should know that the seller is selling you a quality (very nice breed) of flower horn don’t buy the ugly flower horns. The colors of 5 inches below is still not that vibrant but some have all ready vibrant colors, at this size the flower horn is still young and they will bloom (colors are at maximum potential and colors are very vibrant) when they reach 6 inches and above, some are fast bloomers which are the best selection for young flower horn, but some are late bloomers. There are many types of flower horns to choose from ex. Kamfa, Thai-zz, blue face dragon etc. so please decide what breed of flower horn you are going to buy, here are some tips on buying a quality flower horn.




1. Get to know the breeder or supplier, in case the breeder will try to fool you to buy an ugly flower horn, you must see the fish, don’t just look at the pictures, you must see it before purchase.

2. Color must be vibrant and not pale, if the flower horn is red, look at how and where the redness of the flower horn is concentrated, if you don’t like the color, don’t force yourself to buy that flower horn, scout more breeders (2 to 5) and compare their breeds and choose which of them has the best color combination.



3. It should not have an illness, you should have eyes like an eagle, you can’t have a sick fish brought into your new display tank, you should see if the fish got a dust like particle in its body, pimples , stressed (usually if new arrival from other countries), lack of appetite or etc. If you noticed one of these signs or even worst, don’t buy the fish.

4. The fish should be aggressive, if its already 5 inches to 12 inches. How can you know its aggressive? Put your finger in front of the glass of the flower horn, and then see to it that the flower horn will look like biting your finger in the glass, you should buy an active flower horn so you can enjoy how special this fish is.

5. You should know if the fish is short body type or long body type, I prefer you buy the short body type because the hump on the flower horn is more expressed in its body structure, but it depends on your choice.

6. Last but not the least, the hump on the flower horns head must be visible, don’t buy flat heads, usually bad breeders or suppliers say this line “the parents of this flower horn have big humps on their heads, and I’m sure that this offspring will have a big hump on their head too “ say no to that, here’s the catch… every newly born batch of baby flower horn… only 30% of the batch will get a hump on their head What happens to the 70%? The 70% are flat heads or the ugly flower horn… then out of that 30%(when they grow up to 4 to 5 inches) only 10% get bigger humps on their head and out of that 10% … 1% is the best flower horn which usually used for (breeding purposes usually not for sale by the breeders). So you must say no to flat heads and buy a flower horn that has a big hump on their head.

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Origin of flowerhorn....


Flowerhorn, which believe to originate in the man-made hybridisation of cichlid species, they are also known as frogstone and their exact parent species cannot be trace. However, it’s thought the flowerhorn was first seen for sale in the late 1990s on the aquarium market in south east Asia like Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines. They suspected that the first breed of flower horn comes from Bankerohan river along Davao city then it reaches to other neighboring countries. After the discovery of this brilliant kind of aquarium fish it was later become more famous around Asia. People in Far East believe that owning a Flowerhorn can bring them good fortunes in gambling and business.

The male flowerhorn’s (kok) humps that will be pointing upward is told to resemble God of longevity in Chinese traditions and the owners will get more luck when the hump grows, the adult males consequently become the most popular in the market. People that see the marking on the both side of flowerhorn interpret or connect them to a Chinese character, some people believe that the clear Chinese character marking can give them long life and more success to any career they choose. Moreover, the flowerhorn feature commercial value and they are really commonly kept in an aquarium so a number of tropical fish hobbyists are fond of the flowerhorn. The girl flowerhorn are kept as breeder, others will be in the table and will be serve as the meal of the family.

The Flowerhorn grow very quickly and can reach more than 12 to 18 inches in length and some can live from 8 up to 10 years. This aggressive fish can live in almost every water conditions but the perfect water should offer a pH in the range of 7 – 7.8 with a temperature of 75 up to 80 degrees.

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Flower Horn Show' 09

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Live Rock for Fish Tank


Live rock is a very important part of the marine aquarium. It is generally used as a biological filter for an aquarium with fish. Live rock takes a while to be cured properly for the aquarium, but once you get the hang of it, it can provide excellent filtering qualities to your aquarium. In this article I will be talking about live rock, and the process used to cure it, and how it can be beneficial to your aquarium.

Like I said earlier, live rock is a biological filter. Live rock itself is not actually alive, it is merely the skeletal remains of corals, but it does host many beneficial bacteria that work with the nitrogen cycle in your aquarium to process waste. Live rocks also work well to stabilize other chemical levels in your aquarium as well. Live rock has beneficial effects on the PH levels, by releasing calcium to maintain balance. You can also get live rock to act as caves and hiding places for the fish in your aquarium.

To start out, you should order your live rock when you are ordering the other components for your marine aquarium. It takes a while to cure live rock so it is a good idea to get it early on in the process. I will instruct you in the best way to cure your live rock. Due to a natural breakdown in the organisms that make up live rock (which I will not go into detail about here). Curing your live rock can take up to 3 weeks. The amount of time is determined by the types of live rock you have and the amount.

To cure your live rock you will need the following supplies; a storage container of around 30 gallons, an aquarium heater that is submersible and can keep the water at around 80 degree temperature, a pump that will move the water, a brush to remove particles from the live rock surface, salt mix, and testing kits for water and ammonia.

1. Mix the salt mix with enough water to completely cover your live rock
2. Scrub your live rock gently to remove any particles.
3. Put the rock in the water with the pumps and heater to create the moving water environment.
4. Dimly light the container to prevent algae growing in the water
5. Change the water at least once every 3 days along with scrubbing of any material on the rock.
6. Test the water to be sure there are no visible ammonia levels and then your live rock is suitable for the aquarium.

Live rock is a great addition to the aquarium and I highly recommend you get it to aid in the filtration of the aquarium. Enough live rock can effectively take care of a large bio load. I hope you have found this article helpful for selecting and curing your very own live rock. If you have any more questions about live rock, you can always speak to sales representatives from around the web and they can help to answer any questions you may have.