January 2018 – Page 2

Setting Up An African Cichlid Aquarium

Posted on January 10, 2018 by admin

An African Cichlid aquarium must be set up to best accommodate the fish. If a tank is set up improperly, it can not only cause stress to the fish, the error could result in death for the fish. The best way to make an African cichlid happy is to design its aquarium with their natural habitat in mind.

The following paragraphs will briefly discuss the best environment for an African Cichlid.

Aquarium Size

An aquarium being set up for an African Cichlid should be at least 35 gallons, but ideally 55 gallons. The bigger the aquarium size, the more the fish will enjoy his new home. An African Cichlid likes to have a spacious aquarium, with plenty of aquarium decorations and swimming space. Having a smaller tank can ultimately cause a fish to become aggressive, since he will unlikely be able to stake claim on any territory.

Water pH Levels

Water in an African cichlid aquarium should be monitored and kept at pH levels of 7.0 to 9.0. The reason the range can be so wide is because the water chemistry in African Rift Lakes constantly fluctuate. They never stay the same. The only time problems may arise for the fish is if there is a rapid change in pH levels. The African cichlids are able to easily adapt to many water conditions. They can even survive in sub-optimal conditions, but they will be stressed and aggressive.

Water Hardness

African Cichlids prefer hard water over water treated with softeners. If no hard water is available, calcium and phosphate should be added. Water conditioner and salt are also necessary. The African Rift Lakes contain hard water and that is water want to replicate in this aquarium.

Replicating an African Cichlid’s Natural Environment

This can be tricky to do. African cichlids are found in all of the three African Rift Lakes: Lake Tanganyika, Lake Victoria and Lake Malawi. The environments in these three lakes are slightly different from each other. So the first step will be to find out which lake your cichlid is native to. The second step is to research that lake’s water chemistry, substrate and plants. The final step is try replicating the major components in your own aquarium.

African cichlids are beautiful fish and make a wonderful addition to any home. However, great care must be given when setting up an African cichlids aquarium. It is important to know about the natural habitat of the fish, and replicate it as closely as possible.

The Seven Most Popular Baby Nursery Themes

Posted on January 6, 2018 by admin

Together you and your baby will be spending a good amount of time in the nursery and through colors and dcor you can create an atmosphere enjoyable and pleasing for both of you. As with many other things there is more than one way to accomplish that: you can have the nursery completely finished before the birth of your baby, or you can start with the color scheme and the few major pieces and let the nursery evolve with your babys growth. Whichever way you choose its much easier if you decide before hand on a nursery theme. Below are the seven most popular baby nursery themes in use today:

JUNGLE THEME
The Jungle theme combines greens, browns and yellows which can be exciting and cheerful and at the same time soothing; it is a gender neutral design. Baby bedding, quilts and nursery rugs as well as cut-outs of jungle animals, wall paper and borders are easy to find. Lions, giraffes, monkeys and elephants bring the exotic colors and sounds of the jungle to your little adventurer.

SPORTS
The Sports theme gained in popularity in the recent years. Hockey and football, soccer and basketball are all depicted on their own or in different combinations. The Sports theme features heavy graphical patterns and will compliment almost any room but generally is considered as boys nursery theme. Baby quilts, pillow cases, and wallpaper feature pictures of sports and sports items, such as different balls, pucks, rackets, skates, baseball gloves, nets, etc. The graphically drawn pictures are in bold colors that will easily catch and keep your little champions attention.

PRINCESS
Fairy Tale Princess or Cinderella is as girlish as it can be design. Sometimes it can be too heavy on pink but shiny gold stars and accents of orange, sage, blue and brown can help offset the cotton candy feeling of the more traditional design. In the new Fairy Tale Princess nursery designs nothing is missed the magic wand, the multi turreted castle, the sparkling crown, the pumpkin, the mice, the merciless clock and the legendary glass slipper. Cribs can even be purchased that resemble Cinderellas stage coach to complete the perfect princess theme.

ALPHABET
The Alphabet is a great theme choice; it looks orderly and neat and is considered a unisex design. Usually it has a nice mix of colors and shapes which easily compliment even preexisting room dcor. Two-year olds can recognize the letters and with a little parents help can memorize them easily. An early grasp on the alphabet is a real head start for your little scholar.

SEA LIFE
Perhaps the most popular of all is the nursery theme based on sea life Aquarium, Under the Sea, Sea World, etc. Grinning exotic sea creatures and tropical fish in bright and vibrant colors darting through the water kingdom are widely used. Seahorses, crabs, mermaids and corals all bring a multitude of colors to make this theme equally suited for baby boys and baby girls.

PETS
The Pets theme has always been quite popular among parents. It features favorite household pets like dogs or cats and is quite endearing to a lot of parents. The colors are usually calmer and more traditional and bring the sense of homeliness. A lot of parents feel more comfortable with the familiar faces and shapes. Generally dogs depicting design is seen as boys nursery design and cats themes are preferred for baby girls nurseries.

ANGELS
Watchful guardian angels are always welcome in the nursery and the theme is as popular as ever. Angels baby bedding and accessories are often offered in bright and vibrant colors, although more mellow versions are also available. This theme is gender neutral and is great for all stages of baby development.

A nursery theme is only an idea which you shouldnt be afraid to develop. Free your imagination and creativity and experiment; play with colors and shapes till the final result brings a smile on your face.

Anthias Fish

Posted on January 2, 2018 by admin

Anthias fish are a grouping of small marine aquarium fish which are located in practically all tropical seas. They are regularly some of the brightest colored marine fishes in the ocean and are very admired additions to the marine aquarium. They come from the family Serranidae which contain primarily basslets as well as groupers. Among the basslet family, they are classified in a sub-family named Anthiinae.

There have been 7 located types within this subfamily thus far. Anthias are mainly a shoaling species that can sometimes be found in the 1000’s across their usual range on the reefs.

They are generally found inhabiting spots of very strong flow, something that must be simulated in the home aquaria. Almost all anthias varieties feed on saltwater plankton throughout the day. This fact makes these gorgeous marine fish rather tricky to keep in the aquarium.

Some fare very poorly in the aquarium and refuse prepared fish food until they finally starve to death. Multiple feedings of small fish feed need to be offered daily. A quantity of great selections are made up of cyclopeeze along with grinded meaty seafoods. Feedings upwards of 3 times per day is suggested. If such a feeding schedule cannot be offered, it would be best to shop outside of the anthias family of fish.

Anthias are caught at depths anywhere from 20 feet all the way as deep as 200 feet. Deep living anthias regularly command a exceptionally expensive price and are almost always snapped up when they are available. 2 well-liked and expensive deeper living varieties are Pseudoanthias Ventralis in addition to Pseudoanthias Privitera.

Also included in the Anthias fish family are some unique oddities such as the highfin perchlet. Usually confused as a hawkfish, they come from the genus PLectranthias. Similar to hawkfish, the highfin perchlet does not possess a swim bladder.

All anthias fish are sequential hermaphrodites. Great shoals are normally made up of a greater percent of females than males. These saltwater fish require big fish tanks to do well. If more than one specimen from a species is required, make sure there is only a single male present. Integrating males in captivity will just about always bring about hostility.

In general, anthias are thought of as a fairly reasonably priced saltwater fish outside of the rare deepwater types. Prices range anywhere from $20 to $40 per specimen based on species. exceptionally colorful, most lovers attempt to replicate their shoaling behavior in the aquarium. However, only those with the largest marine tanks are successful.