That Fish Blog – Aquarium Advice and Information

Many freshwater aquarists use or at least have heard of using salt in their freshwater aquariums, but few seem to know why. Most “read about it somewhere”, “heard it from someone”, or “saw it on the shelf so I must need it”. To some, it may be beneficial but to others it can cause far more harm than good.

What exactly is Aquarium Salt?

“Salt” is a very broad chemical term and can refer to an unlimited combination of elements. The salt used in freshwater aquariums is Sodium chloride (NaCl). This is NOT the same thing as what is probably in your kitchen and is NOT the same thing that saltwater aquarists use for their corals and clownfish. The “table salt” used as a condiment is mostly NaCl, true, but most table salt is Iodized Table Salt and contains iodine, de-caking agents, and possibly potassium or other trace elements. The marine salt used in saltwater aquariums is mostly NaCl, also true, but has buffers and other elements like sulfate, magnesium, calcium, potassium and others. All of these extra ingredients can range from unnecessary for to harmful to freshwater aquariums, affecting the biology of freshwater plants and animals directly as well as changing the water chemistry in the tank. For freshwater aquariums, use only salt sold as freshwater Aquarium Salt or pure NaCl like Kosher Salt or Rock Salt. Read More »

The word barracuda immediately conjures images of a sleek and powerful fish with a mouthful of dagger-like teeth. While most people associate the name with large, open-water marine predators, it is several different species of freshwater fish also carry this as their common name. The majority of these come from the genus Acestrorhynchus. Read More »

Hello, Frank Indiviglio here.  Capable of surviving up to 4 years without food and water and unchanged since the time of the dinosaurs – Lungfish facts read like fiction.   Please see Part 1 of this article for information on the natural history of African, Australian and South American Lungfishes.  Today we’ll review their care in the aquarium.

Lungfishes in the Aquarium

The West African Lungfish (Protopterus annectans annectans) is the species most commonly available in the trade.  It and the other African Lungfishes make excellent captives if you can provide the huge aquariums they require; longevities commonly exceed 30 years. Read More »

So since my last blog, my male Wolf Cichlid has done it again. Another disasterous fit of rage or passion, but this time though he decided to kill his mate. The female that produced more than a couple thousand babies in the short three years that she was mine is dead. I wish I knew what was going through his fishy mind, because he was as brutal as OJ during his jealous tirade (ooops, just kidding, we all know OJ is innocent). Like OJ, my mean male has managed to avoid capital punishment, banished to a holding tank at TFP before he can be re-homed to some other lucky (or unlucky) cichlid enthusiast.

So, now I have to figure what I should try to breed next! Several things came to mind immediately; Grammodes I’ve already bred, Argentia I’ve kept but never bred, and then there were the  the Cuban Cichlids (Nandopsis tetracanthus). These medium-sized, powerhouse fish attain lenghts of up to 14 inches. They are very striking fish, both male and female are monochromatic, that is, they both sport a black and white pattern.

I was able to trade my rotten male dovii on 4 1.5 inch fish. They all went into the 40 breeder and have so far adapted really well, they were already eating an hour after being put into their new home. The following day I did a head count and was glad to see all four fish still kicking, as everything I’ve read says they are highly aggressive towards each other. Let me tell you it is so true!
They have set up the pecking order already, though they haven’t inflicted too much damage on each other yet. To break up the tension in the tank, I also introduced a Chromidotilapia sp. individual from West Africa. The little Cubans quickly went over to check out the new fish, but the dominant male was smart not to attack, since it was 2.5 times
his size. By the looks of things (if I go by size) I may have two pairs!

They feed very well. The dominant male will pig out so much his belly distends, almost to the point that I have to be careful to limit his intake…he sometimes looks as if he’s about to explode. My bet is that he will grow very quickly. These guys take everything from flakes to sinking pellets, as they get larger I will also feed them nightcrawlers and red worms. I wish that Dovii hadn’t killed his mate…he is a beautiful boy, but I couldn’t stand to look at hm after that carnage. It happens when you keep these crazy fish. So I’m hoping to have my first batch of Cuban Cichlid eggs in about 6 months from now…until then wish me luck!

Look forward to updating you on the situation!

Jose

Hello, Frank Indiviglio here.  I find it quite easy to imagine a Lungfish-like creature pulling itself from an ancient sea, setting off on land and, in the process, changing the course of life on earth.  Indeed, paleontologists believe that a fish very much like today’s Australian Lungfish (Neoceratodus fosteri) pulled off just such a feat during the Devonian Period, some 160 million years ago, and in doing so set the stage for the evolution of all terrestrial vertebrates that followed (talk about “leaving your mark”!).  Read More »