Nano Salt Tank as it is Now

After posting the post with the tips, I thought I should share some photos and maybe a rundown of what all is in the tank.  I bought 5 pounds more of live rock, which brings the total up to 11 pounds of live rock now.  I also got a deal on some baby Kenya Tree Coral (Capnella sp.).  


This photo is of the entire tank with all of the live rock in place.  The tank looks more full now, but there is plenty of swimming room for my little fish. I left large "holes" between the stacked rock on the right, as the cleaner shrimp likes to hang upside down waiting for a fish that needs "cleaned" to wander by!  You can also see my skimmer in the rear right side of the tank.




Here is a picture of the Skunk Cleaner Shrimp who is a relatively new addition to the tank.  He is REALLY good at picking up leftover food that makes its way to the bottom that the fish dont get.  He's quick, and will have the bottom cleaned up in minutes!  When he's done eating, he goes in his favorite hole in the rocks, waiting to clean the fish too!  I got him cuz of his cleaning ability, but he's pretty, too!  He adds some color to the tank.  One of the goals of this tank is to make it as colorful as possible.  Saltwater life is very colorful.

This weekend, I thought I'd try my hand at keeping a coral.  This is the Brown Tree Coral, or Kenya Tree Coral I spoke of.  It's a baby off of a larger piece at the fish store.  I actually got 2 of these, one I "planted" in the sand, another I put on one of the rocks.  The one the store had was actually a little bit on the large size, and from what I read, these grow relatively fast, but they apparently cal also be "pruned" also.  Thought I'd try this as it's supposedly a very hardy variety.

Here is a nice picture of the cleaner shrimp, the damsel and Nemo, the Clownfish.  The other coral is visible on the top of the rock in the foreground.  My cardinalfish is partially visible behind the rock in the foreground.  He hides when I take pictures, I think he's a bit camera shy.  I have another shrimp, he is shy too, and comes out mostly at night or during feeding time, and even then, he stays partially hidden in the rocks.

Here is one of my little hermit crabs.  These cute little guys (I have 2) scour the bottom looking for old, leftover food that the shrimp dont get.  I also have two snails that feed on the algae and helps keep that under control.  I have a fair amount of green algae growing on the tank walls, but it gives the snails something to eat.  As long as the front glass is clear, I dont worry about the sides and back.














Well, there you have it, these are the major players in this little aquarium.  This is all in a 10 gallon!  Although most salt tanks are in massive tanks, dont let that stop you.  Saltwater is doable in a smaller tank too!

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Nano Reef Tips

Although I only had this tank for about a month now, I'd like to share with you a few things I've learned.  I feel that I have some things to share with the newcomer to the hobby, as I haven't lost a fish or any livestock since I started, and I also may have found out a trick or two that will help speed the setup somewhat.

When I started setting up, I put the sand in, then the water, then a couple pounds of live rock.  The first post I wrote has pictures of the tank that contains the sand, rock and one fish.  The first fish I put in, I had to return because it was very aggressive to the second fish I had added.  The Strawberry Basslet was absolutely ruthless towards my blue damsel, that I had to take him back.  First hint - dont use an aggressive fish as your first fish.

While I had that first fish, I tested the water daily.  The ammonia levels rose as expected, but the ammonia never peaked to a very high level like it did on my very first freshwater aquarium.  I believe that is because I used a filter I had been running on one of my freshwater tanks.  I wasnt certain at first if this would be a good idea or not, but it turned out to be so far.  In fact, it worked out so well, that the tank seems to have completely cycled in only 2 weeks with this approach, so...Second tip:  Use a "used" biological filter.

Speaking of water quality, and I've heard hobbyists say either way, that a skimmer is not absolutely necessary.  I cannot comment on whether one is nessary to maintain a tank, but add me to the list who believes in them!  I bought a skimmer, and I was dumping out brownish, yellow water from it daily.  I have since did a slight modification to the collection cup on mine.  I drilled a hole in the side to tightly fit a piece of airline tubing, and have the tubing going thru a larger tub where the cup can drain so I dont have to empty it so often.  I have it draining in a clear plastic box, and I can tell you, the water in it is like... "ewwww"...so the skimmer is definately doing something.  Now I did not go and get a very expensive model.  I got the little Oceanic nano skimmer that is used on their 14 nano cube.  It has suction cups so it can be used in a standard tank.  This skimmer fits inside the aquarium.  I put the drain tubing just below the reaction chamber, so the cup never fills all the way.  Third tip:  get a skimmer!  even a low cost one will help.

Brown algae:  I think every tank gets it when youre starting out.  I disregarded all the warnings regarding to using tap water in the tank.  I never saw it written as to WHY not to use it, so I wasnt sure if it was an old wives tale or what, so I went ahead and used tap water.  That was a mistake.  I later read that some tap water has minerals, mostly silicates that brown algae thrives on, and boy did I get a nice algae bloom!  The tank was covered with it, and it happened in just one day!  The next day, I went to one of those companies that install commercial water coolers with the big 5 gallon plastic bottles of water.  Culligan is one such place.  Check first, but the ones in my area use reverse osmosis water.  I bought 2- 5 gallon bottles.  The water is not that expensive and will keep the tank pretty.  I did only a 1/3 partial water change on my tank, and within a week, ALL of the brown ick was gone outta my tank.  Fourth tip: Use bottled water, and check to make sure its reverse osmosis water.  I'm told distilled water is ok too, but the problem that could arise is if they use a copper still to distill it.  Many  crustaceans are sensitive to copper.

I hope this helps you out.  Also, I welcome any comments on this and other stories I post here.  I'm not an authority on saltwater - I'm still learning, and sharing what has worked for me, SO FAR.  If you see something that I'm writing about that is not good practice, please leave a comment and discuss it.

Gold Mystery Snails Are A Mystery

I purchased 4 Gold Mystery Snails some months ago as I heard that they help keep your aquarium clean, well that theory is still up in the air what I have noticed in my aquarium is alot of eggs and so far not one of the eggs have hatched the snails place them up only to have them fall in the water and decay.

Typically the snails will lay the eggs above the waterline in your tank so that no other prey can get to them and the eggs hatch between 10-14 days what is a mystery to me is that these snails also climb out of the tank if there is a small opening and deposit the eggs on the filter, and of course they can't find their way back into the tank so then comes the time to play where is my snail.

I have lost 2 snails this way as they have climbed out and deposited their eggs onto the filter and expired after not finding their way back into the tank, I'm sure snails have a purpose I'm just not sure as to what it is at this moment, my Pleco keeps the tank cleaner then the snails do and he doesn't tend to wander. All in All I am fairly no extremely disappointed in my purchase of these snails as I've had to clean my tank more because of decaying eggs also had to search for expired snails, not to mention scrape off the eggs that I found in the morning attached to the filter.

There might be some Aquarium Enthusiast that have had better luck then I have had with them but I find the Mystery Snails to be more work and headaches then a help to the aquarium. I think I will stick with the Pleco as far as keeping my aquarium algae free and I am now in the process of trying to find homes for the remaining two snails.

For those that have not purchased any mystery snails I would strongly suggest that you do some research before purchasing the mystery snail because sometimes the mystery can become a misery.

Information on Mystery Snails can be found at : http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/aquariumforum/showthread.php?t=38661

New Nano-Reef

Its been awhile since I posted, but I feel its time I do so. Last weekend, I began putting together a nano-reef, and I felt I should write about it.

Before you decide to undertake such a project, let me first say, I spent a couple of weeks reading about doing this. A reef tank is a fair amount more complicated to set up than a freshwater tank, but its not overwhelming. Anyone CAN set one up, but I would recommend reading up on the topic before you start. Reef tanks are very expensive compared to a freshwater tank. So far, my meager aquarium I have about $150 invested, and I'm far from finished, and this is only a little 10 gallon tank! As you can see, I dont have enough rock yet. What you see here is 3 pounds of live rock and 15 pounds of live sand. They recommend a minimum of 10 pounds (one pound per gallon) for this tank, and more is ok.

This aquarium as I write this is only 4 days old. The first day, I poured the sand in, then I mixed the sea salt with tap water which I used Tetra Aquasafe to remove the chlorine. Purists would have used reverse osmosis water for the water. Then I mixed the water in a 2 gallon bucket, using a hydrometer to weigh the water and got it close, but on the "light" side, in case I mess up. When the tank was filled, the salinity was a little light, so I added some salt to the filter to let it dissolve and feed into the tank. I checked it about an hour later, now it was too salty. I removed some water and replaced with fresh unsalted water, a cup at a time until I got it right. I was able to get the water at 1.021 specific gravity.

After pouring the water, it mixed with the sand, and when it was completely filled, it looked like I had poured milk in the tank it was so cloudy. I let the water sit overnight, but the next morning it was still VERY cloudy. It had cleared up substantially, but I still couldnt see thru the tank. I put my Marineland Penguin 150 biowheel filter in to clean the tank up, which did a real nice job. I measured the weight of the water again with the water cleared, and the reading did not change. I then went to the fish store and bought the 2 live rocks, a Strawberry Basslet (Pseudochromis porphyreus), and a Peppermint Shrimp (Lysmata wurdemanni).

The livestock has been in the tank now for about 30 hours as I write this. The fish seems happy, and the shrimp was out this morning. Mr. Leggs (The name I came up for him) likes to hide during the day. I dont know where he goes when the light comes on, but I assume its under one of the rocks. He stayed out for about 10 minutes after I turned the light on this morning and was able to capture this shot of him in the front right corner of the aquarium.




The rundown on all of the equipment used at this point in time in this setup is as follows:

• Unknown name aquarium (Purchased at a flea market).
• Penguin 150 Biowheel filter. This is recommended for a 20 -30 gal tank, I believe.
• Tetra submersible heater, 20 gal size (this heater keeps the tank at 76 degrees, even when the room temp drops to below 60 degrees during the day when no one is home).
• Tetra incandescent hood with bulbs replaced with CFL's

The sand, live rock and fish round out the setup. As you can see, most of the hardware you probably already have if you have a 10 gal setup. I used the oversize filter for this tank because I dont have a powerhead, and this filter seems to provide a good amount of circulation. The heater is oversize as well, as the room temperature varies wildly. The tank temp is a very stable 76 degrees no matter what the room temp is.

I am at a standstill right now, as I'm waiting for the tank to go through its nitrogen cycle. I want to get a clown and perhaps a tang, but I'm going to hold off until the cycle is complete. I am measuring salinity and ammonia daily, so far the salinity is stable, and the ammonia is at about 1 ppm, and rising slowly.

So there you have it, an easy to assemble nano-reef. If you wish to try this, I suggest you do as much reading on the subject that you can, and go SLOWLY, check EVERYTHING and do your best to get everything RIGHT before you introduce fish.

Convict Cichlid Breeding

It's been awhile since I've written, and a lot has changed here at Mike's aquarium. I currently have 3 tanks, 2 - 20 gallon and 1 - 10 gallon set up. I added a second 20 gallon tank to house a pair of Cichlids. I wasnt certain what I wanted to keep, as many cichlids grow larger than a 20 gallon would handle. It was a tossup between a pair of Convict's or a pair of Jack Dempsey's. I ended up choosing the Convicts as they are touted as being a "beginner's fish", and that they breed readily. Since I am interested in breeding fish, but still somewhat of a newcomer to the hobby, I felt that this was the logical choice.

So, off to the pet store I went. I bought a pair of fish, and brought them home. Turns out after researching online, I had a pair of female fish. So back I went, and located a male, and purchased it. Upon releasing the new male to the aquarium, he and the smaller female fought, locking lips and pushing her around the tank. Eventually, he let her be, and soon thereafter, fell for the other, larger female. The next week or so, she dug out an area under and behind the rock wall, and the 2 fish disappeared for a great deal of time, coming out occasionally for a bite to eat and to chase the small female from time to time.

There was a point where the pair began attacking the odd female more agressively, so I removed her from the tank. I placed her in the community aquarium, but that didnt work out very well, as she seemed to nip the fins of the angelfish. So she eventually got placed in a 10 gallon along with a couple platy's to keep her company. She doesn't seem to bother the platy's.

One day about a week later, I turned on the light, and inside a cave that I had made with the rocks, a bunch of babies were laying on the cave floor. I estimated well over 100 fry, perhaps 150. They were quite tiny, about the same size as the newborn Corydoras fry I had a couple months before. A few of them were swimming, but most were "wigglers" on the cave floor. The next day I found most were swimming freely. At this point, mom has been primarily taking care of the fry, bringing them out in her mouth, and putting them back in the nest in the evening. Dad was the protector, circling the tank, watching for preditors, and sometimes trying to attack fish in the community aquarium, which sits right next to the Cichlid tank.

The next 4 days, I had gone camping. Now I had a problem, as to how to feed these little buggers. The day before I noticed the fry, I had bought some automatic feeders, but surely this would not work with the fry food I would feed them. I therefore hired a neighbor girl to come by and feed my fish twice a day. After showing her how, I then went on my vacation.

When I got back, the fry were thriving. They follow mom wherever she goes. The fry were about double their size when I got back, which is still pretty small. All of course were free swimming. The male keeps the area where the fry are hanging out clean, stirring up debris with his fins, and moving a pebble here and there. The fish like to eat off of the tops of the rocks, you will see them congregate on the surface of the rocks. They never go to the surface to get their food, so they eat after it falls.

Speaking of food, I have been feeding all my fry, the Convicts and the corydoras both Hikari "First Bites". Most breeders prefer live food, but the fish seem to thrive on this, and it is a whole lot easier and inexpensive. I have kept the water at around 72 degrees, however today I warmed the water to 76. The filter that I'm using is one of my own ideas, and it seems to work well. I have a sponge filter fitted to the intake of a 10 - 15 gallon power head tetra filter. Seems to work out quite well. The surface area is such that it doesnt affect the fry swimming near the filter, but it has enough suction to keep the water crystal clear.

I have also noticed that since the babies were present, the parents arent eating as much as they were. They were very hungry fish before the breeding. The female eats less than the male, and the male eats very little. Could it be that they ate like pigs before the breeding to prepare for the breeding process?

As I'm writing this, the fry are about 3/8 inch long. If you look closely to one of the fry, you can see they have their stripes already, but I noticed that almost right after birth. Even at this young age, the fry are pretty independent. Some fry school around mom, some will be on the rocks eating. Some will even go back to the nest on their own, or they at least disappear somewhere. For awhile I thought the fish were eating the fry, as for much of the day, only about half or less of the fry were out. This morning however, I was greeted by the entire brood.

If you have any interest in trying your hand at breeding egglaying fish, I would definately suggest this species. Yes, you need a seperate aquarium, but you need a seperate tank anyway if you breed any kind of fish. I recommend these fish because like all cichlids, they care for their young, and as the saying goes... "To breed Convicts, just add water"!

Mike's Cichlid's

Convict FYI

Convict cichlids fish is very easy to keep and breed in aquariums and is therefore an ideal beginner’s fish and especially suited for those who want to keep their first cichlid. The name convict cichlid describes these beautiful fish and its black stripes on a white background very accurately.

kd0ar's Wonderful Convict Video



The small floating rice like pieces are the tiny Convict Babies

Product Review

I recently purchased the Marineland Bio Filter 100B which is for a 20 gal tank, the reason for this purchase was that I was frustrated with my Internal Aquarium Filter.
Not only did it take up tank space I was unsatisfied with how it performed there was not enough water flow or current as some call it, and now and then I would have to add Crystal Clear to clear up the cloudy water to help it along.
Sometimes when you purchase Aquarium Kits you get stuck with a internal filter and whatever comes with it and not all that comes with it might be the best.

I've only had this filter a day or two but I notice the difference right away there is more water flow and current, it runs much more quiet then the last filter and my water is crystal clear.

kd0ar had mentioned that he had purchased the 30 gal Bio filter days before and he seemed pleased with it so
I decided to become a copycat and I'm really glad I did the fish even seem to swim more then they did before plus I really like what I read about these filters which I will include below.

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The Penguin BIO-Wheel Power Filters deliver easy, three-stage mechanical, chemical and biological aquarium filtration. Convenient Penguin Rite-Size Filter Cartridges come ready to use with each filter …ready to mechanically and chemically remove waste, discoloration and odors. Each contains new faster-acting Black Diamond Premium Activated Carbon for maximum efficiency. Biological filtration is provided by the revolutionary and patented BIO-Wheel - proven best at removing toxic ammonia and nitrite. All BIO-Wheel filters feature Noise-Reducing Two-Piece Vented Covers, and Adjustable Mid-Level Intake Strainers.

So before you pull you hair out give it a try it might just be what you and your fish need .
Feel free to check our sponser links out to find this product .

Hypostomus Plecostomus Ok What The Heck Is That?

OK you purchased your tank and the plants even purchased the decorations for it and the heater & filter also all the accessories with other stuff to make your tank beautiful you even purchased beautiful fish but wait...did you get a Hypostomus Plecostomus?.

I know some are like what the heck is that?... well a Hypostomus Plecostomus is just a technical name for a algae eater being it eats the algae inside of the tank thus keeping the tank cleaner.
It isn't one of your prettiest fish but more like a worker fish so don't look for glamor in this fish
as it is quite ugly especially when it's stuck to the glass of your tank.

The algae eater can grow up to 18 inches room permitting the bigger the tank the bigger your algae eater will grow also the reverse can happen in smaller tanks their growth is stunted and there isn't enough algae to eat and some do die.

Not all algae eaters get 18 inches the (Bristlenose Plecostomus) reaches about 5 inches in size and is more suitable for most tanks...I advise putting only one to a tank as when they age they become more territorial and that's when fights between them are more likely to break out.

Also it is best to supply your algae eater with some algae wafers or discs and feed them at night when you have fed all your other fishes and have turned the light off for the night as they mainly are nocturnal fishes and come out and eat at night it is important to feed them at night after all other fishes have been fed because the other fishes will eat and not leave enough for them thats why the algae wafers or discs are good to have that way your algae eater won't starve to death.

Bottom line although it lacks beauty it has a beauty all of it's own and will keep your tank beautiful so I recommend getting a Algae Eater for beginning and serious Aquarium Enthusiast.
Less work maintaining your tank gives you more time to enjoy it and makes it less chore like.

Designing Caves For Aquariums

Recently I felt the need to give my tank a little more pizazz so I thought a nice stone cave would be the answer something where the fishes could hide and play.
I visited all of my local pet shops and Walmart's and found that for what I was looking for would cost anywhere between 29.99 and 59.99 as I didn't want anything small.
Well maybe for some that is the easy answer for them something that is pre-made but I rather buy more fishes instead of buy rocks, so off to the local Park I went.

I went and got some rocks and placed them in a bucket of warm water with lysol which says it kills 99.9% of germs and since I was paranoid about bacteria and other germs
being on the rocks I thought this route was a good idea.

Well it didn't turn out to be a good idea no matter how many times I rinsed the stones the lysol smell didn't come out so thus I couldn't use those rocks because they would kill my fish faster then the bacteria and germs that I thought might be on the rocks.

Off I went to the Park again this time I decided to get some round and elongated stones and some flat ones, this time I placed them in very warm water and scrubbed them with scrub pads until all the dirt was off then rinsed them well with warm water.

So I preceded to design my cave I placed the rocks in a layered pattern and tested it for stability so the rocks would not shift or fall and cause harm to the fish or the aquarium glass.

Well I really wasn't that impressed after a few hours it looked nice and it was two tiered but it was not cave like enough for me.

Off to the park I went again for more rocks me and the Park starting to become best friends this time I got larger stones and more round flat rocks

I built them up and I did like it although it had one major flaw I made it too big there was more stones then water it seemed to me as the space left for fish to swim in wasn't plentiful anymore and I didn't leave enough room for them in the back so this setup wasn't going to work either.


So guess where I went again ...correct the famous Park I (wonder if I should have setup camp there lol) this time I got much flatter rocks and preceded to build again, after the customary wash and rinse, this time I hammered the top rock smaller and hammered jagged edges down so just in case they wouldn't harm the fish.

I made sure there was enough space left on the sides and back and the top which is essential if you have angelfish, this time I indeed had the look I wanted to achieve it appeared more cave like and I was pleased.

Sure I could have went and got the already made stones and accessories at the store but making something out of nothing not only saves you money it gives you a sense of accomplishment and you can make your tank look like what you envisioned in your mind.

So visit your nearby Park, Lake, River or Stream and let the Aquatic Artist come alive in you.

Information About Breeding Albino Corydoras Catfish

The Albino Cory Catfish or any Cory for that matter is not one fish that appears to be commonly bred by most aquarists. I have mentioned to several pet stores that I have successfully bred these species, few actually believed me!

I have kept Albino Cory Cats on 2 seperate occasions, and both times they bred quite readily. I have found them to be a relatively easy species to breed, and they will actually spawn in the community tank.

I will tell you about the most recent breedings, and some things I have learned while breeding these fish. Lets talk a little about the fish themselves. The Albino Cory Catfish (Corydoras aeneus) is a rather hearty species, and are easy to keep. Many owners keep them to take care of uneaten food from the bottom of the aquarium. They are a small fish, typically about 2 to 2 1/2 inches in length. They are bottom feeders, and they have short whiskers that help them locate food. They will adapt to a varied water chemistry and temperature.

These fish can be sexed easily. The females are larger then the males and are a bit "wider".

If the fish are well fed, they will breed right in your community tank. When they breed, they will deposit eggs right on the aquarium walls. Time of day doesnt seem to matter with these guys, although normally they are somewhat nocturnal, but not totally. It almost seems these fish never sleep. They will breed either during daylight or at night.

Eggs that are laid in a community tank will almost certainly be eaten, and if they arent, the newly hatched fry will be. Therefore if your Cory's are laying eggs, it would be a good time to move them to a breeding tank soon after they are finished. Some aquarists have been able to move the eggs from the community tank over to a breeding tank by peeling them off the glass with a straight edge razor blade. I personally have not been successful in doing this, but its worth a try to try to save some eggs from this breeding. A better approach if you wish to intentionally breed these fish is to move the fish to a breeding tank set up specifically for the purpose. They will breed again in about 2 weeks after the first breeding.

When I bred these fish, I used a bare 10 gallon aquarium with no gravel. I kept the tank about 3/4 full. I kept a power filter attached until the eggs started hatching, and replaced it with a sponge filter. I put the adult fish , in my case, 2 males and 1 female in the breeding tank. After a day or so, they started eating readily. I fed them well, keeping some food on the bottom of the tank. I just fed them flake food, in this case, TetraMin. The well fed female packed on the weight quickly and was soon ready to breed. They will breed several times doring a couple hours time. If this is the first or second breeding, about 100 or so eggs will be laid. She will release the eggs into her cupped pelvic fins with the males swimming frantically about her. in a short time, she will stop and will "rest" on the bottom of the aquarium for a couple minutes, then proceed to "paste" them to the sides or bottom of the tank. This will occur a number of times until they are finished. When the spawn is complete, the fish need to be placed back in the community tank.

Now is a good time to "vacuum" up any remaining fish food and debris from the bottom of the tank, being careful not to disturb any eggs that may have been laid on the bottom of the tank.

The eggs need very little care, however they will need to be in an environment where the water is circulating well. This is why I left the power filter in the tank to keep the water circulating. An alternative would be to place a decent sized airstone in the tank. If the water is not constantly circulating, a mold or fungus will attack the eggs. This is what happened to me on my first attempt. Out of the 100 - 150 eggs, I only had about a dozen actually hatch. The rest were damaged from the mold, which, for lack of a better term, looked like little "white fuzzballs". Healthy eggs are white, smooth, and are easily visible. For egglayers of the fish's small size, the eggs are rather large in comparison to other egglaying fish.

The eggs will hatch in 3 days. When they hatch, they will break loose from the egg and sink to the bottom. Now is when you want to replace the power filter with the sponge filter, and remove the airstone. One trick I did, was put the cylindrical sponge that I used over the intake of the power filter. That will work also.

The fry will live off of the contents of the yolk sack for a couple days, and within a week they will start eating fry food. When they are first born, you will see them "hopping" almost uncontrollably on the bottom of the tank. They will soon be able to control their movements better and will scour the bottom for food.

I have read online that the babies do best on live food, but being a newcomer to all this, and not knowing how or where to get live baby bloodworms or not wanting the hassle of hatching live brine shrimp, I opted to try a product made by "Hikari", called "First Bites". The fry seem to gobble it right up. This food is basically dry fish food in a very VERY fine powdered form. A small pinch between your fingers is enough. Because this food is so tiny, it will stay suspended in the water for a long time if there are strong currents flowing in the tank, this is why I removed the airstone. The sponge filter will restrict the flow of water from the power filter to the point where it will not create a strong current.

Feed the fry a small amount each feeding. Keep some on the bottom of the tank, not a lot, but these fish eat constantly when theyre young. You may have to feed 2 - 3 times a day. Feed when you see they have about run out of the "dust" on the bottom. They will grow rather quickly, and after about a month's time, they will be large enough to be placed in the community tank. I was able to place them in my community tank when they were about 5/8 inches long. Although that is a small size, the other fish didnt seem to bother them. I have angelfish, gouramis and the like in my tank, and they left the little ones alone.

If you plan to sell them to a pet store, you will want to keep them till theyre about an inch long, I would imagine. That is about the time when I plan on distributing my fish.

The videos on the right sidebar show my actual fish spawning, and the babies after theyre a couple weeks old.

I hope this narritive helps you in successfully breeding these fish. They really are easy to breed, and are a lot of fun to watch them grow.

Cory Cats Bred Again

Well, my Cory's bred again. This is probably the 4th or 5th time now, but most were done in the community tank and the eggs were eaten before I knew they bred. This time, however, I moved them into the "baby tank". She laid far fewer eggs this time than she has in the past. Maybe a total of 20 eggs, and she appears to be finished this time. She only had 2 sessions, the first, she laid 7 eggs, and I'm guessing the second, she laid a dozen or so. She also stuck these eggs to the bottom of the tank. There are still other babies from the previous spawn, and I'm hoping they dont attack the eggs.

Stay tuned, I'll provide updates on this group of eggs, and will write a longer story telling more about how to raise baby cory cats from the spawn thru caring for the fry.

Angelfish

Angelfish are freshwater fish from the family Cichlidae's they originate
from the Amazon River, Orinoco River and Essequibo River basins in tropical South America.

They are unusually shaped for cichlids being greatly laterally compressed
with round bodies and elongated triangular dorsal and anal fins.
This body shape allows them to hide among roots and plants
often on a vertical surface.

It wasn't until the late 1920's to early 1930's
that the angelfish was bred in captivity in the United States.

The average size for a Angelfish is up to 6” long and 10” in height
Life Span 10 to 12 years with proper care.
Diet Food may be flaked, dried, frozen, or live
Occasional treats of bloodworms or brine shrimp are greatly appreciated
Avoid exclusive food which is not nutritionally complete.

Feeding Depending on size, feed small amounts two or three times a day
no more than fish can eat in three to five minutes
Thaw frozen foods before feeding.

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Algae in the new aquarium

So you got your aquarium set up, and have gradually begun adding fish. Everything is going along just fine, your fish are happy, your filter is keeping the water clean, then after a couple weeks or so, you notice the water turning a brownish color. Slowly at first, but over the next few days, the water is starting to look a bit murky. The browish color I'm talking about is probably being caused by a brown algae growing on the sides and in the water itself. It is a slimy film that will stick itself to almost any surface and makes the tank look dingy.

This form of algae has been a problem for me, until I read somewhere that it is caused by over feeding. This is a problem that many new fish keepers have - the instinct to feed more food than necessary. I tend to feed too much too, and is something I personally am going to have to watch carefully.

The algae lives on the excess proteins that build up by overfeeding. Even if the fish eat it all, it still can remain in their feces. Fish will eat and eat, so it can be difficult to determine how much food to give. The smaller fish, such as the neon tetra will quit eating when they are full, and they dont eat much. Larger fish, such as the gourami and angelfish will over eat. These fish you have to watch. Feed no more than the fish will eat in about a minute or 2, no more. If the fish are growing and you want them to grow, you can feed twice a day, otherwise, once a day is enough.

Because proteins will always exist to some extent with live fish, the amount of food given will determine how much algae will form. Frequent water changes help too, as fresh water will displace some of the proteins that is in the water. The smaller the aquarium the more frequent the water changes. A 10 gallon might need 1/3 of its water changed every week, where a 50 gallon might need the same amount changed once a month or maybe a little longer. My 20 gallon stays pretty clean with 1/3 of it replaced every 2 weeks.

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Setting Up Your New Freshwater Aquarium The Basics For The New Aquarium Enthusiast

The first thing we are going to need is a tank
( I don't think fish are good at air swimming lol )
the second thing we are going to need is a stand or if you have something already that is sturdy
that will do.

Then we must decide what fish we are going to want in our tank that will decide the size of the tank that we should get.

The rule for keeping freshwater fish is (1) inch per fish per gallon of water, which means that one can't buy a 10 gallon tank and get 2 Oranda Goldfishes as they grow up to 6 - 7 inches and sometimes to 12 inches so little doesn't always stay little, a fish like that would need 5 gallons of water per Oranda so when picking out fish please remember that the aquarium rule only applies to fish that will grow to be somewhat small.

With that in mind we can now decide what we are going to place in our Fresh Water Aquarium Listed below are some peaceful Community fish for your aquarium.

(Angelfish) Many Aquarium Enthusiast enjoy the addition of Angelfish to their tank, they are easy to keep and social.
(The above photo is of my Angelfish Michelangelo)

(Bengal Loach) it's a peaceful fish that does well in a community tank, it's very social and loves to kept with other fish of it's own kind as well as others.

(Black Emperor Tetra) it's a very quiet and peaceful schooling fish.

(Black Neon Tetra) A peaceful community fish. Does well if kept in schools
I have two they seem to be fine.

(Guppy) Peaceful fish.. .females will try to eat their fry after they are born.

These are just a few peaceful fish that are available for further assistance on peaceful community fish do some research at http://bbayaquariums.com/fish-types.html
I have found that site to be very helpful.

Based on my past experiences I would recommend that you purchase a 20 gallon -29 gallon tank or larger for your first experience as a "Aquarium Enthusiast" I purchased a 10 gallon and found myself going beyond the (1) inch per fish per gallon of water rule and wanted more colors within my aquarium so if you think you would like to add more fish in the future it's best to get a bigger tank in the beginning.

Once you have decided what type of fish you want in your aquarium and the size of the tank, you will need to decide the placement of your new aquarium it is best to not place the aquarium next to windows or heating vents of any kind because both could cause temperature changes within the tank thus resulting in algae.

Depending on the size tank you get make sure that the floor can support it as well as the item or stand your placing it on.

Next you will need to purchase your tank and the accessories to go with it, you will need a heater capable of heating the size tank in which your purchasing , aquarium gravel, filter, replacement filters, fake or live plants and decorations, aquarium test kits to test for ammonia and nitrites, aquarium background paper, fish food, fish net, aquarium glass scrubber,
5 gallon bucket, aquarium vacuum, Chlorine Remover I recommend Tetra Aqua Safe, Tetra's Easy Balance for few frequent water changes, Tetra's safe start if you wish to add fish immediately, Tetra's ammonia safe to detoxify harmful ammonia and a thermometer.


Now that we have all that next comes the rinsing of the tank ONLY USE WATER I cannot be more emphatic about this NO SOAPS OR DETERGENTS they can leave residue behind that can harm your fish, also be sure to wash the gravel and plants and whatever else you may place in the tank, also you might want to purchase a food strainer as when removing gravel from the bucket you will need to strain the water out and avoid getting stones lodged in the area that your rinsing them in.

Now to add gravel, accessories and other items you purchased for your tank, once you have everything place in the area's you desire them to be to avoid messing up your placement of your aquarium items place a small saucer in the center of the aquarium.

Now to add the water in which we will direct to the center of the small saucer so not to disturb the tanks items, preferably it is best to add room temperature water or water that is 78 degrees this is where your thermometer comes in handy it cuts down the time that the tank takes to arrive at the proper temperature to add the fish using cold water would take longer.

Do not fill your tank totally up as you might want to move your plants and items for your tank around and you would not want it to overflow when you stick your arm in to do so, I learned that well also :)

Now we can add the chlorine remover by Tetra usually it's 7 drops per gallon this is good if your tank is smaller between 1-5 gallons, otherwise you can use one capful for 10 gallons and two capful's for 20 this is based on the 1.69 oz bottle of Tetra Aqua Safe if you are using the 8.45 oz size you can use 1 teaspoon for every 10 gallons or fill the cap halfway for 10 gallons or use 1 full capful for 20 gallons and so on depending on your tank size you may need more.

Next add Tetra's SafeStart it accelerates the establishment of the bio-filter in newly set-up freshwater aquariums. The live bacteria starts working immediately to provide a safe and healthy environment for your fish without the long wait.

Okay it's time to dip your heater inside your tank but don't plug it in give the heater time to adjust to the water inside the tank 15 mins should be fine, hook up your filter and other items you have plug it all in but wait to plug in the heater until it has sat for 15 mins.

I know you might want to have a instant Aquarium and add many fish as you can but I would advise against it as I have learned that lesson well, I recommend adding 2 fish a week until you arrive at number of fish allowed for your tank going by the (1) inch per fish per gallon of water rule.

Why you ask? Why can't I add them all at once? well here is why... your tank has to go through a cycling period and you may notice your water will have a white cloudy appearance this is your tank going through the cycling period providing your aquarium with beneficial bacteria, this period can last anywhere from 2 weeks to 2 months so you will want to be careful by not adding too many fish because this period is stressful on some of the fish species and some don't make it through.

This is why it is important to have your aquarium test kits to test for ammonia and nitrites and changes within your tank.
A important note you may be compelled to use those water clarifiers
although they might make some improvement it always isn't enough and tends to make the problem worse off thus you end up changing half the water so your fish can survive just something to keep in mind.

Now it's time to enjoy your new Aquarium and your new role as "Aquarium Enthusiast" I hope that you have found this article to be informational and that your experience will be a pleasent one the key factor is don't panic it's always scary trying something new.

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