Archive for the 'Misc' Category
Lubricogobius dinah is a fantastically coloured goby that is found predominantly in the Ryuku islands off Japan, and Papua New Guinea. The little fish is painted in a striking highlighter yellow with a silvery stripe that runs from the head down the dorsal region to the caudal penducle. Many often make the mistake of comparing this little gem to the common Yellow Clown Goby (Gobiodon okinawae), but the two fishes differ in almost all aspects, except probably for the colour and relative shape. The Dinah’s goby is placed in a different genus, Lubricogobius, which it shares with another six members or so.
The Dinah’s goby can be found at 10-36m in depth, but is cryptic and difficult to spot. Their geographical range also makes them rather difficult to obtain. It’s little wonder then, that this little fish is very rare in the trade, and specimens are typically shipped to the Japanese market where Goby enthusiasts pay up to USD1,500 per pair.
The gorgeous and beautiful photos above by Tony Wu illustrates the exquisite beauty and daintiness of these rare gobies. These are probably some of the best photos of the species on the internet. For a detailed account on the photography of the gobies, you can check it out here.
There are some plants offered in the aquarium industry that are doomed to fail in the average home aquarium. But just because some varieties of plants wont thrive in a submerged environment doesn’t mean there aren’t ways for you to enjoy them in your set-up in other ways. Sometimes you have to think outside of the “glass box” to bring a new dimension to your aquarium display.
Many aquarium displays of the past were boxed in by ahood or canopy, but especially with advances in lighting aquatic displays no longer have to be confined to the top of the aquarium. Some newer aqaurium designs even facilitate marginal plants and emerged growth.
How to Grow Emerged Plants in Your Display
Some plants that grow entirely submerged most of their days have the capacity to transform their new growth to a form that tolerates open air conditions. The emerged growth on these plants becomes more rigid so it can stand up without the support of the water and the stems and leaves become more waxy to retain vital moisture. Other plants may tolerate very moist or wet conditions, but must grow almost entirely out of the water and can only have submerged roots with the crown and/or foliage above the water. While these plants may tolerate being submerged for short periods, they typically lack the ability to adapt to the environment and the tissue will eventually rot.
In regards to the first kind, these plants can easily become established in an aquarium and nurtured so that they grow to the surface and then above. As long as they have adequate lighting and nutrients and providing that your aquarium has an open top, the plants will continue to grow, eventually showing their heartier leaves and stems. They may even produce blossoms, as you can see in the photo of the aquarium lily we had in a previous display. The emerged growth can be trimmed and maintained according to your taste.
Some of you may have had (or still have) a betta vase with a peace lily growing out of the mouth of the vase. Growing other terrestrial plants in water is just as easy, though depending on your set-up you may need to be creative. If your aquarium has an overflow box, a pond planter basket can make a perfect venue for growing a small, emerged garden. Find a basket that fits to the dimensions of your overflow and choose the moisture loving potted plant(s) you like. Rinse any soil thouroughly from the roots and plant your selection in the basket using pond planter media, clay balls, or fine gravel. You should be able to them suspend the basket or prop it in the opening of the overflow box. the water from the tank should trickle through and around the basket, keeping the roots of the plant moist, and the flow should not be impeded. If you don’t have an overflow box, you may try using a small floating planter (if you have space for the plants to grow) or an acrylic frag shelf to anchor cuttings to the edge of the tank. Place the raw ends of the cuttings into the holes in the shelves and drape the cuttings over the edge of the tank. All it takes is finding a creative solution to keeping a plant’s foliage above the water line.
Our half circle display was manufactured perfectly for creating a submerged/emerged display. We used fully aquatic varieties of plants (Cryptocorynes, Subulata, Nymphaea), accented with a few marginal/emerged plants (Umbrella Palm, Peace Lily), then topped off with some donated houseplant cuttings (Callisia or Bolivian Jew) in the unique cascade. The cuttings quickly rooted in the water trickling down the faux rock backdrop and really tied the display together.
Troubleshooting
Adding the emerged element to your display is not only aesthetically pleasing, but the roots of the plants provide a place for fish to hide and can help to biologically filter the tank. There are some things to watch for though. As plants grow, be aware of how close they get to lighting fixtures so the leaves don’t burn. Emerged growth is also prone to outside pests such as aphids and spider mites. Observe the condition of the leaves in case pests become a problem. A small fan to circulate across the emerged foliage can help to ward off these pests. Finally, be sure that the cuttings you use do not secrete sap which may pose a problem for fish. I’ve personally never encountered a problem with toxicity with the cuttings I’ve used, but if larger herbivorous fish mangle the plants or are given accidental access to the foliage, be sure to remove the debris so it cannot decay in the aquarium.
Suggestions
There are several common houseplants that can be easily rooted in water in my experience. Keeping in mind that the foliage should not be in the water and accessible to your fish, these may be good candidates for you to experiment with: Philodendron (vining), Wandering Jew, Syngonium, and spider plants. Terrestrial plants that do well with “wet feet” include Dracaena, peace lilies, and many others.
Routine water changes are the most basic, most necessary, and most overlooked acts of tank maintenance. Most aquarists know they should do water changes, but not everyone does or even knows how to do it the right way. How much and how often are highly debated topics among aquarists no matter what kind of tanks they keep.
Why should we do water changes?
Removing water from the aquarium and replacing it with new, “clean” water removes waste and organics that are dissolved in the water. It also helps to remove any chemical treatments or medications when the treatment is complete. Dissolved organics contribute to Nitrate and Phosphate build-up that aquarists try so hard to control. These compounds can affect the health of your livestock directly and can promote algae and cyanobacteria growth, making your tank unsightly. Changing the water also helps to replenish minerals and other trace elements. This can be especially important in tanks with corals and crustaceans (crabs and shrimp, both freshwater and saltwater) that use these minerals to form their skeleton or exoskeleton. Corals and other saltwater invertebrates can use up minerals fairly quickly in a closed environment, and replacing old, depleted water with fresh saltwater adds these minerals back into the tank.
What exactly is a “water change”?
Adding water to an aquarium to replace water lost due to evaporation is NOT a water change. This is simply “topping off” the aquarium. When water evaporates, all the waste, nutrients, chemicals, and other materials are left behind. This pollution must still be removed which is where the water change comes in; chemical filter media likecarbon will remove some of these things, but not like a water change.
When should you do a water change, and how much water should you take out?
It may be some time before you have to perform a water change on a newly set-up aquarium. Once you add the first live or organic thing into the tank, be it fish or live rock or a bacterial additive, the Nitrogen Cycle will begin. It can take an aquarium anywhere from three weeks to 3 months or more to become “established”. During this time, you may see some algae growth and water chemistry changes. This is normal; hold off on your water changes until after this cycle is finished.
When it comes to established tanks, this is one of those eternal questions that may never have an definative answer, and almost every aquarist you ask will have a different opinion. I generally recommend changing 10-15 percent, once or twice a month once the cycle is complete, but there are a number of factors to consider.
In a tank with larger fish or fish that produce a lot of waste (like goldfish), water changes will probably need to be performed more often and with more of the water removed and replaced. Sensitive fish like Discus or reef tanks that need very low Nitrate levels may also need frequent water changes, but with only a small percentage of the water changed every time. Tanks with ample filtration may be able to go longer between water changes than tanks that have minimal filtration for their size and bio-load.
Other issues such as excess algae, high nitrate or phosphate levels, recent die-offs or illness in the tank, over-feeding and similar problems can affect your regular water change schedule.
Performing a Water Change
Before you start taking water out of your aquarium, prepare the water you’ll be putting back in. You want the new water to be as close as possible to the old water, especially in regards to temperature, salinity, and pH (only hopefully cleaner). I keep a clean 5-gallon bucket reserved specifically for water changes. If you are using tap water, you can add dechlorinator to remove the chlorine and chloramines. Test the temperature and use a spareheater to raise the temp of the replacement water if necessary. If you need to use any pH regulators or buffers in your aquarium, now is the time, but be sure to test the water before adding it to the tank. If you have a saltwater aquarium, mix the water ahead of time; a small spare pump can help you get the salt dissolved with little effort.
Next, take a look at your equipment. Do you need to turn your filter, pumps, protein skimmer or heater to prevent any damage if they run dry? Are all electrical outlets and lights safe from getting wet from drips or splashes?
You can use a cup or other container to scoop water out of the aquarium, but you can maintain the aquarium more efficiently if you use a gravel siphon. This is a rigid tube that connects to a length of flexible tubing that allows you to vacuum the substrate bed while removing water from the tank. Fish feces and leftover food in the substrate can cause infestations of organisms like snails, bristleworms, Aiptasia anemones and others creepy crawlies. Siphoning helps you clean the substrate and remove any leftover food or other detritus that may be decomposing and adding to the organics already dissolved in the water. The siphon allows heavier pieces like gravel fall back down to the bottom, while lighter debris (waste) is sucked out and into your bucket to be discarded. Just keep an eye on your fish, plants and other livestock to make sure nothing is getting sucked up by accident! If your substrate is especially fine (like sand) or coarse, you may need to experiment with siphon tube diameters to see which is right for you without being too weak or too strong.
Once you’ve taken out all the water you need to, the water can be disposed of down the drain. I usually hold a netover the drain to catch any bigger pieces of algae or gravel. Now the new water you’ve already prepared can be added to replenish the water level. Substrate, decorations or plants that might be pushed around when the water is poured in…try placing a small saucer, bowl or other container directly under where you are dumping the water to minimize the disturbance. Once the tank is refilled, any equipment that was turned off can be powered up again. For tanks with sensitive fish or livestock, you may wish to leave the lights off for an hour or so to let them relax after the activity of the water change. If your water change was part of a medication treatment regime, follow up with the instructions on the medication. If you are finished medicating, you can replace any chemical media like carbon now. Double-check your water chemistry in a few hours once the tank has been circulated through a couple times and you are finished! (…at least until next month…or next week…)