Oscar Care

Oscar photo from Flickr Creative Commons, user daniella vereeken

Common names: Oscar, Oscar Cichlid, Tiger Oscar


Scientific Name: Astronotus ocellatus

Origin: Amazon River

Life-span: over 20 years

Temperature:  74° to 83°F  (23 to 30°C)

Food: Flake food, bloodworms, tubifex, brine shrimp, frozen foods, cichlid pellets.  Some say feeder goldfish, however I don't recommend this because they don't offer enough nutrition to offset the risk of introducing disease into your aquarium.

Care: Oscars can grow over a foot long and so it is recommended that you give them at least 30 gallons of water.  They will rearrange the gravel and decorations in an aquarium so it is best to use larger, heavier decorations.  They enjoy places to hide so keep this in mind when setting up your aquarium.  These fish are territorial and aggressive so they do best alone or with other oscars.  Some people have successfully kept Oscars with other species, however this can change without notice and all of a sudden the Oscar can attack and kill other fish without giving any prior warning signs.

Oscar photo from Flickr Creative Commons, user daniella vereeken

Weekly water changes are necessary, as they are for all aquariums.  They are messier fish than others so a siphon cleaner will help you greatly.  Monitor the temperature of your aquarium to keep your fish healthy.

Sexing: Very difficult if not impossible.  The easiest way is to get a group of them and let them pair off by themselves.

Breeding:  These fish can lay up to 1000 eggs, so don't try to breed them unless you have a plan of action for raising all the fish and have somewhere for them to go!  However, sometimes if you have a group of them, it just happens.

To condition your Oscars for breeding, start by doing more frequent water changes.  This stimulates them by making them think it's the rainy season.  Also, vary their food.  Provide them with a flat horizontal surface to lay eggs on.  Flat rocks, including slate, work great.  The Oscars will clean it with their mouths prior to laying and fertilizing the eggs.


Oscars will begin a breeding ritual which includes lip-locking.  To a novice this will appear that they are fighting.  They also chase each other in circles around the tank, taking nips at each others fins.  They will quit eating and within a couple days they will lay and fertilize their eggs.


The eggs will hatch within two or three days.  During this time the parents will guard the eggs and the area around it from other fish.  Beware, however, that plecos sometimes will eat the eggs while Oscars are "sleeping".  When it's dark, the nocturnal plecos can sneak in and devour the eggs.  It's best not to have a pleco in the tank if you want the eggs to survive.  Also, if the eggs turn white, it means they were not fertilized.


When the eggs hatch the fry will stay on the surface for a while.  They have a heavy yolk sack on their abdomen that makes it difficult for them to move.  They will not eat until they use up the yolk sac.  Once they begin swimming, newly hatched brine shrimp make a great food for the fry.


The parents and other tank-mates may eat the fry.  If you want to prevent this, remove the object that the eggs are laid on and put it in a separate tank.  Make sure that there is moving water, whether it be from an aerator or a filter, otherwise the eggs will mold and/or grow fungus.


Good luck!  Please feel free to add your own experiences in the comments below!

Molly Care, Caring for Mollies (Aquarium Fish)

Scientific Name: Poecilia sphenops


Origin: Central America

Life-span: 4-5 years

Temperature:  70° to 82°F  (21 to 28°C)

Food: Flake food, bloodworms, tubifex, brine shrimp, algae wafers, frozen foods

Care: The molly grows up to four inches and is a great fish for beginners.  They are fairly easy to keep.  Mollies are a peaceful community fish and enjoy a planted aquarium.  They enjoy water with a little salt and it is recommended to add a teaspoon of salt for every 5 gallons of aquarium water (unless other fish in the aquarium can't handle it).

Sexing: Like guppies, mollies are livebearers and the males have a gonopodium and a larger dorsal fin.  Pregnant females have a darker spot near the anal fin called the gravid spot.

Breeding:  Put two or three females with a male.  The molly is a livebearer and will have live babies, and they will not lay eggs.  They can have up to 40 babies.  Provide hiding spots for the baby fish otherwise the parents will eat the babies (fry).  It's a good idea to separate the parents from the fry after birth.

Clown Loach Care

Clown Loaches photo courtesy of Flickr Creative Commons user lindsay sorensen

Scientific Name: Chromobotia macracanthus

Origin: Indonesia, Borneo

Life-span: over 20 years

Temperature:  77° to 83°F  (22 to 30°C)

Food: Flake food, bloodworms, tubifex, brine shrimp, algae wafers, frozen foods, vegetables  like cucumber, zucchini, and peas

Care:  Clown loaches like aquariums with live plants, driftwood, and rocks.  They like to hide but also swim out in the open.  Many people have a single clown loach in their aquarium, but the clown loach is actually a schooling fish and should be kept in groups of at least three.  A major bonus of having a clown loach is that they eat snails!  If you buy live plants you may inherit a snail problem and the clown loach is a great remedy.

The clown loach can get quite large, 12-13 inches.  Don't be fooled by the size they are sold at in pet stores.  Keep this in mind before purchasing a school of clown loaches.  However, despite their gigantic size, they are a very peaceful fish and do great even with small fish like guppies.

One of my clown loaches constantly swims upside down.  It alarmed me at first because I though it was sick, but I've now had them over a year and they are healthy as can be.  It is also said that the clown loach emits a clicking noise, but I've never heard mine make the noise so I can't describe it personally.  (Mine are only about five inches so maybe they aren't big enough!)  If you have any insight on this please feel free to leave a comment!

Sexing: Females are plumper and males are more slender

Jack Dempsey Cichlid Care

Scientific Name: Rocio octofasciata
Origin:  Central America, Honduras, Guatemala

Life-span 5 years

Temperature:  77° to 82°F  (22 to 30°C)

Food: Flake food, bloodworms, tubifex, brine shrimp, guppies, frozen foods.  They are a carnivore so they prefer animal-based food

Care:  Jack Dempsey cichlids are more aggressive than most fish.  They can grow to 10-12 inches long but generally only get around 9 or 10 inches in aquariums.  I would recommend not putting live plants in the aquarium because Jack Dempseys will rearrange the aquarium however they want!  I've commonly had mine pile all of the gravel up to the front of the tank!  They enjoy places to hide and swim in and out of.

Darker gravel will bring out their colors.  If you use light colored gravel the Jack Dempsey will be very light colored and dull.  A minimum of 20 gallons is needed for a Jack Dempsey.  They don't play well with other fish so be careful about mixing species.

Sexing:  Females tend to have more blue on their faces and their spots occur all over their face, while males colored spots generally stop about halfway down their head.  Some say you can tell by the shape of the fins but I have found many exceptions to this rule.

I have two juvenile Jack Dempseys, photos to come soon!

Zebra Danio/Zebrafish Care

Fish Name: zebra danio/zebrafish

Zebra Danio photo courtesy of Flickr Creative Commons User bob_jenkins

Scientific Name: Danio rerio

Origin:  Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Myanmar

Life-span 5 year

Temperature: 65 to 78°F

Food: Flake food, bloodworms, tubifex, brine shrimp

Care:  The zebra danio is a schooling fish so get at least three of them (I recommend at least five) so that they can school.  They generally swim in schools around the middle and top of the aquarium.  They breed like crazy and watching them spawn playfully is very entertaining.  However, they eat their eggs.  If you are interested in breeding your zebra danios, put them in a tank of at least five gallons with marbles lining the bottom so that they can't reach the eggs to eat them.  Remove the danios after seeing them spawn or after 24 hours.  As long as you have at least one fertile male and female in the tank, you SHOULD have eggs.  Sexing zebra danios is difficult.  The males are slender and females tend to have a larger belly.

Red Finned Shark/Rainbow Shark/Ruby Shark Care

Red Finned Shark

Fish Name: Red-Finned Shark/ Rainbow Shark/Ruby Shark

Scientific Name: Epalzeorhynchos frenatum

Origin: Thailand and other areas in southeast area

Temperature: 75-80 degrees Fahrenheit

Food: Flake food, algae, bloodworms, tubifex, brine shrimp

Care:  The red finned shark or rainbow shark can grow to 6-7 inches.  It likes a pH of 6.5-7.  They tend to hover around the bottoms scavenging for food with their whiskers.  They enjoy a planted aquarium and swimming under and around rocks, wood and plants.  They are general peaceful but can get aggressive of other rainbow/red-finned sharks.

Sexing these freshwater fish involves looking at their anal fins.  Males have black lines on these fins and tend to be thinner than females.  Breeding is difficult.  They are egg scatterers and will eat their eggs so remove the parents after spawning.

Video of Red Finned Sharks:
 

Neon Tetra Care

Neon Tetra

Fish Name: Neon Tetra

Scientific Name: Paracheirodon innesi

Origin: Columbia, Peru, Brazil

Temperature: 75-85 degree Fahrenheit

Food:  Brine shrimp, daphnia, bloodworms, tubifex, plant matter, algae, flake food

Care: Neon tetras are mid-level schooling fish so they do best in groups of three or more.  They enjoy a planted aquarium with hiding spots.  Neon tetra can live 5-10 years.  Sexing neon tetras is easier when you have a group of males and females.  Male tetras tend to be slimmer and have a straight blue line.  Females tend to have larger bellies and the blue line is bent due to their larger frame.

Image courtesy of Flickr Creative Commons user Leino88

Image courtesy of Flickr Creative Commons user MotoClub4AG

Fancy Guppy Care

Male Fancy Guppy

Fish Name: Guppy

Scientific Name: Poecilia reticulata

Origin: Trinidad and Tobago, Brazil, Virgin Islands, Barbados,

Temperature:75-80 degrees Fahrenheit

Food:  Guppies eat flake food, algae, newly hatched brine shrimp, and tubifex.

Male Fancy Guppy

Pregnant Female Fancy Guppy

Care:  Guppies are a very hardy breed and are great for beginners and experienced people.  They prefer a planted aquarium.  They are livebearers and have a 3-4 week gestation period so don’t be surprised if you have babies.  Almost all female guppies are pregnant if they have been in contact with males.  Males are more colorful and have a gonopodium on the underside.  Female are more dull in color, however still have some color, and usually you can see a dark dot near the anal fin called the gravid spot.

Images courtesy of Flickr Creative Commons.  Users: Tartaruga33, threefingeredlord, wwarby












Video of female fancy guppy giving birth:

Betta Care

 Fish Name: Betta

Betta

Scientific Name: Betta splendens

Origin: Cambodia, Thailand

Temperature: 75-80 degrees

Food: Betta pellets, brine shrimp, bloodworms

Betta splendens

Care:  Bettas are commonly sold in tiny jars and containers.  THIS IS NOT GOOD FOR THEM!  Get them a real tank!  You cannot keep more than one male together; otherwise they will fight to the death.  This is how they get the name “Siamese fighting fish”.  They grow 2-3 inches long and live 2-3 years.  Males have larger fins.  When mating, the male builds a bubble nest on the surface, fertilizes the female’s eggs, and then uses his mouth to place the eggs in the bubble nest at the surface.  The eggs hatch in 2-3 days and the fry remain in the nest another couple days.  The male guards the nest until the babies leave it.

Angelfish Care

Fish Name: Angelfish

Angelfish

Scientific Name: Pterophyllum eimekei/scolare

Origin: Amazon River

Temperature: 75-85 degrees Fahrenheit

Food: Mosquito larvae, flake food, bloodworms, brine shrimp

Care:  Angelfish are very nice looking fish that can grow up to 12 inches in height and 5 ½ inches in length.  Due to this, they do well in deeper aquariums.  These lovely fish can live 10-12 years.  They prefer to live in slower-moving water and should either be kept singly or in groups of three or more.

Image courtesy of Flickr Creative Commons user Cliff0066

Sexing angelfish is difficult until they are ready to spawn.  Both have a papilla that develops between the anal and ventral fin.  The papilla of a female is larger.

Do Fish Sleep?

Fish do not sleep like we do, but they do exhibit behavior that is sleep-like.  Fish don't have eyelids that close so they do not close their eyes.  However, at night you will notice that their movement slows and also their breathing slows.  They pick a spot, usually out of the current, and remain relatively stationery.  Fish never completely zone out of their environment though.  They can sense movement in the water and remain guarded and on the lookout for predators.  Fish also use their keen sense of smell and taste at night.

Aquariums and Supplies

Choosing Your Aquarium
The general rule for the number of fish you can keep in a freshwater aquarium is one inch of fish to every square inch of surface area in your fish tank.  Others say it is one inch of fish for every gallon.  Either way, if you already know what types and quantities of fish you would like to keep in your aquarium, keep the number and their maximum size in mind when choosing your aquarium.

You will need to buy a hood for your aquarium so that fish can't jump out of your aquarium.  (Yes, they can jump out of the water!)  Most hoods contain a light, and if your doesn't, you will need to purchase a light.  You should plan on making sure that your aquarium is lit about 10 hours a day for fish and plants to thrive.

Location
There are several things to keep in mind when choosing the location of your aquarium.  Here are some tips:
Don't place an aquarium in front of a window or anywhere that gets direct sunlight.  This can cause unwanted fluctuations in temperature, evaporation, and excessive algae growth.
Keep it away from moving objects.  For example, a playroom for kids who play with balls or throw things around probably isn't a great location for obvious reasons.
You will need an outlet(s) close enough to your aquarium to be able to plug things in like the light, heater, and filter.
Make sure your aquarium is easily viewed.  After all, it's the whole point in setting up an aquarium, right?

Heaters
You will need a heater to maintain the temperature in your aquarium.  Most tropical freshwater fish need to be kept around 75 or 76 degrees Fahrenheit.  However, this is not true for all species like koi or goldfish, so research the temperatures required by the fish you intend to purchase.  Most heaters have adjustable thermostats.  Find one that includes suction cups for ease of placing in the aquarium.

Gravel
Most aquariums should include 1 1/2 to 3 inches of gravel.  Some fish prefer sand.  Research what types of gravel the fish you intend to purchase prefer.

Choosing Between A Freshwater or Saltwater Setup

Both freshwater and saltwater aquariums are very pleasing to keep, but there are some differences in the types of fish and maintenance that you need to know about when making the decision on which type of aquarium to setup.

Freshwater Aquariums
This blog is dedicated to freshwater fish so I must admit that I'm a little partial to freshwater aquariums. Freshwater aquariums are a great choice for beginners. The most common fish come from Asia, Africa, and South America. Most are fairly inexpensive and readily available, however there are some varieties that are harder to find and more expensive. There is work involved in maintaining the aquarium and water quality, but it is pretty easy to learn.

Saltwater Aquariums
Saltwater fish are found in the oceans, with the most popular fish coming from coral reefs in the Pacific Ocean, Indian Ocean, and the Caribbean. These fish can be very colorful and exotic, but require a little more work than freshwater fish. Saltwater fish are very susceptible to fluctuations in water quality, so the water conditions need to be monitored very closely. Saltwater fish tend to be more expensive which makes monitoring you water that much more important.

Are Fish The Right Pet For You?

There are several things to think about before buying fish. Fish offer are a very aesthetically pleasing pet and can add to the decor of your home. They are relaxing to look at and are a fun pet for all ages. They are very simple to keep and maintain compared to other pets, but there is some work involved in maintaining your aquarium.

Fish generally also cost less than other pets. There are some up-front costs involved in setting up an aquarium like the tank, a stand for the tank, gravel, the filter, a tank heater, and any decorations you wish to add. Then there are the cost of your fish, which can range from under a dollar to over a hundred dollars per fish, depending on what you decide to buy. You will also need food, water chemicals, a siphon cleaner, and a bucket for cleaning and water changes.

Even though fish don't take as much time as other pets to care for you will still need to invest a certain amount of time into maintaining and caring for your fish. Regular water changes are needed, which I recommend doing weekly. You will need to feed your fish daily, which I recommend doing twice a day.

Keeping a fish tank can be very rewarding and fun. However, before you jump into the hobby you need to keep in mind that there will be cost and time commitments. Make sure you are willing to commit to these things before buying your aquarium.

My Fish

I love freshwater fish! I've had fish since I was 6 years old. Fish make a great pet. There's no need to walk them outside in the heat or cold multiple times a day. They are so peaceful and relaxing to watch. I keep a tank in my room that I watch as I fall asleep at night.

One of my tank has six electric yellow cichlids and a breeding pair of plecos, one bristlenose and one albino veiltail bristlenose. Amazingly, the cichlids and plecos do not bother each other. I used to have a 200 gallon tank of various cichlids and it was my favorite tank I've ever had, but I downgraded when I moved and have not set up my big tank yet. The electric yellows are my favorite because of their bright colors.

Another tank I have contains about 200 neon tetra fry. I breed them for a local pet store and in return I get free equipment, food, fish, and supplies. I also breed the plecos mentioned above for the same reasons.

My final tank is a community tank with many different fish. My favorite is my hyfin shark. I also have a red tailed shark, three neon tetra, a dojo loach, a school of zebra danio, a royal pleco, zebra angelfish, fancy guppies, a blue gourami, some regular and albino veiltail bristlenose pleco fry, green fire tetra, and some assorted mollies and platies.

Fish make a wonderful pet and my blog will give tips on setting up and maintaining freshwater fish tanks, aquarium news, and freshwater fish profiles. Thanks for reading!