Infolific » Freshwater Aquariums

Understanding pH and Water Hardness

Max Lepley — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 08:18:17 +0000

Natural water contains a variety of dissolved substances which affect its characteristics, and these in turn can have a drastic effect on the fish living in it. Water hardness is a measure of the amount of dissolved lime and other minerals. Tap water from limestone areas is normally very hard: [...]

Marsh and Ditch Habitats

Max Lepley — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 19:19:54 +0000

Many of the fish that find their way into aquariums originate from harsh, inhospitable habitats. Some of the conditions found in aquatic habitats in Southeast Asia are among the most difficult. Constrained into receding marshes and ditches for most of the year, the onset of the rains expands their environment [...]

Fish Diets in the Wild

Max Lepley — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 06:00:39 +0000

In their natural habitats, the majority of tropical aquarium fishes are opportunists, or generalist feeders. If they come across a tempting morsel, they investigate it, often by mouthing it; if it is edible they will eat it, if not they will eject it, spitting it back out of their mouths. [...]

Fish Predators of Eggs and Fry

Max Lepley — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 15:49:30 +0000

It's a tough life being a fish, especially a young fish. Everything, but everything, can and will eat you. The prospects for a newly fertilized egg are grim. Survivorship for these eggs to adulthood can be as low as a fraction of 1%. Most of the mortality occurs in the [...]

Chemical Cues - Taste

Max Lepley — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 03:42:43 +0000

For fish that seek their prey under cover of darkness or search among a silty, muddy substrate, vision is of little use in hunting. If they encounter food under these conditions, they need to be able to respond to it quickly, especially if that food has ideas of escaping. As [...]

Safety in Numbers

Max Lepley — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 23:42:07 +0000

The single most important benefit that fish gain from schooling is thought to be the reduction of predation risk. Schooling works in a number of ways to confound hunters, but the net effect -- survival of the school members -- has been shown again and again. Can a predator sneak [...]

Using Camouflage to Avoid Detection

Max Lepley — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 04:47:52 +0000

When predators are at large, it obviously pays to be inconspicuous. One way is to blend into the background, hoping to avoid detection by a hunter. Camouflage, or crypsis, is used widely by fish species for this purpose. A fish whose color matches its environment will live a great deal [...]

Catfish

Max Lepley — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 04:42:43 +0000

Although almost absent from temperate waters, there is a huge diversity of catfishes in the lakes and rivers of the tropics. Their diet is just as diverse as the catfish themselves, but among them is a large group of specialist algae-eaters. These include a number of long-standing aquarium favorites, particularly [...]

Underwater Eating

Max Lepley — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 09:19:00 +0000

The importance of our hands for feeding ourselves is huge. We use them to catch food, to process it, and to carry it to our mouths, where we can hold it in place while we bite it. It may be obvious to point out that fish lack arms, yet this [...]

Chemical Defenses

Max Lepley — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 09:42:27 +0000

Several groups of animals produce poisons, either to use as venom to subdue their prey or for protection against their own predators, or even both. Poison arrow frogs are particularly notorious for their potent chemical defenses. But whereas a number of marine fishes use chemicals to deter overly inquisitive hunters, [...]

Aponogeton

Max Lepley — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 23:29:50 +0000

The most striking of this particular group is the Madagascar lace plant (Aponogeton fenestralis). As stated by Innes around 1966, this plant was among the earliest of all aquarium plants that have been used in the hobby. It is a relatively high-priced plant when it can be found for sale. [...]

Defensive Armor in Freshwater Fish

Max Lepley — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 18:18:53 +0000

Of course, not every fish darts away as a predator approaches. Some fish have evolved armor and other defenses, most often in the shape of spines, to make all but the meanest of predators seek their dinner elsewhere. But if it is so effective, why have not all fish evolved [...]

The Fascination of Fishes

Max Lepley — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 17:02:51 +0000

Fishes were first publicly displayed in glass tanks in London during the 1850s. This created such an interest that scientific collections and more adventurous public displays were set up and these spawned a growing desire among 'fish watchers' to plan a home aquarium of their own. Today millions of people [...]

Aquarium Plant Reproduction

Max Lepley — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 00:43:05 +0000

Asexual reproduction is by far the most common means of propagating aquarium plants. Budding off of the parent plant, runners, and cuttings are examples of the more common methods of asexual reproduction. An aquarium plant that relies solely on the formation of adventitious buds off of the adult plant is [...]

Myriophyllium

Max Lepley — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 07:51:43 +0000

Many aquarists know these plants by the common names of foxtail or water milfoil. In appearance they are denser and more delicate plants. There are two main groups of Myriophyllium. The first are long-leaved and are better as a spawning medium; the second has shorter leaves and is more durable. [...]

Tropical Aquarium Fish Food

Max Lepley — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 03:50:09 +0000

There are many different types of food available. Many fish need specific vitamins and other nutrients on a daily basis, which can be provided by a varied diet. Buy only the best-quality flake foods available.The range is now tremendous, with some feeds including additives, such as spirulina for algae-eating fish, [...]

Cichlids

Max Lepley — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 11:26:34 +0000

When new aquarists see fish that look as different from each other as angels (Pterophyllum spp.), pike cichlids (Crenicichla spp.), zebras (Metriaclima zebra), rams (Microgeophagus ramirezi) and discus (Symphysodon spp.), they often wonder what it is that enables us to classify them all as cichlids. The answer is that despite [...]

Surviving in Harsh Environments

Max Lepley — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 11:51:46 +0000

Refuges may prevent detection or prevent attack. Those that prevent detection by a predator are usually hiding places in one form or another. But prey animals sometimes head for areas where they know that predators may not be able to follow.As well as physical shelters, such as rocks, crevices, and [...]

Amazing Facts About Freshwater Fish

Max Lepley — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 11:50:23 +0000

I like to read about marine fish. I also enjoying watching shows like Dicovery Channel's The Blue Planet series. That TV series in particular provided an amazing looking into the world of freshwater fish. Each book and show seems to have a few interesting tidbits of trivia that I've collected [...]

Specific Recognition

Max Lepley — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 00:41:40 +0000

Some of the most remarkable discoveries about fish in recent years have centered on their clear ability to recognize particular individual fish. Incredible as this may seem, this capacity to distinguish specific individual identities has now been demonstrated in a huge variety of fish. Can fish recognize their relatives? The [...]