All those tropical fish tank owners, who have tropical fish, want to have good plants for it too. Plants keep the environment of the tank balanced and also provide hiding places for the fish. There are two types of plants available for the purpose – Cutting and floating plants. You can know about some of these plants from this article.

Rotala is a cutting plant that has giant red leaves. It needs bright light to photosynthesize and grow. The suitable temperature for this plant is 22 – 28 degrees Celsius. The plant also needs a pH of 5. It grows till the time the plant has leaves that grow on the surface.

Another cutting plant is Giant Hydrophilla. It is also known as Indian Water Star. It has broad leaves that help in providing shelter to the fish. It also forms a great spawning site. It needs intense light and hard water to grow. It can survive well in the temperature range of 20 – 28 degrees and a pH of 5 – 7 is very suitable for these plants. This plant grows quickly and requires regular trimming.

The Butterfly Fern is one of the floating plants. It is also named as Eared Watermoss. It is not a high maintenance plant. The bubble nesters use the Butterfly Fern as their nest. This plant also shelters the fry. Floating plants can block sunlight for fish and other plants. Therefore, you need to trim them regularly.

Java Moss is another of the famous floating plants. The plant gets attached to driftwood, roots, and rocks. There are no other requirements for this plant. It requires low light to grow. The temperature range of 21 – 24 degrees is quite favorable for the plant. However, if the temperature goes up to 32 degrees, even then it does not harm the plant. If you have just kept one of the Java Moss in your tropical fish tank then you will need to tie it to a rock. Later it can form its own attachment sites. This plant also provides spawning sites. It is important that you keep the plant free from algae.

All such plants will make your tropical fish tank stand out and will be a treat to watch.

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If you have a tropical fish tank then you should know that you should take care of your fish as much is required for them. Do not care for your fish more than what is necessary. Otherwise, it can harm your fish. If you have just started with this hobby then you should know some basics. A tropical fish guide can help you in this regard.

It is very difficult to decide the right amount of food for your fish. you should study the habits of your fish and try to understand their requirements. It is always important to feed your fish a little less than required. You’ll be on the safe side this way.

A tropical fish guide will tell you about all the theoretical points that you should implement. Observe your fish closely and see to the right amount of food they require. There usually is a competition amongst fish so see to it that no one fish takes over your tropical fish tank. All the fish should get the right amount of food. If your fish are not attracted towards food and considering all else is good in your tank then you should realize that the taste of the food needs to be changed. You should always drop food in the tank from one point only. This gets the fish used to receiving food from that place only.

You can feed the fish twice in a day from the same point both times. Try giving lesser food both the times. This reduces the risk of having leftovers that then requires cleaning. If you stay out for longer periods of time for work related matters then you should pour a large food serving for your fish. Your tropical fish tank guide will help you in this regard. However, your instincts should be ready to grasp any changes in the behavior of fish.

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You should clean your tank whenever you notice different signs in your fish. You can scrub the inside of the walls of the tank and clean the gravel to remove any solid waste that lies in the bottom layers. Take out the gravel as it will help in better cleaning. You have to reduce harmful bacteria of the tank. Replace the water of the tank. If there is any activated carbon in the filter, you need to take them out too.

The treatment of the fish depends on the amount of injury done to the tail and fin of the fish. You can use Melafix with aquarium salt. This will keep the biological filter in your tank intact. You should mix the salt with water otherwise it will burn the fish. This medicine has no side effects on regular tropical fish. The water will become foamy once you have added the medicine. But, the foam will leave when the treatment is done and the water has been replaced. The treatment mainly includes replacing the tank water, cleaning the sides of the tank, and vacuuming the gravel. You will be able to get rid of the harmful bacteria this way and the fins and tail of the fish will also heal. The fish fins will grow again. If you do not get these results then you should move the fish to another tank with stronger medicine.

Copper sulfate can also be used for the purpose but it damages the fish’s gills. If the fish don’t heal then you will have to use antibiotics for them. Be cautious, do not mix any medicines. You can get all these medications from the pet shop.

Keeping fish tanks, aquariums disease-free

The fish can get this disease because of stress too. You should properly acclimatize your fish. It is always important to maintain your tropical fish tank in the right manner. Keep it clean and change the water regularly. If you spot the first signs of disease, get the necessary medicines and treat your fish with it. You can maintain the health of your fish if you follow the right regime.

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Symptoms

If you like having a tropical freshwater fish tank then you should know about the symptoms of fish diseases in such a tank. The most common is fish and tail rot caused by Cytophaga. Bacteria affect the fish that have long and soft fins. Some of the symptoms of the disease are:

• The fin and tails look as if they are ‘shredded’. Initially, these grazes are discolored with a red edging and then may form into yellow/orange colored ulcers.
• The fish loses desire for food.
• At a later stage, the fish lose quite a lot of their tissue as a large milky patch forms on the fins
• The lips of the fish become swollen and mucous can be easily spotted on the gills. The fish also respire rapidly. If the disease is not taken care of, the fin might rot completely, as the disease spreads out in the entire body of the fish.

What causes the disease and how can you prevent it?

It is very important to diagnose the infection. It is not simply because of the bacteria as they exist in all tropical fish tanks. So, it is probable that stress or some other such reason might have caused the infection in the first place. You should get rid of that problem first.

There is a probability that the bacteria enter your fish tank because of a new fish introduced in the tank. It is important for you to keep the new fish in a separate tank to get rid of the bacteria. The fish usually expel such bacteria through their feces. You have to take special care to acclimatize your fish properly. There is a probability that the fish get stressed out in this process. The fish that you choose to keep in the aquarium should be able to get along well with each other. Otherwise, the fish may bully each other and end up nipping the others fins and tail. The wounds then become breeding sites for the Cytophaga bacteria that causes the disease. Do not overcrowd your tropical fish tank.

Check that your filter and other necessary equipment for maintaining the cleanliness of the tank are in proper working conditions. Change 15% of the aquarium water on a weekly basis. Also keep your aquarium filters clean.

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Now that you have set up a tropical fish tank, you would want to have great benefit out of it. A new aquarium is easy to maintain but sometimes it is probable that you have certain difficulties in maintaining it. Algae growth is a common problem. The aquarium starts to look old because of this and the fish may start to die. You can read through the article to know about the steps you can take to avoid this.

You will have to remain calm and plan your remedial measures carefully. Do not rush to the pet supplier and see what he has to offer. Because, it is possible that this will multiply the problems that you already have. When most of the beginners spot this problem; they simply empty out their tank to start anew. This way you will lose the useful bacteria in your tropical fish tanks.

You do not necessarily need to follow a chemical remedy to get rid of the problem.

High Concentrations of Deadly Chemicals

If your fish starts dying without any visible change in the aquarium, then realize that the water chemistry has changed to cause this. You should check the composition of water. Higher levels of nitrates or ammonia are the probable causes of these changes. The good bacteria in your aquarium help to keep these levels normal. If you have a very overcrowded tank then the bacteria will have difficulty recycling all the ammonia and nitrates.

Bullying Fish

Fish selection is an important task during your tropical fish tank setup. When fish are young they may get along well. However, when they grow up it is very probable that they start nipping at each other because they cannot get along with each other. An example of this is Tiger barbs.

Lack of Water Changes

Regular water replacements will eliminate any possibility of wastes accumulating in your tank. You can easily get rid of them by changing partial water of the aquarium on a regular basis.

Adding Chlorine Contaminated Water

Chlorine is harmful for the fish. You should know this if you are adding tap water to your tropical fish tank. If you keep the water accumulated for a few days, then you can remove chlorine from the water. But, water that contains chloramines becomes difficult to clean. You can treat the tap water with certain chemicals to eliminate chloramines or chlorine.

Overfeeding the Fish

Overfeeding is a very common problem. The fish will eat only as much as they want to. You’ll be left with leftovers and decaying food in your aquarium. The rotting food becomes a source of toxins in the water. Give your fish adequate amount of food i.e. anything theycan finish in 3 minutes is enough for them.

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All of us who own tropical fish tanks are on the lookout for new plants. Plants not only provide a balance in the environment but also provide hiding places for the fish. There are two types of plants that are available; cutting plants and floating plants. You will find the description and requirements for a few plants in this article.

Rotala is a cutting plant. It has soft, red leaves. It needs bright light for its growth. The suitable temperature for it ranges between 22 to 28 degrees Celsius. A pH of around 5 is needed for Rotala. It grows until it has leaves which float on the water surface.

Giant Hygrophila is another cutting one. It is also called Indian Water Star. It has broad leaves. It provides great shelter to the fish and also provides sites for spawning. It needs intense light and hard water for its growth. A temperature of 20 to 28 degrees Celsius is and pH of 5 to 7 is needed for Giant Hygrophila. It is a plant that will grow very quickly and requires trimming at a regular basis.

Among floating plants, the Butterfly Fern is very famous. It is also called Eared Watermoss. It does not require much maintenance. This plant is used by bubble nesters for their nests. They are also a shelter for the fry. A problem with floating plants is that they can block the sunlight for other plants and fish so they should be trimmed.

Another famous floater is Java Moss. It gets attached to driftwood, rocks and roots. It does not have any special requirements. Low light is favorable for its growth. A temperature of 21 to 24 degrees Celsius helps in its growth but the temperature can rise up to 32 degrees without any harm to the plant. You will have to tie the plant with a rock at first. Afterwards it forms its own attachment sites. This plant also provides sites for spawning to take place. You just need to keep it free from algae.

All these plants if included in your tropical fish tank will surely make it a treat to watch for the viewers.

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After you have gone through the process of setting up a tropical fish tank, you’ll definitely want to get some reward out of it. It is easy to maintain a newly constructed aquarium however problems may arise in it. It is often seen that algae starts growing in the new aquariums a short while after they’ve been set up. Because of this the fish start to die and the aquarium does not look new. There are many reasons for this. Here we’ll discuss the steps you can take to avoid such issues.

Whenever a problem arises, many of us rush to our aquarium supplier and get the remedial things he has to offer. But keep in mind that putting that stuff into the tropical fish tank is only going to multiply the problems. Another big mistake that many of the beginners do is that they empty the whole of the tank to start all over again. By doing this you lose the useful bacteria.

You can correct the thing that has gone wrong even without any chemical remedies.

High Concentrations of Deadly Chemicals

It often happens that the fish start dying and there is no visible change in the aquarium. When this happens, you should know that the chemical composition of water needs to be checked. The most probable cause of this is high levels of nitrates and ammonia. The useful bacteria in the aquarium help in keeping these levels close to normal. If your tank overcrowded, then it is difficult for the bacteria to cycle all the ammonia and nitrates.

Bullying Fish

The combination of different fish that you have should be friendly with each other. Some fish are friendly when they are young but when they grow up they start bullying other fish. An example is the tiger barbs.

Lack of Water Changes

You should replace the water regularly. This is necessary to remove any wastes that might accumulate in the tank e.g. nitrates. They re completely removed by the partial replacement of water.

Adding Chlorine Contaminated Water

if you are using tap water, then you must know that it contains chlorine. This can be harmful for the fish. If you keep the water standing for a few days, you can eliminate the chlorine. However, the water which contains chloramines is difficult to purify. To deal with it, you should add a chemical treatment before you add the water to your tropical fish tank.

Overfeeding The Fish

A very common problem is overfeeding. This results in leftovers and rotting of the food. This decaying food releases toxins into the water. The tip to avoid this is feeding the fish with lesser food. The amount of food which they finish in 3 minutes is enough for them.

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Whenever your fish get ill, you should immediately clean your tropical fish tank. You can do this by scrubbing the inside of the walls of the tank and by cleaning the gravel to remove solid waste from the bottom layers. You can take out all the gravel too for better cleaning. The point is to reduce the harmful bacteria. Replace the water of the tank and also take out any activated carbon from the filter.

The treatment that you use for the fish depends upon the degree of damage done to the tail and fin. In the initial stages of the disease, you can use Melafix along with aquarium salt. This medicine will keep intact the biological filter in your tank. The salt should be mixed with water instead of adding it directly because this may burn the fish. This medicine does not harm regular tropical fish. After you add the medicine, the water will become foamy but the foam will go away after the treatment is over and after you have replaced the water. The cleaning regime must include replacing the water, wiping the sides of the tank and vacuuming the gravel if you still have it. This treatment id good enough to deal with the bacteria and will cure the damaged fins. The fins will soon re-grow. If this does not happen then you should move the fish to another quarantine tank for stronger medication.

Copper sulfate can also be used but there is a risk that it will further damage the gills. If the fish do not heal, then you should use antibiotics to heal them. Be careful not to mix any medications. All these medicines are available at the pet shops.

Keeping fish tanks, aquariums disease-free

Stress is a major cause of this disease. So, if you acclimatize the fish before adding them to your tank, minimize overcrowding and only add friendly fish, then you will surely avoid any such mishap. Maintenance of the tropical fish tank is extremely important. You should keep the filters clean and replace the water regularly. However, if the disease still occurs you should spot it as soon as you can and get the required medication. If you follow such regimes, you will surely maintain your fish’s health.

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Symptoms

Fin and Tail Rot is an infection of fish in tropical fish tanks caused by a group of bacteria called Cytophaga, which affect fish which have long, soft fins. The symptoms include:

• The tail and fins start looking ragged as if they are ‘bitten’ or a ‘shredded’. These lesions are discolored White/Grey with an edging of red. They can form into orange/yellow colored ulcers.
• The fish loses appetite.
• At an advanced stage, large milky patches appear on the fins and a good amount of tissue gets damaged.
• You will see rapid respiration with excessive amounts of mucous in the gills. The lips of the fish may become swollen. If the disease is not treated, it might rot the entire fin and start to grow on the fish’s body.

Causes and Prevention

The diagnosis of the infection is highly necessary. Bacteria cannot be a cause of it because they exist in all tropical fish tanks. Therefore, chances are that stress or any other poor conditions might have started the infection and it is necessary to remove them first.

This disease is generally introduced into the tank by new fish which have harmful bacteria in them. So it is essential that you put the new fish in a separate tank to kill the harmful bacteria which they might expel through feces. You should also take special care when acclimatizing the fish because if it is not properly done, the fish might get stressed. It is important that you select the combination of fish which live peacefully with each other. If the fish are not friendly then they may bully each other and this can involve fin and tail nipping. These wounds provide breeding sites for the harmful bacteria. Do not add too many fish. Make sure that the tank is not overcrowded. This will make the fish comfortable in the tropical fish tank.

Whenever you clean the tank, check that your filter and other equipment is in working condition. Also, keep testing for the constant chemistry of water. Replace 15% of the water every week with fresh water. You should also remove and wash the filter regularly.

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All those who own a tropical fish tank are on the watch for newer plants. Plants not only provide some balance in the tank’s environment but also provide with a hiding place for the fish. There are several plants but all are categorized into two different types: cutting plants and floating plants. You will have the short description for these in these in this article.

Rotala is one of the cutting plants. It has soft leaves red in colour. It needs very bright light for its proper growth. The suitable temperature for growth varies between 22 to 28 degrees Celsius. The water pH of around 5 is needed for Rotala plant. It keeps growing until it has the leaves which help to float on the water surface.

Giant Hygrophila is another one amongst the cutting edge category. It is also called and widely known as Indian Water Star. It has prominent broad leaves. It is great for providing shelter to the fish. It also provides sites for fish spawning.

Among the category of floating plants, the Butterfly Fern is the most famous. It is also known amongst hobbyists as “Eared Watermoss”. It doesn’t require lot of maintenance. This plant is helpful for the bubble nesters for their nests.

One of the other famous floating ones is Java Moss. It gets itself attached to driftwood, rocks and roots. It is a simple plant and does not have any such special requirements. Low light is quite favorable for its growth. So, this makes it even more maintenance free. A temperature of around 21 to 24 degrees Celsius helps in its proper and a good enough growth. You will need to tie the plant to a rock, first and then it forms will form its own attachment sites afterwards.

If you include some of the plants mentioned above, in your tropical fish tank, then they will surely make it a treat to watch for the viewers.

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