Posts Tagged ‘fishkeeping’

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New Long Term Breeding Project

Thursday, July 17th, 2008

Apologies for not posting for a while, life just gets in the way. But with the arrival of some new fish, starts a New Long Term Breeding Project.

I saw mature large “breeding pairs” of these fish three years ago at a local auction in West Yorkshire, they were advertised as a breeding pair, definately males and females but I suspect the owner, had no success in breeding them and hence they were up for auction. To this very day, I regret not keeping my hand up for longer, they sold for little money! and it’s taken me that long to obtain some young fish so I can grow on, and hopefully ontain some breeding pairs.

Let me introduce you to the Electric Blue Jack Dempseys

Alot has been documented and written about these fish, click the link above to search for it.

Two sites Practical Fiskeeping Article Blue Jack Dempsey identity revealed and www.bluejax.co.uk have some excellent information, rather than me retype it here.

But first things first, they need to grow……and then I can select males and femles.

Electric Blue Jack Dempseys Pic 1
Electric Blue Jack Dempseys

Electric Blue Jack Dempseys Pic 2
Electric Blue Jack Dempseys

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Fancy That!

Monday, August 20th, 2007

I’ve just been talking to a local fishkeeper recently new to the internet and the world of computing and he recommended I visit the following website:-

This was the comment he made about it:-

An excellent diary of fishkeeping events from andys fish house somewhere in Yorkshire, he breeds Angelfish and Catfish, currently breeding Sturisoma Aureum, also has live webcams from the fish house, and live temperature gauge of internal and external temperatures. Lots of hints and tips from a real fishkeeper. I liked reading his daily ups and downs in the fish house. It’s good to read success and failures, real experiences in the fish house, from a fishkeeper.

Umm. Sound familiar!

I didn’t reveal my identity to him, but I’m sure he’ll be reading this, and the penny will drop!

Okay, back to things, I’ve been busy completing the installation of the latest six tanks, these are now all complete, fitted and filled, filtration is performed by Algarde dual Bio-Foam 200, and heating is provided by Visitherm 200 and 300 watt heaters. It’s taken me a while to tidy-up all the wiring.

I’ve also been very busy, collecting fish from around Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. I’ll take some pictures of all these new fish and list the contents of the fish house shortly. I’m away on a course over the next week, so it will be in a few days. I’ve also got the results of my food trial, which I’ll also be publishing.

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Drugs fail …

Saturday, August 4th, 2007

I thought the MYXAZIN broad spectrum bactericide was working and the ulcer was receding. But on the fifth day of treatment I noticed another small hole had appeared on the upper dorsal fin. I finished treatment on Friday 3 August, and completed a 50 percent water change, all the MYXAZIN seems to have done, is stained the silicon in the tank blue!

I asked a friend if he could ask Dr Peter Burgess to contact me. Peter was at Plymouth University the same time I was, and was also a member of the Plymouth & District Aquarists & Pondkeepers Society, with members including John Rundle, Dr Stan MacMahon.

Dr Peter Burgess BSc MSc Mphil PhD, is a fish health scientist, with more than 25 years’ experience as an aquarist. An author of numerous articles and scientific papers on fishkeeping, he is editor of the international journal Aquarium Sciences and Conservation. A visiting lecturer in aquarium sciences, he is also an international consultant to the aquarium fish industry.

Dr Peter Burgess suggested I try Pimafix, as I had already tried Melafix, which although marketed primarily as an anti-fungal, is also quite good at tackling some bacterial infections.

So I’m currently on a double dose of Melafix and Pimafix.

Furan-2 is not available in the UK, because it contains two antibiotics, and these are only availble with a prescription in the UK.

I’m not keen in treating with antibiotics, because it wipes out the bacteria in the filter, and it’s very difficult to get the right antibiotics for the correct becterial infection, unless a swab is taken from the infected area.

I noticed this evening, the angel fish behaviour has changed for the worse, the fish is no longer eating, it’s stomach appears distended, gasping for breath and the ulcer has grown in a matter of hours, the area has got larger. There is also a small hole visible in the caudal tail region.

I have emailed my Vet Matt Brash asking for a prescription of antibiotics.

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Genetically Modified Tropical Fish

Tuesday, April 3rd, 2007

You may have noticed the banner advert at the footer of the blog Campaigning for the Ban on Dyed Tropical Fish led by PraticalFishkeeping.

I’ve been seeing quite a few Pink/Red Zebra Danios of late in the local tropical fish shops, and thought these were colour endhanced, but they could be possibly genetically modified. If these fish are GMed, they are illegal in the UK, as a license from DEFRA to keep and import is requried.

Last night a program called Animal Farm stated that GMed fish could be on-sale across the world.

The following four minute clipped was aired on Channel 4’s Animal Farm last night (2 April 2007).

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The Fintro by Maidenhead Aquatics

Friday, March 23rd, 2007

The Fintro – Fish Acclimatisation Unit or Fish Introduction Unit call it what you like, I’ve been trying to make one of these for years, using plastic yoghurt cartons, plastic fruit boxes, the best method I found was to use Ferrero Rocher plastic boxes, with holes drilled in the bottom, the only problem, I could never get the water fill/flow rate correct, or the stability of the plastic box in the water.

Now these problems, have been solved with the The Fintro by Maidenhead Aquatics. I know this device has just been reviewed in the March 2007 Issue of PracticalFishkeeping Magazine, but I was keen to purchase a two units, and test it for myself. I purchase many fish for the fish house (too many sometimes!), and the older method of just floating the tropical fish in the bag from the tropical fish shop fvor 30 minutes has long been proved in-correct. I usually introduce fish into my quarantine tanks, by floating the bag to equalize temperatures, but I also remove water from the bag, and throw away, and slowly over a period of 30-45 minutes, replace the water in the bag with tank water. This lessens the stress on the fish, by gradually introducing the fish to your aquariums water chemistry, rather than causing toxic shock due to vast pH changes.

  • Float the Fintro in your aquarium.
  • Transfer the fish from bag to Fintro, making sure the fish are in the bottom chamber, and there is at least 1cm of water in the upper chamber. (make sure this is over the tank, because although there is a one-way valve,if you fill the Fintro, not over a tank, water will go on the floor!)
  • The Fintro has a valve which permits a very slow trickle of water to gradually fill it, giving time for your new fish to adjust to the aquarium water conditions.
  • After approximately 45 minutes the Fintro will be completely full and sink to the bottom of the tank, releasing the fish.

Fintro
The Fintro by Maidenhead Aquatics

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Help us map the UK’s tap water quality

Friday, May 26th, 2006

After posting my water filter post, about changing from CBR2-10 to a Chloroplus-10, looks like this is just in time, read the PFK Article here

PFK Help us map the UK’s tap water quality

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My Fiskeeping History

Wednesday, November 2nd, 2005

This is a photograph of my First Aquarium recently rescued from my parents house, I don’t believe it was purchased for me, I think a friend of my fathers gave it to me, but my father insisted until I read about the subject of keeping tropical fish, I was not allowed to keep them, I had always kept Goldfish as a child, but was always fascinated by the Jacques-Yves Cousteau diving programs on the television in the 70s.

First Aquarium

I think it could be a collectors item today, as it’s an angle-iron type frame but with chrome finish, the glass is sealed with putty, later silicon sealer has been added. Capacity of the tank is approx 25l, I originally breed Guppies, Platies, Swordtails, Bettas until it was the home of a small piebald catfish – A Walking Catish, Clarias sp. The keen spotters will notice a Practical Fishkeeping Magazine freebie LCD thermoeter, given away free with the magazine in the 80s!

I don’t have the heart to part with it, because this is where it all started!

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White Spot in Tropical Fish Shops

Thursday, October 20th, 2005

Whilst visting family in South Wales, I’ve been out and about browsing the local Tropical Fish shops.

I spotted an excellent pair of Parrot Cichlids at Wyevale Garden Centre, Pyle. If Parrot Cichlids breed successfully and had a commericial value, I would have been very tempted to purchase, still tempted, a very unusual colouration, similiar to Jeff Raps “Calico” Convict Cichlids. Possibly been cross-breed with Convict Cichlids. Umm, purchasing man-made, genetically modified designer fish, I’ll have to consider this purchase very carefully.

I was also very impressed with the Fish display at Petsathome, Bridgend Retail Park. The large tropica plants are execellent value for money, and I also saw some young RED Angelfish, these fish did not just have a red blush, but overall pigment was red in colour, this could possibly due to red pigment enhancers feed in food, it could be genetic, I would have to purchase some and grow on to be sure. 5.99 GBP each.

To end on a controversial note, I also visited Maidenhead Aquatics at Pontarddulais Garden Centre, Swansea. This tropical fish has just been voted Top Tropical Fish Shop in Wales 2005, and 9th UK Retailer 2005 by readers of Practical Fishkeeping.

After reading this, I thought it must be worth a visit. I was put off purcahsing any livestock because several tanks that contained Clown Loaches in the Tropical section, were covered in White Spot.

I purchased two packs of “Diskusin” to make it worth the effort of travelling there.

Would you purchase fish from tanks with white spot? Answers on a postcard please, to the usual address.If this is the best, I’d hate to visit the worst!

Disclaimer: There could be good reason that several tanks had white spot outbreaks, and it could be under control with chemical or ultra-violet treatment, the infected fish may not be for sale.

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What’s for supper?

Thursday, October 6th, 2005



An aquarist in Germany recommended that I try
Sera Catfish Chips for Ancistrus and Pleco Catfish if I’m finding it difficult in obtaining Hikari
Algae Wafers, he has had great success with this product in Germany. Many high
quality aquarium products come from Germany, Eheim,
Tetra and
Dennerle are just a few manufacturers,
so I’ll definitely experiment with this product.

Sera retailers in the UK are not common, but I know a place on my doorstep that
stocks Sera products. Petland, York is a
Sera retailer.

I purchased some Sera Catfish Chips for Ancistrus and Pleco Catfish, the
ingredients are very interesting because the usual marine algae and spirulina
are present, but willow wood and bark and alder wood are also ingredients. This
product will certainly help if you have no bogwood present in your aquariums for
the catfish to graze on. Many years ago, when I first saw a "pleco" in aquaria,
it was given willow wood and bark to graze on, this was before the days of any
"Algae Wafers", it was said, that chemicals in the willow made the catfish
sleepy, like an anaesthetic if they ate too much, so it was only fed in small
quantities. This is the first fish food product I’ve seen using "wood" as an
ingredient.

I offer my fish a varied diet to stop them getting hooked on one type of
food, I vary the food each day, here’s a list of the products I use:-

  • Tetra Prima.
  • Tetra Tips Freeze Dried Tablets.
  • Tetra Fresh Delica Daphinia, Bloodworm, Brine Shrimp.
  • Tetra Holiday and Weekend Food Sticks.
  • Tetra Min Flake Food.
  • JMC Catfish Pellets.
  • Barlow’s Aquatics Sinking, Stinking Catfish Pellets.
  • Nutrafin Max Complete Flake Food.
  • Aquarian Tropical Flake Food.
  • Phoenix Tropical Flake.
  • Today’s Freeze Dried Tubifex Worms.
  • ZM 000, 100, 200, 300, 400, Small, Medium and Large Granular Advanced Fish
    Diets.
  • Ruto Frozen foods, Spinach, Tubifex and Bloodworm.
  • Frozen prawns.
  • Courgettes, Cucumber, peas and lettuce.
  • Live Food when available.
  • and Sera Catfish Chips for Ancistrus and Pleco
    Catfish.

When I first started "fishkeeping", many years ago, when my Dad won a
goldfish at the Fun Fair, we came home with a glass goldfish bowl, and a
cardboard tube of ant eggs to feed the goldfish.

Tropical Fish Food Technology has greatly improved! If it had not improved, I
don’t think I would have been as successful in breeding and caring for the
tropical fish in the many years I’ve kept them. For many years I was hooked on
Aquarian Tropical Flake, not personally, but variety is the spice of life!

Go on, change your food today!

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Technology failed!

Wednesday, September 21st, 2005

Angelfishcam No.3 is down, the camera has failed. Sorry for the inconvience this may cause.

Since PracticalFishkeeping have re-launched their fabulous new website the RSS Feeds from PFK are weird, it’s being sorted by the Website and Technical Editor.

and I’m too tired to plant the Amazon Swords. Still working the late shift this week.

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