Transcript File

What You’ll Need to KNoW
The essential items for your tank
Heaters
• Tropical fish need a heater.
• 78º F is ideal.
• Two types
- submersible
- partially submersible (controls on top)
• Rule #1: Don’t leave it on out of the water
- Reason: It will crack!
• 2.5 W per gallon
• Heaters tend to stick. CHECK THEM REGULARLY!
Thermometers
• Monitors the temperature of the tank
• Can be:
- floating bulb
- suction bulb
- flat liquid crystal
• Key is to choose the one at the store that has the average
temperature
Filters
Three types:
• biological
• mechanical
• chemical
ALL fish tanks must have
biological filtration, that is
use bacteria to decompose
the toxic ammonia that
builds up from fish wastes.
This will take place in the
substrate (bottom
material) of your tank.
Chemical filtration can remove ammonia, heavy
metals, and dissolved organics by combining them
with activated carbon.
Mechanical filtration traps particles before they
decompose into ammonia, like plant leaves and food
particles (mulm). The above filter will do this to a
degree. YOU must regularly use a net to do the rest.
Gravel (Substrate)
Serves three (3) major purposes:
• decoration
• biological filter (bacteria live here!)
• provides hold for possible plants
What to use:
• NO plastic coated gravel (bacteria won’t live on it, then no biological
filtration = bad!)
• crushed coral or shells - excellent, but must be thoroughly washed
first to reduce leaching of carbonates which will change the pH level
of the water
• sand - also excellent, harder to clean, can buy as “live” with bacteria
Decoration
• When buying, make sure that it says,
“Safe for saltwater aquariums.”
• No wood, as it may leach substances into the
water and change the pH.
• Most plastics, glass, and ceramics are inert and
safe.
• Any naturally occurring objects like rocks, shells,
or corals may be used if sterilized first by boiling
or soaking in a 10% bleach solution.
Lights and Hood
A. Hood
• prevents fish and other critters from escaping
• keeps water from evaporating so quickly
• keeps salt spray from building up on outside of tank and adjacent
areas
• A simple hood is just a piece of Plexiglas with a notch for the
filter.
B. Lights
• bring out the colors of your fish
• If you have plants, provides necessary energy for growth
• Most fish don’t like bright lights, so no light or only low-watt
fluorescent bulbs should be used
Air Pumps
• simply bubbles air into the water
• provides dissolved oxygen for animals to breath
• It is NOT necessary if your tank maintains adequate water
movement together with surface agitation (provided by the falling
water from the filter).
Stands
• most tanks will be on the counter in the classroom
• some tanks may need metal stands
• make sure stand is level and tank is centered
• BIG messes and injuries can occur if care is not taken
• NEVER move a tank when it is full of water!!!***
Cleaning Equipment
• Siphoning is the easiest way to remove water from a tank
• When no siphon is available, small buckets will do the trick
• plastic, non-soapy scouring pads are good for scrubbing algae
from the sides of tanks; magnetic ones are good for keeping
hands and arms dry
• an old toothbrush can come in handy for cleaning algae and
salt deposits from decorations and filter parts.
• Large 5-gallon buckets are necessary for water changes
Nets
• Netting fish is stressful; it removes scales and some of
the protective mucus coating over the scales
• If possible, use the net to chase the fish into a small
plastic or glass jar.
Test Kits
• absolutely necessary to test water weekly
• ammonia, nitrates, nitrites, conductivity (salinity), and pH should
all be tested
A. Ammonia
• Two uses:
- tell you when the first phase of the nitrogen cycle has
completed
- if there are unexplained fish deaths, testing for ammonia
(NH4) verifies that your biological filter is (or is not) working
correctly
Common causes for the mechanical filter to weaken or fail outright:
• not cleaning the filter regularly (water can’t flow through a clogged
filter, where the nitrifying bacteria reside)
• naively adding fish medicines (antibiotics kill nitrifying bacteria, as
well as disease carrying ones)
• having too small a filter for the fish load
If you have fish dying in
your tank, the first question
your teacher will ask is,
“What are your levels?”
NH4 levels are measured in ppm (parts
per million).
At concentrations as low as 0.2-0.5 ppm
(for some fish), NH4 causes rapid death.
Even at levels above 0.01-0.02 ppm, fish
will be stressed.
Therefore, test kits should NEVER
detect NH4 in an established tank. If
your test kit detects NH4, levels are too
high and are stressing your fish.
Stressed
?
fish
Time for a water change and to identify the source!
B. Nitrite
• The only time a nitrite (NO2) kit provides
information that an ammonia kit can’t is while
testing for completion of the second phase of the
nitrogen cycle.
• If your kit detects nitrite, then your biological
filter is not working adequately.
• Once a tank has cycled, nitrite kits are pretty much
useless.
• Nitrite is less toxic than ammonia. But even at levels of 0.5
ppm, fish become stressed. At 10-20 ppm, concentrations
become lethal.
IF THE BIOFILTER IN AN ESTABLISHED TANK ISN’T
WORKING, BOTH NH4 AND NO2 LEVELS WILL BE
ELEVATED.
C. Nitrate
• Nitrate levels increase over time in established
tanks as the end result of the nitrogen cycle.
• Because nitrates become toxic at high
concentrations, they must be removed periodically
through regular water changes.
• Nitrates become toxic to fish (and plants) at levels of 50-300
ppm, depending on fish species.
D. pH
• per hydrogen ion
• acidity/alkalinity of the water
• need to check the pH of our tap water
• need to periodically check the tank’s pH so that
you can be sure it stays stable and doesn’t
increase or decrease significantly over time
• In some cases, tank decorations or gravel
change the pH of your water.
XIII:
Like all living
creatures, fish
give off waste
products. This
cycle is the
biological
process that
breaks down
nitrogenous
wastes into
harmless
nitrogen
compounds.
A. Where do we get the bacteria?
• The desired species of nitrifying
bacteria are present everywhere.
Therefore, once you have an NH4
source in your tank, it’s only a
matter of time before the desired
bacteria establish a colony in
your gravel bed.
Nitrifying Bacteria
• The most common way to do this is to place one or two hardy
and inexpensive fish in your aquarium. The fish waste contains
NH4 on which the bacteria live.
• Don’t overfeed them! More food means more NH4.
• Damselfish are suggested for marine tanks or better yet, fish
you catch in the bay or gulf! BETTER YET: LIVE ROCK*
B. “Cycling” your Tank
During the cycling process, ammonia levels will go up and then suddenly plummet
as the nitrite-forming bacteria take hold. Because nitrate-forming bacteria don't
even begin to appear until nitrite is present in significant quantities, nitrite levels
skyrocket (as the built-up ammonia is converted), continuing to rise as the
continually-produced ammonia is converted to nitrite. Once the nitrate-forming
bacteria take hold, nitrite & ammonia levels fall, nitrate levels rise, and the tank is
fully cycled.
Basic Water Chemistry
• Water in nature is rarely pure in the "distilled water" sense; it contains
dissolved salts, buffers, nutrients, etc., with exact concentrations
dependent on local conditions.
• Water has four measurable properties that are commonly used to
characterize its chemistry:
- pH: should remain between 6.5 and 7.5
- buffering capacity (alkalinity): water’s ability to keep the pH stable
- general hardness: dissolved concentration of magnesium and
calcium ions
- salinity (conductivity): refers to the total amount
of dissolved solids, measured with a hydrometer, also
referred to as specific gravity
(1.020-1.023 s.g. Or 27 ppt to 32 ppt)
Water Treatment
• Tap water is the cheapest source of H2O for your tank.
• Local companies add chemicals to it to make it safe to drink:
chlorine, chloramine, fluoride, phosphates, pH raising chemicals.
• Therefore, it MUST be treated before it is used in your tank.
A. Chlorine
• high concentration is toxic to fish - 0.2-0.3 ppm and up
• low concentrations, stresses fish by damaging gills - < 0.003 ppm
• can be removed by adding sodium thiosulfate - 1 drop/gallon H2O
• can be removed easier by allowing H2O to sit for 24 hours - Cl
escapes into the atmosphere all on its own (use air hose)
B. Chloramine
• much more stable than chlorine
• products like AmQuel neutralize the
chlorine and ammonia
The active ingredient in
AmQuel is known
chemically as sodium
hydroxymethanesulfonate,
HOCH2SO3Na.
Adding and Feeding Fish
So you’ve got your
tank set up, filter
running, nitrogen
cycle established,
testing kits learned,
and lots of practiced
knowledge.
Now what?!
Time to get fish!
You can purchase saltwater fish from a local
aquarium supplier:
• Damselfish are a good “starter fish” (also
called “suicide fish” or “disposables”) and
are relatively cheap.
• DO NOT buy the prettiest tropical fish for your tank to start - THEY
WILL DIE!
• More hardy fish, like damsels or Chromis', members of the Family
Pomacentridae, are actually in the same family as clownfish but usually
the two are separated into anemonefish (clownfish), and damselfish.
• Most of the fish in the family Pomacentridae can become territorial
(aggressive) when they get older. Among the exceptions to this are the
Green Chromis, the Blue reef Chromis, and the skunk clown.
Now some of you are going to say, “but these fish are so plain
looking.” Yes they can be, but once the tank has cycled and allowed
to run for a month or so after that, you can trade them in at your
local fish store or give them to someone else who may be starting a
new tank. THEN you can step up to one or two of the more elegant
beginner fishes for aquarists in the intermediate care range.
How many fish to start?
• A helpful rule is to add only one inch of animal for one gallon of
water.
- Example: If you have a 10 gallon tank, you can add 10 inches
of fish. That would be one 10 inch fish (I don’t
recommend that), two 5-inch fish, three 3-inch fish,
five 2-inch fish, or ten 1-inch fish.
• Never add new fish directly to the tank. First, put the organisms
(vertebrates and invertebrates) in the plastic bag from the store on the
surface of the tank water. After one-half hour they should be adjusted
to the temperature of the tank water.
• Do not pour the water from the bag (or bay/gulf) into your tank. This
might introduce disease organisms to your tank. Use a net.
Fish Stress and Healthy Fishkeeping (Husbandry)
A. What is “stress?”
• Example: Keeping fish in water that is cooler (or warmer) than its
preferred condition forces its body organs to work harder to keep it
alive.
• Increased stress reduces a fish’s ability to ward off diseases and heal
itself (ex. Fins get nicked or parasites get introduced into the tank with
new fish, etc.)
• Therefore, one of the most important
goals of a fishkeeper is to remove
sources of stress wherever possible.
B. Possible sources of stress
- nitrogen compounds
- pH
- tank space
- salinity
- species competition
- dissolved oxygen level
- sudden water changes
- medicating
- poor nutrition
- water hardness
- lack of protection
C. Common Symptoms of Stress
• In short, stressed fish don’t act “normal.”
- fish stays near surface gasping for breath indicating that it has
trouble getting enough oxygen. Possible causes are poor water
circulation, toxins have damaged its gills, high ammonia or nitrate
levels
- fish won’t eat, or eats less aggressively as in the past
- fish stays hidden (does not feel safe)
- fish has nicked fins, open wounds
- fish has disease (parasites, fungus, etc.)
D. Feeding Fish
• Fish food is somewhat delicate: exposing it sunlight, leaving off the
lid, or buying a large amount that won’t be used up for 8 months can
sabotage the nutritional value of the it.
• There are 5 classes of food:
- processed (flakes, sticks, pellets) and divided into categories for
carnivorous, herbivorous, and omnivorous fish
- freeze dried (blood worms or daphnia)
- frozen foods (shrimp, etc.)
- live food
- other fresh (beefheart, zucchini, etc.)
• Usually twice a week feeding is sufficient.
• Be sure to clean out old uneaten food particles before feeding.
E. Partial Water Changes: “The solution to pollution is dilution.”
• Water changes replace a
portion of “dirty” water with
an equal portion clean water,
effectively diluting the
concentrations of undesirable
substances in your tank.
• Regular water changes are the cheapest, safest, and most effective way
of keeping nitrate concentrations at reasonable levels.
• The effectiveness of water changes is determined by two factors:
- frequency, or how often you do them
- the percentage of water replaced
Water Changes:
•Benefits must be balanced by the stress caused
• First line of defense in dealing with problems & disease
• The more frequent, the less water that needs to be replaced.
• You should do water changes often enough that:
-the change in water chemistry resulting from a change is small
- - nitrate levels stay at or below 50 ppm
• Be sure to Unplug heater
• treat water before adding new
F. What to do on vacations
• Healthy fish can easily go a week without food
• Don’t worry about weekends (two and three days)
• “vacation feeders” that slowly dissolve may
change the pH of your tank
• If you are going away (and school is
still on) have someone feed your fish for you.
• If your tank has a high evaporation rate, have them “top it off”
with the proper water, too.
• Don’t add any new fish in the month before vacationing.
G. Moving a tank
• DON’T! But if you have to:
- put fish in a holding container
- drain the tank to less than 1/4 full
- remove the filter, heater, and other apparatus you
may have to avoid breakage and tripping hazards
- reassemble and cleanup
Before you go out and spend a lot of
money, please plan for what you will do
at the end of the school year.
Ideas: start a tank of your own or give
to a friend who has a tank.
Tank Cleaning
• never use soaps or detergents
• use only water and a mild (10% max.) bleach solution
• Larger tanks require more work than smaller tanks
• Smaller tanks require more work than larger tanks*
• Avoid all tanks less than 10 gallons
Success and Your Grade
What constitutes aquarium success?
• Healthy fish
• Fish longevity
• Aesthetically pleasing tank
• Clean tank
• Patience
• Prevention
• Maintenance
• Education