The Pet Fish Care Blog

Fishes that belong to super order Ostariophysi contribute to the near 70 percent of the fresh water fish in the world. The characteristic features are weberian apparatus and release of alarm substances. These alarm substances are released by the fish, when it is put under stressful condition.

The fishes that are classified under Characidae family do have some characteristics that resemble characteristics of ostariophysi. Members of family characidae were discovered first in central and southern America. They are found in central Africa too.

There are two main different variations in the members of family Characidae which can be kept in aquarium. They are carnivores and omnivores. The carnivorous type will eat only the meat whereas the omnivorous type will eat both the meat and plant [vegetable matter]. It is better to avoid herbivorous type as they consume all the plant material in the aquarium.

In case one is planning to have Carnivorous type of characidae, he must keep few things in mind. Let’s discuss it here. These carnivores consider anything that is smaller than its size as its food and hence the same will be consumed by them. In case you want to keep other type of fish such as herbivores, that is possible, but the size should be bigger than carnivores. Herbivores have the habit of not disturbing any other fish unless provoked.

The Characidae carnivores can attack the other either alone or in school. But piranha fishes will attack only in schools. The piranha’s eating habit and jaw formation is similar to the characidae carnivores. Hence both these types of fishes are not recommended for those who don’t have prior experience in maintaining aquarium.

As discussed earlier the Characidae carnivores will eat anything and everything, such as smaller fish, worms, shredded meat portion etc. one has to be careful in not exposing the finger while feeding them.  One should not expose red meat to these fishes. The members of Characidae breed well in captivity. The eggs can be found struck to the bottom of the container. These fishes prefers acidic PH. They are found in plenty in rivers of the central and South America.  As these Characidae carnivores will eat their own young ones, one should be prepared to separate the adults and the young ones, if they want these fishes in their aquarium.

Piranhas are the other dangerous fishes like Characidae carnivores. Many love to have these fishes too in their aquarium. These fishes can grow to the length of 10 inches in wild condition but in captivity they can grow up to 5-6 inches. These fishes too are certainly not recommended for beginners. They are seen in abundance in South America [Amazon basin].

The piranhas can’t be kept with the other fishes. These fishes have needle like sharp teeth arranged in rows. They have oversize jaw. These fishes use their teeth to tear away their prey. Hence while netting, the hands should be kept at safer distance. These piranhas can tear away an adult cow in few seconds, in the wild. This will make you understand how dangerous these fishes are.

But the biggest advantage is that piranhas adapt to the changes in water conditions. These fishes are not bad breeder in captivity. Hence possible presence of school of piranha is avoided in tank, which is good, as these are more dangerous in school. Piranhas don’t mind attacking each other in case no other fish is there. Hence careful handling is necessary.

Do you think just stocking your fish in your salt water aquarium is quite OK? NO!!! You ought to know numerous things about pet fish care especially with marine fishes. Each and every fish is different from one another just like that of human beings. Some salt water fishes will eat their food in specific time whereas others would like to eat whenever they feel hungry. You have to give utmost care to your salt water fishes just like that of new borne babies. In general, salt water aquariums do need more time to take care of your pet fishes.

You can easily get thorough knowledge about pet fish care from the pet store clerk. Before bringing your pet fishes home, you ought to know certain aspects of the salt water fishes. You should have the following ideas in your mind- what type of fishes are compatible with each other, the temperature, salinity and pH levels that the fish need. The fishes you are placing in a tank should have similar needs in these things.

Now this is the time to learn about feeding salt water fishes. In general, most of these fishes will eat every three days, but this is different for each species. In addition to this, you should know about type of feed your salt water fish requires. Some do require different diets including things such as romaine lettuce and even cut up shrimp. This combination will help your pet fishes more stronger and stronger.

Check your fish daily to find out any differences in their behavior. Which means you ought to note what your fish eats and how it swims and also know about its normal activity in the aquarium. If you find any deviation from the normal health, it clearly implies that your fish may be feel ill. This might be due to multi various factors that include change in water temperature, or any infection in the water they’re staying in. You should seek the help of an aqua vet to help them to recover or to stay healthy. Even you can use few products available in the pet shop in the water immediately as a first aid before seeking an appointment from your vet. Don’t expect your salt water fish to live as long as human being. They’re having a short life span. So prepare yourself to replace them as and when required.

Most of the pet fish owners think that gold fish would be hale and healthy at all water temperature as it can survive a wide range of temperature. NO… In goldfish, temperatures are really a complex issue. A research confirms that goldfish can survive temperatures of forty to one hundred and six degrees. If these extreme temperatures are being maintained for a prolonged period, it may lead to fatal to goldfishes.

There are few reports that sudden change in temperature may cause death among the goldfish, even within the ranges listed above. Then how to manage this issue of tank temperature with goldfish? If you buy a goldfish in a pet shop where the tank temperature is seventy degrees, then you must take extreme precautions while introducing the same in a outdoor pond, where the temperature is only forty degrees. You should take days or weeks of careful preparation to avoid any untoward incident with goldfish.

You make use of varied thermostats and heaters for aquariums for maintaining tank temperature. Even you can procure a simple thermometer in any aquarium to study the temperature in your aquarium or pond.

Do you know goldfishes are fond of live vegetation? So do select the plants that can withstand the pressure exerted by goldfish because they are having the tendency of pulling the plants from the bottom of the aquarium. In addition to this, some of the goldfish types are having fleshy parts, flowing or long fins that obscure vision. Hence here is chance of damage to these type of goldfishes as they may get injured if you use plant with sharp edges.