The Fish Thread

[gusG]

Thanks Gus

Here you are, a self portrait.

[Mr Lick]

Christfish Choir?

[Mid]

Striking portraits of Siamese fighting fish







Thai photographer Visarute Angkatavanich has created a stunning series of close-up portraits of Siamese fighting fish.

With simple backgrounds and dramatic lighting, the images show off the species' vivid colors and graceful fins.

To see more, visit his 500px site.

dpreview.com

[Johnny Farang]

The typografish...



:.<' )))><

[klong toey]

Had a coupe of hours dangling this morning.

[Baas Babelaas]

Question: best way to cook a sole. A big one - he weighs about 500 grams.

Was thinking of grilling him with some olive oil, pepper, coriander and ginger (Chinese style.

Serve with brown rice and a tomato onion cucumber salad. Or mash maybe.

[Troy]

^ Sole meunière

Sole meunière | BBC Good Food

[ChiangMai noon]

hi

new to the thread

got my daughter a little fish tank for christmas

35 litres i think

we have about 20 small fish in it

6 guppies and some little gold numbers with a black spot on the tail and some fat little fish in a variety of hues

the tank is already starting to turn murky

what can i do about it

how often should i be changing the water?

[Baas Babelaas]

^ Sole meunière

Sole meunière | BBC Good Food

Thanks for that. Will be cooking him up soonish..

[Thormaturge]

CMN

Remember a fishtank is where the residents' "waste" accumulates unless you do something about it. I would expect the ammonia level is already causing problems.

You need to filter and oxygenate the water, and check the pH level to start with. Most aquatic supplies shops sell a testing kit for water quality.

This forum is excellent for aquarium advice:

http://thegoldfishandaquariumboard.yuku.com/

[Thormaturge]

CMN

This is a reasonable article on water quality.....that little fish tank is a lot more complex than you ever imagined.

Water Testing in Your Freshwater Aquarium | RateMyFishTank.com

water, and what to look for.




Maintaining good water quality is the single most important component in sustaining a thriving aquarium. It sounds simple to do, but most hobbyists quickly discover that maintaining high water quality is one of the most challenging aspects of the hobby. Water can have a wide array of chemical and mineral characteristics especially when it comes out of your tap. In a nut shell, water is a chemical compound, and chemistry is not a simple science!



Most hobbyists use tap water to fill their aquarium. Unfortunately tap water contains elements that can be harmful to fish. To remove these harmful elements it is necessary to cycle your water using a biological filtration system. Cycling your water means to have your water go though a biological process called the Nitrogen Cycle. The Nitrogen Cycle establishes bacteria in your water and filtration system that is beneficial to the overall health of your fish. This cycle can take anywhere from two weeks to two months to complete. Once the cycle is complete, the harmful elements of your tap water will have been removed by the bacteria established during the cycle, thus giving you good water quality for keeping fish.


During the Nitrogen Cycle and regularly thereafter, it is essential to constantly test your water for pH, ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, general hardness and carbonate water hardness (alkalinity). The following list describes how to test for each of these water attributes and what the results mean in regards to your overall water quality.



pH

pH measures the acidity or base of your water. pH is very important in keeping healthy fish as high or low pH levels can stress fish and puts their overall health in jeopardy. The pH scale ranges from 0 14 with 0 being the absolute most acidic water can be and 14 being the absolute most basic your water can be. pH balance is 7. Most freshwater fish thrive when you have a pH level between 6.6 and 7.8. If, after conducting a pH test, you find the pH level to be unacceptable, you can raise or lower your pH levels by purchasing chemical products from your local pet store such as Aquarium Pharmaceuticals pH Up or pH Down. Maintaining a consistent pH level that is suitable to your fishes needs is the first step towards consistently high water quality.



Ammonia

Ammonia is extremely toxic to fish and can quickly kill them. At no time do you want a reading of over 0ppm (part per million) in your tank. Ammonia is the chemical result from fish waste, uneaten food, deteriorating live plants and other decaying matter. There are many products that can be bought at your pet supply store to break the ammonia down, but until your tank has completed the Nitrogen Cycle it will probably be present in small amounts in your tank. It is imperative to only add very hardy fish such as Mollys during the beginning stages of the Nitrogen Cycle. Once the cycle has completed, ammonia will be broke down quickly by the good bacteria that is present in the tank.



Nitrites

Nitrites are the result of ammonia being broke down by bacteria in your tank. Though less harmful than ammonia, it is still very toxic to tropical fish. In new tanks, these levels will rise very shortly after ammonia levels level off and being to drop. You want this test to also give you a result of 0ppm. The only way to remove Nitrites from your tank is to perform weekly water changes (25% - 30%).



Nitrates

Nitrates are the result of Nitrites being broke down even further due to bacteria in your filtration system increasing because of the Nitrogen Cycle. Nitrates are not particularly harmful to fish and signal the complete cycling of your tank, however, in high levels they too can become a stress on fish. Moreover, it is assumed that high nitrate levels can produce a biological bloom in your tank which produces very cloudy water. Nitrate levels should be between 20 40 ppm to remain in a safe range. To decrease the amount of nitrates in your tank, perform consistent water changes.



General Hardness

General hardness is a measurement of the total dissolved minerals (calcium and magnesium) in your water. When your water has low amounts of dissolved minerals, it is considered soft. When it has higher amounts, it is considered hard. Soft water can cause pH crashes which can stress fish in your aquarium. The result of the test is measured in degrees (dH) and the type of fish and plants you have in your tank should dictate what the acceptable reading should be. For most community tanks a reading within 5 12 degrees should be acceptable. If your reading is too low, performing a water change should raise your general hardness level.



Carbonate Hardness (Alkalinity)

An alkalinity test determines your waters ability to maintain pH. It is an indicator of how stable your water quality is. Low alkalinity levels mean that your pH will fluctuate more easily which can put stress on your fish. A low level also will stunt the growth of any live plants in the tank. For most community aquariums, a good alkalinity level should probably read between 7 12 degrees (dKH). Water changes can help increase alkalinity levels and there are products available at your local pet supply store that call also help raise alkalinity.



Prior to conducting all of these tests, youll need to purchase a master water testing kit. Most master kits contain all of the items youll need in order to test for ph levels, ammonia, nitrites and nitrates and water hardness. Two recommended kits that are readily available at most pet supply stores are Aquarium Pharmaceuticals (API) Freshwater Master Test Kit and the Mardel Master Test Kit.


Aquarium Pharmaceuticals (API) Freshwater Master Test Kit can be purchased for around $25 - $30 and tests for ph, high range ph, ammonia, nitrites and nitrates. For more information on this kit, visit: (Welcome to API Fishcare)


The Mardel Master Test kit uses easy-to-use paper testing strips and can be purchased for around $30. The kit includes test for ph, hardness, alkalinity, ammonia, nitrites and nitrates. For more information on this kit, visit: (Out of Stock - Fish.com)


Regular water testing will help you in your efforts of maintaining high water quality in your tank. It is important to keep a log of the test results as well, in order to keep track of trends that occur in your tank. And remember, the easiest, most effective way to maintain high water quality is to let your new tank fully cycle through the Nitrogen Cycle and then conduct regular water changes once a week.

[friscofrankie]

Most freshwater fish thrive when you have a pH level between 6.6 and 7.8. If, after conducting a pH test, you find the pH level to be unacceptable, you can raise or lower your pH levels by purchasing chemical products from your local pet store such as Aquarium Pharmaceuticals pH Up or pH Down.

Hmm boi, water chemistry and fish keeping. Just this subject alone requires a bit of knowledge. Some fish like acidic water, some like a higher PH, rift valley chiclids, for instance. Guppies (mosquito fish) are pretty tolerant, they are air breathers and can live in some pretty rotten shit water, Bettas breath the air and are somewhat more tolerant of anaerobic conditions. Generally anaerobic conditions lead to bad bugs in the water. Nitrates and ammonia can be broken down by certain beneficial (aerobic) bacteria .

I raised and bred discus, and angels, for a couple years. With the guppies and a few other basic fish you can get away with a 1/3 water swap (using RO water) every week or two. If, on the other hand you plan on raising different breeds in a community tank you should research the requirements of various breeds and match them for a healthy tank. For instance, my discus wanted much higher temps than most other fish and I had to accommodate them in tanks with fish that would at least tolerate the higher temps.

So, before adjusting PH, dissolved solids, temps and buying a bag full of testing equipment, read up on the fish you have or intend to keep, then take steps to ensure the target chemistry can be maintained. You got a small tank with hardy fish at this point. hardy fish will tolerate broad water chemistry small tank will foster broad chemistry swings in a small amount of time with a small amount of adulterants (Fish shit and urine, etc)

[CNF55]

[ChiangMai noon]

^^
thanks for that

i'll pop down the fish shop later today

[klong toey]

To answer your question Thormaturge i fished our local beach in Seaford,conditions have changed a bit today though.
Not fisherman/woman friendly today.

[Thormaturge]

^ If that were Phuket there would be idiots queuing up to go swimming.

[Thormaturge]

Puffing dolphins getting high on porpoise and having a whale of a time.

Dolphins are thought of as one of the most intelligent species in the animal kingdom – and experts believe they have put their ingenuity to use in the pursuit of getting “high”.

In extraordinary scenes filmed for a new documentary, young dolphins were seen carefully manipulating a certain kind of puffer fish which, if provoked, releases a nerve toxin.

Though large doses of the toxin can be deadly, in small amounts it is known to produce a narcotic effect, and the dolphins appeared to have worked out how to make the fish release just the right amount.

Carefully chewing on the puffer and passing it between one another, the marine mammals then enter what seems to be a trance-like state.

The behaviour was captured on camera by the makers of Dolphins: Spy in the Pod, a series produced for BBC One by the award-winning wildlife documentary producer John Downer.

Rob Pilley, a zoologist who also worked as a producer on the series, told the Sunday Times: “This was a case of young dolphins purposely experimenting with something we know to be intoxicating.

“After chewing the puffer gently and passing it round, they began acting most peculiarly, hanging around with their noses at the surface as if fascinated by their own reflection.

“It reminded us of that craze a few years ago when people started licking toads to get a buzz, especially the way they hung there in a daze afterwards. It was the most extraordinary thing to see.”

The documentary makers used spy cameras hidden in fake turtles, fish and squid to film 900 hours of footage showing dolphins in their natural habitats.

The scenes showing them “using” puffer fish will feature in the second episode of the series, which starts on Thursday.

It is the latest in a long run of wildlife documentaries made by Downer which use similar spy camera techniques. Previous series include Penguins: Spy in the Huddle, which like the Dolphins programme was narrated by David Tennant, Elephants: Spy in the Herd with David Attenborough and Lions: Spy in the Den.

Downer said: “The spy creatures were designed to infiltrate the dolphins’ hidden lives by looking like the marine creatures a dolphin might encounter in their everyday lives.”



I know dolphins aren't fish, but puffer fish are....

[Johnny Farang]

Kanchanaburi...

[Thormaturge]

^
Heading there tomorrow. That's the road running past the JEATH cemetary.

[Thormaturge]

Coming to cinemas in 2014..



For Love of a Fish (2014) - IMDb

[blue]

[Bettyboo]

[Bettyboo]

[CNF55]

[Ratchaburi]

The food chain