Fish

Neon Tetras 101

by Kristen Seymour (Subscribe to Kristen Seymour's posts): Feb 1st 2010 @ 10:00AM Filed Under: Fish

Name: Neon Tetra

Personality: Neon Tetras are active schooling fish, and very peaceful. Neon tetras are social, doing best in schools of at least six of their own.

Care: This freshwater fish, which is possibly the most popular aquarium fish, requires at least a 10 gallon tank, fully cycled, with a water temperature of 69 to 79 degrees Fahrenheit and a pH around 7.0. They need open space for swimming, vegetation for hiding, and proper food like small flake foods and brine shrimp.

Common Health Issues: It's not unusual for a neon tetra to live 10 years with proper care, but they don't tolerate changes to their environment, so many live much shorter lives. Neon Tetra Disease, which is considered incurable, is the most common issue these fish face.

Training Tips: The best way to enjoy your neon tetras is to watch them swim back and forth, chasing one another. This isn't a fish you want to try to train.

Betta Fish 101

by Kristen Seymour (Subscribe to Kristen Seymour's posts): Jan 25th 2010 @ 10:00AM Filed Under: Fish

betta fish Flickr/TheEye - LN

Name: Betta Fish (aka Siamese Fighting Fish)

Personality: As their alias suggests, Bettas don't always do well with other fish; there are certain fish with whom they cannot get along. Male bettas, in particular, can be quite territorial towards other male bettas and other fish, specifically fish with lots of blue and red, fish with long flowing fins, or fish with similar shapes.

Care: Aside from feeding your betta fish daily (or close to it, as they can go a day or two without food) and keeping their tank clean, there's not much involved in caring for them. While some people keep bettas in small vases, the best environment for this fish is a 10 gallon tank where the water stays between 78 and 80 degrees (never dropping below 74 degrees). Because they are a prey animal, it's important to provide plenty of hiding spots in their tank (ideally, real or artificial plants) to make them feel safe.

Common Health Issues: The biggest threats to a betta's health are things you can control: Tank size, water temperature, access to oxygen (surface area), improper heating and poor diet. They can live up to about five years, but the average is closer to three, in large part due to the reasons listed above.

Koi 101

by Kristen Seymour (Subscribe to Kristen Seymour's posts): Jan 22nd 2010 @ 10:00AM Filed Under: Fish

koi fish Flickr/corrieb

Name: Koi

Personality: Koi are gentle, peaceful and mellow. Very large Koi can share a pond with much smaller Koi with no danger.

Care: Koi are hardy fish that can live 30-50 years (The record stands at 233 years!). The most important aspect of care is quality of water. If water quality is poor, the fish can die quickly. The water must be in a pond (300 gallons per mature fish, and at least three feet deep) that remains a proper temperature and has filtration to keep the water clean. Nutrition is also extremely important. Koi will eat just about anything, but a proper diet will help them stay healthy and grow more quickly.

Common Health Issues: Though generally healthy and long-lived, koi are prone to a number of diseases. Like goldfish, they can develop fin rot and Ich. Other health issues to watch for are anchor worm (parasitic bacterial infection), cotton wool disease (bacterial infection), dropsy (sign of another condition or bacterial infection), fish lice (parasite), gill maggots (parasite), Saprolegnia fungus (fungal infection) and skin and gill flukes (fish equivalent of fleas).

Training Tips: Many koi owners have success in training their koi to eat from their hands. Keep in mind, however, that once your koi learn to accept food from you without fear, they might come to the surface for other animals, including predators like herons.

Blind Angler Catches Record-Breaking Catfish

by Paul Ciampanelli (Subscribe to Paul Ciampanelli's posts): Jan 21st 2010 @ 3:00PM Filed Under: Pets News, Fish

BNPS

Holy mackerel!

Holy catfish, rather. This 15-stone, 4-pound catfish (that's 214 pounds to Yanks like you and me) broke records recently when a woman wrestled the leviathan from a Spanish river while on vacation, reports the (U.K.) Daily Mail. As if that feat wasn't impressive enough, the accomplished angler in question happens to be a mere 5'3" in stature, a grandmother, and legally blind. The superwoman, Shiela Penfold, 56, took 30 minutes to bag the beast.

The monstrous catfish, dragged from the depths of the River Ebro near Barcelona, measured a terrifying 8 feet, 2 inches in length. Penfold used halibut pellets as bait to supplement what we presume is her superhuman strength.

"I was exhausted but elated afterward," Penfold told the Daily Mail. "I'm still walking around with a smile on my face. But it goes to show that just because you are blind it doesn't stop you breaking records like this."

After snapping a few photographs of the catfish that will give you nightmares for the rest of your life, Penfold released her vanquished opponent back into its freshwater home.

Goldfish 101

by Kristen Seymour (Subscribe to Kristen Seymour's posts): Jan 14th 2010 @ 10:00AM Filed Under: Fish

goldfish Flickr/protographer

Name: Goldfish

Personality: Goldfish are sociable and do well living with other fish. They will often swim to the surface to be fed.

Care: Goldfish are easier to care for than many other pets. However, they are sensitive and changes to their environment can cause stress, which often leads to bad health. Avoid touching your goldfish unless it's absolutely necessary, and feed your fish once a day in the water, not by hand (this can pass dangerous germs on to them). Make sure to only add tank decorations that are designed for aquariums.

Be cautious about what kinds of fish you put together. Even different types of goldfish can have different needs. And the size of the aquarium will depend on the size and number of goldfish you have. Because they can grow to be six inches long or more, you might need something considerably larger than the traditional fish bowl. In fact, many sources recommend only using a 10-20 gallon tank, as a bowl simply isn't large enough, nor is it filtered. With a filtered tank, you'll still need to clean the gravel about once every two weeks. Without a filtration system, you'll need to clean the tank at least once a week.

Common Health Issues: Goldfish are fairly hardy and can live for 10 years, though the average lifespan is closer to four years. Fin rot, which happens after bacteria attacks an injury, is fairly common. Ich (or white spot disease) shows itself as white spots on your fish's body. This is actually a parasite, and will spread quickly if not treated, often causing your fish to swim strangely, have difficulty breathing, and eventually die. Both these issues are far more common in stressed fish with weakened immune systems, making it all the more important that you pay close attention to their environment and water quality.

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