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During the winter when live food is most challenging to obtain, a staple diet of dried food will need to be given.

Dried shrimp, obtainable in varying grades to suit numerous sizes of fish, will maintain fish in reasonably great health if occasional feeds of raw meat or live food are also given.

Bemax mixed with a dry food is an outstanding food which is rich in vitamins, but if given to smallish fish it should be rubbed via a fine mesh sieve.

There are many brands of prepared dried foods in the marketplace, all of which claim to be the very best. The ingredients that go to make these various foods are numerous, and it is almost impossible to judge the one most suitable for all occasions.

My own technique would be to have a tin of all of the well-known makes, and feed the fish from a various tin every day. This way the fish appreciate a maximum selection of diet.

Feeding marine tropical fishes is much more challenging than feeding freshwater species. Their natural (bods are virtually unobtainable, and they don’t usually take to dried foods, as a result, we should offer substitutes from the accessible live foods and meats. Little quantities of tubifex, daphnia, white worms, blood worms, shrimps, and bits of fish and meat will offer a reasonable selection.

Brine shrimps, Arlemia salina, are an outstanding addition, but owing to their little size they’ve to be fed in big quantities to satisfy any big adult fish. Young guppies and mollies could be bred and fed as a live food.

They’ve the benefit of being readily acclimatised to salt water. This is accomplished by adding, over a five-week period, one ounce of salt (Tid-man’s or sea-salt) to every gallon of water once a week. They’re then ready to be put into the marine aquarium.

It is essential to keep in mind the susceptibility of salt-water aquaria to pollution. The fish should be fed every day, but any uneaten food should be removed if not consumed within a period of about 15 minutes.

The most essential thing to keep in mind about feeding is that overfeeding is one of the most typical causes of pollution in aquariums. The appetite of fish is linked with environment, the warmer the natural conditions, the quicker they breathe and grow (in reality, the entire procedure is speeded up) and also the much more they’ll wish to eat.

Cold-water fish don’t eat as a lot as tropical, under conditions which are regular to both. At a lower temperature than that to which they’re accustomed, tropicals lose their appetite, but you are able to persuade them to regain this by raising the temperature.

The very best technique would be to feed just a little and frequently, and in this way the quantity of food left uneaten is reduced to a minimum, though I realize it is impossible for the aquarist who is away all day at business to feed in this way.

The next greatest method to feed is once in the morning and then in the evening. With dried foods the quantity should not exceed that which could be consumed within five minutes. If the fish are especially ravenous just a little much more might be given. The perfect, nevertheless, would be to maintain the fish just hungry to ensure that they’re usually foraging for food.

Feeding rings that float on the surface and contain the food in an area of say 4-in. square arc fairly helpful in a tank with only one or two fish, as any uneaten food falls in the exact same place every time, and should you place a flat rock there it is simple to maintain the tank clean.

The disadvantage of ring-feeders might be seen when about twenty fish congregate under a ring, a fantastic deal of pushing and shoving takes place, and also the little fish need to rely on what is left over by their larger companions. It is not so essential that live foods, like tubifex worms, are consumed instantly, for they’ll live on in a healthy condition until they’re eventually eaten.

During holiday periods, when it is essential to be away for a week or much more, you are able to give a heavier feed for a week prior to leaving, and should you drop the temperature to 70° F your fish will suffer small or no harm from a week with out food.

If a longer period of absence is contemplated, along with a friend has been asked to oblige, be certain to give him explicit instructions with regard to quantity. Frankly, a fortnight of wrong feeding can undo lots of care, and I have discovered it greatest to offer the food in small packets of paper to ensure that he only has to empty them into the tank.

I have noticed repeatedly that fish are bullies; they like to chase a smaller fish and seem to thoroughly appreciate the sport. Next day, maybe the bully will probably be chased by an additional fish.

It is therefore an advantage to try and keep fish of a comparable size together. With a persistent bully, the only cure would be to remove him to a different tank in which he isn’t one of the largest.

When fish are imported, there is always danger of an epidemic, but safeguard against this by quarantining the new fish for days putting them into your stock aquarium. This is where your spare tank comes in .

New arrivals which you suspect should be put into a separate aquarium containing a of permanganate of potash to strength of 1/8 grain per gallon of water, and suspect white spot raise the temperature to 85° F. Fish obtained from sources to be healthy not be subjected to quarantine.

Never put new arrivals directly into their new , but float the container in your aquarium water until the temperatures are the , then tip them in. I advise you to do this some tropical have a large temperature range, sudden changes are liable to disorders.

It is thoughtless to suddenly switch on a bright electric light over the fish; they turn out to be startled and dart about in an agitated state.

Under the exact same category of petty cruelty is knocking on the glass to make a specific fish come out from behind a piece of rock or vegetation, or carelessly dropping the cover back on the top of the aquarium.

In fairness I don’t believe that any of these things are usually done with the intention of frightening the fish, but that they’re careless and thoughtless actions which can, and should, be avoided.