Tabla de contenidos para April 2024 en Practical Fishkeeping

TROPICAL Alestidae ALESTIDAE, THE FAMILY of freshwater fish commonly known as African tetras, constitutes by far the greatest diversity of African characiforms, with current estimates of 118 species distributed among 19 genera. They are found in various parts of Africa, including the Congo River basin, the Nile River, and other rivers and lakes throughout the continent. Some are pelagic or semi-pelagic. And they are easily distinguished from the similarly-shaped cyprinids by sharp teeth on the jaws and a small adipose fin. Some of the most familiar include the African tigerfish, Hydrocynus vittatus, the Congo tetra, Phenacogrammus interruptus, and the Nurse tetra, Brachyalestes nurse. In the wild, these tetras can be important food fish for African communities, and prey for larger fish and other animals. Habitats and feeding As young Alestidae…

Aquascaping glue can be used to attach certain plants (Java ferns, Anubias, Bucephalandra) directly on to wood or rocks. Ensure the surface is dry and only use a small amount, as dry glue turns white underwater. Glue, combined with a cigarette filter, can also be used to stick wood to rocks. Simply pull a cigarette filter in half and fluff it up a bit, sandwich it between the wood and rock, then add a drop of superglue. Continue to hold the wood in place as the glue dries (it may emit some smoke) and the wood will now be fixed.…

INTERNAL CANISTER FILTERS FLUVAL U-SERIES The Fluval U range caters to tanks from 55-240 litres, has controllable outflows, mixed filter media, and easy remove cartridges for quick maintenance. Prices from around £29.99 to £73.49, pending model. EXTERNAL CANISTER FILTERS FLUVAL FX6 Suitable for tanks up to 1500 litres, with a self-priming feature, the FX6 is a beast of a filter for big tanks. Click-fit fittings allow easy connection of pipes, while the canister houses almost 6 litres of media. Priced at around £305.99 OASE BIOMASTER THERMO 250 For smaller tanks of up to 250 litres, Oase's BioMaster Thermo also houses an aquarium heater as well as an easy to remove pre-filter cartridge to reduce burden on the main filter. One of the best canister filters out there, priced from around…

Fish are dispatched to arrive on either a Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday—you get to choose your preferred date at the point of purchase, and after the order is placed, you get an email through confirming the delivery window, which in my case was a two-hour slot on the Friday morning between 10.38 and 12.38. Mine arrived at 11.18 and was delivered by courier company DX (one of the few companies licensed to transport livestock). Arrival! The melons arrived in a sealed polystyrene box which, when opened, revealed a classic wrapping of newspaper and heat packs (three total) around a heat retaining reflective blanket. As the fish were purchased as two lots of six they were bagged as such, and sealed tight with metal binders. In the bags, what immediately…

AXOLOTLS AT A GLANCE NAME Although in the UK we pronounce the axolotl as ‘Acks-oh-lot-ul’ the correct native pronunciation is much closer to ‘ah-show-loat'. SENSITIVITY Just like fish, axolotls are sensitive to water conditions such as ammonia and nitrite. Any axolotl set-up must have a biological filter, and will need regular water testing to ensure things are safe. SIZE Long-lived and espeically huge axolotls may rarely reach up to 45cm long, though as pets they tend to end up somewhere between 15-25cm. COLOURS Wild axolotls are a dark grey/green colour with mottled olive, but in aquaria many colour morphs have been produced, including white albino, golden albino, leucistic, speckled, copper, black, lavender, piebald and more. There's even an axolotl that has been genetically modified with fluorescing proteins to glow under…

Choosing a tank The right starting point is essential if you want the best from your layout—it's di? icult to strip and reassemble a grown-in ‘scape if you later decide the tank isn't to your liking. Standard aquarium kit Any aquarium kit marketed for fish will work as an aquascape on some level, but with limitations. If the tank has a closed hood, it may be di? icult to add equipment, and you may be tied in with inadequate lighting. Pipework and filtration may also be fixed in place in an unsightly way. Many fish tanks have slightly di? erent glass to aquascaping tanks, and may not be as good for photography. Dedicated aquascaping tank Often open-topped for visual e? ect, aquascaping tanks normally use low iron glass for extra…

ADVICE Fishkeeping Know-how Bricks and mortar shops Local stores are the obvious choice for many. You can pick the exact fish you want, and have the advantage of seeing them in real time to check for the likes of damage, deformities or diseases. There's also minimal transport time involved in getting the fish back home and safe. On the downside, not all local stores are that good, and your experience of the hobby might only be as good as the most knowledgeable member of staff there. If they can't look after their own fish, you might be buying poor quality, undernourished, or wholly unsuitable livestock. Legally trading stores will have a Pet Shop License which offer some credentials, but be wary of ‘shed sellers’ that aren't trading through the usual…

ADVICE Fishkeeping Know-how DUE TO THE inclement and chilly nature of our British weather, I confess to being a fair-weather pond keeper. You can't beat the sight and sound of moving water in the garden in summertime but in winter, if you're like me, you rarely venture out into the garden for anything other than essential chores. The days are getting lighter now though, so it's time to brave the cold, and spend an afternoon maintaining the pond ahead of time, to make sure it erupts into its full glory at the end of spring. Here's what you need to check: Inspection time! The first thing to do is go outside and inspect the pond. If I haven't been out to check on it for a few days the first…

Aquadip Aquarium Care Products For my own aquascape here, I'm using the Aquadip range of liquid plant foods. In particular, I have used: LIQUID FILTER MEDIUM—this helps to break down solid wastes into a form that plants can utilise. PLANT FOOD+—an all-in-one plant fertiliser containing a range of macro- and micronutrients, I dose it at 18ml per week, adding 6ml on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. FERRO—an iron source to promote chlorophyll growth, I dose my tank at 18ml a week, adding 6ml on Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday. POTASSIUM, FOSFO, AND NITRO—I'll be using these once the Plant Food+ runs out to dose what's called an NPK ratio. This involves adding liquid nitrate, phosphate, and potassium at a ratio of 10-1-10, and is considered a gold standard for high energy plant…

ADVICE Fishkeeping Know-how BY NOW we all know why filters are important, but confusions always surrounds what kind of filtration is best for a setup. In days past, the undergravel filter (UGF) was king, whereas now we have a range of options including internal, external, hang-on-back (HOB), and sump systems. Each of these have their own pros and cons, and each have their own place in the hobby, but which is best for you, and how do you go about making the right purchase? Internal canister filters The likeliest first exposure for most people is internal filtration. With a lot of hobbyists, the first tank is something on the smaller side, quite often sold as a complete kit, with all the necessary accessories. Generally speaking, in smaller tanks these kits…

AQUARIUM CLASSICS X-ray tetra I ADORE QUIRKY FISHES. If a fish has an unusual body shape, finnage or colour, you can bet that I'm interested. Most of the time I need to search high and low to find that ‘special one’ but the subject of this article isn't elusive at all. Quite the opposite: it would be more difficult to find a shop that doesn't stock X-ray tetra. So why am I writing about a common, bread-and-butter fish? Read on and you will find out. The X-ray tetra, Pristella maxillaris, had been the only representative of the Pristella genus for a long time. Its unique feature of having numerous conical teeth along the maxilla (hence the maxillaris moniker) was used to define Pristella. The genus was long considered to be…

AT A GLANCE SIMS TROPICAL FISH Telephone: 07801 323641 Website: simstropicalfish.co.uk Email: contact@simstropialfish.co.uk THE FIRST TIME I visited Sims back in 2021, I was—and I don't use the word lightly—daunted by the sheer volume of ‘monster’ fish. Potential giants leered from almost every tank, yet I clearly recall erven then that owner Martyn was on the lookout for yet more. If I knew of any, he enquired, could I let him know, as he had a considerable waiting list. There were several things that stuck with me that day: the huge rescue pond for fish that have outgrown their tanks with home aquarists; the number of high calibre oddballs available; and the presence of many ‘old school’ species not typically stocked elsewhere. That was when the store was open for walk-ins,…