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Ammonia,
Nitrites and Nitrates (Nitrogen cycle). In
short, ammonia is produced by fish waste as well as decaying food.
Nitrifying bacteria transform the highly toxic ammonia
to the less toxic nitrites
and then to relatively less toxic nitrates
which are used by plants. Inability of the
filtration system to cope with the biological substrate results in
sudden rise of ammonia. A regular test (at least once per week for
the first two months and every other week afterwards) is essential.
In case you notice ammonia, a water change should be done
immediately followed by another one after a day. You should then
find the correct time intervals between scheduled water changes.
Lowering the pH will save some fishes since at pH below 7 ammonia is
in the form of ammonium
(NH4+) which
is far less toxic. However, with some species (e.g. African cichlids
of the Rift Lakes) it is not recommended to lower the pH from 8.5 to
7.0 in an instance. It is better to start repeated large volume
changes (40% the first day, followed by additional 25% changes every
day till you get the clear mark). The time needed for the nitrifying
bacteria to install and multiply to sufficient numbers is called "breaking
time" and may last up to a
month if bacteria are not exogenously added by you at regular
intervals, until the biological filter is established.
More related articles :
Cycling your Tank
,
Skim the Cream
Aggression
A characteristic of some fish species,
definitely associated with cichlids, since it is part of their
nature. This can be overcome by allowing some target fish in your
tank which will either create a more safe environment for your
cichlids or become the target of their aggression. Usually, fast
swimming fish are the best candidates, provided they can stand the
water conditions the cichlids need. Another approach is an
overcrowded tank. In such a situation territories are very difficult
to be established, therefore all fish have to leave with each other
since there is nothing to defend. This has a disadvantage however:
You will not be able to see the original cichlid behavior in such a
tank. A fish preparing its spawning pit in your tank will stop it if
another fish passes by every second to see what is going on or
search for food in that pit (like botias). Therefore it is up to
everyone's taste and budget. I would prefer a very big aquarium
(700-900 liters) with 20 fishes (not more than 5-6 different but
compatible species) in it. I am far more interested in cichlid
behavior than in seeing tons of fish swimming around.
More related articles :
Compatible
Fish - a complicated issue ,
Fish Aggression - A Pictorial
Guide ,
Africans and
Catfishes , Peaceful
catfishes - A myth , Which
tank size will fit my fish ?
Photos
of Fish and Plants :
If you have the kind of intense lighting I
have then you are among the lucky ones. You can simply take your
35mm camera, load a roll of film (preferably 100 ASA for most
detail) and shoot directly. With the 7 fluorescent tubes installed I
can use f/2 and 1/125 sec for most of my pictures, a speed which
will freeze anything but the most quick move in my tank. This has
the disadvantage that you have a very shallow
depth of field which means
waiting till the fish comes in focus but, in turn, you get a blurred
background which helps your fish to stand out in the foreground. You
can always choose which background is the best one before shooting.
Plants don't move therefore you can increase the f/stop to 4 and
decrease the speed to 1/60 (you will have to find a support for your
camera; your hands are vibrating too much at such speeds). Then
comes your creativity. I have used bellows
for close ups and multiple
flash units with remote triggers for some shots though this demands
some background in photography (all camera automation is lost and
you have to do lots of calculations and bracketing for such a shot).
More related articles :
Taking
Fish Photos ,
Taking fish
photos - expanding the hobby ,
Taking pictures in the wild, my short list of hints
,
Building a system around
your camera , Depth of field and Prime vs.
Zoom lenses , Techniques for taking
underwater photos , Aquarium Photography
, Fishy Images
, RAW (NEF) vs. JPEG
Photo
editing and Web publishing : Taking
good shots is regarded as absolutely essential if you are planning
to publish them in your site so that other people can see them.
However, very rarely does a photo, when printed, resemble what you
were seeing when you took the shot. You can work miracles with a
scanner and image editing software. Such software include exotic but
extremely efficient Adobe
Photoshop and Corel
Draw Photopaint while there are
some efficient and cheap image editors like Macromedia
Xres, Photo Paint Shop, Microsoft Imaging etc.
Tips : Scan at 250 dpi the most. More detail will not be viewable on
the net anyway. The size of the file is proportionally to the dpi's
you select. When preparing to publish on the web choose the less
"detail" JPEG
or GIF
formats. The files of this format can be
1/4th the size of the original BMP or TIFF file and will also
download in 1/4th of the time. Very few surfers will stop and wait
for half an hour to view your 4 MB, true color, hi-res image. You
can't even attach it in your E-mails if asked to…
More related articles :
What
should a "fishy" site look like? ,
Time to update MCH..
again ! ,
Websites
and Books : The
information you need in order to successfully setup and run your
aquarium must come from two sources : websites and books. I prefer
websites to books for two reasons. Firstly, they come from
enthusiasts like all of us who want to tell the whole story and have
very useful DIY articles. These sites when visited contain very
useful information, perhaps not on many topics but after you visit a
lot of them you get the clearest picture you can have. Secondly,
these websites are alive. They are updated very frequently (every
month or so) therefore new information is regularly entered (not
possible in books). You may also contact the author via E-mail and
get a straightforward answer to your questions. Some websites are
focusing on very special
subjects (e.g. Amano or
Tropica) which might require purchasing many books to get the same
info. Most sites contain articles
from professionals which cover certain
aspects of the hobby in detail (like the fantastic articles in
JAWS). Another kind of website is the so called "Website
Rings" which are groups of sites referring to the same subject
(e.g. the Cichlid Web Ring or the African Cichlids List for
exchanging information with people who keep the same fish with you).
Once you visit one of them you can visit the rest of them as well in
a random order and get all the info you need.
Books
on the other hand contain much more information than any website,
are more objective and they are always handy. When you have a
problem with a fish it is definitely easier to check it in a book
and find the remedy proposed. A good Freshwater (or marine) Atlas is
a must. When choosing such a book get one that contains information
on the various species. If you are determined to have a special
group of fishes (Lake Malawi Cichlids for example) you should get an
Atlas devoted to this group. You will have more pictures and a
wealth of information in your hands.
More related articles :
Book
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