Tag: water

How long can fish stay out of the water?

Posted on by TheFishVet - Richmond's School of Fish

Of course my answer will begin with…. It depends…on the fish, the environment (temperature and humidity).

In warm tropical countries, it is not unusual to find some fishes such as catfish, snake heads and eels to cut across land to get where they’re going. They could be out for many minutes if the conditions are right.

Top 8 tips for saving water.

Posted on by TheFishVet - Richmond's School of Fish

As fish keepers, we may bear some of the brunt of the watchful eyes of neighbours as big water users. In my opinion, we would struggle to use as much water as those who have swimming pools or thirsty gardens with large areas of lawn. Regardless, we need to do our bit to save our most precious resource by utilising some of these water saving tips:

  1. When performing water changes, collect the water for watering the garden.
  2. Collect rainwater into clean buckets for use in your tanks.
  3. Use a denitrificator (available through good aquarium stores) to convert nitrates to nitrogen gas and oxygen.
  4. Use aquatic plants to utilise fish wastes so that the frequency and quantity of water changes can be reduced.
  5. Feed good quality fish foods so that they do not pollute the tank (good quality foods tend to be in the mid to expensive range).
  6. Use an aquarium cover glass to reduce evaporation from the tank.
  7. In ponds, ensure that fountains and water falls do not cause water to spill over the sides.
  8. Provide shading for ponds to reduce evaporation, protect fish from the hungry eyes of predatory birds and to prevent excessive algal growth from the excess sunlight.

Dr Richmond Loh, The Fish Vet.

http://www.thefishvet.com.au

What to do if food is accidentally tipped into your aquarium?

Posted on by TheFishVet - Richmond's School of Fish

The lid fell off, you sneezed or your child tipped the lot in? The food will need to be removed as soon as possible because uneaten food will pollute the tank. Use a fine net to retrieve the food and then with a gravel siphon, vacuum it up off the bottom. Do not feed the fishes for the next 1-2 days and in addition to your weekly water tests, monitor the ammonia and nitrite levels daily for the next week or so to see if there is indication of any pending adverse consequences.