Great Pet Advice

Angelfish are beautiful and graceful - a great addition to any fish tank but you need to be careful that you don’t put them in a tank that has fish that they will not get along with. Even though these fish seem peaceful and gentle, they can be mildly aggressive and might tend to eat your smaller fish! read full article…

Saltwater aquariums can be a very nice and exotic addition to your décor. Be warned though they require a bit more upkeep and maintenance than other aquariums but the array of beautiful aquatic life for a saltwater environment are well worth it. There are various types of aquariums to choose from ranging in different shapes, sizes and materials.

Your selection of material might be what you want to give first consideration to when choosing one that is right for you. read full article…

If you have decided to keep and a saltwater aquarium, you also need to know how to take care of it. Since you have spent a bit of money for the aquarium as well as for the fish inside it, it makes good sense to get some knowledge towards its maintenance and correct upkeep. Maintaining an aquarium and its content is not difficult but mandatory if you wish to do justice to the expenses which you have already incurred. read full article…

Description
Tubifex tubifex, also called the sludge worm, is a species of tubificid segmented worm that inhabits the sediments of lakes and rivers on several continents. T. tubifex probably includes several species, but distinguishing between them is difficult because reproductive organs, commonly used in species identification, are resorbed after mating, and because external characteristics of the worm vary with changes in salinity. These worms ingest sediments and gain nutrition by selectively digesting bacteria and absorbing molecules through the body wall. The worms can survive without oxygen for months, and can survive in areas so heavily polluted with organic matter that almost no other species can endure. By forming a protective cyst and lowering its metabolic rate, T. tubifex can survive drought and food shortage. Encystment may also function in dispersal of the worm. read full article…

Description
Tubifex tubifex, also called the sludge worm, is a species of tubificid segmented worm that inhabits the sediments of lakes and rivers on several continents. T. tubifex probably includes several species, but distinguishing between them is difficult because reproductive organs, commonly used in species identification, are resorbed after mating, and because external characteristics of the worm vary with changes in salinity. These worms ingest sediments and gain nutrition by selectively digesting bacteria and absorbing molecules through the body wall. The worms can survive without oxygen for months, and can survive in areas so heavily polluted with organic matter that almost no other species can endure. By forming a protective cyst and lowering its metabolic rate, T. tubifex can survive drought and food shortage. Encystment may also function in dispersal of the worm.

Uses
Ecologically, it is important as a source of food for leeches, crustaceans, insects, and fishes. Tubifex are sold to aquarists as fish-food in both live and freeze dried, pelletised forms. These worms are relatively easy to culture however, it takes a month or more to get a culture going to the point that it is ready to harvest.

Warnings
Tubifex usually contaminate tank water very easily and are not recommended.

It is most economically important to humans as a host of Myxobolus cerebralis, which causes disease in fish stocks. No other worms are known to harbor this parasite.

Copyright: Wikipedia information about Tubifex tubifex – This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Tubifex tubifex". More from Wikipedia

Tetra was started almost half a century ago the young German scientist, Dr. rer. nat. Ulrich Baensch changed the fishkeeping hobby, which until then had been a particularly rare and difficult hobby. Baensch was breeding tropical fish in Hanover, Germany, around 1950. There were only about 50,000 fish keepers in Germany at the time, as it was a very time-consuming and complicated hobby which required the collection of live food from streams and river beds. The situation changed dramatically when Baensch came up with the idea of manufacturing dried flake food for tropical fish. TetraMin was born at the beginning of the 1950s. It consists of four different types of flakes with added vitamins. Tetra is the Greek word for four and Min is the third syllable in the word Vitamin. Hence the name TetraMin. read full article…

The substrate of an aquarium refers to the material used on the tank bottom. It can affect water chemistry, filtration, and the well-being of the aquarium’s inhabitants, and is also an important part of the aquarium’s aesthetic appeal. The appropriate substrate depends on the type of aquarium; the most important parameter is whether the aquarium contains fresh water or saltwater. read full article…

Spawning triggers are environmental cues that cause fish to breed. Most commonly they involve sudden changes in the environment, such as changes in temperature, salinity, and the abundance of food. Catfish of the genus Corydoras, for example, spawn immediately after heavy rain, the specific cues being an increase in water level and a decrease in temperature. Discus, on the other hand, will breed when temperature goes up and there is an overabundance of prey such as mosquito larvae. read full article…

Sera Company

sera was founded in 1970 by Mr. Josef Ravnak, a seller of live pet-food. At this time, a new process called lyophilization was being introduced and was already highly acclaimed for preserving food animals with optimal retention of their nutrients and vitamins. Mr. Ravnak capitalized on this innovation, and over the years has continually improved sera’s product quality. read full article…

Reef safe is a distinction used in the saltwater aquarium hobby to indicate that a fish or invertebrate is safe to add to a reef aquarium. There is no fish that is completely reef safe. Every fish that is commonly listed as reef safe are species that usually do not readily consume small fish or invertebrates. Fish listed as reef safe also do not bother fellow fish unless in some cases, for instance tangs, they do not get along with conspecifics and sometimes fish with similar color or body shape. read full article…