Brown Algae & Mollies

Last year, I decided to use river sand as my aquarium's substrate, and now, I am regretting that decision. Because sand has silicates in it, I've had brown algae blooms in my aquarium. It looks unsightly, and it's covering up my anubias. I need to control it somehow before I get a new substrate. I did my research, and I found out that there are several types of fish that could help mitigate the problem.

Most of my readings say that otocinclus catfish would do the job of eating brown algae. They are my best bet because they don’t grow too big, which is perfect for my 15 gallon aquarium. They are also safe for planted tanks like the one I have. I just can't find any right now.

Plecostomus would also do the trick, but they are not the best choice for my tank since they can outgrow my tank and eat through some of my cryptocorynes. The smaller bristle nose pleco is a better option, but I can't find any at the moment, too.

I've found some black mollies at a local pet store, and they seem to enjoy eating the brown algae, so I guess they will do it for now with the help of my snails. Here are some pictures of them munching on the algae.

Despite their apparent enthusiasm in eating the brown algae in my tank, I’ll have to do something about the silicates that are leeching into the water since there’s only 3 of them in the tank.

Cleaning Aquarium Glass

Do you have an old aquarium? If you have one, I think that you’re not bothering with it because of the white marks on the glass that’s left from water that dried out. These are hard water stains. The white stuff is called lime, and they’re dissolved in hard water supplies much like what I have here at home. When the water dries out, they get left on the glass like the way salt gets left behind if you let sea water evaporate. I had such a hard time taking them out before, but not anymore. If you have the same problem, all you need is just vinegar and perseverance.

So here are the steps to cleaning hard water stains off of aquarium glass:

1. Get some vinegar.
2. Wet a sponge with vinegar.
3. Scrub the glass.
4. Let the vinegar soak in.
5. Repeat the process if there’s any left.

I hope that it’s clear; the fish should not be in the aquarium if you are to do the steps, ok? Also, the stronger the concentration of the vinegar is, the better. I used a local brand, Datu Puti, for the test, but I’ll try to get some pure hydrochloric acid from my aunt. Also, the results might vary depending on how think the lime deposits are. It really will take patience. If possible, you could soak the aquarium with vinegar by laying it down on the side that you want to clean. The longer you soak it, the better. Don’t forget to scrub so that you can also expose more of the lime to the acid.

It worked on a small patch of my old aquarium – which sounds like the solution that I was looking for in setting up a new tank – and I hope that it would work for you, too!

Rocks for the Aquarium

Our beach outing earlier was tiring, but fun. We went to a part of Ternate, Cavite. Like what I usually do when I go to new places, I try to look for things that I can use for aquarium design.

More often than not, I tend to look for pretty rocks because they really add a lot to the beauty of an aquarium.

It’s really a simple layout, but doesn’t it look pretty? One more thing – it’s one item that you’d think is cheap – but no! They’re really expensive because they’re sold on a per kilo basis. The bigger they are, the more costly they get. For example, if you fancy a 5 kilo rock that’s sold for P50, that’s a whopping P250 already! If you just picked them, of course, it’ll cost less because it’ll be free! However, not all rocks can be used safely in an aquarium. They need to pass the acid test to ensure that they’re safe for fish.

So what’s the acid test? It’ll test if a rock will slowly dissolve in water. If the rock could dissolve over time, they can release chemicals that might poison the fish. It’s a good thing, though, that the acid test is easy to perform. Here are the steps:

1. Pick a part of the rock that you can scratch.
2. Drop some acid on the scratched section.
3. Check if the rock will fizzle and react with the acid.

When you scratch the rock, pick a part that will not be visible when you use it in a layout. Use something hard like a pickaxe to scratch it. For the acid, regular vinegar will do, but the fizzling is more dramatic if a stronger one is used. Some common acids in the house are actually cleaners like muriatic acid or hydrochloric acid. You could use those.

If the rock fizzles, it means that the rock fails the acid test and you can’t use it. Over time, it will dissolve in the water, especially if you know that your water is especially acidic. If it doesn’t fizz and react wit the acid, it’s alright to continue cleaning the rock and use it as part of an aquarium design.

I did test some of the rocks I brought home earlier. Here’s a picture of one of the rocks that passed the test:

It didn’t fizzle, so it’s ok. Now, here’s a video of a rock that failed the test:

Noticeably, the part where I dropped the hydrochloric acid fizzed instantly. That’s why it failed the test.

Out of the sack full of rocks that I brought home, only three passed the test. It’s sad – not to mention backbreaking – but it’s alright because, at least, I now know which ones I can use in my aquarium without harming my fish. I’ll just have to wash the rocks that passed the test and disinfect them so that I can have them ready for the new aquarium that I’m planning to set up.

Planning a New Aquarium

I want a new aquarium, but I still don’t have a budget for it. I want to set up a tank that’s full of Java fern and Anubias as the aquascape’s main plants. Since I still can’t go through with the plan, I just thought of planning. That’s one of the most important things in aquarium keeping. Why? Well, there’s so many reasons for planning what to do before actually going out to buy an aquarium.

First and foremost, it’ll save you money. A lot of money goes to waste if a person just buys equipment and fish randomly. Some equipment might not fit the aquarium or the fish that you want to keep, so you run the risk of killing the fish or buying the right equipment, which both will make you waste money.

It’s also good to plan ahead because fish can easily die if there’s no clear plan for their care. Of course, pet stores should tell you what to feed your fish, but sometimes, they tend to forget to tell you how much to feed the fish. With overfeeding, they can die. Also, it’s good to know which fish can be kept together. If you combine fish that shouldn’t be near each other, they can die in fights or constant harassment from the aggressive fish.

There’s one more thing; it’s hard to clean an aquarium if you place it in the wrong spot. If it’s too far from a water source, your arms would ache since you have to carry the water in buckets. It’s much easier to find a spot near a faucet or get a hose long enough to get to the aquarium so that filling it is easier. Just make sure that your water doesn’t have chlorine as it can kill fish; if you find out that the water gets treated with chlorine, part of planning is to buy some chlorine neutralizer.

It’s really important to plan ahead when setting up a new aquarium. It’ll help you avoid wasting money, killing your fish, and aching muscles. As for me, I have already planned out what I need to do. I just need the money to get started. When will I have extra money? I’m just thinking aloud. I just don’t know, but I’m hoping that on my birthday, which is in August, I’ll have some saved up to start my new aquarium!

The Arowana in Residence Inn, Tagaytay

Last Sunday, we went to Tagaytay for my aunt’s birthday. We went to the Residence Inn because of the mini zoo that they have, which is the type of place that my daughter – well, she said that I should be her Papa – likes to visit.

A lot of things have changed there since I last visited, and that includes their small gallery of fish. Sadly, I didn’t like the specimen that they displayed because most of the fish were common. However, I was still amused because I was able to take a video of a silver arowana.

Isn’t it a beauty? I would love to take care of an arowana, too. They can grow up to four feet. They are easy to feed, too, because even if they like small fish, they can also be fed fish pellets, too. When they’re young, they need to be fed three times a day, but when they grow fully, they can just be fed once a day. They’re also good jumpers, so if you’d like to keep them, you need to cover your aquarium. If we’ll talk compatibility with other fish, you can’t trust them with fish that can fit into their mouths. You could do better with fish that also grow large like cat fish, gar, and because they can swim fast, pacus. The biggest concern is the size of the aquarium to house them. You’d want a 300-gallon tank if you want to see them fully grown. It’s somewhat hard to imagine since it’s in English measurements, so to put it in perspective, that aquarium will be almost 8 feet long lengthwise!

To those who can give them what they need to live comfortably, do give it a go. Feel free to care for them. However, if you really can’t furnish them with that big of an aquarium, I’d strongly advise that you don’t force the issue because the fish will just suffer. So to all the people like me – people who can’t take care of fish that can grow big – let’s just enjoy the video!

Free Gouramis

When I was just a kid, I didn’t have my own money, so I couldn’t buy the fish that I wanted to keep. When the fish that my aunt bought for me died, I felt like I had such a huge problem because I didn’t have a pet anymore. I was foolish back then. I didn’t know how to really care for fish properly. That’s why the fish died. It’s a good thing, though, that I am resourceful – just like my dad!

I got a good idea from my dad that allowed me to take care of fish. Back then, he used to use a throw net to catch fish from the nearby river. One of the local fish that he usually caught were gourami, and whenever he comes home with his catch, I try to save the ones that are still alive. Voila! Free fish!

Even before, I thought that gouramis are really pretty. The ones that my dad usually catches are called the three-spotted gourami. Why? That’s because they have three black dots on their bodies – one near the tail fin, one near the center of their body, and the eyes are considered as the third. Usually, their bodies are silver and they have orange spots on their anal fins. Sometimes, they take on a blue sheen, and depending on their mood, they develop black stripes much like the ones on zebras!

In my opinion, gouramis are very hardy. Because I was just a kid then, I forgot to feed them for a long time, but they were still alive when I remembered! They’re usually not picky eaters. They can eat almost anything like algae, insects, and small fish. Now, I feed my gouramis floating pellets because they’re easier to take out if I overfeed them. Take note, too, that I don’t forget feeding them anymore.

They’re also good to take care of because they’re not really sensitive to water conditions – at least in my experience. Even if there’s little dissolved oxygen in the water, it’s not a problem because they can gulp air and use that to breathe.

If there’s just one gripe that I have with them, it’s that they are sometimes hard to mix with the fish that I like. They can’t be with very small fish because they might eat the ones that can fit in their mouths. They can’t be kept with other fish with ornate fins because, in my experience, they tend to attack and tear those kinds of fins apart! Like their relatives, the fighting fish, the males also tend to fight with each other, so it’s best to keep just one male in the tank. When they mature, they can reach up to six inches, so they would do well in a 30-gallon tank.

On the other hand, they can be kept with other fish that are fast swimmers. Right now, I have them mixed with mature zebra danios, platies, and corydoras. So far, so good, but the platies might soon give birth. There. I’ll just worry about it if I do see that the platies get pregnant.

I don’t want to brag but the pictures in this post all came from my aquarium. Apologies for the poor photo quality because I’m not using a digicam – just my cell phone camera. By the way, the gouramis in the pictures are also free! Some kids caught them when our street got flooded. I saw them in a small plastic container near my aunt and uncle’s store. I saw it and said to my uncle, “Tito, I’ll get these gouramis, ok?!?” The kids gave him the gouramis, so technically, he was the rightful owner. Luckily, he said that I can have them, so that’s another batch of free fish for me! Yipee!!!

Welcome

It's an Anubias from my aquarium.

Welcome to my aquarium blog!

I’m Chad, and I like taking care of fish and aquatic plants. Ever since I was a kid, I’ve kept fish as pets. It started with goldfish that were sold on the side of streets, which I kept in big jars of Lady’s Choice mayonnaise. When I grew older, my godfather gave me a big aquarium, and I kept a lot of different fish in it. Platy, molly, guppy, gourami, and a whole lot more. When I was in high school, I found a magazine that’s all about taking care of aquatic plants, and that’s when my fascination started with them. I had the chance to take care of aquatic plants, but I was not really good at keeping them, so they just died. Even if my pets and plants died, I didn’t feel discouraged; I just continued my love for the hobby.

Now that I’m much older, I can say that I’ve learned a lot of things about taking care of fresh water fish and aquatic plants – even though I learned the lessons through trial and error. That’s why I would like to share to you what I know about taking care of fish, specifically to the beginners. I don’t want you to go through the same heartache of burying your fish and wasting money. Hahaha!

That’s it for now. I hope that you’ll follow my blog, ask questions (so that I can post more), and leave your comments. Just wait for more information about aquarium keeping! Thanks!