Aquarium and Pond Care and EcoBio-Block

It is always exciting to go to a pet shop and choose new fish for your aquarium, especially if you are new to the hobby of keeping fish. Unfortunately, if you do not know how to choose healthy fish, you may face the unwelcome dilemma of death for your chosen fish as well as the other fish in your aquarium. The best way to prevent this is to learn what healthy fish look and act like before you bring them home.

The condition of the pet store itself can give you a good idea as to whether or not the fish they sell are healthy. If it is cluttered, or has a funky odor, the odds are good that the fish will not be bursting with good health. Take a look at the fish tanks in the store. If they are dirty, with cloudy water or algae on the sides, you do not want to purchase any fish! If you see many dead fish, any fish you buy from this merchant will more than likely die as well, for there is obviously some sort of fish disease being passed from one fish to another.

Let’s say you leave this pet store and go to another one in search of your new fish. You walk in, and the surroundings seem to be much cleaner and more orderly than the previous pet store. That’s a good sign, but you also need to take some time to watch the fish as they swim around in their tanks. Watch how they interact with their tank mates. Do any of the fish seem to be sluggish, swimming slowly while other fish zip around them effortlessly? If so, these fish are probably sick, and may soon infect the other fish in the tank.

Spend some time observing the fins on fish that otherwise seem to be healthy. Do you see any tears on the fins? If there are more than one or two tears, they could be an indication of stress or even sickness. Other fish will often bully fish who are becoming weak, which causes the excessive tearing of the fins. The uninitiated may see this bullying in action, feel sorry for the fish, and buy it to rescue it from a bad situation. Don’t make this mistake!

You will also want to make sure to look at the body of the fish you are interested in buying. If you see many missing scales, any sores or odd growths, you are probably looking at a sick fish. If the fish in the tank seem to be sprinkled with tiny white spots, they are suffering from a sick disease known as Ichthyophthirius Multifiliis, or Ich for short. Many people also call this disease Ick. Ich is caused by a protozoan, and is a common fish disease that can be hard to get rid of. Needless to say, if you take home a fish with Ich, your other fish will become infected as well. Take note of the eyes of the fish. They should not be cloudy or bulge out.

Once you get home with your healthy fish, you will want to keep them that way. One of the simplest methods of keeping a fish healthy is making sure their environment is also clean. Partial water changes are usually what are necessary to keep the water in an aquarium clean and the water clear. Instead of having to set aside time out of your busy schedule to complete this necessary task, why not try EcoBio-Block Products?

The EcoBio-Stone sits unobtrusively on the bottom of your aquarium. It is infused with friendly bacteria. These bacteria will keep your water healthy and crystal clear for up to two years. Using one of EcoBio-Block Products is an easy method to make sure that the water in your aquarium is low maintenance.

You’ve spent a lot of money and time picking out the right fish for your aquarium and you think you’ve got it just right. Then you start losing some valuable fish. How does this happen and what can you do to prevent this tragedy?

There can be a lot of reasons why your fish are dying. Generally, it happens when a fish tank is new. It pays to buy an aquarium water test kit to determine how much ammonia, nitrites and nitrates are in the aquarium, and how high or low the pH is. These are the four most important tests for your tank.

In the nitrogen cycle of the fish tank, an important biological cycle, the fish give off nitrogenous wastes when they eliminate and these products break down into ammonia, which is very toxic to most fishes. In aquariums, this nitrogen product can build up into levels that are harmful to your fish. When you measure the ammonia level, it should be negligible.

The nitrogen cycle, is the process of getting rid of ammonia using nitrifying bacteria that convert the ammonia to nitrite and then to nitrate, which is not as hazardous. The cycle goes from ammonia to nitrite to nitrate. These bacteria are present everywhere and establish themselves eventually in your fish tank as soon as the ammonia builds up. It is a slow process, however, and you can lose fish in the meantime.

One way of improving the nitrogen status of your aquarium is to purchase an EcoBio-Block Products that contains the nitrifying bacteria within the block. You rinse the block and soak it in chlorine free water over night before placing it in your tank. Normally, in a few weeks or so, you can have your ammonia levels drop followed by drops in nitrite levels. You can safely put your fish in then and expect that they will survive.

The other thing is to take a couple of hardy and cheap fish and put them in your tank. Don’t overfeed the fish. More food means that more ammonia will build up. For freshwater fish, try some zebra danios or some barbs. For saltwater tanks, use damselfish. Don’t use feeder fish for your tank as they can introduce unwanted diseases in your tank. The initial cheap fish you put into the tank get the nitrogen cycle going and you can then add more delicate and expensive fish to your tank.

Use your test kit to determine the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate level in your tank and use this as a guide for how healthy your tank is. It takes time for the bacteria to develop unless you are using a EcoBio-Stone to speed up the nitrification process.

Poor pH can also be a cause of a loss of fish. The pH is a measure of how acidic or how alkaline a fish tank is. Ideally, the pH should be around 7.0, which is “neutral”. However, fish can generally tolerate pH of 5.5 to 8.0. You can get a test strip to measure the level and if you need to change it, look at ways to change the pH slowly.

If your water contains buffers, you will not be able to change the pH very easily. Remember, too, that fish can tolerate a wide range of pH levels but do not tolerate sudden changes in pH.  Sometimes it’s better to leave the pH alone as long as your fish are thriving.

If you still think you need to adjust the pH, one way to lower it slowly is to add some driftwood to your fish tank or to the tank. A cleaned off seashell or coral skeleton will gradually increase the pH of your aquarium. The downside of both these solutions is that they will stain the color of the water brown or yellow for quite a while, but it will alter the pH in a safe way.

Maintain your tank well and you can have a healthy, happy fish population.

It’s easy to see that aquariums for kids are always extremely popular. For proof, take a look anytime you are out in public where aquariums are located. Doctor’s offices, especially pediatricians, often have aquariums, and you will usually see kids flocked around the tank observing the fish as they wait for their appointments. Pet stores are another place where you will see children. They will be gathered around the assorted aquariums and enjoying the swimming fish, seemingly hypnotized by them. This love of aquariums for kids can also extend into your home. You may even choose to place a fish tank in your child’s room.

There are several things that parents of these children who enjoy observing the aquatic life that goes on in fish tanks should know before bringing an aquarium into their home. Too many parents believe that caring for the aquarium should be the child’s responsibility. While this is true, very young children will not be able to do what is required, and also have a tendency to overfeed the fish without close supervision. Parental homework is necessary to avoid a fishy tragedy that could traumatize an impressionable child.

What should you know before bringing an aquarium for your kids into your home? First of all, don’t assume that because your child is small, a larger aquarium would not be suitable for them. Parents need to know that the bigger the tank, the better! Though most aquarium novices don’t realize it, the fact is that larger aquariums are easier to maintain than the small ones that hold less than ten gallons of water.

If the aquarium will be in the child’s room, or in a room where playtime takes place, you may want to think twice about purchasing a tank made from glass, which of course is breakable. An acrylic aquarium is much more suited for a space where children will be present.

You will of course want tank decor. Children enjoy and appreciate bright colors, and you will find many of these colors when shopping for gravel and plants. It is better for all concerned to choose tank decor that is similar in color to the areas that fish in the wild call home. The fish will be happier, and there will be less of a chance that a child will be tempted to remove any of the decor because the color appeals to them.

Now that you have brought home your aquarium and its accessories, don’t give in to your children’s pleas to go and buy fish for it immediately! Water quality is crucial when it comes to a healthy environment for fish. In order to create that environment, the tank must be set up and the filter allowed to operate for several days. This gives the water a chance to aerate, and also helps the temperature in the tank to stabilize.

The size of the aquarium you chose will dictate how many fish you will be able to add to it. The general rule for newbies to the aquarium hobby is one inch of fish for every gallon of water. However, at first, you only need three inexpensive fish like goldfish to help your tank cycle. After three weeks, you can then add more fish if your water quality is of sufficiently good quality.

If you are using tap water to fill your new aquarium, you will need to add a product that removes the chlorine, ammonia and other matter from the water. There are many such products available, both in liquid and tablet form. One product that will save you much tank maintenance time, and also help you to reduce the length of time you will have “New Tank Syndrome” is the EcoBio-Block Products. It is a perfect accessory to add to aquariums for kids. There are good bacteria living in these blocks, which help to keep the tank water crystal clear and odor free. These bacteria grow and multiply for a two-year period of time, keeping the water quality as well as the fish healthy. If you want an aquarium for kids that is always inviting and clean, check out the EcoBio-Block.

Avoid overcrowding and keep your fish healthy

Being an aquarium owner is one of the most rewarding hobbies ever! There are so many different types of fish to choose from, and watching your fish with their striking colors swim about the tank is a pleasure you can enjoy every day.

Some aquarium owners are unaware of the need to prevent overcrowding in their fish tanks, and are unable to tell if their fish are ready for a larger tank.
A novice owner can commit this no-no easily. The fish that they purchased when first starting out in the aquarium hobby may have become too large for their original tank. Enthused about this new hobby, the newbie may have also added more fish than the size of the usual beginner 10-gallon tank can handle. No matter what the circumstances, it does not take long for an overcrowded tank to begin to show signs of trouble as the level of toxins in the water rise.

A high toxin load in your aquarium is definitely going to stress out your fish, and can even kill them if it is allowed to continue for too long. You can try to keep up with partial water changes, which can help the condition of the tank water, but that can be a lot of work.

The overcrowded aquarium requires much more oxygen than the aquarium that is properly stocked and well maintained. This means that the fish in a tank that is too small to house them properly are deprived of the oxygen they need.
If you are dealing with an overcrowded aquarium, then ammonia and nitrite levels should be monitored frequently.

Another aspect of overcrowding is the fact that any diseases or parasites your fish may have will affect every fish in the aquarium in a very short time. All fish have parasites and bacteria on the surface of their bodies. When fish are stressed, they are much more apt to fall victim to either or both.

It can be simple to take care of one or two fish that have developed some sort of fungus, or who are spotted with Ich. However, having a small aquarium full of sick fish is not a pleasant scenario. By the time you are able to get all of the fish out of the aquarium and into a safe place, well over half of them could be dead or dying.

You may think that a larger tank is out of your budget. Ask friends if they have or know of anyone with a spare aquarium in their garage. Watch the classified section of your daily newspaper for used tanks, or even better, look around the online classifieds for your area. You may be lucky enough to find the exact type and size of tank you need

Once you have located what you think would be a suitable tank for your fish, make sure that you have found the size that you need. Freshwater fish will generally need about a gallon of water for every inch. Saltwater fish need one square foot for every three inches, so do keep the proper figures in mind as you shop for a larger tank.

Your larger tank will be a lot of fun to accessorize, but why not make one of those accessories a highly functional one? Placing an EcoBio-Stone or an EcoBio Block in that new to you, larger aquarium will help to keep the water beautifully clear. This product also gets rid of any funky odors the tank water may have, and can really cut down on the frequency of water changes.

Suffice it to say that Old Tank Syndrome is the opposite of New Tank Syndrome. To refresh the memory, let us remember that New Tank Syndrome takes place when an eager newcomer to the aquarium hobby starts to lose fish at about the six-week anniversary of aquarium ownership.

This can happen due to poor water quality, especially elevated ammonia levels because of an unhealthy filtration system. It can also take place because the novice owner is still a bit clumsy at giving the aquarium and fish the proper sort of care.

Old Tank Syndrome has a telltale symptom, and that is a sense of complacency in a long time aquarium owner when it comes to the condition of his or her tank. All of the excitement of having this hobby has passed by this time, and the fish-lover could almost be said to take his aquarium for granted.

The tank is stable, the fish are well fed and in good health. There have been no changes in the aquarium for quite a while now. The fish are fed on schedule most of the time, and no new fish have been added to the aqua community. No water tests for ammonia or nitrites have been done, either. All those partial water changes that were done at the beginning of aquarium ownership have fallen by the wayside as well.

It is about now that the long-time aquarium owner begins to notice that his fish tank seems to be a bit “off”. He or she may decide to do a partial water change to try and rectify things. Alternately, the hobbyist discovers a dead fish, and decides to go and purchase a few new occupants for the aquarium. Either of these scenarios is going to upset the balance of the aquarium.

The present fish are used to the aquarium condition just the way it is. A partial water change could prove to be very stressful, and could even kill the fish. Every seasoned pet fish keeper has heard this tale of woe from a newbie, “We had just changed the water, and then all the fish started to die one by one.”

New fish will also upset the balance in the aquarium, but in a different way. They will create even more ammonia and nitrites, and this will upset the balance that the fish have slowly become used to. Either way, you stand a good chance of losing some fish.

Old tank syndrome can be avoided by maintaining the same schedule of water testing and frequent partial water changes that you did when your tank was brand new. Or, you can take advantage of one of the EcoBio-Block family of products, and spend the time you would have spent maintaining your aquarium admiring your fish! EcoBio-Block Products will keep the water quality in your tank healthy for your fish population as well as maintaining the water in a crystal clear condition.