Aquarium and Pond Care with EcoBio-Block

About 1/4" size snail on aquarium plant leaf

While aquarium snails may help to keep the algae in your aquarium under control, they have a tendency to reproduce quickly. A few small snails can turn into dozens in a matter of days and, before you know it, your entire aquarium could be overtaken. In most cases, aquarium hobbyists introduce snails into their aquariums unknowingly and do not notice the snails until it is too late. There are steps you can take, however, to prevent this from happening to you and there are ways to deal with it if it does.

How Snails Get into the Aquarium

Purchasing live aquarium plants at the pet store and adding them directly to your tank is the number one way snails are introduced into the home aquarium. While some pet stores now sell guaranteed snail-free plants in plastic containers, most pet stores only offer them straight out of their stock tanks. Even if your store does offer snail-free plants, they may cost several dollars more than the same plant from a stock tank.

Once you get your aquarium plants home, rinse them with warm water from the tap. Go over each leaf and remove any snails you happen to find. As an extra precaution, you can also soak the plants for 10 minutes in warm salt water. If you choose this method, be sure to rinse the plants well with fresh water before adding them to your tank.

How to Control a Snail Infestation

If you find yourself with a growing population of snails in your tank, do not panic. If you catch the problem before it gets out of control you may be able to remedy it with a few simple steps. Before you go to bed at night, blanch a piece of lettuce in hot water and drop it into the tank. In the morning you will find that snails have swarmed to the piece of lettuce and you can simply remove it from the tank, along with the snails feeding on it, and discard it.

While chemical remedies for snail control are available, they may do more harm than good in your aquarium. These remedies are designed to kill invertebrates like snails but they may also decimate your population of beneficial bacteria which could lead to other problems like cloudy water and algae blooms. If the snails in your tank become too numerous to control, however, you may need to resort to drastic measures such as performing a major tank cleaning.

Move your fish into a temporary tank filled with water from the main tank – you may also wish to set aside a few buckets of water from the main tank to use in refilling the aquarium. Empty the tank, clean the walls and soak all tank décor in warm saltwater for at least thirty minutes. Remove the gravel and either soak it in salt water or boil it on the stove. Check your live plants for snails, remove any you find and soak the plants in warm salt water for ten minutes. Do not forget to rinse out your filter as well.

Thoroughly rinse everything you soaked in salt water then reassemble your tank and refill it with as much of the original tank water as you can. This will help to speed up the nitrogen cycle and should also help to prevent algae blooms. In order to quickly reestablish a colony of beneficial bacteria in your tank you might consider installing an EcoBio-Stone. These products are made from porous volcanic rock and are infused with beneficial bacteria ready to multiply after being added to your tank. EcoBio-Stones help to speed up the nitrogen cycle while removing odors and clearing up your aquarium water. Once your tank has cycled, leave the stone in place to keep your aquarium water clean and clear.

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.

The beautiful and popular Betta fish are the second most abused fish.

Siamese fighting fish, or betta fish, rank amongst some of the most popular aquarium fish because of their low maintenance requirements and flashy good looks. Sadly, they rank only behind goldfish as the most abused aquarium fish in the world.

What are Betta Fish?

If you’re not familiar with bettas, these are small-medium fish that come in about every color of the rainbow. Males of most varieties have long, flowing fins but both males and females of good breeding will have vivid, colorful bodies. These fish are often sold in small cups or divided plastic barracks in pet stores because of the fierce territorial behavior of the male toward other males of its species. Contrary to popular belief, however, a single male goes very well in a community aquarium with tank mates that will not nip its fins.

The fish you’re undoubtedly familiar with seeing in pet stores are the well-known veiltail bettas with the male’s long spade-shaped tails, but there are also crowntails, half-moons, deltas, super deltas, plakats and more. The plakats are a variety that sports short, rounded tales in both genders.

What do Bettas Eat?

If you’re familiar with bettas you’re probably familiar with the popular betta vase which pairs a betta fish and a peace lily or hardy vine in an attractive display. Unfortunately, many people misunderstand this setup, thinking it’s completely self-contained and that the betta will eat the roots of the plant. The problem is, bettas are carnivorous.

Like all fish, bettas require a variety of foods to be healthy, but they are also notoriously picky eaters. If you purchase a fish from a reputable breeder they will often already be used to eating various foods, but if they’re from a fish farm (like most pet store fish) they have probably only been fed one type of food their entire life and may need some encouragement to try new things.

The packaged betta pellets in stores work fine as a grade staple food, namely Hikari Betta Bio-Gold or another good pellet with low ash content (filler). Live or freeze-dried blood worms are generally a favorite, and live foods such as micro-worms, vinegar eels or grindal worms are easy to keep and readily accepted by most bettas. Bettas have small stomachs, so they’ll likely only eat about five pellets or 3-5 small worms at a time and appreciate twice-daily feedings.

What Environment do Bettas Require?

Since bettas are kept in very small quarters in pet stores and so-called “betta tanks” of miniscule proportions are sold all over the world, many people believe that their fish will do just fine in these quarters. Sadly, this is how it earned its rank of second-most-abused fish in the world.

While a betta can survive for a time in small amounts of water due to the fact that they breath air from the surface of the water instead of the dissolved oxygen, reducing the need for proper aeration, it is exceedingly difficult to keep these tiny quarters clean and the betta will not thrive in this confined area.

In order to be healthy the betta requires at least one gallon of water – and that’s total water volume, not the total a container can hold before gravel and decorations are added – as well as very clean water and good filtration. Because their fins snag and tear easily, they should only have real or silk plants rather than plastic plants. They prefer to have plants situated so that they can rest on top of them and be able to reach the surface of the water.

Water changes of about 50% have to be done about every other day for a single betta in one gallon, though the number of water changes goes down the more water volume you get. Alternatively, there is a product in the EcoBio-Block family called EcoBio-Stone S that will help reduce the number of water changes in your betta’s tank by introducing the beneficial bacteria that breaks down ammonia and nitrites from the fish’s waste and uneaten food into nitrates, as well as keeping the proper levels of essential minerals in the water at all times. There are indications that suggest EcoBio-Block also promote the growth of anaerobic bacteria that convert nitrates into gases that can evaporate rather than needing to be removed manually (such as through water changes).

Bettas are not strong swimmers so they prefer a filter with minimal current. A small sponge filter paired with an aerator works great for smaller setups and ensures that there is enough dissolved oxygen in the water to keep the beneficial bacteria healthy. Additionally, make sure you have a secure cover on the tank because bettas are strong jumpers and can get out of surprisingly small holes.

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If you keep fish, you’ve almost certainly heard of Ichthyophthirius Multifillis…or, more simply, Ich. Though many amateur aquarists misdiagnose their afflicted fish with Ich because of the presence of any kind of white spot, once your fish actually have the real disease it’s unmistakable.

Ich is a parasite that first appears as a bunch of small white cysts on the fish’s skin, generally concentrated around the gills and fins. These spots are “clean” and compact, looking much like someone sprinkled salt over your fish. If this does not describe the spots on your fish, it’s not Ich…fin rot, columnaris and a multitude of other parasites and infections have some form of white or grey spotting. Ich can be deadly to the fish, though surprisingly most fish that have Ich do not die because of the parasites. Instead, most die from secondary infections from having less-than-pristine water or even from the harsh medications meant to treat Ich.

How do the fish get Ich? Sometimes it’s from infected new fish, sometimes there are even parasites already living in the aquarium that you never know about until conditions are right for them to infect the fish. So what do you do? Simple…you keep your fish as healthy as humanly possible. If a fish is active with a strong immune system and a healthy slime coat, their chances of being infected are minimal. In the event that such a healthy fish does get infected, they have a very good chance of fighting off the parasite and avoiding secondary infections.

The first step to keeping fish healthy is to feed them a high-quality, varied diet. The food sold at most pet stores do not qualify as high-quality, though if it’s all that’s available it will do for maintenance care as long as they have some dietary variation. It’s easy to cultivate live food such as brine shrimp, vinegar eels, mosquito larvae or grindal worms to add necessary protein and variety into the diet. There are plenty of online sources of healthy fish food as well as recipes for creating your own top-of-the-line food for your finned pets.

The next – and most important – step to keeping fish healthy and preventing secondary infections in afflicted fish is to have a clean aquarium. Just because the water is clear, doesn’t mean it’s clean or healthy. A healthy tank will require a partial water change at least every two weeks, depending on stocking levels (though water maintenance products such as EcoBio-Block can significantly reduce these), and nitrate levels need to be kept below 20ppm. Most books and sites will recommend no more than 40ppm nitrates, however some types of fish and invertebrates such as snails, shrimp, smaller tetras and angels do not like the higher levels, so it’s always best to err on the side of caution.

Water changes help keep the parameters within acceptable limits, help remove excess organic material such as waste and uneaten food, and also replenish required minerals in the water that the fish use up over time. If you prefer not to do as many water changes or are physically unable to, there are alternatives to doing so many. My favorite is the aforementioned EcoBio-Block, which is a water maintenance product that introduces beneficial bacteria into the aquarium (which keeps the biological filter healthy) and slowly leaches necessary minerals into the water to keep fish healthy. You’ll still need to do a gravel vacuum occasionally to remove excess organic material or stir your substrate to get rid of potentially harmful gas pockets and bring the organic material up where your mechanical filter can remove it from the aquarium.

Finally, if your fish do get Ich, avoid commercial medications if possible. Most Ich medications contain Malachite Green, a chemical that is very toxic in concentrated amounts and is often used as a dye. This is very effective at killing parasites, but is also very hard on the fish and you run a risk of killing them too. Invertebrates and plants are at special risk with these products. Instead, make sure your water parameters are ideal (this may require a partial water change) and then treat with aquarium salt and a topical antibiotic such as Melafix. Exactly how much of each of these will depend on the size of your tank and whether you have invertebrates or scale-less fish such as tetras. While any medication is being used you should remove activated carbon from the filter. If you have EcoBio-Block, vacation food, calcium blocks or any other leave-in or time-released products they will need to be removed before treating the aquarium. Keep EcoBio-Block in de-chlorinated water if you’d like to avoid any extra re-starting time.

If you wish to decrease treatment time, raising the temperature will speed up the life cycle of the parasites so they can be killed sooner, but be careful if you decide to do this. Many sources suggest heating the water to 80F which is great for tetras, guppies and the like, but the safe temperature varies widely for each fish. The temperature of the water determines how much dissolved oxygen the water can hold, so it’s safe to heat the water to the upper comfortable limit for each fish but not much warmer. This means that for many hardy community fish 80F works well, but for some goldfish or mosquito fish it shouldn’t be any warmer than 75F while some types of cichlids may be able to handle 83F without a problem. Do some research on all the species of fish in your aquarium to determine how much you can safely heat the water.

Bear in mind that the salt will kill the parasites, but it cannot harm them while they are inside the fish. It can take up to two weeks for the cysts to burst and another couple of weeks after that for all of them to die. The aquarium should remain treated for the entire time, about 4-5 weeks. The antibiotic helps prevent deadly secondary infections. After the treatment phase is over the salt and medication may be removed by water changes or with activated carbon; then you just need to examine your feeding and maintenance habits to keep the infestation from happening again.

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