How To Select A Healthy Fish From The Store

If your looking to add more fish to your tank, or looking to start a new one up then you will want to take some notes on what you should look for before getting a fish from a store.  I've worked in the fish industry for over 7 years retail and wholesalers.  It all starts and ends with these few steps.

1. Go with your Gut.   You may have never bought fish before but if you look into a tank and something tells you not to buy them then DON'T!

2. Look at the type of filtration on the tanks.  Most large retail store have one large filtration system either in a backroom or under the tanks.  Stores like Petco use section filtration, meaning the tanks are broken into sections and filter into a sump below the tanks.  Petsmarts are a little more advanced, they usually have a section that is chilled and one that is heated. Both sections filter thru 4-12 UV Bulbs which makes for a great healthy selection.  The best to look for is mom and pop shops that have each tank either on it's own filter or sponge filter.  Their is no contamination their unless they share nets without soaking them in a net soak solution.

3. Are any fish sick?  So if you were able to find out the type of filtering the store uses then you can decide on the fish you want.  Things to look for in a tank that you don't want to buy from are.

• Clamped fins
• White spots
• White Fungus Looking Stuff on fins
• Dead Fish in Tank
• Fish Swimming at the top(that aren't suppose to)
• Cloudy or murky looking tanks
• Fish not acting right.  (Remember step one)

4.  Knowledge is Power.  If the associate isn't much help or is not sure of answers and won't look them up go somewhere else.  You don't want to be sold the wrong fish that might not get along with yours.  It's always important to do your own research as well.


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How To Make Infurosia Many Different Ways

First Method-

• Fill Mason Jar half way with chlorine free water.  I use fish tank water
• Place a leaf of lettuce in it.(Wash the Leaf)
• Put 1 algae wafer in.
• Put under strong light.
• Wait for water to get cloudy, then when it starts to clear up you can siphon out the infurosia(When the water is cloudy it's not infurosia, it's the bacteria bloom that the infurosia eats off of.)

 Second Method-

• Take a two liter coke bottle
• Fill half way with tank water
• Put a rabbit pellet into coke bottle
• Let it sit in a sunny spot 
• Water goes cloudy once it clears it's ready to use

Third Method-

• Take a mason jar
• Fill half way with water
• Add liquifry to water
• The liquifry can be used to feed infurosia and feed your fry

 Fourth Method-

• Get water from a pond this has tons of infurosia but beware it could introduce harmful things as well.

 Fifth Method-

• Mason Jar
• Buy a Turnip
• Peel the turnip and cut the inner white part into small cubes
• Put in the mason jar filled with tank water
• After a week the squares will be decomposing
• Presto you have a nice culture without the stink.

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Learn How To Breed White Cloud Minnows

Breeding White Cloud Minnows is easy to do either in a pond or a tank.  I like breeding them in a pond because you get a better outcome and their is free live food at all times when mosquitoes breed in it.  

Sexing White Cloud Minnows:  These guys really only comes down to the plumpness.  Females are more plump than the male.  Males are more stream line.

To get these guys to breed condition them with frozen brineshrimp or bloodworms for about 3 days then introduce a spawning mop or java moss they will swim into this and scatter eggs in it.  You can do this in a 10 gallon tank and with a group of 6-8 minnows.

Heater: None need, room tempature is fine but a heater can be used.

Tank Conditions: PH and all that don't really matter.

Fry hatch after about 36 hours and are free swimming within a week.  But remember to remove parents after spawning since they will eat them.  Babies can be fed infursia until a week old then baby brineshrimp.  They become free swimming at about a week old.

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How To Care For Mushroom Corals

Mushroom Corals are a great addition to a aquarium and are great for beginners and experienced saltwater keepers.  Mushrooms really do not require alot of care their are just a couple of key things that you should keep in mind.

Mushroom Coral Requirements:

• Medium to High Light
• Strong Current
• Try to keep it to it's own area of the tank.
• Iodine Supplement
• Trace Elements

 The reason why you want to keep it in it's own space is because some other corals can be aggressive and can harm the mushrooms.  If you want them to spread like wildfire then I would use a combination of supplements including Iodine and Trace Elements.  Also place near a power head or water current and you will soon have a piece of live rock covered in mushrooms and you will enjoy the tank watching it grow and spread.

Not sure what to feed mushroom corals don't worry just let photosynthesis do it's job and add the iodine and trace elements and that's all you need to feed them.
Check Out Other Articles on Corals Like:

Caring for Zoanthids
Coral Foods
Fragging Leather Corals
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Common Mistake Made By Saltwater Hobbyist. Don't Make This Mistake

Don't worry every new saltwater hobbyist has made this mistake even I have.  I just want to tell people about it so you don't learn the hard way.  As you know or find out the evaporation rate in saltwater tanks is alot.  My 7 gallon nano needs water every other day.

But here is the mistake many make and can actually kill your fish and it has nothing to do with chlorine, nitrates, metals or anything like that.  It's about the salinity of the water you are adding.  You do not add salt to the water you are refilling for evaporation.  Only add salt when you take water out of the tank.  When water evaporates out of your tank it leaves the salt in the water.  So only add freshwater that is filtered, RO, or purified.

If you add saltwater when filling for evaporation then you will raise the salinity to the point where it kills your corals, fish, and other living things in your tank.   Just keep all this in mind.

Check out are RO filter and more in our store. Follow the link below.

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A New Coral Feeding Food Reviewed- Coral Frenzy

Are you looking for some food for your corals but you don't want to mess with a couple different foods.  Coral Frenzy is a amazing food that I am currently feeding my corals right now and the results are already starting to show.

Here is what is in the food and the reason why corals do so great with this-Oyster Larvae, Salmon Roe, Fish Protein, Rotifers, Copepods, Daphnia, Dunaliella salina, Haematococcus Pluvialis, Spirulina,&chizochytrium. It is rich in amino acids, proteins, carotenoids, HUFA, PUFA, & Omega 3 & 6 fatty acids.

You can see your corals closing up and taking in this amazing formula.  The color is amazing that I have seen already.  My Zoanthids are already reproducing like crazy.  Coral Frenzy is a great food for sps, lps, zoanthids, softies, and other filter feeding organisms as well as feather duster, leather corals and more.

The price that it is afford for makes it even better for your wallet, you can get it for under $15 which is a great price for a wide variety of "A" quality coral food.

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What Kind of Anemone Do Clown Fish Host In

Trying to find a Anemone that your clown fish will host in can be difficult but as long as you have the right kind then you to can have success.  The three anemones that work best for hosting clownfish are:

Pink Bubble Tip Anemone

• Sebae Anemone
• Carpet Anemone
• Bubble Tip Anemone

 Which one you choose depends on the size of your tank.  If you have a small tank 30 gallons or smaller then you shouldn't use the carpet.  If you have a large tank then go for the carpet anemone but beware they are aggressive and will actually eat feeder fish or other fish.  

Looking to find more information in a book.  Check out my favorite book for dummies SaltWater for Dummies

What to Feed Zoanthids as Well as How To-Get Maximum Growth Now

Scales And Tails-Wilbraham, MA

Feeding Zoanthids is important for a healthy coral that multiples quickly.  If you are looking to feed your zoanthids so that they multiple and spread quicker then their are quite a few things that you could feed them that are easy to get your hands on.

My favorite method of feeding is using cyclop eeze. The zoanthids love it and they are small enough for even the smallest zoanthids. If you are looking for a better color on your zoanthid then these are great foods to use.  If you are looking for maximum growth then you will need to target feed them, most zoanthids will get fed when you feed your tank but with target feeding they get their fill and you don't have to worry about overfeeding your tank because you are spraying them directly.  Buy it on the link above from our store.

One method that is successful is pellet feeding.  If you use a marine pellet and place it right into your cluster of zoas.  Their can be problems when doing this because the fish realize this is a free meal and might pick at the zoanthids.   If you want to cut down on them picking at the zoas then yu can try turning the lights off and the power heads.  You can also try soaking the pellets in a cup of the tank water and squirt it into the cluster.

Another method I love to use is taking a piece of frozen brineshrimp cube and placing it in water and let it break up and extract the murky part of the water and spray it into the zoas they love this and the growth is amazing that I have had.  Only do a small squirt so that you don't overfeed your tank.

Here is the syringe I use it's meant for filling ink cartridges but is perfect for coral feeding.  You can buy them from our Amazon Store.  They are perfect for squirt small quantities.  It's a 3ml syringe with a 18 gauge output.