Tropical Aquarium
Tropical Aquariums are for keeping tropical fish, but you can have two different types of fish, saltwater or freshwater. Saltwater fish obviously needs saltwater and the salt needs to be a regulated level along with the PH and temperature. Freshwater fish need to have fresh purified water, both of these set ups need the good bacteria that helps to keep the aquariums clean.
Tropical aquariums that contain saltwater are only for saltwater fish. If you put a freshwater fish in this tank it will die! Saltwater fish are made to stand the levels of salt and are essential for the fish to breath and move. If salt wasnt present they would die a death like suffocation. In saltwater aquariums you need to make sure that there are living rocks in it, this means rocks that already have the good bacteria present. You then need to leave the rock in the tank for at least two months before putting any fish in, this is to get a bacteria cycle on the go. Once the bacterium has built up, I set up the filter. After that it is safe to add the fish.
Freshwater tropical aquariums are for fish that need clear and clean water. This water has to be chlorine and ammonia free. The freshwater tank also needs to be set up and cycling for at least four weeks before adding any fish to it, as this will help the bacteria to build and make sure that the ammonia levels are kept to a bare minimum, ammonia is a substance that will kill our fish as it makes breathing for them very hard to do. You know when your tank has very high levels of ammonia because the fish are at the top of the tank struggling to breath but the trick is not to change the water, what to do is clean out the filter in some of the tank water (in a separate bowl of course) and then put it back in within a day or so. The water will be in a completely better condition. Purchase a water test kit to check your levels or nutrients before putting in your fish, they are not expensive but are a great help.
Tropical aquariums are stunning ornaments in any household! Just make sure that you dont forget about the work and responsibility involved, they may be fish but they are still alive and should of course be kept that way! Editing Seeing Red - Secret Communication of Reef Species
By James M. Lawrence
 Previously unknown to scientists, divers, and even observant aquarium keepers, a secret form of communication between coral reef fishes has been discovered.
Because red light downwelling from the sun is selectively absorbed by seawater, scientists have long assumed that red light is of little importance to reef fishes in shallower waters less than 33 ft. (10 m) deep where blue-green light dominates.
Now a team of researchers has discovered that 32 different reef fishes from 16 genera and five different families have the ability to display red fluorescence in daytime conditions and in waters without natural red light from the sun. Heads, eyes, and fins are the body regions that fluoresce most intensely, and it is surmised that the flashing of color is important in silent underwater communication between aquatic species.
Led by Nico K. Michiels at the University of Tubingen in Germany, the team of researchers also demonstrated red fluorescence in stony corals, macroalgae, polychaete worms, sponges, and feather stars.
Cryptic Signals?
Because many of the fishes and other organisms show cryptic coloration in other parts of the visible spectrum, Michiels says that red fluorescence may be "used as a private communication mechanism in small, benthic, pair or group-living fishes."
"Our findings challenge the notion that red light is of no importance to marine fish, calling for a reassessment of of its role in fish visual ecology in subsurface marine environments," the authors conclude in a paper just released in the Journal ''BMC Ecology.''
Many differences were found between families and genera. Eye rings and parts of the head and thorax most commonly glowed in fishes, with Triplefin Blennies (Trypterygidiidae) able to signal with brightly fluorescing dorsal fins. Some Pseudocheilinus and Paracheilinus wrasses show a "whole-body glow."
Methods Used
The Michiels' team from Tubingen, Austria, and Australia, equipped themselves with dive masks and camera lenses with red filters blocking wavelengths below 600 nanometers. Diving deeper than 15m, where natural red light does not penetrate, they found a world glowing with red. "By emitting a colour that is lacking from the environment, a fish contrasts more against its background," said Michiels.
"Red fluorescence is at the borderline of what is visible to many marine fish, and due to rapid attenuation of red light by water, even those that can see red will be able to see it over short distances only." This seems to support the theory that fluorescence may be most important in communication between members of a species living in close proximity on the reef.
The functionality of sessile invertebrates showing red fluorescence remains to be studied.
Mechanisms Involved
According to the study:
"Dissection revealed that red fluorescence was associated with guanine crystals in pipefish, triplefins, blennies and gobies. Guanine crystals are produced by iridophores and are well known as the source of silvery reflection and iridescence in bony fish. However, they have never been described to show strong red fluorescence....
"Preparations of crystals maintained strong fluorescence after prolonged storage in a dried or liquid form, allowing us to confirm fluorescence in preserved gobies collected up to 5 years before. This is in striking contrast to reflective red pigmentation, which bleaches out within hours after fixation."
Warning to Divers
The study's authors cautioned divers to use great caution in diving with red masks:
"Diving with a red mask is similar to night diving, with dramatically reduced light intensities and viewing distances. Disorientation becomes a serious problem. Moreover, it takes several minutes to adapt to the darkness. Staying in a small, familiar area and moving slowly and carefully is crucial. Furthermore, it is essential to take a torch to read equipment. Dials, indicators and computer backlights are either reflectant or luminesce blue or green, making them effectively illegible at depth in the absence of a local white (red-containing) light source.
"To circumvent this problem, we also used the Oceanic DataMask which has a built-in dive computer that can be read irrespective of any filter attached to the front. Because of these unfamiliar restrictions, we recommend that only experienced divers use this procedure and that only one partner in a buddy team uses a red mask at any given time. We also recommend attaching filters in such a
way that they can be instantly removed without having to change to a spare mask, which one should carry nevertheless."
James M. Lawrence is editor of Microcosm Aquarium Explorer, an educational resource for conscientious aquarium keepers, offering thousands of species profiles and identifying images. For color images of fluorescing reef animals and a link to the full report go to Seeing Red Images.
Beginner Salt Water Fish Varieties for Your First Saltwater Aquarium
By Dave Southern
 There are beginner salt water fishes you can choose for your salt water aquarium. This would include damsels, mollies, clownfish, tangs, and triggerfish among others.
Setting up your own salt water tank can encounter mistakes, especially if its your first time to make one. You better start with a few inexpensive fishes in order to save money. Many marine fishes can be found in the wild rather than being raised in captivity.
Here are some of the best beginner salt water fishes:
Damsels
These are the best beginner fishes for marine tanks. Damsels are:
- Strong
- it can withstand even the worst water condition
- not picky eaters
- easy on the pocket
The weakness of the Damsel is that they are aggressive. If you put more inside the tank, there will be a lot of fighting. It is excellent to use damsels in breaking into a new tank. You can still keep the damsel if you want to keep other additional aggressive fishes. If you want to keep a delicate fish, take the damsel back to the pet shop once your tank is ready for more fishes.
Some damsels are not aggressive as compared to the blue damsel and yellow tailed damsels. The three domino and striped damsels are the more aggressive ones.
Mollies
Other people want to break-in their tanks with mollies. Mollies are adaptable to salt water. Hence, this can work to your advantage if you start with cheap fishes. It is also essential to maintain the salinity and pH on these not so sensitive fishes. Mollies are raised and bred in captivity.
You can easily adapt mollies to salt water. This can be done by dripping saltwater into the bag for 6 8 hours. When the bag gets full, remove excess water slowly. Through gradual increasing of salinity it can give the mollies time to adapt to their environment.
Clownfish
Clown fishes are like damsels, they are also quite tough. However, clown fishes find it hard to adapt to a new tank. Clowns are defensive but not aggressive, except with other clown fishes. They usually do well without an anemone. This is good because anemones are much harder to maintain. It needs very clean water and superior lighting. Every species of clownfish wants a particular species of anemone. Other clowns are raised in captivity.
Surgeonfish
A Surgeonfish is quite adaptable. When your tanks start to have algae, surgeon fishes are best to be placed there. They are algae-eaters. Hence, Tangs must be fed with green leaves if there are no algae growing in the tank.
Triggerfish or Lionfish
If you want a tank for large aggressive fish, start with a trigger or lionfish. They are adaptable. However, lion fishes are expensive. They should be fed plenty of shell fish because they are carnivorous.
Many people feed lion feeders with goldfish. Feeding them with goldfish is not good because they are freshwater fish. Do not give the same nutrition that a saltwater fish has. Feeding saltwater fish with freshwater food can cause premature liver failure. Your fish will die early.
Blennies or Gobies
Blennies or Gobies are small fishes that are adaptable and not aggressive. Some of them demonstrate many personalities but they usually get lost in a big tank.
These are also a good addition to a tank in order to control algae. Some of these fishes are fed by sifting through the substance. They will be very hard to maintain and fed in a fish-only tank.
Angels and Butterflies
These fishes must not be considered when buying from a pet shop. They are all delicate and difficult fish to maintain. Butterflies have specific diets which can make them very hard to be raised in captivity. Bat fishes must also be avoided.
Fishes to Avoid
- All types of angelfish
- All types of butterfly fish
- Pipefish
- Seahorses
- Blue Ribbon Eels
- Long-nosed Filefish
- Stonefish and
- Moorish Idols
- Mandarin fish (must be avoided in non-reef tanks)
For more information on Salt Water Fish please visit our website.
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