Once all the research, planning and waiting is complete and the aquarium is full of water and has finally finished cycling you will finally be ready to introduce your first fish.

It is important to ensure that you make the right choice though as there are some fish which are suitable to be added at this stage and there are fish which are not.

Do you know what you are looking for in the selection of your first fish?

Firstly and foremost the fish you choose must be relatively hardy. The reason for this is that the saltwater aquarium is new and the water will not be completely stable. Another reason is that as aquarists we all make mistakes at one time or another and with having a hardy fish they are more forgiving to these mistakes.

You will probably have an idea as to the type of fish you would like to keep in your aquarium therefore it is imperative that this fish you choose now will be compatible with future tank mates. If you added an aggressive fish for example at the start then whenever you decided to add a new fish there would be fighting in the aquarium. Not what you really want at this stage, is it?

Which fish are good fish to start with?

Below is a list of what I believe to be good starter fish for a saltwater aquarium. They are all relatively hardy, peaceful and none of them have special feeding requirements.

* Clownfish
* Orchid Dottyback
* Royal Gramma
* Blenny
* Chromis
* Firefish

Lets have a look at each of these in a little more detail :

Clownfish

The clownfish to me is a fantastic little fish. The way it swims, the way it lives in corals etc and especially the colours – a great addition to any aquarium. They are also one of the most popular starter fish. They are quite hardy and are very well suited to captive life in an aquarium.

You can keep these singularly or you can keep them in pairs. When kept in pairs the most dominant fish sometimes will turn into a female and the two may even end up breeding.

There is a mis-belief that clown fish must be kept with an anemone. This simply is not the case. Clownfish will be more than happy in an aquarium without one. Anenomes are quite hard to keep and at this stage of the aquariums life the aquarium is not yet ready for one, possibly neither are you.

There are various species of clownfish, however the best ones to start with are :

* Common clown (Amphiprion ocellaris)
* Black and white clown (Amphiprion ocellaris)
* Percula clown (Amphiprion percula)

Clownfish can be purchased tank bred and if this is an available option it is recommended that you follow this option.

Orchid Dottyback

The orchid dottyback (Fridmani pseudochromis) is a relatively peaceful fish which grows to around 3-4 inches in length. The good thing about the orchid dottyback is that they can be purchased tank bred.

One thing to be noted is that you should not mix this fish with other fish of the same shape (ie the royal gramma below) or with other dottybacks.

Once the fish has become accustomed to life in your aquarium it will become quite bold and swim happily around the aquarium.

Royal Gramma

Royal grammas (Gramma Loreto) are a peaceful fish with the exception of their own kind and are very colourful fish with the colours changing from purple to yellow along the fish’s body.

There are other fish which can easily be confused with the Royal Gramma as they look very similar so ensure that it actually is a Royal Gramma prior to purchasing it.

Blenny

There are a couple of blennies which in my opinion make good additions to the aquarium as starter fish and there are the Midas Blenny (Ecsenius midas) and the Bicolour Blenny (Ecsenius bicolor).

These are both fantastic to watch. They both like to either rest on a ledge or find a hole and simply watch the world go by.

Chromis

Chromis (Chromis viridis) are great to add to an aquarium. They are relatively hardy and if you have a larger aquarium then you can add a small group. They normally come in two colours (blue and green).

One of the good things about chromis is that they do not grow to be that large. They normally do not grow larger than 2 inches in length.

Firefish

The normal firefish (Nemateleotris magnifica) and then purple firefish (Nemateleotris decora) are great starter fish to add to the aquarium. Both of these are very colourful fish which grow to a maximum size of about 4 inches.

The firefish has a large dorsal fin which it uses to lock itself into a hole in the rocks which is normally down at the bottom. This hole is where the fish retires to when the lights go out but it also uses it when it becomes startled. These fish are prone to jumping when startled therefore you need to take care to prevent this.

Unless you can locate an established pair I would recommend that these are kept singularly.

Peter Cunningham and John Cunningham between them have been keeping saltwater aquariums for over 35 years. Check out their Aquarists Online website if you are interested in learning more about the saltwater aquarium hobby.

Copyright 2009 Fine Pet Care.com. All Rights Reserved.

Aquarium decoration takes time to properly arrange in the tank because with it, you can create hiding places for the fish as well as natural borders. This makes the aquarium more like a natural environment. Having hiding places is helpful so that the fish are able to have a good place to rest or to simply separate itself from the tropical fish tank community.

Creating natural borders with a unique aquarium decoration can help to control the aggression of some fish in a tropical aquarium. When it is time to introduce new fish into the aquarium, you should rearrange one or more of the decorations in the tank so that old territories are broken up. This will make the older aquarium inhabitants less territorial and give the newly introduced fish a chance to stake claim to their own territories within the tank.

For tropical fish that are primarily cave dwellers, they especially need to have some elements of aquarium decoration that will create places for them to get away from other fish. Tank decorations that create crevices, caves and holes are particularly important for these kinds of fish. Also, fish that are accustomed to being in heavily populated waters also enjoy having aquatic plants to use for hiding and shielding themselves.

Plants are one type of aquarium decoration for your tropical fish tank that play a bigger role in the tropical aquarium than simply adding beauty. Aquarium plants are able to bind carbon and they oxygenate the water, helping to keep the water in better condition for the fish. Plants that are in the aquarium habitat also make use of organic waste, essentially as fertilizer, and this helps to get rid of these potentially harmful components from the aquarium water.

There are many involved in fish keeping who use sensitive aquatic plants as part of their aquarium decoration and which actually act like aquatic “canaries in the mines.” If there is a sudden problem with the quality of the water in the tropical fish tank, the plant will die. This will warn the aquarist that there is a problem so that it can be handled before any harm comes to the fish.

Most of the time aquarium decoration items are made of natural materials such as wood, rock or coral. Such natural items, properly arranged, help to make the tropical fish tank look as natural as possible. A tropical aquarium can actually be very much like a small slice of the real habitat for the species of tropical fish you have selected. Some aquarium enthusiasts even go so far as to research the actual habitats of their fish and then try to replicate the look and feel in their tropical fish tank, by adding plants and rocks that come from specific fish habitats.

In addition to the type of aquarium decoration that brings a sense of nature into the tropical fish tank, there is also a huge array of aquarium decorations that would not be found in natural fish habitat settings. For instance, you can add fantasy sea monsters, shipwrecks, buried treasure chests, Egyptian pyramids, statues and temple ruins to bring some interest and variety for the aquarium viewers.

By Mike LaVallee

Mike LaVallee is the webmaster of Tropical Aquarium Care a website about Tropical Fish and Salt Water Aquariums Here you will find articles, advice and resources on many tropical aquarium topics.

Copyright 2009 Fine Pet Care.com. All Rights Reserved.

Removing dead fish is a very simple process actually, but you have to be sure the fish is really dead. Dead fish will temporarily sink to the bottom of the aquarium, but then soon enough, they will begin floating in the tank in the infamous belly-up position. This is the time when the fish will begin releasing toxins into the water. When you see a fish in this manner, remove it as soon as possible. It is not a good idea, however, to actually handle dead fish. You must use small nets or gloves to remove the fish from your tank.

However, it is not just dead fish that you will need to remove from your tank. Fish that are obviously sick must be immediately quarantined, which you can do by putting them into a fishbowl so that they do not spread their disease to the other fish in the tank. You can understand if fish are sick by looking at their movement in the water. If the fish are sluggish in the way they move (you must compare with how they move normally), or if they are spending a lot of time behind the rocks or plants in the aquarium, or simply lying lethargically on the aquarium bed, then something is wrong with them. The eyes of the fish could also be indicators of disease. If there is anything different with the eye, first remove the fish from the aquarium, and then get it checked by a qualified person.

But the most difficult thing is to remove a live and healthy fish from the tank. There are many reasons why you would want to remove a live fish. The fish might have outgrown the capacity of the tank, or the tank might be getting crowded, or simply the fish might be a danger to other fish due to its violent nature. Betta fish are notorious for attacking other fish in the tanks. Whatever the reason may be, removing live healthy fish from the tank is always a challenge.

There are some obvious problems. Live fish will squirm and wriggle around a lot in protest when you try to remove them. Some fish, like the surgeonfish, will also harm you if you try to touch them. Then there are toxic fish that you have to be worried about. Also, when you try to remove a live fish, there will be a lot of thrashing and flailing about, due to which the entire setup of your aquarium tank could be disturbed.

Your best bet to take out a live fish from your tank would be to use a line, hook and bait, just like you do when you go fishing. But you will have to use a blunt hook so as not to harm the fish. Tie up a morsel of the fish’s favorite food on the hook and dangle it in the tank keeping the line tight. The fish will take the bait, and then you can transfer it to another tank.

Another way to do this effectively is to confuse the fish. Most fish are startled when there are sudden changes in light, because deep under the water in their natural habitat, there are never any quick light changes. Anyways, you can keep your tank in darkness for several hours and then suddenly put all the lights on in the room. Taking advantage of the confusion of the fish, you can manually take them up, using protective gloves. An alternative to this is to come up to the tank in the middle of the night and then to shine a torch suddenly at them.

Putting fish into a tank is many times easier than removing them, especially if you want to retain fish that are still alive. You will need to be patient and careful so that you accomplish the task without harming the fish in question and the other inhabitants of the tank.

SaltySupply.com offers the most premium aquarium supplies on the net. We offer protein skimmers, powerheads, pumps and more for your saltwater aquarium.

Copyright 2009 Fine Pet Care.com. All Rights Reserved.

Freshwater aquarium fish, as opposed to their bright and flashy cousins of the saltwater variety, can be a good experience for people who have never cared for fish before. Saltwater aquarium tanks can be quite challenging to set up and properly maintain. For this reason, it is strongly recommended that those new to fish keeping, look first at starting with freshwater fish. After you have been able to master the challenges of keeping freshwater fish alive and their aquarium in good order, at that point you might want to broaden your fish keeping horizons and branch out into the saltwater aquarium realm.

Ultimately, it does not matter what kind of aquarium or tank that you choose for your freshwater aquarium fish, as far as care and maintenance is concerned. However, if you cannot keep to a regular, weekly schedule of cleaning and maintaining the tank, then perhaps you should not even bother setting up an aquarium.

In addition, you will also need to monitor your tropical fish tank on a daily basis. You need to be sure that the water is always properly in balance for your freshwater aquarium fish and that the correct and comfortable temperature is constantly maintained. The other daily task that you must remember to perform is to make sure that your fish receive the proper amount and type of food as needed.

After you have determined that you will be able to keep up with the regular required maintenance of freshwater aquarium fish, then you can start deciding on what kind of fish you want to include in your tropical aquarium. The tropical fish tank that you choose must be large enough so that it can properly accommodate the number and types of fish that you plan to purchase. The overcrowding of a tropical fish tank can be a deadly mistake because it can cause polluted tank water and can lead to diseased fish. Before making your final decision, make sure you ask how large the selected fish will be at maturity, as size can vary a great deal depending on the species. A newbie to fish keeping might want to start with a 10 to 20-gallon tropical fish tank and fill it with the smaller and heartier freshwater fish varieties.

In order to maintain a healthy environment for your freshwater aquarium fish, you will also need to have a quality water filtration system, a reliable heater and some nice aquarium decorations and accessories. When setting up your freshwater tropical aquarium, be sure to choose a location in the house where light and temperature can be controlled so that it remains constant. And, remember that once your tropical fish tank is set up and filled, it will be very heavy, so be sure that it is on solid footing with flooring that can handle the load.

By Mike LaVallee

Mike LaVallee is the webmaster of Tropical Aquarium Care a website for
Aquarium Enthusiasts including
Aquarium Lighting Here
you will find articles, advice and resources on many tropical aquarium topics.

Copyright 2009 Fine Pet Care.com. All Rights Reserved.

When cleaning your aquarium, you should just remove about half of the total amount of water and replace it with fresh de chlorinated tap water. While you are doing this, you should use your siphon to suck up some of the gunk that collects in the gravel and decorations. If you have an under gravel filter, it is very important to clean the gravel when you do your weekly water change. This will prevent detritus and other decaying organic matter from blocking the passages between the pebbles and restricting water flow.

If you have algae growing on the surface of the tank, you should get an algae scraper of some sort and scrub the glass before removing water. Many varieties of algae scrapers are available at almost all local pet stores. You can also get algae eating catfish or scavengers to pick up some of this work for you. Having catfish in the tank does not mean that you will never need to clean again. Algae eaters and catfish will add to the biological load of your tank and increase maintenance requirements.

If you have to clean out the filters, do not change all the media everything at once. This will remove the majority of your biological filter and cause the tank to have to go through another cycling period to reestablish bacterial growth. Rinse any new filter in cool running water before introducing it to the system.

Once you have siphoned most of the water from your tank, you will need to fill it again. The easiest way to do this is to use a siphon and siphon water from a bucket into the tank. This will tend to reduce spilling and shooting up gravel. Use a bucket that has never had any household chemicals in it and fill it with water. The water should be close to the temperature of the tank water that you just took out. Use a chlorine remover to prepare the water for introduction into the tank. Place the bucket somewhere higher than the top of the fish tank, and get your siphon going. In just a couple of minutes, you should have a full tank.

Be sure to watch the siphon in case the hose gets bumped out of the tank. Keep in mind that there needs to be some space between the top of the water and the aquarium cover, because your fish rely on oxygen exchange at the surface of the water in order to be able to breathe.

Remember, cleaning your tank is easy and it will get easier after repeating a few times. Always scrub for algae, remove half of the water supply while cleaning the gravel, and top off the tank with de chlorinated water. This method works with any basic fish tank. Good luck and take care of your fish.

By Donald Mckenzie Jr

For more information visit these two websites: http://fishing-techniques.blogspot.com and http://house-pets.blogspot.com You will get more information on how to fish and caring for all types of house pets.

Copyright 2009 Fine Pet Care.com. All Rights Reserved.

Like us, goldfish see in color, but they can also see ultraviolet light. They have greater sensitivity to light than we do but, unlike us, they have no eyelids because their eyes are constantly bathed in water. That gives them a problem we don’t have; they can’t shut their eyes to avoid bright lights. Furthermore, they can’t dilate their pupils, so their eyes adjust to changes in light levels much more slowly than ours. It can take goldfish twenty minutes to adapt to lights being turned on or off, which is why they often dash for cover when you turn on a light. It’s impossible for them to look away so all they can do is try to hide behind rocks and plants.

It’s important to protect your fish from bright lights and sudden movements and to spend a little time working out the right location for their tank.

Avoid placing your tank on or near a windowsill – the worst place for bright sunlight. If you can’t avoid putting the tank near a window, make sure you shade it from the incoming light using window blinds, or the wrap-round tank ‘wallpaper’ that most fish shops sell.

Remember that bright sunlight isn’t a problem only in the summer months. It can be worse in winter because the winter sun is lower in the sky. Think how dazzling it can be when you are driving your car towards the sun, and think how much worse it could be for your goldfish in their tank if they have to suffer that all day, every day.

Add some stones or a small upturned flower pot for your fish to find refuge in.

There may be problems with bright light that you haven’t noticed. Try crouching down at each end of the tank and look through it to see what your fish see. Check for mirrors or other shiny objects that may be causing a problem for your fish but which have never been a problem for you.

Room lights can be another problem for your goldfish. Although you may think nothing of it when you switch a room light on or off, your goldfish needs up to twenty minutes to adapt to the change in light. If your tank doesn’t have a lid, it’s a good idea to get one, especially if you have a ceiling light shining directly into the tank. If your fish tank is fitted with a light, turn the room light on first and then wait fifteen minutes before turning on the tank light so your fish has time to adjust to the light.

At night, switch the tank light off fifteen minutes before you switch the room light off. If you have dimmer switches for any of the lights near your fish tank the job is easy. You could also consider putting your tank light on a timer so it comes on after you start your day, and goes off before you go to bed.

Sudden movement is something else your fish can’t close their eyes to. When you’re positioning your fish tank, it’s important to think about the activity that will happen near the tank. Avoid the hallway and kitchen if you can. Both these locations might seem like good ones, but each has drawbacks. The hallway is likely to be one place in your house that gets a lot of traffic so your fish may see a lot of giant fast moving objects hurtling towards their world.

The kitchen, though a common place to put a fish tank, can also be a busy place. Cooking involves constant moving about between refrigerator, work top, cooker, and cupboards. If your fish are nearby they get a constant stream of rapid and unexpected, and possibly frightening, movement they can’t escape from.

A quiet corner of your living room is often a much better location, and provides you with the opportunity to sit and relax watching your goldfish. But even here it’s not necessarily relaxing for your fish. Make sure the tank is not in line of sight of the TV – a rich source of sudden movement. Your bedroom is a good location, because most of the time there’s not much happening there. Your child’s bedroom, however, could be a very active place, depending on the age of your child.

Of course, in every home there will always be some bright lights and some sudden movement. However, by using tank ‘wallpaper’ to cover one or more sides of the tank, you can protect your fish from the worst of them, and create a greater sense of security for your fish. Keeping plenty of healthy plants in the tank helps screen fish from visual noise, and makes the tank more interesting for you to look at. Developing a fish eye view of the world helps you give your fish a more comfortable and healthier home, and a longer life.

By Elaine Rushmore

Elaine Rushmore is the author of ‘The Goldfish Doctor’ – a top quality, step-by-step guide to the diagnosis, treatment and cure of sick goldfish. Goldfish owners around the world have benefited from the information this book contains. Protect your family’s goldfish now – http://www.goldfishdoctor.com

Copyright 2009 Fine Pet Care.com. All Rights Reserved.

When do you need the fish tank chiller?

A fish tank chiller will be required when you run an aquarium with fish that prefer to live in cold water only. Aquarium chillers will maintain the water temperature you desire. Changing the temperature is something you need to do yourself, manually.

An alternative to a chiller is to run an air conditioning unit in the room that contains the aquarium, however running the air conditioner just to keep the fish tank water at the desired temperature can be a very expensive option. And even though a fish tank chiller may seem like an expensive item it will soon pay for itself if you are not running the air conditioner day – especially if you are not home during the day or you are on vacation.

Another chiller alternative is to add ice to the tank but this is highly impractical unless it is a very short term method to deal with heat wave conditions. If you do need to add ice to your tank it can be added by freezing water in a bottle. The frozen water bottle can be lowered into the tank or hung on the side of the tank.

For very warm climates and for fish that naturally require cold water there is no real alternative other than a chiller unit. It is also possible to purchase an aquarium heater and chiller in one unit which can be used year round to maintain the water temperature in both summer and winter.

When choosing your chiller you will have a choice of thermoelectric, in-line or drop-in fish tank chiller.

Thermoelectric chillers are commonly used in small tanks of less than 60 gallon capacity. They are energy efficient and silent running and can be used in both salt and freshwater aquariums.

Drop-in chillers are commonly used in saltwater aquariums or reef set ups. They require no additional plumbing and are fitted in line with the tank filter. They are simple to install and have low maintenance requirements.

In-line aquarium chillers are manufactured for tanks with a capacity of 60 gallons or more. They have a motor, a compressor and cooling fans and will require a well-ventilated area for installation. They may require professional installation and they are quite large.

An aquarium thermometer is an inexpensive necessity to use in conjunction with your tank chiller. If your chiller fails or mismanages the temperature of your aquarium you need to know immediately. A thermometer is a reliable way of monitory the temperature.

The main disadvantages of fish tank chillers are the cost of the units themselves – which can vary from a few hundred up to several thousand dollars – and the energy that they consume, which can be 80-100 watts per hour.

By Alison Stevens

Alison Stevens is an online author and maintains The Goldfish Site and The Goldfish Blog to assist anyone who wants to get started with setting up an aquarium fish tank and keeping freshwater fish.

Copyright 2009 Fine Pet Care.com. All Rights Reserved.

The next step in controlling algae is to consistently change the water itself. By doing this, you are controlling the nutrient levels in the tank, which is crucial. Controlling nitrates, phosphates, and silicates are especially important. Another thing to look for is how you are controlling the iron in the tank. You can include different kinds of plants in your setup so they will compete for iron and other nutrients algae feeds off of in order to how a low opportunity for algae to survive.

Your first battle is likely to be with brown algae, or diatoms, because it appears first by siphoning silicon from the new aquarium tank itself, and unlike other stages of algae, it is unaffected by low lighting levels, so controlling light will not stop it from thriving. You can effectively combat it by changing water and gravel often. Diatoms thrive in conditions where phosphate is low and silicon is high, and this is generally what your scenario will be when you first start your aquarium. As time progresses and the environment changes, brown algae is usually replaced by green algae, because green algae thrives in a higher phosphate environment.

Green algae is apparently delicious and the best way to get rid of it is to bring in those algae eating catish and/or Siamese. Combined with keeping your aquarium only lit for a maximum of ten hours a day and simple manual removal of clumps of green algae, you can control what is typically the most usual and common algae growth in your aquarium.

Red Algae, or Brush, is a real problem because it is difficult to remove manually and most fish won’t eat it. Take care of this pesky nuisance by changing your water to RO/DI water and let your Siamese fish tackle it.

Blue Algae, or Cynobacteria, have photosynthesis, meaning the more light, the more it thrives. It is extremely harmful to both plants, by smothering, and fish, by poisoning. Treat your aquarium with erythromycin but be sure you know what you are doing, as you will need to check for ammonia and nitrate.

By Richard Gilliland

SaltySupply.com offers the most premium aquarium supplies on the net. We offer protein skimmers, powerheads, pumps and more for your saltwater aquarium.

Copyright 2009 Fine Pet Care.com. All Rights Reserved.

How does one create a Reef Aquarium

There are five basic features of this type of aquarium. The tank itself, filtration unit, lighting system, temperature control and the water flow mechanism. The widely popular term of “reef ready aquariums” creates formidable but achievable challenges to the fish lover. Nothing can be more imaginative and creative than bringing the wonders of the Great Barrier Reef to your living room! Let us therefore begin our re-creation adventure.

Reef Aquarium Tank:

The reef tank is unique in this case and quite different from conventional home hobby aquariums. The major difference lies in the water system and in these types of aquariums the water is constantly flowing as it does in the nature it is trying to emulate. A closed circuit is established in an ingenious manner to keep the water flowing and pure at a constant temperature and salinity. Briefly, the assembly is easily visualized. Reputed companies supply reef aquarium tanks that do the job perfectly well and it is recommended to buy complete units owing to the complexity of the assembly.

Filtration Unit

A unique filter system is implemented in reef aquarium in as much as “live” rock is used for cleaning of the flowing water. In aquaculture rocks use is made of protein skimmers. The system operates on the biological filter principle and here again closely resembles the natural occurrence in the Coral Sea.

Lighting system

Lighting assembly for reef aquarium is rather complex since it is based on the photosynthesis principle wherein the coral synthesizes chemicals that are necessary for its food production and survival. New systems based on LED lights are now available that combine the best needs of the live rocks and other supplies required in these aquariums. This is a vast topic and the experts at your reef aquarium shop can best be consulted for the most suitable system for you.

Temperature Control

This is another important aspect where a lot of research and development has been done. The main purpose here is to maintain a overall temperature between 78 and 83 degree F or 26 to 28 degree C. Depending on the ambient temperatures encountered at different locations one may have to install chillers or heaters as the case may be. In temperate zones conventional fans or air conditioning may suffice.

Water flow mechanism

As mentioned earlier this is one of the most important features of maintaining a reef aquarium in your home. Coral require assistance in removing waste and cleaning up the aquarium water and therefore one has to install a flow mechanism that provides good clean healthy water to the coral’s growth. A rough estimate states that the flow of water must be around ten times the tank’s capacity. Different types of corals require different flow rates and one must consult the reef aquarium expert as to what is best for the system in use. A siphoning and return channel system is used to keep the water flowing inside the fish tank and it is imperative to understand the basic theory of coral and other invertebrate’s growth and sustenance in order to successfully breed coral reef organisms.

By Thomas Bladecki

Article Source: Desert Coral Aquatics

Copyright 2009 Fine Pet Care.com. All Rights Reserved.

Which type of aquarium light is best?

There are basically two types of lights available for aquariums. These are either incandescent or fluorescent lighting systems. The experts and experienced users always show a preference for the latter type of aquarium light as it comes nearest to the natural illumination. This apart the assembly must be of the hood type as that helps in not only keeping the tank clean, but also ensures that the fish cannot jump out or the aquarium!

The incandescent light is not really suitable and the one with halogen lamps should be completely avoided as it can give hot spots in the fish tank resulting in damage or death of the sensitive types of fish you have.

Requirements of aquarium light by plants and other living organisms

Generally a thumb rule for aquarium light is that you should be able to provide about 3 watts of light per one gallon water – thus around 30 watt for a normal size aquarium. The live items other than fish such as plants, ferns, rocks and coral etc also need proper aquarium light to survive and one must judge the total hours of lighting needed through experience. If you are noticing growth of algae then the light is too much and if you find that the ferns are loosing color, the light needs to be increased. Keep track of the deterioration in the intensity of light as bulbs (incandescent and fluorescent) loose their power over a period of time.

Other factors in providing aquarium light

Some salt water fish tanks require a different arrangement of light bulbs or tubes and one must properly design the hoods so that they can be flexible for both saltwater fish and fresh water species. Double tubes or bulbs are suitable for general saltwater fish variety.

Finally one must not forget that keeping fish is a pet hobby and everyone desires their fish tank to look attractive and better than the neighbors or friends! Aquarium light that is specifically called “designer’s lighting” has become popular in recent times and is installed inside living rocks, gravel, between ferns etc to give an attractive effect that is pleasing to the human eye – though the fish may not totally be in agreement with this observation!

By Thomas Bladecki

Desert Coral Aquatics

Copyright 2009 Fine Pet Care.com. All Rights Reserved.