STOP PRESS – NEWS JUST IN.
A VERY SPECIAL CDAS RAFFLE Thanks to our generous sponsor Canberra Marine, Marine, we'll be launching a special raffle at our December meeting (Tuesday 17 December at the armonie !erman Club"# The pri$e is an 80 litre Aquatopia Total Marine Starter Kit# Kit # This complete marine starter kit includes% & )lack *+uarium, rotein -kimmer, iological filtration .asily replaceable
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media, /w .D ighting /02, Double cooling fan, 3ide feeding lid -tand, heater and a 45 6oucher to spend at Canberra Marine to stock your new display are also included# That's o6er 47 in a single, winnertakeall, pri$e# 8f you ha6e e6er been tempted to try marines, this is your chance# -o don't rely on -anta for your 519 a+uarium needs# !et your tickets as soon as you can# Tickets are :ust 45 and the draw will take place on & ;ebruary at the CD*- Mega *uction# Tickets will only be a6ailable at the December and
THE MEGA ACTI!" IS C!MI"G =es> The first CD*- 8nc# M.!* *uction *uction of 519 will be held on -aturday & ;ebruary ;ebruary 519# Details are still being worked out, but the date and 6enue (armonie !erman Club, ?arrabundah, *CT" are locked in# There'll certainly be truck loads of fish, in6ertebrates, plants and a+uarium products a6ailable# CD*- members should start considering what they'll be submitting for auction# *s in pre6ious M.!* *uctions, *uctions, the club will purchase purchase a wide range of unusual and hardtogetitems for the auction# There will also be raffles (including the drawing of our @ery -pecial Aaffle", gi6eaways and special offers on the day# ?onmembers will be able to participate (in buying" by purchasing a bidder's card or :oining CD*- on the the day# Come along and bring your friends and family# Make a day of it# 3e'll see you there# there#
As you all know, this is a huge topic and it is daunting for most people, new to the hobby or otherwise. I figured I’d put together a bit of writing and see if I can explain it as best as possible, because I feel it is important for anyone who is just starting up or has been running a planted aquarium to understand what is going on, why things happen and what you need to do about them. Hopefully, this is helpful to those who don’t quite get the intricacies of chemistry. Just a note on the order of things included here I put it so that inexperienced people can start with the first section first, it will explain the basics, the second section will explain the nitrogen cycle in detail, the third section will be briefly on !"# and "xygen, the final section will be on plant nutrients. I guess it is ordered from most known to least known and if you know a section, don’t bother reading it, I ha$en’t added anything ground breaking or experimental, I simply recapped the basic chemistry in easy to grasp terms.
1. The Basics %asic &lements in the planted aquarium include' Iron ()e*, +agnesium (+g*, %oron (%*, !opper (!u*, +anganese (+n*, ulphur (*, -itrogen (-*, Hydrogen (H*, "xygen ("*, !alcium (!a*, otassium (/*, odium (-a* ,hosphorous (* and of course !arbon (!*, I may ha$e missed a few which I will edit in later, but these are the ones that I can think of as most important. Ions' !harged form of an element or a compound (compounds being a series of elements bonded together in a fixed ratio*. Ions can bond together to form Ionic !ompounds. 0here are two types of ions 1nions and !ations. Anion' 1 negati$ely charged ion, examples include -itrates (-"2'*, hosphates ("3 2'*, -itrites (-"#'* and ulphates ("3 #'*, !arbonate (!"2 #'* Cation' 1 ositi$ely charged ion, normally a metal (1mmonium is an exception, there are others*, &xamples include !a #4, )e 24 )e #4 (both iron, but differing oxidation states, will get to this momentarily*, +g #4, H4 (hydrogen is mostly thought of as a non metal, I am content to lea$e it this way as an exception to the rule* and ammonium is -H34. Compounds' 1 chemically bonded species consisting of multiple different elements, can be ionic (-a 4 !l ' *, can be charged ("3 #', -"2 '*, can be stable (H#", "#, !"#* . Bonding 5 0here are multiple different types of bonding that go on in an aquarium, howe$er I will explain only Ionic %onding. 0his is how ions come about. I will first use an example, elemental +agnesium isn’t particularly stable, it will react with most things (air, water, acid, your fishes poo*, it can howe$er stabilise itself by donating its two electrons to another unstable compound, say sulphuric acid. 6ou will ne$er e$er e$er find +agnesium in its pure form in the aquarium, (call me if you do, I’d like to see it *, howe$er you will find +agnesium ulphate in just about e$ery aquarium. 0his is a +agnesium cation bonded to a sulphate anion, it is stable and will dissol$e in water due to being ionic (I can explain this more if someone wants, but this should be sufficient* "/, with that out of the way, I will ha$e a crack at describing water parameters. pH pH is a measure of the acidity of the water. 1 pH of 7 is considered neutral. 1t this point, the acid causing H4 ions ha$e equal concentration to the base causing "H' ions. Hangon, what 8s an acid and a base9 1 substance is classed as acidic if it can ionise water by gi$ing water a H4 ion, which will form H2"4, this howe$er does not mean that any substance containing hydrogen will turn your water into a bubbling pool of acidic water, in fact most hydrogen containing substances are content to sit and do nothing. 0he compounds you ha$e to worry about are called 1cids, and they as a general rule, will contain a hydrogen that isn’t bonded
particularly well to the other part of the compound. &xamples include H#"3, which is # H 4 molecules bonded to an "3 #' anion. 0his will disassociate (break up, separate, run freeeeee* in water which is what causes the water to become acidic, (this is what H4 ions in solution do, cause acidity*. %ases, by definition accept a H4 ion from water, ionising it to be "H'. !ommon bases include, -a"H. 0he -a 4 (sodium in case you ha$e forgotten* and the "H' disassociate. 0he "H' reacts with a H4 ion in the water to form H#". :hen there is more "H' ions in the water than H4 ions, this is when you ha$e a basic pH. (I may ha$e lied to you about the 8current’ definitions of bases and acids, but for our purposes, this is acceptable* "k, cool, so we know what bases and acids are now, but how do they affect us9 :ell; 6ou know when you measure the pH of your tank, you get a number. 0his number could mean anything. 1nything at all. %ut it doesn’t. It relates to the concentration of H4 Ions in the water. :hy do we measure H4 ions and not "H', con$ention. 1 pH of 7 is considered neutral, the H4 ions ha$e an equal concentration to the "H' ions, e$eryone is happy (fish too*. 1ny pH that is under 7 is considered to be acidic, H4 concentration is greater than "H' concentration. 1ny pH that is o$er 7 is considered basic, "H' is greater than H4. 0he pH scale is logarithmic. 0his means that each number represents a concentration different to the pre$ious by a factor of <=. )or instance, pH > is <= times more acidic than pH 7 (the H4 ions are <= times the concentration*. pH ? is <== times more acidic than pH 7 (fish aren’t so happy anymore*. pH2 we are talking pure $inegar (e$en people aren’t happy anymore*. pH @, <= times more basic than pH7 (most fish still happy*. pH <=, <=== times more basic (woah, what the hell are you putting in your water*. :hen you add acids to bases, they react, neutralising , to a degree. 1dding -a"H (strong base* to $inegar is a little like peeing on a house fire, the resulting product will be a basic salt, I guarantee it. 1dding H!l (strong acid* to -aH!"2(weak base* will lea$e you with an acid (carbonic acid H#!"2* and a salt (-a!l, table salt, yum, kidding don’t eat it, its mixed in with an acid*. (H!l 4 -aH!"2 'A -a!l 4 H#!"2* How does this affect the aquarium. :ell, the pH in your aquarium is dependant on a number of things. Ill try to explain some, but others will require a google search. )irstly, sources of bases in your aquarium. 0hese include H!"2' (the hydrogen carbonate ion*, this is due to dissol$ed minerals in your water like limestone (!a!"2 * which will react with carbon dioxide in water (which is acidic, ill get to that I swear* to create the H!"2' ion. lants also release the H!"2' ion when they are photosynthesising, this is a product of consuming !"# (carbon dioxide* from the water column and releasing oxygen. 0here are countless other sources of "H' ions in your aquarium, these include shells, certain gra$el, certain rocks, fish excretions (-H2 is a base* and tap water (thanks ydney water*. 0hese aren’t a problem in the aquarium, due to buffers (again, I will get onto that later* which pre$ent large pH changes. 1cids, 1cids are again, common in the aquarium. 0here are all kinds of organic acids that are present in the aquarium, these are metabolites of fish waste, secretions from soil, peat juice (for lack of a better word*, present in food, put out by decaying plants, the list goes on. 1s a general rule, any kind of decaying organic matter will create some form of organic acid which could affect the pH of your aquarium. 1nother source of acidity in the aquarium is dissol$ed !"#, (!"# 4 H#" 'A H#!"2, H#!"2 'A H4 4 H!"2'*. 1lso, some tap waters are acidic.
"k, so why is pH so important for your fish and plants9 Barious aquatic chemical mechanisms change $astly with differing pH’s and the toxicity of certain metals and compounds changes with pH, what does this mean for a balanced and safe aquarium9 -ot much, if you’re aquarium is balanced don’t stress, ha$ing a slightly acidic or slightly basic pH isn’t the end of the world. If your pH is between > and @, I see no problems with keeping fish. 0here is normally no reason to adjust your pH unless you are breeding specialist fish or are experienced. If your pH is a bit high, you can add peat to your water, this will soften the water (coming up soon* and lower the pH by releasing Humic 1cids. If your pH is too low, add crushed coral, shell grit, dolomite, etc ( a quick google search will tell you what is and isn’t $iable*. 0he most important thing about pH is to pre$ent wild pH swings, a mildly acidic or basic tank wont hurt your fish, but pH that changes continuously will stress them, will wreak ha$oc on your tank chemistry and will be a massi$e pain. %asically, when you are testing for pH you are testing to see if it is li$eable for the fish, and you are testing to see if it is changing with time. If it is changing, your tank is unbalanced and you ha$e to do something to rectify it, whether it be plant more plants, take out that big bubbling rock, again a quick google search can tell you exactly what needs to be done. 1s a general rule, don’t use pH Cown, or pH Dp to adjust your water whene$er it is starting to shift, this is a bad way to control pH and a good way to ha$e wild and random swinging pH’s that will stress you and the fish out, instead address the issue at the cause. -aturally, in distilled water pH will swing quite rapidly for any number of reason, well, how do we pre$ent this9 0he answer is buffers. :hich is the next topic. Buffers %uffers rely on a chemical system called equilibrium. &qulibrium’s are reactions that will proceed both ways based on the concentrations of the reactants and the products. 1n example of a common aquarium buffer is the H!"2' system. +ost buffers rely on a weak acid (or weak base* and a salt of the acid. %icarbonate system isn’t an exception. It relies on a few equilibrium equations !"# 4 H#" E'A H#!"2 H#!"2 E'A H4 4H!"2' H!"2' E'A H4 4 !"2 #' !a!"2 E'A !a4 4 !"2 #' 0he basis of this is that when you change one of the parts of the equilibrium, the others adjust so as to minimiFe the change. :hat this means in a $ery basic sense is that if you were t o add acid to a solution buffered with !a!"2 and H#!"2, the pH change would be less than if you were to add it to an unbuffered solution. 0his allows the pH in aquariums to remain fairly stable despite the constantly changing H4 and "H' generated in the aquariums. 0his is handy, because during the day, plants generate H!"2' ions, but at night, they release !"#, this !a!"2 buffer pre$ents wildly swinging pH from day to night. 0his is the most basic buffer system in most aquariums, there are softwater aquariums with negligible amounts of !a!"2 dissol$ed in them, these utiliFe a different buffer system normally comprised of humic and other organic acids, I wont go into that because it’s a big side topic. Ciana :alstad has howe$er, if anybody is keen to get her book (I ha$e it, it is excellent*. %efore +o$ing on lease note, this is a thousand times more complex than I ha$e explained, so don’t go adding straight dolomite or lime or anything of the sort to pre$ent pH changes. 6ou will do more harm than good. !rushed shells, limestone, that kind of thing, is more acceptable, but research before doing so. :ell, you may be wondering, where does this !alcium !arbonate come from9 0his brings us to the next topic Hardness 0here are two types of hardness, well, theres really not, let me try again, there are t wo measures of hardness. Hardness is I guess a hypothetical thing. 0he water isn’t physically hard. Its still a liquid. God I’m
funny. -o9 "k; I will continue. 0he two measures are /H and GH. /H stands for !arbonate Hardness (or /arbonate, If that will help you remember it* and GH stands for General Hardness. I am going to rely a little on :ikipedia here for certain numbers and reactions, so bear with me. !arbonate Hardness is a measure of the dissol$ed carbonate (!"2 #'* and (H!"2 ' * bicarbonate Ions in the water. It is measured in ppm which is equi$alent to mg which isn’t at all equi$alent to one d/H, the con$ersion factor according to :ikipedia is one d/H is equi$alent to 8<7.@3@ milligrams of calcium carbonate (!a!"2* per litre of water (<7.@3@ ppm*’. !arbonate hardness due to being composed of +agnesium (+g* and !alcium (!a* and other multi$alent (more than 4< charge* metals is expressed as if all the carbonates came solely from calcium. imilarly, bicarbonates are expressed as if they were equi$alent concentration of carbonates. General Hardness is simply a measure of the concentration of multi$alent metals in a litre of water, it is again expressed in a number equi$alent to all t he metal concentrations coming solely from !a!"2. It is expressed in ppm of !a #4 or dGH. "/, so the $erdict on hardness is that hardness acts as a buffer to pre$ent pH changes. Hardness howe$er, does also ha$e the effect of increasing pH, the harder your water, the higher your pH. It also means that it is incredibly difficult to lower your pH should you want to breed softwater species or grow specific plants. In order to lower your pH you ha$e to adsorb the !a and t he +g and the !arbonates out of the water first, this will soften your water and lower the pH slightly. lease note, softwater is more susceptible to water changes than harder water. 1 good method of lowering pH is peat, which will also remo$e !a and +g ions from the water and replace them with H4.
o, thats basic water chemistry <=<. 6ay new 0opic .
2. The nitrogen cycle. -itrogen is the most abundant element in our atmosphere, consisting of around 7=K of the air that we breathe and li$e in. o, what makes nitrogen so important. :ell, -# (diatomic nitrogen, the form found in the air* is possibly the most stable molecule around, it will not break down under most circumstances and it in its elemental form wont react with most things unless pushed (and by pushed I mean hundreds of degrees and thousands of pascals of pressure*. o, why is it so important in the aquarium9 :ell, because nitrogen is so inert, of course plants and bacteria ha$e found a way to break it down. -itrogen is included in almost all biological molecules. 0his includes fish food. o, the fish eats the food. In its waste, it then excretes 1mmonia. )ish waste isn’t the only source of 1mmonia, decaying plants and most decaying organic material will release ammonia. Lemember the discussion on pH before and the particular line, pH changes how things work in the aquarium9 :ell, this is an example of that. 1mmonia (-H#* is deadly to fish, it is also howe$er a weak base, which will react with H4 ions to form 1mmonium (-H24* which isn’t lethal to fish (it also isn’t optimal, it is still in equilibrium with 1mmonia and will more than happily re$ert at any gi$en time*. 0his reaction will only occur in acidic water howe$er, so there needs to be another method of remo$ing ammonia from the water. 0his is where the nitrogen cycle enters, hopefully you’$e all heard about cycling. :ait you ha$en’t9 "k, let me explain. 1mmonia is introduced into the water column by some type of fish waste, bacteria on all the hard surfaces in the tank will process this ammonia, it will transform it into -itrites (-"#'* through oxidisation. 0his bacteria isn’t present in the tank unless it has been cycled correctly. 0his bacteria is also $ery important, like your fish, and so shouldn’t be treated with chlorine or excessi$e changes of pH and temperature.
0he bacteria ser$es to turn the deadly 1mmonia into -itrites, and this will allow the bacteria to flourish and breed. ( %ecause this is processing the 1mmonia it will cause the 1mmonium to break up back into 1mmonia and H4 to be processed* 1mmonia le$els in the aquarium go down, the number of bacteria stabiliFes and $oila, your tank is cycled, ready to ha$e fish and work through more ammonia. Hang on a sec; I mentioned -itrites, guess what, they are also toxic to your fish, I lied, your tank isn’t cycled. 1 second set of bacteria ha$e to be established and will process the -itrites by further oxidation into -itrates. 0his bacteria like the original one will breed on all the hard porous surfaces of your tank.
Hard porous surfaces, some people like to think is a euphemism for filters. :hilst not wrong, it can also be the minute and miniscule pores on your gra$el, the biofilm that forms on your rocks, the nooks and crannies of the microscopic nature that form on your driftwood, the surface of your plants e$en the bodies of your fish. &$en without a filter, (which I wouldn’t attempt unless you were an expert*, the bacteria will breed and multiply. o we are left with these nitrates. Guess what, nitrates are non toxicM 616M ort of; -ot really; -o they really aren’t. -itrates like all waste in the aquarium can build up to toxic le$els and kill your fish. 0his is why we perform water changes. 0his is why people ad$ocate the use of plants. 0his is also where bioload comes in, if you ha$e too many fishtoo much waste breaking down or e$en too many pooping snails, the bacteria wont be able to keep up with the load, there simply isn’t enough of them and your tank will quickly become an ammonia laden cess pit. %efore I continue, I would like to add, -itrates are an excellent source of food for plants, they help the plant grow and pro$ide a good way to remo$e the -itrates from the water column. Plants also will process Ammonia directly, so in conunction with !acteria, will form an Ammonia fighting super team.
". #$ygen and Car!on %io$ide o far we ha$e learnt that !arbon Cioxide will cause an aquarium to become acidic and that plants process it to form H!"2'. 0his is true. lants howe$er, also break up !arbon Cioxide molecules through a process known as hotosynthesis. 0his basically means that a plant will use energy from the sun (or the micro suns we like to call !)’s, )luoros, &C’s etc*, to break up !"# into ! and "#. 0his is beneficial for both the plants and the fish. 0he !"# is toxic to fish at high concentrations. "# is essential for life, this seems a pretty good trade off. It gets better though, the plants use the ! (!arbon* that they ha$e just scrubbed out of your water as a building block for their growth. 0he energy they get from photosynthesis allows them to de$elop Glucose and !ellulose olymers out of the !arbon and to grow and make your aquarium beautiful.
%ioload features here as well, if the bioload on your tank is too high, the plants (or atmosphere in an unplanted tank* wont be able to keep up enough dissol$ed oxygen for your fish to be happy and they will slowly but surely get ill and die. 1lso, plants at night time as I mentioned earlier no longer photosynthesise, instead the release !"#, just like fish and take in oxygen. +ajor problem if your tank is o$erstocked. +ajor problem if your tank is poorly buffered and can’t stand the H changes due to the increase in !"# concentrations.
lants can’t just use carbon to fuel their growth howe$er, (imagine a large growing piece of graphite in your aquarium, fun heyM*, they rely on other nutrients, such as the aforementioned -itrates and more. :hich leads us to the next sectionM
&. Plant 'utrients "k, this is going to take a while and this is going to be huge. o ill put out some basics first. lants need a $ariety of nutrients to grow. 0he basic building blocks for plants are -itrogen, hosphorus, otassium, ulphur, !arbon and of course "xygen. 0hese are called the macronutrients. 0here are also doFens, and I do mean doFens, of micro nutrients that plants need to grow well. Heres a few, !a, +g, +n, %, )e, -a etc etc etc. Ill do my best to explain. )irstly, lets tackle algae. 1lgae is caused by imbalances of these nutrients in the water column. 1lgae is more specialiFed than plants are (mostly due to the fact that there are o$er @=== species of true algaes alone*, which means that basically, there is an algae for e$ery imbalance. 1lgae will compete with plants for the same nutrients, and if the nutrients aren’t balanced, the algae will win. In a balanced aquarium, plants are better suited to outcompete algae, and you will be rewarded with a clean and clear tank. -ow an example, If your tank has far too much bioa$ailable nitrogen floating around, you can bet that there will be an algae bloom that just lo$es to feed on nitrogen. 0oo much ilicates9 0he lo$ely brown diatom (which isn’t e$en an algae* will quickly coloniFe and in$ade your tank. :ell, why is this a problem9 0he algae is incredibly unsightly for a start. econdly, the algae will contribute to your bioload (although during the day it will bubble off "#, at night, just like plants, it is a good old fashioned !"# factory*. lants help pre$ent imbalances in your water chemistry, as does frequent water changes, a healthy feeding routine and if necessary specific fertiliFationcarbonlighting control. "/. "nto +acronutrients. 6ou’re probably asking yourself, what is the best way to get -itrogen for instance into the tank. :ell, im not going to answer, there are doFens of ways and each tend to ha$e their merits. I’ll explain #. -atural planted tanks are a popular option with fishkeepers, these type of tanks rely on a soil based substrate to pro$ide some +acro and most +icro nutrients to the plants. 0he other source of nutrient input to the tank is fish food, which will contain again, most of the +acro nutrients that plants need. Cecaying organic matter in the soil will pro$ide carbon, nitrates, phosphates and sulphates to the plants. 0his accounts for most of the macro nutrients that a plant will need. 0his type of tank will e$entually deplete the soil, but for years, it will be a plant growing ha$en. "nce the soil is depleted it can be replaced, it isn’t particularly difficult. 6ou can also supplement the soil with fertiliFers, more on that next. 1lso, it is important not to forget that plants do need carbon to grow, the carbon can come from fish or it can be added, which again I will discuss next. 0he second type of tank is for lack of a better description, a fertiliFed tank. :here you rely on additional fertiliFers in addition to fish waste and sometimes a soil based substrate. 0he fertiliFers that you add will supply the plants with what they need in terms of macro and micro nutrients. What type of fertilizer do I need? %ig question. 0here’s a lot of debate about this, so ill just keep it basic. 6ou need to pro$ide for the plants any nitrates, phosphates and sulphates that they wont get from the fish food. If you are purchasing fertiliFer, this will be premixed. If not, ill explain what you can do briefly. :hen you are supplying for instance, hosphorous, to the plants, you don’t gi$e them the pure elemental hosphorous, this is a nasty substance that will start burning when reacted with water, not the kind of thing to be playing with. o you need to gi$e it to the plants in a stable form. 0his stable form also has to be bioa$ailable and soluble in water. 0hese bits of information gi$e us e$erything we need to go on to start mixing up our own fertiliFers. ort of; table forms of the macronutrients include, /4, "3 2', "3 #', -"2 ', !"#, just to name a few. -ow, we still cant put these in the tank. 0hey simply don’t exist (except !"#, that one does exist, causing climate
change and all that; yeah* . 0hese first ha$e to be produced from the elemental reactants. 0hey are t hen reacted along a series of nasty steps and we arri$e at our final product, Ionic alts. :hen adding macronutrients to the aquarium, they are added as ionic salts. 0he exact concentrations of each fertiliFer I am not going to go into, if you aren’t capable of googling it, I wouldn’t suggest making your own fertiliser. (I see aquagreen.com.au ha$e an awesome range already mixed for you*. %ut if you are capable of googling it, you will find recipes like +CC and you will find measures of the optimal le$els for the indi$idual nutrients in the water column. ome basic salts that are used for +acro-utrients and that are easily sourceable include /-"2' ource of otassium and -itrates, &bay it. 1lso, don’t make the mistake I made and ask for it at %unnings, it’s generally not sold at shops because it is an ingredient in explosi$es (this is why we cant ha$e nice things* and they gi$e you dirty looks whilst explaining. 1lso, if you cant get a hold of it, it isn’t the end of the world, the nitrogen cycle will supply you with the -itrates and the otassium is easily a$ailable elsewhere. /#"3 5 ource of ulphates and otassium ' &bay it. 1lso sold at garden centres as sulphate of potash or some crafty de$iation of that. hosphates 5 +ost people don’t bother adding, fish poop, fish food and some rocks will do this for you, hosphates are $ery, $ery rarely the limiting factor in plant growth 0hese are all bioa$ailable and soluble forms of the macronutrients, which essentially means they will go right where you want them, straight to the plants that need them the most (or to the algae that has become rampant in your tank*. -ow, micronutrients. +icronutrients are a little more difficult to add. :ithout them, your plants will ne$er grow, your tank is essentially a wonderland where all the little algal spores can frolic and play. +ost people will use a premixed micronutrient mix for most things, you are more than welcome to mix one yourself, but terrestrial plant keepers ha$e done it for you, and they are pretty happy with the result. 0he premixed micronutrient trace mix will consist of most of the tracemicronutrients you will need already combined into an ionic salt form. retty much ready to go into the aquarium. 0here are exceptions to this though. !alcium for instance, has a different concentration and different uses in the aquarium than it does in the terrestrial en$ironment. !alcium along with +agnesium make up the hardness of the water, there are a multitude of a$ailable compounds which will dose these two into the water. Infact, most people class !alcium and +agnesium as macronutrients, howe$er I refrain from doing this as they do not make up a large portion dry plant mass, and instead are present mainly in the water as buffers. !a!"2 5 !rushed shell grit, crushed coral, imestone all being good sources 5 Garden upply, et upply hops !a"3 5 Gypsum, good source of calcium 5 Garden upply +g"3 5 +agnesium ulphate, a good source of magnesium and sulphur 5 harmacy, :oolies, Garden upply !a+g(!"2*# 5 Colomite, Good source of +agnesium and !alcium and !arbonates, dissol$es slowly though' Garden upply 0he other trace nutrients that are $ital for plant growth are %oron, Ninc, !opper, Iron, +olybdenum, !hloride (no not chlorine, chloride* and +anganese. 0hese trace nutrients ha$e $arying le$els of success in Ionic alt )orm, and it is often preferred to add them in a chelated form. 6ou can chelate your own using $arious
!helating agents, or you can buy them premixed. !helating basically makes the nutrients more bioa$ailable and more stable, because certain metals, like )e (Iron* will react with water and quickly become insoluble. 0he !helate keeps them in suspension where they can be used by plants. It also reduces the toxicity of certain metal ions because they are no longer reacti$e and wont bond to sites they shouldn’t in your fishes body. "ften the limiting factor on aquatic plant growth is !"#, which means that your fish simply cant pro$ide enough !"# for the plants to use up all the nutrients and as such, the plants will be out competed by algae, this is a common case and will usually require reduction of nutrients, reduction of light or !"# supplementation. 0his can take the form of !ompressed !"#, CI6 !"# and dissol$ed organic carbon supplementation. Cissol$ed organic carbon supplementation are products like eachem )lourish excel, Cino pit (a$ailable from 1quagreen* and if you are into CI6, apparently Glutaraldehyde mixes can pro$ide plants with carbon. 1 couple of short things. +ixing your own fertiliser is for people that ha$e a better grasp of chemistry in the aquarium and ha$e test kits that allow them to monitor the nutrient le$els. Cosing indi$idual nutrients is e$en more difficult and should only be attempted by people that are certain they know what they are doing and are able to test the nutrient le$els in the tank. 0here is a huge ad$antage in doing this though, as you can change fertilisation based on the nutrient deficiency symptomstest results. I don’t know the ideal le$els for nutrients, these ha$e to be looked up on the forum or on Google as they will $ary wildly for different types of plants, and mostly because I simply cant remember the standard accepted $alues (to be honest, not e$en sure if there are any accepted $alues*. 1nd there it is, I think I got e$erything. I will be editing this in the future. Hopefully this is helpful to someone. 1lso please, don’t copy this to other forums, if I like the forum enough I may post it there e$entually, but it took me o$er ? hours to write, so id like it to stay in the one place. 1nd clearly, i did miss some parts, i will edit this in the future and make it a bit easier to read and a bit more informati$e. !heers,
!hris
till needing more chemistry9 "f course you areM !heck out the article on Ammonia in the freshwater aquarium in the +embers 1rticles ection of the the !C1 :eb ite
A newbie's guide to getting your feet wet with social media via the CDAS Facebook page.
If you have avoided Facebook (as I did for several years), it may be time to reconsider. The CDAS Facebook a!e is a !reat "ay to connect "ith fello" club members and the broader a#uarium$keein! community and to find out "hat%s haenin! at CDAS. And you really don%t have to tell everyone "hat you had for dinner or ost a &selfie' every fe" minutes. ou don%t have to even share any ersonal information at all if you don%t "ant to *ust start an ordinary Facebook account (free), navi!ate to the CDAS Facebook a!e and &+ike' the a!e. To start your Facebook adventure, !o to """.facebook.com. ou%ll be invited to start an account and fill in some basic information. ou don%t have to ut much here and you can elect not to share your information ublicly (only "ith the &friends' you select). nce you have done this, you have a ersonal Facebook a!e "hich you can use (or not use) as you like. -se the search bar at the to of your a!e by tyin! in relevant terms if you tye &Canberra A#uarium', CDAS%s a!e "ill be in the dro$do"n list. hen you then visit CDAS on Facebook, you%ll see a a!e that looks (somethin!) like the icture on the ne/t a!e0 Send a fe" minutes !ettin! familiar "ith the layout. &+ike' the a!e and feel free to leave a messa!e in the &rite somethin!...' bo/ to let others kno" you have *oined. If you select &1et notifications', you%ll receive an email each time there%s a ne" ost on the site. That%s not al"ays a !ood idea, esecially "hen there are a do2en ne" osts each day. It%s robably better to *ust bookmark the a!e and visit re!ularly or "henever you feel like catchin! u. ou don%t have to be a CDAS member to articiate in the Facebook a!e discussion. ften, "e%ll receive comments or #uestions from eole in other arts of the "orld. If you find somethin! you think others "ould like to kno" about, share it via the Facebook a!e. What Else is There on Facebook?
nce you have become comfortable usin! the CDAS Facebook a!e, there%s a "ide, "ide "orld of a#uarium$related Facebook a!es and !rous to e/lore. T"o related a!es you should certainly visit are the CDAS 3reeders A"ard !rou a!e, mana!ed by CDAS, and the Canberra 4 Surroundin! Areas Fish 5eeers !rou a!e "here you%ll find a lot of the -sual Susects han!in! out and talkin! about fish$keein! in !eneral. These are both !ood !rous to *oin. Further afield, there are lots of Australian and international !rous "ith Facebook a!es. -se the Facebook search bar to find secialist a!es on toics such as killifish, catfish, African cichlids,
lanted a#uariums etc. 6oin those !rous you%d like to stay in touch "ith. 7ost a#uarium businesses also have Facebook a!es. ou can kee u to date "ith ne" fish shiments and e#uiment. 7any offer secial discounts and cometitions for their Facebook follo"ers. A!ain, search for the name of the business you are interested in. So, aart from teena!ers sharin! ictures of their inaroriate behaviour, Facebook offers a "ide ran!e of le!itimate and useful a!es for anyone interested in a#uarium keein! or *ust about anythin! else. A fe" tis for the ne" user If you feel over"helmed or flooded "ith useless information, cut back and turn off notifications. ou are fully in control of the information flo" so use that control to set a ace and volume you are hay "ith. If you are havin! any trouble doin! that, *ust ask and eole "ill be hay to share their o"n methods. Don%t ever feel that you have to resond to every ost or #uestion. It is a lar!e community and your involvement is entirely otional. Other social media and web sites
There%s a lot more to on$line a#uarium sites than Facebook. ou may refer the more sedate ace of traditional "ebsites like CDAS%s o"n main site at """.cdas.or!.au. CDAS also hosts a members% forum at """.cdas.or!.au8hbb. If you refer a more closed !rou, the forum may be for you. CDAS also has a T"itter feed at htts088t"itter.com8TheCDAS "here "e ost short messa!es, links and udates. If you refer T"itter to Facebook, subscribe to the feed and you%ll be ket u$to$date. ther social media sites are full of interestin! a#uarium information. ou can search outube, 9imeo, Flickr, 1oo!le:, Tumblr or any of the hundreds of other social net"orkin! services for a#uarium$related information. 7a*or a#uarium societies also have their o"n "ebsites. The Australian and ;e" 1uinea Fish Association (htt088""".an!fa.or!.au) and the American 5illifish Association (htt088aka.or!8) are t"o of my ersonal favorites. There are also urely on$line communities oeratin! vibrant communities throu!h forums and blo!s check out A#uarium+ife (htt088""".a#uariumlife.com.au) and esecially the forums there for an Australian e/amle.
The CDAS Facebook Page – A bit complicated at first, but quickly learnable
These sites are also part of the CDAS social media family
ust a fe! of the many Facebook groups on specialist aquarium topics
On line and mailorder ordering of livestock can be a great way to get hold of fish, invertebrates or plants that are otherwise rarely available locally through shops, local breeders or CDAS auctions. There can also be some great bargains on-line. ut before you load up your shopping cart and press !pay now", it is worth taking a few moments to consider whether this is the right thing to do. There are a few traps for the unwary. Do you have the right accommodation for what you are ordering?
Those new #eruvian Altum Angels may be very tempting at $ust %&'( each, but where are you going to put them when they arrive) *hat about +uarantine) Do you really want to mi them immediately with your rare reen Discus) Are your water conditions right for your new arrivals)ust as when you visit the a+uarium shop or a CDAS auction, DON'T BUY ON IMPUL!. #lan ahead and think it through. I" your "u##$ier $ega$?
/ots of people will offer or advertise to send fish, invertebrates, a+uarium plants or live food to you through the post or via courier. Apart from blatantly false and misleading claims 0scams1 the main thing you have to be alert to is overseas operators. IT I ILL!%&L TO IMPOT LI(IN% T)IN% INTO &UT&LI& (I& M&IL. 2mporting fish, plants and other livestock into Australia is tightly regulated 0thank goodness1 and using a supplier outside of Australia, including through ebay, will not only mean you loose your money, it also means your order will either be destroyed by Customs or 3uarantine authorities before you see it 45 you may be prosecuted for a criminal offense if it does get through. Don6t do it. 7ot even once. 8ou may also find that non-living a+uarium items, like food, driftwood and some water treatments, are also illegal to import. 8ou are pretty safe with e+uipment purchases 0but buyer beware, for lots of reasons1.
Doe" your "u##$ier *now what they are doing?
4nce you are sure you can properly house your purchases and your supplier is in Australia, the supplier6s eperience and practices are the things that make the most difference to the success of your order . uying from an established and specialist mailorder business like A+uagreen 0a CDAS sponsor1 is very different from buying from an individual on an on-line forum or from an interstate a+uarium shop who says they can ship but has no obvious track record. 9ish and invertebrates do travel 4:, most of the time ; after all, <(= of what we see in a+uarium shops has already traveled a long way to get there. ut there are a few basic protocols that every seller should follow> The livestock should be shipped as fast as possible after they are removed from their normal accommodation. 8ou don6t want them sitting around in bags at a wholesaler6s warehouse or at an airport for any longer than is absolutely necessary. All good mailorder suppliers offer epress shipping and try to get your
purchases to you within ?@ to B hours. The good ones will starve the fish or inverts for ?@ hours before they ship. This helps ensure there aren6t ecessive waste products accumulating in the bag during shipment. ost suppliers will use Australia #ost6s !live animal" service for shipping which guarantees priority handling through the transport chain and special treatment from package handlers. A few will use courier companies that they know and trust. 7ever order from anyone who puts their livestock in the normal post ; even if it is !priority paid" or !registered post". 7ot only is this a very bad thing for the livestock, it i" a$"o i$$ega$. Pac*ing i" +u"t a" im#ortant a" the way thing" are "ent,
A styrofoam container is mandatory and fish should be do uble bagged. ags should normally contain only enough water to keep the fish comfortable ; about a +uarter full is good. The air 0or pure oygen1 in the bag is as important as the water. The sytrofoam container should be tightly packed without putting too much pressure on the bags, by using half-inflated empty bags or newspaper or some other material to stop things moving around too much. The shipper must include a heat pack or cold pack, depending on the season. These are special sachets of chemicals that help maintain a constant and appropriate temperature inside the bo. DON'T L!T &NYON! )IP LI(!TO-. TO -&NB!& /IT)OUT T!MP!&TU! -ONTOL. *e live an an environment characterised by etremes of temperature and even a styrofoam bo cannot keep its internal temperature stable for more than about &( hours. 5emember that the bo will be in the hold of an aircraft for several hours and probably in the back of a truck for several more. 9inally, the bo should be taped shut and $a0e$ed a" 1Live 2i"h3, Buying 2i"h etai$ and &rranging hi##ing Your"e$f
26m addicted to visiting a+uarium shops wherever 2 travel. *hile 2 try to follow my own advice and avoid impulse buying 02 even have a little mantra 2 recite before entering shop away from home -" don6t buy fish, don6t buy fish...."1, there are times when, well, you know how it is. 2f 2 absolutely must buy livestock and 26m driving back to Canberra, 26ll arrange to pick them up on the day 26m traveling home and tell the shop keeper what 2 plan to do, including how long it will take to get my purchases home. 26ll ask them to use large bags, to double bag and also re+uest a styrofoam bo and lid. 26ll purchase 0or have with me1 an a+uarium thermometer so 2 can check the temperature in the bo at points on my return $ourney. 26ll put the bo on the back seat of the car, covered with a towel to keep the sun off and keep the aircon set to the mid-?(s. 2f 26m flying, there are some airline rules to observe. 3A7TAS are pretty good about shipping live animals 02 don6t know about the other domestic airlines1 but they can be a bit inconsistent about passengers traveling with a bo of fish as normal luggage. The safest way is do a formal live animal shipment and to lodge a form with them the day before travel ; it6s on their website at http>www.+antas.com.au+freight+feanimal-bookingglobalen and you can fill it in and lodge on-line. Again, 26d pick up my purchases, with the bo packed and taped securely, on my day of travel, leaving enough time to drop them off at the cargo depot. Esually, they6ll travel on the same plane as you are booked on but sometimes you might need to pick them up from a later flight. ost mailorder shippers will give you an estimated date and time of arrival, or, better still, a tracking number for your parcel. ost also ship early in the week to avoid live shipments sitting around over a weekend. 2t is a really good idea to have the package delivered to somewhere where it can be dealt with straight away ; don6t risk having live fish left at your front door until you get home from work or school. 2f there6s unlikely to someone home when the package is delivered, ask a neighbour or friend if they can take delivery and keep it inside out of the sun or cold. 4r, even better, use the CDAS 9orums to see if others want to participate in a !roup uy" from your preferred supplier. Someone will need to volunteer to take delivery and at least float the bags in one of their tanks until you can pick up your order. *hen you do get your fish home, inspect them in the bag to see that all have arrived alive. At this stage, 2 would normally test the temperature and pF of the water in the bag to see how big a difference the fish are likely to eperience when they get into their new home. Take special care to acclimatise them to your tank water, using your normal method to e+ualise temperature and echange water 0or use the !bucket and drip" method to avoid introducing the transport water to your tanks1. :eep an eye on your new stock for a few hours to see that nothing is terribly wrong. 2f you are using a +uarantine tank, give them at least a couple of weeks to show any signs of disease.
The Buc*et and Dri# Method of &cc$imati"ing 2i"h
Esually, 26d float a bag of new fish in their new tank for twenty minutes before slowly echanging about (mls of water every few minutes to allow both temperature and pF to e+ualise. The alternative method is to empty the new bag, water and fish, into a bucket or container 0&1 and set up a slow drip of water from their new tank via a siphon 0?1. A piece of airline tubing with a plastic valve allowing a drop per second is ideal. 4nce the depth of water in the bucket has doubled or tripled, you can check temperature and pF 001, net the fish into the new tank 0@1 and throw the water in the bucket away. This method avoids introducing any of the shipping water into your tank. /hat ha##en" when "omething goe" wrong?
9ish can arrive dead or badly distressed, bags can burst or your parcel might get lost. 8ou might also find you didn6t get what you thought you ordered or the fishplants are clearly not of !merchantable +uality". 2f there is something obviously wrong with your shipment, first take photos and then try to rescue what you can. Contact the supplier, by phone if possible, as soon as you can and eplain the problem. 2f the bo was damaged, the transport company or the supplier may give you a refund or replacement order. Some of the better suppliers will replace the order if you didn6t contribute to the problem 0say by leaving the bo in the sun for half the day or $ust tipping the bag of fish into a new tank with acclimatisation1. 4thers, sadly, take a less generous approach and will $ust say !bad luck" and point you to a disclaimer buried deep in their website. 2t6s up to you whether you deal with these characters again. The fact is, some people, even some well-known a+uarium businesses, don6t do the whole +uality-control and shipment thing very well at all and have a pretty caviler attitude to customer service once the dollars are in the till.
P$ant" )ave I""ue" Too
*hile buying a+uarium plants on-line doesn6t have +uite the same set of issues you get with fish 02 wouldn6t insist on a heatcold pack or overnight shipping, for instance1 there6s an etra dimension to consider ; snails and algae. The best method 2 know for avoiding bringing in nasties on new plants is to give them two !dips" - one in a solution of #otassium #ermanganate 0!Condy6s Crystals"1 - at a few grains per litre, and one in dilute household bleach at about a cap-full in a litre of water 0you can also use Fydrogen #eroide instead of household bleach1. ive the new plants about &( minutes in each bath and then rinse thoroughly in tank or tap water at around ?' degrees. This is not &((= bug proof, but snails, snail eggs and most forms of algae will be killed. This protocol should probably by used on any a+uarium plant you are introducing to your home set up ; not $ust for those you get through the post. Do your re"earch 0efore you order
Apart from making sure that what you are buying is appropriate f or your tanks and skill level, there are few things you do to help ensure you are dealing with a good supplier. 2f their website has a feedback page, that6s a good place to look for other customer6s eperiences. Secondly !google" the business name and see if there are other reviews on-line. /ook specifically for recent comments about their shipment record. 2f you can6t convince yourself that they are good people to deal with, ask for others6 eperiences on an on-line forum ; such as the CDAS forum or A+uarium/ife. 5ead between the lines. #eople are reluctant to !bag" a business, particularly one that might be good in other areas. Some businesses also go out of their way to
prevent bad reviews being posted on-line. /astly, ask the supplier some +uestions directly. 2f it is not obvious from their catalogue or website, email or call them and ask about their shipment methods ; do they use the official !live animal" method through Australia #ost or a courier) *ill you get a tracking number) Fow do the y pack the bo, do they use a heatcold pad) *hat is their policy on D4A 0Dead 4n Arrival1) ome On4$ine u##$ier" /ith a %ood Trac* ecord
2 hesitate to recommend any business in this area because ownership, staff and policies can change at any time, but if 2 was asked right now to recommend on-line a+uarium livestock suppliers, 26d give two of them five stars> &5uagreen ; a CDAS sponsor in the 7orthern Territory. Dave *ilson, the owner, collects, breed and grows
his own stock of 0mostly1 native fish and a+uatic plants. Fe also carries a small range of !dry goods". 9or me, Dave6s shipments have never failed to arrive in great condition and he is a !model" shipper that 2 wish more suppliers would copy. -o0urg &5uarium ; is a 2 retail a+uarium shop in elbourne and they do mailorder through their website.
They have a good range and their prices are good and, more importantly, they pack and ship like professionals. They are always easy to deal with by phone or email too. 2 would also recommend Liver#oo$ -ree* &5uarium" f or a+uatic plants. *hile the shipping protocols for plants can be a bit more relaed than those for animals, these guys do a good $ob. There are several others that 2 know have a good reputation with other club members but which 2 haven6t yet dealt with personally. These include econd Nature &5uarium in 4range 7S*, who have a very tempting catalogue. That6s a pretty small list and 26m not going to put in writing what 2 think of a few others who have let me 0and several doGen fish1 down badly. /et6s $ust say that if 26d done the research 26ve advocated above, 2 would never have ordered from them in the first placeH 2f in doubt, ask on the CDAS forums.
Here's something to keep you busy over the Xmas-New Year break
Aquarium Cryptic #1
A?SS 4 Super hot miup nurtures, generically, from urundi to anibar 6he Skippers boat but commonly small. /7 8alerie, ill &ith a common %irus, likes these better than eheims / 9i%e must mi &ith specific :uiet flag from +uyana. / Sounds like the badest little chameleon since !ario 70 ommonly, these little ephemerals sound like murderers. 74 ; am la& from old ittle catfish makes scary odor. 7 -i rift roe for smallest food. 0 Scars unit deli%ers generic nasal bush # Sir ?ee%e -oss so mied up, makes pure &ater by membrane magic (',') * @ye"spot commonly says no to mied up orcas With all that shaking going on, it nets tetra (',4)
40 So many marine fish come from real forces, shuffled a bit. (5,5) 44 A generic black band performs only this side of Wallaces line 45 Specifically, a !utch crypto"authority sounds gone 4# $arry says her blue eyes ga%e her a&ay as a generic fake muggle. 4' ommon otia is painted fool (5,5) 4* +i%e a shine to !iannes poem &ith lo& &attage illuminator.(5,*,5) 4 -iing nice soil &ill hold the tank together 5/ Shaken, ca%itated element se%en absorbs and deodorises.(,#) 5 ommon submarine &eapon, the American &ay, has back&ard facing point1 (',4) 54 -ore specifically, articulate the name of a popular small li%ebearer 55 iblical neotropicals generically ha%e fins like lea%es. 5# -ath sin hue remi is bright green and sometimes tiny in foreground , but only generically speaking 5' 2oor slum gal3 tangy little things like shells
!W< / Strangle a moan, but hes a pioneer for scapers 7 Ade in a big asian desert, became familiar &ith a bumble bee A :uacking little plant in the &rong place. 5 ;n short, put your filter on the outside rear, or a sto%e top. # n ya bikeB !one first or tears before bedtime. ' -ama ; no cycle properly and no& ; ha%e bad chemicalB * !ark continental is s:uashed :uite specifically /0 6reat -r
7 +enerically, the king of fish starts like music, asks &hy is it so and ends as a mafia leader. 75 ommon but periodically noble little tetra 0 >olB A bag moll dropped >anas first to make green &ater.(5,5) / -ied up hideous corn for a group of Amaonian plants 7 !orsal &it turns on its tail -i a snail li%er for eel grass, t&isty or straight 4 onfused airman ate sail for &ant of salty little latin shrimp (',#) 5 Asian pugalists are generically sound bet&een good and best ' ommonly, you can find fish and &riting instruments in nanos. 4/ fa%oritism to&ards anberras first uni, %egetable prospers on log 47 6his masons no nutB confused1 Sure, but generically hes a 2isces &ith a graphite stylus 4 !a%es first, dropped by a drag :ueen, confused, sponsored !AS. 50 ommonly an a"framed road %ehicle for green, blue and other coloured siblings 57 +ood golly miss, youre so common
!o&nload a printable %ersion at cdas.org.auCmainCdo&nloadsCA:uariumryptic/.pdf
Here are two of our favorite tropical fish – the Clown Loach and the Dwarf Gourami. Can you colour them and answer the quiz questions about each one?
Where did the fish your aquarium come from? It's actually one of those questions that could have more than one right answer. Maybe your fish came from an aquarium shop or a club auction – but where did they come from before that? Maybe from a fish breeder? Maybe from a business that brought them to Australia from a fish farm in another country? ut what about before that? !very fish you "eep in your aquarium# or those fishes' ancestors# come from a cree" or a river or a la"e or a coral reef $if you have marine fish% somewhere in the world. &his is true even for fancy fish# li"e those bubbleeyed goldfish or veiltailed guppies that have been bred for many years $or even centuries% in fish tan"s and ponds and now don't loo" a lot li"e their greatgreatgreat grand parents . (inding out where in the world your fish originally came from can be fun and interesting# but you might need a good boo" or the internet. )ou could go searching the world yourself# but you would need a hat and a lot of lunch money. &ry not to get lost and loo" out for crocodiles* +et's grab a map of the world $here's a nice one% and choose a few fish to start our research – we'll stic" with some favorite freshwater tropical fish for now the ,ebrafish# the Angelfish and the -lown +oach . &he only other thing we'll need is a good aquarium fish boo" or an encyclopedia. We'll start our research online by using Wi"ipedia. o to Wi"ipedia. In the top right of the page is a search bo/. +et's type 01ebrafish2 and clic" on the little search icon $the magnifying glass%. )ou should be ta"en directly to page about the 1ebrafish which has a first paragraph that starts3 0&he zebrafish $Danio rerio% is a tropical freshwater fish belonging to the minnow family 4...2 &hat's what we want* &here really is only one type of 1ebrafish and it's scientific name is Danio rerio . $If you need to brush up on what scientific names are all about# you could read the article on this website called Scientific Names – or why fishkeepers sometimes sound like they are from Mars – but not now* We're in the middle something important.% &he ne/t sentence in that first Wi"ipedia paragraph also starts with something we need to "now for our research 05ative to the 6imalayan region 4..2. 78# now you may already "now where the 06imalayan region2 is but let's say we don't "now. If you loo" at the 0-ontents2 bo/ on the Wi"ipedia page $9ust below that first paragraph%# you'll see that the second item in the list is called 0:istribution2 that should tell us more about where the 1ebrafish comes from. -lic" on 0:istribution2. And right there at the start of the paragraph is what we've been hunting for3 0&he 1ebrafish is native to the streams of the southeastern 6imalayan region# and is found in parts of India# ;a"istan# angladesh# 5epal# and urma.2 Woo6oo* -hec" on your map where India is $its the triangle shaped country to the 5orthwest of Australia. &he 06imalayan region2 runs right across the top of India and the countries ne/t door – ;a"istan to the west# 5epal to the north and angladesh and urma to the east. &hat was easy and now you "now where 1ebrafish come from. +et's try another one – Angelfish. )ou can use the search bo/ at the top of the 1ebrafish Wi"ipedia page.
=cottish alternative roc" band2# whatever that is. I thin" we can be pretty sure that the angelfish we want is the first one on the list 0(reshwater angelfish# tropical cichlids of the genus ;terophyllum2. If you have an aquarium boo" handy# 9ust chec" that the scientific name for our aquarium angelfish starts with the word 0;terophyllum2 $which is pronounced 0terrafillum2# by the way%. -lic" on 0;teraphyllum2 anyway. We get ta"en to a page for 0;teraphyllum2 which starts with the words3 “Pterophyllum is a small genus of freshwater fish from the family -ichlidae "nown to most aquarists as >angelfish>.2
78# there's a few words there that might be new to you# but you get the idea. What that sentence tells us is that there is group $0genus2% of cichlids $0family -ichlidae2% that fish"eepers call 0angelfish2. =ounds li"e this is what we are loo"ing for and the picture over on the right side of the page certainly is the right fish. ut the ne/t sentence is the one we want3 0All Pterophyllum species originate from the Ama1on iver# 7rinoco iver and !ssequibo iver basins in tropical =outh America.0 (ind =outh America on your map. &hose rivers are !A++) I and fill up most of the northern half of =outh America. =o that's two fish we "now about. &ry the ne/t one yourself – start by typing 0clown loach2 in the search bo/. 6ow did you go? :id you find out that the clown loach comes from Indonesia $which is 9ust near Australia on your map%. Were you able to find the two islands it is found on? -ongratulations* )ou are now a qualified 9unior 0iogeographer2 which is the name for a scientist who studies how animals and plants are spread around the world. )ou could do a few more – try finding out where your own aquarium fish come from. Maybe you can also find some boo"s or other websites that tal" about where fish come from. 7r get a map and put some stic"y notes on it and write down the names of fish that come from different countries. (ish biogeography can be a good topic for a school pro9ect too. Did You Know •
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;eople have been "eeping and studying fish for a long# long time. &he scientific study of fish is called 0Ichthyology2 and a scientist who studies fish is an 0Ichthyologist2. Many aquarium fish are still caught in the wild by fish collectors. =ometimes this can be a problem if they catch too many and don't leave enough to breed. A lot of fish are now bred and raised on fish farms. &his industry is called 07rnamental Aquaculture2. 6ere's a diagram of all the steps involved. Many new species of fish are discovered every year by e/plorers.
