Battling blue green algae in your aquarium

Posted by on December 1, 2012 No comments

In July 2012 I noticed that something wasn’t right in my aquarium. I change the water in my freshwater aquarium regularly so it was a bit of a surprise to find algae in my tank as shown below.

The picture shows a bit of blue green algae or Cyanobacteria in my tank. I did regular water changes – a change between 2 to 3 weeks (which is plenty if you know my tank and if you live in Finland with good fresh water) so I knew it wasn’t because of that. It seems you can get blue green algae in your tank even if you change water regularly! I also hadn’t change the lighting conditions in the tank nor added new fish nor had I in my opinion changed my feeding habits either. Read more »

Picture of the day, 21.1.2012. Our clown loaches

Posted by on January 21, 2012 No comments

It’s been a bit quite here lately, but here’s one nice picture of our Clown loaches (Botia macracantha) – Nipsu in the foreground and Napsu in the background. Aren’t they cute 🙂

Our Clown loaches

Nipsu is almost twice the size of Napsu, but Napsu is better to find the bottom food I give them. Hence they sometimes have fairs competitions over the food. Of course Nipsu ultimately wins and that is why I try to give the bottom food tablets to different places of the tank so that both can eat in peace.

Pictures of the day, 30.7.2011

Posted by on July 30, 2011 No comments

I haven’t had much to write about lately, all seems fine with out tank. So I add some pictures I took this morning for your enjoyment.

Rosy tetra

Rosy tetra (Hyphessobrycon rosaceus) is a pretty and calm fish that can live with almost all other fish. It likes to be in a swarm so you need to get six or more of these fellows. At least in Finland they are pretty expensive, but I have liked them very much so far. They like to take and play with the bottom food given to the Clown loaches, which is fun to watch at (although the loaches do not appreciate this :)).

Rosy Tetra

Rosy Tetra (Hyphessobrycon rosaceus)

Rosy Tetra
Rosy Tetra (Hyphessobrycon rosaceus)

Pristella Tetra and Harlequin fish

These are like your ordinary tetra fish, but I like them much more than neon tetras. They seems more lively and are really beautiful to look at when you have a swarm of ten or more of each. I think some underestimate these small fish, but they are easy to take care of and nice to watch at.

Pristella Tetra (Pristella maxillaris) and Harlequin fish (Trigonostigma heteromorpha)

Pristella Tetra and Harlequin fish

Our aquarium, 30.7.2011

Last but not least, yet another picture of our beautiful tank.

Our freshwater aquarium, 30.7.2011

Our freshwater aquarium, 30.7.2011

Is your clown loach missing?

Posted by on June 19, 2011 7 comments

It was since last water change, roughly three weeks ago, that we noticed that our two clown loaches (Chromobotia macracanthus) were missing. We couldn’t find them literally anywhere in our tank. This is quite a bizarre feeling when you have just a 180 liters (that’s 65 gallons) aquarium. We looked everywhere as thoroughly as we could outside the tank. Of course they could not escape the tank anywhere. We even thought they were lying dead somewhere so naturally we got very worried.

But as it turned out, they just really enjoyed our new stumps (or rhizomes?). By nature the clown loaches like hiding in small holes and inside stumps and I think I just should be really happy that we can provide an environment they enjoy. So a few days back I changed the water again, as I use to,  and there they were – both of our Clown loaches! Now after the water change the other one is happily swimming around but most of the time enjoying the hiding places around the stumps. I reorganized the stumps for them again so I am sure they like the new place even more. The other clown loach is still hiding most of the time, but I am sure both of them are out during the night eating. That is why I give them bottom feeding tablets which are of course gone in the morning.

So if you wonder where your Clown loach has gone and it seems you can’t find it anywhere – I am sure it’s ok! It’s just probably hiding in some hole you can’t see without moving stuff. As it turned out, our clown loaches were under a bark that had a hole in the middle of the bottom of the bark. It was impossible to spot them without taking the bark out from the tank (which I did in order to gravel vacuum the place). They just enjoy small holes and places to hide during the day, so it might be a good thing if they enjoy such a place that you created for them.

Freshwater aquarium plant growth tips

Posted by on June 19, 2011 No comments

I believe strongly that a healthy aquarium with healthy fish requires healthy plants. Below are my tips on how I try to see to it that my freshwater aquarium plants grow as well as possible. I’d like to share these tips with anyone who is interested in them and of course get some feedback on what you think. I hope with the things below also your plants will grow well!

Even if I speak of some specific products in this article, I am sure there are many equally good or even better ones. It just very hard to compare the products on your own, so I am more than happy to receive feedback on some products that you have used and that you think work better than the ones here.

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