Freshwater Aquariums PDF
Preview Freshwater Aquariums
01_051035 ffirs.qxp 8/16/06 11:02 AM Page i Freshwater Aquariums FOR DUMmIES ‰ 2 ND EDITION by Maddy Hargrove and Mic Hargrove 01_051035 ffirs.qxp 8/16/06 11:02 AM Page ii 01_051035 ffirs.qxp 8/16/06 11:02 AM Page i Freshwater Aquariums FOR DUMmIES ‰ 2 ND EDITION by Maddy Hargrove and Mic Hargrove 01_051035 ffirs.qxp 8/16/06 11:02 AM Page ii Freshwater Aquariums For Dummies,®2nd Edition Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc. 111 River St. Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774 www.wiley.com Copyright © 2006 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana Published simultaneously in Canada No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permit- ted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978-750-8400, fax 978-646-8600. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Legal Department, Wiley Publishing, Inc., 10475 Crosspoint Blvd., Indianapolis, IN 46256, 317-572-3447, fax 317-572-4355, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions. Trademarks: Wiley, the Wiley Publishing logo, For Dummies, the Dummies Man logo, A Reference for the Rest of Us!, The Dummies Way, Dummies Daily, The Fun and Easy Way, Dummies.com and related trade dress are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and other countries, and may not be used without written permission. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Wiley Publishing, Inc., is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book. 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Library of Congress Control Number: 2006927727 ISBN-13: 978-0-470-05103-0 ISBN-10: 0-470-05103-5 Manufactured in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 2B/QR/QZ/QW/IN 01_051035 ffirs.qxp 8/16/06 11:02 AM Page iii About the Authors Maddyand Mic Hargroveare both contributing writers for many aquatic magazines, including Tropical Fish Hobbyist and Aquarium Fish magazine, and are also the authors of several aquarium books. They have both been in the writing industry for over 30 years. Maddy’sinterest in fish began when she was five years old. She often dreamed of keeping fish at home as she watched the local fishermen bring in their daily catch in her hometown. She began keeping aquariums at age seven and began breeding fish at age ten. She built her aquarium collection by selling and trad- ing her newborn fry to local aquarium stores in exchange for aquariums and equipment as she was growing up. Her passion for aquarium fish continued on after she finished her college degree in journalism and began writing aquarium-keeping articles for print and online aquatic magazines. Eventually, she wrote several aquarium columns and began writing fishkeeping books to help other hobbyists enjoy keeping aquariums at home as much as she did. Her love of fish has also appeared in her greeting cards, cartoons, and other artwork. Michas kept aquarium fish for almost 30 years. He was one of the first sailors to develop a tank system that could keep aquarium fish alive onboard Navy vessels. His love of fish began when he saw many different species, aquatic traditions, and other hobbyists while on his worldwide military travels. Both authors enjoy breeding fish, traveling, scuba diving, cooking and creat- ing exciting new recipes, collecting old records, and computer games. Dedication This book is dedicated to the memory of Maddy’s father who taught her the true beauty of the natural world in which we live. Thanks, Dad, wherever you are. Authors’ Acknowledgments We would like to thank our editor Corbin for dedicating himself to making this book great. We would also like to thank Claudette for her moral support when it was needed most. And we would also like to thank our two dogs who persistently reminded us that we needed to stop playing with fish and go out for a good brisk walk now and then. 01_051035 ffirs.qxp 8/16/06 11:02 AM Page iv Publisher’s Acknowledgments We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments through our Dummies online registration form located at www.dummies.com/register/. Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following: Acquisitions, Editorial, and Composition Services Media Development Project Coordinator: Patrick Redmond Project Editor: Corbin Collins Layout and Graphics: Andrea Dahl, Acquisitions Editor: Michael Lewis JoyceHaughey, Stephanie D. Jumper, Clint Lahnen, LynseyOsborn, Copy Editor: Corbin Collins Alicia B. South, Erin Zeltner Technical Editor: Carol Sindelar Special Art: Color photos courtesy of Editorial Manager: Michelle Hacker Aaron Alcantar Editorial Supervisor and Reprint Editor: Proofreaders: David Faust, John Greenough, Carmen Krikorian Leeann Harney, Techbooks Editorial Assistants:Erin Calligan, David Lutton Indexer: Techbooks Cover Photos: Maximilian Weinzierl / Alamy Cartoons: Rich Tennant (www.the5thwave.com) Publishing and Editorial for Consumer Dummies Diane Graves Steele, Vice President and Publisher, Consumer Dummies Joyce Pepple, Acquisitions Director, Consumer Dummies Kristin A. Cocks, Product Development Director, Consumer Dummies Kathleen Nebenhaus, Vice President and Executive Publisher, Consumer Dummies, Lifestyles, Pets, Education Michael Spring, Vice President and Publisher, Travel Kelly Regan,Editorial Director, Travel Publishing for Technology Dummies Andy Cummings,Vice President and Publisher, Dummies Technology/General User Composition Services Gerry Fahey,Vice President of Production Services Debbie Stailey,Director of Composition Services 02_051035 ftoc.qxp 8/16/06 11:03 AM Page v Contents at a Glance Introduction.................................................................1 Part I: Aquarium Basics................................................5 Chapter 1: Tanks for the Memories..................................................................................7 Chapter 2: The Practice of Aquarium Keeping.............................................................15 Chapter 3: Finding a Good Location..............................................................................23 Chapter 4: The Tank and Stand......................................................................................29 Chapter 5: What to Put and What Not to Put in Your Tank.........................................45 Chapter 6: Equipment and Other Technical Stuff........................................................59 Part II: Fish and How to Care for Them.........................79 Chapter 7:Fish Anatomy.................................................................................................81 Chapter 8: Finding Your Species ....................................................................................95 Chapter 9: Purchasing Your Fish..................................................................................125 Chapter 10: Diet and Nutrition for Your Wet Pets......................................................137 Chapter 11: Diseases and Treatments.........................................................................149 Part III: Water, Chemicals, and Plants.......................169 Chapter 12: All Water Is Not Created Equal................................................................171 Chapter 13: Those Crazy Chemicals............................................................................179 Chapter 14: The Nitrogen Cycleand Water Testing....................................................187 Chapter 15: Putting It All Together...............................................................................197 Chapter 16: Live Plants for Freshwater Aquariums...................................................205 Chapter 17: Choosing Plant Species for Your Tank....................................................217 Chapter 18: What to Do if Trouble Strikes..................................................................231 Part IV: Breeding and Other Fun Stuff........................239 Chapter 19: The Breeding Room..................................................................................241 Chapter 20: Let’s Spawn!................................................................................................253 Chapter 21: Recording Data and Photographing Fish...............................................267 Chapter 22: Competing in Fish Shows.........................................................................281 Chapter 23: For the Advanced Aquarium Hobbyist...................................................293 02_051035 ftoc.qxp 8/16/06 11:03 AM Page vi Part V: The Part of Tens ............................................299 Chapter 24: Ten Cool Aquarium Gadgets....................................................................301 Chapter 25: Ten Ways to Kill Your Fish Without Even Trying...................................305 Chapter 26: Ten Scientific Fish Laws...........................................................................309 Chapter 27: Ten Aquatic New Year’s Resolutions......................................................313 Appendix: Tank Figures and Facts..............................315 Index.......................................................................323 02_051035 ftoc.qxp 8/16/06 11:03 AM Page vii Table of Contents Introduction..................................................................1 Why a Book for Dummies?..............................................................................1 What We Assume About You..........................................................................2 How to Use This Book.....................................................................................2 How This Book Is Organized...........................................................................2 Part I: Aquarium Basics.........................................................................2 Part II: Fish and How to Care for Them...............................................3 Part III: Water, Chemicals, and Plants .................................................3 Part IV: Breeding and Other Fun Stuff..................................................3 Part V: The Part of Tens.........................................................................3 Icons Used in This Book..................................................................................4 Where to Go from Here....................................................................................4 Part I: Aquarium Basics.................................................5 Chapter 1: Tanks for the Memories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 Seeing the Big Aquarium Picture....................................................................8 Where do I put my tank?........................................................................8 What type of tank and stand should I buy?........................................9 What do I put inside my aquarium?.....................................................9 What does all this aquarium equipment do?....................................10 Caring for Your New Aquatic Pets................................................................10 Why are so many fish so different?....................................................10 What type of fish is best for me?........................................................11 What should I look for when buying fish?.........................................11 What should I feed my fish?................................................................11 What if my fish get sick?......................................................................12 Understanding Water, Chemicals, and Live Plants....................................12 Expanding Your Aquarium Hobby...............................................................13 Can I breed my fish?.............................................................................13 How do I keep track of all my fish?....................................................13 How do fish shows work?....................................................................13 Is there another type of aquarium system?......................................13 02_051035 ftoc.qxp 8/16/06 11:03 AM Page viii viii Freshwater Aquariums For Dummies, 2nd Edition Chapter 2:The Practice of Aquarium Keeping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 The Benefits of an Aquarium........................................................................16 What Kind of Aquarium Do You Want?........................................................17 Freshwater systems.............................................................................18 Marine systems.....................................................................................20 Brackish systems..................................................................................20 Organization Is the Key to Success..............................................................21 Chapter 3: Finding a Good Location . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23 Room Temperature and Its Effects..............................................................23 Wicked windows...................................................................................24 Deadly doors.........................................................................................25 High Traffic Areas and Children (Spell D-I-S-A-S-T-E-R).............................25 Water Sources.................................................................................................26 Checking the source.............................................................................27 Using a Python......................................................................................27 Other Considerations....................................................................................28 Furniture and space.............................................................................28 Electrical................................................................................................28 Cleaning.................................................................................................28 Chapter 4: The Tank and Stand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29 Before You Buy a Tank...................................................................................29 Water is heavy.......................................................................................30 Watching the tendency to overspend................................................30 Checking out starter kits.....................................................................31 Finding free space................................................................................32 Taking people into consideration.......................................................33 Deciding where to buy.........................................................................33 What Aquariums Are Made Of......................................................................34 Glass aquariums...................................................................................35 Acrylic aquariums................................................................................36 Plastic aquariums.................................................................................37 Different and Unusual Aquarium Styles......................................................38 Portrait aquariums...............................................................................38 In-wall tanks..........................................................................................38 Furniture aquariums............................................................................39 Tower aquariums..................................................................................39 Indoor pond barrels.............................................................................40 Choosing the Right Tank...............................................................................40 Tank size................................................................................................40 Tank shape............................................................................................41 Carrying capacity.................................................................................41
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