Tips and secrets on how to design, setup and maintain your saltwater aquarium so that it actually works!
I was just walking past our 750-gallon reef tank the other day, when I spotted this – a mated pair of Bangaii Cardinals in the act of the mating. The female had the eggs in her mouth and was about to transfer them to the male. Check it out and leave a comment below.
Recently, my son’s 10-gallon goldfish tank took a turn for the worse. So, you might be asking yourself, ‘what does goldfish have to do with saltwater aquariums’? Stick with me here … keep reading.
When my son Nolan was born, it was only a matter of time until he had an aquairum in his bedroom. I think he was about 2 when we caved in and bought a 10-gallon starter kit from PETCO … yes PETCO. I paid full retail for it, even though I could have bought it from one of my wholesale suppliers I regularly use in my business. It was just quicker and easier – plus my wife got to get in on the fun of getting the tank too.
As for the fish, I got 5 feeder goldfish ($1.00 for all 5 – thank you). I wanted something that was simple, hardy and wasn’t going to be a lot of work. The goldfish were the perfect fish for the job.
Our strategy was two-fold. During the winter the fish would live in the 10-gallon tank in Nolan’s room, and during the summer, we would move them to our barrel fountain on the deck. In the barrel fountain they always go through a growth spurt, as they feast all summer long on mosquito larvae and algae. We even occasionally feed them some flake food, when we remember.
So this seasonal back and forth has worked without issues for almost 3 years now, until this past Christmas when the fish broke out with a case of fin-rot. Are you starting to get the lesson here and how it applies to saltwater aquariums? Keep reading.
WHAT IT LOOKED LIKE
All of a sudden, one morning the goldfish starting showing a white film on the margin of their fins, and two of the most hardest hit fish were losing control of their swim bladder, as they were swimming head down most of the time. This was a classic case of fin rot – a fungus in combination with bacterial infection.
THE REAL CAUSE OF THE PROBLEM
Are you ready for this? Here it is. The real cause of this disease outbreak was … I got lazy. That’s it – neglect. All this was caused by being lazy and not sticking to a preventative maintenance routine. I wasn’t doing regular water changes and feeding was sporadic. This allowed stress to build up to the tipping point – and then presto – instant disease outbreak – totally avoidable.
SHORT-TERM REACTIVE SOLUTION
To get the tank back on track I did the following:
- added kosher salt to raise the salinity to 2ppt
- treated it with a product called Maracyn-Oxy (by Mardel) for 5 days;
- performed a 50% water change
- vacuumed the gravel, removing a large amount of detritus and organic matter
- resumed regular daily feedings
THE LESSON – If we would only surrender to the discipline of keeping up with our preventative maintenance routine, we could avoid 90% of the problems we encounter. And let’s face it, much of being a good aquarist is being good at solving problems – it’s simply a part of aquarium keeping, whether it be freshwater or saltwater aquariums. So wouldn’t it be nice if we could greatly reduce the number of problems? That would mean more time for fun and enjoyment of your saltwater aquarium – or freshwater aquarium. Don’t worry, there will still be plenty of problems to solve.
Now do you see how this is not just about a goldfish tank with a disease problem. This entire problem could have been avoided had I stuck with the preventative maintenance routine of doing regular water changes. It’s only a 10-gallon goldfish tank. A 50% water change takes 15 minutes. The most common cause of people getting out of this great hobby is most often described as “something went wrong and all the fish died”. Well I’m willing to bet that 90% of these cases are due to some form of being lazy or neglecting the preventative maintenance routine.
Yesterday we had an amazing interview on the Under The Sea Radio Show. Our guest was David Winchester, who shared his career as a professional aquarist at the New England Aquarium.
Topic covered were:
Go here now to listen to the recording of the entire interview, or you can download it to your iPod or MP3 player for listening at your leisure.
Stay tuned for our next guest for this coming Sunday. You’ll never guess what we have in store for you.
Happy Fishes,
Warren
Today at 4:00pm (EST), on the Under The Sea radio program series Careers In Marine Biology, I am interviewing Dave Winchester, a professional aquarist at the New England Aquarium.
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to work at a public aquarium – to get paid to play with fish and work on filtration systems all day? Well here’s your chance.
Please call in with your questions at (949) 534-0637.
See you at 4:00pm (EST). And remember, it you can’t make it to the interview, you can always listen to the recording or download it to your iPod for later
Happy Fishes,
Warren
Last weekend, we held the second interview in the aquarium radio interview series Careers In Marine Biology. And this episode was a great one, with a very special guest.
Here’s the recording of the episode so you can take a listen.
Next week is going to be even better with, my friend Dave Winchester – a professional aquarist at a major public aquarium. So tune in on Sunday at 4:00pm EST.
Happy Fishes,
Warren
As I help more and more people to make their saltwater aquarium work, I find there is one big common thread.
Can you guess what it is?
Drum roll please . . . It’s confusion.
Confusion about water chemistry, or how to choose the right lighting for their coral tank, or which fish go together, or what filters they need and how to set them up – and on and on and on it goes.
So what i want you to do now is post a comment and tell me what is the most confusing for you. Whatever it is, I want you to tell me what it is and how it is stopping you.
Happy Fishes,
Warren
You won’t want to miss today’s guest in the radio series Careers In Marine Biology on the Under The Sea Radio Show.
On today’s show we will be going into the inspiration for this series and the person behind it.
And if you want to call in with questions, simply call (949)534-0637 with your questions live on the show.
Don’t miss it. See you there.
Happy Fishes,
Warren
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