|
What are Clown
fish?
Clown fish are colourful, cute and
sometimes amusing inhabitants of tropical reefs from
several places around the world, including the Great
Barrier Reef. They are a hardy fish, and with the
proper aquarium and care, can be safely kept in the
home for many years.
Clown fish like "Nemo" are usually 2-8cm long. They
have an unusual symbiotic relationship with sea
anemone in the wild. While other fish may be stung and
killed by the anemone's tentacles, Clown fish are
immune, living amongst the tentacles. They feed on the
anemone's leftovers, and can even bring it food. They
are social fish, and as such it is recommended that at
least two are kept in aquariums.
In the past, Clown fish for
aquariums have always been caught in the wild from the
reef. Today there are several Clown fish farms around
Australia. It is strongly recommended that anyone
wishing to keep Clown fish in a home aquarium insist
upon aquacultured, or captive bred Clown fish. Captive
bred fish do not create an impact on the natural
environment, they are healthier and hardier, there is
little chance you will buy them diseased or sick, and
they are not fussy eaters.
Introduction to keeping
In the wild, Clown fish have a
small territory, and therefore can survive in smaller
home aquariums, but for a number of various reasons,
bigger aquariums are better. As a minimum, a Clown
aquarium should be approximately 40 litres.
Setting up a marine aquarium is far
more complex than freshwater, and mistakes can be
deadly to everything in the tank. It is therefore very
important that a marine aquarist is well informed, and
committed to spending the time, effort and money to do
it right.
Below is a list of equipment that
you will need as a minimum to keep Clown fish:
|
• |
tank - at least 30
litres |
|
• |
water - specialised
artificial sea salt mix with a water ager |
|
• |
sand - small
grained sea sand |
|
• |
1kg of live rock
per 20 litres of water at least |
|
• |
filter - almost any
kind of mechanical filter will do (optional) |
|
• |
circulation - a
small (100 litre per hour) internal pump to keep
the water moving |
|
• |
ammonia test kit -
to test the level of ammonia in the water |
|
• |
heating - 100 watts
of heating per 50 litres of water |
|
• |
lighting - one or
more fluorescent lights |
|
• |
thermometer - to
test the temperature |
|
• |
hydrometer - to
test the water salinity |
|
• |
nitrite test kit -
to test the level of nitrites in the water |
|
• |
pH test - to test
the pH of the water |
Setting up the aquarium
-
Clean the tank of dust and dirt,
and position it where it will be kept. Ensure that
the tank will not be in direct sunlight for very
long at any time.
-
It is very important to note that
you never, ever use any cleaning products in, on or
around your tank, as these chemicals can and will
kill your fish. Always wash your hands thoroughly in
water only before putting your hand in the tank, and
do not use and aerosols, flea bombs or similar
products in the same room as the tank.
-
Add sand to a depth of
approximately 3-6cm average depth.
-
Pour seawater or artificial sea
salt mixed with aged tap water to the tank, leaving
about 5cm from the top (this is for the displacement
of everything that is to be put into the tank).
-
Put in the heater, and only when
it is submerged, turn it one and set it to 26
degrees Celsius.
-
Add the filter and turn it on.
-
Add the internal circulation pump
and turn it on.
-
Let the cloudiness settle for a
couple of hours and ensure that the tank temperature
and salinity levels are correct. Clown fish require
the salinity to be 1.026.
-
Add some live rock.
-
You may keep the light on for
approximately eight hours per day but this is not
essential until you add your fish.
-
Test the nitrite levels daily.
For the first several days, the nitrites should be
zero. You will eventually see a very high reading.
After this, the nitrite level will slowly drop over
several days or weeks. This process is known as the
nitrogen cycle or cycling.
-
Cycling will take one to four
weeks and you will not be able to put any living
things into the tank until the nitrite reading is
zero. This is because the levels of poisonous
chemicals in the tank could be fatal to them.
-
When the nitrites have returned
to zero it is safe to add the fish.
Maintaining your tank
Marine aquariums require ongoing
maintenance. This is to ensure that the conditions in
the tank are kept constant, and that the water quality
is kept at its best level possible. The regular tank
maintenance routine will include the following:
Daily
Weekly
-
drain 10-20% of the tank water
and replace with new sea water or mixed and aged tap
water which has been heated to the same temperature
as the tank (you may need a second heater to do
this).
-
clean the physical filter by
rinsing it in the removed tank water
-
top up the tank with aged tap
water to make up for any evaporation
-
test the pH levels and test for
ammonia.
-
for a week after any new tank
addition, test nitrite levels. If they are high, you
will need to do daily 10-20% water changes until
they drop.
The Nitrogen Cycle
The most important component of a
successful marine tank is a healthy bacteria colony.
These bacteria thrive on exactly the chemicals which
cause problems in your tank and the end byproducts are
naturally removed, leaving your water safe for fish
and other inhabitants. This is known as biological
filtration. The bacteria reside on the live rock that
you add to the tank and will quickly spread to the
sand, along with worms and other helpful creatures.
In order for the biological filter
to become established, it must first go through the
nitrogen cycle. When you add the live rock to the
tank, some of the living things will die and
decompose, resulting in a high level of ammonia in the
water. Ammonia is poisonous to most creatures. It is
important to have a big "spike" in ammonia to start
the cycle, thus the addition of the extra food.
In response to the plentiful new
ammonia supply, ammonia-eating bacterial thrive. As
these bacteria consume the ammonia over a couple of
days, they create nitrites as waste. Nitrites are ales
poisonous to most creatures and need to be dealt with.
Fortunately other bacteria can help us out.
While your tank is 'cycling', you
will notice a lot of growth of algae. This is normal,
and you will probably see 'wavers' of different types
of algae come and go in the first several months of
the tank's life. Algae blooms can be a problem from
time to time but they are rarely dangerous and good
advice from experienced tank keepers will help you
deal with the problem.
Back to Top >>
|
