Glass Catfish Kryptopterus Bicirrhis

Have you seen Catfish movie? As a wiki said "Catfish" is a 2010 American documentary involving a man being filmed by his friends as he builds a romantic online relationship on the social networking website Facebook beetween New York photographer Nev Schulman with a girl.

The trailer is fantastic, but I’m not representation of Catfish movie here. Yes, Catfish leaves a lot of room for discussion after watching it but now I’ll talk about one types of Catfish - the title used in this movie. Precisely Glass Catfish, one of the exotic aquarium catfish types.

Glass catfish with its scientific name of Kryptopterus bicirrhis differs from the “ghost catfish” (Kryptopterus minor), in terms of size in which the bicirrhis are much bigger and have relatively longer anal fins. Glass catfish is generally considered a friendly type of fish that can mix well with other non-aggressive tropical fish species and are compatible with the likes of tetras, small-sized gourami, killifish and otocinclus.

All glass catfish are very sensitive to changes in water quality. Most of the time, if these water parameters were not closely monitored, the fish will fall sick and when it does, the transparent body will turn to white opaque color. Overall, in terms of behavior, the species is not the type of fish which are active swimmers.

Plants are also beneficial in the sense that while they provide a sense of security for your exotic fish, at the same time it also helps to reduce nitrate level to the minimum resulting in less harm to your glass catfish.

If well fed, glass catfish can grow up to maximum 4 inches in length once it reaches adult age at around 15 months and normally the usual size will range from 3 inches and above.

Glass catfish are relatively difficult to keep, but if their basic conditions are met they make an interesting addition to a community tank or alone in a single species tank. If in a community tank, you must be sure to watch this "exotic fish" at feeding time to make sure they are getting some food.

If there ever was a fish that really cries out for a quarantine tank, glass cats are that fish. Even a 5 gallon tank will suffice. A quarantine tank should be used for all new fish you plan to introduce into an existing tank, but for glass cats it is an absolute must. Glass catfish care required a regular partial water changes in catfish aquarium to keep nitrates low and good filtration is recommended.

Fish Tankmates for Oscar

A question often asked what are suitable Oscar fish tankmates? A lot will depend on what size of tank you have. As Oscar fish will grow big depending on the size of Aquarium they are in. Oscars together are fine as long as you add them at the same time and are the same size.

The must be considered here are do not introducing young Oscars to a tank with larger Oscars, as they could finish up being a meal. Oscars tend to be greedy eaters and will eat just about anything that will fit into their proportionally large mouths.

My number 1 choice of fish tankmates for Oscars would be other Cichlids providing they are not the larger breeds of Cichlids which have a very aggressive nature and could cause a lot of disruption in the tank.

Some other fish you could have with Oscar fish would be, Clown Loach, some Catfish such as Black Lancer and the Synodontis again providing these are large enough and not just young fish. Silver dollars are another choice you could go for.

If you are lucky enough to be the owner of a larger oscar fish tank say 400 or 500 gallons, it is possible to add some shoals of smaller varieties of fish providing you follow certain criteria. With this amount of space you should put in plenty of plants and rocks etc. to create lots of hiding places for these smaller fish. You should monitor this situation, as you should with any new introductions of fish to your aquarium, to make sure all is well.

Obviously this situation of introducing these small fish to your tank could prove risky and instead of having Oscar fish tankmates you would have fish food for Oscars. So you should take a regular head count and be vigilant, these smaller fish can be removed if not successful. If everything works out alright you will finish up with a really beautiful display.

White Spot Tropical Fish Disease

White spot is one of fish diseases that most often appear. The parasite is long settled in the aquarium. If there are fish to stress, for example in fish that had just entered into the aquarium, then this fish parasite will soon be activated and infect the skin, gills, fins and eyes of fish.

White Spot prevention alternative is to increase water temperature by 2-3 ° C, can boost the immune system of fish. If accompanied by a treatment, it is quite effective way to eliminate White Spot disease .

White spot is arguably the most common fish diseases that tropical fish are subject to, and is believed to be responsible for causing more fatalities than any other disease. It lives under the top layer of scales and skin on your fish, eating skin cells and causing minute cellular ruptures. The white spots which result from these ruptures are the basis for the parasite's name, and are what will eventually kill the host (the fish).

How does it get into my tank? White spot is usually introduced to a tank along with new, infected fish or plants. It can also break out seemingly without warning in an undisturbed tank.

When this happens, it means that the organism has been present for some time, but has been dormant (hibernating), and that some new stimulus - stress, or a change in water temperature - has caused it to awaken and become active.

The original cell of the organism will attach itself to a host (the weakest, oldest, or sickest fish in the tank), usually in the gill plates or under the scales.

After approximately one week of parasitism, the now-mature organism (mature Ich cells are called trophozoites) detaches from the fish and settles on a new surface: usually, a plant or ornament.

It will then form a capsule around itself (called a cyst) and will remain dormant - at least, outwardly - for about a week. During this period of time, the cell within the capsule is furiously dividing: by the time that those seven days are up, that one cell has become approximately 1,000 new single-celled organisms.

These "daughter cells" will then break loose and swim freely about the tank, attaching themselves to new fish - and beginning the cycle all over again.

White spot is highly contagious and progresses very rapidly. 100% mortality is to be expected unless something is done about it.

To avoid white spot, prevention is obviously the best cure. Make sure you only ever buy healthy fish from a reputable, clean breeder. Inspect the tank from which your fish originate: does it look to be in clean condition? Are the plants healthy and flourishing? Is the gravel clean of sediment and dust? Is the water warm and well-conditioned?

Check the fish, too - not just the ones you're buying, but all the fish in the tank. Watch out for ones that are 'hiding' (under rocks and behind ornaments) since this is a classic symptom of an infected fish. Make sure none are displaying those tell-tale white spots.

Thoroughly clean any gravel or ornaments you purchase before placing them in the tank, to make sure any cysts are dislodged. Quarantine new plants and fish for one week before adding them to your tank.

Never overstock your tank, since it will stress the fish (which is a major contributor to outbreaks of white spot, as well as dictating in part the severity of the outbreak). Check your fish regularly for white spots. The earlier you detect it, the less impact the white spot disease will have on your tank.

What if it's too late for prevention? If you've already got an outbreak in your own tank, relax - it may be a serious illness, but at least it's easy to cure! The most common, and user-friendly, method of curing condition is through the use of aquarium salts.

Parasites are less tolerant of salt than fish, so adding extra salt kills off all the Ich organisms with no adverse effects to the fish themselves. Make sure you follow the instructions on the package (aquarium salts should always come with clear instructions), and make sure before using it that you don't have any salt-intolerant fish in the tank like Neons, Cardinals, Glow-Lights, or scale-less Catfish, which are easily burned by salt.

A second alternative is to use a chemical called malachite green. This is an effective way of treating Ich, but unfortunately the chemical is toxic to humans (as well as most plants and snails, so make sure you remove these before commencing treatment!). Always use gloves when administering this chemical - and, because it's teratogenic (meaning it harms fetuses), pregnant women should stay well away from it.

All you have to do with malachite green is remove the carbon from the filter, and add the appropriate amount (according to the instructions) to the water of the tank. It usually takes about 4-5 days to kill all the Ich cells - a good rule of thumb is to continue use of it until a couple of days after the last white spot has vanished from the fish. 10 days is typical for use of malachite green: just remember to put the carbon back in the filter to remove any lingering traces of the treatment, and give it one or two more days before putting the snails and plants back in.

UV light is also an effective means of treatment: you can purchase inner-tank filters from the pet store with small UV lights inside them. The light kills the fish parasite in the capsule stage, before they attach to the host.

The transfer method is time-consuming but effective: you'll need to move all the fish, daily, into a new tank with clean, warm, conditioned water. It takes about 7 daily transfers (so, a week) for all the parasites to fall behind. The only downside is that the fish (and, often, the aquarist!) get stressed by the process, leaving them more susceptible to other diseases. Fish already affected by white spot will sometimes die during the transfer process because their bodies can't handle the additional stress.

Otocinclus Affinis The Most Diligent Algae Eaters Fish

Otocinclus affinis from Brazil, living in swift river wing with moss growing on rocks. Otocinclus affinis (4 cm) is the smallest Otocinclus types and most diligent algae eaters without damaging the leaves. The picture above is Otocinclus affinis on Vallisneria. Otocinclus affinis healthy life in the aquarium with clear water and a temperature of 20-26 ° C.

Otocinclus affinis is a small (2") algae-eating fish which is perfect for the tropical freshwater aquarium. It is a diligent worker, doesn't have an aggressive bone in its body, and is fun to watch interact with others in a group. Other names for otocinclus are "otos", or "dwarf suckermouth catfish".

Otocinclus should be constantly pooping. In fact, most fish from the family Loricariidae are big poopers. Since otocinclus are mainly herbivores they need massive quantities of greens to keep them healthy. The best form of this is the soft green algae that is sometimes difficult to see. A fat oto is a happy oto!

If your Otocinclus affinis is slim in any sense of the word then you need to supplement their diet with zucchini or spinach, or figure out a way to grow more algae.