Feeding frozen blood worms to the tiger barbs and Buzz the baby loach.

I moved my fish tank recently and my tiger barbs were scared whenever someone would walk by. So to try to regain their affection, I began hand feeding them occasionally. It's pretty fun to watch and feels unique.


enjoy ~ Jordan M.

Starting a Fish Tank ~ Tips to Avoid Fish Killing

Alright, so many of you mentioned that you had difficulties keeping fish alive!  I have heard this from many people before but haven't really had to much trouble myself.  So, from what I have heard from the "pros" is that people make a lot of mistakes in the initial setup of an aquarium.


This website breaks it down into pretty simple steps: http://newaquariuminformation.com/aquarium-information/freshwater-aquariums/starting-a-freshwater-aquarium.htm


I read through and agree with most steps so if you ever want to start a tank these are pretty simple guidelines that will keep your fish alive.


So a couple of rules to remember with fish tanks and how not to kill your fish.


-Never use soaps or any other chemicals to clean tank or anything to enter the tank.  NOTE: it is important to have clean hands/forearms when you are cleaning or messing around in your tank!  Example: don't shower or do dishes and then stick your hands in the fish tank.  Rinse your hands and forearms before placing them in the tank.  Do Not Use Soaps!  This is a huge rule to remember.


-Don't fluctuate the temperature of the tank!  Use a heater to get the water temp preferably between 70-80 degrees F (depends on the fish you have i have always kept it in this range) before you introduce fish into the tank.  Keep heater on or adjust with a timer to stabilize temp.


-Lastly, please plan ahead.  I have been told different steps when establishing a tank (when you run a tank without fish in it at the start).  Try to "borrow" bacteria (good bacteria in already established tanks water) from other tanks you might have or know someone has.  You can borrow a used filter cartridge and place it in your own filter (this will speed up your tank to stabilize and ultimately  become an established tank faster).  Also, place the fish food you will use in your tank so those nitrates are also introduced and established in the tank.  Lastly, run your tank for a few days.  The article says 24 hours but I have heard and tried an entire week.  Just be patient!  (This means get  the tank, gravel, decor, filter, heater, light..... build your tank and run your tank and WAIT to buy fish) All the levels of chemicals and bacteria and what not need to balance before you can add fish to the tank.  This will keep your fish healthy when you first introduce them to the tank.


Pic of the post: How cool is this tank!?  These are planted tanks, real freshwater plants are much more upkeep but bring an unparalleled beauty to freshwater aquariums. From google images

Responding To Your Comments

Hello all, wow the comments blew up pretty fast.  I kept telling myself I will write another post responding to the comments once it hits eleven comments.  I figured responding to comments would be a nice post since; after all you took the time to read about my fishies and share your thoughts.  So prepare for a long post.  Feel free to skip to your name regarding your comment. :)

Renee, Idk what to say about your backyard.  That’s kinda gross. (me and renee are close so she can take my sarcasm).  No but if you ever try fish again get ahold of me.  They don’t have to be stinky and dirty, at the very least you can upkeep by spending 1 hour week on it.


Heather, “Are you thinking about getting any more fish? If so, what kind do you think you will get next?” I think about this probably everyday!  I cannot wait to settle down and buy a house or move out of this temporary apt just so I can by a giant tank and have some more fish.  This is my next blog topic :D


Nora, first off, I too love my red tailed shark.  He basically is a boss.  Second, I have heard a little bit about fish anesthetics and will look more into clove oil + vodka trick.  Thank! PS I’m sorry fish give you heebie jeebies :(


Gina, Thank you for feeding Carlos!  Blogs are kind of cool so far.  You really can say a lot about yourself or really anything for people to share or comment.  It certainly is different for me.


Ashlee, like my caption says, Carlos is a Cutie!  Saltwater tanks are really beautiful and fascinating, but I have just grown to love tropical freshwater fish more.  It is a great hobby, can be expensive to start, but to maintain isn’t bad at all.


Jamie, Carlos definitely is a hit.  I thought that was a fun little widget to add.  There are more pets to choose from and you just copy a long paragraph thing and paste it into a place in your design area.  Wow that’s more confusing in words then in my head  :S


Koren, I really wanted to personalize my blog.  I thought Carlos and the water droplets would do just that.  Thanks for noticing! I remember me and my older brother begging for a pet turtle when we were 5 and 10.  I think I just wanted what he was into, but my mom refused :( im jealous you were fortunate enough to own one!


Brittany, the zebra fish was a good addition.  Buzz, is such a busy bee! Thus the name buzz.  My gf picked him out at the store because she too loves animal print.  But when we first plopped him in the tank man did he start cleaning like no other!  He still to this day is just going crazy cleaning every inch of the tank.  What a cutie!


    Phew, quick break.  Side note- With all these posts how freakin annoying is the stupid letter box thing.  TYPE IN THESE CONFUSING SYMBOLS THAT KINDA LOOK LIKE LETTERS SO WE KNOW YOU ARENT A ROBOT  .It’s understandable but gets annoying so fast when you want to really comment on others blogs!!!!


Alrighty, Tina.  Thank you again for feeding my baby Carlos!  My pleco, my roommate calls him plecky, grew so fast.  I know they can grow to be gianormous but grow to  the size of their tanks.  This guy has been around since I started this tank 2 years ago.  He is a trooper.  He has gone through 3 moves in that time span!  People seem to really like his long dorsal fin when they look at my tank!  Glad there are other fish lovers and fish lovers lovers out there!!


Renae, Isn’t Carlos neat?  I’ll be honest at first I tried a pet sloth on the side of my blog but he slept the whole time.  Boring.  You could not wake him up.  Then I decided to blog about my fishies and thought well damn a fish would be perfect.  And carlos is just that.  It’s okay to tease him because he needs to exercise.  Of course then feed him.  Being a swimmer I love seeing my fish swim against the current of the filter or the bubbler.  Working hard to get stronger :p


Alanna, I apologize busting into your apt slightly hammed.  I know this is probably inappropriate for school work but I mean it is my blog so w/e.  I didn’t not drink to get drunk but it just happens sometimes ya know!!! Hah no but im glad you like my fish tanks.  Hope you feel betters.


Chelsea Jill, Calling my fish cute hits it dead on.  I couldn’t agree more with you.  In fact, the 7 words and one symbol you used in your comment is enough for me to respect you beyond belief. “Aw they're so cute! I love fish :D”.   Perfect ;)


JoosBox, I’ll keep that in mind about blogging.  Random thoughts or recaps on days would make this assignment easier thanks!  PS im still researching jailbreaking a little bit.  I just wanna change my theme, that just seems awesome!


Nicole, it is pretty cool.  They have some other pets to choose from on their website.  I think they just released a tiger… so cute.  Wow. Random I visited your pages to see if you got a pet yet and totally stole your Feedjit gadget!  How cool!  Hope you don’t mind :) thanks


Finally, Tricia.  That’s a pretty funny story tricia.  Kids are so cute and innocent.  Having fish tanks and children doesn’t always mix well.  Good thing I only want four kids in the next 11 years :DDDD no but my childhood story might be cuter.  We had a gold fish.  Sparky RIP. I thought one day that I would give him a glass of chocolate milk.  I thought he was sick of drinking water all day.  Of course I poured too much and he died :( but my mom couldn’t be mad at me for trying to give him a little variety in life!


A couple more comments came in that I'd like to address.


Ya know Brooke, I haven't really had trouble with ich or diseases so i don't have a whole lot of suggestions.  One general rule that might seem obvious is to really inspect the pet stores tanks before buying.  Don't but a fish from a tank that has dead fish in it or sickly looking fish.  And do not buy from walmart or meijers etc they are just too unreliable.  Otherwise, googling and researching ich and disease prevention would honestly be more viable than my words :p


Sarah, I hate to burst your bubble, but Winston the shark is technically a catfish.  These tropical freshwater fish known as sharks are really catfish.  They do look similar to sharks, very cool in my opinion, but aren't really sharks.  But there are many freshwater "sharks" besides mine too.  I know the bala shark is a very cool looking shark > http://www.petpig.com/fish/Shark_Bala.aspx.  If I ever buy a real shark I will definitely show it in this blog!!


Munazzah, Thanks!  I really never considered my hobby a talent but I will take the compliment.  It really is a very fun and interesting hobby.  Plus guests always have nice things to say and I take pride with the compliments my tank receives. 


Lastly Again, Rachel.  I have been an animal lover since I was born.  My mother is an animal freak as well.  I grew up on a farm with horses, chickens, couple dogs, way too many cats, and then brought a few inside the house like owning fish and lizards.  Animals are just awesome.  We had 9 cats at one time... Me and my brother are allergic to cats lol.  But we grew out of it kinda lol I can still get hives if I'm not careful.  As for tips see below.


So, a few of the comments have been that you have a hard time keeping fish alive.  I have heard this many many times.  I am no pro by any means and I know there are areas I could improve on as well, but I decided to make a quick list of tips i guess you could say to starting and maintaining a healthy tank as a future post.  So tune in I guess??


Well sorry if you felt like you had to read that giant post.  But I thought you all deserved some response so you aren’t randomly just throwing out bs for the assignment.  Now I hope you feel you matter because you care and I care.  How nice right?

END

Entry For IST 396

Like many of my classmates I am new to this.  I honestly have no idea what to blog about.

I signed up and played around with the designs for a half hour or so.

I found this adopt-a-pet gadget.  You should feed my fish Carlos <-----------

Still no topic...  Got a bowl of Raisin Bran Crunch.  Hoping brain food will power an entry out of me.

Ok.  I couldn't think of anything creative so I will share my hobby.

I have always had a fish tank or two since my middle school days.  I have always had a fascination with fish and other sea creatures.  At one point I wished to be a marine biologist.  I am no fish pro by any means.  I have always enjoyed my smaller freshwater aquariums.  I have no desire to try saltwater tanks due to the price and upkeep.  The largest I have had is a 20 gallon.  Perhaps someday I will purchase a much larger tank.

With that said here are a few pictures of my current tank.

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Photo One shows my newest member Buzz (zebra pattern) and Winston the red tailed shark.

Photo Two shows the rest of the gang <from left to right> Plecy the pleco, Winston again, and then there are 7 tigerbarbs who are difficult to tell apart so they are nameless :(

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END