Fish

Many small, freshwater fish thrive in communities, but it’s important to select species with care. Jessie Sanders, DVM, DABVP, owner of Aquatic Veterinary Services in Santa Cruz, California, encourages hobbyists to choose fish species with compatible temperaments and similar requirements for water chemistry and tank temperature.,You’ve learned the basics about keeping a freshwater aquarium and picked out your tank and all the necessary supplies. The only thing left is to choose your fish. Whether you’re a beginner aquarium hobbyist or stocking a community tank, there’s nothing wrong with starting small. We talked to expert aquarists to compile this list of over two dozen of the best small aquarium fish for freshwater tanks.

Neobenedinia In Saltwater Fish There are many parasites which cause skin and gill damage in fish. Neobenedinia is one such parasite found in saltwater fish. A capsalid, it is much larger than other fish parasites and can therefore inflict more damage. Symptoms and Types The parasites damage the skin — the protective barrier against water-borne organisms — and gills, causing sores, ulcers and small bleeding spots all over the fish’s body. Due to the damage to the gills, the infected fish have difficulty breathing. Skin damage will also leave fish more susceptible to secondary infections. Unless the infection is treated in early, the parasites cause death in the fish.

How Fish Reproduce Reproduction in fishes varies widely from species to species. In every case, the fish must use an amount of metabolic energy required to reproduce (i.e., to actually spawn and look after any offspring) in the most efficient way possible.

Whether you’re cultivating a colorful reef tank or taking on the challenge of a coldwater marine aquarium, the right fish make all the difference. The ideal saltwater fish (or combination of them) for your tank will depend on numerous factors, including your tank size and conditions. In this guide, we explore 30 of the best saltwater aquarium fish species.

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By Jessie Sanders, DVM, CertAqV Yes, even fish can undergo surgery. Be they small goldfish or large sharks, all species of fish can be diagnosed with conditions that require the need for surgery. Surgeries are not conducted under water, of course; most procedures are performed with the fish mostly out of the water, with anesthetized water flowing over their gills. Here are some of the amazing fish surgery cases that are being done. Broken Jaw Repair for Lemon the Goldfish Figure 1: Lemon prior to her oral injury Lemon, a fancy Ranchu Goldfish, presented to Aquatic Veterinary Services following a feeding session. During the feed, the right side of Lemon’s mouth collapsed into her oral cavity. Prior to the injury, Lemon had some oral deformities that had been with her since birth. Figure 2: Lemon upon presenting to Aquatic Veterinary Services Now, what to do for a 2-inch goldfish with a broken jaw? First, a specialty surgery bed made with bubble wrap was made for Lemon to lie on her left side. In order to ventilate her and keep her anesthetized during surgery, airline tubing was added to a 60-milliliter syringe to be hand-administered. A staff member was pulled in just to keep the syringes full. Figure 3:  Dr. Jessie Sanders, right, sets Lemon for surgery while assistant, Sara Enos, left, administers anesthesia Once Lemon was on the surgery table and ready for the procedure, the veterinarian considered tacking the corner of the jaw to the side of Lemon’s mouth, but there was not enough skin to attach the sutures to. Two small sutures were placed along the side of Lemon’s mouth to hold her jaw open. Figure 4: Lemon with the sutures in the side of her mouth post-surgery Following the procedure, Lemon was given pain medication and kept for a few nights in the hospital to monitor her healing and appetite. After a few days, she was allowed to return home and continue healing in her home tank with her buddy. Figure 5: Lemon two weeks after surgery with the sutures removed Two weeks post-procedure, the veterinarian went to see Lemon and take the sutures out. Following the removal, Lemon’s jaw was healed and no longer deformed.

For most people, the word “shark” conjures up an image of a toothy, marine predator—but for the freshwater aquarist, “shark” means something different. Despite the name and their shared need for lots of swimming space, freshwater sharks are not true sharks. They’re not close genetic relatives to marine sharks, but they have a “shark-like” body shape, angular fins, a taller-than-average dorsal fin, and often a metallic coloration. We talked to Jessie Sanders, DVM, CertAqV, owner and chief veterinarian of Aquatic Veterinary Services, in Santa Cruz, California, about the best freshwater sharks for home aquariums. Some words of caution before we begin: First, even the smallest freshwater aquarium sharks require a relatively large tank. Second, many species are either too aggressive for most community tanks or can grow too large for the average aquarist to maintain. Please only consider purchasing these animals after doing plenty of research and being certain you can provide them with an appropriate habitat.

You are running late for work, there is a long line at your local coffee shop and your engine light just turned on. Sometimes, we just have stressful days. In humans, it is fairly easy to determine when someone is stressed. In many cases, just asking someone about their day will provide you all you need to know. In other cases, facial expressions are often sufficient to let us know somebody is having a bad day. But what about our fish? How can you measure distress in them? They don’t grimace or raise their eyelids (because they don’t have eyelids to raise). They don’t usually vocalize. Therefore, we need to look at behavior to determine whether our fish are stressed. We need to work at developing regular routines in caring for our fish and the aquarium(s) so that the likelihood of new problems arising, and the accompanying stress, are minimized.

Ghost shrimp (Palaemonetes paludosus) are interesting little creatures. These highly transparent shrimp are also called glass shrimp and grass shrimp. You can see right through ghost shrimp, and I always find it amusing to watch them swimming around after a heavy feeding. Their stomachs turn the color of the flakes or other fish food that they consumed, so the result is a bunch of color spots and black, beady eyes swimming around the aquarium. But ghost shrimp are not suitable for every fish aquarium. They are small, growing to only around 1.5 inches in length. Their small size and delicate nature make them easy targets. Many fish would happily munch on legs or antennae—or (if the fish is large enough) even swallow the shrimp whole. It should be no surprise that dealers sell more ghost shrimp as feeders for large fish than they sell as pets. It’s nothing to feel bad about because that’s how nature works — all animals eat some other living thing to survive. Still, if you keep small fish and have a heavily planted aquarium to provide cover, ghost shrimp can mix into your community. Pick small, unaggressive fish for tankmates. Fine-leaved plants, such as hornwort, cabomba and milfoil are good choices. I think the shrimp look best when kept in tanks with dark gravel—especially black gravel. The dark background causes various tiny specks and markings on the shrimp to darken and become apparent. It makes them a bit less transparent, but I think it adds to the interest. Feeding a ghost shrimp is no hardship. They are active scavengers and accept all foods, even flakes. The shrimp even munch on brush algae, a type of algae left untouched by most algae-eating fish. Ghost shrimp are not strictly bottom feeders, either. They readily climb plants and fish tank decorations looking for food—and they are such good swimmers that they take advantage of floating foods, too. Ghost shrimp spawn readily—and often — in the aquarium. It’s common to see females carrying masses of 20 to 30 pinhead-sized, green eggs between the swimmerets underneath their tails. The swimmerets paddle to bring oxygen to the eggs, which hatch in about three weeks. At that time, the female will use her swimmerets to disperse the baby shrimp into the water column. But you should not expect to be successful raising the babies. Young ghost shrimp go through a larval form. They are very tiny and free-swimming. They don’t even have legs yet — they have swimmerets (padlike appendages on the underside of the tail) that help them swim. The larvae live in the water column, eating infusoria and microscopic plankton for a few days, before molting and settling down as miniature shrimp. Because of this, any ghost shrimp youngsters not eaten by fish will starve in aquariums — which are much too clean to provide sufficient food. Power filters can also be murder, literally, to young ghost shrimp. If you want to try breeding ghost shrimp successfully, set up a heavily planted maternity tank and remove the female after she releases young. Use only an air-operated sponge filter for circulation. Lightly feed bits of strained egg yolk, finely powdered “egglayer” fry food, infusoria, rotifers and microworms until the fry settle. Then hope for the best!,Q.

Without a doubt, the marine aquarium fish trade is dominated by tropical reef species. This has been the case for several decades now. That notwithstanding, there has been a steady growth of interest in various types of coldwater marine aquaria. Coldwater marine aquaria systems might be defined as any aquarium that functions optimally below room temperature (thereby necessitating the use of a powerful aquarium chiller). This type of system can be used to house either deep-water or temperate (i.e., high-latitude) species. Of these, temperate rocky shore biotopes are the most popular style of setup. Fish That Are Suited for Temperate Rocky Shore Environments Perhaps the most notable feature of temperate rocky shore environments (particularly in the intertidal zones) is their instability. These areas are subject to huge swings of temperature, pH, salinity, sunlight exposure and water depth (both daily and seasonal). Thus, any animals that naturally occur in these habitats are well-adapted to rapid and/or extreme fluctuation of environmental conditions. This makes them very well suited to the sometimes wildly unstable conditions of a saltwater aquarium. Given the hardiness, personality and sometimes beautiful coloration exhibited by so many temperate inshore fishes, it is certainly possible for an aquarist of any experience level to succeed with, and thoroughly enjoy, coldwater marine fish aquarium keeping. While larger, extraordinarily attractive animals, like the flag rockfish (Sebastes rubrivinctus), Garibaldi fish (Hypsypops rubicundus) or ornate boxfish (Aracana ornata), most definitely can be amazing aquarium subjects, their need for extra-large aquaria eliminates them from many coldwater aquarists’ wish lists. So instead, let’s focus on those smaller species that can happily reside in a tank as small as 20 gallons. Here are just a few examples of temperate fish species that are desirable for an appropriately chilled and filtered system.