Night of the Guppy

As I was randomly surfing the web on guppies tonight I came across this unique fictional vampire guppy story called "Night of the Guppy". It's pretty funny at times and only 3 chapters long, but it's a free read so check it out if you got some free time, made me smile!

Click Here to Read!

Blackwater Aquarium - Get the Look

Blackwater aquariums are not your typical looking tank as they generally have dark tea colored water, low lighting and generally have a lack in plant life. Below you'll find a few simple ways I came up with to create an aquarium that looks like or is a blackwater biotope type of aquarium.

Lighting

In a blackwater aquarium it can often be a daunting task for live plants to survive in this type of environment as it usually has low light levels. Generally blackwater biotopes have soft water and plants possibly wouldn't thrive beneath the water. I'd recommend choosing bulbs that give off more yellow lighting in this type of aquarium and have a low wattage which will make the tank a bit more dim than bright. However, in a true blackwater biotope it is possible to use other types of lighting although I personally don't like white light blazing through this type of biotope. It is common for blackwater aquariums to be so dimly lit that it is often difficult to view the fish in the aquarium.

Plants

Due to the low light levels and low pH in a blackwater biotope most plants aren't going to thrive too well here. In my opinion you may be better off using fake plants if any at all (choose green plants that have a yellow or red tone given to them as these may look best). For a more natural approach use live or fake plants that sit/float near the surface of the water for the best success rate for live plants or the most natural looking blackwater aquarium.

Decor

The most typical decor found in a blackwater aquarium is often some type of wood and for good reason since it can help lower pH which is needed for true blackwater environments. The incorporation of stones/rocks/etc can be used as well. Blackwater environments will generally have a black background or one that is a bit burnish in color (think of deep orange and red colors that occur in autumn). The substrate may be covered in autumn colored leaves (real or fake) such as oak. Gravel substrate is generally black or a natural color although it's probably more common in a true blackwater environment to find natural colored sand or black colored soil. Keep in mind that a white substrate will probably appear more yellowish in a true blackwater type of environment and by using a black colored background it will help create more depth to the tank itself.

Water Quality

There are chemicals on the market which can help to lower the pH in an aquarium if your pH is not on the soft side (a pH lower than 7.0 is acidic and considered to be soft water) for a true blackwater environment. Blackwater in nature can be as low as a 3.0 pH although in an aquarium this may become a bit too unstable for brackish fish. There are also natural methods which can be used to help lower pH such as alder cones, bogwood, peat, almond leaves, etc. If your aquarium is not a true blackwater aquarium use older aquarium driftwood, low watt yellow lighting and some peat extracts which can help your water look more yellow in color without possibly altering it to the extremes of a pH below 7.0. Blackwater environments generally have slow moving water so you'll probably want to avoid using forceful powerhead filters.
Water Temperature
Upon doing some reaseach (although I am not totally certain how accurate this blackwater reading is) I found that an average blackwater temperature is possibly around 82.7°F but ranges from 76.3°F to 89°F.

Additional Tips

Keep in mind that the use of carbon can tend to remove certain chemicals from your water and remove the coloration from your blackwater biotope. Here's a little inspo link I found online to someone who created their own blackwater biotope.

Guppy Origins and Environment

Guppies are native to areas around the northeast side of South America. Which include Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Brazil, Guyana, Netherlands Antilles, Trinidad and Tobago, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Venezuela. To better re-create a guppies biotope in an aquarium, you'll probably want to research the Amazon River and Rainforest areas.

You'll find such plants like Amazon Swords at your local petstore that are obviously native to the Amazon. Other native plants are Sagittaria, Ludwiga, Syngonium, Myriophyllum, Caladium, Orchid, Giant Water Lillies, Anthurium, Bromeliad and Cabomba to name a few. Other South American fish you may come across locally are certain cichlids, discuss, angelfish, rams, cory's, oscars, tetras, barbs, gouramis, and killifish. Your best bet to re-creating that rainforest feel in your aquarium is to also check the reptile isle at your local petstore as they have lots of rainforest/jungle inspired decor which you may be able to use in your aquarium.

Keep in mind that South America consists of (3) major water types...whitewater, clearwater (blue water), and blackwater.

(1) Whitewater rivers pick up large amounts of sediment from the Andes giving the water a muddy-brown color. Whitewater receives its name from the white foam of the rapids of the upper regions. Whitewater rivers lack abundant plant life. Most aquarium species are found in quiet, backwater areas like oxbow lakes. The water properties of whitewater rivers are a pH from 6.8-7.1 and a dH of 3-5. The best example of a whitewater river is the Amazon River.

(2) Clear or blue water rivers are tributaries which flow through ancient Brazilian and Guyana rock beds where little sediment is released into the rivers. The water of these rivers is very clear and allows plant growth. Clearwater rivers have a pH of 6.9-7.5 and a water hardness of 5-12 dH. The Rio Xingu and the Rio Tocantins are such rivers.

(3) Blackwater rivers are nutrient poor and tea or black in color from the tanic acid released from decaying vegetation. Blackwater has been compared to distilled water due to its lack of dissolved minerals. Blackwater rivers are acidic and have a pH of 6.0 with little measurable water hardness (0 dH). The Rio Negro is the most famous of the blackwater rivers.

Betta Eating Behavior

Recently I've noticed that Mr. Moto (my blue veil-tail Betta) hasn't been eating the way he use to. His Cubus tank is also getting dirtier than normal lately as the flake food is gradually building along the gravel. So, I moved Mr. Moto into a clean MiniBow 2.5gal tank to monitor the issue. I saw that he'll eat a flake and a few seconds later spit it out. Some of the food is apparently breaking down in his mouth and going out through his gills, thus causing a cloud of flake food particles to come out.

I did some research where a few others stated having the same issue and I'm not convinced that this is normal behavior. Mr. Moto also seems to rest more on the bottom of the tank which also isn't like him as he usually rests on top of his plants. He is still occasionally active throughout the day, no signs of illness or fungus and he still attempts to eat.

So here's what I did which seems to have stopped the issue...

Step 1: Do a complete tank cleaning.
Step 2: Do not feed the fish for an entire day (24hrs).
Step 3: The next day only feed the Betta 4 big flakes (about 1 cm diameter) throughout the entire day. You should not see any food coming out through his gills.
Step 4: Only feed the Betta once a day (try to do this the same time every day), a very small pinch of food from here on out.

Keep in mind that Betta's love to eat, but you should never overfeed it. Although your Betta may look hungry and keep eating, I wouldn't feed it more than this. Your Betta more than likely will not starve either. Also, I still have not figured out why Mr. Moto keeps resting on the bottom of the tank but I will continue to closely monitor him.

DIY Aquarium Planter

I decided to create my own aquarium planter. This is basically a simple 2Liter bottle that sits on top of the aquarium as a planter. The plant receives water and nutrients from the established aquarium and gets its light and such from above the aquarium.

What you'll need...

Scissors
1, 2Liter Plastic Bottle with Cap (you can add more if you want)
Drill
1inch thick piece of Wood/Glass/Hard Plastic (this will act as your aquarium lid)
Plant/s
Aquarium Silicon (or adhesive of your choosing)
Aquarium filled with water (and other living inhabitants)

Step 1: Cut your 2Liter bottle in half or at an angle (like the above image). You can choose to discard the base at this time or keep it to support the top half of the bottle until the unit is complete.
Step 2: Using a thick piece of Wood/Glass/Plastic (your choice as long as it can sit on top your tank), drill a hole that will fit your bottle cap. You'll also want to drill a small hole in the top of your bottle cap (this will allow the roots to be pulled through the base later).
Step 3: Apply the Aquarium Silicon (or adhesive of your choice) inside the drilled hole in your Wood/Glass/Plastic. With the cap screwed tightly onto the top half of your bottle you'll than push it into your drilled hole with the adhesive in the Wood/Glass/Plastic. Be sure to position the top half of the bottle the way you want your planter to be displayed later once the adhesive has dried completely.
Step 4: Once the adhesive is dry you can than choose to unscrew the bottle from your Wood/Glass/Plastic and the cap should stay securely inside the Wood/Glass/Plastic hole. This will help if you ever want to clean out your planter later on.
Step 5: You can then add your plant into the top of the 2Liter bottle, make sure it is screwed securely back in place on your Wood/Glass/Plastic. Be sure the roots have been pulled through your unit and can reach the water in the aquarium.

Note: You don't need the tank lid to be as wide as the tank so long as it can rest safely on top the tank length wise. You could also make a hinged door that can be lifted up to feed your fish if you do decide to cover the entire top of the aquarium. Or even create a box type hood where you could attach lighting underneath for an all around planted or lighted aquarium.

Natural Aquarium

In this day and age who would've ever heard of a planted tank that runs perfectly without the use of high end fertilizers and chemicals (or any for that matter), and without power filters and co2 injections?! Okay, so perhaps that's how it works in fresh water lakes and ponds, but it can also work for you at home! A great site I recently came across is Natural Aquariums. At N.A. they have been creating natural aquariums since the 80's and have broken down their aquarium setups for everyone else out there that is interested in doing something like this.

Here's how a basic setup of theirs works and what you'll need to get started.

-10 Gallon Aquarium (or larger, your choice really)
-Two 40Watt Bulbs, cool-white/day-light fluorescent shop lights (of you can use 2 aquarium grow lights)
-Plenty of aquarium type plants (they have a list on their site), they recommend Amazon Swords, Cryptocorynes, Anubias, Java Moss, Ferns, Hornwort, Najas Guadalupensis and Rotala Indiva.
-Air Pump *Optional*
-Occasional/Frequent Water Changes (Gravel Vacuum & Bucket will help during this time) as well as trimming plants.
-Aquarium Heater (for those who live in cold conditions) *Optional*
-Small Fish (preferably ones that work well with your tap water and don't devour plants) and of course fish food.
-Aquarium Chlorine Remover (Depending on your tap water quality), you could possibly need other chemicals depending on your water as well but they keep things pretty chemical free. An RO Filter would also work great if you're really trying to be chemical free.
-Gravel Substrate (the typical pea sized gravel kind, avoid sand substrates)
-Peat and Wood (these can help to naturally lower pH) *Optional*
-Invertebrates such as Malayan Live-bearing Snails (these will help to clean your gravel)

According to N.A. it's all about finding the right combination of fish, plants, lighting and invertebrates that will work best in your tank setup and your water conditions while trying to avoid filtration systems, chemicals and all that fancy overpriced stuff in between.