Planted Aquarium

- So I have made a decision to grow live aquatic plants in my 30 Gal. tank. That is indeed a great decision for two reasons...
 + The beauty that live plants provide...
 + And the improved health of an aquarium that the live plants provide with proper care.
- Not only I find that my aquarium takes on a more natural look, but I also find that my fish behave in a more natural manner. At this point I am going to assume that I already have the basics on keeping tropical fish and are adapt to the basics of maintaining an aquarium. What I intend to do here is fill in the blanks to give myself the best start to growing beautiful plants for that aquarium.
- My theme is from a dead bonsai, tried to create what I have lost. I used Flame moss for the Tree top; Baby tears and Hair-grass  for the foreground; Cryte, Blyxa, Vals for the back and java moss around the driftwood.

Aquarium: 36"x14"x14" - 30Gal.
Lighting: NA Lamp 96W, turned on 10 hours per day
Filter: Rena X3
Substrate: Aqua Soil, Black Beauty Sand.
CO2: Glass diffuser, 3 bubbles per second.
Water change: 1/3 once a week
Water quality: Temperature: 75°F; pH: 6.5; TH: 20 mg/l, NO2: < 0.02 mg/l; NO3: < 1mg/l; COD: 4mg/l

 

- Day one - Feb 8th, 2010
  + Cloudy, I do water change every other day.

 

- One of my friend suggested not plant in clumps. I should thin the bushes up and spread them out. I took his advise and did thin and spread them out, will update in one week.

White Rumped Shama Breeding Project

- This is my first time to breed Songbird, especially White Rumped Shama, which I really like the most, not only the wonderful songs they have but their beautiful display also.
- The breeding season starts from January to September in Southeast Asia, and around March to September in the State, but I started pairing them on 01-31-10 after lengthening the day time to 14 hours.
- The first day went fine, no fighting or chasing at all, but the second and third day, the Male (Tediy) has been chasing the Female (Bleye) during the feeding time, after that, one of each stayed at the different corner.
- Twelve days has passed, The pair gets closer to each other. They both occasional sing their soft songs to attract one another attention. I think they're in top breeding condition now so I decide to set the heater up to 75 F, hope they will mate and have some eggs soon.
- This video clip was recorded when Tediy was in the aviary one week.




- 02/15/10. Good news, both of my birds are building their nesting today. I think it will take a couple days for them to finish the nest.


- 02/18/10. Bleye has worked hard for the last three days, She didn't build her nest in my nest box but right the corner below the roof. I had to move my nest box right next to it, hoping she would change her mind, but no luck so far...
- 02/19. Finally, Bleye changed her mind to build her nest in the box. I think the first egg will be there very soon.

- 02/26 Bleye laid two eggs already, I think the first egg was laid yesterday 02/25.

- Bleye is resting the whole day after building the nest for five days.
- 02/25 Bleye laid her fisrt egg
- 02/26 The second egg was laid.
- 02/27 I checked the nest if there is the third egg, but somehow there is only one egg left. I guess during she's turning around the nest, one of the egg got into the nest material. I check it out after the breeding season is over.
- 02/27 Bleye started incubating at night. We countdown from this night for 11 days then eggs will hatch,
- 3/10 The egg hatched this early morning.

- Bad news: The baby is gone at 2 days old; the main reasons are the live food is too big for the baby and changing Vitamin supplements in the food, which taste different to the parent so the they rejected the food and didn't feed the baby which caused it died of hungry.

- 03/17 Good news: Bleye laid her first egg for the second clutch in the morning. This happened 5 days after the baby gone, I think I won't have much eggs for this time cause the gap between two clutch is too short, which is 20 days. Let's see ...
- 3/18 Bleye didn't lay any egg today. Is that it?
- 3/19 Check camera this morning, looks like she laid two eggs in this morning. What a strange...

My Fish

Fish keeping is not as easy as it may seem. Many people go to the store and pick up a small fish tank and think it’s all they need, only if they knew what they were doing. Fish keeping is a very complex hobby. Depending on the fish you keep the more or less complex it is. When it comes to keeping fish there is a lot to know. I enjoy having my fish and the relaxing atmosphere they provide.
It’s a general misconception that keeping fish is easy. The truth is that you need some basic knowledge of the fish and their living conditions. With proper knowledge, any person can take care of fish and enjoy the benefits. There are some basic rules that I normally see broken. I see five goldfish in a ten-gallon tank, however it is only recommended one goldfish per ten gallons. Knowledge is the key in fish keeping.
There is knowledge available all over the Internet and in books. There are many opinions and it’s the reader’s responsibility to choose what is best. I choose to do what is the best for the fish. I don’t over stock my tanks, or mix incompatible fish. When you go to buy the fish you can find out what temperature they live at and what fish can live peacefully together. There are vast amounts of information available the reader just needs to look for it. Fish keeping can be expensive but the rewards are endless.
I enjoy my tanks and their inhabitance, the live plants, which increase the natural look of the tanks and make the water quality better. The plants also add another aspect to fish keeping. Fish keeping gives a natural and relaxing look to any room and its enjoyable. I love my fish tanks and they are a great hobby to partake in.
Everyone has their own hobbies and one of mine is keeping fish. It’s an art that many people enjoy and for good reasons. With proper knowledge many people could enjoy the full benefits of keeping fish.