Get rid of Planaria

     Planaria are non-parasitic small flatworms,represented by a variety of species, in our waters. They are introduced into the aquarium in the form of cocoons. They have a nocturnal life. Planaria live free in the aquatic environment without harming the fish. Usually they appear when the fish are overfed, the aquarium gravel is not hoovered accordingly or ammonia levels have risen.

     An easy method to get rid of them is to made a gauze bag, in which is inserted shredded beef. The bag is hung among plants, near the bottom of the tank. Planaria are attracted by the smell of meat, and they will gather on this bags. After several hours, under the bag, carefully insert a bowl of water or a cup, which is then easily removed from the tank, along with the bag. Bait traps should be repeated several days in a row.

     Planaria can also be destroyed by introducing several hungry macropodus fish in the tank. Sometimes it is used the chemical method with ammonium nitrate at a concentration of 0.6 to 0.8 grams at 100 liters of water.

Breeding at Barbus Tetrazona

     It is said that tetrazona fish are hard to breed. That's not true ... if you have some knowledge ... it can be done.

     You need a small volume tank, 15 - 20 liters. Place on the bottom of the tank a net to a height of 2 - 4 cm. Add half water which stood for 24 hours at least and the other half, add water from the main tank. The optimal temperature is 25-26 degrees C, low hardness, aeration moderate. Choose the pair, the female is recognized by being bigger than the male because of her belly. The male has more prominent colors than the female, red fins and red mouth. Add the female in the breeding tank in the evening to accommodate, and in the morning add two males.

     The three fish will start the nuptial dance, which sometimes may seem aggressive, but it isn't, and after that the female spawn the eggs. The net acts as a shield so the two males don't eat the eggs. Finally, after female finish her job, the three fish will be removed and the eggs will hatch in 20-25 hours. The fry will stay on the glass tank and after a few days, maximum 4, we will start to feed them with freshly hatched Artemia.

Amazon Biotope

Beyond the Nature

     Searching on the Internet I have found an amazing aquascaping called "Beyond the Nature" by Gary Wu, rewarded by the aquascapingworld forum with the tank of the mounth, August 2010. An island floating ... I like to call it Pandora. Gary Wu said his layout is inspired from a Japanese cartoon movie “Laputa”.

     The floating island is cover with a thin layer of substrate and small rocks with moss insert between them. Staurogyne sp. are planted on the thin layer of substrate. A visual illusion is used to mount a grid on the back glass so as the plant grows out, the whole grid is masked by the plant.

     Plant species used are Vesicularia sp., Flame Moss and Staurogyne sp. in the background, Blyxa echinosperma and Eleocharis parvula sp. on the midground, and  Eleocharis parvula sp. and Staurogyne sp. on foreground.
     Fish living here are Hyphessobrycon herbertaxelrodi, Crossocheilus siamensis, Otocinclus affinis and invertebrates are Amano Shrimp, Chilton sp. Burnble and Blue Shrimp.

    
     Tank  dimensions: 152 x 51 x 58 cm.
     Lighting: 12 x 18W T8.
     Filtration system: 2 x Tetra EX120 and 1 x Eheim 2080.
     Co2: 6 bubbles non stop.
     Substrate: Seachem Fluorite.
     Fertilization: ADA step 3, Green gain, ECA, Bright K, Shade. Seachem: Iron, Excel and some gardening root fertilizer.

Getting rid of green water with willow method

    
     Green water appear usually due to either a significant excess of light (particularly direct sunlight), or a major water quality problem. Although it may look terrible, it is not toxic to fish. The best way to get rid of it is by using an UV, but if you don't have one, you can use the willow method.

     Step 1: Pluck a few branches from the willow trees.

     Step 2: Pluck out the leaves from the bottom of the branches. So the tip of the branch will have some leaves while the bottom (the part where will be soaked inside the water) will be leafless.

     Step 3: Put the branches into the tank with the part without leaves soaking inside the water, about 30 branches at 80 liters of water.

     Step 4: Wait patiently for few days and you will see roots starting to appear from the branches.

     Step 5: The Green water should be completely gotten rid off after a week and this effect usually come overnight!

     Step 6: At this point of time remove all the willow branches else your plants will suffer from the lack of nutrients.