Articles:
Setting Up A New Tank (back to top)
1. Take your aquarium out of it s box and place it on the stand, make sure the tank is completely level. DO NOT PLACE IN DIRECT SUNLIGHT.
2. Attach the backing paper onto the outside of the tank with sellotape.
3. Give the tank a little rinse out with a little water and salt.
4. Wash your gravel thoroughly- this is really important, and place it inside the tank.
5. Slowly fill your tank -but not all the way. Leave approx. 1 to 2 from the top to allow for the water to expand as it warms.
6. Use the correct amount of dechlorinator (water conditioner) for the size of your tank. Most popular makes of these include Aqua Plus (TM) or Stress Coat (TM).
7. Placing your electrical items in the tank. (DON' T PLUG IN UNTIL FINISHED) Place your filter upright in the tank with the top nozzle either above the water surface or just under. Do NOT plug it in yet. Now place the heater (if you have one) into the water. Now plug the filter and heater both on. You want the temperature to read 74-76 degrees farenheit. You will know the filter is working as you will hear and see the water movement. The heater will have a light that will go on. Make sure that once your tank is up to temperature that the light goes off. If the light stays on and the temperature keeps rising then the heater may be a little off (allowed up to 5 degrees) or it may be jammed on (faulty). Though with new heaters this is very rare, so keep an eye on it for 24 hrs to be sure.
8. Peel the sticky back paper of the thermometer (if it is an outside thermometer) and stick the thermometer onto the front of the tank preferably at the other side of the heater. If you have a glass thermometer just stick it to the inside of tank, again away from the heater.
9.sample in store (small fee payable/donation to sick children's hospital) or you could buy your own mini-master test kit (that does over 700 tests). These cost roughly £20 and will probably be the best money you ever spend. Do your tests, if in doubt as to what the readings mean, then phone us or better still come in and show us the results, we will only be too happy to help you sort out the problem.
10. Sit back and wait. BE PATIENT
11. Do your homework while you are waiting (and after). You are responsible for knowing what fish you have and what you should be keeping. The best advice we can give you is buy a good book- it will give you a wealth of information and save you money in the long run. (If your not sure what book is best for you, please ask us, we are more than happy to recommend a book that best suits your tank and experience)
12. After 4 days you can add a small selection of fish- small being the key word! Only buy (for example) 8 neon tetras and 3 platys (or different kinds of fish of similar size). Do not push or be pushed into buying. Any more than this and you will have a bacteria surge (very bad) instead of a slow steady climb (which is what you want).
13. Watch how much food you feed, better to feed too little than too much, feed once a day for the first week, just a very small pinch, or one flake to four fish, then you can start to feed twice a day, but only the same amount. If you are not sure, please ask us to show you how much to feed.
14. It is now a week since you put the fish in the tank, how do they look? What is the temperature in the tank?
15. Has the tank went cloudy? This is normal LEAVE IT ALONE, do not change any water, this is just the tank maturing through the cycle which can take up to and sometimes longer than one month.
16. If everything is not okay, then you have to find out why. The only way to do this is to test the water in the tank. You can either bring a water sample to the store (small fee payable/donation to sick children's hospital) or you can buy your own mini-master test kit (that does over 700 tests) These cost roughly £20 and will probably be the best money you ever spend on your tank. Do your tests, if in doubt as to what the readings mean, then phone us or better still come in and show us the results. We will be only too happy to help you sort out any problems.
17. If everything is okay, then you can add another small selection of fish, but no algae eaters, plec's, or catfish; these are all cleaning fish and there is nothing there for them to clean- wait at least a month for your clean up crew.
18. Week three! Now provided you have had no unexplained deaths you can again add some fish.
19. It is now a month since you set up your tank, and this is the maintenance you will have to do weekly from now on:
Use a gravel cleaner to take out 2 of water from your tank into a bucket (a new bucket used solely for your fish tank is an excellent investment). Take the sponge from the filter and wash it in the bucket of water (never under the tap). Clean out the impellor in your filter (the rotor with the blades). Put the sponge back into the filter and throw away the dirty water. Replace the 2 inches of water with cold water out of the tap, then use the water conditioner. Check the temperature- if it's too cold then boil a kettle, do not use the hot water tap.
20. Enjoy your new hobby. You can still be adding fish at this point and of course you can redecorate your tank when ever you feel like it. Remember the basic rule of fish keeping: be patient, if in doubt ask, and finally, its all about the water quality so test, test, test!
Care of Aquatic Turtles (back to top)
The first thing to note when you are thinking of buying aquatic turtles is that they may live for up to 20 years of more and therefore are a long-term commitment. Do take time to think about it beforehand as you and your turtle will benefit from the extra thought you put into the care and requirements of turtles long term.
Steps to take before buying your turtle
The first thing you will need to care for your turtle is a tank. A regular fish tank is fine.
Consider buying the biggest take you can afford and have room for as turtles get
very big and you will only have to upgrade it to a bigger tank at a later date. A 3ft + tank is ideal.Equipment needed for your tank will be: a heater, (turtle water must be heated), a reptile
light, this is a necessity as retile lights give off UVB rays (the same kind as the sun) which are essential for the growth of your turtles shell. You will also need a good strong filter, turtles are messy eaters and the stronger the filter , the less you will have to clean! An external filter is best, though an internal
one will work fine while they are smaller. You will also need to buy turtle food which we will talk about in more detail later. Lastly you will need something for the turtles to bask on, this could be in the form of a piece of cork, a turtle dock, or built up to reach out of the water. If you choose the option of rock built
up out of the water please make sure it is sturdy as bigger turtles are very strong and could knock rocks over fairly easily, possibly injuring themselves and/or damaging the tank.I would suggest leaving the bottom of the tank bare as it will be much easier to clean, if you strongly dislike this idea then sand is best. Avoid gravel as small pieces of food etc. will get trapped in-between the pebbles and rot, which is very unpleasant smelling and is very bad for your turtles.
When buying your turtle
Okay, so you've set up your tank and are ready to buy your turtle. The fun part! There are a few types of turtle on the market for you to choose form, but the easiest for beginners would be members of the family trachemys, more commonly known as sliders. Sliders that are widely available are yellow bellies, red ears and Cumberland sliders; all are very similar in care and appearance, with just subtle differences. It is even possible that you may buy a Cumberland turtle and think it is a red ear!
The first thing to look for when buying your turtle is; clean eyes. If a turtle has cloudy or foggy eyes it is unwell. This usually indicates a vitamin A deficiency, and this can be quite difficult to remedy especially for someone who is new to turtles and turtle care. Secondly find a turtle with a hard shell. Don't be embarrassed to ask the person selling you the animal if you can hold it. Turtles under 2" in length will not have a fully solid shell but it should still be quite firm [note: if you are handling a turtle under 2" in length do not press down hard on the turtles shell as this may hurt it! Just a little and you will know if the turtle has a soft shell or not] Usually turtles about 2" have a solid shell. If the shell feels soft do not buy the turtle. This means it has a calcium deficiency and this is very, very difficult to remedy, even for experienced turtle keepers. Lastly check for cuts or scratches on the turtles carapace (shell) or skin; if the turtle has any do not buy it. Turtles that do not live in perfectly clean water and have scratches or cuts can quite easily develop fungal infections.
Long Term Care
You should now have a happy healthy turtle with a good living environment for it. Now how to care for it?! After the initial set up, turtles are relatively easy to take care of. Your turtles water must be changed weekly, it is fine to do a complete water change but make sure not to put the turtle in cold water as this may shock it, cause it to go into hibernation or even kill it! Depending on the size of your filter in relation to the size of the tank, this must be cleaned every week (if it is a small filter) to every four weeks (if it is an external filter). It is not possible to clean your turtle's tank too much!
The diet for your turtle should be varied as much as possible. There are many different types
of food available for turtles. There are dried pellet foods such as Reptomin(TM) and King British
(TM). Your turtle will also appreciate dried shrimp foods such as gammerus and krill. Worms such as bloodworms or earthworms (when your turtles are bigger) and other food such as muscles and cockle, as well as frozen fish. I would suggest buying turtle foods frozen or freeze dried as they are easier to store and keep fresh (these foods are available from most aquatic retailers.) Never feed live fish as this is a very easy way to spread disease to your turtle. Your turtle will also enjoy eating aquatic plants such as Amazon swords and other leafy plants. The type of plant usually varies for each individual turtle. It is fine to feed your turtle fruits and vegetables as long as they are washed thoroughly. Pesticides can be harmful to reptiles. Fruits with skins should be pealed (apples etc.) Some favourites are lettuce, dandelion, cucumber, tomatoes and bananas. Try not to feed these foods too often, they are better kept as a treat.Small turtles can be fed up to twice a day. Larger turtles (between 3" and 6") should be fed once a day and adult turtles (6"+) should be fed once every two days. Only feed the turtles enough that they can eat it all in a few minutes. Plants etc. can be left in the tank for a few days.
Points to Note
The more you handle your turtle when it is small the friendlier it will be when it is bigger. Turtles are intelligent animals and can learn to recognize people and voices. They are also very quick to learn when it is dinner time! During the warmer summer days you can take your turtle outside for some sunshine. This is very good for your turtle and helps keep the carapace strong. Use a container such as a child sandpit (empty) to hold your turtle and make sure he cannot escape; a fox or large bird would make a quick meal of him! Also note that your turtle may grow up to 12" in length and depending on the type possibly even bigger!
(ARTICLE BY N.MORRIS)
