Keep your aquarium fine and beautiful……..

I hope most people do have the habit of pet keeping. People often rely on pets for comfort and companionship in their twilight years. Doctors have discovered that keeping a pet can do wonders for your health. The pets may vary from dogs to rabbits or from love birds to aquarium fish. In this row,the hobby of aquarium fish keeping is an exceptional one which give more satisfaction and peace of mind.

If you are a beginner there are a few things to keep in mind to keep your aquarium fine and beautiful. If you follow them, you will be able to avoid the mistakes that people often make when they first set up their aquarium.

The most important thing for an aquarium is its shape. It is best to buy a rectangular tank that is three inches higher than it is wide. Tall narrow tanks are not good because there is too little water surface open to the air. A wider tank has more open water surface, and the water can take in more oxygen. This is important for the health of your fish. If it does not the fish will die because of a lack of oxygen.

For protection, a glass cover should be kept over the tank. Do not worry about cutting off the oxygen supply to the tank, because no cover fits so tight that it will keep out the necessary amount of air. Finding the correct location for the tank is also very important. An aquarium should not stand in a cold spot or near a radiator. Sudden changes in temperature can be bad for your fish.

The most important element of an aquarium is the water, and unless it is kept in good condition, neither the fish nor the plants will survive. The best water for fish is water in which they have already lived. This is called “conditioned” water. Direct sunlight should be avoided except for short periods of time. Artificial lighting is just as good for the fish as daylight. Too much light will encourage the growth of algae, which will turn the water green. Too much direct sunlight can also overheat the water. So remember to control it to minimum.

It is important to keep all metal out of your fish tank. The slightest bit of metal in the water can be poisonous to your fish. Paints, soaps, and certain plastics and chemicals must also be kept from the tank. Limestone products such as marble chips, seashells, coral, and coral sand, should also be avoided. These can dissolve and make the water to hard for your fish. The best minerals for use in your aquarium are quartz, sandstone, and granite. The gravel, water, and plants put in your tank are all very important to the health of the fish and to the looks of your aquarium. Gravel or sand is not necessary, if you do use gravel, make sure that you give it a good washing before putting into your aquarium.

Fish are different from your other animals in this respect. The living quarters for your other pets must be cleaned on a regular basis. However, the water in a standing fish tank need not be changed. The waste products of the fish make the water better for them to live in. People who have aquariums will tell you about two kinds of dirt in a tank. There is clean dirt and dirty dirt. Clean dirt is the waste products of the fish. This does not need to be removed. Dirty dirt means the uneaten food and the bodies of fish that may have died. These kinds of things need to be removed.

More fish die from overfeeding than from any other cause. Your other pets may need to be fed everyday, but your fish do not. If you do feed them every day, uneaten food will accumulate in the tank. It will then blacken the sand a produce gases and other poisons that are harmful to you fish. Most fish can go a week without you feeding them because the will eat the microscopic plants and animals that naturally live in an aquarium. Fish should only be fed three times a week.

Before you set out to buy your fish, it will be important to understand that some of them can only live in water that is kept at a certain temperature. Many tropical fish must be kept at a temperature that ranges from 72 to 80 degrees. Some of these fish will require you to have and electric heater with a thermostat to help control the water temperature.

When buying fish for the fist time, it is best to get some that are less expensive. A guppy, which is a small tropical fish would most likely be a good start. It is a colorful and strong fish, that does not need any specially treated water. Other strong fish that are not quite as sturdy as the guppy are: platies, black mollies, and swordfish. Tetras, cory cats, siamese fighting fish, and angelfish are also good for the beginners.

When one of your fish starts to act like there is something wrong with it, it should be put into a small tank by itself. That way you can prevent your other fish from becoming sick. It is hard to cure a fish and you must be careful when buying to make sure that you do not bring home an infected fish.

If you follow these few simple instructions, you should be able to start your own successful aquarium at home which is fine and beautiful………

Photo: copyright PhotoXpress.com

Love Birds

I think the word love birds itself makes some sort of lovely feeling to us. My friend Faizal is very interested in love birds. He has a beautiful nest and  three or four pairs of love birds. Some days ago ,I just went there. Since then I was searching on the subject. I think you people can help me by providing more beautiful pictures , text etc.

Lovebirds are small, stocky versions of parrots, with a large hooked upper beak . The most common lovebird species here (and maybe worldwide) is the charming Peach-faced Lovebird. Although the striking-looking black-masked lovebirds are also widely available.

Their voice apparatus allows a wide range of articulations, including the imitation of the human voice. Although they are not known to be great talkers; and most never learn to talk at all. Eight of the nine lovebird species come from Africa, the remaining one from Madagascar.

Lovebirds make lively and energetic pet birds. They are available in a variety of colors and are playful and often boisterous birds. African Love Birds require an owner who is willing to provide the care and attention this animated bird adores. Birds that do not receive this attention become prone to behavioral problems, including feather picking.

Description

Lovebirds are about 13-17 cm in size, 40-60 grams in weight, which puts them among the smallest parrots in the world. They are characterized by a small, stocky build and a short, blunt tail. The beak is rather large for their overall size.

Many lovebirds are green, although color mutations can feature many different colors. Some lovebird species, like the Black-masked Lovebirds, Fischer’s, black cheeked, and the yellow-collared lovebird, have a white ring around the eye. Their average life span is between 10-12 years with some living even longer. The oldest recorded lovebird lived 17 years, and we have had one person state that their lovebird has lived for 25 years.
Lovebirds are some of the most fascinating little parrots! They are active, cheerful and beautifully decorative!

The petite ‘pocket parrots’ are very intriguing! Though lovebirds are not going to learn a lot of tricks or necessarily want to have a lot of handling, they are very flamboyant, very social with both their keepers and their mate, and are wonderful birds to observe and enjoy.

Lovebirds are very suited to captivity. Not only do they have a good disposition, these charming, brilliantly colored little pets are very hardy and easy to care for. They can also provide you with a successful breeding experience.

The different species of lovebird are identifiable by their colors and markings. They vary greatly in their coloring, and each species can be viewed for their unique combinations. Younger birds are duller in color and they have black in their beaks. The young birds coloring intensifies as they reach maturity. Regardless of the species, mature lovebirds are gorgeous parrots!

Care and feeding:

Most lovebirds love a bath either in a flat earthenware dish or by spraying them with a light mist of lukewarm water. If you use a bathing dish, you will see the birds perch on the edge and dip their heads and upper bodies in the water and beating their wings. They prefer this kind of bath to getting into the water.

Lovebirds generally maintain their nails and beaks on their own through climbing and chewing. Another good use they make of their tree branches.In the wild, lovebirds feed on seeds, berries, fruits, grains, grasses, leaf buds, and agricultural crops of corn, maize and figs.

Foods available for Lovebirds include formulated diets, either pelleted or extruded, seed only diets, and small parrot mixes which offer a mixture of both. There are pros and cons to feeding only a formulated diet as well as feeding only a seed diet. A formulated diet provides a good nutritional base so does not require the addition of vitamins, however many parrots become bored with it due to the lack of variety. A seed only diet offers much more variety but requires additional vitamin and calcium supplements. Lovebirds need not only nutritional requirements met but also variety for psychological enrichment.

A love birds’s diet will consist of 1 1/2 to 2 ounces (45-60 grams) of feed daily for a single bird. A diet consisting of a small parrot mix along with a variety of supplements and vitamins is generally regarded as suitable; also a formulated diet along with greens, fruits, and vegetable supplements but without additional vitamins is also regarded as suitable, and is a more current trend.

Supplements include fresh vegetables, greens, tree branches for the bark, some fruits, and millet spray. Some of the fruit supplements include berries, apples, grapes, pears, bananas, and kiwi. Some of the greens and vegetable supplements include spinach, endive, watercress, chickweed, radish,parsley, dandelions, carrot tops, corn on the cob, peas, endive, field lettuce, and various garden herbs. Additional proteins can be offered such as nuts, try some unshelled peanuts as well as hazelnuts, walnuts, Brazil nuts, and chestnuts. Vitamins can be added to the food or drinking water. A cuttlebone, or gravel and oyster shell in a separate dish can be offered to provide calcium. Do not feed avocado as it can be toxic to birds!

Their food and water dishes are best if earthenware or porcelain as they will get gnawed if plastic. Lovebirds drink a lot of water, so will need fresh drinking water every day.

Housing:

Lovebirds are very active birds, so a cage best suited to adequately house them must provide a lot of space. A minimum of 32 x 20 x 20 (81 x 50 x 50 cm) per pair of birds is recommended with about four perches, feed and water dishes and an area for a bath. When you use a small cage, you must let your pet out daily to fly around.

If you are housing pairs of lovebirds here are a few guidelines: Try to house only one species of lovebird as mixing species can cause serious fights. House either one pair of lovebirds or three pairs, never two pairs or there will be fighting. Each pair needs about 35 cubic feet of space.

A roomy indoor aviary, a bird room, or an outdoor aviary (depending on your area) are all good choices. The aviary needs plenty of light and fresh air. The outdoor aviary needs to have a protected shelter that can be heated and cooled where necessary. Flights are recommended to be a minimum of 6′ x 6′ x 3′ (183 x 183 x 91 cm) with plenty of perches or branches at least 1 1/2″ (15 cm) thick.

Lovebirds like special resting places. Nest boxes placed up high, all at the same level and all of the same type work well and help prevent fights. A nest box for a lovebird is 8″ x 8″ x 8″ (20 x 20 x 20 cm) or 10″ x 6″ x 6″ (25 x 15 x 15 cm).

Maintenance:

The basic cage care includes daily cleaning of the water and food dishes. Weekly you should clean and disinfect the cage. Wash and completely dry the perches and toys whenever they become soiled. Sand floors should be renewed annually.

Social Behaviors:

Lovebirds are very social birds. Generally is thought that it is essential for their good health and happiness that they be kept in pairs, not singly. If you have a single lovebird, you must provide the necessary social interaction that it is missing from another bird. These birds develop fierce loyalties to their keeper or their mate.

Hello friends, me and friends are really interested in love birds,so if you can provide more information please write back . And if this post help you in some way to improve your nursing in love birds , please do comment.