Chapter 5: Equipment
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AQUARIUMS SPAWNING TANK- The spawning tank is a spacious 20 gallon tank only for the breeding pair. The tank is furnished with slates that are slanted at an angle to lay eggs upon. EGGS TANK- I use Lee’s quart or half gallon size based on whether the spawn is fully submerged since different parents tend lay the eggs on different areas of the slate. These are what pet stores use to isolate fish at pet shops. This container can be used to hatch eggs in addition to its main use of transferring fish. When hatching eggs, all you have to do is hang it on the side of an aquarium and add an airstone for aeration. The container gets its heat from the heated aquarium. REARING TANK I (7 days to 3 weeks)- a ten gallon tank is used to rear the young fry which keeps the newly hatched brine shrimp in relatively one area; close to the angelfish fry. REARING TANK II (3 weeks to 5 weeks)- Robust fry of 4 weeks are placed into a spacious 30 gallon tank that does not inhibit the growth of a spawn. REARING TANK III (5 weeks to 3 months)- After 5-6 weeks, the young angels waste little food. They can be placed in undergravel filtered tanks of 40 gallons + or bare bottomed tanks for easy cleaning. SPAWNING SURFACES Angelfish will spawn on practically most flat surfaces near the upper two thirds of the aquarium. Regardless, your main objective is to find a surface material that can be fertilized efficiently and can be easily removed from the aquarium. PENN PLAX AMAZON SWORD PLANT LEAF- This is a broad sized artificial leaf that is easy and light weight to remove when spawned upon. SLATE- Tall 10” x 2” slanted slates are also chosen by angels to lay eggs upon. These can easily be removed with little disturbance. This is my preferred media. FILTRATION UNDERGRAVEL FILTERS (UG filters)- UG filters incorporate the use of the whole gravel bed as a biological filter media. Aerobic bacteria grow in the gravel bed and feed off of the fish waste that passes through the gravel. Since the gravel is where the fish’s fecal matter falls first, it becomes a very effective filtering device. I have found that there is less ammonia and disease outbreaks in UG filtered tanks than tanks without them. I use UG filters on tanks for fishes I intend to grow-out for breeding purposes. UG filters work best for tanks containing the young angels that are fed highly nutritious beef heart since this food causes a slight cloudiness. Since my lift tubes are fitted with powerheads, the whole gravel bed works to clear the aquarium within an hour. Power filters alone will remove the cloudiness caused by raw beef heart at a slower rate while sponge filters alone are inadequate filtering media for clearing a tank in which the fish are fed beef heart. POWERHEADS- I place powerheads over every lift tube of the under gravel filters for a higher turnover rate of filtered water. Powerheads fitted with an aeration feature are important for oxygenation and this feature replaces the need for air pumps. Another lesser known benefit of using powerheads is that strong biological filtration induced by powerheads (250 gph or higher) naturally reduces the pH of the water. Electrical consumption of powerheads can be expensive, therefore I use it only on my key specimen tanks. AQUA CLEAR POWER FILTERS- All of my aquariums are fitted with Aqua Clear power filters. Power filters contain the activated charcoal and ammonia chips that clean the aquarium of organic waste products. Aqua clear filters are able to move vast quantities of water through a thick area of filter media. A variety of sizes are available for different filtration needs. The larger sized Aqua Clear filters (300 or 500) produce a filtration powerful enough to reduce the pH in a mature tank which is a positive factor. AMMO CARB- This is a filtering product made by Aquarium Pharmaceuticals. It consists of a mix of ammonia chips and activated carbon. The ammonia chips remove deadly ammonia excreted by fishes respiration and fecal matter. The activated carbon chips remove odor, organic waste, medicines, and discoloration. Ammo Carb is dropped into a nylon filtering bag and placed into the Aqua Clear filters. In most fry tanks, biological filtration is adequate without the use of Ammo Carb if partial water changes are done on a daily basis. Often with new fry tanks, adequate biological filtration has not had time to develop yet therefore anti-ammonia agents such as Ammo Carb become very useful. FOAM FILTERS- Foam filters such as the Tetra Billi Filter are a good and cheap filter media for rearing young. FOAM- Foam, such as the tetra billi replacement sponge, is placed over the mouth of any aqua clear filter which endangers young fish from being sucked into it. This is especially important for filters containing fry from seven days to two months. A flow of bubbles are placed under the foam to prevent young fry from being stuck onto the foam. The foam works as a mechanical filter as well as a biological filter where beneficial aerobic bacteria forms in the porous material. WATER CONDITIONERS AMQUEL- Amquel is used to remove deadly ammonia which can build up when transporting fish. BLACKWATER EXTRACT- Made by Tetra, this is used with stubborn pairs that are difficult to breed. DE-CHLORINATING PRODUCTS- Use a reliable dechlor. I have used products from Tetra, Aquarium Pharmaceuticals, and other leading brands. MISCELLANEOUSpH LOWER- A pH lowering solution is needed in areas of high pH level. Fish spawn more readily in aquariums with the proper pH levels. MEDICINE DROPPER- Medicine droppers are used to remove dead white eggs which may infect others around it. DISSECTING NEEDLE- Needles are bent in the middle and the flat edge is used to remove eggs from powerheads, airlift tubes, the side of the aquarium, and other areas. AIR TUBE SIPHON- Small hatching tanks are siphoned by standard air tubes. AIR STONES- Air stones are placed under foamed filters to prevent fry from being stuck onto the foam. They also provide great aeration. I recommend the glass-bead variety from name brands such as Kordon or Jungle. Glass-bead airstones are long lasting and resist clogging which, in turn, result in longer lasting air pumps. SIPHON\GRAVEL VACUUM- Use a hose (5/8” to 1”) to siphon water out of your tanks. A vacuum fitting is good for tanks with gravel. Also, the fry can be siphoned into their 10 gallon tanks from the specimen containers once they become free swimming. AIR PUMP- Air pumps oxygenate aquarium water as well as brine shrimp bottles. Airpumps push air through the airstones which prevent fry from being stuck onto foam filters. They are also used to power air driven foam filters. BRINE SHRIMP BOTTLES- An average sized soda bottle is an excellent low priced medium for hatching brine shrimp. The size and number of bottles can be varied to fit a breeder's needs. pH TEST KIT- pH levels are the key factors in the optimum spawning and hatching of eggs. AMMONIA TEST KIT- It is important to monitor all rearing aquariums on a regular basis for this disease causing waste product. Note: Often when fry die in an overcrowded aquarium with their mouth wide open, it can usually be attributed to ammonia. SUBMERSIBLE HEATERS- Since large quantities of water are changed often, side-mounted heaters pose a danger if the water goes beyond a certain point unlike submersible heaters which can be placed deep within the tank. I use Visi-therm heaters on all of my fish tanks due to their high quality. Other good brands I have used include Hagen & Ebo-Jagger. THERMOMETERS- I use moveable Tetra liquid crystal thermometers. NETS- Instead of the coarse mesh nets, I use finely meshed nets to keep from destroying the delicate finnage of some strains of veiltails.
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 Try getting the best equipment you can afford. This decreases replacement costs. Also, consider getting double thickness submersible heaters which decreases the chances of being electrocuted. |