Douglas DuHamel's Blog
Posted by Douglas DuHamel
Posted by Douglas DuHamel
The iPond which is a small speaker set up for your iPod comes with a built-in aquarium that is 20 times too small for the Betta fish that they are selling with it.
It is providing a big hit with Christmas shoppers in Australia, according to the Melbourne Sunday Herald. One store has totally sold out of these items and other stores are reporting brisk sales. This is why the iPond is cruel to fish:
- The device is unable to provide the fish with enough air or clean water conditions and it is very susceptible to temperature changes and that can kill the fish.
- The aquarium part of the iPond holds less than 650 milliliters of water after a few pebbles are placed in it.
- A Melbourne Aquarium spokes person added that a Betta needs a tank of 10 liters a lot more than the iPond provides to remain in good health.
- Even if the fish manages to live in this device, it can move a quarter inch one way then it can back up a quarter inch. Plus the fact that the sounds from the speaker echoes through the water is harmful to the fish.
Most hobbyists and animal rights activists are totally disgusted with the device and are recommending people send letters to Apple Computers to let their feelings be known.
The iPond is sold by Pets Paradise and Pet Goods Direct chain stores. The group that manages the stores had received one formal complaint about the product.
Please write Apple let them know your feelings and send letters to Pets Paradise and Pet Goods direct chains.
Posted by Douglas DuHamel
In the United Kingdom, university professor Jeri Fox is trying to breed certain Fox Face Rabbit fish in captivity. This is a rare and exotic saltwater fish with bright yellow fins, bulging eyes and puckered lips. These fish will soon mature and then the studies can really begin.
The aquarium trade will continue and it’s not going to magically disappear. Fox’s idea is to supply the saltwater aquarium trade with farm-bred tropical fish which is happening around the world now with freshwater tropical fish.
Potential extinction of saltwater fish is caused by over-fishing, collection of live rock and corals and the use of sodium cyanide to catch and stun the fish. Coral reefs are also endangered and support 1/3 of all saltwater fish in the world. Growing coral commercially helps reduce the stress on already over-stressed marine ecosystems and a host of under water saltwater fish. Only a very small number of 1500 species have been reported as bred in a home aquarium.
What they are doing in England should be going on around the world, learning how the fish breed is the start. The next thing is what stimulates them to breed in what type of conditions. Once all this is learned it will be easy to create these conditions and have the fish breed in a controlled environment thus making it easier to restock the sea and save some reefs in the process.
Posted by Douglas DuHamel
Having a Koi pond in the back yard is something most people just dream about. But if you’re of the lucky ones that are able to install a pond, you have to get the right equipment to do the job. To really enjoy the pond, you have to select the right filter system in order to keep the pond clear and healthy.
Your filter selection is the most important decision for you to make about your pond. Like all fish, Koi can survive in many different conditions. In fact, they can live in a pond that is so over grown with alga and debris that you can’t even see the fish swimming. But also remember that a clear pond can be a danger to your fish.
Some people just use a swimming pool filter but they’re designed to keep a swimming pool clean. Pool filters do not operate all the time. They just operate enough to keep a swimming pool clean. A Koi pond filter should be in operation 24 hours a day. People that choose swimming pool filters are always upset with the additional costs of running the wrong filter for the pond.
When it comes to finding the right type of filter, stay away from big box stores that don’t fully understand pond filtration or the characteristics of each filter they sell. It is wise to go to a store that specializes in ponds and fish where the staff are knowledgeable in all aspects of livestock and equipment.
By doing it right the first time, you will save yourself the heartbreak of dead fish. You will save money because you won’t have to go out and buy the correct filter after finding out a pool filter does not do the job for ponds.
Posted by Douglas DuHamel
Thai fisherman caught a 646-pound giant catfish that was bigger than a grizzly bear and ate it said World Wildlife Federation officials. The giant catfish is believed to one of the biggest freshwater fish ever found.
It was caught in the Mekong River, home to more massive species of fish than any other river in the world. Dr Zeb Hogan of the WWF has confirmed the record and also said it was amazing to find one that large.
Local environmentalists and government officials tried to negotiate the release of the fish so that it could continue its spawning migration in the far north of Thailand. The adult male died and was eaten in a remote village in the north.
The Mekong giant catfish is Southeast Asia's largest and rarest fish. It is the focus of a National Geographic Society project headed by Hogan to study freshwater fish greater than 6.5 feet (2 meters) or 220 pounds (100 kg).
These large catfish are believed to be endangered and are along the lines of the sturgeon family. The biggest thing that is endangering fish is the building of dams on the rivers and over-fishing.
It could be another twenty years before another fish is found to be that big or it may not happen again. Putting objects in the migration path of fish is not the way to keep the species off the endangered list.
