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.

Posted by Douglas DuHamel

Sports fishermen and biologist Zeb Hogan captured a 14-foot long giant freshwater stingray in the Bang Pakong River in Thailand. Thank goodness he didn’t kill it because he is doing research. This could easily be the largest freshwater fish in the world.

After weeks of searching remote rivers for giant fresh water stingrays, Hogan managed to catch one near a Thai city. To his surprise, the giant gave birth shortly after being caught. This was another unexpected event.

There are accounts of these fish weighing in at over 1,000 pounds and that makes them the world’s largest fish, said Hogan. Hogan runs the National Geographic Society’s Megafish Project, and is in the process of documenting 20 or more of these freshwater giants.

The giant river rays are very difficult to catch because they bury themselves in mud when hooked. They routinely break fishermen’s lines and bend finger sized hooks straight in order to avoid capture. The ray’s deadly barb is located at the base of the whip tail and it can easily penetrate skin and bone with no problems.

It must have been difficult for the research team to capture the stingray because they were dealing with a heavy fish and its weapon. Hopefully the mother stingray and baby were safely returned to the wild after all the research was finished.

Posted by Douglas DuHamel

For years, people in Southwest Australia have wondered how the salamander fish survives and where it disappears during the summer. This fish is only found in a small two hundred mile area of Australia.

Every year, under the torrid Australian heat, the pools dry up. As soon as the rains return, the salamander fish also returns. The answer was found when a water truck was used during the summer to flood a dried up pond. Within 20 minutes of the pond being flooded, there was thousands of fish seen swimming in the pond.

When the salamander fish feel the dry season coming on or the water level of the pond drops, they bury themselves in the mud at the bottom of the pond for a long summer hibernation. As soon as the rains appear, they wake up. The salamander fish only lives about a year, but wakes up to spawn as the rains set in.

This fish as well as many others in Australia are finely tuned to the climate and live very well in the arid conditions that they are given to live in.

There are six more species of Australian fish that get along very well with the lack of water during the dry season. A few examples are the blind cave fish, eel and the scorpion fish.

Posted by Douglas DuHamel

Pond plants keep algae down, help with filtration by trapping debris in their root system, and keep your water aerated. Plants also provide a place where shy fish can hide and escape from bullies. Plants help put air in the water by taking in all the carbon dioxide and replacing it with oxygen.

The fish take in the oxygen and expel carbon dioxide. That is why fish and plants need each other. Plants, whether normal or aquatic, need nutrients to survive. The good news is that pond water will provide nutrients for healthy plants.

Ponds can go bad if nitrates and animal waste reaches dangerous levels, but plants thrive on it. So, aquatic plants will help absorb some of this bad stuff and the filter does the rest. All aquatic plants need a good base to grow on. If the base is not good, the odds are that your plants will be in pretty sad shape.

Most people make the mistake of thinking that any type of gravel or substrate will do. This is not so. A good mixture for a plant base in a pond would be two inches of low-calcium gravel available at most pet stores.

Then followed by 3 to 4 inches of any substrate you choose. This will help your plants anchor themselves in a pond. When buying plants, be sure to research which plants do best in your climate.

Posted by Douglas DuHamel

Here are things you can do to your pond in order to avoid unnecessary death of your fish. Do not overstock your pond. The rule of thumb is one Koi per every 1000 liters of water.

Long term power failure can deplete the pond of oxygen. If your area is prone to power failures, you may want to consider using an emergency generator. If you live in higher altitudes, it is more difficult to oxygenate your water. Don’t let your pond water get too warm. Fish are cold-blooded animals so when the water temperatures rise, their metabolic rate increases which means they need more oxygen.

To keep pond water temperature down, plant shade trees near the pond. You can also install a water pipe system that will push cold water into your pond when there is a need. Don’t let algae build up in your pond. If you have a green pond, it reduces the supply of oxygen. It also makes your fish more susceptible to disease.

Make sure your pond is well aerated. Waterfalls or fountains may be good for the surface but you need to get the oxygen to the bottom of the pond. This can be achieved by creating vertical circulation in the pond.

The easiest and cheapest way is to use air stones or curtains. Another way which seems better is to put in power heads in several locations. Be sure to use power heads suited for pond use. They must be able to put out 3000 to 4000 gallons of water an hour.

If used correctly, the power heads will give your pond more filtration. With these pointers, it should reduce the mortality rate of your Koi.

Posted by Douglas DuHamel

The Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia has named a new species of catfish after a man who worked for 37 years in their mailroom. Frank Gallagher, who was the mailroom supervisor, retired in 2003 and was well-liked by the employees.

Frank was known for passing along gossip as well as the mail. He also had a keen interest in science. Delivering mail was just part of the job. He had to handle the shipping and receiving of biological specimens. The Academy now has 1.3 million fish so you can imagine how many specimens Frank handled in 37 years.

The new catfish was named Rhinodoras Gallagheri by Academy fish scientist Dr. Mark Sabaj Pérez and it was announced in the March issue of Copeia. Scientists must always give a Latin name to species so that is why they had to change the name to Gallagheri. I guess they didn’t want to use “Franki”.

The common name for this fish is the Orinoco Thicklip Catfish and it lives in the Orinoco basin in Venezuela and Colombia. The fish hides during the day and seeks its food at night.

Frank is enjoying his retirement and thought is was very nice of the Academy to honor him. It was noted that one of Frank’s favorite comments was "I've been here so long, I should be part of the collection by now." His wish came true! Source: Science Daily

Posted by Douglas DuHamel

After being studied time and time again, scientists have made a startling discover with the humble sea cucumber. This one leads towards medical technologies.

One such development is a new plastic material that mimics a sea cucumber’s ability to quickly change the density of its skin as a defense mechanism. When dry, the plastic is very hard and stiff. When it gets wet, it softens and becomes bendable and is very capable of switching back and force very rapidly. Inspired by the chemical make up of the sea cucumbers skin, the material is composed of a rubber-like base with fibers of cellulose attached to one another by hydrogen bonds which create a rigid surface when dry.

When water is added to the system, the hydrogen bonds are broken and the material becomes flexible. When allowed to dry out again, the hydrogen bonds quickly re-form making the surface hard again. One of the possible uses for this new plastic could be for brain implants during brain operations.

It could also be used to treat Parkinson's disease or even spinal injuries or even some parts of heart implants like pacemakers. They have already found a gene in the sea cucumber that blocks the parasites that cause malaria.

As scientists continue to examine the sea cucumber, they just keep finding new uses.

Posted by Douglas DuHamel

Paul Loiselle of the New York Aquarium and Damaris Rodriguez of the American Museum of Natural History described the new species as Bedotia Leucopteron in a paper in the July 2007 issue of the systematics journal Zootaxa.

This unknown member of the Bedotia genus was given the common name of White-Finned Rainbowfish. This species was discovered in streams located in the central area of the Iaroka-Rinala basin in eastern Madagascar.

The Bedotia genus contains sixteen species but only seven have been officially described. Unfortunately, many of these species are about to become extinct due to the destruction of the rain forest in Madagascar. Scientists believe the Bedotia Leucopteron may not be threatened with extinction because they seem to be able to live in areas where deforestation has already occurred.

Bedotia Leucopteron is a shoaling fish and scientists have seen as many as 50 to 100 fish in one school. They were found swimming around waterlogged wood in rapidly moving water. The water conditions tested at a PH of 6.0 to 7.0 and temperature ranging from 64 – 82 degrees F depending on the altitude of their habitat.

In captivity, the Bedotia Leucopteron can reach the size of 7 inches whereas most other Bedotia members grow to approximately 5 inches. They were brought into North America in 1996 by Paul Loiselle. What qualified the White-Finned Rainbowfish as a new discovery was its appearance.

The body is blue and gold metallic with black spots on its sides. The fins have white trim. I’m glad to see that the fish may not become extinct because many fish that are native to Madagascar have disappeared.

Posted by Douglas DuHamel

Finally after years of wrangling through the system, a government has taken a stand.

Hawaii moves to limit the number of fish to be captured or caught. The government acted a while ago to set up a sanctuary for fish along one third of the coastline of Hawaii, the largest of the Hawaiian Islands. The boundaries have yet to be determined.

This bill was carried 7 to 0 by the Ocean Recreation and Marine research committee. However; it did reject an outright ban on the collection of tropical fish species in a sixty mile stretch from Kawaihae to Milolii. This Bill will face further deliberations before going to the Senate.

The banned area would be from the shoreline outwards to where the waters reach a depth of 670 feet. This law pitted the state’s $50 million tourist diving industry, which needs the fish to entertain the divers and snorkelers, against those in the $10 million tropical fish industry, which sends beautiful colored fish to shops across the country and the world.

So it does go to show that not all people in government just think for today, but think for the future too. If Hawaii looses their beautiful fish now, what are they going to show the divers and snorkelers down the road?

Posted by Douglas DuHamel

The Bering Sea produces 50% of all fish caught in America and 1/3 all the fish caught world wide. Chances are the last fish you ate came from the Bering Sea.

Studies and experiments are suggesting the ecosystem will support less than what we are harvesting, like the Pollock and Hake. The Bering Sea is showing climate changes before the rest of the oceans so this may be a sign of things to come.

It is much warmer now and marine mammals and birds are having mass die offs, and there’s many invasive species. In general, it’s going through massive chances to a more temperate ecosystem that is not going to be as productive as the last. The effects of carbon dioxides are often over looked by the general public.

It’s good that people are starting to worry about melting ice and rising water levels world wide. We are only now starting to see a comprehensive change in the world’s ecosystem, and some of these changes don’t look great for the future.

Phytoplankton takes sun light and converts carbon dioxide into carbon based foods. Small fish eat the plankton, and bigger fish eat the smaller fish, and an entire ecosystem develops which just keeps repeating its self until some thing in the system is disturbed.

The Bering Sea is very productive thanks to diatoms a large type of phytoplankton. Large diatoms are eaten by large zooplankton in turn are eaten by large fish. When the phytoplankton becomes scarce the zoo plankton becomes scarce and all the sea creatures that eat the diatoms and zooplankton will also become scarce.

Thus the ecosystem seems to be changing in a way that doesn’t support the top predators, and the top of that list is MAN!

Posted by Douglas DuHamel

If you or I went deaf, we would not blame it on global warming; however hotter seas can pose a problem for young coral fish.

These fish are more likely to get misshapen ear bones and are most apt to get lost and die. According to a study on fish around Lizard on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, warmer waters just make the problem more intense.

After hatching in the open seas, most fish spend a few weeks out in the open waters of the seas to adjust all their senses. Then they go to the reefs to settle down. The key factor of them finding home is sound.

The fry have to seek out and listen to the high-frequency noises made by invertebrates like shrimp and sea urchins. In turn, they have to avoid the low frequency noises made by adult fish and crashing waves.

Monica Gagliano, at the Australian Institute of Marine research in Townsville Queensland, has discovered that at the time of hatching, just over 50% of all Ambon damsel fish have ear bones or asymmetrical otolith (which is a bad thing). A team of scientists suspect that it might be impossible for these fish to pinpoint the origin of a sound, which in turn, increases their chances of getting lost in a big ocean.

Gagliano says that an unpublished article shows that exposing adult reef fish to higher water temperatures and increasingly acid waters both of which are associated with global warming, increase the percentage of offspring born with asymmetrical otoliths

Posted by Douglas DuHamel

Why is it we can modify plants animals, birds, and fish, but when it comes to genetically modifying a human through cloning it is considered one of the biggest sins ever?

Clones at least would help people with medical problems or even allow stem cell research. I came across an old head line that reads “Scientists Have Created the Ultimate Fish” That means in the future you wont need aquarium lighting, your fluorescent fish will do the lighting of your tank and most likely reduce your power bill as well.

Scientists believe that the Night Pear bio-fish represents the shape of pets to come. Pets of the future all will arrive at your doorstep with a few extra genes that will have hair that does not shed or no claws in cats or no teeth in rats.

When the pet dies just clone it. Has anyone at all seen the long term effects of changing what was here before we were?

Here is a good example. Why not put cold water fish genes into tropical fish so then you don’t have to heat the aquarium. Sounds like a fantastic idea to me and it take a bit out of the old electric bill. How many people flush their fish down the toilet or even worse let them go in a pond or a lake.

Now we have tropical fish growing in our waterways amongst other fish they have never seen before. With this upset to the balance of nature, maybe all the small trout and salmon will get eaten as fry.

Mind you, I think it would be rather cool seeing a purple pink orange fish swimming in our water system.

Posted by Douglas DuHamel

Global warming and reef disturbance are thought to be the cause of the increased amounts of dinoflagellate which cause the formation of ciguatera toxins in the flesh of the fish. How does this happen?

Harvesters and divers disturb reefs and cause the coral to die. Dinoflagellate which is an algae species breeds on dead coral. Warmer ocean waters caused by global warming accelerate the growth of dinoflagellate.

Fish feed off of the reefs and ingest the toxins. In an article from the Australian Medical Journal, Dr Leigh Lehane speaks of ciguatera as becoming one of the most common food-borne illnesses related to the consumption of finfish and believes the number of cases to rise dramatically in the near future.

When you buy fish, you can’t detect the disease on the fish itself. The fish smells and tastes no different. In addition, ciguatera toxins are not destroyed by cooking like most toxins related to food poisoning.

Symptoms of this disease usually begin within hours of eating infected fish. Vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pains are the first to appear, but gastrointestinal symptoms are not always present. You could experience pain, sensory and neurological disturbances which could persist for weeks, months or even years.

Ciguatera was limited to fish in southern waters and it wasn’t even known to exist in the northern part of the world. With the increase in inter-regional transportation of seafood products, human poisonings have expanded the beyond the original geographic range.

Posted by Douglas DuHamel

With global warming and such, everyone seems to be changing their vacation spots. It seems that fish are no different than humans looking for the warmer climates.

This year’s vacation paradise for fish is Rhode Island located off the eastern seaboard of the Atlantic Ocean. What is strange is these waters are usually cold, but due to global warming they’re getting all kinds of foreign fish as visitors. In addition, there have been some unusual winds and currents that have brought warm tropical water northward.

From juvenile orange file fish to snowy groupers and lookdowns, other tropical fish such as bicolor damselfish, grey triggerfish, banded rudderfish, spotfin butterflyfish, and bandtail puffer fish have been caught. A lobster fisherman even pulled up a large trigger fish.

Divers have sighted mackerel scud which is only found in the waters along the southern coastal states. The only bad thing about all the foreigners is that we have no idea of the damage they could have on local fish and coral stocks.

If it continues to be the vacation spot, it will be years before we become aware of any damages caused. Some of the native fish in the area are moving northward to cooler waters.

This is just like locals in resort areas who get out of town during the tourist season. So if the “in spot” this year for groupers is Rhode Island where will it be next year?

Posted by Douglas DuHamel

The patriotic sounding bill called U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans' Health, and Iraq Accountability Act was passed by Congress.

It includes $96 billion for the Pentagon to play war in Iraq and Afghanistan. But President Bush had to have troops out by Sept 2008. But wait there’s still 28 billion more dollars! President Bush appearing in front of cameras said he would veto the bill because there was billions tacked on for pet projects that had nothing to do with the war on terror.

The final version worked out to about $742 million dollars a page a very expensive bill in anyone’s eyes, making it the most expensive in American history says Brian M. Riedl who serves on the budgetary issues board at the Conservative Heritage Foundation.

What are you getting to help fight the war on terror well rather than go through 87 pages times $742 million dollars ill just point out some of the top tools your getting to win the war on terror.

• $5 million dollars distributed to tropical fish breeders that lost fish due to a virus in 2007.
• $60.4 million for the National Marine Fisheries Service, “to be distributed among fishing communities, Indian tribes, individuals, small businesses, including fishermen, fish processors, and related businesses, and other persons for assistance to mitigate the economic and other social effects caused by” a commercial fishery failure.
• $120 million allotted for the shrimp and menhaden fishing industries to cover consequences of Hurricane Katrina.

I would like to be convinced that any of the above-listed monies can fight the war on terror.

Posted by Douglas DuHamel

Scientists in New Zealand’s Antarctic waters have made some very startling discoveries of new species. Included in these finds are abnormally large star fish at over two feet in diameter, jellyfish with 12 foot tentacles, very large sea slugs and up to 8 different mollusks.

“It’s always very exciting” says Chris Jones of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “All the fish people just go crazy. Not that they don’t have enough things to do like settle on one name per fish instead of three and four different names.”

The new finds still have to be reviewed by a board of experts, to determine if they really are new species. Other discoveries were also found in the Ross Sea such as, fields of sea lilies that stretched for hundreds of yards across the sea floor.

Some of which the researchers at the New Zealand Fisheries declare that no human eyes have seen. To date, only small scale research has ever been performed in the Ross Sea.

This in-depth survey was part of the International Polar Year task force involving 23 countries and 11 research voyages. Their aim was to benchmark global warming in the Antarctic.

So it looks like that there are many more new discoveries to be made in the world today of sea life animal and insect and plant life.

Posted by Douglas DuHamel

These are items that employees have tried to get their bosses to pay for, according to a survey conducted by Robert Half International.

Robert asked 150 senior executives at some of the nations biggest companies what was the most outrageous thing employees have tried to get the company to pay for as a work related expense.

Responses ranged from personnel hygiene material to 60 inch plasma TVs to complete home redecorating. Here are the top ten most outrageous things that employees have tried to claim for reimbursement:

1. Tropical fish
2. Traffic tickets
3. Transporting a pet gerbil overseas
4. Trip to Europe to conduct research
5. Lodging at a storage container company
6. Trip to the Masters Golf tournament
7. Silk sheets and silverware
8. Digital music player
9. Health coverage and boarding for a pet
10. Divorce costs

Maybe tropical fish are at the top of the list because these employees read my article Aquarium Watching is Good for You!

While these examples might make you chuckle, expense fraud is no laughing matter. Companies nowadays are clamping down on work related expense claims. The Robert Half International survey revealed that 63% of all companies interviewed are now doing more careful checking of expense reports than they did in the past.

Don't get caught!

Posted by Douglas DuHamel

In Liverpool England, it is illegal for woman to be topless except if they work as a clerk in a retail tropical fish shop.

Shirts do get wet when working around fish tanks so maybe this is the reason for this law. I wonder if anybody has dared to go bare. City councilors in Liverpool claim this law is an urban myth but experts say it’s still in the British law books.

This is almost as silly as the British law still in existence where it is illegal to eat mince pies on Christmas Day or it’s perfectly legal for pregnant women to relieve herself anywhere she wants - including in a policeman's helmet!

A most unusual fish was discovered at Walker’s Aquatics in Waterfoot, Rawtenstall, Lancs. In the markings on one side of an astronotus ocellatus (typically called an Oscar), the word “Allah” was spelled out in Arabic. It was also believed to have the word "Mohammed" in its markings on its other side. Within hours of discovering this unusual fish in the pet shop, television news reporters, paparazzi and locals arrived at the store to have a look at this declared sign from God.

A few weeks later, a customer bought the fish for 10 pounds. In addition, the customer bought a large tank and expensive equipment for more than 700 pounds.

Shop owner Tony Walker said he had expected more interest in the fish after all the attention the fish got from the media. He still made a handsome profit and a few days of fame.

Posted by Douglas DuHamel

Anyone that has lived in Hawaii or has been a long term visitor may be asking where all the tropical fish have gone. There is a noticeable change in the number of fish living in coral reefs.

These missing fish are called ornamental fish because of their fantastic variety of colors. Yellow Tangs and Clown Fish are very desirable for saltwater aquariums because of their cost and color. This is only an example of the many other marine fish being commercially collected.

Fish like the Cleaner Wrasse serve a function in a reef environment. They set up cleaning stations where they remove parasites and dead scales off of fish. This is called symbiosis. Without a sufficient supply of host fish, the Cleaner Wrasse population will decrease.

With the absence of the Cleaner Wrasse, there is a higher mortality rate of ornamental fish due to parasitic disease. The Moorish Idol and the Butterfly Fish both thrive on the alga produced from the live coral in coral reefs.

If we strip the reefs of these fish, the coral will get overgrown with alga and die. The Hawaii Division of Aquatic Resources places the number of fish taken from their coral reefs to be as high as 15 million per year. What can be done to slow this problem or even stop it?

• Put limitations on the number of species and the type that collectors can take.
• Salt water breeding programs to replace what has been taken.
• Collectors can get fines, imprisoned or put out of business.

The finger points to collectors that don’t care if they wipe out coral reefs and fish as long as they make the almighty dollar. When they’re finished with Hawaii, they will go to another tropical area of the world to rape the oceans.

Posted by Douglas DuHamel

Smallest Fish in the World The world’s smallest fish is found on the island of Sumatra. The species Paedocypris, a member of the carp family, grows to just 7.9 mm long at maturity. A related species was also found in Borneo and it’s called P Micromegethes.

Biggest Fish in the World In South America, the world’s largest fresh water tropical fish is found in the Amazon River. The Pirarucu can reach lengths up to 16 feet and weigh in up to 500 pounds. This fish is being farmed as a food fish in South America.

Slowest Fish in the World The sea horse holds the honor of being the slowest swimming species on the planet. It swims one foot every 5 minutes. That would be 11 feet every hour.

Most Aggressive and Nasty Fish in the World Many people think that the Black Piranha is the nastiest fish around but it’s not true. The title of the meanest and most aggressive fish goes to the Two Spot Pike Cichlid, Creicichla Lepidota, which kills for sport. Piranhas kill for food.

Most Colorful Fish in the World The most colorful freshwater tropical fish is the Betta. These fish come in many colors ranging from red to blue to yellow. Their long flowing fins and brilliant colors give them a well-deserved first place.

Fish with the Most Personality in the World The Oscar is a very popular aquarium species and it’s due to their great personality. Many aquarists compare the Oscar personality to that of a puppy or a kitten because they can learn simple things like going to their owner and wanting to be petted. Were you able to identify any of these fish before you read this blog?

Posted by Douglas DuHamel

For the past 20 years, scientists at the University Of Texas M.D. Anderson Science Park have been studying the species Xiphophoruswhich is more commonly known as platyfish and swordtails because they are shown to be highly susceptible to tumors.

Melanoma is a deadly form of skin cancer in humans and scientists are studying its relationship with UV radiation. According to researcher Dr. Rodney Nairn, “We use Xiphophorus fish because it was noticed in the early part of the 20th century that these fish – when hybridized by mating different species together – produce offspring that sometimes form tumors. And these tumors resembled melanomas".

Platies and swordtails are live bearers which live in Eastern Mexico and Central America. Their genetic make up of these fish are very similar to those in human beings.

Researchers have found a gene that can cause the fish to be more susceptible to develop melanoma when they are exposed to UV radiation. There are many type tumors that are found in fish that also occur in humans, such as in the brain and eye muscle to name a few.

So with the cross breeding and studying of these fish, hopefully there will be advances that will benefit human kind. If we can understand the causes and reasons of melanoma in fish, it will bring us much closer to understanding the causes and reasons in humans.

In my own opinion, the cure for most of our diseases and problems will come from the research of fish and animals.

Above all, this research shows us that we are not advanced as we think and still have much in common with inferior plants and animals.

Posted by Douglas DuHamel

In an online questionnaire, Prof Richard Wiseman, of the University of Hertfordshire, asked almost 2,500 people about their characters and those of their pets.

He claims that just like married couples, pets and their owners start to become more alike over time. Prof Wiseman found that dog or cat or reptile owners share traits such as happiness, intelligence, independence and sense of humour with their pets.

Most dog owners are cheerful and playful because dogs, as a whole, are mostly happy and playful. There are a few exceptions, but there was still a correlation between the dog owner’s and their dog’s personalities. For example: pit-bull owners have a tendency to be snappy and gnarly people just like 90% of the breed.

Cat lovers, are very dependable and emotionally sensitive and loyal. Cats are very happy to be on their own and can keep busy or playful. Cats seem to know when something is wrong with the owner, and they will be very close by watching and looking to see if they can help or get into trouble.

Reptile owners and their pets are very independent, serious and have to do everything on their own. Just like the reptiles in the wild, reptile owners are not known as team players. Most reptiles don’t show a sense of humour and like their owners; fail to show any emotions at all.

Tropical fish owners stand out as the most contented pet owners of all. They scored the highest percentage in admitting they were happy.

According to Prof Wiseman, “those who had owned their animal for seven years or more, the chance of them rating their pet's traits as broadly comparable to their own increased to about 40 per cent”. Source: The Telegraph UK

Posted by Douglas DuHamel

At one time fish lived in water, but now there seems to be some adaptations that are now allowing fish to live out of water for months at a time in Central American and Southern USA mangrove swamps.

The Mangrove Rivulus is a small species of Killifish. It will fish seek refuge wherever there’s a sign of water even in old beer cans, crab burrows, coconut shells! These fish grow up to three inches in length and when their habitat dries up, they live on land in logs that have been hollowed out by insects. They breathe air through their skin and not their gills until they can find water again according to a study by Scot Taylor; a researcher at Brevard County Environmentally Endangered Lands Program in central Florida.

This breakthrough came after a trip to Belize where Scot Taylor and his research team kicked over a log and Killifish tumbled out. It was discovered that these Killifish can live 66 days out of water without eating and their metabolism keeps functioning.

Scot Taylor will be publishing his entire study in the American Naturalist Journal in early 2009 if you’re interested in reading about the whole project.

We have the Walking Catfish that can live out of water for periods of time. The different type of lung fish found around the world can live out of water but only in their dormant state.

Other types of other Killifish can’t survive out of water without dying but their eggs can survive if there’s just a trace of moisture anywhere near them. So is evolution starting back at the beginning of time and now we will have to share our land areas with fish. I say it’s starting to look that way.

Posted by Douglas DuHamel

If disease has killed your fish, you need to sterilize your tank and equipment in order to eliminate Ick or parasitic and fungal type diseases.

This includes decorations, filters, heaters, nets and gravel. Draining and refilling the tank is not good enough because these diseases can linger on. Everything must be removed and sterilized.

There are many ways to disinfect an aquarium. Some people use bleach or a heavy salt mix to clean while others will use potassium permanganate. No matter what way you do it, remember to rinse many times in fresh water.

To remove bleach odours, use vinegar and baking soda. Rinse until there is no smell. This can be a very long process of soaking and rinsing. Scrubbing down the tank and equipment with salt is safer because a little bit of salt residue does not hurt fish. Put some salt on a clean rag and the gentle abrasion of the salt will help remove stubborn algae.

Potassium permanganate is a chemical that can be used to sterilize tanks. It is available at most pool supply stores. No matter which way you clean your tank and equipment, remember to rinse many times in fresh water.

In the warm weather, I put everything into buckets and take them out in the yard then let the hose run in the buckets for a few hours. This will take care of any residue of disinfectant that was left behind.

Some people heat up the tank water to 98 degrees (with no fish inside) for a couple of days, then drain the tank and let it sit dry for a week. The dry tank will kill the parasites because there will be no animal host. Then comes the fun of setting up your aquarium again.

Posted by Douglas DuHamel

Angelfish are known to glide around a tank but they are aggressive eaters and once they see you coming, they scoot up towards the top of your aquarium in order to be first in line for food.

When you have angelfish in a community aquarium with other fish, you have to learn to feed them sufficient food so the less aggressive fish get fed as well. They are not picky eaters and eat everything that is fed to them.

As with every fish, a mixed diet of foods should be offered. Angelfish are very curious about their surroundings and can get territorial. Sometimes when they’re in the breeding mood, they will chase other fish, bite and nip at them until other fish learn to stay away from their territory.

For this reason, angelfish are not always the best fish for a community tank. Because of their vertical height and length (up to 7 inches), angelfish should be kept in large and tall aquariums. Here is some data on angelfish:

• Scientific Name : Pterophyllum scalare
• Common Names : Albino, Black, Gold, Silver, Marbeled Angelfish, Koi Angelfish, Koi blushing, Zebra, Gold blushing, brown angel (there's more common names than actual species)
• PH : 6 - 7.5
• Temperature : 70°F - 84°F (23°C - 29°C)
• Water Hardness : 5° to 13° dH
• Lifespan : 8 - 14 years
• Origin / Habitat : Amazon River
• Temperament / Behavior : Generally peaceful, but can be aggressive eaters and may become territorial while breeding. Thus making them a semi good choice for the community tank.

Posted by Douglas DuHamel

When buying your first aquarium, go for at least a twenty gallon or bigger if you can afford it. A bigger tank for the beginner makes it easier to have a stable tank in both chemistry and temperature.

Trust me; a twenty gallon tank is a lot easier to keep stable than a ten or a five gallon. The over feeding of fish tends to be a big problem with beginners. I’ve seen food covering the bottom of a tank where it should only be gravel.

Feed only enough food that can be eaten in three minutes. Try to feed at the same time everyday. Fish will learn this and they will be at the top of your aquarium waiting for you to get there. You have to do to routine water changes.

A new aquarium, once it has cycled properly, should not have any more than 25% water changed per month. Once a tank is established, you can change 25% every two weeks. Never do a complete water change because all the good bacteria will be removed from the tank and the fish will die.

Before buying fish, check the water requirements and the compatibility with other fish. This takes some planning but very necessary.

Not all fish get along and some need different PH levels in the water. When you have brought fish home, float the unopened bag in your aquarium for at least 20 minutes. Then start scooping water from your aquarium into the bag.

This is done to prevent any undue stress on your fish when being introduced to new water. Keep your aquarium as natural as possible. Do not use chemicals or additives unless you really know what they will do.

Posted by Douglas DuHamel

A fish keeper’s nightmare is water damage.

This nightmare hardly ever occurs but you still should be prepared for it. Most mishaps are caused by an over flowing tank, a leak in the tank or a filter that has become clogged. Water damage usually costs a lot to repair so it’s worth the time to ask your insurance agent what costs they will cover.

It is very important to have your aquarium tested for water leaks. Test your tank by filling it outdoors and look for leaks. After draining the test water, bring the tank indoors. Aquarium caulking will last several years but I’ve seen it go in less than a few months. It is important to perform routine inspections on your tank and your equipment.

When setting up an aquarium, put it on a sheet of Styrofoam. This will enable the aquarium to settle onto a flatter and more even surface with as little stress to the glass as possible. Make sure your tank is fully supported underneath.

One of the biggest things to remember is the weight of water. Water weighs ten pounds per gallon. If you have a 50 gallon aquarium, that’s 500 pounds that could snap at any time if your tank is not on a suitable stand. Be sure to calculate the weight factor when selecting an aquarium stand and when deciding where to put your tank.

If you have a problem with something electrical on your tank and it’s in the water, don’t touch it. Only safely pull out the plug and if you are on dry ground and the equipment is not submersed.

If this is not possible, turn off the circuit breaker from the electrical panel. Water and electricity do not mix. With a few precautions, you may never suffer the nightmare of water damage.