How to Clean a Fish Tank

This article explains how to safely clean any fresh water fish tank. The instructions will apply for any size of fish tank that you have.

Make sure you have everything you need!

Run through your checklist, and make sure everything you need is available.

Decide how much water you are going to change

If you are on a regular schedule and if your fish are healthy, 10-20% should be enough.

Start the siphon and direct the water into a a large pail, particularly a five gallon.

You may need a larger bucket if you have a large aquarium.

Push your gravel vacuum through the gravel.

Fish waste, excess food, and other debris will be sucked into the the vacuum.

If you have a sand substrate, do not use the vacuum like a shovel.

Use just the hose part of the siphon, not the plastic tube, holding it under an inch from the surface to suck up waste without disturbing your sand.

If your decorations are covered in algae, you may want to feed your fish less or change the water more frequently.

Excess algae growth is caused by excess nutrients in the water. You can wipe the decorations off in the tank water you siphoned out, and use an algae scrubber to remove algae from the walls of the tank. You can also put in algae remover with your conditioner.

Change the filter cartridge about once a month.

Contrary to common belief, the carbon inside of the filter cartridge can become detrimental to your fishes health if left unchanged. Not much beneficial bacteria lives inside the filter, most is in the gravel, so changing it will not affect the biological filtration in any way. Cartridges can be rinsed off weekly when water changes are performed if it appears to be dirty. However rinsing the filter cartridge does not substitute changing it, so it still has to be changed montly.

Replace the water you took out with fresh, treated water at the temperature of the aquarium.

Any cloudiness that remains will normally dissipate in a few hours, leaving the water sparkling clear.

Bird

General Information

Modern pet birds were first domesticated thousands of years ago, with some species being domesticated as pets within the last several hundred years. Canaries were first bred into captivity in the early 1600s, while the parakeet, with its varied and diverse classes, is believed to have been domesticated for thousands of years.

Birds have had an enormous impact in human life serving as a primary source of food and also in performing important tasks. As a source of food, recent estimates indicate that every year more than 9.8 billion birds are raised, slaughtered and consumed for human consumption in the United States alone. In addition to food, birds have performs such tasks as carrying communications (Homing pigeons), hunting (falcons), scientific research (chickens and pigeons), and protecting miners from poisonous gasses (canaries).

Pet birds provide lively, constant companions that can fill a home with relaxing chirps and singing. Additionally they can bring vivid color and life into quiet corners of the home. Some species of birds can live well into their 60s and 70s creating a life long bond with their owner.

BIRD Scientific Information

Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Cordata Subphylum: Verebrata Class: Aves

BIRD Character Information

Birds are wonderful pets that can liven up any home or apartment with their high energy and beautiful songs and can add a wide array of color to any environment they live in. Birds are intelligent creatures that are easily trained and are relatively easy to care for. They can be extremely social and can live long, healthy lives providing years and years of companionships.

For the budget conscious, birds are not expensive to feed and can live in a small inexpensive cage. When considering becoming a bird owner, it is important to think about your current living condition, whether as a renter you can have such a pet, and about how long you are willing to have the bird as part of your home. Some types of birds can live well into their 70s if well cared for. But whatever your motivation, you can expect to have the happy sounds and colors of your bird brighten your home every day.

Rabbits as Pets

Rabbits as Pets - Is a Rabbit the Right Pet for You?

Question: Rabbits as Pets - Is a Rabbit the Right Pet for You?

Rabbits can make absolutely delightful pets, but as always, having the right expectations will help you develop a strong bond with your pet. Find out all you can about the care of pet rabbits as well as the pros and cons of pet rabbits before choosing a pet rabbit.

Answer:

Rabbits are very social as well as active and playful, forming close bond with their owners. As long as you know what to expect from a pet rabbit, they have the potential to be wonderful pets.

Life expectancy: varies with breed, anywhere from 5 to 15 years.

Why Rabbits Can Make Good Pets

· Rabbits are social and with gentle handling are generally quite tame.

· They are playful and entertaining to watch.

· Rabbits often form very close bonds with their owners.

· They can be litter trained. They also respond well to gentle training (try a clicker) and can be trained to do special behaviors and tricks.

What You Need to Know Before Deciding on a Rabbit

· Being social, rabbits need a great deal of interaction with their owners and/or other rabbits to be happy. Daily playtime and exercise outside of their case are a necessity.

· Rabbits are not low maintenance - it takes a good deal of work to properly care for a rabbit.

· Rabbit pellets alone are not a sufficient diet -- they need lots of roughage in the form of good quality hay and a variety of fresh vegetables.

· They do need to chew, so lots of safe chew toys should be provided, and any spaces where the rabbit is allowed to run must be carefully rabbit-proofed.

· They need a relatively large cage. They are also better off indoors, where they can be more social with their family and also are also safe from predators (even in the city) and extreme weather.

· While they are generally quiet pets, rabbits are not a good match for active young children who may not be careful enough when picking them up or playing around them.

· Rabbits like to be near their people, but they often would rather not be held.

· They will likely require some veterinary care, which can be expensive. They should be spayed or neutered (by a vet experienced with surgery on rabbits) and they may require vaccinations depending on where you live (see Rabbit Vaccinations from RabbitRehome.org.uk for more on vaccines).

· Rabbit urine can have a strong odor so expect to change their litter box frequently (spaying and neutering can help reduce the odor. In addition their urine is high in calcium so can leave a chalky residue when it dries that can be hard to clean up (vinegar is pretty effective for this).

Consider Adopting a Shelter Rabbit

· Please consider adopting an rabbit from a shelter or rescue if you have one nearby. There are many perfectly good pet rabbits who need a second chance at finding a forever home. Don't worry about getting an older rabbit--you can get a good sense of their personality and they will bond with new owners just fine.

A special note about Easter and Rabbits:
The association between rabbits and Easter means rabbits are often impulsively acquired as pets at Easter time. Unfortunately, many of these bunnies end up neglected or given up for adoption since those cute little bunnies grow up into rabbits that need as much attention and care as a dog. Rabbits can be destructive if deprived of attention and appropriate toys, and need to be spayed or neutered to cut down on behavioral problems and health risks. In addition, rabbits are not ideal pets for children, partly because rabbits usually do not like to be held or cuddled. Always research a potential pet thoroughly to make sure it will be a suitable companion before getting one, and avoid the impulse to get a bunny for Easter.