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Tropical Fish Finder. The ultimate UK fish keeping resource for all types of tropical and marine fish, including fish books, articles, fish shops, fish clubs and more. Species: Blind Cave Tetra. Species: Boraras urophthalmoides. Species: Carinotetraodon travancoricus. Species: Dicrossus filamentosus. Species: Doryichthys boaja. Species: Hemmigrammus erythrozonus. Species: Red- stripe Halfbeak. Species: Lemon Tetra. Species: Inpaichthys kerri. Species: Nematobrycon palmeri. Species: Rasbora espei. Best Edge (Kaskel\'s Famous Seedling) $50 SF Best Edge is very pod and pollen fertile it has made a large number of introductions for many different hybridizers. I paid a fortune to get my start of it a few years ago and we. Tropical & Marine fish search. Welcome to our tropical & marine fish listings. At TropicalFishFinder.co.uk we have a database of well over 6000 different species of tropical fish and over 1000 species of Marine fish. As you trek through the Tropics you have the opportunity to encounter several wonderful species of animals from tropical areas around the world. A journey through the Tropics will introduce you to more than 60 species of birds. Indicates a Top Plant choice of Sugar Creek Gardens Inventory * = Indicates a different name than used in the MBG PlantFinder. ![]() The fish may be a Tancho Showa, Tancho Sanke, or even Tancho Goshiki. It is named for the Japanese crane (Grus japonensis), which also has a red spot on its. Species: Harlequin Rasbora. Species: Sphaericthys vaillanti. Species: Honey Gourami. January 2. 01. 0With Maidenhead Aquatics at Truro joining the TFF family, it’s a good time to think about stocking and running freshwater aquaria if you live in a soft water part of the UK. Aquarists in Cornwall are provided with some of the softest water in England, and while that’s good in some ways, it can be challenging in others. In this article we’ll be looking at the pros and cons of soft water aquaria, and what sorts of fishes would be best suited to such an aquarium. Maidenhead Aquatics at Truro is on the Quenchwell Rd just north of Carnon Downs, about 3. Truro city centre. The tropical fish shop is in the Carnon Downs Garden centre, where there is plenty of parking space. Like other species of Flounder, these fish start their lives with eyes on BOTH sides of their bodies, but as they grow older these eyes actually move to one side to give them the ability to settle down flat on the surface and.The nearest railway station is Perranwell, 1. From the station, walk northeast along Station Road and into Old Carnon Hill into the village, then onwards through Forth Coth, and then left into Quenchwell Road. The garden centre is on the outskirts of the village. Water chemistry. Soft water is by definition mineral poor, but a key issue for aquarists is the low level of carbonate hardness, typically less than 2 degrees KH. Without carbonate hardness, there is little in the water to buffer against p. H changes. So while pure water has a p. H of 7, as soon carbon dioxide and nitrate are dissolved into it, these chemicals form acids, in these cases carbonic acid and nitric acid. This causes the p. H to drop. In a tank with moderate to high hardness, the carbonate hardness reacts with these acids, cancelling out the chemical reaction, so there’s no p. H change. In a soft water tank with little to no carbonate hardness that can’t happen, and between water changes there is a severe risk of drastic drops in p. H. To prevent p. H changes, it is important not to overstock soft water aquaria. The fewer fish, and less nitrate and phosphate there will be in the water, and that means less nitric acid and phosphoric acid to trigger p. H changes. Equally important is to keep a regular schedule of water changes. It is better to do lots of small water changes than one big one, so that small p. H changes are corrected quickly. Great care should be taken with carbon dioxide generators used to promote plant growth. Too much carbon dioxide and the p. H can plummet. Always use a p. H test kit on a regular basis to make sure that the p. H of your soft water aquarium does not vary too greatly between water changes. Commercial p. H buffers are widely sold and very useful for stabilising p. H at a predetermined point. In most cases p. H 6. H 7 buffers will be most useful. Lower p. H value buffers are available, but note that the lower the p. H, the less effective biological filtration will be. Filtration. The bacteria that perform biological filtration work best in hard water at a p. H of 7. 5 to 8. Below p. H 7 they work more slowly, and below p. H 6 may not work at all. Aquarists keeping soft water aquaria should therefore avoid very low p. H values by using appropriate buffers. In some cases soft water fish need very low p. H values to do well. The classic examples are things like Pikeheads, Ram Cichlids, and Chocolate Gouramis. These fish naturally come from waters where the p. H may be 5. 5 or even less, and above p. H 6. 5 tend to be sickly. Seemingly they cannot resist the opportunistic bacteria present at such water conditions. If you need to use very soft, very acidic water conditions, biological filtration may not be an option. Zeolite can be used instead to remove ammonia directly. This will need to be replaced on a regular basis, typically weekly. Up to a point it can be recharged and reused; check the manufacturer’s instructions for details. Gouramis. Gouramis are a particularly good choice for soft water aquaria. In stock at Maidenhead Aquatics at Truro are some of the most popular species as well as some less unusual species. One of the less often seen species is the Sparkling Gourami (Trichopsis pumila), a very small (to 4 cm) gourami noted for its brilliant blue, pink and purple colouration. Males and females are very similar, and in common with other Trichopsis species, these fish sometimes make croaking sounds. Sparkling Gouramis need to be kept in a peaceful aquaria with lots of surface vegetation; floating plants are particularly appreciated, and given this sort of cover, these fish will swim about in view all the time. They are easily bullied, so do not keep with larger tankmates. The Honey Gourami (Colisa chuna) is a gourami widely sold in the UK but often reported as sickly and difficult to maintain. One problem with this gourami is that it doesn’t thrive in hard, basic water. In a soft water aquarium it will do much better, and makes a good companion for peaceful community fish like rasboras and tetras. It is very shy, so should only be kept in tanks with plenty of plants. An even more challenging species is Vaillant’s Chocolate Gourami (Sphaerichthys vaillanti). These are very sensitive and delicate fish, and should always be kept in a single species aquarium. They need very soft water to do well, so the soft Cornish water will be ideal. They also need a strongly acidic p. H, between 5. 5 to 6. Certainly the tank should be lightly stocked, and if necessary zeolite used to remove ammonia. Water temperature should be between 2. C. Vaillant’s Chocolate Gourami is one of the mouthbrooding gouramis, and this is what makes them appeal to advanced aquarists. They happen to be very pretty as well, but that’s a bonus: don’t plan on keeping them in a community tank! Tetras and other characins. Most tetras and characins prefer soft water, so fishkeepers in soft water areas can pick and choose almost anything they want. About the only commonly traded exception is the Blind Cave Tetra (Astyanax mexicanus), a Central American species that prefers moderately hard, neutral to slightly basic water. The Glowlight Tetra (Hemigrammus erythrozonus) is a classic soft water species for dark, shady tanks with plenty of plants. In small groups this species tends to be nervous and shy, but keep twenty and they’re a revelation! The glowing orange band running through their transparent bodies really comes alive when they’re schooling together nicely, and adding a little blackwater extract to the water will further improve the effect. Another excellent little tetra is the Lemon Tetra (Hyphessobrycon pulchripinnis). While adaptable and easy to keep, in hard water this fish rarely displays its best colours, tending to look a bit washed out. But in a soft water aquarium this fish develops a lovely lemon yellow body colouration, highlighted with a bold red marking above the eye and further black, white and yellow markings on the fins. As with any other tetra, keep in a large group for best results. There are three fish sold as Emperor Tetras in the trade, the true Emperor Tetra (Nematobrycon palmeri), the Black Emperor Tetra (Nematobrycon palmeri), and the Blue Emperor (Inpaichthys kerri). As you’d expect given their names, these are very beautiful fish. They aren’t especially difficult to keep, though they won’t do well in hard water. In a soft water aquarium they should be kept in a group of six or more specimens, but given space, because the males are somewhat territorial. The true Emperor Tetra is essentially iridescent purple with a black band along the middle of the flank and bright blue or green eyes. The Black Emperor Tetra is similar but the black patch on the flanks is more extensive. The Blue Emperor is more luminous blue than purple, and tends to be less hardy than either the Emperor Tetra or the Black Emperor Tetra. Rasboras. Rasboras invariably do better in soft water than hard, so they’re an obvious choice for the soft water community tank. The Harlequin Rasbora (Trigonostigma heteromorpha) and the Lamb- chop Rasbora (Trigonostigma espei) are the two most popular species. The two species are very similar, essentially coppery with a purple- black L- shaped marking on the flanks, the shape of this marking is slightly different between the two species. They have a reputation for being delicate, but in soft water tanks are generally very easy to maintain. Slightly shady conditions and a profusion of plants will bring out the best of their colours. The Least Rasbora (Boraras urophthalmoides) is typical of the smaller species that make up the genus Boraras. It is a slender, nicely coloured species that only gets to about 3 cm in length. Its body is semi- transparent, with an orange and blue- black band running along the flank. The unpaired fins are further marked with patches of orange and black. It is a lovely fish for peaceful community tanks that have plenty of plants, but given its tiny size, it shouldn’t be kept with anything substantially larger. Good companions would be things like kuhli loaches and Sparkling Gouramis. Cichlids. Numerous South American cichlids do well in soft water, but one of the classic species that only ever does well in soft water is Lyre- finned Checkerboard Cichlid (Dicrossus filamentosa formerly Crenicara filamentosa). This small, to 6 cm, slender cichlid is marked with square black blotches across its silvery body, and males especially develop very long tail fin extensions. In hard water tanks it never does well, but in a soft water community tank it makes an interesting companion for small midwater tetras and rasboras. Flake is accepted, but live and wet- frozen foods are preferred, and probably essential for long- term success.
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