The successful rearing of ornamental fish in marine water is divided into two stages. The first stage is due to the advancement of artificial seawater preparation technology, making the breeding of marine ornamental fish possible; the second stage is due to the improvement of the seawater biological filtration system, so that the long-term rearing of marine ornamental fish in the aquarium has become a reality, and they complement each other, prompting the feeding technology of seawater ornamental fish to a higher level
Seawater fish bait
(1) Planktonic algae: There are many species of marine fish that like to feed on plankton such as hydras or epiphytic seaweeds on reef rocks. Algae in natural seawater, which we are difficult to obtain, but we can grow in aquariums. Put the aquarium in a sunny place outdoors, place some 1-2 kg of stones, fill the seawater, soon, the water in the aquarium will become green, which has grown algae that is, seaweed, at this time, the epiphytic algae stones can be placed directly in the mermaid aquarium for it to peck. Plastic scrapers can also be used to scrape off the algae on the tank wall for feeding. If the seaweed grows very long, you can also bundle bundles of seaweed to stones and directly put them into the aquarium of marine fish and let them eat.
(2) Harvest shrimp: also known as brine worm, it is a kind of marine plankton, is the seawater fish such as seahorses, sea dragons and other favorite bait. Adult individuals are the size of adult mosquitoes, and the eggs are very tough and small, like rice worm feces, and can be stored for a long time after drying. Shrimp can be artificially bred and cultured. The propagation of shrimp can be carried out using a special incubator, which is simple to operate. Buy dried shrimp eggs from the market of origin and place 0. 5 grams of insect eggs into a glass container stored with 2 kg of salt content 1% concentration of seawater, fully oxygenated, under the condition of water temperature of 28 ° C, the eggs hatch into jointed larvae within 24 hours, then the empty egg shell floating on the water surface should be removed first, and then cover the entire glass bottle with black paper, open a small hole in the center of the bottle mouth, irradiate with strong light, and the shrimp will be gathered in the strong light, which can be directly fed after suction with a straw. If the algae are fed in the hatching water, the shrimp will grow slowly in good years.
(3) Frozen seafood: crab meat, shellfish, clam meat, thin slices, placed in the refrigerator can choose shrimp, fish, etc., cut into fresh feeding and take.
Freshwater bait
The natural live bait sources that seawater fish like to eat are limited, and freshwater live bait can also be used to replace them, such as water fleas, water earthworms, red worms, yellow mealworms, screw meat, shrimp meat, fish meat, small live fish, goldfish fry, etc., these live bait sources are convenient, the number is huge, can make up for the lack of seawater fish live bait, but because they are produced in fresh water, they are less palatable than seawater bait, and they will be adapted after a certain period of domestication.
Plant-based bait
There are many species of marine fish that prefer to feed on seaweed, and when the amount of seaweed is insufficient, common vegetables can also be used to feed. For example, seaweed can be torn into flakes and pressed under the stones for fish to peck. Spinach and greens can be blanched in boiling water, chopped and fed. Lettuce can also be hoisted into an aquarium for pecking. These can be adapted to the feeding habits of marine fish.
Pelleted feed
There are many imported dried seawater fish feeds on the market, which are flaky or granular, and some can also be pasted on the surface of rocks. These baits are nutritionally comprehensive, have a long shelf life, and can be used as a favorite bait for marine fish after domestication, which is the first choice for families to raise marine ornamental fish, which can eliminate the situation of seawater bait troubles. The common baits on the market are from Taiwan, Germany and Japan, and its brands are Dupla various baits, SERA's various dry baits and A200's various baits, which can be freely selected.
Rearing equipment for marine fish
(1) Seawater ornamental fish aquarium: The specifications of the marine fish aquarium are larger than the specifications of the freshwater aquarium, and the water capacity is more, and the height of the aquarium is also higher. The size of the family aquarium is: 70x 35 x 45/cm, 130 x 55 x 65 cm, 160 x 65 x 65/cm, 180 x 65 x 70 cm. The specifications of the aquarium are: 150x 60 x 90 cm, 200 x 60 x 90 cm, 300 x 90 x 90 cm, etc. The material of the seawater fish aquarium is mostly glass with a thickness of more than 10 mm, and the silicone with a strong color of gray, black or coffee is used as the adhesive. Transparent silicone can sometimes be destroyed by seaweed or other organisms, causing the glass to lose its stickiness. The bottom of the aquarium needs to be paved with PVC pipe mesh, and the plastic pipe has evenly spaced mesh holes or slits, and the pipeline network connects two mechanical pumps with the same specifications placed relatively. A filter plate with round holes is laid on the pipe mesh, a layer of plastic mesh, and finally coarse and fine sand are laid on it, so that a device in the aquarium that simulates the ebb and flow of natural seawater is completed. The two mechanical pumps are connected to a time switch, when the mechanical pump works, the sea water is pumped into the pump from the pipe network at the bottom of the box, and then flowed out of the pump, forming a flowing artificial seawater. Generally, the time switch can be set to 6 hours, start a pump every 6 hours, and turn off another pump at the same time, alternate operation, and the artificial seawater in the aquarium will form a rotational flow direction every 6 hours, which is the particularity of the seawater aquarium. The power of these two mechanical pumps has certain requirements, and the pumping water of the mechanical pump is required to reach the seawater in the aquarium circulating 4-6 times per hour. (2) Circulating filtration equipment: The filtration equipment in the seawater aquarium is divided into two types: inside the box and outside the box, and the filter outside the box is generally adopted. The filter outside the tank can be large or small, and can be placed in the vertical cabinet at the base of the aquarium or next to the aquarium. The filtration system uses a mechanical pump and requires the entire circulating water to be circulated 2-3 times per hour.
(3) Lighting equipment: Aquarium small lighting equipment include metal halogen lamps, fluorescent lamps, mercury lamps and coral lamps. According to the length of the aquarium, it is equipped with lamps of different specifications, and it is placed on the top of the aquarium, so as not to touch the seawater, and it is also hung 40 cm above the aquarium. The illumination time of the light is 8-10 hours per day. Metal halide lamps have a power of 150W and 250W, which can create strong light bands, medium light belts and low light belts in the aquarium, which is the most promising lamp for the development of the marine fish aquarium. Fluorescent light lines are better, and they create medium and low light bands in aquarium towels. The power of mercury lamps is 80W, 125W, 250W, 400W, etc., which are often hung above the aquarium. Coral lamp is a kind of light suitable for seawater invertebrates, it also has blue light and fiber light lamp, can increase the color of coral and other invertebrates, the viewing effect is very good.
(4) Thermal insulation equipment: The insulation equipment in the aquarium can choose stainless steel or titanium alloy electric heating pipe. The large aquarium has a large water capacity, and the equipment for laying the heating line at the bottom of the aquarium can be used. Generally, small and medium-sized aquariums can choose commercially available 100-300W electric heating tubes, fixed at both ends of the aquarium. In the hot summer, when the water temperature is close to 30 ° C, cooling measures should be taken, such as equipping with a refrigerator or air conditioner, or using a mechanism ice cube into a plastic bag, sealing and putting it in the aquarium
(5) Water quality testing equipment: the water quality of seawater is more complex, and there are many factors affecting seawater fish in seawater, such as the specific gravity of seawater, pH, hardness, temperature, nitrite content, iron content, etc.; the specific gravity of seawater can be measured by hydrometer, which is divided into two types: floating hydrometer and liquid hydrometer. Floating hydrometer a sealed glass tube. There are lead particles at the bottom end, which can float on the surface of the water and directly read out the specific gravity of the water. A hydrometer is a plexiglass locket that injects seawater into the locket to remove air bubbles, and points to the specific gravity of the water. The pH of seawater can be obtained by using a PH value electronic test pen. The hardness, iron content, nitrite content, etc. of the water can be measured by special test agents.
(6) Protein separator: also known as foam separator. It is the use of bubble surface in the water can be adsorbed in the water of various granular dirt and soluble organic matter principle, the use of oxygenation equipment or vortex pump to produce a large number of bubbles, will be purified by the sea water of the egg portal separator, these bubbles are all concentrated on the water surface to form a foam, the foam is collected in the container on the water surface, it will become a yellow liquid after being eliminated. The protein separator can effectively remove organic particles, proteins, harmful metal ions, etc. in the water, and the water purification effect is better.
(7) Carbon dioxide supplementary equipment: there is a dynamic buffer system for hardness and pH in seawater, which can keep the water quality of seawater stable, When the PH value of seawater drops to 8.0, you can consider the method of supplementing carbon dioxide to maintain the stability of the buffering capacity of water quality, and there are two ways to supplement carbon dioxide in seawater: one is to use the carbon dioxide reaction generator to directly input the gas; the other is to use the calcium reactor to make the gas carbon dioxide react with the insoluble calcium carbonate in water to generate water-soluble calcium bicarbonate, increase the calcium ions in the seawater, maintain the stability of the hardness in the seawater, and also maintain the stability of the pH value of the seawater.
Bait
Most of the marine fish sold in the market, large and small, are caught directly from the ocean. Artificial breeding of marine fish is currently limited to professional researchers. The life of marine fish in the natural ecological environment is very different from that in artificial seawater aquariums, and the natural food of seawater fish is also very different from the bait we can supply, so the bait work of marine fish in the aquarium requires a lot of patience.
The bait of marine fish needs to be domesticated in the early stage. When taming bait, natural bait can be used as the mainstay, and the bait that is easy to obtain is shrimp, clams, crabs, edible turtles, etc., which can be chopped up when feeding, and the amount of feeding should be small, and the number of feedings will increase, and the fish will be lured to eat. After the fish begin to feed, they gradually transition to feeding conveniently sourced baits such as frozen fish meat, freshwater bait and pelleted feed.
The feeding habits of marine fish are not exactly the same, some fish are directly feeding on the bait swimming in the water, such as snappers, pufferfish, catfish, etc., at this time, the bait can be directly put into the water, let it grab. Some fish are accustomed to pecking at the bait on the reef rock, such as angelfish, butterfly fish, coarse-skinned seabream, longhead fish and other fish, then the bait can be applied to the stone, air-dried into the aquarium, let it peck, or the epiphytic seaweed stones are released, let it peck, some fish are accustomed to feeding the bait sent to the mouth, they hide in the cave or stone crevices, such as the lycenotaceae, herring family, bass and other fish, then the bait should be fed to their mouths or near their habitats. Some fish have special requirements for bait, such as seahorses, sea dragons, shrimp fish, etc., they can only smoke small foods or liquid foods, then you can choose to use shrimp. Small baits such as flea, seaweed, and rotifers are thrown.
It is normal for marine fish to refuse to feed in the aquarium at the beginning, especially those fish that have just been caught from the ocean and take a long time to eat. Some marine fish prefer to be nocturnal and refuse to feed in brightly lit aquariums. Sometimes the water quality is not good, which also affects its appetite. Sometimes the aquarium in the aquarium due to the disparity in the size of individual fish or the feeding of fierce fish, will also affect the appetite of marine fish.
The number of baits for marine fish is generally 1-2 times a day, and the amount of bait should be eaten in 5-10 minutes, and the principle of feeding is a small number of meals. Controlling the amount of bait for marine fish is also an effective means of maintaining water quality stability.
Daily observation
(1) Fear observation: Seawater ornamental fish are raised in a narrow aquarium, and the new environment is easy to make fish have a sense of fear. Due to the close distance between the seawater fish in the aquarium, they will also fight and bite each other for territory, and even the ferocious fish eat Sven's fish, and the big fish eat the small fish, so it is necessary to observe carefully and take isolation measures if necessary.
(2) Appetite observation: When feeding, count the number of fish, such as finding outliers and refusing to eat fish, to find out the cause and solve it in time.
(3) Fecal observation: The fecal color of ornamental fish in seawater varies according to the species. Some varieties such as blue inverted clams, herringbone butterflies, red clowns, etc., have white liquid feces; some varieties such as pearl dog heads, queen gods, etc., their feces are detritus-like; some varieties such as spotted naked-breasted eels, etc., their feces are granular. Observing the color and shape of fish's feces can effectively understand the digestion and health of fish.
Set the scene
The view of the seawater aquarium is completely different from the scenery of the freshwater aquarium. The freshwater aquarium shows a green landscape, it is mostly based on aquatic grass and mountain rocks as the scenery material, and the seawater aquarium shows a colorful undersea coral reef landscape, which is mostly based on live corals, anemones, tube insects and so on. These are two different styles of setting, but also two completely different aquarium worlds.
1． Biological rocks
Biological rocks are also known as living rocks. It is mostly produced in the coral reef area of the ocean, and the color is red, blue-gray, etc., and it has different shapes. The appearance of the rock bare as if dead, the fine view is full of life, its surface is covered with a variety of seaweed, sponge, on top of the growth of strange corals, sea anemones, tube worms, etc.; the rock inside contains a wealth of corals, seaweed, etc., as long as the conditions are suitable, they will thrive and expose outside the rock, which is the vitality of the coral reef living rock.
The collection of live rock is obtained by fishermen and divers, in the marine corals, the collection can grow on the surface of the rock seaweed and corals, tube worms, etc. to keep intact, and maintain a certain temperature, packed oxygenation consignment, by aircraft or ship to transport to the world. Then, we transplanted these life-rich rocks containing countless seaweeds, corals and anemones in the seawater aquarium, which can also present a colorful coral reef landscape, and a natural aquarium undersea coral reef world is displayed in front of us.
Live rock placed in the seawater aquarium, start the seawater oxygenation equipment and water quality circulation equipment, every week with a water spray to clean the rock surface, the lighting time from 1-2 hours a day gradually extended, generally take 4-6 weeks of time, the living rock surface of various colors of living coral, anemone and seaweed will be full of vitality, very beautiful, emitting multicolored light.
2． Corals and anemones
There are many types of corals, the shape is changeable, and its color is red, white, green, blue, purple and so on. According to their living environment, they are divided into corals with strong light belts, medium light belts and low light belts. According to their internal structure, they are divided into stone corals and soft corals. Corals living in the bright light zone include soft corals, rose corals, short-whiskered garland soft corals, button corals, antler corals, bubble corals, brain corals and so on. Corals living in the middle light zone include butterfly corals and so on. Corals living in the shimmer zone include sunflower corals, tubular corals, and seafowl crowns.
Corals in marine reefs are formed by the aggregation of many tiny polyps. Polyps contain symbiotic single-celled xanthophyllum, which absorb carbon dioxide, phosphates, nitrates, etc. produced by polyps and convert them into nutrients needed by polyps. Corals rarely move, and polyps grow on the surface of the coral, which is a thin membrane. When it is separated from the water, the coral dies and weathers, and its remains form porous coral sand.
Anemone is a close relative of coral, it is composed of tubular hollow trachea, the color is red, white, purple, green, etc., the shape is butterfly-shaped, round and so on. Sea anemones can move short distances, mostly living in the bright light zone corals and sea anemones are the main coelenterates growing on the biological stone, in addition to the biological stone will grow a variety of colors of seaweed, such as red flame algae, green chlorella, feather grass, etc., they are the main plant scenery in the seawater aquarium.
The feed of corals is mainly finely chopped, liquid bait, such as shrimp juice, clam juice, etc., which can be injected into the coral bush with a straw and fed 1-2 times a week. The anemone's bait is also based on small baits, and a ball of water earthworms or a small fish can also be thrown into the tentacles of the anemone with tweezers, and the bait is thrown 1-2 times a week. Corals and anemones are mainly filter-feeding baits, they can suck on organic matter flowing through the seawater, and it is also a natural filter for seawater.
3． Landscaping
The landscaping materials in the aquarium of marine fish are mainly bio-stone, living coral and coral sand. A PVC plastic pipe mesh is laid at the bottom of the aquarium and connected to two pumps of equal power placed oppositely, which are then connected to the time switch to form an artificial seawater with a tidal ebb and flow similar to the natural seawater. The pipe mesh is covered with water filter plates and plastic screens, and finally 10-15 cm thick coral sand is laid on top. The selection of unique shaped rocks, with 1-2 larger main stones, other stones attached to the main stone, in the order from high to low, from large to small, outline the undulating, layered peaks. Finally, various shapes of living rocks or living corals, anemones, tube worms, etc. are placed in high and low order and the requirements of corals and anemones for light, respectively, to the top of the peaks, mountainsides, mountain bottoms, valleys, caves and other spatial positions, such a vibrant multicolored coral reef is transplanted into the aquarium. Corals, anemones and seaweeds of various colors and shapes live in different spaces of aquariums, with clear layers and staggered patterns, like a miniature underwater world, rich and magnificent, beautiful and beautiful.
Disease prevention of marine fish
1． White spot disease
Symptoms: The sick fish is sluggish, often flushed in the water or rubbed on the rock, the body surface is covered with white or light gray spots, and the diseased fish has cross-infection and two infections. There are two common pathogens: one is similar to the multi-soned melon worm in fresh water, the surface of the diseased fish is white spots, and the other is the oval flagella, the surface of the diseased fish is light gray spots, which are not easy to cure.
Prevention and control methods:
(1) Catch the water temperature to 30 ° C, the parasite will cause its sac to rupture due to the increase in water temperature, automatically detach from the fish body, this method has a better treatment effect on the sick fish infected with white spot disease for the first time, but the effect on the secondary infection of the sick fish is not obvious, and it must be soaked with drugs at the same time.
(2) The new bricks are soaked in urine for 24 hours, dried and put into the aquarium, after more than 10 hours, the small white dots on the fish body expand, and after more than 10 hours, the small white dots on the surface of the visible body have fallen off, and the effect is better.
(3) The diseased fish is immersed in fresh water, which is formed by mixing 9 parts of fresh water and 1 part of seawater, and the soaking time is 0. 5 seconds - 2 minutes, should pay attention to observe the degree of adaptation of the fish body, see the fish breathing tension should be immediately moved to the seawater.
(4) Put 10 kg of seawater into a glass jar and add 0. 05 g of copper sulfate, oxygenated, soaked in diseased fish for 5-8 minutes, 24 hours after visible body white spot shedding. This method has a good effect on fish with primary disease, but it is not obvious for fish with secondary infection.
2． Rotten fin rotten skin disease
Symptoms: The fins of the diseased fish are incomplete, the scales on the surface of the body are shed, the skin is rotten and there are superficial ulcers. The cause of the disease may be that the ornamental fish in the sea compete with each other for territory, fight with each other, or are not adapted to the new water, resulting in injury to the skin of the fins, and the arch J bacteria are infected, especially after the aquarium of the existing fish is put into the aquarium of the existing fish, which is more likely to occur
Prevention and control methods
(1) Put 2 cephalosporins or 4-5 flazodone tablets in 10 kg of seawater and soak the diseased fish for 10-15 minutes.
(2) In 10 kg of seawater, release 0. 2 g potassium permanganate, soak the diseased fish for 5-10 minutes.
3． Gill rot disease
Symptoms: The gills of the sick fish lose blood and rot, and in severe cases, the gills fester into holes, the gill cartilage is exposed, and the sick fish has difficulty breathing.
(1) In 10 kg of seawater, add 0. 2 g of furacillin, soaked for 5-10 minutes. 8
(2) Mix 1 part of seawater with 9 parts of fresh water and soak the sick fish for 1-2 minutes.
(3) In 10 kg of seawater, add 0. 05 g copper sulfate, soak the diseased fish for 5-10 minutes.
The purchase of ornamental fish from the sea
1． Purchasing
The seawater ornamental fish are very diverse, varied in color and size, and very beautiful. When buying marine fish, you must first choose those healthy individuals. Healthy marine fish, bright body color, swimming quickly, the gill cover opens freely, the fins are firm, and the retraction is easy. When throwing bait, they will actively grab food. In addition, in the process of fishing and transportation, some of the surface of the body will be injured, such as scale shedding, fins are mutilated, some may be due to poor stress reduction, internal organs will have different degrees of damage, manifested as swimming disorders and anorexia, these individuals should not choose. If there are white spots the size of rice grains on the skin of the fish body, or the skin is congested, rotten fins, etc., these are all diseased individuals and can not be selected.
When purchasing marine fish, pay attention to which species can be polycultured and which varieties cannot be polycultured. In general, large fish and small fish should not be mixed together, and fierce fish and mild fish should not be mixed together.
If there are live corals, anemones, etc. in the seawater aquarium, you can choose to buy seawater fish of the snapper family, such as clownfish, blue devils, three-point white, four-room finches, etc., try not to buy angelfish, butterfly fish, parrotfish, etc., because these fish like to peck at corals, anemones, it will destroy the scenery of the aquarium.
When buying marine fish, if a single species only chooses 2-3, they will often fight over turf, but if the number of single species is large, they will live in peace with each other and be at peace with each other.
The number of fish raised in the aquarium of marine fish should not be too much, and the number of fish can generally be increased or decreased according to the size of the aquarium. For a more reasonable density of marine fish, it can be referred to that each 10 cm seawater fish should have 50 liters of sea water, so that the aquarium will not appear too crowded.
2． transport
The transportation of ornamental fish in seawater mostly adopts the low-density plastic bag packaging method. Plastic bags are thicker in texture and have dimensions of 55 x 45 cm, 45 x 25 cm, 45 x 15 cm, etc. When using, the plastic bag is double-layered together, and a layer of paper is cushioned between the two layers, which can not only shade the light, keep the fish body quiet, but also prevent the fish's sharp hard fins from puncturing the plastic bag, ensuring safety on the way. The number of fish in each bag is mostly one or two, and the water temperature during transportation is not less than 25 ° C. During winter transportation, water bags can be heated in boxes to keep invertebrates in the ocean, such as tube worms, corals, etc., which can be wrapped in layers by wet sponges, and then concentrated in a plastic bag, oxygenated and transported to various places.
Newly introduced marine ornamental fish require drug quarantine, generally using freshwater bath method and copper sulfate medicinal bath method. The dip time is a few seconds to a few minutes. In the early 1-2 weeks of rearing, the activity of the fish body and the finish of the body surface should be carefully observed to determine the time of the first feeding. If the fish is healthy and active, it can be eaten after 1 week. Start with a seawater bait with good palatability and gradually transition to a more convenient local source.
Note: This article is transferred from the strong vest of the Dragon Peak Sea Fish Aquarist
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