Saltwater Aquariums For Dummies

Introduction     1About This Book     1Who I Am     2What I Assume about You     2Why a Dummies Book?     3How This Book Is Organized     3Getting to Know Your Fish and Invertebrates     4Setting Up Your Aquarium     4Taking Proper Care of Your Aquarium     4Taking Proper Care of Your Fish     5The Part of Tens     5Appendixes     5Icons Used in This Book     6Where to Go from Here     6Getting to Know Your Fish and Invertebrates     7Your First Salty Steps     9What's So Great About Aquariums?     10Fish watching     10Relaxation     10A fishy family affair     10Fishy friends     11It's a natural thing     11The ideal pet     11Knowing About Wet Pets     12Finding a really fishy dealer     12Understanding Your Responsibilities     13Getting Started with Your First Saltwater Aquarium     14What equipment do I need?     14What about brackish water aquariums?     15How do I set up the aquarium?     15Understanding Water Chemistry and Algae     16Keeping Your Fish and Invertebrates Healthy     16What do I feed my fish and invertebrates?     17What if my wet pets get sick?     17Avoiding the wrong aquarium pets     17Taking the Next Step     17Some Things Fishy     19What Is a "Fish"?     19Basics of Fish Anatomy     20Body shape     20Fins     20Scales     23Swim bladder     23Feeding     24Respiration     24Other organs     25Senses     25Is It Fresh and Salted?     27Osmosis     27Osmoregulation     28Common Tropical Marine Fish Families     28Angelfishes     29Blennies     30Boxfishes and trunkfishes     31Butterflyfishes     31Cardinalfishes     32Catfishes     32Clownfishes and damselfishes     32Dottybacks     34Dragonets     34Fairy basslets      34Filefishes     34Gobies     35Groupers and sea basses     35Grunts     36Hawkfishes     36Lionfishes and scorpionfishes     37Moray eels     37Parrotfishes     37Porcupinefishes     37Puffers     38Rabbitfishes     38Seahorses and pipefishes     39Sharks     39Snappers     39Squirrelfishes     39Surgeonfishes and tangs     40Triggerfishes     40Wormfishes     41Wrasses     41Choosing the Best Fish for You     43Like Night and Day     43Advanced Schooling     45Trouble in Paradise     45Size     46Attitude     46Diet     46Habitat for Serenity     47Finding Good Choices     48Surgeonfishes and tangs (Acanthuridae)     48Cardinalfishes (Apogonidae)     50Triggerfishes (Balistidae)     50Blennies (Blenniidae)     51Butterflyfishes (Chaetodontidae)      52Gobies (Gobiidae)     52Wrasses (Labridae)     54Angelfishes (Pomacanthidae)     55Damselfishes (Pomocentridae)     56Sweetlips (Haemulidae)     57Dottybacks (Pseudochromidae)     58Sea basses (Serranidae)     58Rabbitfishes (Siganidae)     58Pufferfishes (Tetraodontidae)     59Identifying the Wrong Fish for the Beginner     59Surgeons and tangs (Acanthuridae)     60Triggerfishes (Balistidae)     60Blennies (Blenniidae)     61Butterflyfishes (Chaetodontidae)     61Porcupinefishes (Diodontidae)     62Fairy basslets (Grammatidae)     62Squirrelfishes (Holocentridae)     62Wrasses (Labridae)     62Snappers (Lutjanidae)     63Filefish (Monocanthidae)     63Moray eels (Muraenidae)     63Boxfishes (Ostraciidae)     63Angelfishes (Pomacanthidae)     63Damselfishes (Pomacentridae)     64Dottybacks (Pseudochromidae)     64Lionfishes (Scorpaenidae)     64Sea basses (Serranidae)     65Seahorses and pipefish (Syngnathidae)      65Pufferfishes (Tetraodontidae)     65About Invertebrates     67Inside Invertebrates     67Recognizing Common Aquarium Invertebrates     68Phylum Porifera     69Phylum Cnidaria     70Phylum Platyhelminthes     77Phylum Mollusca     78Phylum Annelida     81Phylum Arthropoda     83Phylum Echinodermata     87From the Dealer to Your Home     93Stress and Quarantine     93How to Choose Healthy Fish     94Going Home     95Taking the Plunge     95Keep a Sharp Eye on Things     97Setting Up Your Aquarium     99Choosing the Best Aquarium     101Placing Your New Aquarium     102Fish watching     102Windows and doors and floors     102Hot and cold     103Water and power     103Tank Size     104Room to move     105Bottom line     106Types of Tanks     106Old school glass     107Crazy-looking acrylic     108Cap It      108More Than a Little Support     109Iron     110Wood     110Figuring Out Filters     111Respiration and Digestion     112Cleaning Your Water     112Mechanical filtration     113Biological filtration     113Chemical filtration     114Filter Choices     115Inside box filter     116Sponge filter     117Undergravel filter     118Powerfilters     120Canister filters     122Trickle filters     123Live rock     124Filters' Helpers     125Fluidized bed filters     125In-line filters     126Protein skimmers     126Diatom filters     128Denitrators     128Complete water-management systems     128Water Disinfection     129UV sterilizers     129Ozonizers     129Which Filter System Is Best for You?     129Aeration and Circulation     130Air pumps and airstones     131Powerheads     133Making waves      133Heating and Lighting Your Aquarium     135Tropical Heat     136The Right Temperature     136Hot Parts     136Types of Heaters     137Hanging heaters     137Submersible heaters     138Warm Options     139Thermostat     139Temperature control     140Thermal protection     141One Size Doesn't Fit All     141Water and wattage     141More than one     142Depth and length     143Choosing a Thermo Meter     143Floating thermometer     144Sticking thermometer     144Hanging thermometer     144Sinking thermometer     144Thermometer-hydrometer     145Liquid crystal thermometer     145Digital thermometer     145Temperature controller     145Let There Be Lighting     145Fishy Fixtures     147Lighting the Way     148Natural light     148Tungsten     148Fluorescent     148Power compact fluorescent     149Mercury vapor     150Metal halide     150Combination     151Switching from Day to Night     151Fishy Furnishings and Finishing Touches     153Aqua-Decor Is a Matter of Taste     154The Natural Look     154Some Background Material     155Simply paint     156Stick-ons     156Dioramas     156Unravel the Gravel     157It's alive!     157Grain size     158Depth     158Getting Rocked     158Dead rock     159Tufa     159Lava rock     159Live rock     160Keeping Coral     162Dead heads     163Artificial     163Live coral     164Adding Inverts     164Providing Plants     164Offering Ornaments     165Saltwater     165Natural seawater     165Artificial seawater     166Water Exams     168Hydrometer     168Water chemistry test kits     170Test probes      172Quarantine Tank     172Nets     172Size     173Meshing around     173Cleaning Tools     174A good bucket     174Substrate sucking     175Away with algae     176Odds and ends     177Partial to Salt: The Brackish Aquarium     179The Brackish Water Environment     179Equipment You Need (or Don't Need)     180Tank     180Filter     181Light and heat     181Other ingredients     181Fishes for the Brackish Water Aquarium     182Monos (Monodactylidae)     183Scats (Scatophagidae)     183Archerfishes (Toxotidae)     184Mollies (Poeciliidae)     184Puffers (Tetraodontidae)     185Plants That Are Partial to Salt     185Providing for grazers     185Planting and tending your garden     186Getting Your Aquarium Up and Running     187Stand and Aquarium Placement     187Aquarium rinse     188Aquarium placement     188Background     188Filters      188Undergravel     189External power filter     189Canister filter     189Trickle filter     189Fluidized bed filter     190Protein skimmer     190Live rock     190Substrate     190Ornamentation     190Aeration     191Heater     191Water     191Water Conditioner and Salt     192Hood     192Thermometer and Heater     192Filters, Again     192Undergravel filter     193External power filter     193Canister filter     193Trickle filter     193Fluidized bed filter     193Protein skimmer     194Live rock     194Aeration, Again     194Lighting     19424-Hour Adjustments     194Live Sand and Rocks     195Maturity     195Adding Fish     195Taking Proper Care of your Aquarium     197The Nitrogen Cycle     199Nitrogen In and Out     199Understanding the Cycle      200The role of bacteria     201Testing the cycle     201Waiting for Your Aquarium to Mature     202Taking the Next Step Just Add Bacteria     202Add the rock     202Seed it     203Start to stock     203Accelerators     204Taking the Final Steps to Maturity     204What About Problems?     205More Chemistry Salt, Acidity, and Gases     207The Importance of Water Quality     207Checking Your Salt Level     208An affinity for salinity     208Specific gravity     209Fluctuating salt     209What Are Acid and pH?     210Scaling pH     210pH fluctuations     211pH solutions     211Hardness and Alkalinity     212Hardness is easy     212Carbonate hardness     212Water Gases     213Oxygen (O2)     213Carbon dioxide (CO2)     214Considering Other Chemical Factors     215Calcium (Ca)     215Phosphate (PO4)     215Copper (Cu)     216All About Algae     217What Are Algae?     217Light and nutrients     218The sterility syndrome     219Algae Are Out of Control     219Go to the source     220Feed some fish     220Harvest time     220Knowing Your Algae     221Green algae     221Red algae     222Brown algae     223Diatoms     223Dinoflagellates     224Blue-green algae     224Keeping Your Aquarium Clean     227Performing the Basics     227Sucking it up     228Cleaning your filters     229Testing, testing, testing (your water)     231Changing the water     232Sticking to Your Maintenance Schedule     235Every day     235Every week     236Every two weeks     236Monthly     236Quarterly (every three months)     237Taking Care of Emergencies     237What, no power?     238Oh no! A leak!     238Too hot to handle     238The solution to pollution      239Taking Proper Care of Your Fish     241Feeding Your Fish     243Giving Them Their Meat and Veggies     243Meat eaters (carnivores)     244Grazers (herbivores)     244Meat and potatoes (omnivores)     244Knowing the Building Blocks of Fish Nutrition     245Identifying the Types of Food     245Natural foods     246Prepared foods     247Live foods     248Putting Food in Their Mouths     250Dealing with the oddballs     252Keeping a watchful eye     252Offering a variety     253Going away?     253Feeding Your Invertebrates     254Hunting and gathering (carnivorous)     254Scraping (herbivorous)     254Sifting (filter feeders)     254Preventing Stress     257Stop the Stressin'     257Stressful Conditions     258Poor water quality     259Handling     259Injury     260Lack of nutrition     261Overcrowding     261Aggressive behavior     262Temperature changes      262Salinity changes     262Disturbances     263Recognizing Stress     263Acting weird     264Looking weird     265Making a Diagnosis     265Diseases and Treatments     267Reviewing the Treatment Methods     267Direct aquarium treatment     268The hospital tank     268The dip method     269Internal medication     269Getting to Know Common Medications     270Copper     270Antibiotics     270Recognizing the Bad Guys     270Bacterial infections     270Viral disease     272Fungal disease     272Parasitic infestations     273Other health problems     275Why Invertebrates Don't Get Sick     276Observing Your Fish     277Seeing Is Believing: Fish Can Be Fun     277Fish watching     277Relaxing     278Having fun with your family     278Showing off     278Experiencing marine biology in your home     279Keeping a Log      279Comings and goings     280Fish interactions and behavior     280Feedings     280New equipment     281Problems     281General notes     282Taking Pictures     282The Part of Tens     255Ten Fish to Avoid     287Sharks     287Skates and Rays     287Stonefish     287Moray Eels     288Lionfishes and Scorpionfishes     288Boxfishes and Trunkfishes     288Groupers and Sea Basses     288Parrotfishes     289Snappers     289Seahorses     289Ten Invertebrates to Avoid     291Octopuses     291Crown of Thorns Starfish     291Bristleworms     291Mantis Shrimp     292Jellyfish     292Queen Conch     292Lobsters     292Bivalves     292Sea Cucumbers     293Fire Coral     293Five Simple Metric Conversions     295Temperature     295Length Conversion     295Weight Conversion     296Area Conversion     296Volume Conversions     297Ten Great Public Saltwater Aquariums     299Appendixes     303Resources     305Books     305Clubs     307Magazines     307Internet     308Glossary     311Index     317