Under the Sea, DJ Nelson

UNDER THE SEA

Especially this time of the year, when we’ve had enough of the cold, miserable mix Mother Nature has given us, we start thinking of spring, or taking a tropical vacation to a place with a white sand beach. How many of us think of all the beautifully colored fish in the ocean, wishing we could be scuba diving, investigating one of the most unexplored regions of the world? The array of sizes, shapes and colors could mesmerize us for hours, filling us with peace and serenity.

Or you stop into a pet store, Looking at their saltwater tanks you see the different animals and fish, and think you would love to have that at home. Nothing helps me get to sleep better then thinking of crystal clear water, nice white sand, colorful rocks with sea anemones and corals all over an aquarium. With nice bright yellow, blue, purple, and red fish swimming around the aquarium going in and out of the rocks, and that little clown fish (Nemo) taking up residence in an anemone.

I can swear I hear the ocean waves, and the temperature has risen to a nice 80 degrees. I can even smell it. Don’t you want a nice saltwater tank? I know I do. Just thinking about it brings a smile to my face as I relax even more in my office chair.

I know what you’re thinking, “It’s too much work to keep a saltwater tank. The fish are way too sensitive.” Anyone can keep a saltwater aquarium, even you! Yes you! You can enjoy your piece of paradise all year round and drown out the stresses of the world, while taking pleasure in your saltwater aquarium.

Keeping a saltwater tank can be as complicated or basic as you would like. Believe it or not, the larger the aquarium, the easier it is to keep. My goal is to help you understand saltwater aquariums so you can choose the set-up right for you. I can’t touch upon every aspect in this article, but I can give you a small glimpse of what you can do. Let’s break it down into 3 types of tanks: Saltwater Fish, Reef, and Nano.

Saltwater Fish Aquariums:

An aquarium that has only fish in it. Usually fish that may eat or torment shrimps, corals etc, but also can have other fish in it as well.

These can be the easiest to keep, out of the three choices. Usually it’s recommended to start out with a minimum 30 gallon aquarium. I’d recommend, if you can, starting out with at least a 55 gallon tank. You will enjoy this much longer than the 30 gallon. If you’re just doing fish, you don’t have to worry about the many additives that have to be added to the water, when you have reef set up. Even though lighting in any aquarium is important, you don’t have to worry about the intensity of the light. Like with freshwater, you can have a community tank or an aggressive tank, depending on what you fancy. You can have live rock or fake corals in this type of aquarium. Foods are a bit more interesting than freshwater because you’ll feed a mix of flake/pellet foods and frozen foods, thus keeping the fish healthy and happy.

Reef Aquariums:

An Aquarium that typically has corals, shrimps, crabs & etc. As long as it has even one shrimp in it, I would recommend calling it a reef tank.

These I find, can be the most rewarding and amazing. Once it has been set up, you get to see it evolve, not just grow. Remember the same is true as far as the size of the aquarium. This type of tank is probably the most flexible in regard to how easy or complicated you want to make it. You can keep it simple with a shrimp, some fish, and maybe a hardy coral or two (like mushroom rocks). You will have to make sure you have good lighting, and expect to add some liquid supplements. Don’t let this deter you from keeping the aquarium, because doing this will make it moderate/easy depending on one’s definition.

Test your water once a week, once established. I also recommend using live rock. Live rock has good bacteria in

DJ Nelson

it and can also have nice colorful coralline algae on it, as well as some other cool stuff. Ask your local pet store more about the different types of live rock. Sand will help filter your aquarium, your inverts (invertebrates) will love the sand over crushed coral.

Now, you can also make a reef aquarium very complex with an array of different corals (both easy and hard to keep), invertebrates and fish. Doing this will require that you check your water chemistry a few times a week, possibly adding supplements 2 times a week. This will also require a protein skimmer.

Nano Aquariums:

These are aquariums under 30 gallons. Commonly, people are keeping aquariums between 2 and 20 gallons. They can have just fish, or fish and some shrimps and small corals. This requires daily water changes and monitoring, depending on exactly how small the tank and what you are keeping. Usually, beginners don’t go for this type. As you can tell, keeping Saltwater Aquariums can be a fun, interesting and low maintenance hobby, definitely worth exploring. For more information on keeping saltwater aquariums you can contact your local pet store.

DJ Nelson has worked in the pet industry for almost two decades and is the owner of AquaRealm Aquarium & Pets in St. Johnsbury, VT. He works with Reptiles, Birds, Small Animals, Fresh & Saltwater fish, and Dog & Cat Nutrition. Since proper care is constantly changing, educating customers about their pets is very important. www.aquarealmaquarium.com and Facebook.

4 LEGS & A TAIL FUN!

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Dog’s collar, Paintbrush, Boys’ Shirt, Girl’s Sandal, Women’s Earring, Dog’s Bone, Top Screws on Doghouse

TEACHER’S PET

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On the last day of kindergarten, all the children brought presents for their teacher. The florist’s son handed the teacher a gift. She held up the box and said, “I bet it’s some flowers!” “That’s right!” shouted the little boy. Then the candy store owner’s daughter handed the teacher a gift. She held up the box and said, “I bet it’s some chocolates!” “That’s right!” shouted the little girl. The next gift was from the liquor store owner’s son. The teacher held up the box and saw that it was leaking. She touched a drop with her finger and tasted it. “Is it wine?” she asked. “No,” the boy answered. The teacher touched another drop to her tongue. “Is it champagne?” she asked. “No,” the boy answered. “What is it?” she said.

“A puppy!”

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