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Tropical Fish Keeping Made Easy

Not a big fan of furry animals? Want pets that won’t pee on your carpet? Then fish might just be the pets for you. Keeping fish has many variations. You can make it easy, or hard on yourself depending on what kind of fish you want. There’s quite a lot of choice involved. For the sake of this guide, we’re going to say you’re keeping tropical fish indoors.



Choosing A Tank

You have to know the size of the tank you want. Likewise, you need to have the appropriate space to fit it. Don’t buy a large tank if you know it won’t fit in the room you’re placing it in. Once you’ve determined the tank size you want, you first need to find a stand for it.
Be sure to get a stand specifically for the tank though. You need to know it can hold the weight of the tank filled with water. You also need to make sure the storage cabinets should have openings in the back so you can run wires from the pump up to the tank.

Getting The Equipment

Tropical fish require a few bits and pieces to make the tank habitable for them. We’ve already mentioned that a pump is required, for the purposes of keeping the water oxygenated. You’ll also need a temperature control system and thermometer to ensure the water is warm enough for them to survive.
Other aquarium supplies are needed to ensure the tank is adequate for the fish. You’ll also need a device to measure chemical levels in the water, such as nitrate. You’re also going to want a filter to help cultivate the right amount of bacteria in the water.

Filling The Tank

Before you start filling the tank up with water, you need to lay down some gravel on the bottom. While not required, it gives a more authentic aesthetic to the tank. If you want plants to take root in the tank too, you’ll need a fairly deep gravel base. You can also add a faux-rock wall to the back of the tank if you have it pushed up against a wall.
Next, fill the tank with cold water. Switch all your systems on, and leave the tank for a little while. You may need to monitor the tank’s temperature and nitrate levels for a few days before it settles into something habitable.

Fish


Finally, get some tropical fish you like the look of from a local pet store. Be sure to get the appropriate food for their type too. Some fish are bottom feeders and need specific food in the form of dissolvable tablets.

'Wild' animals in travelling circuses benefit no one

The suggestion by a committee of MPs on Tuesday that zebras, camels and several other wild species are appropriate in travelling circuses will cause dismay, outrage and some measure of agreement.

Whether transportation causes animals unacceptable stress, or circuses represent an environment ripe for abuse, can be argued back and forth. But why does a debate about this even exist?

There is an eternal tension between humans and the rest of the animal world. Our existence relies on some measure of exploitation. Animals are routinely killed and enslaved to further the human purpose. And, apart from cases of inhumane treatment, much of this relationship has a necessary evil argument in its favour.

We engage in these ethical debates, and sometimes fall on one side or the other, every time we pull on a leather jacket or eat a leg of lamb. But where does the line between essential and unnecessary get drawn? Somewhere, I would say, around travelling circuses.

Travelling conditions for animals in circuses cannot be as good as not travelling at all. An animal cannot be abused in a circus if it isn't there. This is a problem that comes with a fairly simple solution.

There is no compelling human interest argument here. Just our insatiable desire to be entertained.

It's important to consider the prospects of the operators of these institutions. Two of them still exist in Britain and they hold licences for 21 animals between them. This is their way of life and undoubtedly there are entertaining aspects to their shows.

But sometimes you get caught on the wrong side of history ploughing an archaic furrow and then it's time to innovate or relocate. Plenty of circuses now exist animal-free. Couldn't the government spend the money set aside for regulating these operators on helping them to hire strikingly talented, well-remunerated humans to entertain crowds and reinvigorate the spectacle?

The argument that circuses give children the opportunity to see animals that are exotic and special is true. And they surely display certain species' physical prowess. But this arena also encourages children to view animals in a decontextualised and subordinate way. There is little educational value here such as exists in zoos.

We should be presenting the natural world to our children as something supra-human and untameable. How can they value an animal as wild and supreme when it performs, no matter how impressively, simply for giggles?

To call these animals "wild" is a misnomer. In this context we define wild as anything not normally domesticated in Britain. But let's not kid ourselves, this is a caricature of wildness. A bit of casual, family-friendly barbarism in which we are encouraged to subjugate principle for the sake of entertainment.

So next time the circus comes to town, save your money, buy a Life on Earth DVD and settle in with the kids to be spellbound by what is truly the greatest show on Earth.

Saskatchewan animals preparing for fall

When it comes to priorities in Saskatchewan's animal world these days, finding enough food and a warm home for the winter are at the top of the list.

Kenton Lysak explained what large animals including moose and bears are searching for to Saskatoon Morning's Leisha Grebinski. Lysak is the Senior Interpreter at Beaver Creek Conservation Centre near Saskatoon.

"At this time, these animals are just looking for a place to hang out and eat a ton of food. They're trying to gain as much weight as possible."

Lysak has spotted a moose in the conservation area and said he has heard reports of moose sightings in recent weeks.

"These moose are looking for tasty treats and trying to get their fat and protein content up so they can survive the harsh winter months."



Birds preparing for flight

Birds are also looking to stock up on food as the temperature begins to fall in the province. 

Lysak said most birds are looking for food to help them prepare for the long migration south to warmer temperatures.

But he also pointed out that some birds stay and brave the cold prairie winter.

"The birds that stay here need as much protein and fat as possible to get through the winter months. So feeding those chickadees and other animals in your backyard do them a big benefit."

Senate backs call for urgent federal funding for cassowary rehab centre

The Senate has backed a Greens push for the federal government to consider urgent funding for a struggling far north Queensland cassowary rehabilitation centre.

Greens senator Larissa Waters called on the federal government to help the state government keep the centre open and to expand its operations to treat adult birds. Photograph: Robert Tidey/AAP/Rainforest Rescue

The Garners Beach Rehabilitation Centre at Mission Beach had been earmarked for closure but the state government this week stepped in with up to $50,000 interim funding to keep it open for another three months.

Only chicks will be admitted during that time, prompting concerns that injured adults would have to be put down at the roadside.

In a Senate motion submitted on Wednesday, Greens senator Larissa Waters called on the federal government to help the state government keep the centre open and to expand its operations to treat adult birds.

Waters said the government needed to update and commit funding to a national recovery plan for the endangered species, the last of which was published in 2007.

“Not only do we have a duty to protect the cassowary for its intrinsic value but this iconic species is also an important tourism drawcard,” she said.

“If passed, it [the motion] will send a powerful message to the federal environment minister about the need to work with the state government to properly fund the rehabilitation centre.”

The motion was carried on the voices, despite the government maintaining it is already taking action to save the endangered cassowary through the threatened species strategy.

“In response to the motion, the federal government said it would write to the state government about funding,” Waters said.

Outspoken far north Queensland vet Dr Graham Lauridsen, who is involved with the centre, said the facility would not need federal funding if the state government did “its job”.

“Why reinvent the wheel when it was working fine a year or two ago?” he said.

Queensland’s environment and heritage protection minister, Steven Miles, has written to Lauridsen to assure him the department is working to reinstate normal ranger services amid a number of staff movements.

But the vet said he was still concerned his staff would have to pick up the slack after he was told the rangers were not to respond to calls outside normal work hours.

10 Breathtakingly Beautiful Albino Animals

1. This sleeping bundle of koala.



2. This beautiful little Kiwi bird.

3. Migaloo, the humpback whale.

4. This proud baby.



5. This precious, little ferret.



6. This grandiose peacock.



7. And this tiny little wood frog.



8. This amazing killer whale.

9. This ghostly alligator.



10. This chillin’ muskrat.