Maidenhead Aquatics Topical Tips - November 2009

Welcome to the first edition of Maidenhead Aquatics Topical Tips to be presented to the web-browsing public. Each month weʼll look at jobs that need doing inside and out, or perhaps look at something that has caught our eye from around our stores.

Outdoors:

With the ‘Season of mellow fruitfulness’ upon us, it’s time to tackle the jobs that can make a year-round difference to your pond. As the immune systems of Koi and Goldfish are only effective at temperatures above ten degrees centigrade (or fifty degrees Fahrenheit), this is the time to make sure that your fishes are going into the winter in top condition. Treating your pond for parasites is a good idea, as falling temperatures mean that oxygen levels are higher than in summer, making treatments more effective and problems unlikely. Check that any medications you plan to use are safe for all fish species present, as Orfe and Sterlet can react badly to treatments containing copper. A pond thermometer is a cheap but sound investment and can help ensure that temperatures are suitable for using medication.

As pond fish are still feeding well, check that you are using a food suitable for low temperature use, as the wrong type can cause problems that only become apparent next spring. As fishes are cold-blooded, their digestion rate is extremely low over the winter and they may go into the cold weather with a gut full of food that they are unable to process. This food can remain undigested and lead to health problems and a wheatgerm based winter or ‘all-season’ diet should be used in Autumn and early Spring. In a mild winter, these foods can be offered whenever the fish show signs of hunger with no ill effects.

This time of year is great for carrying out any major cleaning that your pond may require, whether it’s a case of using a pond vacuum or carrying out a complete overhaul. Over wintering amphibians have yet to arrive and excess growth of oxygenators and tender seasonal floating plants can be removed and composted. By removing growth that would otherwise decay, you can reduce nutrient levels that would otherwise encourage algae growth next spring. Duckweed is best battled now, before it has time to produce too many over wintering buds to combat next spring.

On a similar note, nutrients contained within the sludge at the base of the pond will serve as a terrific fertiliser for next year’s greenwater and blanketweed growth, as well as consuming oxygen as the organic matter breaks down. Even in the wildlife pond, it is worth removing sediment and debris now while sensitive creatures have yet to shut down for the winter. Use a coarse net, or even a lawn rake, to remove plant matter without damaging small invertebrates or over wintering newt larvae. As the silt layer is essential to some forms of aquatic life, never be too fastidious in cleaning a wildlife pond. If your pond is home to goldfish or carp, this layer will be all too easy to replace and is best removed, as it can be a refuge for parasites and a source of particulate waste that can affect water clarity – not to mention blocking pumps and filters. In this case, a pond vacuum is a very useful piece of kit.

In order that you don’t have to repeat your hard work too often, install pond cover netting to catch leaves before they fall in. A pond cover net can also protect your fish from unwanted attention from herons, as they’ll find a clean and tidy pond with fewer hiding places much easier to fish from. Pond netting can be a hazard to small animals such as hedgehogs, frogs and snakes, so ensure that it is drawn tight and ideally at a height where wildlife can still access water for drinking or bathing. Check it regularly and remove any leaves as they accumulate. If you feed and look after your garden birds, this may be a good time to install a separate source of water to avoid problems. Birds prefer to bathe in an area where they can see predators approaching, so bear this in mind when placing a bird bath, whether it’s an upturned dustbin lid or something a bit grander.

Indoors:

As the evenings get darker, spare a thought for your poor jet-lagged fish. If you get up in the morning and turn their lights on, or turn them on when you get home from work, you may be giving them all sorts of variable day lengths. A simple plug in timer will give a good standard day length and there’s no reason that an aquarium day needs to be linked to what’s happening outside. A good technique with an average aquarium is to set the lighting to come on at lunchtime and then turn off when you go to bed. An aquarium always looks best when shining out in a darkened room.

If you’re turning on your central heating, check the location of your aquarium in relation to radiators. Small tanks are especially prone to temperature fluctuations and a hot radiator can cause peaks that stress the fishes and lead to problems such as white spot disease. By the same token, small aquaria near windows may need checking as they can suffer with high day temperatures that drop at night. Use a reliable thermometer to ensure that temperatures are always comfortable for the fish and take readings at different times of the day to ensure consistency.

A number of species that we regard as tropical fishes come from areas with marked seasonal fluctuations. Whether due to changes in day length or wet seasons, species such as Rosy Barbs (Puntius conchonius), Odessa Barbs (Puntius padamya) Dwarf Snakeheads (Channa bleheri), Empire Gudgeon (Hypseleotris compressa) and Paradise Fish (Macropodus opercularis) amongst others thrive when given a slightly cooler winter rest. Wild Rosy Barbs are transformed when given a few months at room temperature under a regime of short days before being warmed up and given the signs that spring is here again. It is only down to years of domestication that they have lost this trait and captive-bred males hold their colour year round. If you have a slightly cooler area of your home and an inquisitive nature, you may want to look into the appeal of a sub-tropical tank. As an area of the hobby where fluctuations in day length and temperature are to be discouraged, keepers of marine tanks are less subject to seasonal trends. There are a few species that range outside of the tropics though and with the growing popularity of nano tanks, an accomplished hobbyist can entertain fish such as the beautiful Catalina Goby (Lythrypnus dalli) which is much happier at room temperature.

For the reef aquarium owner, summer can be a time when rising temperatures and lower oxygen levels bring anxiety. To save sleepless nights, check heaters to make sure that they are ready for work when required and consider keeping a spare for those bank holidays when you need a replacement in a hurry and everywhere is closed! Good items to keep in the first aid box also include spare impellors, chemical filter media such as Polyfilter and a battery powered air pump.

During a visit to our Crawley store, I saw a pair of Maroon Clownfish (Premnas biaculeatus) that particularly caught my eye. Maroons are very different from the Ocellaris Clownfish (Amphiprion ocellaris) now known almost the world over as Nemo and are big, aggressive fish capable of reaching 15cm/6” in length. Like all species of Clownfishes young fish start life with no fixed gender, becoming male if there’s a gap in the hierarchy and eventually female if they become the dominant fish in the group. As Maroons are so aggressive to one another, successful pairing involves placing a small fish in a situation where a fight is simply not worthwhile and this pair is a very extreme example of a harmonious pairing!