Rearing fish in tanks.

I started with Swordtails and Platys. They are easy to rear and don't need aeration and they are live bearers. I used gravel  bought from an aquarium as substrate and used Valisnaria and Hydrilla as plants. After few months Platys produced the first batch of fry. I seperated them from the tank because the parents would eat their fry if they are left in the tank. I fed the fry with a pinch of boild egg yolk everday for a week and then intropduced crushed fish food and they thrived. Later I introduced black molleys in to the tank and they are peacful and very active kind of fish and would not harm the other fish in the tank. Molleys also are live bearers.

I began rearing gold fish afterwards. I bought my first pair of gold fish from an aquarium for 200 Rs. I didn't know that gold fish need more oxygen then. After few days fish began to swim on surface . They were restless, they opened and shut their mouths in quick succession and produced the foamy substance on the surface. The acquarist instructed me to use an aerator. I bought and aerator and gravel filter from him and fixed them. The fish became calm and began swimming in the tank again.

MAKING A GLASS FISH TANK (PART 2)

To stick the glasses together, lay the base glass plate on the level surface of a table after cleaning the surface with surgical sprit or glass cleanser , apply silicon gum with a gun along the edge of the base plate and then keep the side glass plate on the base plate and press tight. Get somebody to help you by holding the glass plate and apply gum along the narrow side of the base plate and press tight. Now you can stick packing cello tape to keep the two glass panes to keep steady and prevent falling out. Then stick the other narrow part doing the same procedure. Sticking the other long plate of glass is easy as three sides of the tank support this one to prevent falling out. Secure the tank by sticking packing tapes around it. After 1 hour apply silicon gum along every corner of the fish tank and smooth the filling running your finger along the corner and pressing lightly. After three days the fish tank is ready to be filled with water. Fill quarter of the tank with water and let it stay that way until the next day. In for days you can fill the tank to the desired level.

MAKING A GLASS FISH TANK (PART 1)

I got friendly with an aquarium owner and he showed me the way of making glass fish tanks. I think glass fish tanks are the ideal tanks for an aquarium. It is not messy as making cement tanks and it is easy to handle.

I made glass tank of 4 ‘x1 ½ ‘x 1 ½ dimension and as the tank was large I had to use ¼ “thick glass panes. You need three glass panes 4’ long and 1 ½’ wide for the sides. For the narrow two sides you need 1 ½ ‘long and 1.25 ½ wide glass panes. To accommodate the two long sides you have to deduct or cut off the width of the two long side glass panes ( ¼” + ¼”) = ½ (If you go to the glass merchant and say that you need pieces of glass cut for making 4’x1 ½ x 1 ½ size fish tank he will cut the glass for correct size).

Fishkeeping as a hobby

I think everybody in his childhood has reared a fish in a bowl or bottle out of curiosity or fascination. In my childhood I used to go to a near by stream and catch a fish. I brought this fish in a bucket of water put in a bottle, normally Horlics Bottle. Although I fed the fish with rice grains cooked for our meals and bread crumbs the fish would die after few days as lack of oxygen
I never give-up this hobby and I found a friend who knew some things about fish keeping. I learnt to make cement fish tanks afterwards and reared fish in the tanks. I learnt to decorate the fish tank with water plants which I found in abundance in streams and rivers.

Fish has been domesticated in thousand years ago in China. Since the it has become a great hobby. when you watch a school of beautiful fish swiming in a well illuminated tank, it sooths our hearts. That is why it says that watching fish reduces ones blood pressure.