aquarium resources you should know about

Canadian Aquarium Connection announced earlier this month that it would be shutting down after seven years. It's a real loss for both Canadian and international hobbyists; a peaceful, genuinely friendly forum where vastly experienced aquarists mentored fledgling hobbyists. It was the best place to learn about fishkeeping, breeding and lesser known creatures; livebearers, killies, snails.

edit October 15/2013 Canadian Aquarium Connection has reopened as a National auction. Check out the new, upgraded site here.)

Over the next few weeks I'll be removing updating the links to CAC from the pages here. Fortunately, some of the CAC Forum database (and many of the members) is being moved to a brand new forum set up by CAC members, Canadaquaria.

It's turning out to be a great forum. Check it out here.

If you're into shrimp, there's a new Canadian forum, Canadian Shrimp Exchange. Now that the amazing resource CrustaForum has been lost to spam bots, CSE is a good, friendly place to get the information you need.

Lastly, while not new, Happy Turtle Pub is a brilliant resource for turtle keepers, and Canadart is the place to go to get the dirt on dart frogs.

Happy hobbying!

turtles at home: part 2, Myrtle

Myrtle is a Fly River turtle, an aquatic fresh water species

^^Fly River turtles are fully aquatic and need room to swim.  This little guy lives 

in a 210 gallon aquarium with an upgrade to a 400g planned for the near future.

^^big fruit and veggie eaters. This is melon.

^^cucumber

 

 ^^tomato

^^technique is important... first subdue

 

^^ ...then conquer

 

^^filtration is everything.

 ^^resting areas are important

^^turtle naps, FRTs only need to surface several times an hour when sleeping

^^not all FRTs make great neighbours, even when small. Mostly, they're

 a hazard for bottom dwelling fish.

photo credit: all photos by Juice
read more about Myrtle and other Fly River Turtles at BCAquaria 
turtles at home: part 1, Buddy and Yurdle

turtles at home: part 1, Buddy and Yurdle

Buddy

^^Buddy, a red-eared slider. Trachemys Scripta Elegans. Check out those awesome boy-claws.

basics:

1)male carapace 20-25cm / female 25-31cm

2)life span 30 years wild / more in captivity

3)tank size 300-450litres / 80-120 gallons

4)temperature 25-27C / 77-80F

^^ basking

 ^^Buddy's basking platform

^^ 55 gallon aquarium with basking platform. Buddy will need tank upgrades as he grows.

 

^^turtles can be determined climbers. 

update Jan '14: Buddies new 108 gallon pond can be viewed on the free member's forum at  

Canadian Aquaria

Yurdle

 ^^Yurdle, a shy female river cooter turtle, Pseudemys concinna

1)carapace 23-33cm / 9-13 inches

2)life span 40 years wild / longer in captivity

3)tank size 682+ litres / 180+ gallons

4)temperature 25 - 27C / 77 - 80F

 

^^growing

 ^^3 years old and 30cm long - and not done growing

 ^^Yurdle's old basking area, in a 135 gallon with 2 XP4 filters

^^2012's 180 gallon pond upgrade, showing basking platform and netting frame

 ^^salad chic: this gal likes her veggies

^^boarding ramp and basking area. The tub is usually draped with netting to keep 

out Daisy, Yurdle's ever curious dog roommate.

 ^^female turtles will need dry land to lay eggs. The exercise and sunshine are good, too.

  

^^don't leave turtles out doors unattended.

  

^^who doesn't enjoy a spring outing?

update Jan '14: Yurdle's on going adventures can be viewed on the free member's forum at Canada Aquaria

photo credits: Photos of Buddy by CACadmin; photos of Yurdle by KimR

turtle housing thread at Happy Turtle Pub

coming next in Part2: Fly River turtles and 'left-over turtlez'

aquarium survey

Candian Aquarium Connection is polling it's members about views regarding dyed/tatooed fish, accurate size labeling and the sale of deliberately-bred deformed fish.

These are the questions:

I would choose a store that did NOT stock dyed/tattooed fish over one that did.
I would choose a store that clearly & accurately indicated the adult size of fish over one that didn't.
I would choose a store that did NOT stock fish with deformities (such as 'balloon' forms) over one that did.

The poster of the poll introduces it this way:

"I'm borrowing the basis of this idea from Practical Fishkeeping Magazine. When outraged UK hobbyists wanted to stop dyed fish, they voted in a poll asking if they'd choose a store that didn't stock them. A whopping 90% said yes!

It worked! Stores all over the UK took the pledge not to carry dyed fish and hobbyists everywhere were better educated about this horrific practice.

Another hobbyist initiative resulted in chain stores across North America paying more attention to their tank labels (fish size, tank size, etc.) to ensure they were accurate.

We can make a difference.

Stores need to know what we want and numbers speak volumes. This is not an attack on stores, it's an attempt to work with them by showing them something solid to bet their business on. If we can get enough people to participate, we can send a message to stores across the country that will benefit both their business and the hobby - everybody wins.

I'm sticking to practices that involve most people's definition of pain-based cruelty, as well as tank labeling to ensure a proper environment can be provided throughout the lifetime of the fish. This will hopefully prevent some wild-release issues and result in a higher quality of life for the fish.

If you want to be part of this proactive initiative to motivate change, please vote.

If anyone has questions about the definitions or practices, please feel free to ask before you vote. If anyone would like to add good resources for information about these issues, that would be awesome too. "

If you've ever bought a common pleco or a Chinese algae eater only to be horrified when it got huge, check it ot out. If you've ever been at a fish store and felt disgusted at the sight of dyed fish, check it out. If you disagree with the inhumane treatment of wetpets, check it out. You have to be a member to vote, but what's 3 minutes if it can help end pointless suffering?

check it out here:
http://www.canadianaquariumconnection.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9065