What's New From the Staff Aquariums WestThe Fine Art of Urban Pet Care 796 Beatty St. Vancouver BC 604-669-9249
If you have just set up a new aquarium the single most important thing to remember is to be patient. A mistake that so many people make is they stock their tanks up with too many fish before they are ready. I know that it is hard because you see all these colourful fish that you want to get. But wait....your tank needs to be fully cycled! There is nothing worse then starting out on the wrong foot. If you add new fish to an aquarium that is in the middle of the Biological Cycle, you are destined for problems. One tip is to keep your pH below 7 so that the ammonia is not so toxic. Start with just a few fish and then wait. Depending on which products you use to cycle your tank or if you use no products at all, it can take anywhere from 2 - 6 weeks. Adding Nutrafin Cycle to the tank or Seachem's Stability will speed things up. Before you purchase new fish please let us know how long your tank has been going. We try to explain this to everyone but many times I can actually see people's eyes cloud over and they nod and say Hmm Hmm. In their minds they are thinking about turkey sandwiches.
We held a seminar recently and set up a complete ADA tank. The bottom is covered with Glossostigma and Riccia. The tank is "pearling" with oxygen and is beginning to fill out. It has been just over a month now and the bottom is completely covered in Riccia and Glossostigma. This is a slow, thoughtful process which takes more time then setting up a traditional aquarium. The style of ADA is to recreate landscapes from our natural world in a underwater environment where the fish become birds in the sky. How beautiful! Watch the process as it unfolds.
Joseph Uy of Miyabi Design, the official ADA Canadian distributor, will be at Aquariums West every Saturday to teach customers the ADA way of designing and maintaining aquariums. He just finished a seminar in Japan with the world renowned Takashi Amano so he has lots of info to share. We have tons of new products arriving and have many of the ADA products in the store. Look for the CO2 systems, they are amazing. There are 3 different CO2 cartridges to choose from. Each has it's own unique fragrant beads that will infuse your space with scents from the Amazon, Malaya and Africa.
Mini Mexican Crayfish (Cambarellus patzcuarensis)
Lots of Mexican Dwarf Crayfish!
Common name: Mini Mexican Dwarf Crayfish Scientific name: Cambarellus Patzcuarensis Origin: Mexico, Lago de Pátzcuaro Size male/female: 4 cm / 3 cm or 1.6" / 1.2" Water temperature: 10 - 26 °C Water Parameters: pH 6.7 - 8.5 Behaviour: males can be a little aggressive to one another but they leave fish and plants alone. They like to have a little cave or rock formation to call home so provide enough hiding places to accomodate multiple males. Difficulty: easy Description: Mini Mexican Dwarf Crayfish with good genes are bright orange coloured. The patterns can be striped or spotted.
Breeding can happen as early as 1" in size. Male will pin female on her back to transfer sperm which the female can hold onto for long periods of time until she feels its safe to extract her eggs.
Eggs take approx 30 days to hatch. Remarks:
Take care of enough hiding places like caves and add leaves.
Many adults can live in a 10 gallon tank. The number of hiding places should always outnumber the crayfish to minimize fighting. Babies require many hiding places or they will cannibalize each
other during molts.
Adults are best kept in separate tanks or in pairs of at least 10 gallons.
If not given sufficient space or hiding places, young will cannibalize each other, mostly during molts. Feeding: Crayfish are scavengers, omnivore and detrivore, they will eat whatever they find. There are many commercially available foods for invertebrates or plain old shrimp pellets & flake food is fine.
Crayfish will often eat their own molts to regain otherwise lost nutrients.
Jeannie's Tip: Bacteria, diseases, parasites etc. are always present in your aquarium however, they only attack fish that are stressed out, weak and vulnerable. The less stress, the better the long term health of your fish. When you get a new fish take it home as soon as possible, float it in your aquarium for 10-15 minutes and gently net and release it, then toss the fish water from the bag into your favorite house plant. Just before you release your new fish, feed the fish in the aquarium. They will be so busy eating that they probably won't notice the new fish and will leave ithem alone. As a precationary measure add 1 drop per gallon of Quick Cure to your tank to kill any Ich tomites that may have hitch hiked in the fish bag. Remember to read the directions and take care not to over dose. Certain fish are sensitive to the medication like Clown Loaches and Tetras so only do a half dose. You only need to do this for the first day. Keep an eye on your fish and if you notice that they have clamped fins and are hanging around at the top of the aquarium this could be the precursor to Ich. Start treatment right away. At this time of the year, Ich is rampant! Better to take preventative measures before it gets a hold in your aquarium.
Kreig clears up some myths about tarantulas. They are not as scary as you may think.
Characteristics:This is a smooth seahorse, with low spines. Often have spots throughout the body. Colors typically range from black to pale yellows to orangish yellows. Colors are not fixed and may change based surroundings, diet, stress, mood or possibly other factors. Distribution:Western Pacific, Indian Ocean. Habitat:Commonly found in sea grasses along coastal areas as well as in rocky areas. Size: Typically 6 to 9 inches. We have seen specimens exceed 10 inches Sexual Maturity:4 to 5 months. Fry are pelagic but larger than many pelagic fry including H. reidi. Minimum Tank Size Recommendations:18 inches vertical height. 25 to 30 gallons for a pair. 30 to 40 gallons for 2 pairs. Water Temperature:69 to 77 degrees Fahrenheit. 20 to 25 degrees Celsius. Ideal temperature in home aquaria is in the low to mid 70's Fahrenheit
Staff pick is the Cyclop-eeze Frozen Bar.Feed these to your corals and small salt water fish for excellent growth and colors. Cyclop-eeze are derived from the family of copepod grown in a pristine, arctic salina in the north of Canada.
Deep Frozen CYCLOP-EEZE is available on a year round basis and consists of the current years harvest. Deep-Frozen CYCLOP-EEZE has many applications such as a partial, if not complete artemia replacement. The CYCLOP-EEZE are remarkable for permanent color enhancement while providing HUFA levels 40 times that of freshly hatched Artemia nauplii. I just got in a large collection of some rare and some common Tarantulas. These will go very fast. Some of them I have never been able to get in before. We also have some very nice reptile habitats that are more like pieces of furniture. The prices are amazing.
The Exo Terra Reptile Incubator uses thermoelectric technology which enables the device to cool and to heat. The temperature range is approximately 2°C to 60°C (36°F to 140°F), depending on the ambient room temperature. The temperature can be easily set using the digital control; and the bright-light LED display indicates the current incubation temperature.
The incubator has a transparent door and interior lighting to easily monitor the incubation and hatching process. Unlike conventional incubators, the Exo Terra Incubator automatically starts cooling when the temperature exceeds the set incubation temperature and automatically switches back to heating mode when the temperature drops below the set incubation temperature. This cooling and heating combination is extremely useful in rapidly changing environments and during hot summers. The Exo Terra Incubator prevents egg loss due to overheating by automatically switching into cooling mode until the set incubation temperature is reached. Humidity is provided by adding water to the slide-out tray in the bottom of the unit or by adding an extra (optional) container with water.
Digital Temperature Control with bright LED digital indicator
Double slide-out shelves and condensation tray
Accurate cooling and heating combination, prevents egg loss
Large transparent door
Interior light switch (on/off) to easily monitor the eggs
Power switch (on/off) on front panel
Carrying handle for easy transportation
News from Claire
Fluval Edge 12 Gallon is now available
My pick is the Fluval Nano Tanks. I have had a really great time designing our display Fluval Chi, Edges, and Spec aquariums. They are extremely affordable, fun, simple, and beautiful. The new 12 gallon Edge in specific is my favourite. It is big enough to have lots of action inside and small enough to fit into any space. The design reminds me of a picture frame and that's kind of what it is. The new Edge maximizes the viewing area with a 17" height. This week I added some Exclamation Point Rasboras, 2 Cherry Shrimp, 2 Dwarf Mexican Lobsters, and a stunning pair of German Rams to the Gertrude Blue Eyes that cycled the tank. I love the action of all of the small delicate fish with the two Rams as the show fish. The plants are doing fantastic and after only 2 weeks they actually needed a trimming! The new LED lighting system is surpassing my expectations and the blue glow of the night light is great for seeing the more shy fish and shrimp out in the open. If you are just getting in to the hobby or are an experienced fish keeper, this tank has it all.
News from Dustin
Dustin knows just about everything about Small Animals, Reptiles, Fish, and Life.
This Roborobski Dwaf Hamster stopped doing the spins once he settled down. They had just arrived in the store only minutes before.
My staff pick is. Dustin's Patented super OMEGA shiny mice, aka "silky mice" but I like the name I gave them better :D I have been breeding them since we moved to our new location and I have just deemed them ready for the big time! And for the reasonable price of just 5 dollars, makes them one of the least expensive of our rodent pets in the store. They are all hand raised so they are already quite tame and well cared for, the only color I`ve got at the time is gold but I`ve got some silver and or platinum in the works and will be available soon at Aquariums West
.My staff worm pick is the Tomato Hornworm, it can be a major pest in gardens worldwide but in the pet trade it makes an awesome protein and vitamin packed powerhouse food, and is just downright amazing. They can grow to a maximum of 3.5 to 4 inches and often have a blueish green hue. We are bringing them in on a regular basis. More than a few of our more insect interested customers are keeping them as pets to see the full life cycle, from Caterpillar to pupa to moth. All in all a very cool critter!
We have Baby Chinchillas. These are so cute and soft. Sometimes I put one in a large Chinchilla Ball for exercise and let him run all over the store. If you come in and you see a plastic ball with a
My Pet Pick is the Roborobski Dwarf Hamster.They are one of the
few hamsters you can keep in a group and are the smallest of all hamsters averaging under an inch (2 cm) at birth, and (rarely) three inches (7.5 cm) during adulthood. Watch the video to see one of these little guys who should have been a DJ because he is great at spinning. Now I understand why they are called "Robo" hamsters.
News from Cam
Time to treat your Cat!
My pick is the new cat condo that hangs on the back of a door. The problem with most cat furniture is that it is FURNITURE - it takes up a lot of valuable floor space. This is a 6' high playhouse which takes up very little room and provides your cat with three levels of fun. It folds into it's own carry bag for moving or storage.
This five-storey activity tower provides height, space, challenges
and coziness your pet needs. Two holes on each level provides a second entrance and route for great stretching, climbing, jumping and chasing around until they reach the top.
Easy set up in minutes, Strong and sturdy made with heavy-duty nylon canvas mesh and metal frame. Hang on a door or mount on the wall
Spacious compartments, total height is 77″. Each compartment is 23″ w x 16″ deep. Compartment dividers can be taken out to make bigger area. Each storey has a removable plush mat for great comfort.
Each Activity Tower weighs 18lbs and includes a storage bag.
Comes in Fushia/Grey or Brown/Grey
Carry bag for transport or storage.
News from Roger
Discus aquarium
We have received some beautiful new Discus from Jakarta. My tank at home is too full to add any more, however, I did manage to take home a pair of Yellow Seahorses to put in my 12G Saltwater Nano Aquarium. They are so fascinating to watch.
Seahorses need to go into a really well established aquarium which luckily enough, I have had going for 2 years with no fish, only corals and crustaceans. I brought them home, let them out of the bag and they went on a hunting excusion immediately. Now I am starting up the brine shimp hatchery to get Brine shirimp established in the aquarium to feed the sea horses. The sea horses are fascinating and I was so excited I wanted to call all my friends to tell them about these fascinating creatures. The minute I let them out of the bag they were amazing.
My Fish Pick are always the stunning new Discus!
My personal aquarium is a 90 gallon planted Discus aquarium. I took some of the Red Discus home from Aquariums West and they are healthy, happy and gorgeous! I want MORE! I am using the SeaChem Discus buffer after every water change and their colours and personalities are at their best!
