Equilibrium. Tranquility. All is fine...

The RH Fish Tank is experiencing a (very) good period of stableness; no unforced deaths, all fishes healthy and prospering, no algae outbreak... all is well. Thank you for not doing anything detrimental to the fish habitat (although someone did switch off the main power sometime before breakfast today, might be the new security guard).

I hope you guys have enjoyed viewing the fishes/shrimps, and seen them get bigger and more friendly in there. They now readily rush for the food when it's feeding time; watch them as 4:59 as they prepare for the food, then at 5pm when the food drops they all rush forward to have their fill.

Occasionally, usually on some late nights, i will put in a variety of specially prepared food for the shrimps. It will be placed behind the moss so that the fish won't have a chance to steal the food from the shrimps. So far i've put in a carrot bit, cucumber slice, and more oftenly Algae Wafers. These are specially prepared for the shrimps to prevent poisoning them or altering the water chemistry, so don't put anything in without consulting me first ok?

If you would like to sponsor a type of fish (a PEACEFUL species not currently in the RH Fish Tank), please contact me and i will discuss the possibility with you: advise you which type of fish is suitable, introduce you the website to do your fish research to learn abit about them, how much they'll cost, when i'll be getting it, then finally will let you put them into the RH Fish Tank.

Peace... to the fishes in the RH Fish Tank (and to you as your enjoy their company).

Where's Yamato?

The two (2) Yamato Shrimps that were the very first inhabitants of the RH Fish Tank have been taken out of the RH Fish Tank. They might be the reason the plants have holes in them; Yamato Shrimps are reputed to be hungry enough to devour plants. The algae-eating job will now be left to the Malayan Shrimps and the rest of the algae-eating crew.

No more Yamato Shrimps will be added into the RH Fish Tank because i feel that the Malayan Shrimps and the rest of the algae-eating crew will be able to more than handle the algae.

GobyGoby

BumbleBee Goby
The BumbleBee Goby (Brachygobius Xanthozona) was an inhabitant in the RH Fish Tank since day 1. It is usually hiding, thus most would have a tough time spotting it. A cute and strikingly coloured fish.



Candy-Striped Goby
The Candy-Striped Goby (Awaous Strigatus) was added into the RH Fish Tank on week 2. It eats algae and leftover food at the bottom of the tank, and is part of the algae eating crew. Usually taking shelter under the Java Fern Windelov (Large leafy plant on the left side of the tank), occasionally seen hanging onto the glass walls.

There's a Mosquito?

Yes, there's one Mosquito Shrimp (Palaemon Scarletti) in the RH Fish Tank, added today. The other 19 will be added next week, or the week after.

It's behavior is unique because it swims with its front limbs hanging as if it is hovering, and lands itself ever so delicately on its longer front limbs; much like a mosquito.




RH Fish Tank Shrimp Population (19nov2004):
Malayan (Rainbow) Shrimp x60
(Neocaridina sp "Malayan")
Cherry Shrimp x20
(Neocaridina Denticulata Sinensis)
Singapore Wood Shrimp x2
(Atyopsis Moluccensis)
Yamato Shrimp x2
(Caridina Japonica)
Mosquito Shrimp x1
(Palaemon Scarletti)

Giant Shrimps!

The biggest sized shrimps you see in the RH Fish Tank are...
Singapore Wood Shrimps (Atyopsis Moluccensis).

They are NOT "prawns".

There are two Wood Shrimps, and each have four filter-like limbs with which to filter out algae/microorganisms to eat.

They aren't very active, and can usually be seen standing around being greedy, putting its feeding limbs into its mouth every few seconds.

Feeding: once a day now

Some of the fishes have been noticed with bulging tummies almost all the time these days; i suspect they're overfed. Thus i have reduced feeding to once a day (5pm only) from 16 Nov 04 for two weeks, then i will reassess the feeding situation.

Why not reduce the amount of food while feeding twice a day?
If i reduce the amount of food, the faster and top-feeding fish will get to the food first and finish up the limited amount of food before the food bits can reach the bottom-feeding fishes (like the corydoras and shrimps). This way the top-feeders will get fatter while the bottom-feeders will starve.

Why feed the same amount of food once a day?
If i keep the amount of food the same while feeding once a day i am assured that all the fish will get to eat because the top-feeders will eat their fill and ignore the rest of the food bits as they fall to the bottom. This will ensure everyone gets to eat at each feeding.

Are they pregnant, or fat?
Some have wondered if the female Cherry Barbs are pregnant instead of fat, but i cannot confirm either until i reduce feeding for two weeks. After two weeks if the female Cherry Barbs still have their tummies then we can probably assume they're pregnant... By their behavior alone i can't tell if a fish has a tummy because it's pregnant or because it's fat.

So Horny!

There are two basic types of snails: Good, and Bad.

Good
...when they eat algae
...when their population is controlled
...when they don't eat the plants

Bad
...when they eat the plants
...when they reproduce like crazy
...when they lay unsightly white and indestructable eggs

Previously there were a handful of snails in the RH Fish Tank, they were not yet "bad" because they are not yet reproducing uncontrollably. However their appetite for algae is limited.

Today i introduced 3 Horned Snails, do not be surprised if you see them in the RH Fish Tank. They are bigger than the existing snails, have horns like mines, their appetite for algae is good, and they do not eat the plants (i think). They are big enough not to be eaten by snail-eating fish in the future, yet will not reproduce uncontrollably (lower sex drive). They look like this:
[Left Pic: Shell view, Right Pic: Underside view]

White Spot/Ich

Situation:
Blueish water expected in the RH Fish Tank on Fryday, Saturday, Sunday, Wednesday (12, 13, 14, 17 Nov 2004).

Reason:
Medicinal treatment for WhiteSpot/Ich (parasite on fishes). Symptoms include visual small white spots on fish body/fins, rubbing/scratching itself against surfaces due to irritation of parasites. Treatment is administered over a week because of the life cycle of the parasite ~ 1 week.
More information on disease can be found at http://www.fishdoc.co.uk/disease/whitespot.htm.

No cause for concern... everything should be fine in a week.

RH Fish Tank needs 1.5L bottles

We need about 14 (or more) 1.5L bottles. Please:
1) Rinse with tap water a few times (do NOT use soap)
2) Put clean & empty bottle inside the white cabinet next to the RH Fish Tank

I will label each pair of bottles "Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, etc" then fill them up, leaving them inside the cabinet.

What we need to do is...
1) use the bottles labelled "Monday" to top up the RH Fish Tank on Monday
2) fill up the empty bottles with tap water
3) put the bottles back inside the cabinet
4) allow the chlorine (harmful to fish) inside the bottles to evaporate
5) repeat steps 1-4 with the respecively labelled pair of bottles per day
...a checklist will be put inside the cabinet to record the topping up.

Leaving the bottle capped but not tightened (turn the cap a few rounds to ensure water trickles, not gushes, out if upturned) allows the chlorine to evaporate from the water. After one week of letting the water stand (bottles untightened) the water will be suitably de-chlorinated for topping up the RH Fish Tank.

Donations: Thank YOU

To you who donated: Thank you!

No matter what the amount, your contribution ensures the RH Fish Tank will survive till the next academic year..

Update:
Total Cost to date $941 (including fish)
Total Donations to date $530 (including RFs & Hall Master)

From today onwards the RH Fish Tank Donations box and record book will be in the Office. Should you desire to donate to the RH Fish Tank monetarily, please approach the Office or myself. Monthly upkeep of the RH Fish Tank will total approximately $20 (fish food, topping up of the CO2 cylinder, plant fertiliser, miscellenous stuff).

Updates to continue in this RH Fish Tank blog and the Whiteboard situated next to the RH Fish Tank.

Daniel,
Daniel Kwok.

of Snails and Cherries

Snails
Some of you have mentioned seeing SNAILS in the RH Fish Tank. Is it normal? Did someone throw them in? Here i answer your queries...

Snails are everpresent in an aquatic environment when there exist plants. When i buy the plants from the fish shop, there might be snails still crawling on the plants. Even if there aren't any snails on the plants, there might be snails EGGS (transparent, and able to survive dryness for hours) stuck to the leaves. The only way to remove the snails/eggs is to dip the whole plant into BLEACH or CHLORINE for a few minutes in order to destroy them, but this will also kill 20% of the plant, or 100% if i'm not careful in implementing the treatment. Thus i decided on the milder and safer technique of dipping the plants into SALT solution before planting them into the RH Fish Tank. Alas this didn't work as the snails survived.

But rest assured, a handful of snails is normal, and will eat up algae. Too many and they become pests, then i'll have to look for ways to remove them:

1. Puffer Fish: they eat snails very effectively, but once the snails are gone, they bite fish/shrimp fins, then eventually die because fish/shrimp fins aren't filling enough.
2. Loaches: they eat snails effectively, but they also dig the gravel, unearthing plants in the process; terribly damaging to a planted aquarium.
3. Anti-Snail lotions: they kill snails, but they are also harmful to fish/shrimps because it is a sort of poison; definitely no-no in RH Fish Tank.
4. Manually hand-removing snails: effective in that they are physically removed, but snails reproduce tremendously fast; tiring in the long run.
5. Coolie Loach: not well-documented but known to eat snails, yet peaceful towards fish/shrimp and not known to dig. This is the option i will be trying in a few weeks when the snail problem gets worse.

Cherries
The Cherry Shrimps are in the RH Fish Tank! There are 20 of them, reddish in colour, and they look like this...


(pictures are of Cherry Shrimps in my personal fish tank)

Why start the RH Fish Tank?

Many reasons:
1) I love fish/shrimps and fish tanks
2) I wanted to contribute to RH in some way
3) I was bored
4) Wanted to see what Raffles Hall residents were made of
5) Wanted to challenge myself with a big project

...therefore since i couldn't have a big fish tank inside my room, and since RH could use some beautifying, and since no one (up till now) was willing to do something for nothing for RH, i decided to set up the RH Fish Tank.

My hope is just that everyone takes care of the RH Fish Tank, don't put anything in, don't take anything out, don't leave fingerprints... and help make the RH Fish Tank a long-term success.

Daniel,
Daniel Kwok.

Lights On & Feeding timings

In view of the possibility that some of you have 8am classes in the morning and would like to see the fishes before lessons, i have set the timing of the morning lights-on period and feeding as follows:

Lights On 7-9am & 4-10pm

Feeding 5pm
Happy viewing of the fishes!

There'll be a final RH Fish Tank Donations collection booth set up on Tuesday (9 Nov 2004) TEATIME and DINNERTIME for those of you who still wish to contribute to the RH Fish Tank, thereafter the Office will assist in the collection of contributions.
Thank you Office!

Equipment in the RH Fish Tank

Filter System
A Filter System is required in most fish tanks to clear the dirt floating in the water in order to provide a clean environment for the fishes to live in, and for your viewing pleasure. The Filter System of the RH Fish Tank is no exception and it consists of a Canister Filter, Input pipe and the Surface Skimmer, and the Output pipe.

Canister Filter
The filter used in the RH Fish Tank is the Canister type (other types are: Overhead drip filter, Hang-on overflow filter, Internal filter, Bubble filter) , Brand/Model is Eheim 2217 Jebao 615 (click here to see Jebao 615), and it is situated in the cabinet. Inside the filter are many layers of filter material: Coarse sponge to filter our larger pieces of dirt, Finer sponge to filter out smaller particles, Coral Chip and Volcanic Rocks to condition the water, and a material which encourages the growth of beneficial bacteria.



Bacteria?! Yes, bacteria.
Beneficial Bacteria (BB) is essential in any fish tank because although they are microscopic and invisible to the naked eye, they are an important part of the filtration system because physical filter media (filter sponge) will only remove dirt particles, but the BB will convert the poisonous Ammonia (a result of fish/shrimp waste) into harmful Nitrites, then converts these Nitrites into more tolerable Nitrates. The plants will utilise some of these Nitrates but over time the Nitrates will accumulate in the water, thus the requirement to change 10-20% of the water at least once a fortnight. Without the BB, the Ammonia and Nitrite level will be too high and the fish/shrimps will die.

Input Pipe and the Surface Skimmer
As the name implies, the Input Pipe takes water from the RH Fish Tank via the Surface Skimmer into the Cannister Filter. The Surface Skimmer sucks in water from the bottom through the filter sponge and from the top surface skimmer, removing dirt which floats on the surface. The Input Pipe and Surface Skimmer is situated on the Left of the RH Fish Tank in a corner.



Output Pipe
The Output Pipe is a pipe with holes to spread the output of water, circulating the water throughout the tank.



Carbon Dioxide (CO2)
All plants require CO2 to produce oxygen in photosynthesis, and the aquatic plants in the RH Fish Tank are no different (yes, the plants in the RH Fish Tank are real). It is essential for CO2 to be pumped into the RH Fish Tank because the CO2 produced by the respiring fishes is insufficient for the plants and without this external CO2 source, the plants will die. The CO2 set consists of a CO2 Cylinder, a Regulator w/Solenoid, and a CO2 Reactor.

CO2 Cylinder & Regulator/Solenoid
A pressurised Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Cylinder is the source of the CO2 being pumped into the RH Fish Tank. Because the cylinder is pressurised (compressed CO2 inside) the CO2 output must be regulated by a regulator (similar in function to those used in diving equipment). The regulator has a Solenoid affixed, the purpose of the Solenoid is to turn on the CO2 output when the light is switched on (lights + CO2 = photosynthesis), and turn off the CO2 output when the light is switched off (no photosynthesis). The Solenoid is plugged into an electrical timer shared with the lights, switched on from 7-10am & 430-9pm daily.
[see picture in "Canister Filter"]

CO2 Reactor
This green cylindrical container inside the fish tank (on the left of the RH Fish Tank) is a device used to mix the CO2. The gas which spins inside the top of the reactor is CO2. The water which is expelled by the internal pump (black colour) expels water, spinning this water with the CO2 and forces the CO2 to mix with it. The black spinning balls in the reactor aids the dissolution of CO2 into the water. The water is then output through the black L-shaped hose at the bottom of the reactor. This CO2-rich water is then circulated around the tank, enabling the plants to utilise the CO2 for photosynthesis.



Fans
Purpose: to lower the temperature of the tank water.
The average atmospheric temperature in RH is approximately 29deg Celsius, which is too high for the plants and shrimps. They prefer temperatures between 25deg-27deg. The two computer fans at the back of the tank increases evaporation, releasing the warmer water, thus cooling the overall water temperature to around 26deg-27deg, cool enough for the growth of the plants and for the comfort of the shrimps.

Lights
Purpose: to illuminate the tank for your viewing pleasure, and for plants' photosynthesis.
There are 2 lights atop the RH Fish Tank and each light holds 3 light tubes of 36watts each. This makes it a total of 36x3x2 watts of light, more than enough for your clear viewing of the fishes, and for the plants' photosynthesis. These lights are plugged into an electrical timer in the cabinet and will be switched on from 7-10am & 430-9pm daily.

Food Timer
Purpose: feed the fishes in the RH Fish Tank at 730am & 5pm daily.
The Food Timer contains fish food and will spin at pre-programmed times to drop food into the RH Fish Tank. As the timer on the Food Timer is not callibrated to the minute, please expect a +/-5min error in fish feeding timing. Please do not attempt to adjust the timer or it might malfunction with misuse.

Indicators
These small but useful devices help to warn us in the case of unwanted water properties...

pH Indicator
The pH Indicator allows us to check the pH level of the water at a glance (with reference to the mini pH colour chart on the back of the RH Fish Tank). The ideal pH range is 6.5-7.



Ammonia Indicator
The Ammonia Indicator allows us to check that the Ammonia level in the RH Fish Tank is acceptable. The round circle in the middle of the four colours (yellow, green, light blue, purple) changes colours according to the level of Ammonia in the water, Yellow is Safe - Purple is Toxic. The colour should always be yellow.




(Click to view all the equipment on Flickr)

Fishes and Shrimps!

Mid-level Schooling Fish
These fish add colour and life into the fish tank because of their colour and/or behaviour.

Cardinal Tetra (Paracheirodon Axelrodi)
Adopted by Hall Master, Prof Seah
All-time favourite colourful community fish



Rummynose Tetra (Hemigrammus Rhodostomus)
Adopted by Hall Office
Uniquely coloured community fish



Cherry Barb (Punitus Titteya)
Adopted by Ms Gan and Block 3
Attractively coloured community fish; Males are red, Females are orange/yellow



Rocket Pencilfish (Nannostomus Unifasciatus)
Adopted by JCRC
A fish with an interesting behaviour: hovers at 45deg in schools




Bottom-dwelling Foraging Fish
These bottom-feeders help minimise pollution by foraging around the gravel for uneaten food which would otherwise increase the Nitrate and Ammonia levels when they decompose.

Pygmy Corydora (Corydoras Pygmaeus)
Adopted by Ms Hendricks and Block 4


Panda Corydora (Corydoras Panda)
Adopted by Block 6 (Prof Teo don't want to adopt although he donated for the cause)



Algae Eating Fish
These fish help keep the tank clean by eating the algae which contest with the plants for nutrients and carbon dioxide. The algae also make the tank look ugly.

Oto, Xiao Jing Ling (Otocinclus Affinis)
Adopted by Dr Patrick and Block 5
Algae eater, usually seen on leaves or the glass



Siamese Algae Eater, SAE (Crossocheilus Siamensis)
Adopted by Dr Patrick and Block 5
Algae eater, usually seen on leaves or the glass, larger than the Oto



Hillstream/Butterfly Loach (Beaufortia Kweichowensis)
Adopted by Mr Carson and Block 2
Uniquely shaped algae eater, usually seen on smooth surfaces like the filter or glass, unlike its more common "suckerfish" lookalike, the Hillstream Loach will not grow larger than 5cm




Shrimps
Adopted by Daniel, Daniel Kwok.
These crustaceans are an essential crew of the algae-eating brigade as their primary source of food is algae.

Yamato Shrimp (Caridina Japonica)
Hardworking algae-eater which might sometimes eat newgrown leaves if hungry; the largest of the crustaceans inside the RH Fish Tank.

Malayan Shrimp (Neocaridina sp "Malayan")
Hardworking algae-eater which do not have as voracious appetite as the Yamato Shrimps but are a great algae-eater all the same. Sometimes known as the Malayan Rainbow Shrimp due to their ability to change colour as their mood/environment changes. The distinct whitish stripe on its spine is its most obvious identifying feature.



Cherry Shrimp (Neocaridina Denticulata Sinensis)
A cherry-coloured shrimp which will add colour to the shrimp community. The Cherry Shrimp is a favourite among shrimp enthusiasts as it breeds readily and is an easy shrimp to keep, my second-favourite shrimp...



Mosquito Shrimp (Palaemon Scarletti)
[coming soon]
A shrimp which is an interesting addition to the RH Fish Tank not because of its algae-eating ability (workrate: 2/10), but because of its mosquito-like appearance with its pointed red nose, and its mosquito-like behaviour as it hovers around, my favourite shrimp. Watch out for it!




(Click here to see the Fauna in the RH Fish Tank)

Acclimitising the fishes

Will be getting the fishes from the fish shops at 2pm, then it's going to be the tedious task of acclimitising them to the RH Fish Tank water...

Acclimitising new fishes
Water from the fish shops (source tank) has a set of chemical properties which are different from the water of RH Fish Tank (destination tank); pH, Nitrate levels, kH, gH, Ammonia, temperature, etc. In the transporting of fishes from source tank to destination tank they would have already been through much stress (to be netted out of the source tank, put into the plastic bag, roll/sloshed around in the car, introduction into a totally new home, etc), we wouldn't want to stress them even further by giving them different water to adapt to, therefore we have to acclimatise them.
How to acclimitise the fishes?
1) Pour away 80% of the water that is inside the plastic bag (Estimate the amount of water in the bag remaining to be 2x),
2) Pour in 1x of RH Fish Tank water,
3) ...wait 10min...
4) Pour in 2x of RH Fish Tank water,
5) ...wait 10min...
6) Pour in 2x of RH Fish Tank water,
7) ...wait 10min...
8) Scoop the fishes out of the plastic bag using a net, put them into 100% RH Fish Tank water.

Introduction of fishes at 8pm
RH Hall Master, Resident Fellows, and JCRC will be putting the fishes into the RH Fish Tank at 8pm on Tuesday...