Aquatics Unlimited, Author at Aquatics Unlimited

Wet Science: Testing Water Chemistry for Your Customers

October 5, 2017

It was a dark and stormy night. A lone figure works his way through a crowd of torch- and pitchfork-bearing peasants, and enters the gloomy castle on the outskirts of town. A few moments later, the “doctor” emerges from a laboratory (la-BOHR-a-tory) lit primarily by crackling arcs of electricity generated by shiny steel spheres. He’s wearing a lab coat, and peels off his thick goggles, and even thicker rubber gloves.

Fish Replacement Policies

October 5, 2017

It happens every day in tropical fish stores and fish departments around the country, and the experienced can feel it coming. A customer comes in the door, and beelines for the counter instead of checking out the stock tanks. Several employees suddenly find something important to do – elsewhere – as the nearest one greets […]

Ten Great Fish for Beginning Aquarists

October 5, 2017

An aquarium dealer need only look at the length of the stock list his favorite wholesaler has just faxed over to see what an enormous variety of tropical fish are on the market today. To a new hobbyist, the choices must seem endless, and yet depending on where he wants to take his new hobby, […]

Priced to Sell: Ultraviolet Treatment for Aquariums and Ponds

October 5, 2017

Next to healthy stock and great display techniques, the best way to actually “merchandize” aquarium fish is to develop a sound pricing strategy. This doesn’t mean slashing prices until they’re the lowest in town – in fact, in some cases it means just the opposite. A solid pricing strategy takes into account a variety of […]

POWERful “medicine”

October 5, 2017

Ultraviolet Treatment for Aquariums and Ponds Just as in human medicine, aquarium treatments for pathogens and pests often have undesired side effects or may even put the “patients” at risk. Antibiotics may inhibit the beneficial bacteria, so that ammonia or nitrite levels rise. Medications for “ich” and “velvet” often stain aquarium sealant, damage live plants, […]

Vacation Time

October 5, 2017

Who’s Gonna Feed The Fish? As dramatized by the late Dr.Seuss in his classic literary tale of urban woe (The Cat in the Hat), mankind has long been concerned with adequate care of pet fish when the regular caretakers are unavailable. Unfortunately, unlike the pink Pisces in the Suess narrative, most aquarium fish appear unwilling […]

MOVIN’ ON UP…

October 5, 2017

How hard can it be to sell a large aquarium setup to a tropical fish enthusiast? Doesn’t almost every one dream of that big tank full of oscars and Jack Dempseys, or saltwater tangs and angels, or lush aquatic plants with a few tetras, or live corals and reef critters? A busy tropical fish department […]

Treat Yourself… to Happy Fish and Healthy Sales.

October 5, 2017

Selling aquarium fish treats is a win/win/win scenario. Good for fish. While a good quality “staple” flake or pellet food will be scientifically formulated to meet the dietary requirements of a typical mix of tropical fish, many hobbyists find that including a few treats on a regular basis results in a healthier, more colorful collection. […]

Revolution

October 5, 2017

Maybe it’s not quite time to kiss the 10 Gallon Starter Kit goodbye. But as I write these words in September of 2001, I can’t help but wonder if by the time this article is published, we’ll be looking for its coat and hat and warming up the Oldsmobile. For decades now, a 10 gallon […]

Selling Aquarium Plants: Plants for the Aquarium

October 5, 2017

Aquatic plants have been an integral part of aquarium keeping since it’s earliest days, when they not only provided shelter and decoration, but also served as living filtration and aeration systems. As mechanical devices such as air pumps and filters began to take over the life support duties, it seemed as though aquatic plant keeping […]

Discount? Or Display!

October 5, 2017

Every tropical fish retailer can probably relate to suddenly noticing a tank full of fish that seems to have been around since the dawn of time. They’re bigger, stronger, and healthier now than ever, and really should be worth a bit more than their old sticker says, and yet no one seems to be interested […]

Selling Complete Aquarium Setups

October 5, 2017

Every pet shop employee probably feels good when he sells a complete aquarium setup, and he probably should. It looks good on his sales figures, and adds a nice chunk to the day’s totals. But, an aquarium setup is not just a “big sale” for today; it can also be the gateway to years of […]

Extreme Fishes

October 5, 2017

Not every fishkeeper is content with a 20 gallon tank with a school of neon tetras and zebra danios. For some folks, a fish is hardly a fish unless it’s a foot long and eats pellet food out of their hand. As large aquariums and their accessories have become more affordable and commonplace, the demand […]

Advances in Aquarium Lighting: the New Fluorescents

October 5, 2017

Aquarium enthusiasts have looked for different features in aquarium lighting over the last century. Window light gave way to electric fixtures in the early years of the hobby to provide consistency and convenience. In the 1960’s, fluorescent lights overtook incandescent because they ran cooler and cheaper. The seventies and eighties gave us an assortment of […]

Clean Up! with Aquarium Cleaning Products

October 5, 2017

I don’t know if cleanliness is really next to godliness, but when it comes to aquariums, it’s close enough. A clean fish tank can be almost a heavenly vision, with happy, healthy fish appearing to float in the crystal clear water of a sparkling clean glass box. A dirty tank, on the other hand, just […]

Fish Room Emergency

October 5, 2017

Just when you think you’ve got it all under control… The sidewalk’s shoveled, parking spaces are plowed, door locks are thawed, and the chatter of a store full of customers is drowning out the incessant but disregarded humming, whirring and bubbling sounds of tanks full of happy, healthy fish.. Then, instantaneously and without warning, the […]

“Breaking In” the New Aquarist

October 5, 2017

It’s a done deal. The complete aquarium setup is sold, and the excited new hobbyist, the somewhat less excited spouse, and the previously excited children are gathering up the various components for the trip home. The dealer has explained all the setup basics: placement of the tank, washing the gravel, filling, adjusting the heater, starting […]

Aquarium Tips for Hot Summer Weather

October 5, 2017

Hot Summer weather can get the best of any of us, including our aquarium fish. Here are a few tips to help your finned friends through the season: Don’t panic! Fish are far more likely to survive high temperatures than a drastic change in environment. Unless fish show signs of great distress, any adjustments should […]

Read Any Good Books Lately?

October 5, 2017

for the week of 11/4/99 OK, so the Internet is more-or-less free, but are you sure the fishkeeping information you get there is reliable (other than our site, of course)? Every hobbyist should certainly have a few top reference works on hand, if not a complete library of them. Here are what I feel are […]

Jumpers

October 5, 2017

for the week of 10/20/99 Why do fish jump out? Without delving too far into fish psychology, it’s safe to say that some fish have learned to take to the air to avoid predators, and others have learned to slither across land to other bodies of water. They may simply resort to these behaviors whenever […]

Buying “Sick Fish”

October 5, 2017

for the week of 10/13/99 Many hobbyists are under the mistaken impression that it is possible to have fish that are absolutely free of parasites, bacteria and other possible disease-causing organisms. However, that is no more possible in the aquatic world than it is in our human one. Every fish has a few parasites, and […]

Freshwater Dip

October 5, 2017

for the week of 5/20/99 Just as a bath in salty water can alleviate some freshwater diseases (see Salt As Medicine), a short-term dip in freshwater can address certain saltwater infections. What it treats. Freshwater baths can help rid the skin and gills of saltwater fish of several common microscopic parasites, including “Ich” (Cryptocaryon), “Velvet” […]

Fin Rot

October 5, 2017

for the week of 4/28/99 “Fin Rot” is used to describe any of a number of infections, illnesses or conditions that cause a fish’s fin(s) to appear frayed, torn or even missing. Aggression. The most obvious cause of damaged fins is aggression by other tankmates. Most often, the tail is affected first, and long, clean […]

Salt As a Medicine

October 5, 2017

for the week of 4/15/99 An almost forgotten treatment for many common freshwater fish parasites is plain old aquarium salt. Used properly, a saltwater bath can be very effective in eliminating “ich,” velvet, Trichodina, Chilodonella, and a number of less common parasites. Advantages. Salt treatments are: Very cheap – especially for large tanks or ponds. […]

Overcrowding

October 5, 2017

for the week of 10/22/98 There are two basic warnings that even most beginning hobbyists have heard: don’t overfeed, and don’t overcrowd. And yet many aquarists, of all levels of experience, have a natural tendency to try to squeeze “just a couple more” fish into their already heavily stocked tanks. Overcrowding means more maintenance. Common […]

Stress

October 5, 2017

for the week of 8/6/98 There is probably no single tip that improves the chance of success with tropical fish than, Avoid Stress.” When fish have to deal with stressful conditions, they can quickly lose vitality and become more susceptible to infection or other illness. Here are some common sources of stress: Changes in water […]

Storing Dry Fish Food

October 5, 2017

for the week of 3/5/98 Who among us would snack from a bag of potato chips after it’s been sitting open in the cabinet for a couple of weeks? Probably, and hopefully, nobody. And yet, how many of of would give a second thought to feeding our prized fishes from a can of flakes we […]

Stunting Fish

October 5, 2017

for the week of 2/5/98 “But don’t fish grow only to the size of their aquarium?” We hear this question on a seemingly daily basis, as we tell customers that certain fish are likely to outgrow their home aquarium. In a common scenario, a customer with a 10 or 20 gallon aquarium just can’t live […]

Water Hardness

October 5, 2017

for the week of 11/5/98 Isn’t Hardness the same thing as pH? No. While pH is a measure of acidity, hardness is a measure of how much calcium (and to a much lesser extent, magnesium) is in the water. On the other hand, it is true that hard water is naturally likely to also have […]

Optimum Freshwater pH

October 5, 2017

for the week of 10/29/98 The one bit of aquarium chemistry that almost everyone has some familiarity with is pH, which basically is the measurement of how acid or base a given solution is. As most will recall, a pH value of 7.0 is neutral, while higher values indicate alkalinity and lower values acidity. In […]