Saltwater Aquariums For Dummies Book

Introduction     1
About This Book     1
Who I Am     2
What I Assume about You     2
Why a Dummies Book?     3
How This Book Is Organized     3
Getting to Know Your Fish and Invertebrates     4
Setting Up Your Aquarium     4
Taking Proper Care of Your Aquarium     4
Taking Proper Care of Your Fish     5
The Part of Tens     5
Appendixes     5
Icons Used in This Book     6
Where to Go from Here     6
Getting to Know Your Fish and Invertebrates     7
Your First Salty Steps     9
What's So Great About Aquariums?     10
Fish watching     10
Relaxation     10
A fishy family affair     10
Fishy friends     11
It's a natural thing     11
The ideal pet     11
Knowing About Wet Pets     12
Finding a really fishy dealer     12
Understanding Your Responsibilities     13
Getting Started with Your First Saltwater Aquarium     14
What equipment do I need?     14
What about brackish water aquariums?     15
How do I set up the aquarium?     15
Understanding Water Chemistry and Algae     16
Keeping Your Fish and Invertebrates Healthy     16
What do I feed my fish and invertebrates?     17
What if my wet pets get sick?     17
Avoiding the wrong aquarium pets     17
Taking the Next Step     17
Some Things Fishy     19
What Is a "Fish"?     19
Basics of Fish Anatomy     20
Body shape     20
Fins     20
Scales     23
Swim bladder     23
Feeding     24
Respiration     24
Other organs     25
Senses     25
Is It Fresh and Salted?     27
Osmosis     27
Osmoregulation     28
Common Tropical Marine Fish Families     28
Angelfishes     29
Blennies     30
Boxfishes and trunkfishes     31
Butterflyfishes     31
Cardinalfishes     32
Catfishes     32
Clownfishes and damselfishes     32
Dottybacks     34
Dragonets     34
Fairy basslets      34
Filefishes     34
Gobies     35
Groupers and sea basses     35
Grunts     36
Hawkfishes     36
Lionfishes and scorpionfishes     37
Moray eels     37
Parrotfishes     37
Porcupinefishes     37
Puffers     38
Rabbitfishes     38
Seahorses and pipefishes     39
Sharks     39
Snappers     39
Squirrelfishes     39
Surgeonfishes and tangs     40
Triggerfishes     40
Wormfishes     41
Wrasses     41
Choosing the Best Fish for You     43
Like Night and Day     43
Advanced Schooling     45
Trouble in Paradise     45
Size     46
Attitude     46
Diet     46
Habitat for Serenity     47
Finding Good Choices     48
Surgeonfishes and tangs (Acanthuridae)     48
Cardinalfishes (Apogonidae)     50
Triggerfishes (Balistidae)     50
Blennies (Blenniidae)     51
Butterflyfishes (Chaetodontidae)      52
Gobies (Gobiidae)     52
Wrasses (Labridae)     54
Angelfishes (Pomacanthidae)     55
Damselfishes (Pomocentridae)     56
Sweetlips (Haemulidae)     57
Dottybacks (Pseudochromidae)     58
Sea basses (Serranidae)     58
Rabbitfishes (Siganidae)     58
Pufferfishes (Tetraodontidae)     59
Identifying the Wrong Fish for the Beginner     59
Surgeons and tangs (Acanthuridae)     60
Triggerfishes (Balistidae)     60
Blennies (Blenniidae)     61
Butterflyfishes (Chaetodontidae)     61
Porcupinefishes (Diodontidae)     62
Fairy basslets (Grammatidae)     62
Squirrelfishes (Holocentridae)     62
Wrasses (Labridae)     62
Snappers (Lutjanidae)     63
Filefish (Monocanthidae)     63
Moray eels (Muraenidae)     63
Boxfishes (Ostraciidae)     63
Angelfishes (Pomacanthidae)     63
Damselfishes (Pomacentridae)     64
Dottybacks (Pseudochromidae)     64
Lionfishes (Scorpaenidae)     64
Sea basses (Serranidae)     65
Seahorses and pipefish (Syngnathidae)      65
Pufferfishes (Tetraodontidae)     65
About Invertebrates     67
Inside Invertebrates     67
Recognizing Common Aquarium Invertebrates     68
Phylum Porifera     69
Phylum Cnidaria     70
Phylum Platyhelminthes     77
Phylum Mollusca     78
Phylum Annelida     81
Phylum Arthropoda     83
Phylum Echinodermata     87
From the Dealer to Your Home     93
Stress and Quarantine     93
How to Choose Healthy Fish     94
Going Home     95
Taking the Plunge     95
Keep a Sharp Eye on Things     97
Setting Up Your Aquarium     99
Choosing the Best Aquarium     101
Placing Your New Aquarium     102
Fish watching     102
Windows and doors and floors     102
Hot and cold     103
Water and power     103
Tank Size     104
Room to move     105
Bottom line     106
Types of Tanks     106
Old school glass     107
Crazy-looking acrylic     108
Cap It      108
More Than a Little Support     109
Iron     110
Wood     110
Figuring Out Filters     111
Respiration and Digestion     112
Cleaning Your Water     112
Mechanical filtration     113
Biological filtration     113
Chemical filtration     114
Filter Choices     115
Inside box filter     116
Sponge filter     117
Undergravel filter     118
Powerfilters     120
Canister filters     122
Trickle filters     123
Live rock     124
Filters' Helpers     125
Fluidized bed filters     125
In-line filters     126
Protein skimmers     126
Diatom filters     128
Denitrators     128
Complete water-management systems     128
Water Disinfection     129
UV sterilizers     129
Ozonizers     129
Which Filter System Is Best for You?     129
Aeration and Circulation     130
Air pumps and airstones     131
Powerheads     133
Making waves      133
Heating and Lighting Your Aquarium     135
Tropical Heat     136
The Right Temperature     136
Hot Parts     136
Types of Heaters     137
Hanging heaters     137
Submersible heaters     138
Warm Options     139
Thermostat     139
Temperature control     140
Thermal protection     141
One Size Doesn't Fit All     141
Water and wattage     141
More than one     142
Depth and length     143
Choosing a Thermo Meter     143
Floating thermometer     144
Sticking thermometer     144
Hanging thermometer     144
Sinking thermometer     144
Thermometer-hydrometer     145
Liquid crystal thermometer     145
Digital thermometer     145
Temperature controller     145
Let There Be Lighting     145
Fishy Fixtures     147
Lighting the Way     148
Natural light     148
Tungsten     148
Fluorescent     148
Power compact fluorescent     149
Mercury vapor     150
Metal halide     150
Combination     151
Switching from Day to Night     151
Fishy Furnishings and Finishing Touches     153
Aqua-Decor Is a Matter of Taste     154
The Natural Look     154
Some Background Material     155
Simply paint     156
Stick-ons     156
Dioramas     156
Unravel the Gravel     157
It's alive!     157
Grain size     158
Depth     158
Getting Rocked     158
Dead rock     159
Tufa     159
Lava rock     159
Live rock     160
Keeping Coral     162
Dead heads     163
Artificial     163
Live coral     164
Adding Inverts     164
Providing Plants     164
Offering Ornaments     165
Saltwater     165
Natural seawater     165
Artificial seawater     166
Water Exams     168
Hydrometer     168
Water chemistry test kits     170
Test probes      172
Quarantine Tank     172
Nets     172
Size     173
Meshing around     173
Cleaning Tools     174
A good bucket     174
Substrate sucking     175
Away with algae     176
Odds and ends     177
Partial to Salt: The Brackish Aquarium     179
The Brackish Water Environment     179
Equipment You Need (or Don't Need)     180
Tank     180
Filter     181
Light and heat     181
Other ingredients     181
Fishes for the Brackish Water Aquarium     182
Monos (Monodactylidae)     183
Scats (Scatophagidae)     183
Archerfishes (Toxotidae)     184
Mollies (Poeciliidae)     184
Puffers (Tetraodontidae)     185
Plants That Are Partial to Salt     185
Providing for grazers     185
Planting and tending your garden     186
Getting Your Aquarium Up and Running     187
Stand and Aquarium Placement     187
Aquarium rinse     188
Aquarium placement     188
Background     188
Filters      188
Undergravel     189
External power filter     189
Canister filter     189
Trickle filter     189
Fluidized bed filter     190
Protein skimmer     190
Live rock     190
Substrate     190
Ornamentation     190
Aeration     191
Heater     191
Water     191
Water Conditioner and Salt     192
Hood     192
Thermometer and Heater     192
Filters, Again     192
Undergravel filter     193
External power filter     193
Canister filter     193
Trickle filter     193
Fluidized bed filter     193
Protein skimmer     194
Live rock     194
Aeration, Again     194
Lighting     194
24-Hour Adjustments     194
Live Sand and Rocks     195
Maturity     195
Adding Fish     195
Taking Proper Care of your Aquarium     197
The Nitrogen Cycle     199
Nitrogen In and Out     199
Understanding the Cycle      200
The role of bacteria     201
Testing the cycle     201
Waiting for Your Aquarium to Mature     202
Taking the Next Step Just Add Bacteria     202
Add the rock     202
Seed it     203
Start to stock     203
Accelerators     204
Taking the Final Steps to Maturity     204
What About Problems?     205
More Chemistry Salt, Acidity, and Gases     207
The Importance of Water Quality     207
Checking Your Salt Level     208
An affinity for salinity     208
Specific gravity     209
Fluctuating salt     209
What Are Acid and pH?     210
Scaling pH     210
pH fluctuations     211
pH solutions     211
Hardness and Alkalinity     212
Hardness is easy     212
Carbonate hardness     212
Water Gases     213
Oxygen (O2)     213
Carbon dioxide (CO2)     214
Considering Other Chemical Factors     215
Calcium (Ca)     215
Phosphate (PO4)     215
Copper (Cu)     216
All About Algae     217
What Are Algae?     217
Light and nutrients     218
The sterility syndrome     219
Algae Are Out of Control     219
Go to the source     220
Feed some fish     220
Harvest time     220
Knowing Your Algae     221
Green algae     221
Red algae     222
Brown algae     223
Diatoms     223
Dinoflagellates     224
Blue-green algae     224
Keeping Your Aquarium Clean     227
Performing the Basics     227
Sucking it up     228
Cleaning your filters     229
Testing, testing, testing (your water)     231
Changing the water     232
Sticking to Your Maintenance Schedule     235
Every day     235
Every week     236
Every two weeks     236
Monthly     236
Quarterly (every three months)     237
Taking Care of Emergencies     237
What, no power?     238
Oh no! A leak!     238
Too hot to handle     238
The solution to pollution      239
Taking Proper Care of Your Fish     241
Feeding Your Fish     243
Giving Them Their Meat and Veggies     243
Meat eaters (carnivores)     244
Grazers (herbivores)     244
Meat and potatoes (omnivores)     244
Knowing the Building Blocks of Fish Nutrition     245
Identifying the Types of Food     245
Natural foods     246
Prepared foods     247
Live foods     248
Putting Food in Their Mouths     250
Dealing with the oddballs     252
Keeping a watchful eye     252
Offering a variety     253
Going away?     253
Feeding Your Invertebrates     254
Hunting and gathering (carnivorous)     254
Scraping (herbivorous)     254
Sifting (filter feeders)     254
Preventing Stress     257
Stop the Stressin'     257
Stressful Conditions     258
Poor water quality     259
Handling     259
Injury     260
Lack of nutrition     261
Overcrowding     261
Aggressive behavior     262
Temperature changes      262
Salinity changes     262
Disturbances     263
Recognizing Stress     263
Acting weird     264
Looking weird     265
Making a Diagnosis     265
Diseases and Treatments     267
Reviewing the Treatment Methods     267
Direct aquarium treatment     268
The hospital tank     268
The dip method     269
Internal medication     269
Getting to Know Common Medications     270
Copper     270
Antibiotics     270
Recognizing the Bad Guys     270
Bacterial infections     270
Viral disease     272
Fungal disease     272
Parasitic infestations     273
Other health problems     275
Why Invertebrates Don't Get Sick     276
Observing Your Fish     277
Seeing Is Believing: Fish Can Be Fun     277
Fish watching     277
Relaxing     278
Having fun with your family     278
Showing off     278
Experiencing marine biology in your home     279
Keeping a Log      279
Comings and goings     280
Fish interactions and behavior     280
Feedings     280
New equipment     281
Problems     281
General notes     282
Taking Pictures     282
The Part of Tens     255
Ten Fish to Avoid     287
Sharks     287
Skates and Rays     287
Stonefish     287
Moray Eels     288
Lionfishes and Scorpionfishes     288
Boxfishes and Trunkfishes     288
Groupers and Sea Basses     288
Parrotfishes     289
Snappers     289
Seahorses     289
Ten Invertebrates to Avoid     291
Octopuses     291
Crown of Thorns Starfish     291
Bristleworms     291
Mantis Shrimp     292
Jellyfish     292
Queen Conch     292
Lobsters     292
Bivalves     292
Sea Cucumbers     293
Fire Coral     293
Five Simple Metric Conversions     295
Temperature     295
Length Conversion     295
Weight Conversion     296
Area Conversion     296
Volume Conversions     297
Ten Great Public Saltwater Aquariums     299
Appendixes     303
Resources     305
Books     305
Clubs     307
Magazines     307
Internet     308
Glossary     311
Index     317