The Tropical Fish Keeping Journal Book Edition Three: Tropical Fish Keeping Journals, #3

By Alastair R Agutter

A very big welcome to the "Tropical Fish Keeping Journal Book Edition Three" for every tropical Fish Hobbyist and Dedicated Aquarist from around the World. Each edition covers a series of special features on the hobby, for a successful tropical fish keeping experience.

In book edition three of the “Tropical Fish Keeping Journal” we cover; water quality and conditions, to the techniques, products and methods to heating the tropical fish aquarium, to lighting systems and the choices available for the aquarist and a little history, to finally fish behaviour and physiology.

TABLE CONTENTS INSIDE:

INTRODUCTION - Author’s introduction to the Tropical Fish Keeping Journal Book Edition Three

AQUARISTS DIARY AND NEWS - The Tropical Fish Keeping Journal, Aquarists Diary and News, for Aquarists and Hobbyists

 AQUARIUM WATER CONDITIONS - Achieving the best water for healthy thriving tropical fish and the 28 day conditioning cycle

AQUARIUM HEATING AND THERMOSTATS - The different methods and devices for successfully heating the tropical fish aquarium

AQUARIUM LIGHTING METHODS - Getting the best effects and results by using the most effective lighting techniques

FISH SPECIES BEHAVIOUR - Getting into the physiological behaviour and habits of tropical fish, including pecking orders

TROPICAL FISH SPECIES - Editors choice featuring a selection of tropical fish species accompanied with fact files

AQUATIC PLANT SPECIES - Editors choice featuring a selection of aquatic plant species accompanied with fact files

AQUARISTS PRODUCTS GUIDE - Featuring essential star aquatic products of note for today's tropical fish hobbyist

AQUARISTS REFERENCE TABLES - Sets of essential reference tables for aquarists including Gallons, Litres, Aquarium Sizes, Filtration and more in every journal edition, plus mathematical formulas

AQUARISTS BOOK GUIDE - Essential books and magazines worth reading and acquiring covering the hobby

AQUARISTS DIRECTORY - Useful web sites and web addresses for aquarists in relation to the pastime

• Language: English
• Publisher: Alastair R Agutter Digital Publications
• Release date: Dec 6, 2016
• ISBN: 9781540867520

Alastair R Agutter

Alastair R Agutter was born in Farnborough, Kent, England in 1958. He is a Best Selling Author of more than 30 specialist books. He is a Philosopher, Logistician, Theoretical Physicist, Writer, Publisher, Naturalist, Environmentalist, Computer Scientist, Creative Digital Artist and Proud Father of Five Children. His first specialist book was published in 1989 and writing on the South American Marine species the symphysodon that he managed to breed successfully in captivity after a great deal of heartache. In the book introduction over 25 years ago, he wrote about climate change concerns and with warnings. From the age of just 6 years, Alastair took up Gardening, being taught by his Grand Father, William Agutter. At 9 years of age, and as a young boy, Alastair also took up the hobby and past time of Tropical Fish Keeping, and became a very successful Aquarist , breeding countless species of cichlids and other tropical fish for over 46 plus years. Still today Alastair remains one of a select few in the world to breed Wild Discus (symphysodon) in captivity, and remains an authority on the subject ,and also as an accomplished author. As a writer of over 25 years today, Alastair never knew he would become a specialist books author. But then on reflection of his life's journey today, such a path does now make absolute sense!

Book preview

Introduction

Dear Reader and Aquarist,

Firstly, a very big welcome to the Tropical Fish Keeping Journal and a special thank you for acquiring this copy of the publication edition three in the series, and hopefully as mentioned before through God’s good graces, there will be many more book editions to come in the future.

Aquarists Diary and News

In this third book edition of the Tropical Fish Keeping Journal we see the section called Aquarists Diary and News again, to bring reader aquarists more valuable information surrounding our time honoured traditional and noble pastime of tropical fish keeping.

In this issue of the Aquarists Diary and News one of the news features being covered is introducing reader aquarists to my last and very final book on symphysodon titled The Discus Book Third Edition planned, as I have read and listened to readers and followers comments, and know aquarists are seeking many more answers surrounding the King of the Aquarium and also details of another new book coming titled Super Foods for Tropical Fish and Discus covering recipes of high protein super fish foods, for healthy, happy, thriving tropical fish species and with such foods, the growth of the aquarist’s tropical fish will be markedly noticed.

Aquarium Water Conditions

Since the beginning of our pastime, water conditions have been the aquarist’s nemesis. I hope this extensive feature in this issue of the tropical fish keeping journal covering water conditions, that includes the 28 day cycle for conditioning water without chemicals, will finally lay to rest, such testing problems.

Aquarium Heating and Thermostats

It is a far cry from the days of tropical fish keeping when aquarists had to heat the water of their aquarium with a naked flame from a gas burner or paraffin stove, on a slate bottom aquarium. In this issue of the tropical fish keeping journal, we feature heating and thermostats, for naturally these devices are critical to the very survival of our tropical fish family members.

Aquarium Lighting

Aquarium lighting is an essential life source for tropical fish and especially the very survival of aquatic plants. In this feature, I cover lighting methods and accompany these with an informative table on aquarium sizes and the light wattage required, with the actual time periods recommended for healthy thriving tropical fish and aquatic plants.

Tropical Fish Species Behaviour

It is surprising the more you get to know your tropical fish, the more they can actually tell you. This feature helps identify fish behaviour in the hobbyist’s aquarium, to ensure all tropical fish inhabitants are free of stress, disease and healthy.

Tropical Fish Species

This feature in the journal introduces aquarists to more tropical fish species, detailing their natural habitat, their suitability with other tropical fish, expected life span, the most suitable water temperatures and water PH chemistry range.

Aquatic Plant Species

This feature in the journal introduces aquarists to more aquatic plant species, detailing their natural habitat, their suitability, water temperatures, their growth, the height of plants and the reproduction method.

Aquarists Products Guide

Aquarists product guide, features essential star aquatic products of note for today’s tropical fish hobbyist, detailing their value and reliability, plus many other benefits and features.

Aquarists Reference Tables

The Aquarists Reference Tables are a set of essential table measurements and guides, for aquarists to reference specific areas, including the support of mathematical formulas where necessary.

Aquarists Book Guide

Today as more books are written on tropical fish keeping, there is a continued demand and urgent need to recommend deserving publications that are informative and the advice found within is sound and accurate.

Aquarists Directory

The Aquarists Directory is a useful guide in finding safe and secure web sites, including addresses for aquarists in relation to our pastime and surfing to the correct location on the World Wide Web.

God Bless, Sincere Best Wishes to All,

Alastair R Agutter

Aquarist and Author

Aquarists Diary and News

A ‘BIG’ welcome to this third edition of the Tropical Fish Keeping Journal and thank you as a hobbyist and reader, for acquiring a copy of the publication.

The Great Exhibition of 1851 in Victorian England saw the beginning of our pastime in earnest as Water Features, Vivarium’s, Terrariums and Aquariums were on display to the general public (commoners).

I am confident that the features found in this edition, will be very informative and help many Aquarists, as they continue to enjoy the pastime. Next year as many of you know from when I first took up tropical fish keeping back in 1967, will see me in my fiftieth year of our hobby and over those years, I like to think I have learnt a great deal, and continue to try and learn more still each day.

As we all know, over time a great many things change and just taking our pastime proper, since The Great Exhibition of 1851 in Queen Victoria’s reign, we have seen countless advancements with regards to the introduction of Aquarium Design, Electrical Heaters, Bakelite Air Pumps, Grolux Lighting, Flake Foods and in the 1960’s Gunther Eheim inventing the Suction Filter, with a motorized centrifuge.

What else has changed is the way we Network in our pastime, for in past years of our hobby discussion (networking) was conducted and carried out each month down at the local aquarist club, whereas today in our society, most interaction and communication is carried out online. I often say that Mother Nature has a timeline all of her own as well, and I think sometimes we impetus humans can test her patients.

As a result of age, and also becoming older and wiser, I like to think? There clearly is a request from many aquarists, for a new Discus Book. I know there are more of these books being published each year, but reading between the lines as they say, more aquarists new to the hobby of tropical fish keeping who are wanting to keep our majestic King of the Aquarium are however, seeking a series of magical silver bullets, in the form of simple straight forward easy guides. However, I was always taught and have learnt from experience in my life time that nothing ever comes easy and such material written, needs to be seriously scrutinized, for I believe in fish care and animal welfare before anything else.

Breeding Discus and bringing symphysodon through to adulthood (rearing) is no easy task, for every step along the way has its own challenges. I fear in our aquatic world of literature in the past, very rarely were such subject areas covered in great detail enough and this was perhaps as a result of economic venturism in publishing. For Discus keeping is very much a small niche market area of the hobby, and the production costs to produce such literature in years gone by, was simply not a viable proposition. There were exceptional circumstances, where as a passionate hobbyist or breeder, competent and able, personally decides to go it alone, and self-publish. This was in fact the case surrounding Eberhard’s (Schulze) book, titled Discus Fish published in 1988/89.

Passion and Dedication

I clearly remember when Eberhard entered into the project of writing the book, as if it were only yesterday, surrounding the constant trips, toing and throwing, backwards and forwards between Britain and Thailand, where he had the book printed in the Far East, where it was a mission in itself. However, all credit to Eberhard, for at the end of the day, he got the job done and delivered a magnificent book of its time on Discus, and that takes real passion for our hobby and real dedication.

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1/. The Discus Book 1989, 2/. Discus Fish 1989 3/. Discus Book Special 2014

It was in fact the same year that I completed writing The Discus Book in 1988, and saw it published in 1989, and still today, I am humbled to say, the book is still a Best Seller internationally. I think some modern day aquarists, fail to realize the hard-work and dedication getting such a book to print and published, especially in those days and after 10 years of hard work, to successfully breed wild Discus in captivity and still today I might add, one of a select few world-wide to accomplish such a feat.

Fortunately today in publishing through the advances of technology, more specialist books can be published with smaller print runs and production planning costs greatly reduced and this will only