Russian Hamster – Scruffy

Scruffy
"Who does Scruffy like best, boys or girls?"
2010-03-28

Here’s what Isabela says about Scruffy:

"This is my little hamster friend named Scruffy. She never lets me hold her and I have to wear gloves whenever I put my hand in her tank. But I still love her! She is very funny because she goes on her wheel A LOT and is always running around. I like to play cops and robbers with her and I am usually the cop chasing after her. It is cute because sometimes she will sleep in her tunnel or under her wheel when she gets too tired. I just figured out a couple days ago that she likes boys better than girls. I found out because when my cousin comes over and puts his hand down in the tank with the gloves on, she barely bits him. He even taught her a new trick with her wheel. Well, even though Scruffy bites A LOT, I still LOVE HER!
"

"Scruffy is so small but she packs a pretty big bite… no? How cute is that? Thanks for sharing her here."

Lake Tanganyika African Cichlids

Lake Tanganyika African Cichlids
"Tropheus Cichlids and Goby Cichlids…You’ve heard that good things come in small packages? These guys pack a big attitude and tons of color in a very small bundle!

Lake Tanyanika in Africa is referred to as an “island sea” due to its abundant life and its size!

Lake Tanganyika, with almost 250 different species of cichlids and over 150 species of other fish, houses some of the most expensive freshwater fish in the world. The second deepest lake in the world, it also has two record breaking inhabitants, the world’s largest cichlid at 31″ (80 cm) and the world’s smallest cichlid at 1.4″ (3.5 cm).

The popular Tropheus species, endemic to Lake Tanganyika, are widely distributed along the coastal fringes of the lake and have many geographic variations. Currently they are grouped into eight different ‘types’ or species and the types themselves have a number of varieties, many that have not yet been described… Read more

Giant Carpet Anemone

Giant Carpet Anemone
"Want a shag carpet in your aquarium… You couldn’t pick a better coral’!"
11/15/2009

Despite its name, the Giant Carpet Anemone is actually smaller,

and more delicate than other large carpets!

The Giant Carpet Anemone is every bit as gorgeous as the popular Saddle Carpet Anemone S. haddoni. Its oral disc is deeply folded and colored in browns and greens, or in spectacular purples, pinks, deep blues, and bright greens. Its short, stubby tentacles are are about 8 mm long and tapered. There are so many tentacles they give the anemone a shaggy “carpet” appearance, thus the name Carpet Anemone. Other names it is known by are the Gigantic Sea Anemone and the Giant Anemone.

This colorful clown-hosting anemone is known to host up to 7 different Amphiprion sp. clown fish. It has also been know to associate with the Domino Damselfish Dascyllus trimaculatus and several crabs and shrimps. They use their venomous cells or nematocyst found in their tentacles to sting and deflect any possible threats or attacks. Some predators can be other anemones, nudibranchs, sea stars and some angelfish, triggers and large wrasses… Read More

The Forked Tentacled Mushroom

Forked Tentacled Mushroom
"My name says what it means, and means what is says… I’m named for what I look like! (I just MAY be the ONLY mushroom coral that doesn’t confuse everyone!)"
1/13/2010

Beautiful patterns and slower growth rates…

are just some of the unique characteristics that make the Forked Tentacled Mushroom a favorite!

The Discosoma carlgreni, most commonly known as the Forked Tentacled Mushroom, is named for its obvious shape. It is also known as the Forked Tentacle Corralimorpharian, Forked Mushroom, and Neon Disc Anemone. It is one of only a few mushroom corals that have kept their genus names consistently.

The Forked Tentacled Mushroom usually comes in solid green or brown, and at times is more colorful with a brown or purple mottling on the surface. The tentacles are generally the same color, but at times, they can be green, brown, white, yellow, or gray. Their tentacles are elongated nubs or knobby tentacles, which are often split. They hold toxins and along the perimeter they are “points” that are spaced, which almost make it look like the mushroom has spikes… Read More

Selecting Aquarium Plants

Selecting Aquarium Plants
"Want to start a Planted aquarium? Get started right! Learn about Aquarium Design and Types of Aquatic Plants. Then you’re good to go on making a real SPLASH in your tank!"

Using freshwater plants to craft a beautiful aquarium is lots of fun,

and is a very rewarding and creative experience.

An attractive aquarium can be even more stunning using live aquarium plants. Plants make attractive ornamentation and they help to keep the water quality of the aquarium balanced.
Along with beauty and stability, an aquarium aquascape will also create a natural and peaceful aquatic environment.

Three steps for successful planted aquariums: There are several things to consider when designing planted aquariums.
Step 1: Aquarium Design – The Aquascape Aquarium
The first consideration is the design phase. This is your personal and unique aquarium aquascape setup. The aquarium design step is where you determine what you would like your tank will look like… Read More

Trumpet Anemone

Trumpet Anemone
"What makes this Aiptasia the Trumpet Anemone? If you guessed a smooth column that is usually trumpet-like… You’re RIGHT!"
10/3/2009

The Trumpet Anemone is a distinctive, colorful Aiptasia,

but unique because it is a cold water species!

The Aiptasiidae family offers several interesting variations of anemones that are easy to care for and reproduce quickly. The Trumpet Anemone is one of these hardy varieties. It is a cold water aiptasia however, so is not as common in the saltwater aquarium trade as its smaller aiptasia relatives.

The Trumpet Anemone is similar in structure to its smaller, but better known weedy aiptasia cousins. Like the Glass Anemone, Brown Glass Anemone, and Small Rock Anemone, it too has tons of tapering tentacles on the outer margin of its oral disc. But unlike its cousins it doesn’t retract its tentacles as readily… Read More

Jeweled Finger Coral

Jeweled Finger Coral
Porites cylindrica
"What’s wet, golden colored, and sparkles like faceted amber? If you said a Jewel Coral, you’d be right!"
2/07/2010

The Jeweled Finger Coral has the appearance of hundreds of little jewels across its surface!

The corallites of the Jeweled Finger Coral Porites cylindrica add an element of sparkle to the reef aquarium. This is because they are covered with many corallites that are very small, and each corallite has 10 tiny septa. It is the abundance of septa that give it the appearance of having been sprinkled with jewels all across the surface. They come in many attractive colors including green, blue, golden yellow, yellow, purple, and pink. These colors can be very vivid, and for many specimens the color will be brought out under high intensity lighting.

In the wild, the Porites genus forms some of the largest coral colonies. They can reach massive proportions, with some growths reaching about 26 feet (8 m) in height… Read More

Crocea Clam – Tridacna crocea

Crocea Clam – Tridacna crocea
"Now here’s a giant clam that is giving some stiff competition to the Maxima. It is so pretty, and come in so many different colors and patterns. This is one popular Tridacna Clam!"

Tridacna crocea, the Crocea Clams, are some of the most colorful members

of the giant clams!

Saltwater aquariums fascinate us because of the unique personalities and antics of their inhabitants, so perhaps a giant clam just sitting there seems a rather unlikely choice. But after one look at these beautiful creatures it is easy to understand why enthusiasts are eager to include them in their tanks. The Crocea Clam is a favorite. It is the most colorful of the Tridacna genus and could arguably be said to be the most popular, vying only with the Maxima Clam for the honor.

Tridacna Crocea are beautiful giant clams with a variety of patterns and color mixtures. They have fascinating designs in blues, purples, yellows, greens, browns, golds, and oranges. The mantle is usually decorated with iridescent blue, yellow, or green blotches, spots or lines. With its maximum length being only 6 to 9 inches (15.2 to 22.9 cm), T. crocea is also the smallest of the Tridacna clams… Read More

Burrowing Tube Anemone

Burrowing Tube Anemone
"My relatives are chickens, But not me! I DO NOT play Ostrich! You’ll find me sticking my head high out of the sand, not buried like them"
12/02/2009

The Burrowing Tube Anemone, topped with a crown of tentacles,

can extend about 14″ above the substrate!

The Burrowing Tube Anemone differs a bit from other tube dwelling anemones. Like other burrowing anemones, it has a long, soft, cylindrical body with a pointed foot on one end and a crown of tentacles on the other. It also uses its pointed foot to burrow deep into a sandy or muddy substrate where it constructs a hard tube to live in. But it differs from other tube dwellers in that several inches of its tube will sometimes extend above the surface, rather than having its entire tube buried in the sand with just the oral disc and tentacles exposed.

The name ‘ tube dwelling anemone’ is derived from their ability to build a tube to live in. It was previously believed that they created their tube by releasing a mucus, which then become covered with sand. Today however, it is known that they create the tube by releasing threads of a special type of nematocysts called ‘ptychocyst’… Read More

Teddy Bear Hamster – HamY

HamY
"Can you guess what HamY’s favorite food is?"
2010-03-28

Here’s what Isabela says about HamY:

"I love my pet hamster that I call HamY! He likes to sleep a lot and his favorite treat is peanut butter. When he eats it, is like a dog chewing peanut butter with his mouth getting very sticky. Whenever I put my hand in his cage to feed him or to pet him, HamY smells me and then sometimes tries to get out of the cage as quick as possible. HamY is a very lovable hamster and never bit me once. Sometimes, when I have time, I put him in his ball and we play hide-n-seek together. Hamy is very curious and will try anything. HamY is a little chubby for a hamster but is very cuddly. I like to hold him close and when he is not to excited, he will sit still and cuddle next to me for a little while. A lot of people seem scared of him because he is big and has big teeth, but he is really the nicest hamster in the world. He will only bite if you do something he doesn’t like, like if you stick your finger in the cage, or if you hold him a way he doesn’t like. This is a bad trick but with his old cage I kind of taught him to escape. I opened the side handle so many times to let him out that he learned to get out himself and escaped once {almost twice). HamY is my best pet ever and I just LOVE talking about him."

Next Page »