Three Easy Steps to Avoid Fish Death in Your Aquarium.

So you just got home with that new aquarium from your local pet store and you're so excited to get started you hook up the garden hose and start filling your aquarium. After about 30 minutes of filling your new aquarium with tap water you start dropping in those pretty little fish. Everything is going great, your filter is pumping, your aquarium lights are on and life is good. You go to sleep that night only to wake up and notice those pretty little fish have turned into upside down floating carcasses. What happened? Last night your fish were swimming peacefully in your new aquarium and now they are all dead.

1. Well, lets see if we can break down exactly what happened. Your first mistake was adding fish so soon. The tap water you put into your aquarium from your garden hose isn't exactly "fish ready". There are usually minerals, heavy metals, and chemicals added by local water treatment facilities. This in turn can be very harmful to your fish so before you drop in your new fish condition the tap water.

Now that you have your tap water conditioned you're ready to add fish. You are still really excited about your new aquarium and want to see a bunch of fish swimming around so you head back down to your local pet store and pick up about two dozen fish, plop them in your aquarium, pat yourself on the back for doing such a great job and head off to bed. The next morning your hop out of bed, take a look at your aquarium and all you see is a bunch of "floaters" (industry term for dead floating fish).

2. What happened? You conditioned the tap water so your aquarium was ready to go, so what happened? Simple answer is you added too many fish too quickly. The bacterial colonies in your aquarium haven't fully established therefore the aquarium couldn't support the amount of fish. Before adding fish to your new aquarium be sure to add some Ammonia Neutralizer.

Alright, so you conditioned the tap water and your neutralized the ammonia and since you are not regretting buying your new aquarium yet you decide to head back down to your local pet store and purchase only a couple of fish this time. You get home, drop them into your tank, go to bed hoping those two little fish will still be alive in the morning. The next morning you get out of bed and glance at the aquarium only to see your two little fish still alive....but barely. Now your fish are at the top of your aquarium water struggling, in what seems like they're struggling to breath. "Now what?", you might ask yourself and this is an easy fix.

By this time the casually fish hobbyist does one of two things. Either they throw their hands in the air and put their new aquarium up for sale in the classifieds or they add a circulation pump to their aquarium and all is well.

3. Assuming you were set up with the correct filter from the beginning the easy fix would be to add a circulation pump to help with the gas exchange. Gas exchange occurs when the surface of the water in your aquarium is agitated therefore oxygen will be allowed in and at the same time waste gases like nitrogen can get out.

For today you decide not to add any fish but you do install the circulation pump. The next morning your two little fish are swimming happily around your new aquarium and life is good.

Wasn't that easy? Now enjoy your fish and be sure to support your local pet stores.

Dogswell Treats are Back at fun4pets.com!

They're back.....The famous Dogswell treats are back and they have some new friends with them this time. With even more tasty and healthy treats to choose from Dogswell has really expanded their treat line. They were made famous with their Chicken & Apple and Chicken & Banana treats but they have since expanded their treat line to include Duck, Beef, Lamb & Rice, and even new biscuits.

At Dogswell they care about what they feed their own pets and know that you do as well. All Dogswell products are made from premium, natural ingredients with one catch – unlike most food available for pets, Dogswell products come in a variety of functional formulas that are healthy for your dog and cat.

All Dogswell products are made from natural meat and poultry with absolutely no added hormones, processed gluten, and no artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives.Products are free of wheat, corn, soy, and flour. Dogswell food and treats do not contain BHA, BHT or Ethoxyquin, artificial preservatives that extend the shelf life of a product.

By using the best natural healthy ingredients combined with functionality, Dogswell provides pure nutrition with natural benefits. It’s simple, functional and just what your pet wants and needs.

Feel free to browse the entire line of available Dogswell (and Catswell) treats and biscuits at fun4pets.com.

UVB? UVA? What Does That Mean? Your Reptiles Know, Do You?

Everybody loves reptiles, right? Well some people do and for those people; can you tell me exactly what UVB and UVA mean to your reptiles? For those avid herpetologists out there you already know the difference between UVB and UVA rays and how they affect your reptiles but for those novice herp owners out there get a pen and some paper, it's time to learn something.

Lets start with the basics, and we won't get all "sciency". Light is part of a spectrum called the Electromagnetic Spectrum which includes all sorts of fun stuff like Gamma Rays, X-rays, ultraviolet, infra-red radiation, microwaves, and radio waves.

Ultraviolet A (UVA) is the long ultraviolet wave and is part of the visible spectrum for reptiles, however they can see colors and patterns differently than humans because of this extra dimension to their vision. There is so much more to know about how UVA light affect reptiles, but like we agreed on before, we're not going to get all "sciency".

Ultraviolet B (UVB) is the medium ultraviolet wave and this type of light is natural sunglight. This is the important one, these are the UV rays that faciliate the photo-biosynthesis of previtamin D3 (cholecalciferol) in your reptiles skin. Huh? Simply put, they need it so they don't get metabolic bone disorder, which is very, very bad.

Now this is the part that most novice reptile owners don't like, UVB bulbs are relatively more expensive than those regular UVA bulbs and if you own a diurnal reptile, meaning active during the day, your scaley friend will need a good 8-10 hours of UVB light everyday. So pull out your credit card, thumb your nose at the down economy and get the proper heating and lighting for your reptiles. If the price of the proper lighting scares you then skip the reptile hobby altogether, it is not fair to your reptile to live in an environment that isn't properly set up.

Okay, we realize that most reptile owners only love their reptiles right about the time they drop the crickets, (or mice), into the terrarium but other than that, the reptiles are on their own and are generally ignored. However, that doesn't mean they should go without the proper heating and lighting, especially adequate UVB exposure.

With that in mind we, with the help of our friends at Zilla, have devised a 7-step process to completely automate your reptile's heating and lighting needs and once it's setup you won't have to raise another finger. (Don't worry, you can get it setup in less than 10 minutes).

1. Get your hands on the 9.5in Combo Dome by Zilla.
2. Get the appropriate sized heat bulbs for your terrarium.
   
3. Get the 23 watt 7in UVB circular bulb.
4. Get the 24/7 digital timer power center.
5. Install bulbs into 9.5in Combo Dome.
6. Plug 9.5in Combo Dome into the 24/7 timer power center.
7. Set timer to turn on at 8am and turn off at 6pm. You're finished.
   

That was pretty easy, right? Well, there are a few things to keep in mind outside of the seven steps above and one of them is to make sure your terrarium reaches the optimum temperature. You don't want to come home one day and find a frozen reptile so use a thermometer to know if you need a larger wattage bulb.

Also, in some areas of the world when the sun goes down and the lights turn off it gets a little cold, so if need be add a nocturnal heat source which can be done with a heat reflector dome and an infrared heat bulb set to the opposite side of your terrarium. This will provide a night time heat source and because it's an infrared heat bulb the light cannot be seen by your reptile.

And finally, it never hurts to supplement your reptile's diet outside of their regular diet. Try Jungle's Reptile Xtra supplements as well as Zilla's Calcium Food Spray.

Well, there you go. Now reptile rookies out there can keep enjoying their reptiles only when they feed them and at the same time the heating and lighting will be completely automated to prevent that nasty metabolic bone disorder.

Valentine's Day is Coming: Here Are Some Tips

Valentine's day is upon us and there are some very important facts everyone should know about how to keep your pets safe during this loving holiday.

Knowing ahead of time what is potentially fatal to your pet might just save their lives. The ASPCA has put together a rather concise article of the most common mistakes.

Be safe and have a great Valentine's Day!

Pet-Tech Knows Reptiles Are Pets Too

Sure they're scaly, look slimy, and can freak out grandma when they eat a cricket but come on, they are pets too. That is why the brain trust at Pet-Tech Inc. have gone out of their way to create decor that will stimulate the exact environment of those cold blooded herptiles.

Actually Pet-Tech Inc. has dedicated their entire line of decor to just reptiles and their most recent line of cool stuff is their Magnaturals. These little puppies attach to your terrarium with "mega magnets" which are strong enough to hold up to 2 pounds on some models.

Available in three different colors: Granite, Earth, and Mojave Red so they can blend into any natural theme. Another great feature of the MagNaturals is the ease of moving them from one location to another. If you don't like where you originally set them up all you have to do is remove the magnets from the back and the MagNaturals can be moved to anywhere in your terrarium.