James M. Kostich Category;
Get recent articles via RSS in James M. Kostich category
Search in this category and subcategories !
Order Direction : [ Z-A ] - [ A-Z ]
James M. Kostich Articles;
"Beware the Little Nippers"
THE COMMUNITY AQUARIUM: PRINCIPLE NUMBER 2
"Breaking In" the New Aquarist
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 a ...
"If the guppy fits - EAT IT!"
THE COMMUNITY AQUARIUM: PRINCIPLE NUMBER 1
Fish Room Emergency
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 ...
Float and Dip Acclimation
Ever since plastic bags have been used to transport aquarium fish, hobbyists from around the world have utilized a simple method to acclimate new arrivals. This process, commonly called "floating and dipping", can be quite ...
Kings of the Castle
THE COMMUNITY AQUARIUM: PRINCIPLE NUMBER 3
Overfeeding Fish
In this age of controversy and discord, it's difficult to find any issue, whether in politics, child-rearing, or even fishkeeping, in which "conventional wisdom" goes unchallenged. It's refreshing to find that there's at leas ...
Plan Ahead
THE COMMUNITY AQUARIUM: PRINCIPLE NUMBER 6
POWERful "medicine" , 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. ...
Priced to Sell: Retail pricing of Aquarium Fish
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 case ...
Victims - and Criminals - of Circumstance
THE COMMUNITY AQUARIUM: PRINCIPLE NUMBER 4
"Fertilizing" Plants
Like so many other aquarium issues, whether or not to fertilize aquarium plants depends on what sort of tank is being kept.. An aquarium with many fish, few or slow-growing plants, and standard lighting (less than 1 watt per gallon) may require ...
"PRO" Setups
We always have, and always will, put together "custom" setups - with exactly the tank and equipment the customer wants. But after a few years in business, it became clear to us that many hobbyists, especially newer ones, didn't know wher ...
10 Great Fish for Beginning Aquarists
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 dep ...
Advances in Aquarium Lighting:
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, fluorescen ...
Aeration
Aeration Fish extract dissolved oxygen from the water and exhale carbon dioxide, creating a shortage of the former and an excess of the latter. Aeration is the process of returning these two dissolved gases to their normal proportions. Cir ...
Aeration Backup
Don't Put All Your Eggs in One Basket Modern power filters and canister filters are remarkable inventions: for a few pennies worth of electricity, they filter, circulate and even aerate our aquariums. Properly sized and maintained, they can handl ...
Air "Bleeder Valve"
Even the best, most expensive, air pump won't last forever without repair. But setting up a simple, inexpensive "bleeder valve" can postpone repairs or replacements considerably. Most vibrator pumps are not adjustable: they attemp ...
Algae 101
Part one of three on the green/brown/red slime/crud/hair that aquarists are forever battling. Is algae harmful? For the most part, no. It is really more unsightly than it is unhealthy. Algae, like other plants, actually filters a lot of h ...
Algae are the "weeds" of the water garden
Plants , Circulation/Aeration , Mechanical Filtration , Water Treatments for Cleaner, Clearer Ponds ..
Algae Eaters
Algae Eaters Part three of three on the green/brown/red slime/crud/hair that aquarists are forever battling. Do algae eaters work? Yes, although they are far better at preventing a major algae outbreak than in cleaning up a tank that i ...
Aquarium Backgrounds
Aquarium backgrounds have several aesthetic and practical purposes. They add to the overall attractiveness of an aquarium by adding depth, and by hiding the jumble of filters, tubing and power cords that are usually dangling on the tank's back. T ...
Aquarium Covers
A good aquarium cover keeps OUT: dust, other pets, small children, their toys, and the other half of their baloney sandwich. A good aquarium cover keeps IN: fish (that jump), snails and eels (that slither), newts and crabs (that climb), water (tha ...
Aquarium Heaters
Every year when the weather turns cooler, we begin to receive calls from customers who have sudden outbreaks of �ich� or other disease, or lose fish for no apparent reason. Often, we find these problems to be caused by temperature ...
Aquarium Tips , for Hot Summer Weather
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 en ...
Aquatic Plant Primer ,
Aquatic Plant Primer Why live plants? Live plants are among the most beautiful and natural aquarium decorations available. They also are natural filters, adding some oxygen and removing fish waste from the aquarium. Those are ample reasons fo ...
Barley Straw for Ponds
What does barley straw do? We have sold many units of these product in the past few seasons, and have heard from many customers that the proper use of barley straw led to much cleaner, clearer water in their ponds. Is barley straw an algicide? N ...
Basic Water Test Kits
Testing for the amount of certain chemicals in an aquarium can reveal a lot of useful information, and can forewarn the aquarist of trouble areas. Though there are many additional test kits available, these are some that every hobbyist should cons ...
Beginner's Fish
You don't have to be a "beginner" to appreciate fish that tolerate a wide variety of water conditions, temperature fluctuations, break-in cycles, overfeeding and other common problems. While not indestructible, these species are among th ...
Bettas in the Community Tank
There are few fish more beautiful and graceful than Betta splendens, commonly known as the Siamese Fighting Fish. And while these gorgeous air-breathing wonders are probably best suited for life alone in smaller aquariums, they can be kept in certai ...