Breeeding Oscar FishWritten by William Berg
The Oscars, or Astronotus ocellatus, from Cichlidae family, are fairly easy fish to breed. All you need is pretty much leaving them alone and letting them do their thing if you lucky enough to get a pair. If not, breeding might be very hard. They are a very long-lived fish, probably one of reasons they are so popular today. Originally from Amazon.Oscar Fish obviously requires a large tank due to their large size. They prefer clean and clear water with a deep sand bottom, and a few large rocks. If you keep plants with you Oscars they will be dug up however there are some people that believe that Oscars like to have plants that they can dig up in aquarium and this might be true since many large cichlid like to have toys when kept in aquariums not to get bored. And since Oscars are large and very smart cichlids, you can actually teach them tricks, they might want something to do like digging up plant. Be careful, they are enthusiastic eaters and they love to eat smaller fish. Thus, only keep them with other fish that are of same size. Temperature is important, and should be kept stable somewhere in 79-86°F range. Feeding Oscars is not a problem since they will take every food you give, including flake frozen fish, prawns, pellets, earth worms, crickets, kitchen scrapes…and of course live food. The most trying task to do is finding a mating pair. If your Oscar is adult in size, it becomes a really trial-and-error process. However once they form pairs they will stay together for rest of their life. Probably most common and effective method of finding pair of Oscars is to buy 6 or 8 young specimens (about 1 inch in length), and allowing them to grow up together. A mating pair can be identified from their mating play, which is a seemingly aggressive behavior towards each other; lip-locking, tail-slapping…. If one of fish is overly aggressive, and it is a one-sided aggression and you should separate them or risk loosing one of them.
| | Five Cat Food Factors That Discourage Feline UTDWritten by Nancy E. Wigal
One of most common causes of Feline Urinary Tract Disease (FLUTD) is what your cat eats. A feline diet that is too high in carbohydrates and magnesium, and low in protein can lead to FLUTD. When their cat is initially diagnosed with FLUTD, feline owners will usually first try to get their kitty to eat prescription food recommended by their vet. But what if cat rejects their offering? As an alternative, there are specific, non-prescription cat foods available to maintain your cat's urine pH balance at 6.6. A high urine pH value indicates struvite crystal formation in your cat's urinary tract. The challenge is to find right cat food that appeals to kitty, contains proper amount of protein and magnesium, and has few or no by-products. If you turn out to be one of those owners who has to find an alternative cat food, then here's five things to evaluate when selecting cat food to prevent future FLUTD occurences in your kitty: 1. What's Most Common Ingredient? The first and most common ingredient that should be listed is protein - meat or fish. Read label carefully - here's some variations you could see: Canned cat food: Beef Chicken Liver Deboned Chicken Beef Broth Dry cat food: Chicken Organic Chicken Herring Meal Chicken Meal Some other good ingredients that will help your kitty maintain good urinary tract health are blueberries and cranberries. Vegetables such as carrots are good, and rice is a good grain for your kitty to consume. 2. Are There Any By-Products? Are by-products listed as one of ingredients? If so, put that food back on shelf and keep looking. By-products are filler material, and have limited nutritional value for your kitty. By-products are typically carbohydrates, and since cats are carnivores, they need protein, not carbs, for proper nutrition.
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