Hobbies

Location of your aquarium

So, you bought your very first fish tank. And you probably already decided where to place it. But keep in mind that a fish tank filled with water is much heavier than it seems. So please, place it on something strong and stable.

It is also advisable to keep your fish tank away from direct, or even indirect, sunlight. Long hours of sunlight will induce algae, something you do not want if you wish to keep your aquarium beautiful.

Any gravel?

Skip this part if you plan to have a simple bare-bottom fish tank. Personally, I feel that gravels make an aquarium looks so much nicer. Having gravels also helps hide your fishes’ wastes.

Before you start pouring your gravels into your fish tank, stop! Take a pail, pour your gravels into it instead. Start washing them over and over until the water is decently clear. This is important, as you don’t want your fishes to be swimming in chocolate milk.

Preparing your water

The numbers will make any pet lover blanch with disgust, anger, and sadness. The Humane Society of the United States calculates that as many as 500,000 puppies every year are sold in pet shops, and that many of these pet shops buy their pets from the worst breeders-so-called puppy mills. What do these puppy mills (and kitty mills) have to do with you if you’re on the market for a new furry companion? You know what you’re doing when it comes to buying a purebred, right?

Truth be told, puppy mills are largely responsible for even harsher statistic: as many as 25 percent of all purebred pups suffer from genetic difficulties because of bad breeding. And as knowledgeable as you think you are about buying a dog, you could come across one of these poor pups and not even know it.

That could mean that you spent hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars on a pet, only to have it succumb to a birth defect and maybe even die at an early age. Even if this worst-case scenario doesn’t occur, buying from the wrong breeder can also land you an animal that picked up diseases because of the intolerable conditions at the breeder. That could lead to additional thousands spent on vet bills.

Do you have a home robotic vacuum cleaner? They are all the new rage and quite innovative indeed. If you do not have one you eventually will have one, as that is how the future of vacuuming around the house will be done. Most household tasks will be done by simple robotic systems with at least a minimum of artificial intelligence programming. The ride on lawnmowers will move over and make way to the autonomous lawn mowing robots in the near future. Today a good vacuum is expensive and the iRobot is price competitive and they are selling like hot cakes. Only one problem, the family pets, do not like them much.

There is a right and wrong way to introduce these robotic vacuum cleaners to your cat. If you stick your iRobot vacuum on the floor and use it to chase your cat you may get a laugh, but your cat will not appreciate that one bit. Would you like someone trying to vacuum up your tail? Well, would you? I think not. That of course is the wrong way to introduce your cat to the iRobot vacuum.

For some 25 years I have alerted the public to the dangers of exclusively feeding heat processed foods. Companion animal feeding has progressed ? actually digressed ? from table scraps and real foods the family could spare to today’s "100 % complete" processed foods in primarily kibble form, with some canned and semi-moist also available. The foods appear to be scientific and improved, but they’re far worse for the animals. Not only is nutrient value diminished by heat, but a spectrum of toxins is created. Additionally, the singular feeding of processed food has led to the spurious "100% complete and balanced" claim that is both logically and scientifically flawed.

Entrepreneurs have seized upon this information to create a spate of raw frozen (RF) foods to capture a market niche and to fill the demand from consumers wanting a raw alternative to standard heat processed canned, semi-moist and dried pet foods. This market trend, as with most others, may begin with some truth (raw food is the best food) but gets distorted, if not perverted, once economic opportunity enters the picture. This paper will examine the rationale of these products, their economics and dangers. A more intelligent and healthy alternative will be proposed.

Buy or Adopt - That is the question.

If you intend to breed or show your dog there is no alternative but to buy your dog from a reputable AKC-REGISTERED breeder. Should you be in a position where nothing but the best satisfies you, then buying a registered, pedigreed dog is also your best choice.

Another alternative for those wanting to acquire a fine pet is cross bred dogs. They are not for breeding or show but some of the handsomest dogs I have ever seen were mixed breeds. But, buying a mixed pup is chancy. A cute pup can mature into an ugly adult

For the rest of us ordinary people who have financial constraints, but nevertheless would like to have a pet dog there is a better choice. That is Adoption, which is not only less expensive, it sometimes permits you to have a purebred dog that you ordinarily could not afford. Not only that you generally get a pet that is housebroken and frequently at least partially obedience trained.

Adopting a young dog past puppy hood has a number of advantages, one of which is that you avoid teething problems. A puppy can be very destructive. You also know, when you choose it, what your dog’s appearance will be when mature.

Pomeranians have tiny mouths and itty bitty teeth, but not caring for them properly can cause serious health problems for your dog.

Dental disease in dogs can cause serious health issues as the bacteria from infected gums and teeth can “spread” to other parts of the body and affect vital organs such as the heart, kidneys and intestines. Tarter or dental calculus starts off soft but can harden on the dogs teeth. Once hardened, it cannot be brushed away but requires a dental scaling just like you get in the dentist chair! If the teeth are left untreated, the buildup can cause the gums to become inflamed and can also cause serious infections.

Does Your Pom Have Bad Teeth?

Pomeranians are prone to dental problems. Buildup of plaque and tooth loss can be severe and cause problems with their daily routines. To tell if your dog has bad teeth, lift up his lips and check his teeth at the gumline - can you see tarter? Are the teeth white or discolored? Does his breath smell? Are there broken teeth?

In the last decade or so, the popularity of sugar gliders as pets has grown considerably. The small size of these furry acrobats, their personalities, their plush fur, their large eyes, their agility and their ability to bond closely with humans have attracted legions of new sugar glider devotees.

What is a sugar glider and where did they originally come from? Sugar gliders are small marsupials and members of the possum family. They are found in Australia, Tasmania, Indonesia, and New Guinea. Their scientific name is Petaurus breviceps. Most sugar gliders these days are captive-bred and not wild-caught.

Like their larger marsupial cousins, kangaroos, sugar gliders have a pouch where their infants grow and develop. Their young are called “joeys,” as are the young of kangaroos. You may come across the term OOP while researching sugar gliders on the internet. OOP means “out-of-pouch” and it indicates how long the joey has been completely out of his mother’s pouch. Joeys are ready to go to a new home at approximately 8 weeks OOP.

Do you have some adult discus fish and want to know whether they are male or female. In this article I’m going to share with you some of the tips and techniques you can use to determine the gender of your discus or those you wish to buy.

First of all, know that these are only guides and they are not always 100% correct as in some circumstances females have male characteristics and males have female ones.

Here are ways to determine the sex of your discus

1, The dorsal and anal fins

Take a good look at the dorsal and anal fins of your discus. Are they rounded or are they pointed. Males tend to have pointed dorsal and anal fins or sometimes have extended growth on the end rear of the dorsal fin. Females tend to have rounds rear fins.

2, The colour and pattern of your discus

Please look at the colour and pattern of your discus fish, compare them to one another in the tank. Some fish will hopefully have more intense colour and some discus will have more pattern. Male discus fish tend to have less intense colour but have more pattern while the female tends to be more colourful but with lesser pattern.

Small dog breeds are great pets, but since their personalities are all different, it’s a good idea to look at their individual characteristics to see if they fit with your lifestyle.

Pomeranians:

Pomeranians developed from a much larger dog breed and seem to have retained the mellow character. They are good with children if they have been raised with them from puppyhood. They are playful and active. They tend to bark and require daily grooming.

Chihuahuas:

Chihuahuas are an interesting small breed. I have raised several herds - and that is a good word for a group of chihuahuas - and their temperment is a bit different from other small dogs. They can be very aggressive towards other dog breeds. I adopted one chihuahua who kept attacking a German Shepherd who finally bit her. After she got out of the hospital she went after him again. I ended up with her because she wasn’t going to quit attacking bigger dogs. Some chihuahuas will growl and nip at small children. Good points - chihuahuas are very loyal and affectionate. They don’t require as much exercise as other small breeds so they make ideal pets for apartment dwellers or older people. They are good with cats.

For Discus fish, there are 2 consideration in tanks - tank depth and volume. Because of their size and swimming habits, a minimum of 18″ is needed for tank depth, the deeper the better. Regarding volume, a good rule of thumb is that each adult discus will need 10 gallons of water. Larger tanks will also give more stable water conditions, and taking into account other considerations the minimum size for a discus show tank should be no less than 55 gallons. It is also advisable to use a rectangular tank. Not only are they cheaper, but are more efficient, because they maximize surface area. Surface area is the most important factor in buying a tank. Why? Because it is only at the surface of the tank that gas exchange occurs. (Oxygen in, Carbon dioxide out.) Assuming you have a seventy five gallon show tank, and it’s biological filter is working as required, up to twenty young fish 3 inches in size, or 6 or 8 fully adult discus can comfortably inhabit the tank. An outside filter may be added to large tanks to increase basic aeration and biological filtration needs.