FISHIOLOGY

To answer the common question: Do we need to put salt into our tank after water change? Salt is present in 97.5% of all water found on earth, and only 2.5% are freshwater. And of the 2.5% of freshwater only 0.3% are found on the surface on Earth that made up of lakes and rivers. Millions of years throughout evolution, there evolved fishes that are adapted to freshwater. Natural freshwater tropical swamp or stream water in the jungle are so pure condition with Nitrate reading's at 0ppm. TDS reading can be as low as 14ppm. For your information Malaysia's tap water TDS reading is around 50-70ppm. Meanwhile African lakes TDS reading can go from 400 - 2500ppm with a PH9 reading. Brackish water TDS reading around 10,000ppm and finally Seawater TDS reads at around 35,000ppm. TDS taken at Trengganu peat swamp TDS = Total Dissolved Solid, PPM = Parts Per Million When we set up an aquarium, the best thing we can offer our fishes is to replicate as close as we possibly can o...

Further studies in my research for the relation of carbon dioxide and peat swamp had lead me to more datas confirming this anomaly. Peat swamp or Black waters indeed are starved of oxygen and contains high level of Carbon Dioxide as I've suspected all this while. We take a look at the work of Dina Muthmainnah and Zulkifli Dahlan for the research paper of Biodiversity of lebak deling swamp in Pampangan Indonesia. http://www.innspub.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/JBES-Vol6No6-p324-333.pdf In their research they have tested the black waters from multiple points and the water parameter shown below is of similarity from those that which I did with simple testing, not as sophisticated as I lacked the equipment in doing so The important aspect here is that it confirms that Black waters are indeed low in oxygen and abnormally high in carbon dioxide (CO2). The PH is similar at 4.5PH average and TDS an average of 24PPM which I recorded an average of 25PPM at Terengganu swamp. ...

My recent study of the Channa Marulioides variant Terengganu had got me really curious of this fish and I just have to see their natural habitat for myself of this very special variant  before all is gone. During my arowana days I kept wishing that I was there before the last wild golden Arowana was captured but it was a little too late for that. Too little was done by the authority to preserved the Arowana and it is now a sad history. For the Terengganu var I still have the chance and I will not let this get by. I'm sure many of you are just as curious to see the habitat as well. I spoke to a marulioides collector and explained that I was running a blog and I wish to document the variant's habitat before it goes extinct. After some negotiation they finally invited me for an expedition to Terengganu to document the habitat with a non disclosure agreement especially the exact location point, the capturing technique of adult maru and the baby maru. Also how they transport t...

Swamp Marulioides var Terengganu Size : 3.5" - 4" in black tank So far amongst the 5 tank result No. 1 Black tank white sand (tanning) Back and both side of tank black stickers bottom white sand. This tank shows the strongest in flowers development. 6 fish in this tank and all of them have bloom. 3 is quite intense and 3 has only started to flower. PH4  No. 2 Intermediate tank (tanning) Back dark maroon curtain both side of tank is clear bottom white sand. Morning sunshine hits the tank, this tank shows the 2nd best in flowers development. 7 fish in this tank, 1 is intense, 2 is good, remaining has just started to flower.   PH6 No. 3 White tank (tanning) Back is white background and both side of tank is clear bottom white sand. Morning sunshine hits the tank. This tank is 3rd in flowers development. 6 fish in this tank, 1 is good, 2 is showing flowers, 3 has not started flowering. PH6 No. 4 dark tank Tank is kept in darkness, light is o...