Pet Advice

Do I need aquarium lighting for my pet fish?
To some people aquarium lighting for a pet fish seems a bit like adding a neon sign to a lemonade stand. It seems like overkill and wasted money. Yet is there a real reason to use aquarium lighting? Is it important to keep my fish healthy and under ethically fair conditions?The fact is that there are a lot of reasons that almost every serious fish-owner thinks about tank lighting. Of course there is the aesthetic element. It makes the fish look good.You simply cannot see the beauty of many fish in the dark. Their color is only revealed when light bounces off their reflective scales. If you’re going to pay good money for a nice fish and a healthy large aquarium then you want to make sure that you can see it!Aquarium lighting is what takes “just a fish” and turns it into a conversation starter or a tasteful decoration.Yet, there is a more important aspect to aquarium lighting. Most fish require it for health reasons. The lighting that a fish is under can affect many of the bodily systems including the reproductive organs. Also, the regularity and strength of light can affect a fish’s stress levels.Fish need around 12 hours of lighting per day to ensure that the tank conditions are as similar to natural conditions as possible. The lighting needs to be consistent as inconsistent lighting can cause stress in fish and lead to health problems. Timers can be bought to ensure that this is easily maintained.Remember that fish cannot close their eyes and so the twelve hours a day of lighting should be during day time when they are awake. At night the lighting should go off in order for them to sleep.Also, you need to make sure that lighting is as similar to natural light as possible; fluorescent lighting needs to be used. Flames and household light bulbs are no good; you need fluorescent lights which are to be replaced every eight months.A general rule is that your aquarium needs 2.5 watts per each gallon of volume. However, if you are planning on keeping live coral or rocks in your aquarium then the lighting requirements are far higher and you may need up to 8 watts per gallon.Also, many corals and marine plants require “full spectrum” fluorescent light. This is fairly hard to explain but research the plant that you are planning on buying and ensure that you have the right lighting. You don’t have to know how it works to work it.However, if you don’t have coral or plant life then you might want to consider a “color-enhancing light”. These can be used in freshwater or saltwater tanks and have a yellow or pink hue so as to make a real feature of your fish’s colors.The pitfalls of a badly lit aquarium are too much unwanted algae growth and indirectly will affect the CO2 and nutrient levels in your tank and so it is definitely an aspect of your aquarium to take seriously.I hope that this article has helped you to consider this issue fully. If you are looking for a place to purchase aquarium lighting then I highly recommend:http://www.desertcoralaquatics.com Feel free to distribute and host this article wherever you please and free of charge as long as none of its content is changed. For more infromation about search engine optimization please visit: <a href=http://www.desertcoralaquatics.com>http://www.desertcoralaquatics.com</a>
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Learning The Basic Commands Of Dog Training
Wanting a calm and obedient dog is important for a dog owner for a number of reasons. Well-trained and obedient dogs are often happier and less aggressive with other dogs and people. The law is another reason for a well-trained dog; many cities have ordinances requiring properly behaved dogs. This is true for certain breeds that are reputed to have aggression and other behavior issues, such as Pit Bulls and Rottweilers. Training your dog well will make him a much better family companion, especially if you have children. Studies show that basic dog training can help to lower the number of dog bites and other bad behaviors. If you are thinking about training your dog or enlisting the help of a professional, there are certain basic commands that you and the dog should learn well in order for the dog to be considered trained. These basic commands are: ? Heel ? it is important a dog learn to walk next to his owner on a loose leash, without pulling or being pulled ? Respond to ?No? ? This can save you and your dog a lot of trouble. ? Sit ? This command is very basic and one of the most important. ? Stay ? A well-trained dog should learn to stay where you tell him. ? Down ? More than just a cute trick, down is a key element of a basic dog training program. There is more to dog training than teaching obedience. Training your dog can help to create and strengthen your bond. Because dogs are pack animals by nature, they look to a leader for guidance. The key to successful dog training is to make sure you are the leader. Establishing yourself as pack leader to your dog is very important. Each dog pack only has one leader, and in your case, it must be you, the human. Without this, there will be many behavior issues to deal with. A well-trained dog will respond to all of your commands, and will not be anxious, confused, or belligerent. Any good dog training program focuses on teaching the dog what is expected of him, and will utilize positive reinforcement to reward desired behaviors. Obedience training is not only great for you, but it helps your dog as well. It fulfills his need for physical activity, security, and trust between you and him. Dog training provides your dog with an important task, and a goal to reach. Giving the dog a job can be crucial to his well-being. Dogs were originally bred by humans complete important tasks with them and for them. Most dogs today are merely pets, and have no important job to do. This can lead to boredom and bad behavior. Basic obedience training, along with constant reinforcement of the commands can provide the dog with a task. This is particularly crucial for high-energy breeds such as German Shepherds and Border Collies. Conducting training sessions with breeds such as these is ideal for letting these high-energy dogs expend their energy and have fun with you at the same time. Making your training sessions fun is a great way to prevent boredom for both you and the dog. Playing with your dog while training him strengthen the bond of love and trust between you ? the pack leader ? and your dog. To learn more about the basic commands for <a href="http://www.great-dog-training.info">dog training</a> and other dog training techniques visit <a href="http://www.greatdogtraining.info">http://www.greatdogtraining.info</a>
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How to train your goldfish to commands; is that possible?!
It turns out that all of the old stories about fish having three second memories are untrue.During recent scientific studies, fish have been taught many long-term skills that they are capable of remembering over the course of many months.Dr Phil Gee from the University of Plymouth says,”Research has also shown that fish can learn to distinguish between different shapes, colors and sounds. They can even learn that pressing a lever will dispense food at certain times of the day.”The applications of this newfound skill are still being explored but fish farmers are set to capitalize on it by training fish to swim to feeding stations.Hang on a second and read the results before I teach you how it’s done.At a certain time of day, every day, the fish will respond to a specific, pre-trained noise and all swim to the same place in a lake. This even works when the fish are in open water, free to roam as they please.This system is using fish’s intelligence to better improve their quality of life and at the same time keep the animal rights activists at bay. The fact that fish can be reliably trained to be called on command for feeding and monitoring means that the fish farmers can now keep the fish without using cages.– So how exactly do I go about training a fish? What can I teach it to do?The most basic way of training a fish to perform a task would be through what psychologists call “Operant Conditioning”. It means that the fish will learn how to operate a simple device simply because when by chance they do operate it they get a reward.A basic type of operant conditioning device for fish is a small box with a sensitive lever that will dispense food when the lever is pressed. To see a video of a fish doing this go here: http://www.psy.plymouth.ac.uk/fish/ Download the video and watch.You see the fish operating a very sensitive form of lever rigged to a food dispensing device. With a little bit of thought, something similar would not be difficult to make.You can buy fish food dispensers with small levers online and the idea is that a fish learns to use it through trial and error. At some point a fish will accidentally make the dispenser work and will receive the reward of food. The reward entices the fish to perform the same behaviors as the first time and receive the reward again at a later time.At this point the fish is trained to use the lever.Conditioning a fish to respond to a command is a slightly different task. One of your options is to wait until you see your fish performing the behavior that you want, perform the trigger (e.g. a unique noise like a bell) and give your fish a reward (e.g. food). Over time, if you do this while giving your fish a reward one in three of the times that this works then your fish will become conditioned to respond to the noise in this way.For more complicated behaviors that your fish does not already use then do the same as above only in stages building up to the final behavior. For example, condition your fish to swim forwards on command, and then swim backwards on a different command until you have trained it to do laps.The principals of classical conditioning hold that this will always work the same way it does with dogs and the dolphins that you see in sea world.I hope that this article has at least been interesting for you to read and maybe given a few hobbyists some ideas for their fish.If, by any chance, you are a fish-owner looking for fish related supplies for decent prices online then I highly recommend http://www.desertcoralaquatics.com”With literally thousands of items in stock and ready to ship, you can be assured that you ll receive what you need quickly. See us for aquarium lighting, aquarium filters, aquarium chillers, external water pumps, tank heaters, protein skimmers and so much more. We carry all the top brands with the best prices you ll find anywhere online. Shop in our convenient online store for brands like Mag-drive, Kent Marine, E.S.V., Dolphin Pumps, JBJ, Aqua Logic, Ice Cap, Aqua Medic Lighting, Sunlight Lighting, Current USA, Neptune Systems and other leading quality brands.” Feel free to distribute and host this article wherever you please and free of charge as long as none of its content is changed. For more infromation about search engine optimization please visit:<a href=http://www.desercoralaquatics.com>HERE</a>
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