Not a rant, a ramble through my love of our wonderful hobby. 

Don't forget to check out the website www.tropicalfishkeeping.co.uk 

The Don't Pet Me campaign has come out and seems to be saying that the fishkeeping hobby should be subjected to a positive list, and heavily restricted. It seems that we aren't capable of keeping fish without significant welfare issues. Join me for my thoughts on these ridiculous ideas, and even though many might think this is targeted at primates, and big cats, fish keeping is the area really at risk. 

Do you love the look of planted tanks, or know how much they can add to your tank in terms or removing nitrates, and enrichment for your fish. But the cost is just too much. Well here are some ideas on how to start keeping plants without blowing the budget. 

The much loved Siamese fighting fish, or the betta is a great fish to consider, today we dive into the species to give you some more information. 

So what is in water that will impact our fish? Let's have a look at what's in our water and how it gets there. Why is this important? How can we protect our fish? 

Want to find our socials? 

Patreon 

https://www.patreon.com/tropicalfishkeepinguk

UK Facebook Group -Tropical Fish Keeping UK 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/TropicalFishKeepingUK

International Facebook Group - Tropical Fish Keeping 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/tropicalfishkeepingint

Instagram 

https://www.instagram.com/tropicalfishkeepinguk/

Website 

www.tropicalfishkeeping.co.uk

Want to save some money, and make things healthier for your fish, then have a look around your house for things you can feed to your fish. 

One of my favourite little fish, the guppy is a great addition to the right set up, but all too often they're not kept right, the adults are cheaply bought from the pet store, and no selection on the fry that are born. 

Plants can be an amazing part of any tank, and the hobby of fish keeping, but it can be expensive and intimidating to get into. Here's a way of dipping a toe in the water, and hopefully something that's nice and easy. 

Swimbladder is commonly diagnosed disease, but it doesn't exist. There's a lot more to that word than a simple disorder. 

Community fish? What does that mean, can all community fish live together, or is there more to it/

The first thing you put in, but quite possibly the last thing you think about. Substrate might be the biggest problem you have or the start of a stunning aquascape. 

Fish welfare lags far behind every other types of welfare, and today when I'm feeling rotten after taking a wolfhound to the chest, it's something I can chat about. 

Join me on a rant about the things that people say in the comments, and why so often they are just plain old wrong. 

Ammonia is deadly. Nitrites are Deadly. But Nitrate is safe right, no afraid not, but what can you do? 

Which is the most important, quick results or fish welfare. 

With Florida looking to introduce white lists I have a ramble on about what this could mean, and what this means for our hobby. 

A gill-bearing aquatic animal right? Not really there's a load of fish that don't obey the rules. 

In 1976 the Royal Aquarium opened, the fact they didn't have any fish seems to be the least of their issues, dead whales, serial killers, and so much more. 

What is a fish? An aquatic animal with gills, but what if they decide to climb out of water, which species do this, and why?

Sorry I dove into the science, and I may have gone too far, but there's a fair bit here that you need to know about your tank, and what's going on. 

Some fish live in the extremes, so why can't modern day fish start the adaptation to living in warmer waters that dry up seasonally. 

We tend to rant about how bad genetic modification is, and these fish are illegal in many countries, but are they the worst thing in the hobby?

You bring a new fish home, is it safe and healthy to go into your tank? How do you prevent an expensive mistake?

Part two of looking at livebearers, looking not only just at Goodieds, but also the conservation projects around them. There's some diversions down different streams of thought, but I get there in the end. 

BBC Earths' new video on the Impact of Keeping Exotic Fish, under the Dan O'Neill Investigates banner sets out to make fish keeping sound like a dark web trade that is driving species to extinction. Can you imagine my response, well imagine no longer as here are my thoughts, I got a little angry at the end. 

Should we all be buying captive-bred fish, or should we be putting wild caught into our tanks? Are we driving fish to extinction, or is captive farms industrial nightmares for fish? The topic isn't straightforward and it is contentious, and as ever I have my opinions. 

Are fish considered lucky? What stories do we tell. I couldn't resist heading towards Loch Ness to discuss the fish of legend. 

Sorry for the depressing topic, but a bad news day got me thinking. How many people have a plan in case the worst should happen. What happens to your fish if suddenly you can't be there for them. 

It's getting expensive in all walks of life, and fish keeping is no exception, here are 5 areas to look at to save money, avoiding buying things you don't need, and wasting money on false economy. 

It's not as easy as buying a pot of flake and sprinkling in as much as they will eat in 3 minutes any more. 

But how far will we go in terms of welfare and care, what will we think of our care in another 50 years. A quick look at where fish keeping started, and where we are today. 

In 2003 the Tequila Splitfin was extinct in the wild, but since then a team at Michoacán University of Mexico, with brood stock from Chester Zoo, and help from their team, have reintroduced 1500 to springs in the Teuchitlán River in the state of Jalisco in south west Mexico. Against all the odds they seem to be thriving. 

Want to support us and keep this podcast going? 

https://www.patreon.com/tropicalfishkeepinguk

Every little helps, and I'm starting to up load the real rants over there ;) 

Want to support freshwater conservation?

https://www.chesterzoo.org/news/preventing-extinction-in-mexico/

https://shoalconservation.org/

https://freshwaterlifeproject.org/

 Neon tetras, evolved to confuse predators with their mirror silver sides, and to show off to others of their own kind with the stunning blue and red stripes. One of the prettiest fish you can imagine, but so often kept in conditions they haven't evolved in. 

 Normally susceptible to disease if you choose your stock carefully and keep them in the right conditions, you have a great fish. 

What's wrong with picking any fish we like, there's quite a bit, and trust me I'll go into the whys and whats, plus the time I almost got eaten by a shark. 

Livebearers are fascinating fish, from the humble Guppy that graces so many of our tanks, through to less well known species, but there's a lot more than meets the eye. Come and join me as I dive into the world of livebearers. 

So we often say that the hobby can help in conservation world wide, but does it? How can we help? 

Buying baby fish is a part of fish keeping, but do we think about the adult size? It's a crucial part of fish keeping that seems to be over looked. 

I've decided that fish store staff must be saints. Here are a round up of stories that staff have shared with me today. I'm not sure I wanted to hear all the issues they face. I think I need to go and try and forget that humans exist. 

The first of the daily podcasts, with news, info, and the usual rants when I get on to a favourite topic or two. It's not all about keeping fish, but stuff that might interest fish keepers. 

A daily round up of the stories I've come across, science info, and things about fish keeping that I think you might be interested in. 

 Today we look at who I am, some fishy news, and why today is an important anniversary for Tropical Fish Keeping UK. 

Welcome back to the irregularly scheduled rants, this is a topic that gets me so angry, and I can see the issues that are facing the industry. But we as keepers can make choices, and even if that isn't the same choice that others make it will still matter to the fish you keep. 

Welcome back to the final part of the question, what are your parameters. This time we are looking at hardness and phosphates, and then that is it for analytical chemistry for a while. 

So dive in and learn a little more. I'm aware we've done hardness in another episode, but it never hurts to revisit this topic. 

Continuing looking at the water tests that should be a regular part of your fish keeping, looking at nitrates and pH. For beginners and more experienced aquarist alike. 

Nitrates are so often miunderstood, they're seen as being completely safe, but in fact they are deadly at higher concentrations. 

What are your parameters is a question I ask far too often. Most issues in fish keeping can be traced back to issues with our water, so when trying to help I will ask that question. 

But what do I mean, what are I refering to when I ask that question? What is ammonia and why is it an issue, why do we want to know. Where does ammonia and nitrite come from, and what harm do they cause? 

 This is for those just starting out, and for more experienced aquarists, hopefully there will be something interesting for everyone. 

Ruth McDonald has been keeping fish for over two decades now, and has been researching fish since her master thesis into what fish eat dead bodies took a turn into what fish like to eat. She's taught at university level, and has been running Tropical Fish Keeping UK for 10 years. 

According to a recent article 90% of aquarium fish are wild caught, and that's destroying the ocean. Is this even close to the truth? And are wild caught fish even an issue that the aquarists need to be concerned about? 

The first episode back after an unplanned break Ruth explores something that she's passionate about. How aquarists can use their hobby as a real conservation tool. 

There seems to be a multitude of ways that your fish tank can if not kill you, at least do you a serious mischeif. 

 Let's have a quick run down of the main dangers and how you can avoid some of them. Please forgive me having a cold and sounding more stuffy than normally. Normal service should resume soon enough. 

You can find out more info at www.tropicalfishkeeping.co.uk 

This rant is brought to you by frustration, so much that my darling assistance dog told me my blood pressure was off part way through. Listen to the rant. You'll understand. 

 The dog world has brought out a set of standards for dog breeding, and in this rant about that, I lay outr some standards we also should use. 

Okay follow me on a journey into my favourtie fish, or group of fish. Cichlids. From Rift Lake Cichlids to South American, and all the rest. 

Apologies for the wrandom noises. I'm not feeling up to rerecording it, and I messed up a bit, I will do better next time. 

Let's leave the cold wet winter behind and head to the tropics, the Amazon River Basin to be exact, looking at the cichlids that occupy the reaches of the river, specifically the discus. Often thought to be the king of cichlids, or even fish, there is far more than you might think to those stunning fih. 

Wnat to hear what is getting me very angry? Yes? Great here it is. Enjoy. 

Continuing our journey around South America looking at Cichlids, Today we join Alfred Russel Wallace in one of the most harrowing parts of his adventures, and then look at Pike cichlids, and one decent alternative.