Blue crayfish (Procambarus alleni)

Also: Florida crayfish

Family: Cambaridae.

Characteristic: Male has two extra short appendages at the rear of the back legs. Female has none. In the aquarium can grow up 5 inch (13 cm).

Tank and water: 20 Gallons (75.7 Liters), Ph 7 -7.5, 65 - 75°F (18.3 - 23.9°C)

Care: They like to burrow and hide in caves. They can live in the aquarium, as long as there are not other bottom dwellers or expensive fish. These creatures are scavengers as well as hunters. They clean up the bottom the tank, but will also grab at a passing fish too. They too can be eaten by fish. A large oscar, for example, would consider it for lunch. When they molt their protective shell they are vulnerable to smaller fish also.
Crayfish are great escape artists and will try to climb out of the tank, so any holes in the hood should be covered.
Feed food which is high in Iodine as this helps it moult. Kelp tablets are one source.

Illness: It can be affected by a leach worm kind called Branchiobdellida. This is not dangerous for the crayfish and can be removed rinsing and scrubbing with a soft toothbrush under tank temperature water.

Compatibility: With any medium size fish.

Personal note:

Tennessee Aquarium

This is the aquarium in Chattanooga Tn. we visited few weeks ago. It is a beautiful place surrounding by a lot of nice restaurant and stores. The aquarium is separated in three buildings, one for salt water, fresh water and the Imax 3D Theater. This last it's amazing, whit a screen the size of a football field and real 3D it's amazing. I'm looking to come back next month to watch Beowulf. There is a special store call Candyland that Michelle loved, and she remembered from a visit some years ago. They have a lot of different kind of candies and they charge by pound. We spend $30 in candy here, but it last all the way back home and more.

Georgia Aquarium

This Wednesday we had to travel to Atlanta for other business and we toke the chance to visit the aquarium during a weekday where is not too crowed.

This aquarium claim to be one of the biggest in the world. It have 4 different sections including a gigantic tank of 6,300,000 gallon (23.848.090 liters).

It well worth a trip to exclusively visit it.

New video of the Betta Splendens

This fish is very shy, so was difficult to record it today. What we got for now is just this 10 seconds video. We will try to get something better in the future.

New fish and plant

Today we put in the big tank the new Betta and the three Otocinclus we got last week.
The 55 gallon tank is plenty of Platy fry and the plants are growing very well. I am removing all Mondo Grass from the aquariums as it is not a real underwater plant. It doesn’t grow well there.

The 10 Gallon tank is empty now, so we will left it for fry or hospital.

Today we made the profile for the Betta Splendens and a new plant we got; Baby Tears. Tomorrow we will post some original pictures of the aquarium with its new inhabitants.

Baby Tears (Hemianthus micranthemoides)

 
Source Fishprofiles.com

Water: 66-82 °F (18-28 °C), pH 5-8, 1-18 dCH 

Size: 4-12 inch (10-30 cm) Height, 2-12 inch (5-10 cm) Width.

Light: Moderate to Strong Light

Characteristics:

This is a nice stem plant from Central America. It is fast growing and requires therefore relatively high light and a nutrient rich substrate. It is also a valuable plant in terrariums where it forms a beautiful carpet at the land water border. The plant is easily reproduced by cutting off the apex which is replanted in the substrate

Siamese Fighting Fish (Betta Splendens)

Family: Fighting fish, Osphoronemidae

Characteristic: 2.4 in (6 cm), male more colorful and longer-finned.

Tank and water: 12 Gal (45 Lt), pH 5.5-9.5, 76-83 F (24-28 C)

Care: Keep in pairs in densely planted tank furnished with floating plants. Males, especially cultivated forms, very aggresive toward each other. Keeping males singly in glasses, as was once custom, is animal cruelty!

Habits: Surface fish found in weed-filled waters in Thailand, where probably eats chiefty insects larvae.

Compatibility: With small barbs and bottom fish.

Personal note: This fish should be peaceful along other community fish, like guppies and platies.