April Showers Bring Fish Fry? Find out Why!

Fluval has a new saltwater nano tank and Centreville Aqurium received them before anyone else. The Evo Saltwater Kit has everything you need to maintain a reef aquarium. The powerful, 10,000 K LED light is perfect for mushrooms, star polyps, and zooanthids. This five gallon tank has a powerful built-in filter that can pump up to 80 gallons of water per hour! This little tank is great for inverts, a dwarf goby, and/or the classic reef fish, a clown fish.

The Current Satellite comes in a wide range of sizes, perfect for 10 gallons to 220 gallons. The Satellite is available in three basic types: The Satellite LED (blue and white light), The Satellite LED + (full spectrum) and the Marine Orbit Pro (strong enough for coral). All three styles have the storm effect. Next time you’re in the store, ask us for a demo!

Many fish keepers strive to create an aquarium that mimics the natural environment of their favorite fish. We all bring a bit of the wild into our homes and enjoy watching fish exhibit natural behaviors. However, one behavior that eludes many, aquarist is fish breeding. Many tropical fish naturally breed during the rainy season. For some fish species, a water change is enough to mimic rainfall. Other species need changes in light, temperature, and food availability, to cue them to mate.

Simulating the rainy season used to require a significant amount of time and effort on the part of the aquarist, but not anymore. The Current Satellite LED has made the entire process so much easier. This light has many different light modes, including morning and evening, lunar lights, cloud cover effects, and, most importantly, storm effects with lightening. These settings will help cue your fish’s internal clocks that mating season is coming.

To cue your fish that the rainy season is on its way, set the light on “cloudy” mode for the first three days of your “rainy season”. On the fourth day, the storm setting will convince the fish the rainy season has begun. Let the storm setting run 8-10 hours a day, for approximately 4 weeks.To finish completing the “rainy season” effect, raise the temperature of the tank to 82-84 degrees Fahrenheit. Increased water changes during this period will give the effect of rain. Add an air stone to your aquarium, and feed your fish a rich diet of frozen of and live foods, to give them energy to mate.

Some of the fish that you may be able to breed using this method include Oscar fish, Discus, Angelfish, and Rainbowfish.

The Australian Rainbowfish is a peaceful schooling fish that we love here at Centreville Aquarium. Native to slow moving rivers in southern Australia, these fish grow to about four inches. During mating season, males display vibrant blue, orange, and red hues. Like many of the fish mentioned above, Australian Rainbows breed during the rainy season, and can be bred with the help of the Current Satellite LED. These fish are ideal for communities of small fish, as they are not aggressive towards other species, regardless of their large size.

If the Australian Rainbow is not your style, remember that rainbow fish, which are all native to Australia, come in a wide range of sizes of colors. From the threadfin rainbow (top right) to the praecox rainbow (bottom), or the Bosemoni rainbow (top left).

While Rainbow fish are as beautiful and colorful as saltwater fish, they are also incredibly hardy. Rainbows are very disease resistant, and can handle a wide range of pH.