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As of today, February 9, 2012, we are not accepting new aquarium service accounts at this time. Between pond service
and honeybee services we don't have the time. Our existing accounts already have all fish diseases cleared, stock was
quarantined, and customers know what to expect from us, we know what to expect from them. Freshwater aquarium service starts at a base price of $65.00 per visit. Some of the smaller aquariums we service cost less, but drive time (and gas) does enter the equation. Most freshwater systems do quite well with one visit a month, and if the filtration or other things need improved to make them more stable, that can be done reasonably, saving you money (and fish) in the long run. We quarantine all fish that we deliver, and sell them at a price comparable to your local pet store. If you already have fish, and some are dying each month, it is possible that a hidden disease is running through your aquarium, and before we deliver new fish, we would address the existing problem. (For tips and information on how to maintain your own aquarium, visit Everything Fishy's Murphy
page, and FishNotes page. For quality maintenance supplies, check out the Maintenance
Supplies page. Thanks for visiting.) If you are in the Fort Worth, Texas area and would like to purchase an
aquarium, need regular aquarium maintenance, or a one time call to straighten out your tank, please give us a call
at 817-293-1782 or toll free at 877-291-9734. To look at more aquariums we service and decorate, click here.
Standard tank dimensions / gallons / liters. A nice aquarium doesn't have to be a marine reef, and freshwater is much less expensive - from the cost of equipment, the cost of supplies, to a HUGE difference in the price of fish. Freshwater can also be stocked more heavily, so you get more appearance of fish. In many situations, a freshwater tank is much better suited to the environmental conditions. A freshwater aquarium is more suitable in any location that may have unsupervised children visiting occasionally. While freshwater fish are rarely as brightly colored as saltwater, they are far easier to keep alive and enjoy. A freshwater aquarium is less expensive to set up, and to maintain, even if the freshwater fish are exotic species, because the chemistry is simpler.
Sunset platies, red hook silver dollars, a white hi-fin tetra who survived the dye process that made him a blueberry tetra, and a geophagus surinamensis. The other fish are still in hiding, but this is going a little better. Fish photos are copyrighted and not for commercial use without licensing.
Bottom left, Silver Dollars and Moonlight Gourami female.
Keeping Murphy Out Of Your Aquarium
excerpts on the internet. Beginner to Intermediate fishkeeping and maintenance instructions, tips and techniques.
Advanced books come out when they get written. Email quote aquarium tips are on the
Fishnote page. |
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 An african cichlid tank has many things in common with marine tanks. One, the pH is high
(7.6 to 8.6), the water is hard and contains salt. But rock salt or free-running salt from the grocery store will
suffice. Two, the fish are very territorial. (Unlike Oscars though, they don't eat each other. They just strongly
defend their territory.) This means that stocking an African tank is much like stocking a marine tank. If you put
in the number of cichlids that your filter will support, you will end up with dead fish, not from ammonia or nitrites,
from aggression and stress. While you may run a large number of baby africans in a small tank, or a few baby africans
in with community fish, once they approach 1/2 of adult size, you'd better thin them out. I've ended up with 6
tanks of africans in my house during the thinning process. I just reduced that to 3 today, by selling all of my
(still living) adult males, and most of my adult females. Africans really require a larger tank than I can devote
to them right now, and even males of different species will bully each other, sometimes to death. My main disappointment
with cichlid tanks comes from looking at a tank and not seeing any fish. The fish spend a fair amount of time hiding
in the rocks, behind pumps, etc. So, I aimed for artistic rockwork designed to divide this tank up. I am putting
electric yellow labidos in it, since they will rearrange the rockwork less than some of their cousins.
My p. lombardoi took a year to identify, because I thought he was a p. zebra, and yellow is female in zebras. His behavior, and every book the library had, finally helped me identify him as a male, and by species.
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Aquarium Sales have been discontinued. We do not have a store, where you
can come in and browse, and we do not ship aquariums. In the DFW area, we suggest that you purchase your aquarium,
stand and light in a combo offered by a small local fish store, they need your support.
We will stock your freshwater aquarium with healthy cycling stock, and depending on your choice
of fish, may be able to quarantine your selections so that they are ready for installation when your tank is ready for them.
Call or email
for a current quote.
We sold and delivered this aquarium in May 2000, and we still service it in Feb 2010. The silver dollar, one of the original fish is still alive. (The Red tailed shark died of old age last year, and one of the bala sharks is gone, etc.) We run a good quarantine. Monthly maintenance extra, but available if desired.
Left: The front of the waterfall, facing the entrance door. 2nd left, the back of the falls. A piece of slate and silk pothos hide the working parts. An indoor turtle pond in an office building, home to 3 red-eared sliders. We need to start taking "before" pictures. Originally the filter was visible and not very attractive, and large lava rocks with rough edges were the only available basking spots for the turtles. All plants, rockwork, filtration, including the miniature waterfall, is our 're-do', but the pump and some parts were re-used, to hold costs down. Our preliminary arrangement featured a very rocky base, without adequate swim-throughs for fish, and we felt that it displaced too much water from the eco-system. This has been remedied, but new photos haven't been taken yet.
View from 2nd story balcony:
An Exploring Turtle, the male.
Monthly maintenance on your freshwater tank will help to keep it, and your fish, healthy and attractive. For a water test and estimate on maintenance for your tank, email your request to: Everything Fishy or call 817-293-1782 or toll free(877) 291-9734 between 9 am and 9 pm, Monday thru Saturday. Maintenance service area: Limited to an area within 30 miles of Fort Worth, Texas. This covers most of the Dallas - Fort Worth area. A trip charge can be negotiated for tanks outside this range.
We answer emergency calls as quickly as possible. Often we can tell you, by phone, what to do to temporarily rescue your fish until we can get there. Everything Fishy's telephone number is 817-293-1782 or toll free 877-291-9734. Our hours are essentially 9:00 a.m. to sundown. If we're out on a job you will get an answering machine. Because we may be out for several hours, it can be an hour or 2 before we check in. If you get the machine and have an emergency, call the cell, toll free at 877-291-9734 and leave a voicemail.
Aquarium size: We maintain aquariums from 10 gallons up, freshwater only as of 2010. Minimum maintenance fee: $65.00 per month. Basically, $1.00 per gallon on freshwater tanks larger than 65 gallons, plus a trip charge dependent upon distance. (Thank gas prices for this price hike.) Specialty tanks negotiable. Rates vary depending upon location, size, access and maintenance required. A freshwater tank containing discus may be more or less expensive to maintain than a marine tank.
Aquatics information, photographs, articles Copyright © 1999 - 2011 by Alice Burkhart, All Rights Reserved.
A beautiful, healthy
aquarium can provide a brilliant, quiet focal point in your business waiting area or your home.
The camera that takes the best freshwater photos is definitely one
without a flash. Today's results were much better, using a camera that takes photos and saves them to disk. Thanks
to Jan for the use of her camera and expertise.The fish are:
A
male m. interruptus is always on the move. These aren't the greatest pictures, but he was on his way to the pet
store for the murder of my albino zebra male. I have several of his sons.For real african cichlid buffs: melanochromis
interruptus females aren't always yellow. Their black and blue coloration is not as striking as the male's but
only part of my females were lighter in color, and none were yellow. The only definite way to sex these fish seems
to be the egg spots on the anal fin, which appear when the male is 1/2 his adult size.
