SIPHON, SCRAPPER AND NET

Siphon

Siphon-Python No Spill Clean N'Fill Porter

Siphon-Python Gravel vaccum

Automatic water changer

Vaccum Cleaner-Multi vac

   This I would rate as one of the most important accessory for a fish keeper. The siphon can be a simple transparent plastic hose pipe of 1/2 inch diameter. You can attach a small plastic bottle of about 1/2 inch diameter at the mouth and about 1 inch at the bottom and about 3 inches long. Medicine bottles of plastic type are the best for this purpose. You can cut away the bottom and attach the 1/2 inch mouth to the hose pipe. This can be done with a small adaptor or if you can find a bottle that can fit into the hose pipe it is the best. The wider part with the cut section acts as a good siphon. There are also ready made siphons which can suck water and dirt without sucking the gravel but are a bit expensive. You will need the hose pipe to suck the old water away and feed new water into the tank. This hose has to be attached to the readymade siphon you buy. If you do not have gravel at the bottom, just simple hose pipe is enough. Now to suck out the water the most easy method is insert one end of the hose into the tank, clip it to the side. The other end you connect to the water tap in the bathroom. Open the tap and the water will start filling the tank, once the hose is full of water, close the water tap, remove the hose from the water tap and put it down near the drain. Due to gravity and negative pressure, the water drains through the hose continuously. Be careful with this method as any fish coming near the hose can get sucked into it or can get hurt very badly, for the suction pressure is quite high. Once my Oranda gold fish came near the end of the hose and got caught by the suction, it lost a bit of its crown and luckily it grew back soon, but it can be very nasty. I would recommend having a small net and wrapping it around the end of the hose dipped inside the tank. Once you have water running out you can go through the gravel at the bottom with the siphon and start sucking out the debris that are collected below the gravel surface. You can push the siphon into the sand and go through it by swirling the sand inside the siphon. The gravel does not get sucked as the opening is quite big about 1 inch at the siphon end, but all dirt will get sucked out. Commercially also siphons are available and you can simply buy these if you are not enterprising or have enough money to spend. There are also commercial automatic water changers which do not need power or manual labour. These are good provided you have much money. But the pleasure you get by wetting your hands will be lost.

Glass scapper

Glass scrapper

Glass scrapper

   There are commercial scrappers available, but the best is a razor blade and a sponge which is used for cleaning utensils in the kitchen sink. But do not use the ones used in the kitchen. You must keep one separately for the fish and never mix them up as it can be bad for both humans and for fish. Keep the blades out of reach of the children. Commercial scrappers come with a long handle and you can do the cleaning without getting your hands wet. But I would rather get my hands wet and that is where the real fun is. Razor blades are useful for removing salt sedimentation and algae growth at the glass surface. But if deposits are not much a sponge can do the job well. Using the razor also is risky in the sense that you might cause an accidental cut into the silicone glue at the sides and could result in leaks in the long run. So use razor carefully.

Fish Nets

Fish Nets

   Here comes one of the important items. Buy a net large enough to hold the biggest fish you ever want to keep. The best is to have at least two nets, one small and a big one. Nets made of smooth material and with a close knitting is the best. The fish should not get their fins entangled in the netting. Small nets should preferably be of nylon type with very fine mesh size.

Tongs

Tongs

Tongs

   These are useful if you want to plant some new plants without getting your hands wet and without disturbing the gravel setup much. Can also be used to pull out dead fish, plants, leaves etc.. out of the tank. Quite handy but again not a must if you are willing to dip your hands inside.

Air stones

Air Stone- Linear

Air Stone- Circular

   These are handy for providing additional aeration to the tank and also create some decorative air bubble flow in the tank. A must. These are very cheap to buy. Air stones can be kept hidden under the gravel or rockworks to create a good show of air stream rising up. Some fishes like Danios love to play around it. Air stones are available in long and short pieces as well as circular ring shape.

Breeding Accessories

Breeding Trap

Breeding Mop

   These are essential if you are planning some serious breeding programs. However for large scale breeding quite a different set up is necessary and beyond the scope of my description here. For further explanation please refer to breeding section of this website.

Auto feeders

Auto Feeder -Nutramatic

Auto Feeder -EHEIM 3581

Auto Feeder -Life Guard

  This is very handy if you are in the habit of travelling a lot and have no one to take care of feeding the fish in your absence. Auto feeders come as purely mechanical feeders as well as battery or current operated. Mechanical or current operated ones are better as the chances of failure due to low battery will not be there. The number of feeds per day and amount feed can be programmed by simple knobs. Auto feeders come with transparent container for feed level monitoring and with ventilation for keeping the food dry. Suitable for flakes and granular food. Some have low battery indication.