Tag: aquasnails

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VIMI Reminamin – a balanced approach

vimi reminamin 250g

Depending on the type of aquatic plants that you keep, you may already be using Reverse Osmosis (RO) water and/or Deionized (DI) water. However, you should not overlook the need to add minerals back as plants (and even livestock) won’t do well otherwise.

One way of doing that is to use remineralisation powders – like VIMI Reminamin. This is a mixture of minerals ideal suited for RO (reverse osmosis) or DI (deionized) water to grow aquatic plants. Composition involves additional substances which increase aquarium plants resistance to stress when the conditions in aquarium change quickly. Safe for aquarium fish and invertebrates. Sodium (Na) salt free.

What are the advantages?

Its composition involves minerals, amino acids and other substances which increase aquarium plants’ resistance to stress when the conditions in aquarium change quickly, stimulates faster recovery after transplantation, cutting, fast change of aquarium conditions during the water change.

Calcium (Ca) to Magnesium (Mg) ratio is ideal for aquatic plants demand. Composition involves potassium (K) so there is less need of additional supplement of this element. Composition is Sodium (Na) free, which can stop healthy plant development.

The product has a balanced amount of carbonate hardness necessary for healthy plant growth. VIMI Reminamin composition involves essential micronutrients as well: iron, chloride (not chlorine), manganese and others.

Due to its special manufacturing technology, VIMI Reminamin is particularly readily soluble in water.

For more information on composition, dosage and other properties, take a look at the Product here.

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The stunning Tiger Tower Snail

Tiger tower snail (filopaludina sumatrensis polygramma)

We are pleased to inform you that we have received a beautiful consignment of tiger tower snails – another Viviparidae species. It is the first time that we have these snails – they are live-bearing, peaceful, plant-safe snails that love powdered food and soft algae paste. They are best housed with other peaceful inhabitants like vampire shrimps, clams, neocaridina shrimps.

They grow to a maximum of 4cm and are most commonly found in the aquarium trade at anything between 1.5 and 3 cm.

Take a look at some of the pictures below and check them out at the shop here: Tiger Tower Snails.

  • Tiger tower snail (filopaludina sumatrensis polygramma)
  • Tiger tower snail (filopaludina sumatrensis polygramma)
  • Tiger tower snail (filopaludina sumatrensis polygramma)
  • Tiger tower snail (filopaludina sumatrensis polygramma)

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The Bros are back!

Brotias

We have received a very limited but beautiful selection of Brotia snails. These peaceful live-bearing snails are some of the larger snails that you can have in a freshwater tank (their full size may exceed 7cm). Both species are considered to be plant-safe and are a treat to the eye! 🙂

They love a good piece of wood and leaf litter to match and thrive on eating Aquapoda 100% Natural Premium Food Sticks and love a good soft paste food.

Take a look for yourself below and follow the links at the bottom of this post to read more about them.

  • brotia herculea
    Brotia herculea
  • brotia herculea
    Brotia herculea
  • Brotia pagodula
  • Brotia pagodula

A very limited amount (<5) of each species is available from our online shop – Brotia herculea and Brotia pagodula.

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Thou shall not pass!

Aquapoda prefilter options

How many times have you opened your hang-on back filter or your external canister filter to clean it and find shrimplets, fish fry or any other tiny creatures you breed or keep in there? A common occurrence, right?

Specifically for shrimp keepers, it seems to be quite challenging to find filter intakes that are the right size to avoid this problem. More often than not, we have to resort to two types of pre-filter sponges or sieves/guards that cover the intake pipes.

Speaking of pipes, we also love to use these when doing water changes for the exact same reason. I don’t want to grow shrimps or fish in my dirty water change tank (which I incidentally use to water my garden as plants live nitrates – win-win :-))

While some manufacturers provide add-on sieves, mesh guards or sponge foam, we found that a simple (and cheap) generic alternative will do the job well for most commonly used pipe sizes.

If you visit our AquaSnails shop, you will find two types of useful product for this purpose

Aquapoda Pre-filter Sponge Foam

Aquapoda Pre-filter sponge foam that is available in two sizes: 15mm and 22mm.

Aquapoda Stainless Steel Pre-Filter Filter Guards

  • Aquapoda Stainless Steel Pre-filter Shrimp Guard
  • Aquapoda Stainless Steel Pre-filter Shrimp Guard
  • Aquapoda Stainless Steel Pre-filter Shrimp Guard - 12mm
  • Aquapoda Stainless Steel Pre-filter Shrimp Guard - 16mm
  • Aquapoda Stainless Steel Pre-filter Shrimp Guard

These filter guards are sturdier options with a very fine mesh that makes them perfect for shrimp breeding tanks.

They are available in two sizes: 12mm and 16mm.

If you do need some additional supplies (J-Pipes, U-pipes, flexible pipes, taps, etc…), take a look at our Accessories section in the Aquasnails shop.

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White Cloud Mountain Minnow

white cloud mountain minnow

The White Cloud Mountain minnow (Tanichthys albonubes) is a hardy species of freshwater fish and coldwater fish often kept in an aquarium.

The species is a member of the carp family (family Cyprinidae) of the order Cypriniformes native to China.

The White Cloud Mountain minnow is practically extinct in its native habitat, due to pollution and tourism. It was believed to be extinct for over 20 years in 1980, but an apparently native population of this fish was discovered on Hainan Island, well away from the White Cloud Mountain.

They are bred in farms and are easily available through the aquarium trade.

White cloud mountain minnows should be kept in good-sized schools, preferably of a half dozen or more. When kept singly, they tend to lose color and hide most of the time. They are peaceful and fit well with other small peaceful fish.

Avoid larger tankmates, as they will be inclined to eat white cloud mountain minnows. The same is true of any aggressive species.

When kept in the right temperature range, this species of fish is very hardy and well suited for the beginner hobbyist. Although undemanding when it comes to water quality, this minnow does not deal with heat well. There is evidence that keeping white cloud mountain minnows in water that is constantly above 72 F (22 C) will shorten their lifespan.

You can read more about this beautiful coldwater fish here. These minnows are also available in our online shop.

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Stop Finning – Stop the trade

This blog post is going to be an exception for us as it is not related to freshwater invertebrates. It is intended to raise awareness on the atrocious and cruel practice of Shark Finning.

Even though Shark Awareness Day was held on 14 July, we felt that we can still do our part to help the Stop Finning initiative and get the message out.

Did you know that hundreds of sharks are killed every single minute for “Shark Fin Soup”?

The EU is a major player in this bloody, multimillion Euro industry. But we now have the chance to stop killing sharks for their fins by finally ending the trade with
shark fins in Europe.

The EU Citizens‘ Initiative “STOP FINNING – STOP THE TRADE” is more than a petition. It is a once in lifetime opportunity to change EU legislation and save the sharks.

Sign the petition at https://eci.ec.europa.eu/012/public/#/screen/home and do your part to help save these beautiful creatures.

Read more or donate to this cause at https://www.stop-finning-eu.org

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Botanicals: Balance, Beauty and Story

botanicals set

As I sit down to prepare another customer’s order of botanicals, I find myself thinking that there is something special about every order of botanicals – every single piece of woody seed pod, leaf or thick fruit has its own individual texture, pattern, shape and colour.

This is only one aspect of botanicals that makes them so special. Botanicals are nowadays increasingly used in a large variety of aquariums for different reasons. Some of us try to re-create the fish’s natural habitat whether through the use of leaf litter, dried seed pods, wooden structures or simply by adding botanicals to release tannins in the water – turning it anything from a light yellowish tint to a dark brown/black colour.

A distinctive beauty captured,
a natural story told, and a form-fit-function balance reached.

Botanicals can also be used to condition the water (e.g. to lower the pH). Alternatively, some aquarists use them to create foraging grounds for their invertebrates. Biofilm forms on botanicals after a day or two underwater.

Botanicals are known to have anti-bacterial or anti-fungal properties and can help protect your fish or help them recover faster from disease.

As I finish preparing the customer’s order, I tell myself that there is one undeniable truth about them. They are unique: a distinctive beauty captured, a natural story told and a form-fit-function balance reached.

  • botanicals set
  • botanicals set
  • botanicals set
  • botanicals set

The above gallery shows the unique pieces prepared in this last order for one of our customers. This set costs €31.25 and is ideal for a 60-80L tank. Next Day Delivery is also possible for circa €4 to any location in Malta. You can also pick up this set from our Fgura hub and get a discounted total price of slightly less than €30.

Thank you all for supporting us – stay safe and take good care of each other!

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MAS event – 25 July 2021

Good morning all.

For those of you who live in Malta, we just wanted to let you know about a meeting being organised by the Malta Aquarist Society next Sunday, 25 July 2021 at 09:30.

The meeting will be held at the Society’s new premises which is situated in Fgura. The full address is 37, St. Paul, Triq is-Summiena, Fgura.

An interesting discussion will be held on how to take care of your fish / plants during summer. What tricks should be used during a heatwave? And when the lights goes off… what should we do? It’s an opportunity to discuss with experienced fish keepers and share the knowledge and tricks!

As the local distributors of the Tropical brand in Malta, Tropical food will be on sale as well there. Free Samples of TropiCAT and TropiDOG provided by Tropical food will be available.

The tableshow for the day will be that of “One Pleco”.

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Feeding frenzy

amano shrimp (caridina multidentata)

Today, I decided to capture the moment when we fed the Shrimps Forever Biopowder to our shrimps. The XL Amano shrimps just go nuts for it.

Biopowder is made can either be premixed in water and poured in the aquarium. Alternatively, the powder can be scattered on the water surface and it will sink slowly. In this video, we did the latter.

Shrimps Forever Biopowder

Take a look at the amanos feeding from the surface!

Amano shrimps feeding frenzy

Get in touch if you are interested in the Shrimps Forever range or the Amano shrimps.

Shrimps Forever BioPowder

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We got BALLS!

Yes we do and they come in different sizes from 2cm to a whopping 7cm.

Marimo Moss Balls are algae balls (although they are referred to as moss balls due to their visual look). They are interesting decoration suitable for smaller aquariums.

They are also available in larger sizes and in nature reach up to 20-30 cm. They are not demanding in terms of conditions, but they do better with medium light. Together with stones and roots, you can achieve an attractive aquarium design.

Interestingly, this algae usually forms carpet surfaces at the bottom of lakes in Japan and Northern Europe, but if a piece of it separates, it is carried away by waves, which eventually make it a ball. Even in the aquarium, it is good to turn them from time to time to maintain their shape. When they grow to a certain size, they can be split.

They grow at a rate of 0.5cm per year and are often used in shrimp tanks and are useful to control the growth of unwanted algae as they compete for the same food source.

Check out our product page for more information on the selection of available sizes here.