Pleasing 4 Pets

If, like many amateur tropical fish owners, you feed your fish once a day with store bought tropical fish flakes, you need to be very careful to not overfeed them.

We all panic about underfeeding our pets, as we do not want them to become undernourished and, therefore, ill or even die. However, you are more likely to damage your fish’s health by overfeeding them.

If there is too much food, it will break down in the water and become harmful to the fish. It will clog up the pump and filter, and will lead to more dark green scum all over the tank. You can always give them a second small feeding if necessary, but it is very tricky to remove excess fish.

A general rule is to only feed as much as will be completely consumed in three minutes. Stick with that and your fish should be healthy and happy.

Having your own aquarium can be a very rewarding experience. It can also be a large investment in time and money so it’s important that you go about it the right way from the beginning.

The first consideration is where you are going to put your fish tank. Keep it away from nosey areas such as next to the TV or stereo. Also consider the temperature of the tank. Placing it next to a fire or radiator could affect the fish adversely.

Lighting is also an important factor. Too much light can cause an increase in algae so try to avoid placing the aquarium in directly sunlight.
Fish tanks can be very heavy so it is essential that the cabinet or stand it is sitting on is up to taking the weight. The floor should also be level as any unevenness can cause glass to crack.

Fish tanks can be extremely expensive to set up. There’s the cost of the tank and cabinet plus all the heating and lighting equipment. Never mind the actual fish. Even in this recession there are companies out there offering personal loans so you may wish to consider this option.

If you’re not keen in getting into debt then just do it the old fashioned way and start saving up!

The 43 year old goldfish Tish, who features in the Guinness Book of Records as the oldest goldfish in the world finally died a few weeks ago.

Tish came from a questionable background when he was won by the young Peter Hand when he was a teenager from a roll-a-penny stall at a travelling fair visiting Doncaster in South Yorkshire 43 years ago.73 year old Mrs Hilda Hand, the mother of Peter has been looking after Tish ever since.

Tish had changed from his original deep golden colour to very light silver over the years. Most of his life had been spent in a standard round goldfish bowl although he did have a bit of a habit in attempting to jump out of his bowl so Mrs Hand had decided to move him into a larger swankier tank.

Tish outlived ever other pet in the Hand family household including; hamsters, dogs and guinea pigs.

Hilda Hand feels that Tish’s long life was down to good care:

“I think a mistake a lot of children make is to over feed their goldfish and put them in the sun. Tish was fed the same brand of fish food every day and we kept him in the shade. We changed his water regularly and always used a net to take him out and not our hands. “I don’t think we will be getting another one, we couldn’t replace Tish, and he was part of the family. People always used to ask how Tish was doing.”

At least 10% of individuals will experience an intense phobia during their lifetime, and one of the most common known phobias is a fear of animals - or Zoophobias.

By definition, a phobia is an illogical and irrepressible fear of a certain entity or circumstance. Some people suffer from such extreme phobias that will go to incredible lengths in their daily lives to avoid the subject of their phobia.

An illustration of this is an individual suffering from a phobia of birds - or ornithophobia may be too afraid to go outdoors in case they encounter one.

When confronted with the subject of their phobia, some suffers may even experience panic attacks.

Others become so stressed when they encounter the source of their phobia that they suffer from panic attacks.

Rather than a general fear of animals some phobics are affected by a fear of certain animals, for example common animal phobias include dogs, cats, mice and spiders.

Regrettably, most phobics never attempt to seek help, although the vast majority of sufferers who do undergo therapy for a phobia are cured.

Some common Zoophobias are:-

Alektorophobia Fear of Chickens
Cynophobia Fear of Dogs
Gatophobia Fear of Cats
Ichthyophobia Fear of Fish
Hippophobia Fear of Horses
Entomophobia Fear of Insects
Musophobia Fear of Mice
Batrachophobia Fear of Reptiles
Ophidiophobia Fear of Snakes

The number of pet owners choosing to travel with their pets is on the increase. Some airlines will allow passengers to travel with a small pet for a small fee as long as the pet will fit into an approved pet carrier which will fit under the aircrafts seats.

Airlines which will allow pets to travel inthe aircraft cabin with their passengers include KLM and Lufthansa, whilst British Airways World Cargo and Virgin Atlantic airlines will only permit pets to travel in the cargo hold. Virgin Atlantic even operate a ‘Flying Paws’ frequent-flyer scheme which enables animals to claim gifts for themselves in addition to banking air miles for their owners.

If you choose to take a flight accompanied by a domestic pet it would be prudent to make reservations for the both of you with the airline as far in advance as is possible, as most airlines will only permit limited numbers of animals on each flight.

The department for environment, food and rural affairs, more commonly known as DEFRA operates a pet travel scheme, which incorporates a ‘pet passport’.

This will enable you to travel with your pet to and from the UK to certain other countries without the necessity of enduring a 6 month quarantine.

To be eligible for a pet passport your pet must be micro-chipped and have been immunised against rabies 6 months prior to departure. Your pet must then pass a blood test which proves that the vaccination was successful.

Domestic cats, dogs and even ferrets are all eligible for the scheme, as well as rodents, rabbits, birds and fish, although the micro-chip / rabies rule don’t apply to these pets.

One of the easiest and most popular pets for children to look after has to be the common Goldfish.

In comparison to other species of fish that have been reared in captivity the Goldfish boasts an interesting and extended history. Today’s’ Goldfish are available in a range of varieties, but where exactly did Goldfish come from?

They are believed to originate from a variety of wild carp, know as the Crucian Carp. This is a relatively small carp which is a native of East Asia and its late descendant the Goldfish was one of the initial species of fish to be housed in ponds by humans.

It is not clear how or when they became domesticated but some of the earliest Chinese literature indicates that in China at least, Goldfish were kept as domestic pets as early as 800AD.

Later during the mid 17th century When Europeans began trading relationships with the Eastern world and Chinese culture had begun to farm Goldfish selectively, they were introduced to Europe and were housed outdoors in ponds. By the 19th century the common Goldfish had become firmly established as a domesticated pet and were housed indoors.

A recent report has revealed that there are almost twice as many domestic pet insurance policies held in the UK as there are private health insurance policies, with 23% of our pet population insured in comparison to only 12% of us being covered by private medical policies.

The report confirms UK pet owners as being amongst the most considerate and caring across the globe, surpassed only by Swedish pet owners, who lay claim to the largest populace of insured pets in the entire world.

Ewan McNeil, a former leader of the British Society of Practicing Veterinary Surgeons, went on record as saying:-

“We are a nation of animal lovers, and many of us regard our pet as part of the family; I’m not surprised that pet insurance is becoming so popular - people will do everything they can to ensure the best for their pets. Veterinary healthcare has made great strides in the last few years offering highly sophisticated treatment for a huge range of animal ailments. Pet insurance helps owners choose the best treatment for their pets without worrying about costs.”

In addition to this the report revealed a 41% increase in the demand for the insurance of smaller pedigree dogs – or ‘handbag’ dogs which are often more costly to insure than other types of dogs

As a growing number of people decide to treat themselves using holistic or alternative methods, it seems that an increasing number of caring pet owners are calling for their vets to treat their beloved pets using natural alternatives and organic forms of healing as a replacement for conventional medicines.

Holistic remedies can be explained as a philosophy that envisions the patient, whether that patient is human or indeed animal as a complete unit encompassing the mind, body and spirit.

The impetus of holistic pet care is on evading ailments with a combination of a healthy existence including the benefits of a decent diet and the effects of exercise to keep your pet stable and in optimum health.

While some pet owners research the benefits of holistic treatment in a last ditch attempt to relieve painful or complicated animal illnesses there are a wide range of other possible uses for these unconventional remedies, from acupuncture to deep tissue massage.

Other complimentary treatments include the use of herbal remedies to manage a variety of animal behavioural issues such as separation anxiety or uncontrollable obsessive behaviours, and all holistic remedies can be used in conjunction with traditional or conventional medicines prescribed by your vet.

If you are considering treating your pet using any form of holistic therapy you should ensure that any alternative treatments are issued under the close direction of a holistic specialist or under the supervision of a vet.

The UK’s standing as one of the greatest nations of animal lovers in the world received considerable damage recently after a report was released confirmed a massive increase in the number of owners abusing their animals.

The RSPCA revealed that since the launch of the Animal Welfare Act, which was made law in April 2007, the number of persons found guilty of cruelty to animals rose by almost 25% during 2007.

Somewhere in the region of 500,000 pets were found to be in need of help, many of them having been abused, abandoned or neglected in some way.

The Chief Officer of the RSPCA Inspectorate, Tim Wass went on record to say :

“ These animals are helpless victims of our affluent, throwaway society - they’re bought on a whim and discarded when the novelty wears off.”

The disturbing figures also exposed a 34% escalation in the number of those convicted for cruelty towards dogs and a 15% increase in convictions for cruelty towards cats. Cruelty investigations overall totalled just under 500,000, an increase of around 12% on the previous year.

Throughout the course of 2007 a total of 54 people received prison sentences on the grounds of animal cruelty and 861 individuals were prohibited from keeping animals on similar grounds.

Goldfish are the most popular coldwater fish to be kept as pets in the UK and are very sociable and responsive, and where possible should be accommodated with other goldfish. The common Goldfish is toughest and most resilient of coldwater fish which obviously encourage their popularity as easy to care for pets. If your goldfish has a companion, a decent sized fishbowl or aquarium with properly filtered water, and a few underwater plants or pebbles, he will be contented and much likelier to survive for longer.

In an ideal world you should feed your fish each morning and each evening whenever possible, with special flaked fish food, or with water-fleas or bloodworms for a treat. Each goldfish requires only a few flakes sprinkled on top of the water. If your goldfish discontinue feeding after about 10 minutes, take out any uneaten food flakes very carefully with a small net. This will help to keep the tank clean and will discourage the goldfish from over-feeding.

You should also keep your tank out of direct sunlight and avoid environments with extreme temperatures. You should also clean your goldfish tank on a regular basis, ensuring that 20 to 30% of the water is replaced each time using plain tap water mixed with a little warm water to bring it up to room temperature.