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There are many factors to consider when selecting fish. You need to ensure that you have the experience to look after the fish you select, that the fish you buy are healthy, and that they are compatible with the fish you currently have.

As a starting point, it is very import that you only buy very healthy fish because the best way to keep strong healthy fish is to start with strong healthy fish. Buying a fish because it doesn’t look well or happy and you feel sorry for it and want to give it a better home in your display tank is not a very good idea. An unwell fish can introduce diseases into your tank that can infect your other fish, and may even cause them to die. It helps to become familiar with a species of fish before you buy it as this will allow you to be clear on exactly what it should look and act like. Ensure the fish looks alert with clean clear eyes, fins and scales. It is also important that the fish appears eager to feed and can maintain its position in the water column. And finally, as a precaution, only buy from a clean healthy store that you trust.

To break this down I simply refer to all fish as number 1, number 2, or number 3 fish. I refer to number 1 fish as fish that most people can easily keep in regular aquarium conditions. Number 2 fish are fish that from my experience work for some people and not for others and number 3 fish being those which don’t work for most people.

Some examples of number 1 fish are Damsels, Clownfish, Dottyback, Triggerfish, Pufferfish, Foxface, Rabbitfish, most Wrasse, most Tangs, Blennies, Cardinal fish, lionfish. Some examples of number 2 fish are , most Tangs, Boxfish, Angels, Gobies, Sweetlip. Some examples of number 3 fish are Moorish idol, Powder Blue Tang, Achilles Tangs, Anthias, Filefish, pipefish, Mandarin fish, Butterfly fish.

Many people select marine fish by wondering into aquarium shores and looking around until they see a fish that catches their attention at that time, they will them ask the staff member closes to them if this fish will go with the few of their fish that they remember to name. If the staff member says yes then that is a green light to buy the fish. This approach takes very little into consideration and will as often as not result in the person purchasing a fish that was not likely to work from the start.

After a considerable amount of time and money, the person will start to understand which fish work in their aquarium, mind you most will have given up marine fish before this time has arisen. Instead of the impulse approach where you slowly learn the hard lesions of fish selection, I strongly recommend starting with a wish list.

A wish list is simply a list of fish that you wish to keep together in your tank. The beauty of a wish list is that you are able to show it to other experience aquarists to get their opinions on how these fish are likely to go together. If you have fish already you can add them to the top of the wish list to reduce the chance of adding other fish that won’t work with the fish you have. If you have a wish list you are likely to seek out experts to ask in order to gain the right advise. With the impulse approach you are far more likely to ask the nearest sales person and hope that they know. With the wish list you are able to use the opinions of a range of experts to save you a lot of time and money learning hard lesson on paper instead of with real fish. This is a very responsible and economical approach.

When selecting fish for your aquarium there are several things to consider before purchasing it e.g. diet, aggression, territoriality and weather it will nip at your corals.

A simple thing that you need to remember is that fish don’t want to die. They will only die if you don’t provide them with at least their basic minimum requirements. By researching a fishes basic minimum requirements first and asking a few people for their experiences keeping that fish you can massively increase the amount of success that you have when keeping marine fish.

The use of the wish list is going to help you make sure you are mixing fish that will commonly work together. Regardless of where you are at it is worth asking the right person the right questions to ensure that the fish you add are likely to work together. Regardless of how qualified the advice you get, fish are fish and in the end they do what they want how they want. Just because 10 experts tell you something is likely to happen, it doesn’t mean that that will happen. Understand that the fish you buy are your responsibility and your responsibility alone. So if the fish you buy don’t seem to be mixing well, it is up to you to separate them, before too many fish affected by the troubles.

It is important consider aggression when selecting fish. Monitor the aggression of the fish you keep and only add fish that will be able to compete with the fish that you have and not over compete. If you add a fish that is too aggressive for the fish you have it is likely to act boisterously and eat all the fish food and attack the other fish in the tank, even killing them. When you see this type of activity remove the trouble maker before it is able to cause you any more problems. The key is just as much in the monitoring and the action you take once a problem is identified as it is in initial selection.

Some fish are more so territorial then plan aggressive, an aggressive fish will attack fish for seemingly no reason. A territorial fish will drive fish out of their territory but leave them when the fish is out of its territory. It is worth considering territorial behaviour when selecting fish. Some fish like the Dottyback is territorial and can often be housed safely with many fish because its territory is small, leaving room for the other fish in the tank, while some other fish like coral trout can get so large that its territory can be the whole tank.

There is a big difference between territorial, aggressive and predatory. Territorial fish drive fish out of their territory, aggressive fish attack other fish for what can seem like to reason but to show dominance and predatorily fish eat other fish. Predatorily fish don’t have to be aggressive or territorial. Predatorily fish are primarily concerned with their belly, what can fit in their mouth is what they will eat. A perfect example of a predatory fish if the lionfish. This fish is not aggressive or territorial but it will eat any fish that will fit in its huge mouth, which is about the same size as it body. When selecting fish it is worth assuming that all fish are predatory.

When creating you wish list also include when you intend to adding the fish, because you also want to gather comments on this. Most groups of fish are best added at the some time to reduce territorially e.g. any tangs should be added together, any clown should be added together, this is also true for many fish even Wrasse and angels.

Many fish take about 3 day to settle into a new tank, in this time it is common for them not to feed and they may act differently. It is important to monitor new fish extra carefully for the first week for stress, behaviour, aggression and feeding habits. Always watch for changes in behaviour, action must be take when it is required.

Some fish live in large schools in the wild and do tend to fret with kept in aquariums singly or in small groups. These fish are used to having a lot of their own kind around them as an instinctual form of security, when they are placed in aquariums lightly stocked with fish they stress thinking there is danger because the rest of their school is absent. This can be the case when all the other fish appear fine but an individual seems to be jumpy and breathing quickly, some examples of these fish are Blue Tangs, green chromis and anthias.

If you are going to introduce fish to a tank with Coral and invertebrates it is important to identify which are likely to be a threat to them. This could be identified as A, B C fish. Some fish e.g. C fish will eat coral like Butterfly fish and Angelfish.

While others e.g. B fish will nip at it sometimes like Triggerfish, Pufferfish, Foxface, Rabbitfish most Wrasse, most Tangs Moorish idol. Others are mostly safe with coral e.g. A fish like Damsels, Clownfish, Dottyback, Blennies, Cardinal fish, lionfish, Anthias. Filefish, pipefish and Gobies.

Your wish list is a way of reduce the risk of introducing a coral eater to a coral tank. If you get a fish that only nips a particular type of coral you can consider avoiding that piece in the future. Hungry fish are more likely to graze on coral , even if your fish is not eating the coral it may stress it by nipping it regularly coursing it by often closed, depriving it of light.

Most fish need similar amounts of nutrients but the way they process the food means that not all foods are appropriate for all fish. You must consider what you will be feeding that tank when you buy fish for the tank. Herbivores have long digestive systems and a designed for consuming green food stuffs while predators have a short digestive system for eating fish meat. Some high quality pellet and flake foods can be fed to all fish but many natural food like fresh fish and seaweed are not suitable for some fish e.g. Meat is not good for herbivores and seaweed is not good for predators, this is because of the way that the fish process that food.

It is very important not to introduce new fish unless that your aquarium is running perfectly for the last month. You will increase the chances of problems like Whitespot if the fish are introduced more regularly than once a month, so add some fish then wait a month then add some more then wait a month. It will also help to ensure that you are running a lower salt level e.g. 1.020 when you introduce new fish, this will help lower osmotic stress on the fish and also help reduce the chance of problems like Whitespot.

A quarantine tank is a very good idea to help protect your display tank from decease out break.

All fish can thrive as long as their basic minimum requirements are met. I go into this further with my Instructional Marine Aquarium DVD available at http://www.exclusivefishfilms.com

Good luck and enjoy

Paul Talbot

Fishing Sites

Lean towards “green” when it comes to choosing the right baby products for your child.

The impending birth of a child is indeed a great expectation. Nature has been kind to us in the fact that she has given us nine long months to prepare for this life altering occasion. From your first visit to the doctor to confirm your pregnancy to your anticipated hospital visit to give birth there is a long list of things to do before the arrival of your child. Whether this is your first or your fifth child rest assured that your need of new organic baby products and services will be as unique as the precious life you carry within.

The baby product industry has reinvented itself to cater to the needs of a new generation of parents that are extremely read read on the subject of child birth and are indeed more environmentally conscious when it comes to planning for their child’s future and deciding what baby products will be purchased to care for their newest member of the family. With a large emphasis of organic, green baby products to burst on the marketing scene everything from disposable Eco-green diapers to natural raw cotton baby clothes and bedding are available in most stores and online Eco-conscious green websites and the good news is that these products do not cost much more than their inferior counterparts.

With the ever looming problem of imperfect imports from china and other unregulated markets that lack the stringent guidelines of the United States and other quality European countries new parents today must be more vigilant then ever before when it comes to making the right baby product choices.The joy of picking out your child’s baby stroller, baby crib, toys, bottles and clothes has all been daunted with the fear of chemical dyes that come in the form of dangerous life threatening carcinogens that are found in plastics, paint finishes and cloth fibers that may come in contact with tender new skin and cause harmful rashes and side effects to newborns. It is important to arm yourself with the proper knowledge as to where, when and how the products you choose for your family were made

Five major ingredients to avoid when purchasing baby products:

Phthalates - Chemicals found in most mainstream consumer products.They are found in soft plastic toys, such as bath toys for babies. They are also found in baby powders, baby shampoos, lotions and fragrance.

Mineral Oil - One of the most commonly used products on babies and potentially the most dangerous.Serious carcinogens can be found in mineral oil. Mineral oil, also known as baby oil, can cause dehydration to a babies skin by blocking the absorption of natural moisture.

Lanolin - Often used for moisturizing or diaper cream may cause an allergic contact skin rash. Lanolin, derived from sheep also contains pesticides that were used on sheep and wool products

Cornstarch - Not recommended for use on yeast related diaper rashes, cornstarch encourages the growth of yeast that will perpetuate diaper rash instead of cure it.

Sodium Lauryl Sulfate - Before you buy baby shampoo, think again. Sodium Lauryl Sulfate is mainly used to create foam in bath and body products. It can cause irritation to a babies scalp as well as penetrate an infants eyes and systemic tissue this is of concern to babies who are under going substantial eye growth.

Most ingredients found in popular name brand adult and infant skin care products are extremely harmful to delicate and sensitive new skin. When you make the conscious decision to purchase pure, natural, organic baby products for your baby you are investing in their good health and giving them the best gift of all, a good start in an otherwise polluted world.

Learn 10 French survival words compliments of The Travel Linguist. For a full list of instructional language DVDs, phrasebooks, audio CDs and downloads, visit www.travellinguist.com

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With the use of digital cameras there are a few things that come into play when you’re taking your photographs and one of those things is the photograph image format you take your photographs in. For example, with the film cameras you had the option of using color positives, color negatives, black and white positives or black and white negatives.

This was a photograph image format that your photographic data was stored in. The same applies with digital cameras as well, and there is a photograph image format in which you can store your photographic data. It has nothing to do with positives or negatives this time, and everything to do with bits and bytes and how the little micro processor that reads the data from your memory card.

When you take a photograph, the information that the camera sees through the lens is stored on the memory card in a language that the computer understands.

For our purposes there are few different photograph image format that we can choose from, in which to store the details of our photographs, and we need to decide on what it is.

Having now hopefully, successfully navigated past that I can now go on to tell you that of the different types of photograph image format in which you can save your data, there are a few that most photographers use more often than not.

The RAW photograph image format has a great many advantages to be had, and these I have to say quite negate the disadvantages, if there are any. You know for a fact that nowadays memory cards are more and more inexpensive, allowing you to own more than one or two cards. Yes, sometimes RAW photograph image format files can be larger than the JPEG photograph image format, but the advantage of having a lossless file format far outweighs the fact that RAW photograph image format files are larger.

Whereas JPEG photograph image format files compress and therefore are prone to some loss of data, RAW photograph image format files aren’t prone to this loss of data.

But the biggest advantage as far as I’m concerned is the fact with RAW photograph image format files the image data that gets saved is the most basic data of all and when you transfer this to your computer, it makes it easier to work and change things around in your photograph using the photo editing software.

Photoblog

Don’t Underestimate the Value of Your Photographer

Amongst the plethora of wedding professionals that you will need to consider for your most singular day, there are several reasons your photographer is probably the most important and possibly the most difficult vendor to choose. While the caterer, limousine service and reception hall operators are all very important in their own right, your photographer is perhaps the only artist with whom you will spend the entire day; this means a good rapport is an absolute must.

Products provided by other vendors such as the cake, music, tuxedos and food may be absolutely fantastic - but after a few months have passed since your wedding day, when the cake is gone, the music has stopped and the tuxedos were last seen prancing around at the local prom, what will remain to immortalize those majestic moments of your life? The photos from a professional photographer will last a lifetime at the very least.

Which Style Suits You Best?

When it comes to wedding photography there are two major style philosophies that tend to dominate the current market place, Traditional and Photojournalistic.

As the name may imply, the traditional style has been around the longest and until recently was the most common. Essentially the traditional style wedding photographer is one who prefers to place the couple and groups in specific poses for their photos. This style of photography usually requires that a shot list be prepared in advance by the bride and groom so that the photographer can have a step-by-step checklist and be sure to photograph everyone the couple wants. This style calls for a meticulous photographer who excels in portraiture and is very concerned about each detail in an image including things like: head angle and body positioning, hand placement and ring location, lighting ratios, backgrounds, etc. As you might imagine the time requirements for this type of photography are significant and require a commitment from the couple and attendants to accommodate this style.

With the photojournalistic wedding photography the concept is to capture images as they occur, with little or no intervention. This photographer will typically create more images during the course of a wedding in an almost documentary fashion and usually has a great eye for storytelling. Photojournalistic photographers must be skillful at capturing candid, emotional moments and therefore should have great timing and anticipation. Currently this style has become the most popular throughout much of the United States, whereas overseas there are still some places such as France where the traditional style appears to remain in vogue.

There are many photographers that offer some elements of each style in an attempt to provide the ‘best of both worlds’. Often this takes the form of a photojournalistic approach to the ceremony and reception, but with traditionally posed portraits of the bride and groom as well as group shots either before or after the ceremony.

Quite frankly there is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ style; either method can deliver very beautiful images. You should review prospective photographer’s portfolios and consider the ones that you have the best feelings about – also, remember that on your wedding day you will need to be prepared to either work with a person who is something of a ‘director’ in the case of the traditional photographer, or more of a ‘reporter’ with the photojournalistic style photographer.

Finding the Right Photographer

There are many things that go into the choice of your photographer - style, professionalism, value and cost are some of the commonly considered attributes. The best way to get started is to do your research by asking friends and family members for recommendations and searching the internet for photographers in your area; also many of the professional photographer associations such as PPA or WPPI have searchable listings of their member photographers.

Most photographers you’ll find have websites where you can view their work and narrow your search down to the ones who have produced images that you find impressive. Once you find several credible photographers that have shown they can produce excellent photos, it’s time to pick up the phone and call them – ask them about their services and just feel them out in general. The initial conversation should give you enough of an impression to determine if a face to face visit is warranted.

When you decide to meet your photographer in person most likely you will have already seen some of their work online and have a pretty good feeling about the artist; while you may discuss many things during the meeting, its main benefit is to determine if you feel comfortable around this person. Do they make you laugh or smile? Does the conversation flow smoothly? There are many things that make for great photographs, not the least of which is a highly skilled artist behind the camera, but not even the most technically proficient photographer can produce truly beautiful photos of people when they are not comfortable and relaxed.

How Much Will it Cost?

Your choice of photographer in a perfect world would have very little to do with the cost of services and everything to do with their professionalism, photographic abilities and penchant for making you feel at ease when in their presence.

In many ways this purchase is similar to that of the engagement ring in that you really ought to get the best that you can afford because you’ll have to live with it for the rest of your life. Can you imagine calling around to your local jewelers and asking what they charge for an engagement ring, hearing them tell you $3000, $8000, etc. until finally you get one that says “I have one here for $350” and you yell “SOLD, hold that ring and I’ll be right down to pick it up!” You might say it’s silly to buy a ring you’ve never seen just because it costs less than the others but of course I’m just trying to show that sometimes it doesn’t pay to buy heirlooms based on the price tag alone.

While not every photographer lists their prices online the fact is these artists charge wildly varying prices, from the guy down the street who can shoot your magical day for $500.00 to the higher end photographers who earn $120,000 per wedding assignment. Keep in mind when making your choice that the old adage of ‘you get what you pay for’ does not always apply very well to photographers. Paying more money does not guarantee getting the best photographer and hiring Uncle Larry to shoot your wedding for a six pack and a couple of NASCAR tickets does not necessarily mean your photos will be horrible. Generally speaking, you can expect to pay anywhere from $2,500 to $20,000 for a full day of wedding coverage from a professional.

Before You Sign That Contract

Most of us have heard the horror stories where photographers don’t show up, don’t deliver the photos, get drunk and start hitting on the bride or tragically try their hand at the old ‘watch me yank this table cloth off without affecting any of the dishes’ during the reception. The fact is in most cases these sorts of photographers are the exception, not the rule. If you perform the same due diligence that you should before hiring any vendor - meet with several professionals, view samples of their work, get references from past customers and perhaps check them out with the Better Business Bureau, you should feel completely confident by the time you decide to retain your artist.

With all that in mind, there are many things to be wary of when selecting your photographer. Here are some things about any professional wedding photographer’s service that you should ask before making your final decision:

1. Who will actually photograph your wedding?

Quite often there are studios that have many photographers working for them; also there are outfits that act basically as a referral service, booking couples and then assigning one of their many affiliate photographers. Be sure to make it clear that the whiz-bang images and album samples that you see actually come from the same person who will be shooting your wedding. If that’s not the case then ask to see samples from the actual photographer.

2. What happens in the event of equipment failure?

We’re all familiar with good ol’ Murphy and his laws by now. Any professional photographer should have, at a minimum, duplicates of every vital piece of equipment. This means a second camera body, backup flashes, extra batteries, cables, etc. I know several pros that steadfastly refuse to work at all unless they have a backup to their backup!

3. Will you receive the negatives or high resolution digital files?

Some studios include the negatives or digital images in their packages, some don’t and others include it only at an extra cost. Many photographers depend on income from print sales after the wedding and so are concerned that giving negatives or digital files will cause couples to run out and get their own prints made at the local CVS (I should point out here that printing images without written permission from your photographer is illegal) instead of purchasing them from the photographer.

The concern from a customer perspective is - what happens five years later when you want more prints made and find that your photographer has closed up shop and retired to Bangladesh?

If you end up with your heart set on a photographer who doesn’t offer the negatives, one possible compromise is to ask her to provide them after a period of time such as 90 days. In most cases there are very few print orders after the first 30 days have elapsed since the wedding; therefore at 90 days the photographer should have already gotten any print orders he is likely to receive for your wedding and may feel comfortable at that point releasing (or selling) the images to you.

4. Are there any hidden fees?

Make sure to find out if there are any additional charges such as travel costs, printing or shipping charges, etc that will be tacked onto your bill. It’s a good idea to ask what the photographer charges for ordering prints and enlargements, especially if they refuse to provide you with your negatives.

5. Get it in writing!

You want to be sure to get in writing everything that your package entitles you to. The photography business is rapidly changing from month to month and many photographers update, modify or tweak their packages regularly to respond to industry trends. You don’t want to find out when your day arrives 8 months later that the photographer has changed his packages around and now doesn’t remember that you are supposed to receive three signed 16×20 prints as part of your deal!

Ideally all the terms of the package that you agree to should be included in your contract.

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