USUAL PROCEDURES WITH PIRHANA

So one of the usual and important procedures done is  water changing and the cleaning of the jar.


Water Changing

 After having cleaned the jar and changed the water in the jar this first picture on the left shows what the water usually looks like once done. It looks just a little cloudy due to the little soil which has been misplaced, but when left overnight the water is found to be clear the following morning. It can be found to clear within just a couple of hours as well. Pirhana is usually kept in a separate smaller glass bowl during this time.

When performing a water change I firstly remove Pirhana from the jar. When removing Pirhana from the jar I usually use a spatula. The spatula in the above picture is what is used. Some remove fish with a small fish net but I did not want to cause any stress to Pirhana so I used the above spatula instead. Most of the water in the jar is emptied and the plant remains within the jar. After most of the water has been strained I continue to clean the glass inside the tank. Sometimes there is algae on the glass of the jar. When this happens I dampen toilet roll with warm water and clean the inside glass of the algae. I work really carefully so that the plant is not damaged or moved in the jar. I found this to work quite effectively so i have continued to clean the glass of algae in the manner. If there are any dead leaves on the plant it is cut off or if any is found to be at the bottom of the jar is is removed. Once the algae is cleaned from the glass I use a jug and spatula to pour the water back into the jar. 


When poring it back into the jar I hold the spatula against the side of the of the glass and pour the water from the jug onto the spatula. When I pour the water from the jug onto the spatula which is against the inside glass of the jar, the water gently flows down along the side of the jug. The gentle movement of water down the side of the jar does not disturb the soil. Very little soil is misplaced and the plant is not damaged at all in the process because the water movement is not aggressive. The little disturbed soil is left to settle and Pirhana is then placed back inside his jar=) He absolutely loves his clean water as when he is placed back in his tank he happily swims around the tank and through the leaves.


Pirhana also loves colours and LOTS of attention. Sometimes I play with him by walking around the jar. When I walk around the jar he follows me around=) Its so cute because he comes to the side of the jar, watches you and follows you. Also I noticed that when I whistle he Responds! He would swim from where ever he is in the tank and swim to the surface. If I am standing on the side of the jar then he would swam to where I am exactly. I also noticed that he absolutely loves the leaves of the plant. He loves playing and messing between the leaves of the plant. He usually swims just under the leaves so that they move in the water. Also there is a leaf on the plant which curls a bit because it quite big. The leaf can be seen above in the second picture. Pirhana loves this leaf as I often find him inside the curl of this leaf=) 

Pirhana, who Loves colours, noticed my blood red camera outside the jar when i was taking a few pictures and he was immediately drawn to it . He noticed the colour of the camera and swam to the side of the jar to get a closer look. After a while he came out from behind the leaves completely because he was so drawn to the colour. My partner and I have both picked up that Pirhana absolutely loves colour, so when I got Pirhana back some colourful stones was placed in his jar=) Also he quite a curious little fish. If there is alot of movement happening outside the jar he swims to the side of the jar and observes the movement.

Also when new things are introduced to the jar he always notices and pays attention to the foreign object. When I initially placed the sift over the jar to prevent bugs from entering he swam around the surface of the water the entire evening. He was aware that there had been an object over the top of the jar and would not rest because of it. Another instance when Pirhana was introduced to a foreign object was when I added the zeolite stones to the jar. I found it amazing that Pirhana immediately knew there had been something placed in his jar when he was put back in his jar. 

When Pirhana was put back in his jar after having put the zeolite in, he immediately swam to the bottom of the tank to where the zeolite stones were. He was not afraid of the foreign stones in the jar at all. Pirhana is one little brave fish=)


A blog and pictures will be put up on the introducing of the zeolite stones to the tank as well.


Below Pirhana can be seen to be contently blowing bubbles as usual=)

Long Live Pirhana!