A happy fish is a healthy fish and keeping fish healthy is our number one priority at Kenya marine center. Are you curious to know the reason behind our high quality fish at Kenya marine center and how we have achieved that? I will share with you our secret. Having Over a decade of experience in the fish industry we have gained informative skills and strategies that have played a great role in improving our fish health.
The key thing we avoid in order to keep our fish happy is stress. A stressed fish is susceptible to diseases that jeopardize their health. At Kenya Marine center we go out of our way to ensure our fish are in a relaxed environment. We enjoy seeing our fish swimming freely and radiant in our holding facility before export.
Below are some tips to make your fish happy
Fish Acclimation
Acclimation is the process of accustoming the aquatic species to your aquarium water. At Kenya Marine Center we acclimate fish brought in from the wild before introducing them to our system as we prepare them for export. This process is important because fish from the wild are adapted to ocean water which has a slight difference in parameters from the one in our holding facility. Introducing fish in your aquarium water abruptly might lead to stress or PH shock. That’s why we must acclimate our fish at Kenya Marine Center.
How we acclimate our fish at KMC
Drip line Method
In this method we float the fish bag for about15 minutes in our aquarium water to equalize the water temperature. Then we pour the contents in a bucket and set up a drip line from the aquarium to the bucket. We ensure the water slowly flows into the bucket. Once the water level in the bucket is double that of actual fish bag water, we dispose half of the water without harming the fish and repeat the process. When the process is over, the fish is now ready for its new environment.
Water quality.
Water entails the whole fish environment and thus plays the main role in fish health. Fish put in poor condition get easily stressed. At Kenya Marine Center, we avoid this by ensuring all water parameters necessary for fish are observed in the holding facility and during transportation. We test our water frequently and this keeps us alert on what’s happening in our holding facility at any given time. It enables us monitor our fish and detect any suspicious behavior or fish discomfort and hence take corrective measures with immediate effect. We ensure to keep our water safe and suitable for our fish to keep them happy and healthy
Here are the major water parameters we observe, on a daily basis.
PH: 7.6-8.4
Temperature: Optimal range 24° C to 27° C
Salinity: Specific Gravity: Broad range 1.025
Ammonia (NH3): Zero
Nitrite (NO2): Zero
Nitrate (NO3): Ideally Zero to 25ppm
Dissolved Oxygen: >6.90 mg/L
Good Nutrition
Fish should be fed healthy, that you can read in every book. But what is healthy feeding? It’s ensuring your fish eat good quality food which is a must if you want them healthy. Good nutrition boosts fish immunity making them resistible to diseases. At Kenya Marine Center we are careful on selecting fish feeds as we understand that every fish has its own demands and needs, for instance, Doctor and tangs like vegetable based food while lions are predators. This strong opposition on feeding behavior force us to act on it.
We are also very careful on the amount of food we provide for our fish. We ensure to provide just enough. Feeding too much can be risky. The leftover food decomposes in water altering the water parameters hence creating an uncomfortable environment for fish which causes stress. Underfeeding on the other hand will result to emaciated fish.
Fishes who go in export are exempted from feeding for 24 – 48 HRS.
Our Biological department watch the feeding 7 days a week as it is a daily task.
Regular Treatment
A fish holding facility works different from a home aquarium and we as exporters have to react on it.
In mass animal keeping, sanitation is a very important point. Out of this reason we have to do a regular treatment program for the whole facility.
We have been practicing this over the past ten years which has played a big role in keeping our fish parasites free and healthy. Ensuring our fish are in a safe and suitable environment has increased their quality as well.
Generally, we have been kin in observing all of the above and that’s how we have managed to have the best quality fish over the ten years. Our commitment to making our fish happy and healthy has resulted to us having the most admirable and happy fish. To sum it up keeping your fish happy is ensuring they are in a comfortable environment and knowing the right way to treat them. It is important to take care of your fish if you want them to stay healthy and of good quality.
