Happy Pets

Unless you welcome the idea of sharing your bed with your cat and suffering the consequences in terms of sleep-deprivation (a cat will rarely stay co-operatively prone at the bottom of the bed all night), start as you mean to go on and prepare a bed for it. The day on which it arrives in its new home will be bewildering and tiring for your kitten or cat, and after the adrenaline rush has subsided it will welcome a comfortable bed in which to sleep to enable it to recover from the upheaval that it has experienced. (more…)

These are South American fishes distinguished from the Characidae by the lack of teeth in the lower jaw. In America, this group is known as Lebiasinidae.

Half-lined Hemiodus; Silver Hemiodus; Flying Swallow

Hemiodopsis (formerly Hemiodus) semitaeniatus 200 mm 71 in. South America : various waters. A very streamlined, silver fish. A dark spot is situated on the flank between the dorsal and adipose fins. After a gap, a dark line runs into the caudal fin, following a downward direction midway through the lower lobe. A fast swimmer, and loves a shoaling existence. Very attractive when young but grows rapidly. Temperature: 24°C (75°F), or slightly lower. Diet: all foods. Breeding: not yet bred in the aquarium. (more…)

Members of this family are bottom-dwelling fishes, and may be recognized as such by their flat ventral profile and underslung mouths, complete with barbels. In the aquarium, Loaches may be nocturnal, although some soon lose their shyness and venture around the tank during its illuminated periods. The fishes often make hiding places themselves by burrowing under rocks or into a tangle of aquarium plants. Most prefer to live in a community rather than as solitary specimens. The majority of Loaches have erectile spines, a defence weapon mainly, and these may catch in the aquarist’s net. There are many varieties to choose from, each with a differing colour pattern or body form, but they are all difficult to catch with a net. (more…)

Both the male and female Cockatiel learn to talk quite proficiently, and although their voices are somewhat shrill, the words they learn are quite distinguishable. The male does much more whistling and can be taught to repeat complete bars of certain tunes. The female is not so adept at this, but she can wolf whistle, and is as quick at learning as the male. (more…)

The typical underslung mouths of these fishes are used as a means of locomotion and anchorage, as well as for feeding, in fast-flowing waters.

Sucker Catfish; Plecostomus Hypostomus (formerly Plecostomus) plecostomus 450 mm 18 in. South America : various waters. The long, wedge-shaped body is covered with bony plates, which may be in three or four ridged layers, instead of only two as in Corydoras. (more…)

The Synodontis group have long barbels and long-based adipose fins. The dorsal fins are often large but not always displayed to best advantage. The caudal fins are deeply forked. A generic characteristic is the possession of lockable spines in the pectoral and dorsal fins, which may be erected when the fish is netted or driven into a hiding place. (more…)

In the interests of maintaining good hygiene, it’s important that your cat has its own food and water bowls (separate ones are more practical than combined versions) rather than borrowing a saucer or dish from its human family. These are available from pet shops and should have a heavy base so that they won’t tip over when your cat is eating or drinking. Battery-operated, covered food bowls are another option, many of which contain a type of cooling system that keeps food fresh in hot weather or over extended periods and may also incorporate a timer that you can set so that the lid springs open at a certain time when you’re not around to feed your cat. (more…)

The young of these fishes develop inside the body of the female until they have absorbed the yolk-sac and are then released. Most livebearing fishes are easily sexed : male fishes have the anal fin modified into a rod-like structure called the gonopodium, through which the fertilizing spermatophores are introduced into the female. Gestation is approximately 3o days and broods may number from 20 to 200. It is possible for the females of some species to deliver successive broods without a repeat mating with the male. (more…)

When meeting a prospective feline member of your family for the first time, be it a kitten or a cat, a crossped or a purebred, the essential question to ask yourself is whether it looks healthy. If you have any doubts, it would be wiser not to adopt it: not only could you be condemning yourself to exorbitant veterinary bills and a new career as a feline nurse, but you could even have to suffer the premature death of your feline charge. (more…)

Fishes in this family are often referred to as ‘labyrinth’ fishes because they have a labyrinthine organ in the head which allows them to breathe atmospheric air if necessary. Another distinguishing feature of this group is the breeding pattern: the majority of the fishes are bubblenest builders. The nests are made of saliva-coated bubbles blown by the male, into which the fertilized eggs are placed following the nuptial embrace beneath the nest. The fry are guarded and kept within the vicinity of the nest by the male. The female is best removed after spawning as the male may attack her. When breeding, care should be taken not to allow any cold draughts of air to pass acrossthe water surface as the fry may become chilled. As it is, a fairly high mortality rate occurs within the first two weeks of life with many species, and the ratio of males to females may be low. (more…)