The Winners Of Our Flowerhorn Fish Picture Contest

Friday is here and we are sure you are all excited for the weekend!

A big congrats to the winners of our Flowerhorn picture contest!  We appreciate everyone’s patience for the results, we’ve been a bit busy and just had a chance to sit down with all 3 of us (Paul, Jenney and I) to pick and choose the best pics!

And a huge thank you to each and everyone of you who participated in the contest.  All of your Flowerhorns are very gorgeous!

Here are the three winners of our contest:

Cody from Instagram (@209aquariums)

Shane from Instagram (@fallenscreations)

Tommy from Facebook

Congrats again to all of you and another big thanks to those who submitted pics of their gorgeous fish!

We are happy to find so many passionate Flowerhorn owners in the fish keeping hobby that are still keeping the hobby going strong!  Keep it up and lets all continue to support each other in the hobby.

Stay posted for new updates and future contests for many different fish by following us on Facebook and Instagram

Happy Fish Keeping,

Roger Ma
Pet Zone Tropical Fish

Flowerhorn Picture Contest!

Hey Fellow Fish Keepers,

It is Thursday and many of you are already anticipating for the weekend (along with some of you posting up #TBT pics all over social media).

We’re happy to announce another fish picture contest.  This time, the picture competition will be amongst Flowerhorns!  And as the Flowerhorn is one of our store specialties, we’ll be giving out some great Flowerhorn food and supplement prizes to the top winners!  The lucky winners will receive either a package of Thai Mineral (High Active Mineral), a ChingMix SP100 food package (choice of either Headbooster or Maxima) orPower Pink Plus.  One choice of either three of the options will be given.

Note, the fish must be yours and you must upload a new picture onto either our Facebook page or Instagram.  Only one picture and one fish allowed per entrant.
You must also like our Facebook page (facebook.com/petzonesd) and/or follow us on Instagram (@petzone).  Be sure to use the hashtag#PetZoneSD when you post the picture as well.  If you simply just hashtag us on an older picture, you’ll be disqualified.

The contest begins Thursday, April 17th at 11 am and ends on Monday, April 21st at 10 pm Pacific Standard Time.  All pics must be submitted by the deadline.

Good luck everybody!  We look forward to seeing your gorgeous Flowerhorn fish pictures!

Happy Fish Keeping,

Roger Ma
Pet Zone Tropical Fish

African Arowana (Heterotis niloticus)

The weekend is finally here!  And summer just around the corner.  We are sure you have got many plans for the warmer weather coming (especially with fish keeping).

We finally got in a huge batch of African Arowanas.  These are rare to see in the fish hobby and are always sought after by many arowana and monster fish keeping hobbyist alike.  Originating from Africa, you can find them in the waters of Lake Tanganyika, Lake Malawi and other rivers in that region.

Though it has the name “arowana,” it is actually more closely related to the Arapaima as they are both in the Heterotidinae.  In the wild, they are known to grow up to around 3.25 feet and over 20 pounds (definitely a monster fish).  A good size tank is required for these African Arowanas.  Juveniles need a good 50 gallons or so and when they reach adulthood, a good 250 gallon and up is needed.

They are known to scavenge around all day looking for food.  They are quite a hardy fish, taking in live or frozen foods and can be tamed to take arowana pellets if trained early on.  Beware of keeping them with smaller sized fish and as a rule of thumb, keep it with fish that you’d normally keep other arowanas with.

Water conditions would need to be pristine to keep this fish in good health.  Weekly water changes are required (just partial like the usual tank cleanings you do).  Like other arowanas, they are sensitive to bad water, so provide good filtration.  pH will need to be around 6.8-7.5 and the temperature would need to be in the high 70s to mid 80s F (mid 20s to high 20s C).

As a monster fish keeper, we are sure you’ll find much joy in this rare fish!  Do not hesitate to contact us with any pointers you might need.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend folks.

Happy Fish Keeping,

Roger Ma
Pet Zone Tropical Fish

 

ElephantNose Fish (Gnathonemus petersii)

​The ​Elephantnose (or ​Elephant Nose, however you’d like to spell it) fish is one awesome oddball fish that originates from Africa.  Commonly known as the Peters’ elephantnose fish, this fish has a nose shaped mouth that looks similar to an elephant, hence the name (though some fish hobbyist compare it to the shape of a dolphin).

Though they are known to have bad eye sight and use electroreceptors to find its way around for food, navigating, etc.  Originating from the rivers of West and Central Africa, the elephantnose prefers to be in slow moving water.  Water conditions should be as follows: ph of 6.8 – 7.2 and temperature of around high 70s to low 80s.

Can be kept with larger fish of peaceful nature.  It can get territorial amongst its own kind so a big enough tank is required if more than one elephantnose is kept together.

In the wild, this fish is a carnivore but in captivity, it can be tamed to eat a number of foods ranging from flakes to live or frozen foods such as bloodworms, etc.  Keep the diet varied is best!

This is the perfect oddball fish that many fish keeping hobbyist love, so it is the perfect gift!

Happy Fish Keeping,

Roger
​​Pet Zone Tropical Fish

Silver Arowana (Osteoglossum bicirrhosum)

The Silver Arowana is one of the most popular tropical fish that we sell at our store!  Whether you’re an arowana enthusiasts or just a beginner fish keeper, the Silver Arowana is the hardiest of all the arowanas in the fish hobby and aren’t prone to stress like the Jardini or Black/Blue Arowana.

This arowana is native to the Amazon River Basin in South America, in the waters between Brazil and Columbia.  Known to grow to a very large size in the wild, a good sized tank is needed for this gorgeous “dragonfish,” as it can still get quite big in captivity.  250 gallons is preferable.

In comparison to the Jardini or Asian Arowanas, they can be kept together and not territorial toward other arowanas like the Scleropages arowana species.  Be aware of tank mates, as they can (and will) fit smaller sized fishes into their mouth with ease.

Water requirements aren’t particularly tough but it is a good rule of thumb to keep the water conditions in pristine condition for the arowana.  Mid 70s to low 80s (Fahrenheit) is the required temperature, along with the pH being around 6.0 – 7.0.

Make sure you use a good lid that is sturdy.  These fish are known to jump very high (in the wild, it jumps out of the water to catch prey) and can knock off a tank lid that isn’t secure.

They are easy to “tame” in comparison to the other arowanas and will readily accept fish pellets.  Just make sure to feed it a varied diet so it will not “get spoiled” on one particular food.  Hai Feng Fast Color is one fish food pellet staple that the Silver Arowana loves.  Supplement it with live mealworms, live or frozen bloodworms and live feeders.

As a fish from the Jurassic period, the arowana definitely has that ancient look and has survived throughout these millions of years!

For more tips and advice, do not hesitate to contact us!  And continue to follow us on social media and here on our blog!

 

Happy Fish Keeping,

Roger Ma
​​Pet Zone Tropical Fish – San Diego, CA​

L014 Sunshine Pleco (Scobinancistrus aureatus)

We can’t believe this year is flying back quick!  It is already April and summer is just around the corner.

We got in some L14 Goldie Plecos (Sunshine Pleco) again, which are some of the rarest plecos out there.  Perfect for you pleco collectors and rare fish enthusiasts.

This gorgeous plecostomus is brown in color (can be olive in color as well), with yellow spots that cover the body.  As they are smaller in size, the fins are more orange and fades away as it grows larger.    Coming from Brazil, it requires a particular pH level (6.0-7.4) and is prone to stress from changes in it’s environment.  An efficient filtration system is required to keep this pleco in good health and happy!

Like other plecos, it is an omnivore but the Goldie loves a carnivorous diet.  Provide live or frozen foods.  Soft wood is also great to have in the tank.

The Goldie does well in a tank with Discus or Angelfish as they all require pristine water conditions.  It’ll add some variation to your aquarium and makes an excellent show fish that many of your fellow fish keepers will envy!

 

Continue to follow us on Instagram and FaceBook for updates on our fish stock and specials!

Happy Fish Keeping,

Roger Ma
Pet Zone Tropical Fish

 

 

Tiger Datnoid – Siamese Tigerfish

Happy Hump Day everyone!

Now that the weather is getting warmer (it’s been in the 90s Fahrenheit here in San Diego), it will be much safer for us to ship fish nationwide as the risk of a weather delay is smaller now.

We’ve gotten in many fish these last couple months and the Tiger Datnoid (some of you know them as the Thin Bar Dat) has been one that many “monster fish keepers” love, which we’ve been selling extremely fast each time a batch arrives to our store.

Also known as the Siamese Tigerfish (Datnioides pulcher), this is one of the rarer Datnoids imported in from Thailand.  Many fish keepers house this fish with many other monster fish, such as arowanas, bichirs, etc.

Though the Tiger Datnoid can tolerate light brackish water conditions, its best if you keep it in freshwater if you’re housing it with many other monster fish that are strictly freshwater.  pH level should be around 6.5 – 7.5 or so.  And be sure the temperature is around 76 – 82 degrees F.  Though they are known to grow up to 24 inches in the wild, a larger sized tank would is required as it can still grow up to 16 inches in captivity.

It feeds on a variety of foods, especially live or frozen foods.  We supplement our Datnoids mainly with live or frozen bloodworms and feeders.  They can be trained to eat pellets as well, though this take a bit more time and patience.

This is definitely one of those rare fish that may be difficult to raise at first, but after a while, this smart fish becomes accustomed to its new home and owner and will stop being skittish and shy!

We hope you find this info to be helpful!  Do not hesitate to contact us as we are always happy to assist you with any of your fish keeping needs!

Happy Fish Keeping,

Roger Ma
Pet Zone San Diego