The Changes in Finches Beaks

As a result of this observation, he later wrote his theories and ideas about what he thought were the actual origin of species, and which led him to write the publication, The Origin of the Species.

Although perhaps rather considered controversial during his time, it led future scientists and biologists of the modern era to investigate the matter further. Since Charles Darwin's publication of The Origin of the Species, a number of scientists travelled to the Galapagos Island to see the real deal for themselves, and to eventually disprove - or prove - Charles Darwin's theory of evolution and natural selection. Unfortunately no one was successful at either proving or disproving the said theory.

However, in the year 1973, Rosemary and Peter Grant set forth to Daphne Major, one of the islands in the Galapagos, to do their own observations and investigations. They were successful at proving Darwin's theory. They camped and stayed in Daphne Major for a few seasons and after just a few months, witnessed for themselves evolution in full action - that is, they observed changes in the size and shape of the beaks of finches found on the island.

These birds are mostly the same size, had the same brownish or black color, rounded tail that tends to get cocked to one side, and wings that are short and noticeably rounded. These were common characteristics of the finches on the island during the time Darwin first set forth in the Galapagos; only their beaks aren't the same. A few exceptions were noticed in coloring, but mostly they were similar when it comes to body shape and form - again, except the beaks.

Changes in the finches' beak shape and size were due to the finches' adaptation to available food. The beak function is for eating, a tool that helps in survival. Each specie as a result of certain fluctuations or changes in food scarcity or abundance has evolved its own unique beak design to better suit their food preference.

Some finches adapted to eating insects, therefore their beaks changed form to make them even more suitable and effective to eating insects. Other finches on the other hand, have adapted heavy and thick beaks that are more effective in cracking bigger nuts and seeds. Other finches began to have pointy beaks, because the pointier the beak the easier it is to pick small seedlings for food.

Later, Harvard Medical School researchers found the molecule responsible for the beak change. This protein molecule, called "calmodulin" regulates the gene that is involved in beak-shaping. Researchers found out that those with longer beaks such as the cactus finches have higher levels of calmodulin than those with shorter beaks. Calmodulin is then associated with longer beaks. Finches with blunt beaks were found to have low levels of calmodulin.

Preparation For Gouldian Finch Breeding

The most obvious is to feed your finches the proper diet. Their environment must meet their needs and you must ensure they are healthy because an unhealthy Gouldian finch may be too sick or unsuited for breeding. Also make certain your pair is healthy is the first step to successful breeding.

You must prepare their diet in advance. A proper diet is one that is full of fatty acids, vitamins, minerals, proteins, and trace elements are all good for them. Although protein can be found in many seeds, it is highly recommended that they also consume boiled eggs, which is full of protein, insects, and green leafy vegetables as well as soaked seed and some sprouts. It is recommended to introduce them to this diet gradually so that they eventually get accustomed to the new food and will feed them to their young. In addition to their diet, ample amounts of iodine and calcium found in multi-vitamins are also needed.

Secondly, make certain sure your finches are mature. They should be a year old at least, but more preferably two years old, to be mature enough to start breeding. If you breed them too early, the female finch might experience some problems that may be deadly for her; for example egg binding or she might throw away her eggs or chicks. A young male finch on the other hand, may get over the top when impressing the female finch that he might continue building the nest right on top of the eggs, which may endanger the young birds or eggs.

Young birds in particular may feel stressed out. Another potential problem when your finches are too immature is their tendency to feel that an invader is among them, and in turn may throw away the chicks once they are hatched. Waiting until your Gouldian finches are mature enough for breeding is time well spent and at the same time you would be avoiding many issues that might disappoint you.

Heat humidity and light are also very important factors to keep your finches healthy for breeding. Female Gouldians need at least 15 hours of sunlight. This triggers their instincts for breeding. Timers can also be installed in lights to make sure they get adequate lighting. Keep their environment at least in 68 degrees during winter months. Humidity in the breeding room shouldn't be less than 55%. Humidity is particularly important to the birds because it keeps their skin and feathers in good shape and avoids over dryness in the egg membranes when the chick attempts to hatch from their shell.

You can much have success in Gouldian finch breeding if you follow the tips above. Once everything is in perfect condition, Gouldian finch owners can breed at any season.

Does Your Pet Bird Love to Eat What You Are Eating?

Do they even try to steal food from your hand or dinner plate? I know our Quaker parrot, Charlie does. Whatever we are eating Charlie doesn't want to miss out on. As soon as he sees any type of food he wants it and he is not going to stop performing until he gets it.

Whilst we like to give Charlie a wide variety of foods, I have read that there are some that are highly dangerous to birds even fatal and you must not let your bird eat any of them. They are, avocado, chocolate, apple seeds including cherries, peaches, apricots and pears contain trace amounts of cyanide within their seeds. The fruit of the apple and pear is fine but the seeds are poisonous and there may be pesticides present on the fruit's skin so it is important to wash all food, onions, mushrooms, tomato leaves including the green coloured part, stems and vines and the same for potatoes, salt, caffeine including soda, coffee, and tea, dried beans are all not to be fed to your pet bird, cooked beans are considered ok as long as they are thoroughly cooked. Boiled eggs and the shell are a good source of nutrition as well.

Sometimes at meal times we make up a separate plate just for Charlie and sit it next to us on a birdbib so as he still feels like he is getting the same as us. There are times though that no matter what we do he just wants to eat from our plate. Although this may seem cute, funny, or whatever, it is not safe for your bird. They may just eat something that is poisonous to them and it could be fatal and then how cute would that be. I have watched my son clear away a space on his plate just for Charlie's food! Mmmm

After researching I have found that there is a wide variety of food that you can offer your pet bird, whether you have a Quaker parrot, Parrot, Budgerigar, Cockatiel any Parakeet. The foods include grapes, oranges, bananas, mangoes, melons -- just about any kind of fruit imaginable is good for your bird. alfafa sprouts, chile, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots (one of Charlies favourites), asparagus, peas, celery, thoroughly cooked beans and pasta cooked or raw (another of Charlie's favourite), cereal, grains, bread and a small amount of nuts are a great treat. They also love popcorn, but not the microwave type as they are very high in salt.

If your pet bird does like to eat what you are eating please make sure that the food you offer is safe for them, just as you would for any family member. After all our pets are just like family and we all should look after them and their health in the same way that we would a child, as they are just as or even more vulnerable. Pet birds are just like children, they love to eat what tastes good, not what is good for them. That saying comes to mind, sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind.

What is an Asagi Koi?

The Japanese is one of those famous people when it comes to breeding ornamental fish. Popular fishes that they keep are gold fish, carp, koi, and other tropical fish which are also popular, not only in Japan, but also around the world. The most common and popular is the koi keeping. At this present day, many people already engage their selves in keeping koi. This is also one reason why experts and breeders keep on producing different varieties of koi. They do the crossbreeding method to produce another different variety.

Now, if have you eaten or entered in a Japanese restaurant, you will always see that there are aquariums or ponds with different varieties of koi fish or carps. If they don't have aquariums, they have paintings and pictures of these fishes. Have you ever wonder why they have it? The answer is simple, it adds up to the decoration of the restaurant and at the same time it catches the eyes of the customers because of its beautiful colors. Another important factor why they have this is because they believe that it brings good luck to their business. They have symbolic meaning for this fish -- koi are symbol of love, friendship, and courage.

If you think that keeping koi fish will be easy, then I'm telling you it's somewhat challenging. As mentioned above, it comes in different varieties. Their variety varies with the color that they have in their body. One example is the Asagi koi which comes in blue or blue gray color with red lining on its side, belly and fins. This breed is one of the most common breeds that most keepers have.

Aside from Asagi koi, there are also other koi varieties like the Kohaku (one of the most common), Taisho Sanke, Bekko, Goromo, Matsuba Tancho, and Kawarimono (this breed is known to be unidentifiable when it comes to variety). It doesn't matter what variety you have, what I can assure you is no matter what you have, you will for sure enjoy keeping it. They can serve as your stress reliever.

Caring For Your Goldfish

In some cases it might happen to the owners that their aquarium fish die in tragedy out of improper care. Once you have made up your mind to keep goldfish at your home, it is imperative that you should have a good knowledge about how to take care of your goldfish. Even though it does not take much labor in caring for your goldfish, it does need meticulous care since they are so delicate. You can seek suggestions from the pet store in your neighborhood concerning how to care for your goldfish. Also, you can read some books or get some online information with regards to taking good care of goldfish.

A large aquarium can provide better environment for goldfish since they need more space to swim and play. Moreover, a large size aquarium rather than a fish bowl or container can help the goldfish breath into more oxygen to keep them more healthy.

Then you have to decide the amount of goldfish you would keep. The size of the aquarium should be taken into consideration, also, collect enough information about different kinds of goldfish and figure out which one best suits you.

A large number of goldfish demand top quality water. Prior to putting in water to the aquarium, make sure that your tap water should run for five minutes so as to rule out any chemical or dirt. As a matter of fact, keeping it over night is the best way to get it off lots of chemicals such as chlorine, copper or any other deleterious metals.

Koi Pond Algae - How to Prevent Or Remove it For Good!

Before even constructing your garden fond fish, you must come up with a thorough planning and study on how to make adequately a pond and sensibly take care of your koi fish. Consider some points on how to go about some of the important details like how to construct effectively garden koi fish pond, what aquatic plant to grow, how to take care of your koi fish collection and many more.

Let me show you an adequate step on how to deal with in preventing and removing some of the most common concerns of removing koi pond algae. First, focus on the manner on which you construct your koi fish pond. This is very important to detect if your pond is prone to algae growth or not. Though algae normally exist on ponds, it should not be allowed to grow excessively or it will cause immense problems.

Ponds should be constructed in a way that is easy to clean and remove falling debris on sides, top of water and even in depth debris that settled down at the bottom of the pond. To resolve this concern, creating a slope going to one side so that all debris would settle in one place only is appropriate. It creates accessibility and convenience when cleaning. Make variations to the depths of your garden pond fish, perhaps you can have a 35-40% deepest area and another 25 to 30% second level and the rest leaves to the first level. You can have the depth at 1 1/2 to 2 feet.

Second is, try to choose or grow aquatic plants. Algae grows rapidly in waters with high nutrient value. With the presence of aquatic plants and other floating plants like water lilies, lettuce and others you can reduce nutrients. Moreover they can prevent sunlight from penetrating the pond thus reduce growth of algae.

Third, is to clean frequently your koi fish pond especially decaying leaves and debris which highly increases nutrition to algae if not given attention to. Manually remove this debris or use a skimmer in biological pond filters. In order also to minimize falling debris avoid planting trees that excessively gives out excessive debris. However, do not go greedy about not to plant trees near the garden pond. Remember their vital role on giving shelter to your koi and limiting sunlight to your koi fish pond.

Fourth, is to make use of Ultraviolet sterilizers. This is use to damage DNA structure suspended algae which make them clamp together, thus easier to clean. You may use chemical filters in removing it. These UV sterilizers get rid only to those harmful bacteria and micro-organisms making your water crystal clear again. This method is safe and immensely effective, and not to worry because it does not affect string algae in your koi pond.

Fifth, I greatly recommend the use of beneficial bacteria. Regular use can tremendously help in natural algae control which is true to all algae types. Beneficial bacteria can also help reduce water order and improve health of fish. To aid in the growth of this bacterium is by putting in or using rocks and stones as part of your decorative design of your koi pond fish. Having many rocks and stones will definitely aid in the growth of beneficial bacteria.

With these simple ideas I hope it will conspicuously help you in dealing with koi pond algae or better yet prevent rapid growth of algae in your koi fish pond.