How to remove a tick

Source: CDC

On 08.07.2012 I got bitten by a tick. I have identified the tick as being an Ixodos ricinus nymph female. Due to the fact that the tick had not been attached to my body more than 24 hours the doctor decided to keep me under observation without prescribing me any antibiotics.

Ticks are the leading carriers of diseases to humans in the United States and more recently in Europe. The most common disease ticks are responsible for spreading is Lyme disease (borreliosis) aka the disease with 100 faces  (due to how differently the disease affects each person).

Now if  you identified a tick attached to your body here is what you should do:

1. Stay calm . 
Stressing about it won't help you remove it. Not all ticks bear diseases. Maybe you ended up being bitten my a healthy one . At this stage it's important not to panic and think positive.

2. Remove the tick . 
The center for Disease Control and Prevention recommends the following:

• Use fine-tipped tweezers to grasp the tick as close to the skin's surface as possible.
• Pull upward with steady, even pressure. Don't twist or jerk the tick; this can cause the mouth-parts to break off and remain in the skin. If this happens, remove the mouth-parts with tweezers. If you are unable to remove the mouth easily with clean tweezers, leave it alone and let the skin heal.
• After removing the tick, thoroughly clean the bite area and your hands with rubbing alcohol, an iodine scrub, or soap and water.

3. See a doctor. 
Just to be sure you are OK after you have removed the tick  see a doctor and follow his/her advice. I would place seeing a doctor as the second stage but going to the ER unit and waiting in line would only increase the chances of infection (the longer the tick stays attached to your body the more the risk of being infested)

4. Write down the date you have been bitten. 
In 80% of the cases if the tick bears the Lyme disease and you don't get any symptoms (commonly  a circular, outwardly expanding rash called erythema chronicum migrans) in 3 to 30 days after you have been bitten then you are off the hook, for now.

I wish you a tick free day!!!

Litter box syndrome

Cats can be considered the VIPs among domestic animals. Versatile and extremely intelligent they are very cautions when it comes to their personal hygiene. For them the litter box is the human’s equivalent for toilette. Therefore it comes as no surprise that this private space must suit their every need. In one out of ten cases a cat will avoid the litter box. This erratic behavior hides some of the cat’s most pressing problems. These issues can be related to either a medical aliment, sanitation or location problem with the sandbox or even emotional stress. If not dealt with in time the feline will most likely develop a litter box syndrome: he or she will become scared of using their own toilette.

Do not punish you cat or forcefully place him/her in the litter box if he/she refuses to use it. Instead try these tips:

1. Follow your cat and see where in the house he/she feels most comfortable. That is the best location where you should place the litter box
2. Make sure the litter box is unscented and uncovered. Also, scoop the sand at least once a day.
3. Have you cat checked out by a veterinarian. Cats can develop FUS (Feline Uremic Syndrome), a group of urinary tract related symptoms which in the end can lead to the cat’s loss of the sandbox habit.

Mediterranean Barbel

Barbus Meridionalis is the scientific name for the Mediterranean barbel, a fish belonging to the Cyprinidae family of fish. Its natural habitats are rivers and intermittent rivers draining to Mediterranean from Besos near Barcelona, Spain to Var, near Nice in France.

The Mediterranean barbel has an elongated and stocky body covered with small scales. When mature the Mediterranean barbel reaches up to 70 cm in length and 1,5 kg in weight. It feeds on larvae and (rarely) plants.
Adult Mediterranean barbels often shoal being active during dusk and dawn. The Mediterranean barbell life span is of 15 years.

Male barbels reach sexual maturity at 2 to 5 years of age and females at 2 years.

Mediterranean barbel spawning season begins in early May and lasts until the end of June. Male barbel body color changes when spawning starts. .Usually males gather at spawning grounds and follow ripe females, often with much splashing, to shallow riffles. During the spawning act, one male swims head to head with the female. The rest of the males, wait in the spawning site, to later join the couple into fertilizing the eggs. Female barbels spawn several times during a season at intervals of 10 to 15 days. A mature female barbel can produce between 5.000 and 12.000 eggs. The eggs are slightly sticky and they easily attach to the stones or the gravel that covers the river bed. The young fry feed on a wide variety of benthic invertebrates and algae from the shallow shoreline habitats. As they grow the barbels leave the shores for faster-flowing waters

The Mediterranean barbel eggs are not eatable, showing some degree of toxicity. If eaten the barbel eggs can cause headaches, nausea and diarrhea.

The Mediterranean barbel is a tasty fish, although it has quite a few bones.

Carp Bream Breeding

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Abramis brama commonly known as carp bream is a fresh water fish which can be found in north of the Alps and Pyrenees, in the Caspian Sea, the Black Sea, and the Aral Sea. The fish belongs to the family of Cyprinidae along with other 1.500 species.

The carp bream fish reaches sexual maturity after three to four years. When mature the carp bream reaches up to 55 centimeters in length and an average weight of around 5 kilograms.

The carp bream can be easily recognized due to its laterally flattened posture and high-backed body. The fish has a silvery gray color and its fins are gray. Carp bream live in schools near the bottom of nutrient reach lakes or rivers.

The carp bream spawning process starts from late April and lasts until June when water temperature is above 150 C. During this period the males divide their territories where females can lay their eggs. Usually a mature carp bream female can lay up to 100.000 eggs per kg of body weight. With some carp bream this means around 500.000 eggs per spawning. Out of the 500.000 eggs approximately 20% to 30% hatch after three to twelve days. The carp bream female leaves the spawning grounds immediately after laying the eggs without taking care of its offspring.
After hatching the fish larvae attached themselves to water plants until the yolk bubble dissipates. 10% of the hatched eggs make it to becoming a fry. When the larva becomes a fry, it starts the independent active feeding. For carp bream fish reaching maturity is quite a hazardous process. The fry are often eaten by bigger fish or birds leaving a small percentage of fish to make it to maturity. Only after 5 to 6 months the young carp bream fish take their typical posture and become bottom dwellers.

Wahoo

The Wahoo Acanthocybium solandri is an oceanic fish found worldwide in tropical and subtropical seas especially near reefs or in holes in the seabed. Wahoo belongs to Scombridae family of fish and is reputedly known as one of the fastest fish in the sea reaching up to 70 km/hour.

Wahoo is a cigar shaped fish covered with small scales. It has around 20 blue vertical bands on its back which extend below the lower line of its ventral. Wahoo has a strong, large mouth with triangular teethes finely serrated.

A mature Wahoo has on average 2 m in length and 80 kg in weight. Wahoo are carnivorous fish feeding on jacks, herring, tuna, pilchards, squads or scads. A hungry Wahoo can even attempt to eat one of its own kind.

Wahoo travel in small groups of 2 to 10 individuals making it a hard to catch fish even for the most experienced fisherman.

Wahoo fish generally spawn during May and August every year. A mature female can produce up to 60 million buoyant eggs. Males travel long distances to spawn. Little it is known about what exactly triggers the female to lay the eggs but what it is certain is that the male has to fertilize the eggs quickly or else they will die. As a survival strategy the female lays the eggs sporadically throughout the spawn season. Typically the eggs are laid close to shore. Newly hatched Wahoo have 2.5 mm and prefer shallow water less than 100 m in depth. Wahoo grow relatively quick reaching sexual maturity in the second year of their lives. Usually Wahoo live around 6 years.

The Wahoo are commonly known as Barracuda, Kingfish, Malata Kingfish, Pacific King-fish, Queenfish.

Betta Splendens

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Betta Splendens or more commonly known as Siamese Fighting Fish is one of the most beautiful colorful fish you’ve ever seen. Breeding bettas is neither hard nor expensive but in order for the reproduction process to be a complete success you must respect a sequence of steps.

• First you need to prepare the pair for spawning. To do so you must change their water daily for one or two weeks and feed them intensively with live and frozen food. 
• Second work on setting up the proper tank for spawning. Normally a ten gallon tank with 50w submersible heater, a sponge filter and lots of live plants would suffice in creating the perfect environment for the betta fry to properly develop. You should also place a Styrofoam cup cut in half for the nest site and a glass container to separate the male from female. 
• Third step is accustoming the pair with their new environment. This can be done by taking each fish (first the male and then the female) in a cup of water and gradually allowing them to come in contact with the water in the spawn tank. The female must be place in the glass enclosure until the setting is ready for her to spawn. This is an important phase as releasing the betta female to soon can affect the breeding process in an irreversible way. At this stage observing the female closely is critical. Four signs will tell you when she is ready to spawn: her attitude towards the betta male – she will no longer be scared of him, her stomach form –her stomach will look like she had swollen a marble piece, the vertical line bars that will appear on her body and the way she swims to show off her lines. When the betta female displays at least three of the four signs you can release her into the spawn tank and let the reproduction process start. This is quite a hectic scene with lots of chasing around the tank, nipping of the fins and nest destruction if the female doesn’t like it. The male will build a new one and things will start to calm once she approves the nest. Then they will start dancing and embracing near the nest. This is quite spectacular as the male will grip the female with his body and twist her feverishly. This embrace will last about 10 to 20 seconds at which time both eggs and sperm will be released. The male will place the eggs into the nest and the reproduction process will continue for another three hours. 
• Once the reproduction it’s over the male will chase the female away. At this point you can place the female in the glass enclosure. The male will take care of the eggs making sure they remain in the nest. After two or three days the eggs will hatch and the male will struggle to keep the fry from falling out of the nest. Once the fry will begin to swim on their own the male’s job will end and he too can remove him from the tank. This usually takes place 48 hours after the hatch.

Betta breeding can lead to exceptional results in terms of colors and finnage making you the proud owner of one or two dozens of splendid tropical fish.