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Posts Tagged ‘fish tank aquarium’

Now you’ve installed your fish tank aquarium you will want to take pleasure in your new pastime. Taking care of your new fish tank aquarium is not too difficult, nevertheless several problems sometimes happen, particularly in new fish tank aquariums. Everything may seem fine initially then gradually algae starts to develop and completely take over the aquarium, your fish begin to get sick and die and your newly set up aquarium no longer looks like the aquariums in the pictures. So what did you do wrong? How can you make it right?

First of all don’t panic and definitely do not go to the aquarium supplier, purchase some chemicals and toss them into the aquarium. This will only compound the problems! Something else that novice fish tank owners often do when panicking is to clean the tank to start over. This is completely the wrong thing to do as any valuable bacteria that you have in the tank will be tossed out as well and you will then have to re-cycle the tank all over again.

You really need to find out what is wrong and slowly deal with it, without any harsh chemical procedures which will upset the the aquarium’s balance further.

Increase of Toxic Chemicals

The most distressing trouble is sudden fish death. Did you take the time to cycle the tank before before you stocked with fish? The most frequent reason for fish dying suddenly is a build up of nitrites or ammonia from the fish’s waste products. You’ll need to use a test kit to see if this is the reason. If you didn’t properly cycle there will be too few beneficial bacteria to deal with the toxic waste products, especially if you have lots of fish.  Are there to many fish in the tank? This will undoubtedly be too much for the bacteria that are dealing with the waste and lead to an increase in the levels of ammonia and nitrite.

Bullying Fish

Do you have a good combination of species in your tank? A number of fish may be OK when immature but will bully other fish when mature. One example is the Tiger Barb. Bullying fish should be removed and given away!

Lack of Water Changes

Have you done partial water changes often enough? Although ammonia and nitrites are removed by the beneficial bacteria, they convert these into the less toxic nitrates. Still nitrates can also cause a problem. When nitrate levels become too high they are able to cause harm to your fish and they must be removed by a partial water change.

Adding Chlorine or Chloramine Contaminated Water

Tap water will always be contaminated with chlorine which is easily removed by leaving the water standing in a bucket for two days. Some water authorities sometimes add chloramines which you can’t remove in this way. If your tap water does contain chloramines, or you are not sure, you should add a chemical treatment to deal with them them before adding the water to the fish tank.

Overfeeding The Fish

Overfeeding is a frequent problem, that leads to uneaten, food rotting. This then causes the release of deadly chemicals that put an extra burden on the bacteria. The result is an abrupt increase in these chemicals that can cause harm to the fish. When you are feeding your fish ensure you Do not give them more than they can consume in roughly 3 minutes. If food sits on the tank bottom you are overfeeding!

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A tropical aquarium can be a beautiful accessory for your home that is both good-looking and beneficial. It will be a source of enjoyment to family and visitors and both children and adults will be captivated and entertained. For beginners setting up a tropical fish tank aquarium for the first time we’ve put together some tips to assist you to make the most of your new aquarium and to keep it in good condition and looking attractive.

Study the species of fish you will be putting in your aquarium before you go to buy your fish. Make sure you know how large the fish will grow and how many can be safely housed in your tank when they are mature. An overstocked tank will not be a healthy tank! Next look into the fish that can be kept together. A tank that contains various fish species that live peacefully together is known as a community tank. Several fish, for example rosy barbs and tiger barbs, may well be fine when they are very young but mature into aggressive bullies. There are many fish that can be put into a community tank including Neon Tetra, Rainbowfish, Hatchetfish, Molly, Harlequin Rasbora, Leopard Catfish, Opaline Gourami, Platy, Head Tail Light Tetra, Guppy, Pearl Gourami, Penguin Fish, Horseface Loach, Lyretail and loads more.

Now that your aquarium is filled with fish here are a few tips to make it easier to maintain it:

* Never overfeed – Decaying food left in the fish tank will give off noxious chemicals and hurt your fish. Only put in as much food as the fish can eat completely in approximately 3 minutes, twice a day. Fish are meant to be hungry nearly all of the time and if they don’t come up to to the top of the aquarium when you open the lid to feed them you are giving them too much!

* Twice a month partially change the water. Wipe the glass every week using an algae scraper and occasionally take out rocks, ornaments and synthetic plants to remove any algae. Don’t exchange all the water or clean the filter, ornaments, rocks, plants etc all together same time. This will remove all the helpful microorganisms that you worked so hard to encourage in the first place and cause stress to the fish as the ammonia levels increase.

* When necessary, top up with water that is free of chlorine. If you do not want to use chemicals to de chlorinate the water, leave a covered pail of tap water for 2 days to let the chlorine to disperse

* For newly purchased fish or fish that appear sick you should set up a small quarantine tank. Place any newly purchased fish into the quarantine tank for no less than 7 days to avoid introducing diseases and parasites into your main fish tank.

* Continue to test the water for pH, ammonia and nitrite levels two or three times a week to notice any problems before suffering is caused to your fish. If ammonia or nitrite levels increase a partial water change often corrects things without resorting to any chemicals.

Finally have fun and think about going to a local club. Talking with other tropical fish enthusiasts is a good way to find out more about your new hobby.