Saucy Pet

Posts Tagged ‘setting up a tropical aquarium’

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.