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All about fish
fish care
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fish care
Your First Aquarium
Your first aquarium can be a
10-gallon or a 300-gallon tank, as long as you have a balanced,
self-contained world.
In the wild, your fish would live
in a much larger body of water in which nature would filter out
waste materials. In your aquarium, however, the single greatest
killer of fish is the build up of waste materials, those excess
food and fish wastes which must be filtered out or changed into
harmless compounds to prevent poisoning of your fish.
The basic item for the home
aquarium is the container to house your fish. There are many
tanks on the market today. Tanks made of glass or plastic tanks
in all shapes, and some that even double as coffee tables or
lamps. But, whatever tank you choose, you will need the same
basic equipment: a tank with a hood containing a light source to
control the length of day and season, a heater to control the
temperature, and a filtration system to aerate and clean the
water.
One of the best filters for the
conversion of waste is the undergravel filter, a plate with water
lift tubes that is placed under the aquarium gravel. Water is
drawn down through the gravel and up through the lift tubes
causing the waste to be trapped in or filtered through the
gravel, where bacteria can convert the wastes into harmless
compounds. Another type of filter is the outside power filter,
which operates outside of the aquarium and pulls water from the
tank and filters this water though a medium of sponge foam and
charcoal, before returning it to the tank. Outside power filters
remove large, floating waste particles from the water and are
recommended when messy fish, like goldfish, are kept. Many people
prefer a combination of an under-gravel filter (for bacterial
action), and an outside power filter (to remove large waste
particles); this combination makes tank upkeep much less work.
Your choice of fish is a matter of
personal preference, but there are a few basic rules to follow:
Do not put too many fish in your tank, overpopulation stress fish
and is the #1 cause of disease and other problems. Buy
inexpensive tropical fish for your first try, so that if the fish
dies, you are not bankrupt! Choose fish that require the same
water conditions, temperature and food, not fresh and salt water
fish together, for example. Buy young fish and watch them grow.
Immature fish cost less and small fish are less likely to over
crowd your tank. Make sure your fish will grow up to be the same
size, large fish will eat smaller fish. Choose compatible fish.
You do not want territorial or combative fish chasing (or chewing
on) milder ones. Do not buy your tank and your fish at the same
time. Get your tank and set it up and then buy your fish.
Last, but not least, do not rely
on scavengers to eat excess food or fish waste. If you over feed
your fish, the food will spoil and foul your tank. Only feed your
fish the amount of food they can eat in five minutes. Feed them
once or twice a day. Remember that, healthy and hungry fish are
active fish.
The care and upkeep of your tank
will depend on your filtration system and the number of fish you
have. If your filter controls the poisons caused by fish wastes,
you will only have to replace water lost through evaporation and
do a basic clean up and one-third water change about once a
month. If you over feed your fish or have an inefficient
filtration system (like a small, inside corner filter), you have
to change your water more often to keep your fish happy and
healthy.
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