Your Starter Guide
for Owning Fish
Keeping fish is a rewarding and exciting hobby but before you go out and purchase your first aquarium, here are a few factors to consider to help you before you do so. If you are uncertain of anything always make sure you ask questions before purchasing.
Aquariums are fun and great for the whole family and making sure you have the correct knowledge is key to any successful fish keeping.
Size of your aquarium
There are many types of aquariums out on the market such as rectangle, square, round or even hexi shaped. Making sure you have enough room in the area as to where is will be situated is always an important factor as well as knowing how many litres you are wanting your new tank to hold.
Species of fish
When it comes to deciding what species of fish you will be housing. These factors are very important because it will allow you to know what size aquarium you will need to have, as certain species of fish all have their own personalities as well as the different sizes they will grow. Some fish like live plants where others prefer a rockier out crop. Asking questions before purchasing your fish as not all fish are able to live together.
Filtration
The most important factor to remember before anything else regarding an aquarium and that is filtration. Filtration is most probably the first thing that a new hobbyist is never told correctly and that is the correct filtration for the size of their aquarium. There are a heap of excellent filtration products on the market such as Eheim, Fluval, Aqua One etc and knowing what size to use is very important. When purchasing a filter always make sure that is able to filter the total litres of the aquarium water 3 times in one hour. This calculation will makes sure that there is a sufficient amount of filtration running in the aquarium.
Lighting
Most aquariums now days have their lighting units built in to them. Some older models will still have the florescent tubes running either Tropical or Sunlight whereas the newer model aquariums now are fitted with LED lighting. Making sure you have the correct lighting is very important especially if you are wanting to grow live aquatic plants. Many plants require a good amount of lighting in order to grow and stay healthy, but also knowing how many hours to run your lighting is just as important as not to grow algae in the aquarium.
Food
Different species of fish like different types of foods. There are many varieties of foods now days on the market and feeding a good premium flake or pellet will bring out the best health for you fish. There of types such as Colour enhancing flakes, Bloodworms, Tubifex Worms, Algae Wafers and even gel forms that are great for a variety of species and are designed to keep your scaly friends in prime condition.
Maintenance and chemistry
No matter what size your aquarium is, you will always need to perform some sort of maintenance and water change to keep you aquarium clean and free of pollutants. This is done so by using a vacuum gravel pump or cleaner. By using this device you will be removing any unwanted waste, old food and decaying matter out of the water which can cause deadly toxins to elevate to levels that can cause major sickness and even fatalities in the aquarium.
Using and adding a good water conditioner and beneficial bacteria to your aquarium after you gravel clean and water change will remove any chlorine, heavy metals and unwanted toxins in the aquarium. This is very important that you do this no matter what water is used to refill the aquarium again.