A few Things to Know About Aquarium Care
by Rick Allen.
Date: 1 November 2009
Many people who want a pet may choose to overlook a dog or a cat because they think of all the food and maintenance which goes into taking care of our mammalian friends. They often turn to buying an aquarium and a few fish as an alternative. Little did they realize that in order to take care of an aquarium, one must know that it can take some work?
Aquariums usually need care and maintenance not only in regards to the equipment but also in regards to the fish and plants that are put inside.
Aquariums need to be well taken care of in order to be appreciated.
This means knowing how to clean, care and maintain an ideal environment for the fish and the plants inside. Following are some useful tips that should be used in order to keep a well-maintained aquarium.
Avoid over-feeding.
Do not over-feed the fish in your aquarium. Learn what is the proper food and the quantity necessary for the type of fish inhabiting your aquarium and do not diverge from what is recommended. Being too generous will waste food and dirty the water in the aquarium quicker.
Although it is far from perfect or ideal, since an aquarium is definitely not large enough to recreate all of the different aspects that make up the natural surroundings normal for the fish, you must be aware that you are trying to recreate as best as is possible a healthy environment for your fish.
Take waste disposal for example, aquariums may not be as well equipped in taking care of the waste brought about by decomposition including the development of nitrites like they would be in the natural underwater surroundings. But there are techniques which can be used to prevent such wastes from excessively polluting the aquarium environment and this starts by feeding your fish with only the professionally recommended amounts and nothing more.
Change the Water.
Make it a point to change at least half of the water inside your aquarium once each month. This will help in diluting and removing the nitrates in the water before it accumulates to dangerous levels.
Changing the aquarium water regularly may also help get rid and prevent certain diseases from entering into the fish population in your aquarium.
Changing the water regularly may also help replace some essential trace elements that may have been used up in your aquarium.
An important point to bear in mind also is that changing more than half of the aquarium water at any one time may not be safe for the fish since it may create an abrupt change in the surroundings that may be stressful for the fish.
Have a quarantine aquarium.
In the event that you have a sick fish, it is a good idea to have a separate aquarium available to quarantine it from the healthy fish. Any new additions to your aquarium can also be placed in this aquarium until you can evaluate them in regards to their health.
The quarantine area will help in separating the sick fish from the others and therefore may help curb widespread infection. This also holds true when adding new fish to your main aquarium.
The quarantine area may be used to get the new fish acquainted with the new aquarium environment as well as help prevent possible contagious threats from directly affecting your other fish collection.
Now that you realize that owning fish may involve some work, hopefully you will not be deterred from entering into this rewarding experience.
