Pet and Animal Care – Tips For Treating a Freshwater Fish Aquarium
Freshwater fish are perhaps the easiest fish to care for in comparison to saltwater species because they are usually hardier fish. You will need a tank, some rocks or substrate to line bottom of the tank. You will also need a filter, and some lighting. When choosing fish, it is imperative to make sure the fish are compatible. Not only do they need to be compatible for water temperature and P.H., but they also should have similar food requirements.
The water temperature in an aquarium for guppies should be kept between seventy two and eighty two degrees. The P.H. level should be kept between 7.0 and 8.2. As you can see these specifications are much more forgiving than those for certain tropical or marine fish. As with any type of aquarium, there are three basic components to caring for the fish.
Freshwater fish should be fed twice daily. Feed only a small amount that can be consumed within the first two to five minutes. Over feeding is a common mistake among novice fish keepers. Any excess food should be lifted with a net if possible, as it will become debris and quickly dirty the tank.
Conversely, most tropical fish will only allow about two degrees of variation in water temperature. It is not uncommon for the novice fish keeper to become easily discouraged. Water conditions are hard to regulate and unfortunately fish, even the freshwater variety, are not the hardiest of creatures. Sometimes they do not survive these fluctuations. It is important to be patient.
Be sure to clean the decorations and any substrate thoroughly before adding them to the aquarium. Live plants are highly recommended in new aquariums as they will help to generate the good bacteria necessary to reduce the amount of ammonia in the tank. It is a good idea to test the ammonia and nitrite levels before adding fish to the aquarium.
A few varieties of guppies are the Fantail, Flagtail, Spadetail, Deltatail and the Roundtail. The names of all of these different types of guppies focus on the tails because they are so remarkable and unique. The tail itself is usually about one third of the size of the whole fish. It is possible to mix guppies with other varieties of fish.
Guppies breed very quickly, usually about every three to four weeks. They will interbreed amongst themselves, so the aquarium could very quickly become filled with many different varieties of color. It is very feasible to have an attractive aquarium without having any other fish at all. If you don’t want the species to interbreed, simply keep them in separate tanks.
Jeff Parke is a writer and blogger who writes articles and blog posts specializing in animals, pets and animals rights. His betta fish care site is one of his many projects that he is passionate about. Along with betta fish care he has written about cats, dog and animal rights just to name a few. Click one of those links to learn more.
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