Aquarium Care

Whether it’s your first aquarium or you are an expert aquarist, bringing fish home from the store can be a tricky task for everyone. Getting your fish home safely can be easy or very difficult. With a few steps your fish can arrive home and be happy and healthy. The distance to get your fish is a big factor in getting your pets home safely. Longer distance can cause hardships for the fish and yourself.

If at all possible the best thing to do, for the fish is to take them home ASAP. The fish can survive for only awhile in the bags they come it. The bags are filled with air and the fish can live only for a while without airflow.

If you live far away you should either plan to bring the fish home or bring a small aquarium to put fish in. If you need to do other things plan and get the fish last on your trip. If this is not possible, bring a small plastic tank and make sure you leave the fish in a cool place.

The fish can overheat and freeze, but if someone is with the fish they will be fine. Leaving the fish in the bags is fine, for a short period of time. The fish cannot survive long without airflow. If it is possible the fish should be put in a plastic tank.

When the fish are home there is one step left to insure their security to the tank. If the fish were in the small tank, put them back in the bags. Float the bags in the tank for at lest twenty minutes to get the fish used to the water. When the fish are acclimated net out he fish and put them in the tank. Do not dump the water into your tank; you can avoid diseases and bad water by not pouring out the water into your tank.

Float the fish the fish in the tank for around thirty minutes. After they have been exposed to the temperature of the tank, release them into the tank. A good tip is to not pour the water from the bags into the tank. Putting water that is from other tanks could be contaminated. Net out the fish and put them in the tank the tank. Putting the fish in the tank without the bag water can also prevent diseases.

Roshan Goodman gives tips on aquarium advice and on starting a fish tank.

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Aquarium cleaning is a monthly task that must be done weather or not you want to do it. If you do it right the process can be very easy or difficult. The size of your tank can depend on how long it takes to clean. If you have a very big tank, and the tank is established then you may not want to vacuum out all of the debris it is good for the fishes growth and development. If you have a smaller tank the tank will take longer to be established and you may want to vacuum out all the debris.

When cleaning a tank, changing the filters is the first step. If you have a bio filter, or power filter changing the filters is a breeze. A under gravel filter is another story. You must remove all the plants, decor and accessories. Then you must pull it out from under the gravel to clean.

Once the filters are cleaned, replace them with new ones. If you have an underground filter do not replace it back in the tank yet. If you have an established tank then leave the plants and decor, even if they have algae on them. If you do not have an established tank or smaller tank (ten gallon or smaller) then wash off all the plants and decor. If you have real plants do not wash them.

After the accessories, decor and plants have been washed do not place them back in the tank yet. The next step is to siphon the tank. Siphon no more than one third of the water out of the tank. Siphoning the tank is just like vacuuming the tanks. Be careful not to vacuum up any small fish. If there is still debris at the bottom of the tank fill it with water and re siphon until all debris is gone. If you have an established tank then only siphon out some of the debris and leave a little in the gravel.

When replacing the water only use soft water so the fish do not die of shock. Soft water is water without minerals. Tap water or filtered water is considered soft water. After the water has been replaced remember to not fill the tank too high because, the plants, decor and filters have to still be added.

Replace the under gravel filter if you have one. Also consider in investing a power filter, this will make your life a lot easier. Then replace the plants and decor. You’re all done, and now your tank is clean. Remember that cleaning a tank can be traumatizing for the fish, so they might be timid for a while after the clean.

Roshan Goodman gives cool info on fish tank and advice on aquarium related things.

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