A freshwater tropical aquarium can be an eye-catching accessory for your home that can be both attractive to look at and beneficial. It will be a source of enjoyment to guests and householders and everyone will be enthralled and entertained. For beginners setting up a tropical fish tank aquarium for the very first here are some tips to assist you to make the most of your new aquarium and to keep it in good condition and looking gorgeous.
Study the species of fish you will be putting into your aquarium before going to buy your fish. Make certain you appreciate how large the fish will grow and the number that can be easily housed in your tank once they are fully grown. A too crowded tank will not be a healthy tank! Then look into the types of fishes that can be placed together. A tank that holds several fish species that can live peacefully together is called a community tank. A few fish, for instance tiger barbs and rosy barbs, might be all right when they are young but grow up into aggressive bullies. There are lots of fish that can be put in a community tank including Lyretail, Leopard Catfish, Horseface Loach, Hatchetfish, Guppy, Molly, Neon Tetra, Opaline Gourami. Head Tail Light Tetra and lots more.
Now that your aquarium is filled with fish here are some tips to make it easier to keep it healthy:
* Never overfeed - Decaying food left in the tank will give off noxious chemicals and damage your fish. Only add as much food as your fish are able to eat completely in about 3 minutes, twice a day. Fish are meant to be hungry most of the time and if they do not come to the top of the aquarium when you start to add the food you are giving them too much!
* Every fortnight partially change the water. Wipe the glass every week with an algae scraper and now and then take out synthetic plants, rocks and decorations to remove any algae. Do not remove all of the water or clean the filter, ornaments, rocks, plants etc all together same time. This will eliminate all the useful microorganisms that you spent so long to encourage in the first place and cause stress to the fish as the ammonia levels escalate.
* Top up the tank when necessary with water that is chlorine free. If you don’t want to use de chlorinate the water with chemicals, leave a covered bucket of tap water for 2 days to permit the chlorine to evaporate
* For new fish or fish that develop any symptoms you will need a small quarantine fish tank. Place any newly bought fish in the quarantine tank for about seven days to avoid introducing any diseases into your main aquarium.
* Carry on testing the water for ammonia, nitrite and pH levels four or five times a week to catch anything going wrong before suffering is caused to your fish. If ammonia or nitrite levels increase a partial water change often corrects things without having to use any harsh chemicals.
Lastly enjoy your hobby and consider going to a local club. Discussing problems with other tropical fish enthusiasts is an excellent way to find out more about your new hobby.
