Tropical Fish Keeping

Setting up an aquarium for both you and the children will add an eye-catching feature to a room and provide you with a fascinating hobby. Here are a few tips for the beginner:

Where should it go?

Direct sunlight will encourage algae to grow, and fluctuating temperatures may cause the fish to suffer. For this reason window-sills are best avoided. It is worth getting this right since re-siting is time consuming. An electricity socket should be near, otherwise you will need long socket extensions.

What you need

A fully functioning freshwater tropical tank will need the following before the fish are added. Gravel, heaters, filters, aeration, lighting, plants (plastic or real) rocks or other tank furniture. The choice of furniture is vast these days, ranging from fake roman ruins to shipwrecked boats. For marine tanks, these need, in addition to the above, saltwater. This means adding a synthetic sea-mix (available from your aquatic dealer). Plants should not be added to marine tanks, but corals can make the tank look very attractive.

An alternative to internal/external filtration is a biological filter. This consists of plates that slot together under the gravel connected to plastic tubes and powerheads, the latter creating a flow of oxygen into the water. These do not require much maintenance, although a periodic wipe of the impeller (blade) is advisable (when the power head is unplugged of course). These are less trouble to maintain due as there is no filter medium to keep clean, and work by using bacteria in the tank to convert toxic substances into harmless ones. However, these filters have to be in place before the gravel is placed on top.

Real plants can be difficult to grow, (but not impossible) with biological filters because of the pull underneath the gravel. If you keep vegetarian fish, they are likely to eat them anyway. In this case plastic plants are preferable.

When fitting heaters don’t be tempted to test them outside of the water, since they are not designed for this, and are likely to blow a fuse. You should study the temperature needs of individual fish, but usually for the beginner an approximate temperature of 75ºF (24ºC) is sufficient. Heaters have thermostats fitted, and so the correct setting should be used. In the event of a power cut, do not worry about the temperature drop. Severe temperature loss will not occur for several hours, and in the wild the fish are used to a degree of fluctuation. Wrap the tank in a blanket or layers of newspapers to conserve heat.

Buying Fish

Never buy fish from a store showing tanks containing dead fish, even if the remaining fish look healthy. These could carry disease, which could spread to the rest of your fish. During the initial stages it is worth buying only the cheaper, hardier species to avoid heavy financial losses. If you lose any fish, remove these immediately from the tank to avoid polluting the tank.

Before buying study carefully which fish are compatible – most aquatic dealers have knowledgeable staff to advise. Tiger barbs for instance, should be kept in shoals, since they can become aggressive when kept alone with other species.

When adding new fish to the tank, do not put them in straight from the bag they have travelled in. You will need to float the bag for 20 minutes in order to equalize the temperature of the bag to the water in the tank. Then, add some water from the tank to the bag before releasing the fish. Whilst this is going on, it is advisable to give some food to the tank’s inhabitants so that they are distracted from what is in the bag

.

Care and Maintenance

Lights need to be turned off at night. The fish and any live plants you may have need 10 – 15 hours of light each day. Timers are great since you don’t have to remember to turn them off, and these are beneficial when you are going on holiday.

Remember to siphon the gravel regularly. Any fish defacations and left over food not only looks unsightly, but it can pollute the tank. It is easier to do this while carrying out a water change – simply siphon out the water above the gravel and watch the dirty water come out. The tank itself will not need to be cleaned from top to bottom – the filters do much of the work, but it is necessary to wipe the cover glasses and sides regularly, particularly if algae is starting to grow on it. Some people allow algae to grow on the sides as food for vegetarian fish. If you do have an algae problem it is well worth buying some suckermouth catfish. These eat green algae and help to keep the gravel clean.

It needs pointing out that it is not necessary to physically suck a siphon to start it working. Simply tip it on its side so that it fills naturally with water then vigorously shake the siphon up and down until the water extends over the top of the siphon.

Partial water changes needs to take place every 3/4 weeks, (change 20 – 25% of the water). Never change more than this or else you will disturb the ecological balance in the tank and the shock may kill the fish. During a water-change lay out newspapers or towels to soak up any spillages.

It is advisable to add the following medication to the tank after each water change:

• A live bacteria product. These can be obtained from your aquatic dealer. This will consume ammonia and nitrite and prevent fish loss. After opening it needs to be kept in the refrigerator.
• An algae-reducing product.
• A water conditioner to get rid of chlorine and chloramine.

If you have internal or external power filters the medium needs to be changed or rinsed regularly, usually around every month, depending on the number of fish and state of the tank. Experience will tell you.

Enjoy your tank!