| Aquarium keeping at home can be a wonderful | | | | Females of some varieties can be pestered to |
| hobby. A well maintained aquarium properly lit can | | | | despair by the males so it can be good to have a |
| look stunning with crystal clear water, colourful, | | | | ratio of females to males of certain species of |
| healthy fish going about their business moving | | | | around 2 or 3 to 1. Some fish prefer to stay near the |
| between thriving exotic plants. It's no wonder that | | | | gravel while others prefer to swim near the surface. |
| aquariums are common place in dentists and doctors | | | | Different fish require different conditions |
| waiting rooms because they are well known to | | | | (temperature, water ph etc), although this is not |
| provide stress relief, in general they have a calming | | | | normally a major issue it should be considered. You |
| effect on people. | | | | should not buy any fish that look sickly or have split |
| On the other hand, if you haven't started out on the | | | | fins, always go for the lively ones that are difficult to |
| right foot then you could have a nightmare on your | | | | catch. The best approach is to find a really |
| hands; cloudy water, diseased and dying fish, straggly | | | | knowledgeable fish supplier who can advise you |
| plants etc. So make sure you follow the guidelines | | | | about these things. |
| outlined below and this won't happen to you. | | | | Do not overstock you tank |
| Do Not Buy A So Called Beginners Tank | | | | There are various 'rules of thumb' for calculating the |
| Small tanks, generally 12 to 18 inches across, are | | | | fish capacity of your tank. Here are some of therm: |
| often sold as so called 'beginners tanks' presumably | | | | * 3 cm of adult fish length per 4 litres of water (i.e., a |
| because they are easy to carry out of the shop! | | | | 6 cm-long fish would need about 8 litres of water). |
| However you need to know that a well maintained | | | | * 1 cm of adult fish length per 30 square centimetres |
| home aquarium is a delicately balanced ecological | | | | of surface area. |
| system which can easily become unstable. It is a fact | | | | * 1 inch of adult fish length per gallon of water. |
| that the smaller the aquarium is, the less stable is the | | | | * 1 inch of adult fish length per 12 square inches of |
| balance and the more quickly it can go out of | | | | surface area. |
| balance. I won't go into the details here, sufficient to | | | | Do not apply any of these rules too rigorously. |
| say that your first tank should be somewhere around | | | | Remember that any fish you buy will usually be |
| 36" x 12" x 18". | | | | juveniles that will grow in size and will need more |
| Do not buy your tank and your fish on the same day | | | | room. You must take this into account. Establishing |
| This is probably the biggest mistake that you can | | | | maximum capacity is often a matter of slowly adding |
| make. Before any fish enter your aquarium it needs | | | | fish and monitoring water quality over time, following |
| to have been established for at least a few days, | | | | a trial and error approach. |
| preferable a week to achieve some kind of | | | | Monitor the water and change it regularly |
| equilibrium. Ideally you should set up your aquarium | | | | As I said before, your aquarium is delicately balanced |
| with everything, including plants but no fish. Leave it | | | | so it is important to check the water condition |
| like that for a week. During that week you should | | | | regularly. You have probably heard of aquarium |
| monitor the temperature and the clarity and condition | | | | 'cycling'. This is the name given to the process |
| of the water using test strips. Provided everything | | | | whereby fish waste turns to ammonia, bacteria turn |
| has stabilised then introduce a couple of cheap fish | | | | the ammonia into nitrite and other bacteria turn the |
| and keep an eye on them for a few days. If they | | | | nitrite into nitrate. In the natural world this cycle |
| appear to be ok then buy and introduce the rest of | | | | generally works faultlessly without any intervention. |
| your fish. | | | | In your aquarium however you need to help it along |
| Choose your fish carefully | | | | by changing at least 25% of the tank water every |
| Do not assume that all of the fish you buy for your | | | | week. It is also important that you monitor nitrite and |
| community tank will live happily together. This should | | | | nitrate levels because high levels, particularly of |
| not be left to chance. Sad to say that generally | | | | nitrites will kill your fish. |
| speaking if a fish is small enough to enter the mouth | | | | So there you have it. Follow this advice and you |
| of another fish then that is what will happen i.e. it will | | | | should make a good start and have an aquarium that |
| be eaten! Males of some species fight to the death. | | | | you can be proud of and that will be a joy to look at. |