| Buying the right aquarium fish for your tank | | | | water condition is poor then adding more fish |
| is key to the success of your aquarium. When | | | | will just make things worse and endanger the |
| selecting fish, you may not simply be able to | | | | health of all the fish in the tank. Also, |
| pick out the fish that catch your eye in the | | | | you should be careful not to overload your |
| pet store as not all fish can live in the | | | | tank with too many fish as this will cause |
| same environment. Additionally not all fish | | | | stress on all the fish as well as cause your |
| get along with each other so you will have to | | | | water quality to degrade. The general rule |
| be careful to choose the types of fish that | | | | of thumb for freshwater tropical fish tanks |
| are compatible. | | | | is 1 inch of fish per gallon of water. If |
| | | | you add too many, you will have to spend more |
| If all this seems like hard work, don't | | | | time changing the water and will need really |
| worry, you will soon become familiar with the | | | | good filtration in order to keep your tank |
| types of tropical fish that work well in your | | | | healthy. |
| tank and even have some favorites that you | | | | |
| like to keep. When choosing fish for your | | | | 4. Water Temperature. Not all tropical fish |
| aquarium, here's some tips to keep in mind: | | | | like the same temperature water. While most |
| | | | will do well with temps in the mid 70's some |
| 1. Fish appearance. Observe the particular | | | | do better in cooler waters while others like |
| fish you are interested in carefully to make | | | | it on the warm side. |
| sure he is active and swimming around | | | | |
| properly. Make sure his fins are not chewed | | | | 5. Fish size. Before you buy a new fish you |
| and he doesn't have any growths or white | | | | might want to find out how big he can be |
| fuzzy patches. | | | | expected to eventually grow. Since your tank |
| | | | can support about 1 inch of fish per gallon, |
| 2. Tank condition. Dealers tanks can have | | | | you wouldn't want to put a fish that might |
| parasites and disease that might not be | | | | grow to 5 inches in your 5 gallon tank or he |
| apparent in your fish right away so you need | | | | might be the only one you can have! |
| to observe the other fish in the tank and | | | | |
| take a good look at the tank conditions. Is | | | | 6. The type of fish. Is your new fish |
| the tank clean? If not that is an indication | | | | aggressive or does he play well with others? |
| that the dealer probably doesn't care for the | | | | Is he OK being the only one of his kind in |
| tanks well. Make sure the other fish in the | | | | the tank or will he do better in a school. |
| tank are alert and swimming around actively. | | | | Make sure you only put fish that will get |
| Avoid buying a fish from a tank that has dead | | | | along in the tank or the more aggressive fish |
| fish floating in it. Even if your fish | | | | will pick on the others. Also, some fish are |
| appears to be healthy, he could already be | | | | territorial and you should only keep one per |
| infected with something that might not show | | | | tank. |
| up until days after you get him home. By | | | | |
| then it might be too late and you could risk | | | | 7. The food. Find out what type of food |
| infecting your other fish. | | | | your new fish likes to eat. Most eat flakes, |
| | | | but some like freeze dried worms or other |
| 3. Water Conditions. The condition of your | | | | types of food. When you bring home your new |
| water is important as well as the number of | | | | fish be sure to also take home some of his |
| fish you already have in the tank. If your | | | | favorite dinner. |