How do you take care of a pet fish? The first thing you want to do is to get a tank and fill it with an appropriate amount of filtered water. You then need to get some rocks or live plants, such as java moss, which you will put over the surface. The next thing that you need to do is to get a light and turn it on at all times. Fish can’t just be floating in the dark. They need light so that they can find their food and sense danger.
You will also want to put some gravel on the bottom of the tank and add a layer of sand on top of that for the fish’s stomachs. This helps them digest food easier and helps prevent constipation. You will also need a filter for your tank because these fish produce a lot of waste and some will cause the water to become cloudy. Filters remove the debris from the water while also creating a current that allows your fish to swim against it.
You just must learn the proper way to manage this otherwise you will be wasting a lot of money and effort and of course your fish. Never put fish that do not have compatible living conditions in together, for they will not last and if they are temperamentally not compatible too, will kill one another.
1. Make a plan
You will have to do a lot of planning and ask for advice before putting different species of marine and nonmarine fish together in the same aquarium. If you are putting similar fish in the tank then make sure that you put only two of a kind.
2. Testing kits and other paraphernalia
Along with the aquarium and the fish, you will have to think of getting some other equipment and accessories like floss, gravel, filters, buffers, testing kits, lights, heaters, and plants. If you have saltwater fish then you will have to add salt to the water every fortnight. If the water where you live is saltwater it is better that you get fish that are saltwater fish only. This way you will not have to do a complete treatment for the water but can maintain saltwater fish without any problem.
3. Maintaining freshwater fish
Freshwater fish easily adapt to any kind of tank, whereas saltwater fish find it easier to survive in reef tanks. As freshwater fish adapt easier to any sort of tank it is better to start with these tanks in the beginning until you get the hang of taking care of fish and fish tanks.
4. Think of the location of your aquarium
Even before you get your aquarium you have to think of where you will be placing it. While considering the size of the tank that you want to buy you will have to decide on where you will place it and if you have sufficient place in your home for a tank of this size. It is better not to keep the tank near windows and doorways, or near heaters. The sunlight will make algae grow faster if there is direct sunlight. The room temperature should be maintained at the correct temperature also.
5. Accessories for the aquarium
You will need humidifiers and dehumidifiers to maintain the room temperature along with fish food, medicines, gravel, floss, and filters. You would also require lights and heaters for your aquarium.
6. How to select the right filters?
Filters are available as internal or external filters or even under the gravel ones which are good support for your fish tank. You should see what suits your tank best and could get advice on this from the same pet shop where you bought your fish tank.
Before keeping in the fish, you need to set the aquarium in a way that fish would feel at home in it. In order to make it feel as if the aquarium is a natural habitat, you would have to install natural plants in it as well as have to keep an eye over the pH level prevailing in the water and the organisms that can help in producing a natural environment for the fish. Plants are necessary as they not only provide the fish with shelter; they make it feel confident and safe.
Plants are also necessary for the breeding of fish. They keep the oxygen level maintained in the water and resist the prevalence of the algae. They make the fish feel like being in the natural water reservoir. In order to ensure the health of your fish, you would need to take care of the health of the plant that you have installed into the aquarium. Another important thing in this regard is the installation of a quality filter into the aquarium. The filter is necessary as it would keep the water clean and free from the existence of the elements like algae that pollute the quality of water and make the living of fish rather difficult.
A good quality water filter helps in maintaining the quality of water. It takes all the waste materials out of the water that is not desired and affects the underwater environment. For sustaining the health of your fish it is also important to provide it with quality food. While feeding your fish only put the amount of food that it eats within the first 3 to 5 minutes. The fish does not like eating leftover food, hence if you would put an extra amount of food in water it would only increase the amount of nitrate in the water.