A freshwater tropical aquarium can be an eye-catching addition to your home that can be both attractive to look at and therapeutic. It will be a source of enjoyment to your family and guests to your home and both children and adults will be fascinated and entertained. For a beginner setting up a tropical fish tank aquarium for the very first we’ve put together some guidelines to help you to make the most of your new aquarium and to keep it healthy and looking gorgeous.
Research the types of fish you will be placing into your aquarium before going to buy your fish. Ensure you understand how large the fish will grow and the number that can be easily accommodated in the tank when they are fully grown. An overstocked tank won’t be a healthy tank! Then check the types of fish that can be kept together. A tank that houses different fish species that can live peacefully together is called a community tank. A number of fish, for instance rosy barbs and tiger barbs, may be okay when they are very young but grow up into violent bullies. There are many fish that can be placed into a community tank including Neon Tetra, Rainbowfish, Hatchetfish, Leopard Catfish, Platy, Guppy, Molly, Harlequin Rasbora, Lyretail, Penguin Fish, Pearl Gourami, Head Tail Light Tetra, Opaline Gourami, Horseface Loach and lots more.
Now that your tank is stocked here are several tips to help to keep it healthy:
* Do not overfeed - Rotting food left in the aquarium will produce noxious chemicals and harm your fish. Only add as much food as your fish can finish off in approximately three minutes, twice a day. Fish are intended to be hungry nearly all of the time and if they do not come up to to the top of the aquarium as you start to add the food you are feeding them too much!
* Two times a month partially exchange the water. Clean the glass often with an algae scraper and occasionally take out the ornaments and decorations to clean off any algae. Don’t remove all of the water or clean the filter, decorations, rocks etc all together same time. This will eliminate all the helpful bacteria that you worked so hard to establish when you set up the tank and stress the fish as the levels of ammonia soar.
* Top up the tank when necessary with chlorine free water. If you do not want to use chemicals to de chlorinate the water, set aside a covered pail of tap water for two days to let the chlorine to disperse
* For new fish or fish that appear sick you will need a small quarantine aquarium. Put any newly bought fish in the quarantine tank for around seven days to avoid introducing parasites and diseases into your main aquarium.
* Continue to test the water for pH, ammonia and nitrite levels a few times a week to notice any problems before suffering is caused to the fish. If problems start to occur a partial water change can often help without having to use any harsh chemicals.
Finally enjoy your new pets and consider joining a local tropical fish association. Chatting with other fish keeping enthusiasts is an excellent way to find out more about your new hobby.
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