26.11.08

General Care for the Freshwater Aquarium

Okay, so you have decided that you want to own an aquarium. It is a good idea to make out a wish list before purchasing any fish for the aquarium. Keeping an aquarium will require patience. Unfortunately, it is not realistic to go the pet store and just start picking out fish. Take a trip to the pet store in order to gather information and shop window to determine the types of fish you wish to keep in your aquarium. Carefully research these fish to ensure that they are compatible for water temperature and pH, as well as the food that they eat. Be careful not to put prey and predator together in the same tank. Keep in mind that freshwater fish are hardier than the marine variety, and will be less susceptible to water fluctuations. One reason that freshwater fish are hardier than salt water fish is the salt water itself. Just like any living creature, a fish's body requires water in order to function properly. Water is absorbed through a fish's skin in the freshwater environment. Alternatively, a salt water fish actually has to drink the salt water, because the body fluids are extracted through the skin by Osmosis. The salt is then excreted in the form of highly concentrated urine. Freshwater fish are a good choice for an inexperienced aquarium owner because there is more wiggle room in the water specifications. Some freshwater fish have a variation or as much as the degrees of acceptable water temperature. Conversely, most tropical fish will only allow about two degrees of variation in water temperature It is not Uncommon for the novice keeper fish to become easily discouraged. Water conditions are hard to regulate and unfortunately fish, even the freshwater variety, are not the hard iest or creatures. Sometimes they do not survive these fluctuations. It is important to be patient. An aquarium needs to run for a minimum of twenty four hours before adding any fish at all. You may want to allow the tank to run and filter with decorations and any plant life for a few days before introducing the fish. Be sure to clean the decorations and any Substrate thoroughly before adding them to the aquarium. Live plants are highly recommended in new aquariums as they will help to generate the good bacteria necessary to reduce the amount of ammonia in the tank. It is a good idea to test the ammonia and nitrite levels before adding fish to the aquarium. Start by adding only three to four small fish. A general rule is to wait another thirty days before adding additional fish, because that is the Incubation period for most fish illnesses. In addition, test the nitrite and ammonia levels before adding these additional fish. The ammonia levels should return to zero. This also takes about a month. There are a few basic tips that will keep fish healthy. Do not over feed the fish. Any excess food will become debris in the tank, and then turns into ammonia, which is toxic to fish. Change the water in the aquarium regularly. Replace approximately one third of the water in the tank every two to three weeks. This will minimize the disruptions to the fish in the aquarium, eliminating the need to remove the fish from the tank. Lastly, do not forget to clean the filter. Follow the manufacturer's instructions, as some filters need to be replaced more frequently than others
Okay, so you've decided you want to own an aquarium. It is a good idea to a wish list for the purchase of all fish for the aquarium. Keeping an aquarium requires patience. Unfortunately, it is not realistic to go to the pet store and just start picking out fish. Take a trip to the pet store to gather information and window-shop for determining the types of fish that you want to keep in your aquarium. Careful examination of these fish to ensure that they are compatible with the water temperature and pH, as well as the food they eat. Be careful not to prey and predator together in the same tank. Keep in mind that freshwater fish are hardier than the marine race, and will be less sensitive to fluctuations in the water.

One of the reasons that freshwater fish are hardier than saltwater fish is the sea itself. Like a living creature, a fish on the body of water is needed for proper functioning. Water is absorbed through the skin a fish in freshwater environment. Or a saltwater fish actually has to drink the salt water, because the body fluids are extracted through the skin by osmosis. The salt is then excreted in the form of highly concentrated urine. Freshwater fish are a good choice for an inexperienced aquarium owner because there is more wiggle room in the water specifications. Some freshwater fish have a variation of no less than ten degrees of acceptable temperature of the water. Conversely, most tropical fish will only allow about two degrees of variation of the water It is not uncommon for the starting goalkeeper fish to be easily discouraged. Water conditions are difficult to regulate and unfortunately fish, even the freshwater variety, are not the hard-iest of creatures. Sometimes they do not survive these fluctuations. It is important to be patient. An aquarium should run for at least twenty-four hours before adding any fish. You may want to run the tank and filter with decorations and any plant life for a few days before the introduction of the fish. Be sure to clean the decorations and substrate thoroughly before adding them to the aquarium. Live plants are highly recommended in new aquariums, since they will help generate the good bacteria needed for the amount of ammonia in the tank. It is a good idea to test the level of ammonia and nitrite for the addition of fish at the aquarium. Start by adding only three to four small fish. A general rule is to wait about thirty days before adding additional fish, because that is the incubation period for most diseases. Moreover, the testing of the nitrite and ammonia levels before the addition of this extra fish. The ammonia levels should return to zero. Again, this takes about a month.

There are a few basic tips that keep fish healthy. Not more than feed the fish. Any excess food debris in the tank and then turns into ammonia, which is toxic to fish. Change the water in the aquarium regularly. Replace approximately one third of the water in the tank every two to three weeks. This will minimize the disruption of the fish in the aquarium, eliminating the need to remove the fish from the tank. Finally, do not forget to clean the filter. Follow the manufacturer's instructions, as some filters should be replaced more often than others

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