Aquarium Care Guide- New Tanks
Before you start owning your personal aquarium, you should first know the basics about the nitrogen cycle and how it affects fish life. A lot of people, who are too excited to get into the fish keeping hobby, fail to do this and so have unknowingly put their pets in danger. In an already set-up aquarium, there are the good bacteria that eat up the poisonous substance called ammonia. These bacteria are produced by already thriving fishes. This is the main problem for new aquariums: the fishes could not be added yet because of the ammonia, but are no bacteria to attend to the existing ammonia because there aren’t fishes yet.
Nitrogen cycle in aquarium happen side-by-side with the existence of the fishes. When the fishes consume their food, they will soon release body wastes. These waste products and other environmental debris turn into ammonia. The nitrifying bacteria that are set off by the fishes will then breakdown this toxic substance. The ammonia will be converted into nitrites, which are more harmless to the fishes. And then these nitrites are again converted into nitrates, which are the least harmless of all three substances. These nitrates could be cleaned off by water filters, but you as an owner must still regularly change the water to remove accumulation.
You must first run the aquarium before you start putting your fishes inside. Wash all equipments with water. Avoid using detergents, because they could leave traces that might later on harm the fish. Use de-chlorinated water for your tank, and don’t forget to add up filters and lights. Observe cycle in tank until the water inside is no longer cloudy in appearance. Test the PH levels, make sure it is right. Continue checking it for at least a month after you’ve already added the fish.
Fish buying is the most fun part of the starting process because you get to browse and select various types. If you do not have any in depth experience with fishes, start out with the ones that are not so hard to maintain. Few choices would be live bearers, gouramis, danios and barbs. Also, be patient and go for four or five fishes at most in the mean time. Just add up gradually as you prefer. Remember, more fishes means more responsibility. One more note, when you are already transferring your fish from their bags to the aquarium, be careful not to transfer the water as well. This is so you could avoid contamination and water disturbance.
When feeding the fishes, give only the right amount. If you give more than necessary, your fishes wouldn’t be able to finish all. And the remains are dissolved into the water, which later on becomes waste deposits. These deposits, as said earlier, cause increase in the water’s ammonia levels. This is highly essential, most especially for newly established aquariums as there isn’t the abundance of cleansing bacteria yet. Always monitor the condition of your aquarium and fishes. If the water becomes blurry, use a clarifier. Make sure your fishes are regularly swimming, as it is an indicator whether they are healthy or not. Idle fishes are usually the sick ones. Just keep your eyes open for the needs of your aquarium, and maintenance would not be that hard.
Posted by admin on May 11th, 2010 :: Filed under Pets
Tags :: acquarium care, acquarium maintenance, acuarium care guide
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