Fish can be a relaxing and inexpensive edition to your household. They don’t need to be taken on walks and don’t meow at you at 3am. If you are looking for a quiet and low maintenance pet, then maybe fish are for you.
Tropical or cold
Deciding what type of fish to get is half the battle. If you have never kept fish before consider goldfish first. They tend to be more hardy than other fish, there are lots of different types and colours. You don’t need a heater for basic goldfish, so tanks can be less expensive to set up. Tropical fish are also good fun, there are more varieties some fish live quite happily in groups of different species (check at your aquarium which fish will get along before you bring them home). Tropical tanks can be more work than cold water tanks.
Equipment
Once you have decided which fish you would like you will need somewhere to keep them. When setting up a tank it is important to consider the adult size of the fish that you want to keep. A fish bowl may suit one or two small goldfish, if you plan to have larger numbers of fish or big fish you will need a bigger tank. A layer of gravel on the bottom of the tank helps to stop waste being flicked into the water every time that a fish swims past and gives the plants somewhere to grow. Backing paper/plants (live or fake) and ornaments are optional, all you need is somewhere for you fish to hide. Filters defiantly make maintenance easier, they remove waste from the water making it easier to keep the water clean and your fish healthy. Lights make viewing your tank easier and provide high enough levels of light for live plants to grow. Don’t use a normal globe or tube in your fish tank, the spectrum of light is not ideal. House globes use yellow light, fish and plants generally need white light. If you have chosen tropical fish you will need a heater and thermometer. You will also need a pH test kit. The water in your tank will slowly turn acidic as fish waste breaks down, the pH needs to be controlled within an acceptable range for that type of fish, Goldfish – pH 7.5, tropical fish 7.0-7.5. Check at your aquarium what is right for your fish. pH requirements vary greatly with different species.
Once your tank is up and running, leave it without fish for a week or more, this is to allow time for the gravel and filter to be colonized by ‘good’ bacteria that break down waste products. A handful of gravel from a friend tank or plants can help to introduce bacteria into your tank, or you can buy bacteria in a bottle at your aquarium. When you introducing fish straight away you are adding waste products with no means of breaking them down, this can cause serious problems with water chemistry and kill the fish.
Introducing new fish
Once your tank is up and running it is time to bring home your new pet. When you choose a fish float the bag on top of the tank to make sure the temperature is the same in the bag and the tank. Add a small amount of the tank water to the bag and let it float for another minute or two, then the fish are ready to release. Make sure that your new fish will get along with any resident fish before you bring it home.
Maintenance
Your tank will need a partial water change every 1-2 weeks, use a gravel siphon to take out about 25% of the water and check the pH. Also use a water ager which removes chlorine (chlorine can burn gills) and some water conditioner to suit your fish (blue crystals –put minerals into the water, very good for gold fish). Wipe down the sides of the tank to slow down the algae.
Feeding
Generally fish should be fed 1-2 times daily, they only eat a tiny amount so don’t over feed them. A good guide is feed about the size of the fishes’ eye per day. Make sure that the food you use is suitable for the type of fish.
Something different
If you are after something different maybe an axolotl is for you. They need slow flowing or still water, and are happy when fed commercial pellets/frozen diet or the odd earth worm (chemical free). They have similar maintenance as fish and can live more than 10 years. Axolotls should not to be housed with other fish. They may eat your fish at night or the fish might nibble at axolotl’s gills. Axolotls can not be taken out of the tank, they are not like salamanders, they need to be under water all the time.
Fish Myths
You should put a small fish in your brand new tank to ‘start it off’ –adding a fish to your tank will only add to the pollution, you would be better off taking a handful off gravel from an existing tank, it has the bacteria growing in it that you want to encourage.
You can put fish in a tank that was only set up that day – it is best to leave the tank running for a week or so before you put fish in it. This helps the good bacteria to build up so that when you do have fish there is something that can break down the waste.
Fish only live a year or two – some fish, like guppies do only live for a year or two but goldfish can live 15 years and some fish live even longer.
Empty the whole tank when cleaning – in general it is much better to do regular small changes so that you don’t destroy the good bacteria in your tank.
There is nothing you can do if your fish is sick – talk to your local aquarium, they can help you with all sorts of problems.
