Aquarium help - All the information you need to create and maintain a beautiful aquarium
Do you want to know the secrets?
A little bit of attention goes a long way when fish-keeping is being considered as a new hobby. Potential owners of a home aquarium need to research the kinds of fish that they want to keep, the knowledge needed to kep those fish healthy and happy and the aquarium and other equipment they need to invest in to make it an enjoyable hobby.
Fish are fast growing in popularity as 'must have' pets that are easy to keep and look after.
Pet shops are registering greater demand for fish and aquarium supplies than ever before - so much so that this boom has lead to local shops growing into larger set-ups that are usually great places to pick up additional tips about fish-keeping.
You should try to visit them when you get a chance - you'll almost always pick up a tip or maybe a new idea.
The local pet store is a great place to pick up valuable advice and knowledge about different species of fish, their maintenance and the tank conditions they prefer.
It's also a great place to find out which fish can be kept together in a peaceful mixed community, and which need to be kept alone, or with others of the same or similar species.
Experts at your local pet store will often provide tips on healthcare for your fish.
This can include advice about potential sources of bacteria and chemical build-up that can be harmful to your fish, and how to prevent, and if prevention fails, to treat toxins that threaten the well-being of your aquarium.
You can also look around and make informed choices about the kind of products you need for your home aquarium and for the support systems you need for your fish-keeping hobby.
Visiting the pet shop owner can get you good advice at a reasonable price (or perhaps even free). However, you must remember that the pet shop will only exist if it makes a profit. If you want to build a good relationship with your pet shop, remember it's a 2-way thing. You need to 'pay' for your advice by purchasing at least some of your fish or equipment from the shop.
The modern source of information is, of course, the internet - you can do much of your research on line, and if you want to, you can make many of your purchases on line.
But you will still need your local pet store to buy your fish and plants, and it's well worth having a good relationship with your local pet store for this reason.
Investing in fish-keeping is much more than simply purchasing the fish and putting them in an aquarium; a home aquarium calls for a level of upkeep that involves temperature regulators, filters, lighting and feeding besides a host of others to ease your mind and keep the fish healthy.
It's all too easy to miss out on this hobby because it all seems so complicated, but once you have mastered a few basics, it's really not difficult at all.
Register below, and we will provide you with a series of hint and tips including:
- 6 simple steps to a clean aquarium
- keeping your aquarium healthy
- choosing the right fish for you and your aquarium
- why water quality really matters
- keeping cichlids
- keeping characins (or tetras)
- keeping piranha
-
saltwater aquariums
and much much more
Your approach to purchasing and keeping freshwater fish in your home aquarium should always be based on research, and an understanding of what you want to achieve.
Your set up can be completely 'natural' or have an ornate touch - it really is up to you to decide. However, the one thing you should always try to do is, as far as possible, to clone natural conditions in terms of water quality and temperature. Don't forget that you should allow a fish to exhibit it's natural behaviour, so. for example, if you choose to keep a fish that likes to hide, you must give it a suitable place, even if that means it is seldom visible! Closely substituting natural conditions in the tank makes up for a lot that is otherwise lacking in plant and habitat.
After cloning as much of their natural environment as possible, home aquarium owners will find that these tank fish have a tremendous amount of resilience and adapt easily to new surroundings.
It is important for you to learn about methods you can apply in order to maintain healthy living conditions in your aquarium. The key things to remember are to check your water quality regularly - toxins are normally invisible, and observation. If you notice a change in the behaviour of your fish, or any unusual marks, you should immediately check it out, and take the appropriate action.
The fish health page on this website gives more information.
Over time, tank water gathers acids and salts. You need to test regularly for a range of toxins and act quickly when problems are found to prevent your fish from falling sick.
Test kits are important investments for home aquarium owners needing to know the quality of water for the kind of fish they have (typically, marine fish prefer brackish or hard water while freshwater fish may like spring water, tap water or purified well water).
