|
Choosing Tropical Fish for Your Aquarium
Bolivian Rams, Jaguars and Zebras
make you think of farms and jungles, but these are a
few of the names of over 4000 species of tropical coldwater
fish that come from all over the world. For those interested
in keeping fish, tropical freshwater fish are the best
choice. They are not so expensive as saltwater tropical
fish and there is much more variety than ordinary goldfish.
There are large and small, timid and dangerous, pretty
and plain, racers and hiders. Some eat others, so must
be kept separate, or put with species they don’t
eat.
When choosing your fish make sure you
get them from a reputable store so that the risk of
disease is reduced. You can tell if a store is reputable
by looking around for a quarantine tank. Fish must come
a long way to the fish nursery and should be kept in
quarantine for a few weeks to make sure they are disease
free. Otherwise all the healthy fish in the main tanks
can be quickly contaminated. Some of the toughest fish
are platys and barbs.
To tell if a fish is diseased, look
for these symptoms.
· Fungal infection and erosion
around the mouth.
· Bulging, opaque eyes.
· Spots, ulcers or hemorrhaging.
· Mucous or slime around the body.
· Belly bloated.
· Gills flared.
· Worms or mucous around the gills.
· Wool-like tufts on the body.
Stress is likely to cause fish to become
diseased. Fish can be stressed by loud noise, tapping
on the tank or too much handling. Water quality is another
factor. The water must be kept clean and so must the
filters. If the filter is not cleaned regularly, it
will simply pour dirty water back into the tank.
There are some special needs that coldwater
tropical fish have that must be met if they are to remain
happy, healthy fish. First, make sure there are not
too many fish for the size aquarium you purchase. Fish
equal fish waste equals poor water quality.
Fish and plant waste creates a build-up
of ammonia in the water, so it is important to not only
have the biggest aquarium you can afford, but to change
20 percent of the water on a regular basis. You do this
by using a hose to siphon off the water. A certain strain
of bacteria called Nirosomonas is also used to eat up
the ammonia and convert it to Nitrite. Another strain
of bacteria called Nitrobacter then converts this Nitrite
into the friendlier compound nitrate. Even so, this
must not be allowed to build up or the water will become
toxic. These bacteria take time to colonize in the tank
so don’t be in too much of a hurry to introduce
the fish. Chlorine must also be removed from the water
as fish can’t survive in that, so several weeks
must elapse before the water becomes conditioned. There
are plenty of ‘tap water conditioners’ on
the market for chlorine removal.
Once you have your aquarium, you’ll
want to add plants, gravel and decoration, heater, thermostat,
(temp. should be about 24 degrees) and filter. All must
be thoroughly washed in fresh running water first, especially
the gravel. You’ll need 5 to 10 cm of gravel at
least half of which needs to be really fine so the plants
can take root in it easily. Add the water only halfway
before putting in the plants. If you want large rocks,
make sure they can’t topple over. Don’t add
the water right to the top in case you need to put your
hands in to fix something. Don’t have hand cream
of any sort on your hands while doing all this.
1howto.com
Please
Share Your Tips with Us
|
