Thursday 10 November 2011

Getting Started On Your New Aquarium

It is very simple to make a decision on whether you want to have an aquarium but the biggest obstacle is knowing where to start. The most basic thing to ask yourself is that what size of the aquarium should I get to accommodate my pets and can I afford all these? What type of aquarium fish should I keep? Should it be small or large, freshwater or marine aquarium, would it be better if it is tropical or coldwater? These are the questions that you will need to decide on it.

Sometimes things may not be as easy as it seems. There are a few requirements that you will need to fulfill.
  1. If the water that I'm going to provide to my aquarium suitable?
  2. Will all the fish getting along with each other, coexist to form a community aquarium?
  3. Do I need to put live plants in it or how about plastic plants?
  4. What type of foods should I provide for my pet fish?

With all that being said, be prepared to commit your time and money for all that. Remember your whole aquarium setup needs your attention or else it will end up a failure.
A well-planted fish tank, will provide the sense of security to your pet fish
Deciding on which type of fish to keep
To decide what type of fish, you must first check out whether the aquarium size can accommodate in terms of oxygen requirement based on the relative length of the fish. A simple formula is to prepare 40 square inches of surface area for every 1 inch of length for the fish that you intend to keep. This applies for both freshwater and marine aquarium fishes. For some fishes, the numbers that you can keep is determined by territorial behavior and this means that you can only keep half or less than the amount.

Compatibility of the fish species must be considered before you mix your pets together. Above all, environmental similarities are very important, such as the temperature, hardness level, acidity/alkalinity and other water chemistry. Some fishes prefer having fast moving waters while others prefer slow flowing water, so that depends. The african cichlids for example prefer rocky caves to hid, others like neon tetra love to have lots of plants as hiding place. There are also certain fishes which prefer to have bright lights, some are will only appear and become active during the daytime, thus all these points must be carefully studied when evaluating the compatibility factors.

Temperament of your pet fish
Although certain fishes can get along with each other, most will eat their smaller size cousins. Ever for a same species of fish, the bigger ones including the parents can end up eating the younger fry. Thus unless you plan on keeping a fish which is fully vegetarian, avoid putting the big fish together with the smaller ones.

Quite a number of pets are very territorial, occupying a spot which no other fish can encroach. These types are usually very aggressive towards the other species and are not friendly in nature. These means that they will attack or even kill the invaders just to protect their location. They can be kept with other smaller pets but make sure you have a tank large enough for them to establish their own territory.

Other considerations are, fishes have varying dietary needs. Some can survive just on flakes alone but there are some which would do just fine feeding on dry pellets. One particular fish like the silver dollars are strictly herbivorous and they love to nibble on fresh leaves. The dragon fish/arowana will only accept feeder fish which are sacrificial small fish fed to the giant predators.

Learn about aquarium water management and different types of aquarium filter

Making up your mind and deciding on your selection
Far too many fishkeepers made the simple mistakes of going about populating their aquarium with whatever fish that they can get their hands on, only to discover that their pets keep on dying. The majority actually just buy on instinct upon seeing the fish that they like without doing any homework or research to find out more information about the fish that he/she is going to keep. In the end, it's a catastrophic situation both for the owner and the poor fish. As a responsible and caring owner, take the effort to learn from others through sharing of experience. Fishkeeping is a friendly hobby so don't be surprised that you will find many others willing to offer their advice. Consider participating in your local fish club and sometimes the best place to get updated information is through the internet.

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