How to Care for Your Fish

Fish need an optimal environment. These general guidelines
apply to most freshwater fish in pet stores but not to saltwater
or tropical fish, which have different requirements.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Aquarium Air Pumps
• Aquarium Filters
• Aquarium Gravel
• Aquarium Plants
• Aquarium Water Conditioners
• Aquarium Water Test Kits
• Aquariums
• Fish Bowl
• Goldfish Food Packages
• Goldfish

1. Start off with healthy fish. View every fish in that tank before you purchase one. They should move about the tank with purpose and not display any signs of sickness, such as cloudy eyes or slimy-looking bodies.

2. Keep new fish in a quarantine tank with the same water quality as the main tank. They should stay there for at least two weeks (preferably three) before you introduce them to the new tank. When you start getting impatient, think about how much trouble it would be to treat the entire population for infection instead of just one fish.

3. Place the tank against an inside wall ' away from windows, doors and heating systems ' to prevent drafts and sudden temperature changes.

4. Maintain the water quality. Test the ammonia, nitrite and pH levels regularly with a special kit. Chemical imbalances are a leading cause of sickness in fish. Once the water quality is acceptable, use a special filtered siphon to change 20 percent of the water every 10 days. A pet store that sells fish should also sell test kits and siphons.

5. Provide your fish with a diet of commercially prepared fish food. Store it in a cool, dry place for no more than a few months.

6. Remove waste and uneaten food with a net every other day. Rinse the net thoroughly before and after use to avoid the potential spread of infection.

7. Keep a canopy or hood over the tank at all times. Some fish are jumpers.

8. Don't let your fish get stressed by poor water conditions, drastic lighting changes or constant activity outside the tank. These things will lower their resistance to disease.

Tips & Warnings

• Make sure your tank is large enough ' about 30 square inches of surface area per inch of fish. Increase the size of the tank by 50 to 100 percent before adding more fish.
• Mixing faster and stronger fish with slower, weaker ones is a bad idea. The slower fish will not get enough to eat, and the others will be overfed.
• Discuss what types of fish are compatible in a tank and which to keep separate ' some species can be very territorial and will kill other fish.

[simsim223]

on 1/1/2009 feed the fish once a day so the fish stay in a healthy condistion . buy fish from a good place. dont put anthing like medecin befor you make sure what dose it do . if you saw a ffish sick take it out and but it in another contaner because if a fish got sick all of them well get sick .

on 7/29/2006 If you have fighting fish, do not put more than one in a tank (unless they are both female). When two males are in a bowl together they start to fight violently.

on 6/30/2006 Say you have a Japanese fighting fish and a goldfish, like we do, you probably already know not to put them in the same tank. Keep the tanks away from each other! The fighting fish will think it is food and smash into the bowl.

on 11/22/2005 Don't wait for the tank to look dirty. By the time it looks bad to us, the fish have been living in dangerous conditions for quite some time. Do regular partial water changes to keep water clean at all times. Test regularly for ammonia, nitrites, and nitrate to ensure the water doesn't just look clean, but that it is safe for the fish.

on 11/22/2005 Try feeding your fish 2-3 times daily, only as much as they can eat in about five minutes at a time. If you have a gold fish bowl, you should clean it every 4-5 days for healthier fish.