How to Care for Tropical Fish

Water quality, especially proper oxygenation, is the most important aspect of the aquarium when caring for tropical fish. However, there are many factors that can influence their health.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Tropical Fish
• Weekend/holiday Fish Food
• Freshwater Water Test Kits
• Aquarium Thermometers
• Aquarium Lights
• Aquarium Filters
• Aquariums
• Aquarium Air Pumps
• Aquarium Heaters
• Aquarium Fish Nets

1. Use a home water-quality test kit to measure the temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen content, ammonia levels, nitrate levels and salinity of water. Adjust these properties as needed.

2. Avoid adjusting water temperature abruptly. Tropical fish have narrow optimum temperature ranges and do not usually tolerate sudden changes in environment.

3. Regulate an airflow rate of 2 liters per hour, per liter of water. Control airflow with an aerator.

4. Provide a proper diet that has 30 to 36 percent protein, 10 percent fat and low amounts of carbohydrates. Be sure the fish food also contains required essential amino acids.

5. Feed your fish appropriate amounts based on the amount and type of fish in the aquarium. A general formula is to feed 10g flake food to 50 adult tropical or freshwater fish per month, but check with experts.

6. Avoid overfeeding, which results in poor water quality because of surplus food floating around in the tank.

7. Store food in moisture-resistant containers and place in a cool, dry area.

8. Keep food frozen for no longer than three months.

9. Equip aquariums with proper lighting to avoid heat accumulation and excess algae growth. Use a light recommended for aquarium use. Use dimmer devices to avoid startling fish when turning on lights.

10. Cover the aquarium to prevent contamination of water and to minimize temperature fluctuations.

11. Change 20 percent of the water every 30 days.

Tips & Warnings

• Observe the conditions in a new aquarium at least twice daily.
• Provide trace mineral supplements if the fish food contains less than 15 percent animal products.
• When adjusting the temperature, avoid exceeding a 2 degrees Celsius increase or a 1 degree Celsius decrease in a 24-hour period.

[Babylucks]

on 11/12/2008 @Johngeorgejulie
Your fish are alive even though you do not follow the usual methods. However, they may be stressed. And fish stresses do not show up as migraines ;) It may result in lesser babies, lowered lifespan, or appetite or even paler colours. And you'll never even guess it was because you did not acclimatise your fish to new water.

[Babylucks]

on 11/12/2008 @johngeorgejulie
it is advisable to follow some procedures while transferring fish from one kind of water to another, to avoid stress. Even if you don't, the fish may not all die, but they may get 'stressed'. The stress may not show up as fish migraine but will definitely affect the growth, colour, reproductive ability of the fish. You'll never guess why your guppy brought you only 8 babies. The rules have been written after extensive research on ornamental fishes. And show your fishes the depth of your love by respecting them.

[ljdiaz]

on 8/28/2007 Overnight my aquarium got very cloudy. I used a water clarifying product recommended by PetSmart, but it did not work. What do I do now?

[johngeorgejulie]

on 2/5/2007 Check this!! I am a complete novice to this whole fish thing, yet I love having fish and I love the tranquility of watching them swim around. I have a real simple set up in a glass tank. I have a simple corner filter in tank, and I have put a few props in the tank. Plastic and silk plants and a sunken car. I have no heater, but I guess the temperature in my house is fairly consistent. I replace the water in my tank, every time I see too many particles floating about, or I notice a change in colour. Sometimes this means I change the water every two weeks, sometimes it means after a couple days. But, I always suck out about half the volume of the tank, then refill it with clean water straight from the tap. Then I suck out half the water again, and refill it again.. I do this untill the water is as clean as I like it. I always add stress coat immediately after doing this, and then I give the fish a bit of food. Sometimes I even take all the fish out and put them in a bucket, and clean the tank, gravel, decorations really good. Then I replace all the water completely. When I buy fish, I put them straight into the tank with other fish without waiting for them to get accustomed to their climate. When I bought the tank, I put the fish in it immediately. Granted i changed the water a couple of hours later because it seemed to get really cloudy, but, the fish didn't die. I never use any chemicals except for water when cleaning the tank or decorations. I have mixed cold water fish with tropical fish and so far I havn't had any problems at all!! I currently have Gold fish, Koi, Neon Tetra's, bristle nose sucking fish and guppy's all living in one tank happily. Every now and then I will catch a fly when I can, I'll pull of one wing and put it into the tank. The fish love it!! My fish never seem to die and I take them out, put them in and break all the rules ever written. Perhaps they feel my love for them. By the way, I'm not suggesting any one do what I am doing, but I sometimes think that it all depends on how healthy the fish that you put in the tank are. I never buy a sick or weak looking fish, and I am very picky when selecting the fish I buy. Just in case you are wondering, I have had these fish in my tank for about one year so far.

on 8/8/2006 Forget about feeding 2-3 times a day, try every 2 days - you will see the fish are fine and then understand how much you are overfeeding. When you read the other articles you will see how hard it is to underfeed them.

If you go away for a weekend (2-3 days), the fish will be fine if you feed them just before you go and give no other food.