After you have purchased your aquarium, filters, heaters, gravel, floss, buffers, food, fish, and so on, you will need to learn how to clean and care for the fish. In fact, you should have researched the market before purchasing fish or aquariums to have an overall view of how to care for fish and maintain fish tanks. To help you learn more about fish care and aquariums however, we can consider a few helpful tips.
Heaters:
Heaters are necessary to maintain tropical fish. Before your purchase your heater however, you should make sure that the filters and heater would fit into your aquarium without taking up unnecessary space. If you purchased a small tank, you will need to purchase filters and a heater than will accommodate the tank; otherwise, you may need to purchase a larger tank.
What to buy:
When you purchase your tank, you will also want to buy a gravel, plants, ornaments, food, test kits, water treatment, etc. Gravel helps to maintain natural resources, while ornaments provide a lively décor to your fish tank. Plants make the fish feel at home, while food is necessary to prolong life. You will need a test kit to keep an eye on the water’s health. Water treatment is ideal, since tap water is not pure in most areas.
Gravel Care:
The first thing you should do is grab a bucket and rinse your gravel to remove grime, dirt, and germs. After you purify the gravel, you will need to add water to the tank. At this time only, add half the water needed to deliver a full supply. Now, you can add your ornaments and plants to the aquarium. Once you have all your additives to the tank, you are ready to finish filling the tank with water. You should have received a manual with your tank.
Follow the outlines to fill the tank properly. Once the tank is filled, you can add your heater and filtration systems. You will receive instructions with the purchase of your heater and filters, which you should follow accordingly. The last thing you will add to the tank is the water treatment. Water treatment will remove copper, metal, and related harmful chemicals. You can use products that will enable you to add your fish to the tank; otherwise, it is recommended that you wait at least a couple of weeks before adding fish.
Water filled tanks have natural bacterial productions, which must filter to settle to a secure level for fish to swim safely. After the water has set, you can use your test kit to decide if the water temperature and chemicals are balanced. After the water is verified, i.e. pure you can start adding fish to the tank in small amounts. The recommended fish is the damsel; however, this is a saltwater fish. The aggressive fish will devour passive fish. Therefore, if you start with damsels, only add two of the same fish and gradually start adding other fish. If you choose, freshwater fish try to keep passive fish in the tank, rather than aggressive fish.
If you want a selection of saltwater fish and freshwater fish perhaps, you should purchase two aquariums. White Cloud Mountain Minnows, Danios, goldfish, etc are nice starter fish. Additional types of fish include the bristle nose, which is a passive fish that grows around 5.5 inches. The Otocinclus is also a passive fish that grows 2 inches and prefers to live in rocks and plant areas, just as the bristle nose. Plecostomas is a passive fish, which grows 24 inches, and lives around plants and rocks as well. Marble and Veitail are passive fish, which both grow around 6 inches and prefer to live around rocks and plants.
