Many people who dream of having an animal but cannot have a dog or cat because of allergies, lack of space or time are considering playing aquarium hobby. Aquarium care, breeding and propagation of fish and plants is to replace the four-legged dog.
Aquarium for many people is also a perfect decoration of the house. Here are some tips on how to prepare for the care of fish.
What kind of aquarium to buy?
The first dilemma you face is what kind of aquarium to buy. At present, we can choose not only aquariums of very different shapes: rectangular, with profiled windscreen, corner, hexagonal, but also sizes. It turns out that the most depends on us – our capabilities and the place we have at our disposal. Of course, it is best to place small plants and small fish in small tanks. You can use a calculator: 1 litre of water per 1 centimetre of fish surface, i.e. one fish per 5 liters of water.
If you buy a big one, you have more possibilities. We can bet on a tank with vegetation and small fish, and we can make an aquarium without plants, but with huge stones. Even large fish can swim in such an aquarium.
In a large aquarium you can also make a biotoxic tank, which will reflect the fragment of the river from the region where the fish come from. Then not only animals, but also plants can be found there. This avoids the problem of chasing or biting, since naturally the fish species live side by side.
In the case of an aquarium, it is important to select them according to the place where they are to be placed. It is worth remembering that there should be some space between the aquarium and the wall for cables, which connect the filter, heating device and lamp to the power supply.
It should be located in close proximity to the socket. It is recommended that the tank does not stand in a place exposed to shocks, i.e. by the door or home cinema loudspeakers.
It is very important to ensure that the fish have a stable environment. This is why it is important to light and warm them up. You should not change their whereabouts at home. What is more, the aquarium should not be located near the window – in winter it can be there too late in winter and too hot in summer. The same applies to placing it near heaters and fireplaces.
How to prepare an aquarium for fish?
Many people think that if they have decided today that they want to breed fish, they will have them tomorrow. Nothing could be further from the truth. This rush is the biggest mistake of all aquarists and people starting their adventure with aquaristics. All aquatic animals, especially fish, are sensitive organisms, so it is important to prepare the tank properly.
If you already buy an aquarium, you should fill it with soil, plants and water. If you don’t want to wait a week or two before you put the fish in, you can use special preparations to reduce water chlorine and a product that reduces heavy metal compounds and also contains a colloid that protects the gills and skin of the fish. It is known that the bigger the tank we choose, the longer we have to prepare it.
At this point it is worth considering what kind of plants we want to have in the aquarium. Live plants look much better, they can feed on them, but they are quite difficult to care for.
Not only should they be provided with the right light, but also the substrate and temperature. On the other hand, they are important not only for aesthetic reasons, but also to provide the fish with more oxygen. Artificial ones are easy to work around, but definitely not very attractive.
What aquarium accessories?
Aquariums cannot contain only water, plants and pebbles. You also need to buy a number of devices that will create a friendly ecosystem for the fish. The necessary devices are a pump – select it according to the aquarium capacity, a heater – the best one with a thermostat, a filter, a thermometer, a cover with lighting, as well as a fish net, a glass cleaner and a bottom demulsifier.
Which fish to choose?
It is worth to think about what kind of fish we want to breed. If we bet on predatory fish, we will certainly not breed ornamental ones, because they will become victims of the former. Fish must be matched to each other, not to our taste.
It is worth to put algae eating fish into the prepared aquarium at the beginning. For three weeks they will allow for proper water preparation, as they feed on plants. After three weeks you can buy any fish you want, but it is good to buy them when they are e.g. neon or cichlids.
It is very important not to put the fish directly from the bag into the aquarium, as they may get a thermal shock. It is better to attach the bag to the edge of the aquarium and gradually adjust the temperature.
