Maintenance of Fish and the Tank

Here are some general issues with taking care of your fish and their habitat.

Monitor water

The water needs to have the right chemistry for the particular fish that are living there. You shouldn’t mix saltwater fish with freshwater fish because the water will be too saline for the freshwater fish and/or not saline enough for the marine fish.  The same goes for temperature. All your fish should be comfortable with a similar temperature of the water.

There are more factors that you have to be concerned about. The pH needs to be just right for your fish. Also, fish waste creates ammonia, nitrates, and nitrites. These chemicals can build up in the tank and make it inhospitable for the fish. A filter will help with this. Live plants will also help stabilize the chemicals. But you still need to test the water and if it is out of balance, you need to modify the habitat.

Algae Growth

Too much algae is also a problem.  This can happen if there is too much light, too much leftover fish food, or an imbalance of water chemistry. Algae will also grow if you don’t clean the tank enough. Live plants and algae-eating fish can help with an algae problem, as well as maintaining the proper water chemistry, feeding your fish the right amount, and changing the lights.

Cycling

Cycling is preparing the tank for new fish. You have to establish the beneficial bacteria and the right water chemistry for your new fish. Cycling is best done before you introduce the fish to the tank and it takes a few months to be done properly. You put fish food in the tank that is fully set up. This raises the ammonia levels, which then causes nitrite levels in the water to increase. Then the bacteria will start multiplying and the nitrate levels will rise.

You may not need to cycle if you adopt fish with a tank that is already set up, but you will need to transport the fish and tank somehow.

Aeration

Fish need oxygen. Living plants can help to oxygenate the water and you can buy aerators to put in the tank. You don’t always need an aerator, but if the fish seem quieter than usual, if they stay at the top of the tank trying to breathe in air, or if their gills move back and forth rapidly you will need to add oxygen to the water. Tanks with lots of fish in them, warm water tanks, and saltwater tanks are more likely to need aerators.

Cleaning the Tank

You should only replace a quarter of the water each time you clean the tank. Wipe down the inside and outside of the tank, clean the tubes and accessories, vacuum the gravel or other substrate, and trim the plants.

Seasonal Maintenance for Outdoor Tank

If you have four seasons, each season has different outdoor tank maintenance requirements. In the winter you need to worry about ice forming and cutting off oxygen to the fish. You can put de-icers in the water and have floating wood in the pond to help with this. Many fish will hibernate when it gets really cold and you should not feed them much during this time. You might also have to turn off some of the water pumps in the cold months.

In the spring you would start to increase the food you give them, clean debris, and replace a large amount of the water. You can also add some plants that you had to remove in the fall.

In the summer you have to be sure the water doesn’t get too hot or oxygen-deprived.  You have to clean the filters and pumps more often.

In the fall you start to limit the food as the temperature drops and you may remove some of the plants that won’t survive the winter.

Feeding

The fish should eat all the food you give them in 5 minutes. You shouldn’t have excess food in the tank because that will cause too much algae growth.  Fish do well with being fed twice or three times a day. Some fish are omnivores, some are carnivores, and some are herbivores. The type of food you give each one is different. You can buy commercial fish food flakes, tablets, sticks, wafers, or pellets for the type of fish that you have.

Fish Tricks

While fish are fascinating to watch you can also interact with them. Handling them can be very stressful for them, but you have other options.

You can use pellet food to reward your fish whenever it does what you want. Put your finger on the side of the tank and reward the fish when it comes to your finger. Once the fish has that down, you can move your finger around and reward the fish when it follows your finger. You can also do this with your finger in the water if you have a fish that doesn’t bite.

You can use this finger training to get a fish to swing through a hoop you have placed in the tank, or to follow an obstacle course in the tank.

If you hold the food just above the water's surface, the fish will learn to jump out of the water.

You can explore other ways of interacting and training your fish for some rewarding times together.

Health of fish

To keep fish healthy, you should make sure that water temperature and chemistry are proper for the fish that you have and consistent. You need to feed the fish just the right amount with food that is meant for the type of fish you have. Make sure the fish in your tank get along with each other. Keep lights on about a 12-hour schedule. Clean the tank and accessories regularly.

If you notice a change in behavior or appearance of your fish, it could be a sign that they are sick. You can consult with a fish veterinarian. Fish can get spots on their skin, have damaged fins or tails, lay quietly on the bottom of the tank, or exhibit many other signs of distress that would call for a vet consult.

Adding New Fish and Quarantining Fish

Whenever you add a new fish to your tank you should quarantine it first. You should have a “quarantine tank” where you can keep the new fish for two weeks to be sure the fish is healthy before you introduce it to the tank with your other fish. A quarantine tank is also good for any time you think an existing fish is sick.

Introducing a fish to a new tank or a quarantine tank should be done gradually. Turn off the lights so the fish won’t be stressed. Put the bag that the fish is in so that it floats in the tank. Let it float there for 15 minutes so that the temperature adjusts. Open the bag and test the pH of the water of the bag and of the tank. If it is not the same, add a little tank water to the bag and wait 15 minutes. Keep doing that until the pH is the same. The final step is to take the fish out of the bag with a net and place the new fish in the tank. You don’t want to just dump the bag of water into the tank because it might have impurities in it.

Conclusion

There are several types of fish that need slightly different care. You need to get the right tank and equipment for your fish and then you need to maintain the tank, equipment and the fish themselves. This way you keep your fish healthy and you can enjoy each others company for a long time.

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