Sign up! for our OCM newsletter. Absolutely FREE.

Aquarium Fish Care for Beginners

Aquarium Fish Care for Beginners – Tips – It’s carnival season and if your child plays carnival games, you might be holding a bag with a goldfish in it by the end of an evening and wondering what the heck to do with it.

Maybe you’ve already tried the aquarium route and have flushed more fish and given more early lessons to children about death than you care to admit. Either way, keeping a healthy fish tank or goldfish bowl isn’t rocket science. I’m here to help.

OAKLAND COUNTY MOMS BLOG ENTRIES

Geek Alert! I’ve had an aquarium since the age of 7. My wife kids me about it but my wife really enjoys my hobby. We even splurged on really nice 55 gallon fish tank when moved into our house and it looks great to this day in our family room. The kids really enjoy the aquarium too. It was the perfect baby soother when they were really little.

NOTE – This article pertains to freshwater fish tanks, not saltwater aquariums.

Aquarium Fish Care for Beginners – Tips and Lessons

Aquarium Fish Care for Beginners Lesson 1 – Fresh Tap Water Kills
The most common mistake people make is filling up an aquarium or goldfish bowl and just plopping the fish in. Tap water is hazardous to fish and needs to a little time sit or be “lived in”. The easiest way to get the water “ready” is set up the aquarium (with filter, air pump, heater etc…), fill it with water and let everything run as-is with no fish in it for 2 weeks. After the second week, buy a 10 cent feeder goldfish (or 2) and put them in the aquarium for another week. After the third week, the aquarium should be ready for more fish. If you don’t want to risk it, take a small water sample to the fish store to have them test it. Try to keep water temperature around 75-80 degrees.

Aquarium Fish Care for Beginners Lesson 2 – Choosing Fish
Obviously, you can choose whichever community fish you like. But, some fish just are just heartier than others. Angel Fish are beautiful, but they just don’t last very long unless everything is perfect. Same goes for Fancy Guppies and those neat-looking Neon Tetras. If your goal is having a fish last a while, I suggest: Silver Dollars (I have 3 that are more than 8 years old!), Gouramis, Kissing Fish, Rainbow Sharks, Pictus Catfish or Bala Sharks.

Aquarium Fish Care for Beginners Lesson 3 – Don’t Overfeed Fish
Overfeeding creates algae problems. Feed your fish twice a day. The rule is to never feed the fish more than they can eat in 2 or 3 minutes. If you have food left after that, you’ve fed them too much. A neat tip is to show the fish the fish food container before you feed them. You can train them so they go right to the top for chow time once they see the can.

Aquarium Fish Care for Beginners Lesson 4 – Change That Water
Changing water is relatively easy and it should be done every 3 weeks. All it takes is a gravel vacuum. Use the video below I found on Youtube. The kid did a decent job explaining everything. Aquarium geeks argue over how much water to take out of a tank when cleaning. I usually go for about 40%. If you have small or delicate fish, I’d probably go somewhere in the neighborhood of 10-20%. Water changes are also the perfect time to wipe down the inside of the fish tank to get rid of any excess algae growth. Don’t forget to clean your filter or change your filter-pad (if necessary). If you have a fish bowl, just empty out 20-40 percent of the water and add back fresh water.

[vsw id=”E4bubKy49yY” source=”youtube” width=”425″ height=”344″ autoplay=”no”]

Aquarium Fish Care for Beginners Lesson 5 – Ask Questions
Don’t laugh, people forget this one. Ask questions like “does this fish get along with that fish?” etc… Most chain pet stores can offer at least minimal help. The mom-and-pop pet stores can offer the most aquarium help. Aquarium Shine (586-795-Fish, 1673 E. Auburn Road, Rochester Hills, MI 48307, website) in Rochester Hills is great for getting questions answered and they can answer ANYTHING related to fish tanks, building aquarium set-ups, which fish etc…

For more info on Aquarium Fish Care for Beginners, visit Aquarium Shine.

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.