fishcare

Fish Care

Introducing your new fish to the tank

In order to minimize stress to your new fish when you add them to your tank you should do the following;

Test your tank water to find out what your water parameters are. If they are similar to those your new fish is used to then you can add the fish to your tank without changing your tank water parameters. If the water parameters such as pH and General Hardness (GH) are quite different e.g. much more acid / alkaline or harder or softer then you will first need to adjust your tank parameters to those your new fish is used to to avoid shocking it, then gradually change it to the desired water chemistry you want the fish to live in. This is best done in a small separate tank such as a quarantine tank.
If your water parameters are similar to those your new fish is used to then first turn off the lights in your tank. This reduces stress to your fish.
Float the bag containing the fish in the tank water for 10 to 30 minutes to allow the temperatures to equalise.
Cut open the top of the bag (DON'T pop it !) and roll the edges down to form a floating collar. Over a period of 45 minutes to 1 hour add a cup of tank water to the bag every 10 - 15 minutes. This allows the fish to adjust to the different water in your tank.
Gradually tip the bag to encourage the fish to swim out. Don't pour the fish out of the bag.
Leave the lights off for at least an hour and don't feed for at least an hour or until the following day.

Water Parameters and water chemistry

The water in your fish tank contains lots of different chemicals, some of which are harmful to you fish. Chlorine and chloramines that are added by your water company to make it suitable for human consumption are toxic to fish and should be removed from the fresh water you add to the tank during water changes using a dechlorinating product. Fishtank

Fish produce waste in the form of faeces and also give out ammonia via their gills. Decaying plants and uneaten food will also decompose to produce ammonia. Ammonia is highly toxic to fish and other aquatic life. Bacteria within the tank, particularly in your filter, should convert ammonia to nitrite, which is slightly less toxic. Other bacteria will convert this to nitrate, which is less toxic than nitrite. Nitrate can be removed from the tank by water changes or using nitrate removing products such as resins. Your fish will build up a tolerance to the nitrate levels in your tank and will show no obvious signs of ill health if these levels are high. However new fish that are used to lower levels of nitrate may die if they are added to a tank containing high nitrate levels.

The pH of your water measures how acid or alkaline your water is e.g. pH 8 is alkaline, pH 7 is neutral and pH 4.5 is acid. Bear in mind that the pH scale is logarithmic which means that pH 6.5 is 10 times more acidic than pH 7.5 and 100 times more acidic than pH 8.5.

The hardness of your water depends on what is dissolved in it. Chemicals such as calcium carbonate can increase the hardness of your water so if you have chalk gravel or limestone in your tank the hardness may increase. Some fish such as Mollys and some Rainbow fish like harder water, others like many Tetras will only breed in acidic water. Other fish like Bristlenose and Corydoras catfish are adaptable to different water conditions. In order to check what your water parameters are the water should be tested using the appropriate test kit on a regular basis.

Fishkeeping hints and tips

If you can get the water right the fish will take care of themselves. This means ammonia = zero, nitrite = 0, nitrate is less than 50mg/l and pH is between 6.3 and 7.8 for most general community fish. Buy a test kit that measure all these things (a master test kit can cost less than £20).
Always use a water conditioner when you add fresh tap water to the tank. This neutralises chlorine and chloramines present in the tap water which are lethal to your fish and filter bacteria.
Make sure the new water you add is about the same temperature as that in the tank. Use boiled kettle water to bring the water to the correct temperature in your water changing bucket.
Never overfeed. This can be a major killer of fish. Only feed a pinch of food – enough for them to finish it in 2-5 minutes. If food is left over after this time you are feeding too much. If you get a snail or algae explosion you are feeding too much (a few snails or a bit of algae is fine).
Check your fish everyday for signs of disease. Even fish at death’s door are known to recover with quick treatment. A dead fish left in the tank will quickly pollute the tank and may kill others as a result.
Keep up those water changes - ~15 - 25 % every week . Use a gravel cleaner to clean the gravel and top up with clean dechlorinated water.
Never use tap water or detergents to clean your filter. Rinse the filter media in tank water syphoned from your tank. If you don’t all your filter bacteria will die.
Never overstock your tank. Too many fish will lead to aggression, stressed fish and ammonia and nitrite build-up. If you want more fish buy another or bigger tank.
Research your fish before you buy them. A spontaneous purchase when at the fish shop could land you with a fish that grows to 4 foot long (Red tailed cat fish for example or a fish that devour or attack the others). If you like the look of something at the very least look it up in one of the books there is at the fish shop first.
If something goes wrong always ask an unbiased source for advice. Remember whilst some fish shops care about their customers and their fish many other don’t. If they are making money from how they advise you then get a second opinion.
Like most subjects people have different ways of doing things which can make it confusing and sometime contradictory. Remember what works for one person may work differently for another. The more reading you do the more you will understand the pros and cons of people’s opinions.
Most of all have fun.