Even the most experienced aquarium keepers once in a while find themselves making some mistakes while maintaining the fish house. Here are a few things that can be avoided so you can have a stress-free life with your fish pet.
Over-feeding the fish
This is perhaps the number one mistake made by new pet fish keepers. It comes from not understanding the nutritional requirement of the breed of fish one has. You may also assume the fish is not locating the food you have given it and thus you throw in more.
The downside of this is that uneaten food usually lays on the bottom of the tank, creating gases like ammonia and nitrate and overloading the biological filter. It is important to feed the fish with the right type of food in an appropriate amount.
Feed once or twice a day depending on the age and species of the fish. The best way to avoid this mistake is to make sure you have all the information needed about your new pets before leaving the aquarium shop.
Failing to research fish species
If you already have fish and you want to add new ones, study the compatibility with the current fish you currently own and make sure you add a few fish at a time. This is to give the water in the aquarium enough time to get balanced.
Apart from compatibility, research on how to take care of the new fish and how to feed them. Know how big the fish gets in adult size and if your aquarium is enough to handle all your fish when fully grown. If the salesperson cannot give you all the critical information you need about a particular species on sale, move to another who has the basics of keeping pet fish.
One of the easiest ways to tell whether a fish is healthy is to give it food. Most sick fish do not eat, so before taking the fish with you, ask the salesperson to feed the fish as you watch.
Another way to check for any outward sign of sickness is to look at how the fish is swimming. A healthy fish swims actively with their fin spread out whereas a sick fish apart from poor feeding, will look lethargic, will be hanging at the top or bottom of the aquarium and not schooling with the rest and may have its fins clamped against its body.
If you avoid the above issues, you will be a happy aquarium keeper.
