Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Fresh Water Tropical Fish

Freshwater tropical fish come in various sizes. 1 or 2 inches and 12 to 13 inches. So you got to decide which sort of off tropical fish aquarium size you would need. A 20 gallon aquarium is a good size to start with. This will save you money if you change your mind about the kind of fresh water tropical fish you want to keep. Do Not place your aquarium by windows or heater vents.

The aquarium stand must be able to hold the total weight of water, gravel, decorations fresh water tropical fish and filtration equipment. Most fresh water tropical fish owners and pet shops use the rule that for every gallon use 10 pounds of weight. That will be able to hold its total weight.

When buying your filtration equipment. A word of caution. Do not use the type of filtration you install under the gravel. The heater must be capable of heating the tank size you have. Buy the gravel, plants, a power strip and other decorations. Do not forget the tank hood with in built lighting for night viewing. Use 1 to 1.5 pounds of gravel per gallon of water.

When you set up your aquarium and stand. Wash out your tank with water. Do not use soap or detergents! Wash Gravel, plants and decorations. Be sure to wash the gravel thoroughly before adding it to your tank. An easy way to do this is to use your bathtub. Then place the clean gravel in a clean 5-gallon bucket for transport to the aquarium. After adding the gravel you can place your plants and decorations. When filling your fresh water tropical fish aquarium with water, do so slowly to avoid disturbing the gravel and decorations. Use tap water with Tetra Aqua Safe for aquariums.

Do not be hasty Let the aquarium stand for some time to attain room temperature during all months of the year. Don’t over fill the aquarium you might need to move some of the decorations that got misplaced even if you took care in filling the tank. Install your heater but don't plug it in until the thermostat in the heater has adjusted to the water temperature. This usually takes about 15 to 20 minutes or so. Hook up your filter and any other equipment you have, then top off the aquarium water to just under the hood lip. Place your hood and light on the aquarium and then check your power cords to be sure that they are free of water. Use a drip loop on all of the power cords to be extra cautious. Plug all of the equipment into a power strip and then "turn on" the power to the aquarium.

Add fresh water tropical fish one or two fish at a time. Adding a couple tropical fish at a time gives your filtration system the time needed to take on the increased biological load that the new fish introduce. When you bring the fresh water tropical fish home let the bag float in the tank for about 20 minutes so that the fish can acclimatize. After 10 minutes of floating the bag you should add some of the aquarium water to the bag so that the fish can become acclimatized. This reduce the stress on the fish.

On their first day in the aquarium feed them minutely if at all. Let them get their bearings in their new home. Regular maintenance is a must. Do not neglect your fish. You may want to visit the following link for more information … Click Here! fresh water tropical fish.

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