Buy a fish tank, fill it with water, put in a filter and air pump, perhaps even an air stone. Throw in the fishes, feed them, sit back and relax, and watch them grow … 9 out 10 times, we watch them die. There is more to fish keeping than just throwing the fishes into a container and hope they do not die. We must first, UNDERSTAND just what is fish keeping.

Fish Keeping is the process whereby we play God and try to give or maintain the life of the fish in an artificial environment, i.e. your aquarium. If you can give them the best conditions to which they can not only survive, but also prosper and maybe even want to start a family, then you have succeeded. PUT yourselves in their position. Would you be happy if 10 people share your room?

First, decide on the type of fish that you intend to keep. This is very important as the tank size plays a very important role for the fishes to do well. For instance, if you intend to keep goldfish, get a tank of at least 36" long by 18" high. 24" tanks are too small for goldfishes, as they will outgrow the tank in a very short time. Always start off with the biggest tank within your budget. Having decided on the type of fish you intend to keep, the type of filter to be used is also easily solved. It will not make economic sense if you were to buy a 24" tank if you intend to keep an Arrowana. Keeping goldfishes will require a minimum tank size of 36" and plenty of light for the colour to remain. Community tank set-up would still require a reasonable large tank so that you can make it look natural with plants and other decorations. Whatever you intend to put into the tank, please bear in mind the type of fishes you intend to keep.

Go for the biggest tank you can afford. The bigger the tank the less problem you will have for maintenance.

Next, where to place the tank? It should be near the light source, window with at least 3-4 hours of sunlight daily. Use aquarium light (pink glow) or the more expensive artificial sunlight. White light used in the house does not help the plants to grow at all. Lights should be on at least 8 - 10 hours a day for the plants to do well. For Plant Tanks, best to have at least 12 - 14 hours of light with 2 tubes. If algae grow on the leaves then, the light source is too strong.

Green water is also a sign that your light source is too strong. You see, nature always find a balance. When there is too much ammonia, nitrites or wastes, in the presence of strong light, Free Floating Green Algae develops or grows to consume these. In the absence of such light, you will get a whitish or cloudy look in your water giving an odour.

Therefore, green algae shows that you have too much light while brown algae is not enough light. Therefore, green water is good water, meaning healthy water. Fishes kept in such water will have better colours especially the red. In clear water, their colours will fade in about 2 weeks. This is most obvious in goldfishes and Kois.

Aquarium Lighting itself is not a substitute for real sunlight. Sunlight is required for the natural growth for the plants, fish colours, Terrapins (shell). 

If your choice is to keep a bare tank, paint 4 sides of the tank a dark colour, like blue. The base of the tank MUST be painted. A white base will reflect light making the fish uncomfortable, as they will be having an overhead light and a reflecting light from the bottom. In extreme cases, the fishes may start swimming in a tilted manner. With the necessary sides painted, you will notice that new fishes introduced into the tank tend to get their colours back faster. Moreover, for insect loving fishes, a lizard or cockroach standing on the wall may cause them to attack it! Resulting in confusing and sometimes injury.
 

Click on this hand to go back one topic

Click on this hand to go to the next topic