| 1. |
Air pump - does not force
air into the water. Cause circulation only - important to get wide surface
area. Fighting fish, gouramis, paradise fishes, etc. are exception as they
breathe through the air directly. |
| 2. |
Bubbles should not be
so strong that fishes have problem swimming. |
| 3. |
Do not have too fine
air bubbles floating in the tank. Known to give rise to "POP-EYE" problems
in goldfishes. |
| 4. |
In a marine tank, the
air bubbles are finer and wooden wood diffusers can work. In freshwater,
the diffusers cannot work and the same air stone will give bigger bubbles.
(Density of water is different) |
| 5. |
Using the gang value
properly - one valve MUST be open to the maximum to all excess air to escape. |
| 6. |
Before buying air stones
- rub the stones - sand must not come off readily. |
| 7. |
Do not waste money on
living bacteria sold in a liquid form - short shelf life - use powdered
form if necessary. No need to use at all. |
| 8. |
Vitamins must be consumed
for effectiveness, just dropping into the water have very little effect |
| 9. |
Big fish will eat small
fish (Rule of Nature) - Do not mix very different sizes together. |
| 10. |
Salt does not evaporate
only water will. When changing water DO NOT use salt. It does not remove
chlorine. |
| 11. |
Activated Carbon should
be placed where there is a strong flow of water through it - like in a
filter media. Throwing it into the tank alone will not be effective. |
| 12. |
Overfeeding kills. Decaying
excess food causes change to pH, ammonia, nitrate levels, etc. |
| 13. |
Overnight water refers
to water without chlorine content. |
| 14. |
Hardwater refers to water
with a great deal of dissolved minerals, the pH is mostly high. |
| 15. |
Excretion floating along
the water surface is a sign that your fish have constipation. This is clearly
seen in bigger fishes like goldfish and Kois as air bubbles can be seen
within the sag |
| 16. |
Marine sand, crushed
corals, and white sand (marble chips) should NOT be used in a freshwater
tank. Overtime, the carbonates will dissolve in the water affecting your
pH and hardness. Yellow residue at the water surface is a symptom that
your water is getting "harder". |
| 17. |
Use of a Heater is to
prevent temperature fluctuations and not to “cook” your fishes. |
| 18. |
Try not to mix hardwater
fishes with softwater fishes, as the water chemistry is different and will
be quite difficult to keep both species alive together. It is not impossible,
just difficult. One species will do better than the other. |
| 19. |
Terrapins require sunlight
for their shell to grow properly (harden). Even fishes exposed to natural
sunlight have better colours. |
| 20. |
Avoid using antibiotics
unless you know what you are doing. Avoid all chemicals that destroy the
'good' bacteria if you are using biological filtration. |
| 21. |
If your fishes are very
slimy, chances are that you have used too much salt, or the pH of your
water has become too acidic or too alkaline. |
| 22. |
If you have a community
tank, have an algae eater, some freshwater shrimps or even freshwater crabs
(small ones) to help keep the tank clean. Dead or dying fishes can and
will be consumed by the scavengers |
| 23. |
Decide on the fish you
intent to keep before you decide on the tank size or the decorations. |
| 24. |
Get a good reference
Book. So you can check the basic water, temperature and special requirements
for your fishes and plants. |
To Previous Topic: Preventive
Medicine
