Aquarium Maintainence

The cleanliness of your fish tank is vital to the health of your fish, but how exactly do you perform proper fish tank maintenance ?

First, you should know that, despite what most people think, fish really do need to be cared for daily. Besides feeding the fish, you should check the water temperature daily. Keep in mind that the temperature will naturally change slightly during the day, so don’t panic if it raises a few degrees. Most fish can handle slight changes in water temperature, but if the temperature drops or rises drastically, they can become sick, or even die. For this reason I recommend buying a heater for your fish tank. Also you should check all equipment daily, ensuring that everything is in proper working order. If anything is broken, replace it as soon as possible. You should also check the quality of the water daily. If the water is cloudy or dirty, replace it.

Not all fish tank maintenance has to be done daily. Some tasks can be done weekly or even monthly. If you have live plants in your fish tank, ensure that you remove all dead parts and leaves of the plant. Also, if your plants start to grow out of control, and begin affecting your fish negatively, trim the plants back. Depending on the amount and type of fish you have, water needs to be changed weekly to monthly. There are two ways to do this. The easiest, in my opinion, is removing your fish and placing them in a smaller container.

Ensure that the water you use is safe for your fish. Some fish cannot survive in tap water, and need distilled water. Once you have removed the fish, either dump out the water, or pump it out. Keep in mind that you don’t necessarily have to remove all the water, but rather about 20-50% of it. The next way, which may be easier if you have a water pump, is to divide your tank into two sections, using a stiff plastic divider. Put your fish on one side, and clean the other side, using the same methods mentioned previously.