Fish Care

Many people like to keep exotic tropical fish in fish tanks or aquariums at home, because they look beautiful, and also provide moments of fun and relaxation with their antics and graceful ways while swimming.



But it must also be remembered that they require proper fish care, if they are to remain healthy and active.

If you are keeping fish for the first time, here are some tips on how to care for fish.

Tips: Fish care tips include setting up a proper fish tank and maintaining it, getting the right combination of fish and the proper food to be given. Caring for fish also entails regularly checking the tank to ensure that they are healthy and have no signs of disease or sickness.





Fish tank: The type of fish you keep will decide the size of the fish tank. Fish care includes buying a tank which is large enough for them to swim around in comfort. Ensure that the tank is placed in a good location in your house.



You also need to buy a good filter to clean the water and a heater, since these are tropical fish and generally thrive in warm water between 75 to 78 degrees. Add some gravel and plants, along with a few rocks or driftwood and decorations. Let the tank settle for at least a week before adding the fish. Since some fish are jumpers, you must keep the canopy on the tank all the time.

Proper fish care includes cleaning the tank at least once a fortnight. Clean the filter by removing any algae, slime or plant wastes, using a scrubber. Replace the carbon bags inside it. You also need to scrub the hood or canopy of the aquarium. You must also remove uneaten or waste food every day, using a net. Rinse the net every day to prevent infection.

Adding fish: While selecting fish, it would be better to choose freshwater ones since they are easier to care for. Do not buy too many and crowd them in. Select ones that get along with each other. Watch out for aggressive fish which can be very territorial and harm the others. Also, take care not to mix stronger and faster fish with weaker and slower ones, since the stronger ones will eat up a greater share of the food while the weaker ones will not get enough. See to it that they don’t get stressed by poor water conditions, which might cause disease.

Food: Good fish care involves giving proper nutritious fish food, either in the form of fresh, dried or frozen foods or fish flakes.