If you wish to keep fish as pets, then you have to know a little bit about aquarium maintenance. Therefore, you need to understand exactly what is needed to keep your fish happy and healthy. For example, how much maintenance does an aquarium need? Is your tank receiving enough regular cleaning, or are your over-cleaning it? What are the appropriate temperatures for your fish? This article will review a few important bits of information regarding aquarium ownership.
Observe the Colour of the Fish in the Tank
The best way to assess the quality of your aquarium care is to simply observe your fish. Observing your fish can provide you with the necessary information in order to adapt your maintenance routine. Healthy aquariums tend to display fish that are eating well, all of which are colourful, vibrant, and active. In fact, a fish’s colour is a primary indicator about how your fish are feeling. Colourful fish mean that the chemistry of the water is right, the temperature is set correctly, and the fish are getting enough food.
What is the Activity Level of Your Fish?
As noted, healthy fish are also active fish. You can see this for yourself when you visit any of several West Midlands pet shops. A normal activity level for some species includes continual swimming, whereas for others, it may mean relaxing at the bottom of the tank for long periods of time. Knowing a fish’s natural actual activity level will alert you to any issues with your aquarium. A change in behaviour is a big clue that something is not right.
Healthy fish also actively seek food. For example, a tetra fish that is healthy will spend most of its hours swimming around an aquarium in search of food. Also, when you feed the fish, they will enthusiastically devour the bits of food that you drop into the tank. Sunken bellies or fish that are too skinny are other common warning signs of a problem as well. During a feeding, all the food should be eaten within about two minutes flat. If excess food falls to the bottom of the tank, you need to feed less food to your fish, as the additional traces that sink to the floor can actually lead to water quality problems.
If you are interested in maintaining your own aquarium, always remember that it is important to stay vigilant and attentive when caring for your fish.