How To Acclimate Fish To Your Tank

This article presents information on how to acclimate fish and invertebrates to your aquarium.

So you've went out and bought some fish and the store told you to float the bag in the tank for 15 minutes and then release them into your aquarium. Right? Wrong! The only thing floating the bag accomplishes is that it brings the water in the bag closer to the temperature of the water in your tank. We need to be concerned about more than just temperature. The aquarium water chemistry is just as important as the temperature.

Don't be afraid to ask the fish clerk to test the store's tank water for you. They shouldn't mind testing their water right in front of you. They're trying to sell fish right? Ask them for, at minimum, the pH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate readings. When you get home, test your own water to see how much the two sets of results differ. This can provide you with some insight into how slowly and for how long you should acclimate your fish.

There are a few different recommended methods for acclimating tropical fish to your tank water and we'll talk about each of these methods.

The most commmon tropical fish acclimation methods are:

• The Floating Bag Method
• The Bucket Method
• The Drip Method

The Floating Bag Method
This is probably the most common acclimation method and it works well. You just need to be careful when floating a bag full of unknown water in your tank. Ideally, you're floating the bag in a previously setup quarentine tank but, sadly, many new hobbyists don't use a quarantine tank. After you've been in the hobby for awhile and experience any sort of fish disease outbreak you'll soon come to realize the importance of a simple quarantine tank.

After you leave the fish store you will want to go straight home to avoid ammonia accumulating in the bag (in the form of fish waste). Once you get home, open the top of the bag and remove about 25% of the water from the bag. Replace this water with the same amount of water from your tank. Float the bag in your tank and bring down the hood opening on the open end of the bag to help keep the bag secure. Every 10 minutes add about 1 measuring cup (use less if the bag is smaller) of your tank water to the bag. Repeat this process for about an hour. After an hour has passed use a small net to get the fish out of the bag and gently place the fish into your tank. The main idea here is to slowly get the fish used to your tank water (acclimated). Do not dump the bag water into your tank! If you do, you risk exposing your tank to any parasites or diseases that were in the dealer's tanks.

Some fish may be difficult to net while in the bag and you don't want to damage the fish while trying to net them. If you're having difficulty netting the fish, get a large bowl (large salad bowl works well) and carefully pour the bag water into the net, allowing the bowl to catch the water. You could bypass the bowl altogether and do it over a sink but make sure that the drain plug is in place just in case you miss the fish with the net.

By slowly adding small amounts of water from the tank we are slowly acclimating the fish.

The Bucket Method
This method is basically the same as the floating bag method, but instead of floating the bag in the tank you're putting the bag inside a clean bucket instead. The bucket method is better than the floating bag method because you don't have to worry about any of the bag water entering your tank.

Open the top of the bag and remove about 25% of the water from the bag. Replace this water with the same amount of water from your tank. Every 10 minutes add about 1 measuring cup of water to the bag. Repeat this process for about an hour. After an hour has passed use a small net to get the fish out of the bag and gently place the fish into your tank.

The Drip Method
The drip method is recommended for most saltwater fish and invertebrates because they can be more sensitive to pH, specific gravity and other water chemistry changes.

To do the drip method your going to need a bucket, a vegetable clip with a suction cup for holding the tube in the tank and a length of air pump tubing that is long enough to extend from your tank to the bucket. Place one end of the tube into the veggie clip and then place the veggie clip into your tank. Tie a knot in the tubing to regulate the amount of water flow coming out of your tank. Get the siphon going and place the other end of the tubing into the bag in the bucket. You'll want a slow drip, drip, drip going. Aim for drips every one to two seconds. If you're having troubles using the knot to regulate the drip rate, any type of strong clip should work. Vice-grips (locking pliers) or c-clamps would work as well.

How long you do the drip method depends on what your acclimating. If your doing this method for most freshwater species you should be ok doing it for an hour or so before introducing the fish to your tank. If you're doing this method on a saltwater invertebrate you may want to take 2 or 3 hours for this acclimation procedure. If you have a good pet shop and you trust their advice, ask for and follow their recommendations on the amount of time needed for acclimation.

Acclimating new fish to your aquarium is a critical step and should not be taken lightly. Getting into the habit of using proper acclimation methods is a good way to ensure your long-term success in this wonderful hobby!

Small Fish Tank Setup

For the freshwater beginner we would not recommend a small fish tank setup to start out with tropical fish. The reason being because it is more difficult to keep the water parameters stable in a smaller volume of water. A small tank also drastically reduces the types of fish you can keep.

However, many do start with just a small fish tank, so we want to give you a list of items to use with your small aquarium so that you can increase your chances for success in tropical fishkeeping. If you need help with setting up your new tank, check out the tropiucal fish tank.

Below is a typical start-up kit for a small 2 gallon mini-bow aquarium. It comes with a lighted hood, a small packet of sample fish food, an undergravel filter and a small air pump. You will need to get some other items as well for your aquarium. As mentioned previously, a small tank can be more work than a large tank because you really have to stay on top of those water changes to prevent the small aquarium from becoming too polluted. Here is a list of the bare minimum things to have for any small aquarium:

• small tank (we don't recommend using an undergravel filter) and a couple of replacement media cartridges.
• Substrate (aquarium gravel)
• Small aquarium vacuum
• Fish Food or Goldfish food if keeping goldfish
• Small fish net
• Get a test kit that tests the ph, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels
• 5 gallon bucket
• Small aquarium air pump (used in conjunction with the filter)

Small Fish Tank Setup Kits

Please don't go out and get a bunch of tropical fish right away. Let the aquarium cycle first with a hardy fish like the zebra diano even fishless. Please read about the nitrogen cycle for more information such as starting this cycle and how to speed up the nitrogen cycle.

Also, if you are going to be running a small fish tank setup be prepared to perform aquarium more often.

White, Green and Yellow Cloudy Aquarium Water

Some of the more common causes for cloudy aquarium water are bacterial blooms, algae blooms, high levels of dissolved organic carbon and/or the use of new driftwood.

White Cloudy Aquarium Water
If you have white cloudy water or gray cloudy water in your fish tank and you have just set it up, it could be the dust from the gravel or sand. Be sure to thoroughly rinse your substrate before adding it to your aquarium. This can be difficult to do with sand but the dust particles should settle in a day or two.

If your tank has been setup for a short time this may be the result of a bacterial bloom that happens in a newly setup tank or when too many tropical fish were added too soon. This situation will correct itself when a sufficient amount of bacteria establishes on your biological filter. See the Nitrogen cycle for more information on this process.

You can help keep your tropical fish from getting stressed by performing 25% water changes daily and feeding them less until the nitrogen cycle has finished.

Green Cloudy Aquarium Water
Usually the result of an algae bloom. The green water will not harm your fish but it is not the most pleasant thing to look at. This happens because of the amount of nutrients and the amount of light entering the aquarium. Your tank water is nutrient rich, which may mean that you're feeding too much, your tank may be overstocked or you're not doing enough water changes or a combination of all the above. Avoid placing your aquarium where it could receive direct sunlight. Direct sunlight will cause not only algae problems but temperature fluctations as well.

To correct this problem, perform 25 percent water changes daily, rinse out or replace the filter media to reduce the amount of nitrates, feed your fish a little less and leave your tank light off for a few days or until the water clears up. If you do practice good aquarium maintenance and still have algae problems, look into testing your tap water. You may be introducing nitrates and possibly phosphates into your tank via the water changes and not even know it. Also look into keeping live aquarium plants which will compete with the algae for available nutrients.

Pond keepers sometimes use a UV sterilizer on their outdoor ponds to help control algae growths. While we agree that these sterilizers can have a positive effect on the algae growth in your tank, there are better, less expensive methods to use for controlling algae in the aquarium and we recommend you try some of the ideas presented above.

If that doesn't work, as a last resort, you could use Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Algae Destroyer. The algae destroyer should clear up the algae problem quickly. Please use as directed on the bottle. This is just a quick fix and we recommend that you figure out what's causing the algae problem in the first place.

Yellow Cloudy Water
Yellow aquarium water can be the result of several factors. Fish waste, driftwood, decaying plant matter and other dissolved organic carbons (DOC). This often happens in tanks that have new driftwood and it is because of the tannins in the wood being released into the water. This should subside after the driftwood has been in the aquarium for a couple of months.

To best way to fix the yellow coloration of your tank water is to perform more frequent partial water changes along with the use of activated carbon. Activated carbon has many uses in an aquarium filter including removing small amounts of DOC, removing water smells and making the water look cleaner or polished. Try to change out the carbon on a regular basis, at least every couple of months if not sooner.

Good First Freshwater Tropical Fish

Ok, you've set up ur tank, cycled it, and now you are ready for some freshwater tropical fish. This list of fish can withstand a wide range of water parameters such as temperature and water hardness. They are also attractive to look at, especially the Dwarf Gouramis.

Remember, no matter what tropical fish you decide to get, research the fish first and find out things like the potential adult size, ph and temperature requirements and the temperament. Some fish simply won't play nicely with others. Research them first and save yourself some potential headaches down the road.

Some of the easy to find, easy to care for and hardier first freshwater fish for beginners are:

Bloodfin Tetra	Cherry Barb	Dwarf Gourami
Gold Barb	Goldfish	Platy
Serpae Tetra	White Clouds	Zebra Danios

How To Set Up A Quarantine Tank

Ah, yes, the often dismissed but very necessary part of the tropical fish hobby, the infamous quarantine tank. Do you really need one to be successful in this hobby?

For freshwater fish you may be able to get by without having one. Freshwater fish are generally more suited to captivity because they are usually tank raised and don't seem to break out in disease as readily as their saltwater counterparts. However, if newly acquired fish do come down with something such as ich (ick) or velvet, you will surely wish that you had one ready to go. One newly bought fish that is introduced to your main tank can easily wipe out the entire tank population. Better safe than sorry, right?

For saltwater aquarium keepers, I would say that you definitely need a quarantine tank (sometimes called a hospital tank). Marine specimens are mostly wild caught and not used to being kept in captivity. Their journey to a dealers tank is usually much longer and much more stressful for them. Stressed out fish will usually come down with some kind of disease if they don't simply die from the whole ordeal. Saltwater fish keepers will usually have other things in the main display tank such as invertebrates and live rock, that they don't want to expose to the harsh medicines necessary to treat one or two fish. Some medicines can wipe out all of the invertebrates in a tank, so be sure to research any medicine before using it in your tank.

Quarantine Tank Setup
You don't need to go all out here. A simple tank size of 10 - 20 gallons will suffice for most people. If you have larger fish, then obviously you want to get a bigger quarantine tank. All you really need is a bare bones setup with the following equipment:

• Some type of Filtaration (a hang on the back of the tank power filter will work, just use filter floss without the carbon since carbon will remove medication from the water, being counter productive)
• Heater
• A powerhead and/or an airstone for increased surface agitation
• aquarium test kits for pH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate
• Fish Net - don't use the same net for your main tank

Fill the quarantine tank with water from the main tank and then turn everything on in the quarantine tank.

Freshwater Fish Quarantine
For newly acquired freshwater fish you will want to accimilate the fish to the water in the quarantine tank and monitor them very closely for a period of two to three weeks. Monitor the water parameters with your test kits and check for signs of parasites or bacterial infections.

If the newly acquired fish does come down with something you will need to use the appropriate medication and you will need to keep them in quarantine for a further two weeks to make sure that you have indeed treated them effectively. If after a few weeks no problems develop, you can then acclimate them to the main tank water and then introduce them.

If a fish comes down with something while in your main tank, just net them and put them into the quarantine tank. There should be no need to acclimate them because you used water from your main tank. If you didn't use water from the main tank you will need to acclimate them to the quarantine tank water. Diagnose the problem / disease and treat appropriately. After the disease clears up you will still want to keep the fish in quarantine for a week or so monitoring the water parameters with your test kits the whole time.

Saltwater Fish Quarantine
For newly acquired saltwater fish you will want to acclimate them to the water in the quarantine tank and monitor them very closely for a period of two to three weeks. Monitor the water parameters with your test kits and check for signs of parasites or bacterial infections.

If the newly acquired fish does come down with something you will need to use the appropriate medication and you will need to keep them in quarantine for a further two weeks to make sure that you have indeed treated them effectively. If after a few weeks no problems develop, you can then acclimate them to the main tank water and then introduce them.

If a fish comes down with something while in your main tank, just net them and put them into the quarantine tank. There should be no need to acclimate them because you used water from your main tank. If you didn't use water from the main tank you will need to acclimate them to the quarantine tank water. Diagnose the problem / disease and treat appropriately. After the disease clears up you will still want to keep the fish in quarantine for a week or so monitoring the water parameters with your test kits the whole time.

Always have some extra saltwater ready in case you need to perform an emergency water change, you want to monitor those water parameters frequently (daily or at least once every two days). Many saltwater hobbyists always have saltwater ready just in case. You never want to mix up saltwater and add it right away. Freshly mixed saltwater can be fairly toxic to fish, in turn causing you more problems. It can also be difficult to get an accurate reading with your hydrometer with freshly mixed saltwater.

Conclusion
Freshwater hobbyists may get away with not using a quarantine tank, but saltwater hobbyists would be crazy not using one. Save yourself some money, headaches and especially the fish by having a quarantine tank. The fish in your main tank will thank you for it.

Quarantine Tank Setup Comments

From: Rich I like to keep some small hiding places in the form of over turned flower pots or pvc pipes for my fish in quarantine. This helps make them feel secure and should help lower their stress level which could potentially help with the treatment of any disease outbreak. If I know that I'm going to be getting some new fish I have a small, inexpensive sponge filter that I use for my qt tank. I'll put the sponge in my main tank for about a week to populate it with the beneficial bacteria and then use that sponge filter in my hospital tank to prevent a cycle from happening. Ideally you want to be on top of your water changes during a quarantine period to prevent a nutrient buildup and the sponge filter gives me peace of mind knowing that it is working to prevent any ammonia or nitrite buildup. If you have to medicate though, all bets are off since most medications may destroy the helpful bacteria. In that case, stick to those frequent partial water changes during this process.

From: Jesse Do you need to run the qurantine tank 24/7?

No, you don't need to run the qt 24/7. You run it as needed. You can run a second filter on your main tank so you have a filter ready for when you do need to run a qt and you won't have to go through a cycle. When the time comes you can fill the qt tank initially with water from the main tank if you're in a pinch. You'll be performing frequent water changes while the fish are in quarantine, so bringing over water from the main tank shouldn't be a problem.

Tropical Fish Tips and Hints

We've tried to come up with a list of general tropical fish tips and hints for beginners to the fish keeping hobby. Below you will find our compiled list of the items we thought would especially help a newbie. If you have a good aquarium or tropical fish tip that you would like to share, just complete the form at the bottom of the page and we'll post it.

New Fish Tank Tips

• Realize that if you do things correctly, this can be a long-term commitment. Some fish species can live for a very long time if cared for properly.

• Research, research and research some more. It's a really good idea to get as much information as possible on a fish before buying it. Try to find out things such as:
  • How big it will eventually get and whether you have a large enough aquarium
  • What are the aquarium water parametres it requires? Find out things such as temperature, pH ranges, etc.
  • What types of fish foods will it eat? Will it take flake foods?
  • The general temperament of the fish species. Will it get along with the fish you already have or plan to get? This is an often overlooked area that needs more attention from hobbyists.
  • Is the species known as a prolific breeder? If so, do you have the equipment needed to keep them or do you have a plan for what happens when your fish has babies? Find out if your local fish store will take the young fish. If you don't have a means of placing them then you should stick with those fish that don't breed as easily in captivity.
  • Is the fish easily susceptible to certain fish diseases?

• Get the biggest tank you can afford. A larger aquarium generally means that your aquarium water parameters will be more stable. A bigger tank gives you some room for error, like when a fish dies and you don't notice it right away. Or, for instance, when your heater breaks and the stores are closed. The water temperature should be more stable in a bigger tank.

• Learn about the fishtank nitrogen cycle. This is a crucial process that you must understand if you want to have long term success with tropical fish.

• Research aquarium equipment before you buy it. Use google (top right of this page) or any search engine, and type in the particular model you are interested in and read what others have to say about it.

• If you enjoy reading, go to the library or buy tropical fish books. Get a couple of books on aquarium information or the species you are interested in getting. Reading a book is probably the fastest way to get up to speed and it provides a great reference for the future. On this site you can find some of the fish books we've reviewed.

  Subscribe to a fish and aquarium magazine. Getting a subscription to a hobby magazine is an easy way to pick up some good tips and it also allows you to stay up to date on anything new in the hobby.

• Give your fish plenty of places to hide. Ironically, it seems the more places they have to hide the less they do hide. Hiding places can be a place of refuge for your fish and it should lower stress levels for them.

• Research the fish you would like to keep and then aquascape your tank for the fish that will be living in it. You want to be able to meet the requirements of the fish you are keeping and modifying the aquascape afterwards is sometimes not an option.

• Get and use an aquarium water kit monitor the nitrogen cycle. The best way to monitor this cycle is to purchase a freshwater or saltwater test kit that will test for ammonia, nitrites, nitrates and ph. Test the water coming out of your tap as well. This will arm you with more information when it comes time for those water changes.

• Don't place your tank next to a window. Sunlight entering your aquarium will cause major headaches in the form of green algae. Direct sunlight will also cause your tank water temperature to increase.

• Don't follow the 1 inch of fish per 1 gallon of water rule. A better guide would probably be 1 inch of fish per 2 or 3 gallons of water. Use the future adult size of your fish when computing how many fish you can keep. Resist the temptation to overcrowd your tank. The more tropical fish you have the more often you will have to perform fish tank maintenance
  

• De-chlorinate your tap water before putting it in your tank. There are many de-chlorinators on the market.

• Get an aquarium filter that has multiple (2) media cartridges. This will allow you to change out one at a time. If you swap out all of the filter media with new media you run the risk of having to go through a mini aquarium cycle. Good power filters that hang on the back of the tank usually come with a separate floss system that you never have to change.

• Never rinse out your filter media with straight tap water. Use some of the tank water that you've just siphoned out while doing a water change. The chlorine and chloramine in the tap water will kill the nitrifying bacteria in the filter.

Stocking Fish Tips

• Slowly add fish to your tank. Never go out and buy a bunch of tropical fish because your tank's bio-load won't be able to handle it. Slowly adding fish gives your tanks biological filtaration a chance to catch up.

• Slowly accimilate fish to your current setup or preferrably a quarentine tank. When bringing home new fish, dump the bag contents (fish and water) into a clean (used only for fish) 5-gallon bucket and then add about 1 cup of aquarium water to the 5 gallon bucket every 10 minutes. Continue to add 1 cup of aquarium water to the 5-gallon bucket every 10 minutes. After an hour or so your fish should be ready to add to the aquarium.

• Make sure that any new fish you are planning to add to your tank will be compatible with the current inhabitants. You need to look at temperament, water parameters and tank size requirements. For instance, please don't put a common pleco in anything under 55 gallons.

• For new tanks, be sure the fish that you add to your tank are hardy. After the tank has aged for a few months, less hardy fish can be added. A tank needs to "mature" (complete the aquarium nitro cycle) before it can accomodate certain species of fish. Submitted by: Dahly

Feeding Your Fish Tips

• Give your fish a variety of tropical fish food and not just flakes. Read the nutritional information on the canister of food to see what vitamins and minerals your fish is getting. Flakes can be the primary diet for many fish because they are packed with the vitamins and minerals your fish needs. However, try to supplement their diet with other types of food every once in a while. You should see better colors and increased vitality by varying their diet.

• Do not overfeed your fish. Try for two small feedings per day instead of one large feeding. Give your fish a small pinch of food and see if they eat it all within a minute or two. If you see flakes floating to the bottom of the tank, then you put in too much food. That is, unless you have bottom feeders. Overfeeding will lead to poor aquarium water quality and will increase the stress levels in your fish.

Fish Tank Maintenance Tips

• Always turn off the electricity before working in or around your tank. Use a powerstrip connected to a gfci outlet and all you have to do to turn off the electricity is flip a switch. Also, use drip loops on all of the cords or hang the power strip on the wall, thereby causing the cords to loop before reaching the plug in. Read the aquarium electrical safety article.

• Try to change some of the water in the tank on a regular basis. Small frequent (weekly or every two weeks) water changes are better than infrequent large water changes. Small water changes will cause less stress and shouldn't interfere with the biological cycle in the tank. If you have a larger tank, get a Python Vacuum . These vacuums make doing water changes a breeze. Gravel vac only half of the tank with each water change. Switch sides on the next water change.

• Avoid wide fluctuations in your water parameters such as temperature and pH. Try to refill your aquarium with water that is as close to the current tank water as possible.

Fish Disease Tips

• Set up and use a quarentine tank. This is a small inconvenience that can really save your butt.

• Only medicate your main tank as a last resort. Use the tank setup for medicating sick fish and for monitoring new arrivals.

• Figure out what caused the fish disease or problem in the first place. Has your tank completed the aqua nitro cycle? Did you quarantine the new fish? Have you been keeping up on those water changes? What are the readings on your aquarium test kits?

• Try to accurately diagnose the disease before using medication.

• Remove any carbon in your fish tank filters before using medications because the carbon will remove medication that you add to your water.

• Turn off the protien skimmer in salt water fish tanks while medicating because it can skim off certain medicines.

Aquarium Lighting Tips

• Don't leave the fish tank lights on all of the time. Try for a 8 to 12 hour period of time for lighting. Most want to have the lights on while they are home. You can get the 8 to 12 hours needed by using a timer. For instance, set it to make the lights come on at 10am and off at 10pm. This will let you view your tank when you get home from work.

• If you are wanting to keep aquarium plants, be sure to research their light requirements first. Determine if you can meet those requirements with your existing lights or if you need more wattage, which might require a different and usually more expensive aquarium hood.

Breeding Fish Tips

• Make sure that you have the necessary equipment before you start breeding fish. If you don't have the space to keep the fry and don't have anyone you can give them to, please don't keep males and females in the same tank. This is especially applicable to those keeping livebearer fish like mollies,platies the guppy and the swordtail.

• When breeding tropical freshwater fish, always make note of temperature, ph, water quality, food intake and unusual behavior. That way you can breed fish again easily by recreating these conditons or by observing unusual behavior between pairs. You set yourself up for the possibilities of new arrivals.
  Submitted By: Eric

The Aquarium Nitrogen Cycle

This information presented below may be rather boring to most people, but it is absolutely essential to understand this process if you want to be successful at keeping fish!

Some call it the biological cycle, the nitrification process, new tank syndrome or even the start-up cycle. They all are referring to the same cycle - The Nitrogen Cycle. This very important cycle is the establishment of beneficial bacteria in the aquarium and in the filter media that will help in the conversion of ammonia to nitrite and then the conversion of nitrite to nitrates. Check out the aquarium water chemistry page (on the left) for more information on these terms.

This process can take from 2 weeks to 2 months or longer to complete. It is vital for anyone planning on keeping aquarium fish to understand this process. Learning about this process will help you to be successful in keeping fish and it should definitely improve your chances when keeping tropical fish. The best way to monitor the nitrogen cycle is to purchase aquaarium test kit. that will test for ammonia, nitrites, nitrates and ph.

Test your aquarium water every other day and write down your readings. You will first see ammonia levels rising. A few weeks or so later you should see the nitrite levels rising and the ammonia levels dropping. Finally, after a few more weeks you should see the nitrate levels rising and the nitrite levels dropping. When you no longer detect ammonia or nitrites but you can detect nitrates you can assume that it is safe to add your tropical fish.

Photo Credit: Ilmari Karonen

Nitrogen Cycle Stages
Stage 1
Ammonia is introduced into the aquarium via tropical fish waste and uneaten food. The tropical fish waste and excess food will break down into either ionized ammonium (NH4) or un-ionized ammonia (NH3). Ammonium is not harmful to tropical fish but ammonia is. Whether the material turns into ammonium or ammonia depends on the ph level of the water. If the ph is under 7, you will have ammonium. If the ph is 7 or higher you will have ammonia.

Stage 2
Soon, bacteria called nitrosomonas will develop and they will oxidize the ammonia in the tank, essentially eliminating it. The byproduct of ammonia oxidation is Nitrites. So we no longer have ammonia in the tank, but we now have another toxin to deal with - Nitrites. Nitrites are just as toxic to tropical fish as ammonia. If you have a test kit, you should be able to see the nitrite levels rise around the end of the first or second week.

Stage 3
Bacteria called nitrobacter will develop and they will convert the nitrites into nitrates. Nitrates are not as harmful to tropical fish as ammonia or nitrites, but nitrate is still harmful in large amounts. The quickest way to rid your aquarium of nitrates is to perform partial water chanes. Once your tank is established you will need to monitor your tank water for high nitrate levels and perform partial water changes as necessary. There are other methods to control nitrates in aquariums besides water changes. For freshwater fish tanks, live aquarium plants will use up some of the nitrates. In saltwater fish tanks, live rock and deep sand beds can have anaerobic where denitrifing bacteria can breakdown nitrates into harmless nitrogen gas that escapes through the water surface of the aquarium.

Getting The Nitrogen Cycle Started
There are two ways to get the aquarium cycle started, either with fish or without fish.

Starting The Nitrogen Cycle With Fish
This is not the preferred way to get the nitrogen cycle started because the fish are being exposed to ammonia and nitrites during this process. Many fish can not and will not make it through the cycling process. Often times the fish become stressed and fish disease starts to break out. I wonder what percentage of disease is caused by the cycling of new aquariums?

Certain species are hardier than others and seem to tolerate the start-up cycle better than others. For freshwater tanks, the zebra danio is a very hardy fish that many use to get the nitrogen cycle started. For saltwater tanks, some have reported success using damselfish to get the process started. Again, using fish to cycle is not a good idea and you may be throwing your money (on dead fish) out the window. There is a better way. Read on, young grasshopper.

Starting The Nitrogen Cycle Fishless
There are a few different ways to get this process started. To easily get an ammonia reading from your tank water try the Seachem Ammonia Alert. It sticks inside the tank and has a circle that changes color depending on the ammonia levels in the tank.

• Option 1:
  Using Fish Food
  Drop in a few flakes every 12 hours. As the food decomposes it will release ammonia. You will have to continue to "feed" the tank throughout the process to keep it going.

• Option 2:
  Use a small piece of raw fish or a raw shrimp
  Drop a 2 inch by 1 inch chunk of raw fish or a raw shrimp into the tank. As it decomposes it will release ammonia into the tank.

• Option 3:
  Use 100% pure ammonia.
  Using a dropper, add 5 drops of ammonia per 10 gallons of aquarium water. If you don't get an ammonia reading with your test kit, add some more drops until you start to see an ammonia reading. Keep track of how many drops you've used so you can repeat this process daily. Continue to dose the tank with ammonia until you start to get nitrite readings with your test kit. Once you can detect nitrites you should only add 3 drops of ammonia per 10 gallons of aquarium water, or if you added more drops originally to get an ammonia reading cut the amount of drops used in half. Continue this process daily until you get nitrate readings with your test kit. Do a 30% water change and your tank is ready.

• Option 4:
  Use gravel and/or filter media from an established and cycled tank
  This is the best and fastest way to go. This will seed the tank with all of the necessary bacteria for the nitrogen cycle. "Feed" the tank daily with flake food until you are getting nitrate readings. Depending on how fast you were able to get the gravel and filter media into your tank, you may be getting nitrate readings in only a day or two. There are some drawbacks to this method. Ask your source if they have recently used any copper medications in the tank. If they have and you are planning to have invertebrates in the tank you should probably not use this method. Invertebrates will not tolerate copper. Get a copper test kit to determine if it's safe to use.

• Option 5:
  Using liverock in saltwater tank
  The use of live rock in saltwater tanks has really taken off over the past few years. The reason for this is because it is one of the best forms of biological filtration available for saltwater tanks. The shape the rock is in when you get it will determine how long the nitrogen cycle will take. See step 7 on the saltwater setup page for more information on live rock.

• Option 6:
  Use Biospira made by Marineland. This product claims to contain some patent pending species of nitrifying bacteria that will cycle your tank in 24 hours. Some of the FishLore forum members have tried it and it sounds like it is legitimate. It is kind of expensive, but if you already have fish in your tank and they are suffering through the cycle, you may want to check this stuff out. 1 ounce of this product is supposed to treat a 30 gallon freshwater tank. There are both freshwater and saltwater versions of Bio-spira. Please let us know if you use this and if it works for you by submitting comments below.

Once the cycle has started only add one or two fish at a time. Wait a couple of weeks before adding more fish. This will give your tank the time it needs to catch up with the increased bio-load.

Speeding Up the Cycling Process
There are things you can do to speed along the process of cycling your aquarium.

• Increase the temperature of your aquarium water to 80°F-82°F (27°C-28°C)
• Get some beneficial bacteria colonies. Borrow some gravel from an established and cycled aquarium. If you have another tank with an extra filter you can use it. If you have a really nice friend with an established and cycled aquarium, ask if you can have one of their used filter media. It will be loaded with the good bacteria that we are looking for.
• There are products on the market that claim to introduce the beneficial bacteria. For more information, check out this product called cycle water conditioner.

  Also check out Bio-spira in option 6 above.

Fresh Water Aquarium setup

This freshwater aquarium setup article explains how to set up a basic freshwater fish tank. We'll start with a short list of the equipment you'll need and then give you a step by step guide on setting up your first fish tank.

Equipment you will need:
• Aquarium
• Aquarium gravel
• Aquarium Filter
  
• Replacement filter media
• Heater
• Other decorations (such as fake or real plants)
• Aquarium test kits to test water parameters and monitor the infamous fish tank
  
• Fish food
• Fish net
  
• Aquarium Glass Scrubber
• 5-gallon bucket
• Pasta strainer

STEP 1: Realize the responsibility involved.
Learning how to set up a fish tank is not all that difficult, but there are some steps you should follow. First, you must realize a few things about an aquarium setup. A tropical fish tank is just like having a dog or a cat when it comes to the amount of effort on your part. In order to have a successful freshwater tropical fish tank you will have to work at it. Once a week, or at most once every two weeks, you will need to perform some kind of maintenance on the tank. Most of the time you will be performing water changes. You will also have to feed your fish at least once a day. Setting up and running a fish tank does cost money. There are recurring expenses such as replacing filter media, buying food, etc.

STEP 2: Decide on an aquarium size.
It's a good idea to have in mind what kind of fish you want to keep before you purchase an aquarium. Some fish only grow to be an inch or two, whereas other types of tropical fish can grow 12 or 13 inches or more in length! Knowing what kind of fish you want will help you decide the size of the tank they will need. If this is your first time with an aquarium, it may be a good idea to start with a 10 or 20 gallon aquarium setup for now and stock it with some smaller and hardier species.

STEP 3: Decide on the aquarium's location.
Place your aquarium in an area where the light and temperature of the tank won't be affected by external sources such as windows and heater vents. Sunlight that enters the room through an unshaded window could affect the temperature of your tank. This could also lead to green algae problems for your tank down the road. You will want to place your aquarium on a stand that will be able to hold its total weight. You also want to be sure that the floor is able to support the total weight of the aquarium and stand. A good rule of thumb for determining the total weight of a full aquarium is 10 pounds per gallon of water. For example, a 55-gallon tank will weigh approximately 550 pounds when filled with water!

STEP 4: Buy your aquarium and equipment.
Now is a good time to decide on the type of aquarium filter you will want to use. You will also need to purchase a heater capable of heating the tank size you have. Buy the gravel, plants, a power strip and other decorations. A good rule of thumb for the amount of gravel that you will need is 1 to 1.5 pounds of gravel per gallon of water.

STEP 5: Set up your aquarium and stand.
Wash out your tank with water only! Do not use soap or detergents. Soap residue left behind will be harmful for your tropical fish. If you are going to use an under gravel filter (not recommended) now would be the time to set it up as well.

STEP 6: Wash Gravel, plants and decorations.
Be sure to wash the gravel thoroughly before adding it to your tank. An easy way to do this is to put some of the rocks in a pasta strainer and wash them out in your bath tub. Then place the clean gravel in a clean 5-gallon bucket for transport to the aquarium. After adding the gravel you can place your plants and decorations.

STEP 7: Add water to the aquarium.
To avoid messing up your gravel and plants, you can place a plate or saucer in the middle of your aquarium and direct the water flow onto the plate. Use room temperature water when filling. To remove the chlorine and chloramine , use something like Tetra AquaSafe for Aquariums. Don't completely fill up the aquarium until you are sure of the layout of your decorations. Otherwise, when you place your arm in to move stuff around water is going to spill over. Doh!

STEP 8: Set up equipment.
Install your heater but don't plug it in until the thermostat in the heater has adjusted to the water temperature. This usually takes about 15 minutes or so. Hook up your filter and any other equipment you have, then top off the aquarium water to just under the hood lip. Place your hood and tank light on the aquarium and then check your power cords to be sure that they are free of water. I would also recommend using a drip loop on all of the power cords to be extra cautious. For more information on safety, read this great article on . Plug all of the equipment into a power strip and then "turn on" the aquarium.

STEP 9. Wait, wait, wait and then wait some more.
I know, you want to add some fish. But, in order to do this right you must wait until your aquarium has cycled before adding any fish. There are ways of speeding up this process. Check out the nitrogen cycle page to learn more about starting the nitrogen cycle and how to speed it up. If you must use fish to cycle, try to get a hardier species like the zebra dino . You may notice your fish tank cycle kicking in gear if you start to get some white cloudy after a few days.

STEP 10. Add tropical fish.
Only add one or two fish at a time. Adding a couple fish at a time gives your filtration system the time needed to take on the increased biological load that the new fish introduce. When you bring the fish home let the bag float in the tank for about 15 minutes so that the fish can become accimilated to the temperature and pH of the aquarium water. After 5 minutes of floating the bag you should add some of the aquarium water to the bag so that the fish can become acclimated to the pH level in the aquarium. This will help reduce the amount of stress imposed on the fish. Stressed fish often leads to dead or diseased fish! Don't feed your fish on the first day. They probably wouldn't eat any food on the first day anyway. Let them get acquainted with their new home.

If you're interested in some good and hardy first fish, please read the Good tropical fish article.

STEP 11. Get ready for regular maintenance.
Be prepared to spend some time once every week or two to clean your tank. Performing regular water changes will reduce the nitrate levels and keep your tropical fish happy and healthy.

As you can see, the steps for how to set up a fish tank are not that complex and hopefully you now have your aquarium setup and running! Have fun, take care of and enjoy your fish!

Freshwater Aquarium Setup Comments, Tips and Questions

From: Julie Stafford - Cloudy Aquarium Water We have had a tank for about a month with fish in it. The water all of a sudden turned cloudy last night and has continued that way today. Is this a normal transition process of newer tanks or is it a problem?

Cloudy aquarium water in a newly established tank could be attributed to a few different factors: Overfeeding - try to feed your fish very tiny amounts and only give them as much as they can consume within a minute or two. Bacterial Bloom - If your cloudy aquarium water is a cloudy white or gray you may be experiencing a bacterial bloom. This bacteria is talked about on the aquarium nitrogen cycle page. The aquarium nitrogen cycle is an essential cycle that you should definitely know about. Please read the article. Completely replacing filter media - if you change out all of the filter media when you perform your tank maintenance you are removing most of the beneficial bacteria mentioned above and may be causing your tank to go through a mini-cycle. Try to swap out only half of the filter media during maintenance. Power filters sometimes come with two filter slots just for this purpose. Water Changes - if you recently did a water change sometimes the water coming out of the tap can be cloudy. To avoid this (and some other potential problems, such as pH swings) it can be a good idea to let your water age a day or two before using it in your water change. If we had to guess as to what is currently causing your cloudy water it would probably be the bacterial bloom since you mentioned that your tank is only a month old. Get an aquarium watter test kit and monitor your water parameters throughout the nitrogen cycle.

From: Lee I just wanted to say thank you for this website. We are very new to this fish thing (got the tank, got it cycling... no fish yet on the advise of LFS) but it's nice to read up as much info as we can before we actually get some fish!

From: Visitor - Adding Schooling Fish We would like to add a group of schooling fish, 6 or more to our 100 gallon tank. I've read they should be of same size & age to school. How does this work with the "Add only two fish at a time rule"?

Well, that's not really a rule, but a guideline to go by. The reason for slowly stocking your tank is so that you give your aquarium's biological filter time to catch up with the increased bio load that the new fish introduce to the tank. Having a 100 gallon tank, you should be fine adding a small group (6) of schooling fish such as neon tetras, or glowlight tetras or any of the other smaller sized schooling fish. This is assuming your tank is not overstocked and you have compatible tank mates for smaller fish.

From: William - Fish Overcrowding Question I just got started this past month and have taken my time and I believe gotten things right. I started with a 10 gallon tank and now that I have chosen what types of fish to stock... the smaller varieties, I was needing to know at what point does one stop adding new fish? What's optimum for not over crowding. I poked around the net and haven't found any real answer. Is there a gallon to small fish ratio or something I can use as a guideline?

Many places will tell you the 1 inch of fish per 1 gallon of water rule, but this rule or guideline is ridiculous. Would a 10 inch pleco be ok in a 10 gallon tank? Of course not. A better rule of thumb would be 1 inch of fish for every 3 or 4 gallons of water (this is a freshwater guideline only, saltwater fish need even more water) with even more water volume per inch being better. It really comes down to how often you will be performing water changes. Be realistic with yourself. Are you really going to stick with regular water changes every couple of days in an overstocked tank, week in and week out? If you answer no to this question then you definitely need to go very light on the stocking levels in your fish tank. You're really limited with what you can do successfully in a 10 gallon tank and urge you to resist the temptation to overcrowd your fishes. One last thing, always use the future adult size of the fish when determining the potential stocking levels for your fish tank.

Tiger Barb

The Tiger Barb has black bands that run vertically on an orange/gold body. There are also a few different varieties of this Barb such as the Albino and the Green.

Stocking this species in a community tank can be risky. They are a very active tropical fish that has a reputation for nipping the fins of its tank mates. This fin nipping behavior is most often attributed to not having enough tiger barbs in the tank. With that being stated, they do best when kept in schools of 6 or more. Given thier somewhat aggressive nature, it might be a good idea to think twice before adding them to a community tank.

The Tiger Barb will take regular tropical fish flakes but you should try to supplement their diet every once in a while with brine shrimp or krill.

Picture

Photo Credit: Julie Hallahan

Freshwater Fish Species Profile and Care Information

Scientific Name : Puntius tetrazona

Common Names : Sumatra Barb, Green and Albino, Partbelt Barb

Care Level : Easy

Size : 3 inches (8 cm)

pH : 6 - 7.5

Temperature : 70°F - 78°F (21°C - 26°C)

Water Hardness : 5° to 15° dH

Origin / Habitat : Indonesia, Sumatra, Borneo

Lifespan : 5 years

Temperament / Behavior : They can be semi-aggressive. They do best when kept in a school of 6 or more. Getting only of couple of them will surely bring out their fin nipping behavior.

Breeding / Mating / Reproduction : Breeding them can be somewhat difficult. Barbs are egglayers and they will eat the eggs. Provide plenty of broad leaf plants for them to scatter thier eggs on. Separate the adults from the eggs.

Tank Size : 20 gallon or larger.

Compatible Tank Mates : Avoid keeping them with tropical fish that are long-finned and slow moving. They will most likely not do well with this fish.

Fish Disease :freshwater fish disease - Diagnose, Symptoms and Treatment

Diet / Fish Food : Omnivore, will accept flake, freeze-dried and especially live foods such as brine shrimp.

Tank Region : Middle

Gender : The female is usually bigger and the male may develop a red coloration on its nose.

Red Devil Cichlid

The Red Devil Cichlid comes from Central America, namely Lake Nicaragua. This is perhaps one of the most appropriate common names of all fishes. It is called the "Red Devil Cichlid" because of it's aggressive behavior. If you're looking for a fish that will terrorize nearly any fish you put in the tank, then this fish is for you! There are many color varieties out there including red, white and variations having both colors. Maybe this is the result of cross breeding with other cichlids?

This is one fish that will redecorate the tank to it's liking. They love to dig and uproot plants, so you'll most likely end up taking the plants (plastic or real) out of the tank to prevent this. After they're done assaulting the other fish in the tank they like to retire to a peaceful cave they can call their own. All in a day's work, I guess. Seriously, this is one mean SOB that you don't want to keep with other smaller or less aggressive fish. Keep them singly or you may be able to keep them as a mated pair in a larger tank.

They will eat most everything you give them. This includes flakes, cichlid pellets, frozen foods, worms, crickets, and live feeder fish. Use caution when feeding feeder goldfish because of the disease element. Try to provide a balanced diet for them and not too much of the same foods all the time.

Males should be larger than females of the same age and may develop a nuchal hump on the head. They can be relatively easy to breed, provided that they get along. They will spawn on a flat rock and should be good parents, defending the fry until they are free swimming.

Photo Credit: Aron Day

Freshwater Fish Species Profile and Cichlid Care Information

Scientific Name : Amphilophus labiatus

Common Names : Red Devil Cichlid

Care Level : Easy to Moderate

Size : 10 - 12 inches (25 - 30 cm), possibly larger

pH : 6.5 - 7.5

Temperature : 75°F - 80°F (24°C - 27°C)

Lifespan : 10 years or longer

Origin / Habitat : Central America, in Lake Nicaragua and Lake Managua

Temperament / Behavior : Extremely aggressive cichlid that will not tolerate others in "their" tank. They will rearrange the tank to their liking and uproot plants.

Breeding / Mating / Reproduction : Breeds on flat rocks with the male and female both guarding the eggs. They should move the fry, once hatched (after 3 or 4 days), to a pit that they defend until the fry is free swimming. They should be free swimming between 5 and 7 days.

Tank Size : 55 gallon minimum for one Red Devil, much larger for multiples.

Compatible Tank Mates : Not many! They may or may not do ok with other, larger cichlids. You'll have best results keeping this fish by itself. You may be able to keep it with an opposite sexed red devils but watch for aggression.

Fish Disease :Freshwater Fish Disease- Diagnose, Symptoms and Treatment

Diet / Fish Food : Should accept most foods, including a good, balanced chichild pellet food, flakes and live foods. They will eat smaller fish.

Tank Region : All over the fish tank.

Gender : Females may be smaller and males may get a larger nuchal hump on the head. A nuchal hump is more common in male cichlids.

Piranha

The Piranha is an infamous fish known for its meat eating capabilities and although it is an extremely interesting fish, we do not recommend them for the beginner. They can get quite large and expensive to feed. I also wouldn't want to put my hand in a tank full of piranhas while performing tank maintenance. Yikes!

Use caution if you plan to feed your Piranha a steady diet of feeder guppies or feeder goldfish since these may introduce many different diseases to your tank. Try to get them on flakes or pellets as soon as possible and only give them live foods as a supplement to their diet.

Pictures

Pictures courtesy of Andreas Sunarso

Freshwater Fish Species Profile and Care Information

Scientific Name : Pygocentrus nattereri

Common Names : Red Belly Piranha, Red Piranha, Red Bellied Piranha

Care Level : Moderate

Size : Up to 12 inches (30 cm)

pH : 6 - 7.5

Temperature : 73°F - 82°F (23°C - 28°C)

Water Hardness : 10° to 20° dH,

Lifespan : 8 - 10 years

Origin / Habitat : South America

Temperament / Behavior : A very peaceful fish - just kidding. This is a very aggressive and a very dangerous fish. You need a larger tank for them. They will eat your smaller fish.

Breeding / Mating / Reproduction : Extremely difficult.

Tank Size : 30 gallon minimum, though I see them (juveniles) in 10 gallon tanks from time to time. If you keep them in a smaller tank prepared to perform more frequent aquarium maintanence.

Compatible Tank Mates : Not many - mainly other Piranhas

Fish Disease :Freshwater Fish Disease - Diagnose, Symptoms and Treatment

Diet / Fish Food : Omnivore - feeding them can become fairly expensive because they prefer live foods. Try to give them flakes and pellet food for their primary nutritional needs and supplement with live foods.

Tank Region : Middle

Gender : Difficult to determine but the female may be larger and have more yellow in them. We've also read reports that suggest that the female may become darker around spawning time.

Blue Gourami

The Blue Gourami (Trichogaster trichopterus) is also referred to as the Three Spot Gourami and sometimes even the Opaline Gourami. It's called the three spot because of the three spots on its body. The first two are visible (one on the middle of the body and one near the caudal fin) and the third spot is the eye. This fish is like the Betta Splendens in that it needs access to the water surface for using its specialized labyrinth organ in case of low oxygen levels. They can become aggressive and territorial with other tank mates and may be even more aggressive with other male blue gouramis.

Once acclimated to your tank, they can be fairly hardy and can grow to a size of 6 inches (15 cm).

Even though many of the available Blue Gouramis are tank raised it's always a good idea to keep any new fish in a Quarantine Tank for a few weeks for monitoring before introducing them into your main tank.

The Blue Gourami will accept smaller fish food including flakes, frozen, freeze dried and live foods.

Gourami Picture

Freshwater Tropical Fish Species Profile and Care Information

Scientific Name : Trichogaster trichopterus

Common Names : Three Spot Gourami, Opaline Gourami

Care Level : Easy

Size : Up to 6 inches (15 cm)

pH : 6 - 8

Temperature : 74°F - 82°F (23°C - 28°C)

Lifespan : 5 years or longer

Origin / Habitat : Southeast Asia

Temperament / Behavior : May be aggressive with males of the same species and with females of the same species after spawning. They may become skittish with larger tank mates.

Blue Gourami Breeding / Mating / Reproduction : They have been bred in captivity and are egg layers. Breeding behavior is similar to the Betta Splendens. Males build a bubble nest and try to initiate spawning. Females should be removed after spawning and the male will tend to the eggs until they hatch.

Tank Size : 20 gallon minimum

Compatible Tank Mates : They can be relatively peaceful if kept with similar sized and larger tank mates. You may have issues when keeping them with other males.

Freshwater Fish Disease

Diet / Fish Food : An omnivore - provide a varied diet with live food, frozen food and they should accept flake food.

Tank Region : Mostly top, sometimes middle

Gender : Dorsal fin males is longer and pointed while it is shorter and rounded on females.

Kissing Gourami

The Kissing Gourami gets its name from the way it will "kiss" other gouramis and other fish in your tank. They are not kissing but they are in fact acting aggressive and having a showdown. When they do this, one is trying to establish dominance over the other.

They can get quite large, often 10 - 12 inches in length. We do not recommend them for the beginner because of their potential adult size and because they can become very territorial in a community tank. They will often chase your other fish around the tank, especially after food has entered the aquarium. This behavior can get very annoying.

They are not picky eaters and will go after flakes, pellets, frozen, freeze dried and live foods.

Gourami Pictures

Freshwater Fish Species Profile and Care Information

Scientific Name : Helostoma temmincki

Common Names : Kissing Fish, Pink Kissing Gourami

Care Level : Easy to Moderate

Size : Up to 12 inches (30 cm)

pH : 6 - 8

Temperature : 72°F - 82°F (22°C - 28°C)

Water Hardness : 5° to 20° dH,

Lifespan : 5 - 7 years

Origin / Habitat : South East Asia

Temperament / Behavior : They can be territorial at times and will fight with their mouths. We've found that it is good to get a pair so that when they are feeling aggressive they will chase each other around instead of the other tropical fish.

Breeding / Mating / Reproduction : Very difficult to breed because they require large tanks.

Tank Size : 50 gallon or larger.

Compatible Tank Mates : Because of its potential adult size and because it can become territorial, use caution when selecting tank mates.

Fish Disease :Freshwater Fish Disease - Diagnose, Symptoms and Treatment

Diet / Fish Food : Will take many types of foods, including flakes, pellets, freeze dried and especially live foods.

Tank Region : Middle and Top

Gender : Can not be determined by external features.

Gold Barb

This is another hardy freshwater fish that is good for beginners. The Gold Barb will tolerate a wide range of water parameters, stays relatively small (3 inches - 8cm), is quite colorful and should play nicely with most tank inhabitants. They have a mostly gold colored body with small dark or black patches running down the lateral line of the body.

They may not do very well in planted aquariums because they may nip at the plants. If you have a heavily planted tank you may be able to keep a few of these, but if your tank is sparsely populated with plants they may rid you of your plants.

Behavior wise, they do best when kept in a school of 5 or more and they may bicker among the school about the pecking order. Avoid keeping them with long finned fishes such as Bettas, some of the long finned tetras and Angelfish because they may nip at their fins.

The Golden Barb is a good eater and if they aren't eating it may be safe to assume that something is wrong with the water paramters in your tank. A flake food can form the main part of their diet, but supplement with other foods.

Picture

Freshwater Fish Species Profile and Care Information

Scientific Name : Puntius sachsii

Other Common Names : Goldfinned Barb, Golden Barb

Care Level : Easy and can be good fish for fresh water biginners

Size : Up to 3 inches (8 cm)

pH : 6 - 8

Temperature : 72°F - 82°F (22°C - 28°C)

Water Hardness : 5° to 25° dH,

Lifespan : 5 - 7 years

Origin / Habitat : Asia, Singapore

Temperament / Behavior : Peaceful and best kept in schools of 6 or more.

Breeding / Mating / Reproduction : Moderate. It is believed that the reproductive cycle of this fish can be closely tied to the cycles of the moon. Hmmm... Males may take on a slightly different color when in breeding mode. They will need an aquarium with plants because they spawn in the plants, such as java moss. You will have to remove the adults because they most likely will eat the eggs. Fry should hatch in a couple days and then you'll need to feed them liquid fry food and baby brine shrimp or other good fry foods.

Tank Size : 20 gallon or larger since they like to school.

Compatible Tank Mates : Many, given their generally peaceful nature. Would do well in community tanks and Barb themed aquarium setups. However, use caution if you have long finned fish such as Angel fish and Bettas. may fin nip at these longer finned fish.

Fish Disease :Freshwater Fish Disease - Diagnose, Symptoms and Treatment - Can sometimes be one of the first to show signs of ich.

Diet / Fish Food : Omnivore, they will eat flakes, live and freeze dried foods such as brine shrimp, blood worms and daphnia.

Tank Region : Middle to bottom regions of the tank

Gender : The male is usually smaller, more stream lined and sometimes turns a more golden/orange color when it is ready to spawn.

Mollies, Molly Fish features

Mollies, Molly Fish

The Molly is a tropical fish that prefers a little salt in their water. A teaspoon of aquarium salt per 5 gallons of water will go a long way in helping them. This is a very attractive tropical fish that comes in many different colors such as orange, green and black. Some of the more popular varieties include the sailfin, balloon and the dalmation.

This is a livebearing tropical fish that can be fairly easy to breed. For many aquarists the biggest problem is not getting them to breed but stopping them from breeding. If left in a tank with other adult fish, the baby mollies will get eaten.

Mollies will eat flakes, frozen, freeze dried and definitely live foods.

Picture

Freshwater Fish Species Profile and Care Information

Scientific Name : Poecilia sphenops

Common Names : Black Molly, Lyretail, Sailfin, Liberty, Mollie, Pointed Mouth, Short Finned, Mexican, Golden, Piebald, Ghost Pearl, Gold Dust, Red Sunset, Dalmation, Ballon, etc.

Care Level : Easy, very good for freshwater beginers if keeping a single sex. Keeping both sexes could cause problems since this fish is such a prolific breeder.

Size : 2 to 4 inches (5 - 10 cm) depending on the species

pH : 7.5 - 8.5

Temperature : 70°F - 82°F (21°C - 28°C)

Water Hardness : 10° to 25° dH,

Origin / Habitat : Central America

Life Span : 3 - 5 years

Temperament / Behavior : Peaceful

Molly Fish Breeding / Mating / Reproduction : These are livebearers so it is fairly easy. Adding a little aquarium salt will help. Read the breeding guppies for more information. That article talks about guppies and swordtails, but the process is very similar for the Molly.

Tank Size : 20 gallon minium, prefer tall aquariums

Compatible Tank Mates : Not many - some feel they should only be kept with others of the same species.

Fish Disease : Freshwater Fish Disease - Diagnose, Symptoms and Treatment

Diet / Fish Food : Give them a varied diet consisting primarily of flake foods but supplement with live and freeze dried foods occasionaly.

Tank Region : All over the tank.

Gender : Males are more slender, females more round. Males also have a modified anal fin.

Oscar fish features

Oscar Fish

Also known as the Red, Albino and Tiger Oscar.

Originating in the waters of the Amazon, the Oscar fish is another extremely popular tropical fish. Their popularity stems from their personality, which has been compared to that of a puppy. Many keepers experience begging around meal times or the seemingly playful greetings they receive from their fish when they get home.

There are a few color varieties including albino, olive-green, brown and dark gray. They can get quite large, usually 12-14 inches and should be kept in a 55 gallon or larger aquarium. The Oscar is also known for being one of the more messy tropical fish to keep. Try to get the best filtration system possible for them and be prepared to perform frequent water changes. They are known to rearrange their environment from time to time and to bash in to filter uptake tubes and heaters. If you are wanting to keep live plants in an aquarium you may not want to get an Oscar because they love to dig up plants. They are also very good jumpers, so a heavy hood is a necessity.

They will eat most flakes, pellets, frozen, freeze dried and live foods including any other fish they share a tank with that are small enough to fit in their mouths.

Picture

Freshwater Fish Species Profile and Care Information Scientific Name : Astronotus ocellatus

Common Names : Albino Oscar, Tiger and Red Oscar, Marbled Cichlid

Care Level : Easy, good for fresh water beginers with a large enough tank and those with an adequate aquarium filter and those willing to perform frequent partial water changes.

Size : 13 inches (33 cm)

pH : 6 - 8

Temperature : 72°F - 80°F (22°C - 27°C)

Water Hardness : 5° to 20° dH

Origin / Habitat : Amazon

Lifespan : 10 - 13 years

Temperament / Behavior : They can be aggressive if not given a large enough aquarium.

Breeding Oscar Fish / Mating / Reproduction : They reach sexual maturity at 4 inches and will form life long pairs. Keep the water temperature around 82°F (28°C) and provide a spot for them to place the eggs. A large rock would work well.

Tank Size : 55 gallon or larger.

Compatible Tank Mates : Not many - Bala Shark, Silver Dollar, Pleco and Jack Dempsey fish are some acceptable tank mates. However, don't put in any fish that are small enough to fit in the mouth of this fish.

Freshwater Fish Disease

Diet / Fish Food : Omnivore, will eat flakes, pellets, freeze dried and live foods. Give them a varied diet with lots of protein.

Tank Region : All over

Gender : Can be difficult to determine. The female is usually smaller and less colorful than a male of the same age.

Guppy Features

icker bodied, with less color and a smaller cuadal fin (tail).

They are livebearers which means that the babies are free swimming at birth. At each birth, the female can have anywhere between 4 and 60 or more babies. If left in a community tank, the guppy fry will be quickly eaten if not secured in a breeding net or breeder's box. Sadly, even the guppy parents will partake in the baby guppy feast.

Please be responsible and have a plan for what to do with the fry. If you're not interested in breeding them they should do just fine when kept as all males or all females. Mix the sexes and you will most likely have babies. If knowing that the larger fish in the tank are having a feast (as they would in the wild) on the baby guppies bothers you then only keep all males or all females. You may sometimes see some aggression amongst the males but nothing too out of hand.

Also, keep in mind that female guppies can be pregnant when you buy them from the store. Look for the gravid spot by the anal vent or a bulging in the belly area.

They will accept most fish food including vitamin enriched flakes, frozen, freeze dried and live foods. Try to give them a variety of foods for optimum health and coloration. Feeding them live or frozen foods every once in a while should do wonders for their activity levels and general well being.

Picture

Freshwater Fish Species Profile and Care Information

Scientific Name : Poecilia reticulata

Common Names : Guppy, Fancy Tail Guppy, Millions Fish, Rainbow Fish

Guppy Care Level : Easy, good for freshwater brginners when you have only one sex. This fish will breed easily in your tank if you plan on keeping males and females in the same tank.

Size : 2 inches (5 cm)

pH : 7 - 8

Temperature : 66°F - 84°F (19°C - 29°C)

Water Hardness : 10° to 20° dH,

Guppy Lifespan : 3 - 5 years

Origin / Habitat : Central America

Temperament / Behavior : This is a peaceful and hardy fish that is good for beginners.

Guppy Breeding / Mating / Reproduction : Livebearers and not very hard to breed. Parents will eat their young if not separated. Read the breeding guppies article for more information.

Tank Size : 10 gallon or larger.

Compatible Tank Mates : Many, given their peaceful nature.

Guppy Disease :Freshwater Fish Disease- Diagnose, Symptoms and Treatment

Diet / Fish Food : Give them flakes, freeze dried and live foods. Vary their diet for optimum colors and health.

Tank Region : Middle to top

Gender : Easy to determine. The male will have the larger, more colorful tails.

GoldFish Features

Goldfish, Fancy Goldfish

The Goldfish is a favorite fish for many. How many of us didn't keep one at one time or another? They are usually very hardy fish and can live in temperatures ranging from 40°F - 90°F (4°C - 32°C). It is important to note that Goldfish have an extremely long lifespan if cared for properly, so getting one can become a long term commitment. Many varieties are available with many different markings, fancy varieties and colors including gold, orange, white and black.

The can sometimes come down with swim bladder disease and occasionally freshwater ich. It's very important to provide your fish with frequent water changes and quality, nutritious fish food.

You can also make life much better for your fish by getting some form of filtration, such as a box or corner filter with a small air pump. These small filters are fairly inexpensive and the filter media can be changed out easily when you do a water change.

To increase your chance of success with goldfish keeping, try not to keep them in a tiny goldfish bowl. A tiny bowl will become polluted quickly and you'll have to perform maintenance all of the time. Instead, get them at least a 10 gallon tank with a filter and heater. Also, if you want to keep multiples, try for a minimum of 10 gallons per goldfish for better long term success with this fish.

Care Summary
• Allow adequate volumes of water, preferably 10 gallons (38 liters) per goldfish.

• Perform frequent partial water changes and gravel vacuuming while avoiding wide water quality fluctuations such as temperature, pH, etc.

• Avoid keeping them in small goldfish bowls. Most bowls are simply inadequate to properly care for a fish. They only hold a gallon or two, need frequent cleaning, it's hard to use a filter, and provide little to no swimming space for your fish. What a miserable existence this has to be.

• Give your fish a high quality and varied diet. Don't get the bulk size containers since fish food does lose nutritional value as it ages and as the top of the container is opened and closed every day. Think really stale potato chips. It's better to buy your fish food in smaller containers in this case.

• Learn about the aqua nitro cycle if you don't know about it already.

• Don't over clean the filter! Rinse out the filter media in discarded aquarium water and re-use or only replace half the filter media at a time to avoid losing most of the beneficial bacteria needed to keep the water safe for your fish.

• Remember that this fish will grow in size and that they can live for quite a long time if cared for properly.

Picture

Freshwater Fish Species Profile and Goldfish Care Information Scientific Name : Carassius auratus

Common Names : Calico Veiltail, Comet, Black Moor, Bubble eye, Lionhead, Ranchu, Oranda, Pearl Scale, Ryukin, Panda, Fantail, Shubunkin (calico), Tosakin, Orange Fantail, Black Fantail, Pompon, Celestial, Telescope, etc. There are many different varieties of this fish out there with more being developed.

Care Level : Common varieties are easy and good for the is willing to perform the frequent water changes required in smaller setups. Some of the fancy varieties can be slightly more difficult to care for and need more stable water conditions and high quality foods. See the summary above.

Size : Usually 3 to 5 inches (8 - 13 cm), but can get bigger

pH : 6 - 7.5

Temperature : 40°F - 80°F (5°C - 27°C)

Water Hardness : 5° to 20° dH,

Lifespan : 10 - 30 years

Origin / Habitat : China originally, then Japan, Asia and the rest of the world.

Temperament / Behavior : Very peaceful

Breeding/ Mating / Reproduction : Not very common in home aquariums but you can try. Make sure you are ready to deal with the babies before you start your breeding program. Give them a water temperature between 75°F and 80°F. Get them ready by feeding fish food high in protein and make sure that they have good water quality. When they are ready, they will lay their eggs on vegatation on the bottom of the tank. You will have to remove the adult fish to prevent them from eating the eggs which usually hatch within 7 days. Prepare your fry foods such as infusoria and brine shrimp and have it ready in time to feed the baby goldfish.

Tank Size : Preferrably a 10 gallon or larger and 10 gallons for each additional goldfish if kept in groups.

Compatible Tank Mates : Usually do better when kept with other goldfish. Other potential tank mates include white cloud mountian minnows, platies a big maybe on the guppy..... closely if you introduce different species to your tank and be prepared to remove them if it's not working out.

Disease / Illness :Freshwater Fish Disease - Diagnose, Symptoms and Treatment - Unfortunately, they can be quite susceptible to swimbladder problems due to the various types or varieties that have been produced over the years. Ich or white spot disease and fungus problems are also frequently encountered.

Food / Diet : Will gladly accept most fish foods, including flakes, live and freeze dried varieties. There are foods made specifically for goldfish. They are omnivorous, which means that they will eat foods of plant or animal origin.

Tank Region : All over the tank

Gender : Males may have small white spots called tuberceles around their gill areas when ready to spawn. Females may be noticeably larger when swelling with eggs and the males may start to chase the females around the tank.

Gallery Photos : Goldfish Photos

Similar Species : Cyprinids

Fish Lore Forum : Goldfish Posts

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Angel Fish Features

Angelfish

The freshwater Angelfish is a very popular tropical fish because of its unique shape and because of their interesting personalities. Angelfish are aggressive eaters and will go to the top of the tank when they see you approach. Because of their aggressive feeding habits, make sure that your less aggressive fish are getting their share around feeding time.

Angel fish are curious about their environment and can become very territorial, especially around breeding time. They will pair off and if any other fish tries to enter their territory they will go after them.

They are not picky eaters. They will go after many types of fish food, including vitamin enriched flakes, frozen, freeze dried and live foods.

They prefer tall tanks over short tanks because of their tall body shape.

Pictures

Freshwater Fish Species Profile and Care Information Scientific Name : Pterophyllum scalare

Common Names : Albino, Black, Gold, Silver, Marbeled Angelfish, Koi Angelfish, etc - seems there is a common name for each color variety.

Angelfish Care Level : Easy

Size : Up to 6 inches (15 cm)

pH : 6 - 7.5

Temperature : 74°F - 84°F (23°C - 29°C)

Water Hardness : 5° to 13° dH

Lifespan : 8 - 10 years

Origin / Habitat : Amazon River

Temperament / Behavior : Generally peaceful, but can be aggressive eaters and may become territorial while breeding.

Breeding Angelfish / Mating / Reproduction : Use pH of 7.0 and a higher temperature of 80°F. They will lay the eggs on a vertical or diagonal surface. Assuming you have a pair, they are not difficult to breed. Read the article on breeding angelfish for more information.

Listed below is a short video on an Angelfish taking care of a fresh hatch:

Angelfish Breeding Video(Low Speed - 188 KB)

Angelfish Breeding Video(High Speed - 1.5 MB)

Tank Size : 20 gallon minimum, prefer tall aquariums

Compatible Tank Mates : Jump to profiles of fish that could potentially be kept with this fish:

Pleco, Blue Gourami, Dwarf Gourami, Larger Tetras, Bala Shark

Angelfish Disease :
Freshwater Fish Disease
- Diagnose, Symptoms and Treatment

Diet / Fish Food : Usually very good eaters, they will take flakes, pellets, freeze dried (blood worms,) and especially live foods.

Tank Region : Middle

Gender : There are no visible differences between the male and female. Only at spawing will you be able to tell the male from the female. A female has a round "tear-drop" shaped breeding tube and a male has a cone shaped breeding tube.

Hong Kong planted aquariums

Hong Kong's Road of Plants Southeast Asian aquarists have a strong interest in live planted tanks. Hobbyists are quite familiar with the contributions of Japanese aquarists to their growing popularity in the United States. Much closer to the islands of Japan, Hong Kong and mainland China have received the benefits of Japanese plant products and influences for many years. The result in Hong Kong is Tung Choi Street. Originally known as "Goldfish Street" this road is lined on both sides by about 60 aquarium shops! Today it is changing as stores are offering more plant products and live plants than they are goldfish. All the tanks were using the ADA Amano substrate system. Tanks are laid out in the Japanese style of aquarist Takashi Amano and his products are found in most shops. Glass plumbing components were common and almost always used on aquariums of various sizes. This trip to Hong Kong took place in June, 2006. Although it was very hot and humid (winter months are more comfortable) there was a great variety of plants available in the many shops. It is common to see aquarium shops extend out onto the sidewalk. The stores are usually long, narrow corridors allowing for little space inside to accommodate customers. Street side, products are lined up to attract potential buyers. Plants can be seen pre-bagged with the price written on the side. The same goes for fish; a common practice!