Freshwater Madness

Choosing Fish for Proper Stocking

2009-06-01T10:07:00.000-07:00

One aspect of compatibility in raising a community of fishes is the leveling in the aquarium. Different fishes prefer different levels inside the tank. Having fishes that prefer different levels in the tank will produce a more attractive tank and it assures that the fishes would not have to compete for territories in the aquarium.

Top Dwelling Fish

Top dwellers prefer to be nearest the surface of the water in an aquarium. Usually, these fishes have mouths pointing upward suitable for feeding from the surface. They linger near the surface of the water and wait for food to come. Top dwellers add attraction to the top level of the tank by having a presence of movement in that area which is most often with the least decoration. Some top dwellers are very strong jumpers. Make sure you put a lid or a hood on your tank to prevent the fish from leaping out of the tank.

Middle Dwelling Fish

Ideally, these fishes when placed on the tank should be more of the active fish kind. The middle part of your tank is the focal point of your tank. When active movement is present in the focal point then you would have a very attractive tank. You can choose to put a school of fish as middle dwellers or larger fish such as Gouramis or Cichlids.

Bottom Dwelling Fish

Bottom dwellers take attention to the bottom of the tank. These fishes are often called cleaners since they feed on excess food that sink to the bottom as well as some algae. Most of these fishes have downturned mouths that allow them to eat easier when scavenging or looking for food. Keep in mind that when giving food to the tank, the bottom dwellers are the last to get to the food. You may want to supply sinking foods to ensure that your bottom dwellers eat well too.

Choosing Fish

Do a reasearch or reading on the fish that you like to have in your tank community. There are a lot of good reads and sources on the internet. Don't forget to consider behavior, size of tank, size of fish, and water conditions for proper compatibility.

Acclimating Fish in Freshwater Aquarium

2009-05-26T10:16:00.000-07:00

To continue setting up your freshwater aquarium you have already cycled your aquarium completely and have already bought the fish from the pet store. You are informed that as you get home, you must have the bag floated first on your tank for the fish to be acclimated to the water in your tank. But this is not what acclimation truly is. You need to consider that there might be a huge difference between the chemistry of the water from the pet store and the water in your tank. Temperature is only partial to the whole acclimation process.

Commonly, the usual practice of acclimating the new fish to your tank was to transfer the entire contents of the fish bag to your tank. Primarily, the bag is floated on the tank for about 30 minutes and after this, the bag is opened and the contents are slowly poured into the freshwater aquarium, not only the fish but also the water. This could be very risky. Why? Not only can the fish get shocked with the large portion of new water that it isn't familiar with but the water from the pet store might contain chemicals, diseases, and bacteria that will contaminate your entire tank. This might not be good for your tank.

First, what you can do is to test the water from the pet store. Most probably, the store would allow you to do this and they may even assist you with this. You have to test the water's chemistry from their tank: pH, ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. Also test the water in your tank where the fish will be transferred. Compare the results. This will give you an idea on how long you should perform acclimation.

Acclimating your new fish with your freshwater aquarium is very important and should be remembered. This is one of the most important things to do so that you would have a successful management of your new aquarium hobby.

There are two methods of freshwater aquarium acclimation. Learn about them.

Freshwater Aquarium Types

2009-05-24T02:54:00.000-07:00

There are a lot of shapes, sizes, and materials that aquariums can be made of.

Glass vs. Acrylic

An acrylic aquarium is surely lighter, firmer, and longer-lasting than a tank made of glass. Since acrylic is more malleable than glass, tanks can be made into different shapes and have a rounded or curved edge which gives the tank a rather "smoother" look. However, acrylic can be easily scratched and in the long run can become looking "dull" while glass is harder to scratch and continues to have that crystal clear view provided that you put the effort to clean it regularly. When talking about leaks, this can be much avoided with acrylic because most of the time, the tank is formed as a whole. Glass tanks are formed using silicone on the edges to form the sides of the tank. There are times when the silicone gets removed thus the tank leaks. What is usually done about this is to replace the silicone BUT you would still have to go through the hassle of dealing with the leak.

Capacity: 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 70, 100 gallons (and more)

Keep in mind that freshwater aquarium types in terms of water capacity bears an important value on how you will be able to maintain the tank. A general rule is that a gallon of water can accommodate a maximum of 1 and a half inch of slender fish. This means that a stand alone fish like the male Betta can be put in a 10-gallon tank but an Oscar that can grow really big can not be put in that tank. If you plan to put together a community of different types of fishes, it would be best to get a much large tank so that your pets will have more room to swim around in as well as establish different parts as their territories. Smaller tanks also require more maintenance than larger ones. This is because conditions may easily change within small tanks but not as much in the large tanks. Smaller tanks get dirtier faster than large tanks. Small tanks acquire waste easily because they have a smaller surface area where the waste and chemicals may be distributed to.

Shape

Freshwater aquarium types come in different shapes People have come up with different shapes deviating from the regular rectangular type. Tanks with multiple sides like the pentagons, hexagons, even octagons are not that suitable for medium to large fishes. They can only suit small fishes and only in very limited number. These unique shapes somehow restrict the fish from swimming to and fro. Elongated shapes much closer to the regular rectangular tank, although not as unusual like the above-mentioned ones, are the most ideal options. They give a wide view as well as a wider area for the fish.

FRESHWATER AQUARIUM ACCESSORIES

2009-05-15T05:23:00.000-07:00

A freshwater aquarium would not be complete without setting it up with the necessary accessories to help out in having a fairly balanced tank ecosystem. Here are some important basic accessories:

HOOD – Provide a hood for your freshwater aquarium tank. A hood prevents water to evaporate at a speedy rate and it also prevents several kinds of fishes that tend to jump out of the tank. There are hoods that already have a light receptacle attached to it but a lot also opt for several pieces of glass arranged on top to fill in the gaps.

FILTER – There are several kinds of filtration system for your freshwater aquarium. Traditionally, undergravel filters were commonly used but they tend to not do a proper job especially when the filters get clogged. An ideal kind is the power filter which can be put on top of the tank. Corner tanks are also becoming popular among hobbyists.

LIGHT – There are numerous kinds of lighting that can be put in a set up but fluorescent lamps would do just great. They don’t give as much heat as other kind therefore does not affect the temperature of your freshwater aquarium much.

HEATER – If you think you need a heater then you can use either a submersible type or the traditional one that is kept hanging on the side of your freshwater aquarium. Ideally, water should be kept at around 78 degrees Farenheit but if you live in a tropical country then no need for a heater.

SUBSTRATE – If you opt to put plants and other ornaments, you might as well put gravel. It will hold your plants down plus, depending on the color of your gravel, the colors of your fishes will be enhanced. Different types of substrate for freshwater aquariums are sand, gravel, crushed limestone, fine corals, crushed shells, etc.

PLANTS – You can opt to have artificial or live plants. These will add to the visual presentation of your freshwater aquarium as well as provide good hiding places for your fish. Artificial plants are inexpensive and do not need extra care unlike live plants. Live plants however have great benefits such as balancing the water chemistry and provides oxygen for your fish.

There are many ways to decorate your freshwater aquarium. The important thing is to keep it in such a way that it would also benefit your tank inhabitants. You may check different tank galleries for ideas. For a much complete guide, please do check http://freshwateraquariumsite.com. It will surely help you a lot!

CHOOSING A FRESHWATER AQUARIUM

2009-05-15T04:29:00.000-07:00

In order to have a successful freshwater aquarium set up, don’t rush into buying just about anything you can think of. Start with the tank. Here are some considerations:

1. Think about where you will place your aquarium. It should be near an electrical socket for the filter and lighting. During maintenance you would need to go around your tank as well.

2. If you are a beginner, you might want to consider starting with a smaller tank so that you’d be able to get a good grasp of the whole hobby without having to shell out that much cash. 10 to 20-gallon tanks are ideal. Smaller than 10 gallons would be very time consuming as smaller tanks need to be cleaned more often. The water becomes murky much faster.

3. The most common freshwater aquarium tanks are the rectangular ones. It gives a wide view of the entire tank thus being favored by a lot of hobbyists. There are also octagonal and hexagonal tanks as well as cube and cylindrical freshwater aquariums.

4. For the material, you can opt for glass or Plexiglas. Glass freshwater aquariums are heavier however, portions of the tank are easier to replace since most glass tanks are assembled per side. Plexiglas is much lighter but oftentimes is in one piece. Plexiglas however tends to smudge and is easier to scratch.

For a complete guide, you may check Freshwater Aquarium Guide.