Fish are very suitable pets to have in a small home, such as a flat or an apartment, since they do not require space to move or run around like dogs, nor do they leave hair, they do not have to be taken out into the street and other needs and responsibilities typical of other pets.
And they are very suitable animals for children to have and take care of, because they can take responsibility for it without major problems, since the daily monitoring they need is simple. Although they do need attention, as well as measures to start up your aquarium or fish tank and ensure that it is in optimal health conditions to take care of our fish correctly. Here we give you some indications that can help you in that care.
What do you need to take care of fish correctly?
- An aquarium or fish tank of adequate size for the number of fish to have.
- Appropriate equipment: filter, test kit, chemicals, air pump
- Fish that get along well with each other
- Food and nutritional supplements
Instructions to take care of the fish correctly
- Freshwater or saltwater fish? Decide if you want them fresh cold water or tropical. To get started in having a fish tank or aquarium, it is preferable that you choose fresh cold water ones for two reasons: salt water ones need more complex maintenance and salt can be a problem because it can corrode metal and is conductive to electricity, so you have to be much more careful. In any case, it is recommended for aquariums of a certain size, of several tens of liters; In addition, fresh cold water fish are more resistant than others in captivity, and will survive the predictable mistakes you may make at first.
- Type of fish. If you are starting in the world of aquariums, it is better that the first ones are cheap, because cheap fish are cheap because they are easy to care for. They are cold water, while tropical ones will need a heater and care that the temperature does not rise more than necessary. There will always be more than one fish, even many, but you must know the different species so that they are compatible with each other, do not fight or attack each other and everyone has the necessary space.
- The aquarium. It can be a small spherical fish tank, a rectangular tank one meter long or something more ambitious that you install flush with the wall, for example. Obviously, each aquarium project requires very different tanks, but their size will always be related to the number of fish that will live in it, so you should check with your pet store how many liters will be needed for each fish and according to the characteristics of its species. For example, fast swimmers like goldfish need more space than slow swimmers.
Clean water. The water should always be clean as this contributes to the good health of the fish and, where appropriate, of the natural plants that you may have in the aquarium. That is why the aquarium must have a suitable water filter. It is recommended to change a third of the water once a week, and clean the aquarium once a month of all debris on the bottom or see floating. You must treat the water you use, especially tap water, because it is chlorinated and this is very harmful to fish, so you will have to use a DE chlorinating product. The temperature of the water you add should be the same as the temperature of the aquarium. - The food. Fish, as living beings, need to eat and you have to feed them several times a day. The most appropriate thing is that it is five or six times a day, although in practice it is two or three, either manually or with the automatic feeder. You should know what each fish eats and that at specific times, such as reproduction, they may need special supplements.
- The lighting. Fish need light, but not direct sunlight, as it causes algae proliferation and would be too intense for what they are used to. An electric lighting that you can modulate at will and that will allow you to observe your aquarium in the best conditions is better. The fish sleep with their eyes open -they will be calmer, they will go to the bottom or to some nook-, so you can then turn off the light.
Tips to take care of fish correctly
- If this is the first time you have fish, first filter the water -previously DE chlorinated- from the aquarium for 24 hours. Then add the fish little by little, even in several days. If you enter too many at once, you can overload the filtering system.
- Don’t stress the fish. This means not touching them, not putting your hand on the crystals abruptly or hitting them, or even making sudden movements next to the aquarium.
- Never use detergents or soaps to clean the elements of the aquarium such as the filter, etc. They are lethal to fish.
