BL Workshop

How to start a fish aquarium

By Catherine L. Tully
Illustrations by David Brooks
From the April 2006 Boys' Life magazine

Having an aquarium is cool – and easy! Here’s how to start yours.

WHAT TO DO:

• Pick starters. Starter fish are more able to adapt to a new tank. Zebra Danios, White Clouds, and Platys are great starters.
• Pick fish that get along with each other. For example, don’t stick two male betas together; they will fight. Also, think twice if you want to add cichlids – they’re territorial. Labyrinth fish such as Gourami are calm.
• Remove chlorine from the water. Buy water-cleaning drops at the pet store.
• Regularly check the water temperature with an aquarium thermometer.
• Do partial water changes to keep the water clean and your fish healthy. Don’t change all the water at once. Your fish might have trouble adapting in there is too much change.
• Use the right equipment for cleaning – bucket, net, filter and siphon.

WHAT NOT TO DO:

• Don’t overfeed.
• Don’t put things in the tank unless you are sure they are safe. Some woods and rocks can be bad for your fish. Never use meal. Shells aren’t safe for most tanks, either.
• Don’t put your tank in a window or next to an air conditioner or heater.
• Don’t buy fish from dirty tanks or ones that have sick or dead fish in them.
• Don’t buy only one of a “schooling fish.” These like to be in groups. Neon Tetras, Zebra Danios and Tiger Barbs are schooling fish.
• Don’t make stops when bringing your fish home. Get it home and into its new environment as quickly as possible.
• Don’t put fish in the tank right away. Float the bag in the tank for about 10 minutes so the temperature matches better.
• Don’t add too many fish at one time.
• Don’t buy fish before you set up your tank.

WHAT TO ASK AT THE STORE:

• How big will the fish grow?
• How many fish can you keep in your aquarium? (This depends on the size and kind of fish you buy, and the size of your tank.)
• What do the fish eat?
• Do the fish need a heater?

CHECK OUT THESE FUN AQUARIUM WEB SITES:
The Shedd Aquarium: www.shedd.org

The Monterey Bay Aquarium: www.mbayaq.org/lc

Read 24 comments about “How to start a fish aquarium”

Comment page:   [3] 2 1 »

1. 24 - guppy says:
   August 13th, 2008 at 4:40 pm

   to sentraex,
   ph is a measure of chemicals in the water that is bad for fish. You can buy gravel the elimanates ph for farily cheap

2. 23 - Optimus Prime says:
   April 27th, 2008 at 4:15 pm

   If you plan on having small fish (especialy guppys) DO NOT get Platys, they will chase, bite the fins off then eat fish (especialy guppys) smaller then they are!!

3. 22 - biggentweb says:
   March 28th, 2008 at 10:39 am

   you should add ways to correct ph and other things. Also you should have a section on fish deseases and what to buy and how to tell.

4. 21 - seamonkey says:
   March 23rd, 2008 at 5:16 pm

   they need to do something with seamonkeys

5. 20 - sentraex says:
   March 19th, 2008 at 2:06 pm

   what does PH mean?

6. 19 - pudding says:
   March 12th, 2008 at 7:50 pm

   I did what you said but my fish died

7. 18 - ghjtjgtijkyi says:
   February 19th, 2008 at 9:41 pm

   cool.

8. 17 - hatrat says:
   February 19th, 2008 at 9:39 pm

   I enjoy this

9. 16 - rock says:
   February 6th, 2008 at 5:44 am

   use yr common sense dear ,excitement never works jus bcoz d fis looks good does not mesn it will go wel with those in yr yank

10. 15 - fishkiller says:
    January 26th, 2008 at 8:54 pm

    i wish i had read this i just lost $50 worth of fish because of no heat, clorine, and tons of other reasons.

Comment page:   [3] 2 1 »

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