Freshwater Aquarium

Aquarium help - All the information you need to create and maintain a beautiful aquarium

Freshwater Aquarium And Fish Care Support
As a beginner first learning the ins and outs of keeping an aquarium healthy, things can get a bit overwhelming. There is so much terminology and equipment, it is enough to make anyone's head spin.
So how do you come to terms with all of this?
Well learning it all gradually, a piece at a time is a great way forward.
Patience is key in many things relating to keeping aquariums, but the great thing about fish keeping is that there are a number of easy an inexpensive ways to begin.
Whatever you decide to start with, you should be prepared to do some reading. There are terms and procedures 's to become familiar with.

Goldfish
A fish often recommended to beginners is the goldfish. It is widely available and quite pretty. It's one of the easier fish to keep healthy and happy, and can live happily in a small, unheated aquarium, Goldfish are, therefore, quite inexpensive to set up.
The first step in keeping a goldfish is choosing the aquarium.
You may see goldfish in bowls and other small containers on television and even in real life. However, this really is a bad idea. Goldfish can live for a while in a small bowl, but they will never really thrive, and will be much more susceptible to disease and death.
The minimum for keeping a goldfish should really be a 10 gallon (40 litre) aquarium with filtration. The filter agitates the surface of the water, which increases the oxygen content of the water (remember, fish breathe oxygen too!), and provides a current for the fish to swim against. More room to swim, more oxygen and some current to swim against all help ensure your goldfish stays happy and in shape.
Don't forget to take the number of goldfish into account!
More than one goldfish will require more space.

Betta Fish
Another fish that is hardy, inexpensive for the beginner and a little more exotic, certainly in appearance is the betta, or Siamese fighting fish. These are only a little more difficult to keep that goldfish and you will need to devote more of your time to their care, but they too can live happily in a small aquarium.

The aquarium is the life support system for your fish - it really is all they have. It is, therefore, absolutely critical to being able to keep healthy fish, no matter what kind of fish it is.
Proper care and maintenance of your aquarium is necessary, and there are daily and weekly procedures that must be followed.
Don't stary by buying a tank that is too big. Try to keep it small and simple.
Always do some research before buying a product you are not familiar with. There are a huge number and variety of accessories and products associated with aquariums and fish.
Doing some research beforehand can keep you from buying products you don't need, and can help you ensure that the products you do buy are appropriate for your aquaium.

If you do not have access to well water, your tap water probably contains chlorine or ammonia (or both). These substances are harmful to all fish. If you have particularly chlorinated water, it can kill your fish. However, there are products available that you simply mix thoroughly into your tap water that effectively remove the harmful chemicals from your water. They usually also add things to the water to help your fish form its slime coat and fight off ick (a small parasite that is extremely common on fish that are stressed). This is usually called a 'stress coat'.
If you would rather use distilled or reverse osmosis purified water, there are other additives that restore needed minerals into these too-pure waters.

Make sure you check the filters regularly, and rinse them with dechlorinated water of some type. It is okay to use distilled water for this. If you get snails living on your filters, try not to crush them, and remove them during your weekly cleaning. If you do not remove them, they will tend to over-breed and will rapidly eat every bit of plant matter in your aquarium.

You also need to keep your aquarium at a fairly constant temperature. Aquarium heaters control the water temperature with some precision, but you should also have an aquarium thermometer to verify the water temperature.

Freshwater Aquarium Fish
Aquariums can be beautiful, but expensive and complicated to maintain.
For the beginner, it is highly recommended that you go with freshwater aquariums and fish.
Both saltwater and freshwater aquariums require some setup and maintenance, but freshwater aquariums are by far the cheaper and easier of the two.
All you really need to start with freshwater is a tank, some gravel and/or rocks, filter, heater, and thermometer. If you keep goldfish, you don't even need a heater. Lights are an optonal extra. You don't absolutely need them, but as you are keeping fish to look at, not having a light may will inevitably limit your enjoyment!
All you need to do is to fill your tank with water, let it sit for a few weeks (4 to 6 weeks is normally recommended) to get a biological filter cycle going, and you are ready to start keeping freshwater fish.
If you choose well, freshwater fish can be just as bright and colorful as their saltwater counterparts.

Which Fish Should I Get?
Freshwater fish come in all shapes, sizes, and colors. Some can be kept with others, some can't. Probably the best way to decide is to look around at your local aquarium shop and see what catches your eye.
And be sure and find out whether the different species of fish you are considering keeping together are compatible.
Consider Goldfish or betta fish, as suggested above, simply because they are so readily available and low cost.
Some other common choices for beginning freshwater aquariums keepers are livebearers, such as the blue guppy pictured or cichlids of various types. If you want a small fish to round out your tank, a school of 4-5 Neons can fill the role nicely. They never get bigger than large minnow sized, and have almost fluorescent stripes on otherwise clear bodies.

Care and Maintenance
Whichever fish you choose to keep, you will need to pay attention to the PH ofyour water (a measure of how acidic or alkaline it is). Different fish have different comfort levels, and some can actually die if the PH is not precisely maintained.
You will also need to monitor the water temperature, and make sure it is warm or cool enough.
Many of the more colorful freshwater fish come from tropical areas, and require warm water to be healthy and happy.