An aquarium can be a lovely addition to a home or office; the sight of colorful fish and the sound of water can be fascinating and very calming. Here are some tips to get you started with a tropical aquarium.
In general, you can have one inch of fish per gallon of water. Be sure to think about the adult size of your fish, not just the juvenile size! Avoid overcrowding your tank — this increases the frequency of tank maintenance and can make your fish uncomfortable. With larger sized fish, you may want to provide two or three gallons of space for every inch of fish. Think about a twenty inch long fish in a twenty gallon tank — that won’t be a very good fit.
You have a lot of work to do before you add any fish to your tank. First, you’ll need to set up your tank and cycle the water. If you’ll be using tap water in the tank, you’ll need to test the water for chemicals — especially chlorine. Chemicals in the water will need to be neutralized before your fish can live in the water.
The water temperature will depend on the types of fish in the tank — different species need different temperatures! For tropical fish, the temperature usually ranges between 72 and 78 degrees Fahrenheit (22 and 26 degrees Celsius). But do your research! The fish you want may need a different temperature range.
Even if you have a filtration system running, you will need to change some of the water in your tank from time to time. A tank with a light population may need only a ten percent water change on a weekly basis; a tank with a high population may need a twenty five percent water change every week. You should also clean the gravel every week or two to clear out debris, uneaten food, and waste.
Speaking of food, you don’t want to overfeed. Too much food means a lot of waste will end up in the gravel and make the water dirty. Only give an amount of food that can be eaten in two minutes. If it’s snowing fish flakes onto the gravel floor, you’re probably feeding too much.