Tropical fish

Keeping tropical fish can be a highly rewarding hobby, but it can also turn into a disaster if you fail to plan ahead, do some reading and chose fish species with care. To begin with, it is always a good idea to seek information from several different sources before you set up your aquarium. Many beginner aquarists rely solely on advice form their local tropical fish store, but this is not always the best course of action. There are naturally many great fish stores out there with honest and well-informed staff, but there are also quite a few bad apples who only wish to sell as much fish and equipment as possible. In addition to this, uninformed staff is unfortunately quite common. The guy behind the counter might be the world’s leading expert on gerbil care and guinea pig breeding, but that doesn’t automatically turn him into an aquarium authority as well.

One thing that I definitely think you should read up on before purchasing any fish is cycling. When you cycle and aquarium, you allow populations of beneficial bacteria to develop in substrate, aquarium filters and other suitable environments. These bacteria will help you keep the water quality high by breaking down harmful waste compounds to less harmful waste compounds. Many fish stores will tell you that all you have to do is to let the aquarium water “age” for 24 hours, add one of their products from the shelf, and proceed to fill the aquarium with all the fishes you wish to keep. This might very well work out if you go for really sturdy beginner species but it is not the best way to go about, and you’re in for a surprise if you use the same technique for anything but typical beginner species. I won’t go in to details about cycling in this short blog text; you can find comprehensive articles on how to cycle aquariums on most aquarium sites.

Another thing that I recommend is that you read up on the species you are interested in keeping before you make any purchases. Fish tend to become much more lively and beautiful when kept in a suitable environment together with appropriate companions. Fish that live in schools or groups in the wild can for instance become extremely stressed and disease prone if you only purchase one or two specimens for your aquarium, while species that live alone in the wild tend to prefer not having to share the aquarium with any other members of its own species. It can also be a good idea to check the general habits of the various species to make sure that every level of your aquarium will be populated. Some fish spend most of their time close to the bottom, some stay near that surface at all times, some prefer mid-level, and some travel freely between all regions. Also check which type of cover the species prefer, e.g. caves, crevices, rooted plants, floating plants, or a thick layer or fine sand to burrow in.

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