All Pets Web – Not Just Dogs n Cats

Now you have set up and stocked your fish tank aquarium you will want to take pleasure in your new hobby. Taking care of your new fish tank aquarium is not too difficult, however a few problems can occur, especially in recently set up fish tanks. It all may look OK at first then gradually algae begins to grow and completely swamp the aquarium, your fish begin to get sick and die and your beautiful, new aquarium no longer looks like the aquariums in the pictures. How did this happen? Why did this happen? What went so drastically wrong? And more importantly what can you do to set it right?

Firstly, don’t panic and certainly do not go to the nearest aquarium shop, purchase remedies and toss them in your aquarium. This will inevitably make the problems worse! Another thing that inexperienced fish keepers tend to do in this situation is to completely clean out the tank to start again. This is completely wrong as any useful bacteria that you have in the tank will be tossed out as well and you will then need to do the recycling again.

What you do need to do is understand what is going wrong and gradually deal with it, preferably without any chemical products which may upset the the balance of the aquarium further.

High Concentrations of Toxic Chemicals

The most worrying trouble is when the fish die suddenly. Did you cycle the tank properly before before you stocked with fish? The most frequent reason for fish dying suddenly is a build up of nitrites or ammonia that are produced by the fish. You will need to use an aquarium testing kit to check if this is the problem. If proper cycling of the tank wasn’t carried out there will be insufficient bacteria to deal with the waste products, particularly if you have a lot of fish.  Is your tank too crowded? This will undoubtedly put a strain on the bacteria processing the chemicals and lead to an increase in the concentrations of ammonia and nitrite.

Bullying Fish

Do you have the correct assortment of fish varieties in your aquarium? A few fish may be fine when young but will start to bully other fish as they mature. Tiger barbs are notorious for being bullies. Fish that are bullies are best taken out and given away!

Not Enough Water Changes

Have you been partially changing the water often enough? While ammonia and nitrites are removed by the bacteria, less toxic nitrates are produced. However nitrates are not completely non toxic. If the concentration of nitrates get too high they are able to damage the fish and they must be removed by doing a partial water change.

Using Water Contaminated with Chlorine

Tap water will always be contaminated with chlorine which you can remove by leaving the water to stand for a day or two. Some tap water also contains chloramines which is not removable by this method. If your tap water is contaminated with chloramines, or you are not sure, you should use a chemical treatment to deal with them them before adding the water to the tank.

Overfeeding The Fish

Overfeeding is a frequent problem and results in decaying food. This then causes the release of deadly chemicals that add to the burden of the bacteria. The outcome is a rapid rise in toxic chemicals that may cause harm to your fish. When you are feeding tropical fish make sure that you only give them only enough that they can clear up in around 3 mins. If food sits on the tank bottom you have overfed them!

For more information and good deals on fish tank aquarium please visit us at Best Fish Tank Aquariums or Cheap Aquariums for Sale