Fishy Tales - Tales from an Aquarium

All of us will have some time or the other, have consigned our pet fish to the great big aquarium in the sky (in most cases via a short trip through the toilet bowl). While such a step is no doubt inevitable, there are a number of steps we could take to ensure that it happens only after the fish has lived a long, and happy life.

#1 Make sure the tankmates are compatible
This cannot be emphasised enough. Make sure that the fish you are keeping are compatible with each other - keeping 2 male siamese fighting fish for instance is a sure recipe for disaster. Similarly, some fish like cichlids have an aggressive attitude and live best with other fish of a similar nature. Make sure you research the qualities of your fish well before you buy them.

#2 Feed, don’t overfeed
A good rule of thumb to go by, is to feed your fish, once a day, and only what they can eat up in about 4 minutes. Fishes are amazing naive as concerns their appetite, and are prone to stuffing themselves to kingdom come. The reason stems more from the instrinsic nature of the fishes - In the wild, fish eat whenever they are hungry and when food is available, so for instance, if food is in plenty, they will eat several times a day. On the other hand, if food is scarce, they might go for days between meals. For this reason, fish are very opportunistic and will eat whenever they have a chance.
Further, do a bit of background research on the feeding habits to ensure that you are feeding them the right food, and ensure you have some plants in the aquarium for the fishes to nibble on.

#3 Keep away Stress and Diseases
This is one of the main reasons that fish die. Unfortunately, stress can be caused by a number of factors - aquarium conditions that differ from the environment of their natural habitat, the presence of aggressive tankmates, bad water conditions, an unfavourable temperature, overcrowding, low oxygen levels, etc. Proper research will help you to ensure that your fish are happy.
Make sure you de-chlorinate the water before you put the fish in it, and that there is adequate amounts of medicine to keep away ich.

#4 Don’t pack them like sardines
Every time I get a new fish, I wonder how many fishes can happily stay in my tank. The answer is a bit tricky. While the rule of thumb is to have 1 inch of fish per gallon (3.8 litres) of water, it can be quite vague, because an inch of a slim bodied zebra would be different from a full bodied goldfish. Moreover, the surface area of the tank also comes into play - a tank with a wider surface area would have more access to oxygen for instance.
Once again, research helps - see how much of space/ territory each fish you are selecting needs, and choose accordingly. Also, plan for the future, to accommodate the growth of your fish.

#5 And don’t forget to flush
An unclean tank leads to a build up of ammonia and nitrates - so make sure you have a good filteration system, and that you clean the tank regularly. Plants will also help to reduce the level of nitrates. Detritus, decaying plant material, dirty filters, over-feeding, and over-stocking the tank, all contribute to a build up of nitrates as well.

In the end, a happy fish is the one that will live long.

Filed under: Tales