Aquarium Harmony

There are a few things you need to keep in mind when choosing the types of fish to stock your aquarium. To start out with lets focus on the appearance of your tank. Some fish tend to stay near the bottom of the tank, these are typically your corydoras, catfish, and a few cichlids.

 

Other fish are schooling fish, they tend to stay near the middle of the tank, such as rainbow fish, tetras, barbs. There are lots of different types of tetras and gouramis, they tend to vary between middle and top water habitats, depending on the species.

The top level habitats are best for schooling fish as well, such as hatchetfish, danios, rasboras. There are a few livebearing fish that like the top level also, the most well known would be the guppy, there is also the sail-fin molly, and black mollies. Before you get your heart set on black mollies you should probably know they require alot of attention and specific water requirements.

This leads to how to chose the types of fish you should have in your aquarium.  How much time do you plan on investing in taking care of your fish and their home? You are their sole provider of their needs, if there is something wrong with any aspect of their environment you are responsible. Some fish are much more hardy, and require less attention. They are able to adapt to water changes, and differences in temperature. Other fish, are much more needy, they require specific temperature, the right pH levels, dH levels, nitrates, ammonia. All of these things must be taken into account when choosing the type of fish you want to include in your fishtank.

You will also need to determine if the fish you choose require the same living conditions. Fish that like cooler temperatures aren't going to thrive in a tank that is warmer, because you have fish that need a warmer climate. This also includes the aspects of water dH levels, (how soft or hard the water is), nitrate levels, ammonia levels, pHs. So many factors can vary in an aquarium, and fish are susceptible to these conditions.

Another aspect of choosing fish, will they get along. It's not a good idea to have an aggressive fish in a tank with docile fish. Certain species get along better than others. I personally have found that the order in which you place the fish into the tank, has alot to do with how they behave. It's almost territorial. HINT: Place your more docile fish into your tank first, then the more aggresive fish will be less likely to dominate and terrorize them because they weren't there first. This will only be effective if your fish are likely to get along in the first place.

Feeding Fish

I was trying to think of what you all needed to know the most. I realized I haven't really covered the basics on how to take care of your fish, now that you might have them. I also had a comment that triggered a memory of mine from a long time ago.

This particular memory took place back when my mother was really into her aquariums and I was much younger, as I recall we had at least three at the time. One day my sister and I were playing in the home office, where my mom kept her largest tank, a 30gal tall. She had beautiful fish in it, one of them was a tetra that she had kept for 8 years. There were baby snails, and even a baby plecostomus. She was amazed that she had kept the tank in such wonderful condition, to be able to have her fish lay eggs. We'll this particular day that my younger sister and I were playing, being the know it all older sister that I am. I decided that it would be ok for my sister to feed the fish. Mind you, I'm about 4 and my sister is 1, but just barely. She climbs ontop of a chair, and proceeds to dump the entire contents of the bottle of fish food into the tank. If you know anything about fish, then you know this is extremely bad. The fish exploded, because they ate their fill.

Sometime after this, mom's fish tanks all dissappeared, and life went on. Now having grown up a bit, and having more time to devote to such things, my mother and I started another aquaruim over this past summer. With her expierence, and my interest, in the past 9 months since we started that aquarium, we now have 3 total in our house. We don't really know when to stop.   To summarize I've made a bulleted list that you should consult when in doubt about your fish feeding habits.

The Basics

• Feed Fish only the amount of food they can consume in a few minutes time. This is the rule regardless if you have 20 fish in a tank, or 2. You should only give them the amount of food they can consume in a minute or two.
• You shouldn't feed your fish very often. Once, or twice a day is a plenty. I generally feed my fish in the morning and at night. My mother feeds hers when she gets home from school. This is because the more food that is uneaten in the tank the more problems you will have keeping your tank established correctly.
• Correct Food! Fish don't all eat the same thing. Vary their diet. Their are different types of fish food for the different types of fish, bottom feeders generally need to be fed tablets once a week. Tetra has lots of different food options, most of which help keep fish colors vibrant.

    The point, is that we don't feed fish more than what they can eat in a few minutes time. I generally fed my fish a tiny bit once in the morning and once at night, my mom feeds them once in the afternoon when she gets home from school. If you feed your fish at generally the same time everyday, you'll notice their behavior patterns recognize when it's time for lunch. I swear my angelfish stares at my Mom when it's 3pm and he hasn't eaten yet. Oh, and we never let my sister feed the fish, even though she's older now and completely capable, Mom doesn't want to risk losing her fish!