FISH AS PETS – A COLORFUL EXPERIENCE

If you want something new for your house, think about fish and aquariums… big aquariums, because they go with these times’ fashion.

The little golden fish wondering alone around his bowl seems to be long forgotten.

Instead of the little bowl, there are now huge aquariums, mounted on the walls or even enclosed in them, containing lots of coloured fish, sand, lights, little stones and aquatic vegetation. Optionally you can choose a little castle of house to make the décor unique and fantasy-lie.

This idea has been adopted from restaurants, clubs or other public locations, but now it applies to homes of animal lovers, fish lovers especially.

You have decided to adopt fish because you like them or because you heard they bring prosperity and well-living to your life. Either way, you have to know how to take care of them because they are not just a decorative object; they are living beings that can’t take care of themselves.

Aquarium fish are any type of fish that can exist outside of the great wide open of the natural environment and instead thrive normally in an aquarium. An aquarium is any enclosed container of water that allows for the sustenance of fish, plants, and other wildlife inside the enclosure. These aquariums can only work if there is enough oxygen in the water in the container. Otherwise the fish and other organisms will just die. Thus, make sure you are using a proper circulation system that constantly pumps new water into the tank. Ask an aquarium expert or someone at a pet shop supply store what kind of oxygenation system you should be using.

Some of the most popular types of fish to be included in aquariums are tetra neon, tiger barb, zebra fish, guppy fish, goldfish, and angelfish. These fish are popular because of their external beauty – the way their scales flash as they flit and twist and otherwise do their fish ballet. They are like a piece of living, breathing (through gills) abstract art. These types of fish are also popular because they are known to be well accustomed to the smaller environs of an aquarium.

Another type of fish is also suited to aquariums. Sharks! There exist many different species of shark that are small enough to live their lives in an aquarium. Sharks can be quite formidable when placed with other fish, since they are natural predators, so be sure to choose carefully. If you want both sharks and non-sharks, you should probably place them in separate containers, but ask the experts about specifics.

They are going to need your full attention and care, they will totally depend on you. Here is some general advice, general because each species act differently and has different needs:

What do we need?

We need an aquarium, a thermometer, a heating system, a water filter, and plants to oxygenate the water, sand and little stones, and a source of light for the plants.

How do we actually do it?

Before placing the fish in the aquarium, the water needs to be left alone 24 hours and its temperature has to be of a minimum of 22-23 Celsius (it can differ for some species). The water is not changed all at the same time, it needs to be changes in several stages, 20% on each stage.

How do we feed fish?

Twice a day, we give them the dried food, the life food or the frozen one, depending on the species.

How do we treat sick fish?

The most common illness encountered amongst fish has as an exterior effect the apparition of some white pits on the flippers of the fish. In such situations, treatments are administrated in the aquarium to prevent the illness from spreading to the other fish too. For the right treatment, you have to go to a fish heath shop.

Another rule in fish illnesses of any type is to just raise the temperature of the water in the aquarium and to dissolve some salt in it.