Fish are pets that require little attention and bring hours of enjoyment to onlookers. The downside of owning them is the routine maintenance that their aquarian homes require. However, doing regular maintenance, and doing it correctly, is a fairly painless chore that will benefit both you and your fish.
A Clean Aquarium is a Source of Pride and Joy
A fish tank full of sparkling clear water, healthy plants, and energetic, colorful fish swimming about add interest, beauty, and life to the room it occupies. A well-maintained aquarium brings pride to the owner when visitors arrive, and it can also be a good ice breaker. The aquarium’s fish commonly hold the attention of young children. Caring for fish and watching the maintenance process can teach children to be caring, responsible pet owners.
A Clean Aquarium Will Keep Your Fish Happy and Healthy
Neglecting to change out your aquarium’s water weekly would allow uneaten fish food, fish waste, dead plants, and other debris to accumulate, resulting in smelly, yellow, cloudy water and unhealthy fish. Your fish would like to see where they’re going and feel good while going there, just like you would, and a clean aquarium would allow them to do that. Clean water is crucial to the growth of young fish. It also keeps toxins away and prolongs the lifespan of your swimming friends.
Neglecting to remove dead plant matter from your fish’s abode for a long enough period of time will cause your fish to develop purple or red gills, become inactive, lose their appetite, lay at the tank’s bottom, gasp for air at the water’s surface and/or die. These are the signs of ammonia poisoning, which occurs in aquariums when old, decaying organic matter causes out-of-control growth of harmful bacteria.
You’ll need to regularly remove dead plant matter from the tank at least as often as your weekly water change to protect your fish from ammonia poisoning. If you see signs of ammonia poisoning, lower the pH balance of the tank water by using a chemical pH control product. Don’t stress out your sick and dying fish by putting untreated tap water into their tank.
Regular Low-Effort Maintenance Will Save You from Having to Do Deep Cleaning
When you purchase your aquarium, you should get a good pump and filter. Together, they would help to keep the tank clean. The pump would also put oxygen into the water. You need to clean them once a year. Your weekly maintenance routine would require you to simply remove dead plants and debris from the bottom of the tank and then do just a partial water change. Not only is doing a partial water change much easier than thoroughly cleaning the tank, but it’s better for the fish. Fish need their abode to have some bacteria in it and the nitrate level kept as low as possible when new water is introduced. You wouldn’t disturb your fish by relocating them twice with a scoop, either.
To avoid dealing with traditional nitrate reactors and bio-pellets, you may want to use sulfur-based de-nitrates to keep the nitrate level down. You might normally think of using pure sulfur prills for plants and crops, but pure sulfur prills can also keep nitrate levels down in your fish tank. In fact, using sulfur to control nitrate levels in aquariums has gained a lot of popularity lately. Other uses for sulfur include treating dandruff, itchy skin, red skin, and acne, reducing cold intensity, making gun powder, black rubber, bleach, detergents, concrete, fertilizers, amino acids, and antibiotics, preserving food, and pest and disease fumigation.
If you let the weekly aquarium maintenance routine slide long enough, you’ll not only lose your fish, but you’ll have to thoroughly clean the aquarium, rocks, and all. You would then need to introduce fish to the clean environment over time after bacteria and other life-sustaining aquatic environmental factors are in place.
It’s obviously much less painful to both you and your fish to keep on top of a simple weekly maintenance routine. Your fish will be happy and healthy if you keep their home clean and buy them what they need. Also, a clean aquarium with colorful active fish will bring you and others joy for years to come.
