Maintaining a healthy aquarium

Simple rules to maintain healthy fish in a beautiful aquarium:

1. 5 minutes
Spend 5 minutes each day looking at your fish. It's not a lot to us, but it means a lot to the fish. Look for unusual behaviour, white patches, torn fins, etc.

2. Choosing a site
Always try to situate the aquarium away from direct sunlight in a dark cool corner of the room. If that's not possible, make sure to introduce a lot of natural aquatic plants and a few Sucker Cat Fishes.

3. Lighting
A lighting period of at least 10 hours daily is necessary for good growth of natural plants. Check out for the special aquarium lights at Water Pets.

4. Water Treatment
Aquarium water should not contain any amount of Chlorine or gas bubbles. Use anti-chlorine in new water and aerate it for 3-4 hours before introducing any fish.

5. Aeration
Good aeration should be maintained for 24 hours. In case of power failure or air pump breakdown, a time gap of 5-7 hours should not bother the fish. Try to keep a spare air pump handy.

6. Temperature
The best temperature range for an aquarium is between 24º - 27º C. Less than 20º C requires heating and above 30º C requires good aeration and a cool room.

7. Filtration
Keep the aquarium free of floating or suspended particles or uneaten food or fish waste. It is as important for the good health of the fish as for the good looks of the aquarium. If the water looks bad or dirty, check that the filter is working and is not choked.

8. Feeding
Fish remain healthy with regular feeding, but be warned that overfeeding can actually kill your fish. Feed the fish only as much as they can finish in about 5 minutes. Fish should be fed twice daily, and the amount of feed put in should be consistent. Try to give your fish a variety of food like pellets, dried and frozen tubifex worms and daphnia. Variety ensures a good balanced diet.

9. Fish Diseases
Recognising a sick fish is not as difficult as you might think. Most ailments have symptoms which are visible externally on the fish's body, and can be easily seen. Most common are the White Spot and Fin Rot diseases - medications for these are easily available and you should always keep them handy.
In White Spot, small white spots/patches appear on the body of the fish, and in Fin Rot, the fins and tail of the fish start to break and tear apart.
Separate the sick fish to prevent the disease from spreading to the other healthy fish. It is a good idea to have a small fish bowl handy for this purpose. Put the medication in the bowl where the sick fish is kept.
Check with your aquarium shop if you are not sure what to do.

Call Water Pets for any other information or queries that you might have about your aquarium and fish. We will be glad to help you.

Home

This page was last updated on 4th Jun 2005

1.	5 minutes Spend 5 minutes each day looking at your fish. It's not a lot to us, but it means a lot to the fish. Look for unusual behaviour, white patches, torn fins, etc.
2.	Choosing a site Always try to situate the aquarium away from direct sunlight in a dark cool corner of the room. If that's not possible, make sure to introduce a lot of natural aquatic plants and a few Sucker Cat Fishes.
3.	Lighting A lighting period of at least 10 hours daily is necessary for good growth of natural plants. Check out for the special aquarium lights at Water Pets.
4.	Water Treatment Aquarium water should not contain any amount of Chlorine or gas bubbles. Use anti-chlorine in new water and aerate it for 3-4 hours before introducing any fish.
5.	Aeration Good aeration should be maintained for 24 hours. In case of power failure or air pump breakdown, a time gap of 5-7 hours should not bother the fish. Try to keep a spare air pump handy.
6.	Temperature The best temperature range for an aquarium is between 24º - 27º C. Less than 20º C requires heating and above 30º C requires good aeration and a cool room.
7.	Filtration Keep the aquarium free of floating or suspended particles or uneaten food or fish waste. It is as important for the good health of the fish as for the good looks of the aquarium. If the water looks bad or dirty, check that the filter is working and is not choked.
8.	Feeding Fish remain healthy with regular feeding, but be warned that overfeeding can actually kill your fish. Feed the fish only as much as they can finish in about 5 minutes. Fish should be fed twice daily, and the amount of feed put in should be consistent. Try to give your fish a variety of food like pellets, dried and frozen tubifex worms and daphnia. Variety ensures a good balanced diet.
9.	Fish Diseases Recognising a sick fish is not as difficult as you might think. Most ailments have symptoms which are visible externally on the fish's body, and can be easily seen. Most common are the White Spot and Fin Rot diseases - medications for these are easily available and you should always keep them handy. In White Spot, small white spots/patches appear on the body of the fish, and in Fin Rot, the fins and tail of the fish start to break and tear apart. Separate the sick fish to prevent the disease from spreading to the other healthy fish. It is a good idea to have a small fish bowl handy for this purpose. Put the medication in the bowl where the sick fish is kept. Check with your aquarium shop if you are not sure what to do.