Your Fun Start to Fishkeeping an Easy Guide for Beginners
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Your fun start to fishkeeping An easy guide for beginners For more information: www.tetra.net Discover your own un derwater world Creative Educational Relaxing Enjoyable Instructive Decorative 2 Discover your own un derwater world What makes fishkeeping so special There are many reasons for keeping fish: the pure enjoyment of caring for natural, beautiful, colourful fish; the fun of decorating the aquarium to bring movement and colour to any room; to give kids the chance to experience the rewards of pet ownership. Whatever your reasons you are never too old or too young to take the plunge and dive into the fascinating underwater world that aquarium ownership brings. 3 What fish will you keep? There are two main types of aquarium for the beginner to consider: a goldfish (coldwater) aquarium or a tropical fish (heated) aquarium. Your local aquatic shop will be happy to show you the range of fish they have available as there are some groups of fish that will thrive especially well together. It pays to do some planning and get some advice on the fish you want to ensure all are compatible with one another. Sometimes those really colourful fish that look fantastic in the aquatic shop are either very aggressive towards other fish or grow to a large size that would make them unsuitable for your tank. 4 What fish will you keep? Tropical fish, in their natural environment are found in warmer waters, and therefore would not survive in an unheated coldwater tank, so if you want to keep tropical fish your tank must be heated, using a water heater. Your local aquatic store will stock a dazzling array of tropical fish, many of which are perfect for the beginner. You should aim to keep a community of tropical fish that will fill all layers of the aquarium. For instance guppies and platys swim near the water surface, tetras and danios occupy the mid-water level and small corydoras catfish busily roam the bottom gravel layer looking for morsels of food. Goldfish The choice is yours The goldfish aquarium offers a wonderful introduction to fishkeeping. They will feed on a wide range of foods and rarely show aggression towards tank-mates. Your aquatic store will stock a range of goldfish varieties, e.g. shubunkins are a multi-coloured variety, displaying all sorts of patterns and colours. Comets are often red and white, with longer flowing tails. Expert assistance www.tetra.net Tetra Hotline 00800 766 88 766 Tropical fish 5 Now choose your tank Before purchasing your aquarium, it is important to think about what you want from it and where you are going to place it. Taking a few moments to do this will avoid problems later on and make setting up your new aquarium easier. Size The size of the aquarium will not only Modern aquariums usually come with determine how many fish you can keep, the equipment included, which makes but also how easy it is to care for. For buying them easier. However, if you want example, the traditional goldfish bowl a particularly large aquarium, or a more does not offer an ideal home, and is unusual design, you may need to buy usually much harder to look after everything separately. Your aquatics outlet compared with modern aquariums. can advise you on exactly what is required, or see our website for more information Having planned for your aquarium, you www.tetra.net. can now discuss your requirements with your aquatics outlet. They will be able to show you some suitable options to choose from. 6 Now choose your tank It’s easy with a starter kit Tetra AquaArt aquariums have been designed to make aquarium ownership easy. As well as their modern, stylish design, every detail has been carefully considered for ease-of-use and healthy, clear water. And they come complete with all equipment, set-up instructions, and Tetra food and care products. Position A filled aquarium is heavy, so thinking about its position now will avoid you having to move it in the future. An ideal position would be: • In a reasonably quiet area, away from • Easily accessible, to allow for any sudden noises. maintenance. • Away from areas of very high activity. • Out of direct sunlight, to prevent algae • Away from sources of heat or cold growth and overheating. (e.g. radiators). • Well supported, to take the weight of the aquarium (a litre of water weighs 1kg). • Near to an electric supply to plug in equipment, but far enough away to avoid any danger of splashing. Expert assistance www.tetra.net Tetra Hotline 00800 766 88 766 7 How will you decorate your aqua rium? Decoration will not only enhance the look of your tank, it will also provide refuges and interest for the fish. Live plants will add extra interest to maintain. To protect your fish, use gravel that a tropical tank, provide oxygen for does not have sharp edges. the fish and help keep algae away. A wide variety of aquarium decorations are Synthetic plants from the Tetra available too: natural structures like tree roots, DecoArt range are an alternative, driftwood and stones; underwater features as they look good and are easy such as shipwrecks, ruins or characters from to maintain. children’s films and cartoons can be used to The choice of substrate decorate your tank to your tastes. for the base of the tank Ensure you use decorations bought from is important because it your local aquatic store, these have been can, for example, help provide manufactured as aquarium ornaments and better rooting and nutrition for the will not leach toxic chemicals into the water. live plants. There is a wide choice of colours and textures. Usually gravel substrate is used, since it’s the easiest to 8 How will you decorate your aqua rium? Some aquarium decorations can be connected to an air pump so that bubbles rise from the structure, adding interest to the tank. Tetra offers great products to create your different themes. Also, the Tetra DecoArt own underwater world: The Tetra DecoArt StickerSets are self-adhesive, making posters are easy to fix and available in redecorating easy and fun. There’s a choice of tank posters that fit Personalise your tank with easily to the side of your aquarium. DecoArt StickerSets. 9 Fishkeeping is fun and... ..it’s so easy Fishkeeping is enjoyable and rewarding for people of all ages, but as with all pets, fish need to be cared for with correct feeding and a healthy environment. Looking after your aquarium is simple and quick as long as some basic maintenance is completed. Feeding your fish Feeding your fish is the most enjoyable part of having an aquarium. It gives you the chance to interact with your fish (some will even become so tame they will feed from your hand!). A goldfish tank or tropical community aquarium should be fed 1-3 times a day. TetraMin for tropical fish and TetraGoldfish for coldwater fish are ideal foods. They both come in flake format and contain everything your fish will need to thrive. How often you change the water depends on many factors like the size of your tank and your choice of water conditioner. Water changes If you are using Tetra Water Care Tabs, 20-50% of the water in your aquarium should be Over time, your tank will replaced with fresh water once a month. Simply start to look unsightly. That is siphon out the tank water and replace with why you should make water temperature-matched tap water. changes on a reqular basis. A gravel cleaner such as a Dose with Tetra Water Care Tabs to ensure Tetra GC is ideal for carrying that your tap water becomes safe for your fish. out this task. The tank looks For tropical tanks, first dose with Safe Tabs invigorated after a water change and the fish and then Clear Tabs alternate weeks, and for appreciate the difference too! goldfish every fortnight. 10 Fishkeeping is fun and... ..it’s so easy Filter cleaning The filter does the vital task of keeping the water in your aquarium safe for the fish. Without the filter the tank would soon become so polluted the fish would die. Check the outflow of the filter, if it’s not working properly, the filter needs cleaning. Most filters like the Tetra INplus have foam pads which need to be removed and cleaned out in a bucket of water taken from the tank (not from the tap). EasyCrystal filters are even easier to maintain because the filter contains a throw-away cartridge that is changed once a month. For answers to the most common questions about your aquarium see our website www.tetra.net The golden rules of fish keeping Fishkeeping, do’s Fishkeeping, don’ts Do.. make tapwater safe for your fish by Don’t.. overstock the tank with fish dosing with Tetra Safe Tabs Don’t.. stock with aggressive fish or species Do.. regularly check outflow of the that will grow too large for the tank aquarium’s filter Don’t.. stock all the fish you intend to keep Do.. regularly clean the aquarium gravel in the tank in one go. Plan a phased with a Tetra GC gravel cleaner stocking programme. Do.. perform regular partial water Don’t.. overfeed the fish (feed the fish as much changes as they will eat in 2-3 minutes, 1-3 times Do.. siphon or net out uneaten fish food a day) as soon as possible Don’t.. feed low quality food to help keep your water clear and your fish healthy 11 Getting started What do I need? Shopping List: Aquarium Tank (tank stand optional) Lighting The aquarium itself is the starting point and, just like with the fish, there’s a huge choice of sizes, Filter shapes and colours! For complete reassurance Heater you may want to buy a quality aquarium starter Thermostat kit such as a Tetra AquaArt aquarium which is Substrate available in different sizes.