Aquarium Prep – Create an Environment for Fish to Thrive! So, you’ve got dreams of fishies swimming through your head. You want beautiful tropical fish adding living color to your home décor. You want to be showing off your sparkly, bubbling aquarium that you set up with your bare hands. You want your friends to be jealous… now! But wait! Oh, I know, everyone hates to hear those words but aquarium set-up is very important! Tropical fish are sensitive and it is of immense value to create a calm and physically stress-free environment to prolong their lives. To get the best results, you should have your aquarium running for 3 DAYS before adding fish to it. By running, I mean it needs to be filled with water, preferably set to the right temperature, and hooked up to a working filter. As I said, for 3 days. Here’s what you need to do when you buy a new aquarium:
Why is it a good practice to let an aquarium run for a few days prior to putting fish in? Well, for one thing, it cleans up the water. It allows for extra particles to be filtered and for chemicals in tap-water to dissipate. Fish will have a much easier time adjusting to the water when you put them in. Also, if your new fish tank has a leak, it will save you a thousand headaches NOT having anything living inside it yet. Can you get away with 1 day? Probably, but don’t go crying to your pet store for a refund if Harry and Sally Fishy are belly-up the next morning! If your aquarium is a small 10-gallon, you will probably be just fine. But on the other hand, if your aquarium is very large, say 50-gallon and up, the longer you leave it running, the more pleasant it will be for tropical fish. Have fun and good luck! * Goldfish are cold-water fish and should NOT be mixed with your warm-water tropical fish. If you want your aquarium to have just different types of Goldfish, then do NOT use a heater. Room-temperature water would be fine. |