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Tropical Fish Place

We have a great amount of information about a great hobby, a freshwater tropical fish tank. You will find information about:

  • Species of fish you may want to keep.
  • Setting up a Tropical Fish Aquarium.
  • Maintaining a Healthy Tropical Aquarium for your fish.
  • Feeding your Aquarium Fish.
  • Enjoying the Aquascape of your Aquarium.

Although Goldfish are not considered tropical fish, they are a very popular and hearty freshwater fish. I started by first fish tank with goldfish and learned how enjoyable it is to have an aquarium.

Info and tips for your Goldfish, Beta Fish, Cichlids, Mollies, Angelfish, Oscar fish, Guppies, Red Piranha and Freshwater sharks.

I really enjoy taking care of my fish and the aquarium, but some people don't share my enthusiasm. With the experience of a good aquarium service, you can expand your choices of great tropical fish from the beginning. Choices like Angelfish, Betta Fish (Beta Fish), Cichlids of many kinds, puffer fish, clown loach, or even a freshwater Sting Ray. Look in your local phone book and ask around.
Plastic Plants or Live Plants?  My experience with tropical fish is that they enjoy all types of plants. Live plants are not always the best idea but you can't go wrong with plastic. Given a fish tank with no plants versus plastic only, I decided on plastic.

 

ã Susan Schauer, Lorain County Aquarium Society and www.aquarticles.com

Selecting a Good Tropical Fish Supply Aquarium Store

1) Do the fish tanks look good and are their fish healthy? If the fish tanks in a tropical fish supply aquarium store don't look good, the store is either under-staffed or the owners don't care.  Look for fish with healthy erect fins. Watch the fish in several aquariums. Are they all swimming upright? Do you see fish hiding in the top corners of a tank?  Slowly lift your hand up in front of an aquarium and almost touch the top of the tank. The fish should either be looking for food or ducking for cover. Look at the bodies and fins of fish for marks, blemishes, small white spots, or protrusions. Look for heavy respiration. Rapid gill movement may indicate parasites or bad water quality. One or two sick fish in a store may be normal but several tanks with sick fish may indicate a major problem.

2) By the way, not all stores have the room for quarantine and hospital tanks. If you see one tank with blue or green water and/or a sign that says: "Not for sale," that isn't necessarily a bad thing. At least the store is being careful. Find out what their guarantee policies are.

3) The three dead fish rule. We've read this in several books and magazines. Dead tropical fish in aquarium retail is a fact of life, but the dead fish should all be removed from the aquariums before the store opens. It's normal for a store to lose a fish in the course of a day, but if you see more than three dead fish, the store may not care about their aquariums.

4) Ooooh! That smell! If a store smells bad, they don't care about their image. A good clean aquarium store may smell a little musty or may have an earthy odor, but should not smell like a seafood store or a public zoo.

5) Attitude If the store is slow, the staff should be busy cleaning aquariums and stocking shelves, but they should also be willing to wait on you if you need help. When you feel like you're being talked down to or patronized, try the next store.

6) Test their knowledge, but before you do, buy an aquarium book and do a little reading. Read enough to be able to ask some very basic questions and take note of the answers you get. Then compare what you've been told with the book you read when you get home. You'll be shocked at some of the answers you'll get!

7) What's their motivation? Does the store seem to want to sell, inform, or both? Simply doing a water change, testing water for problems, or adjusting water chemistry can solve many aquarium problems. It is okay, however, if they go out of their way to try to sell you a book.

8) What you want vs. what they do. Are you looking for a hobby or do you want a piece of living sculpture? Are you willing to get your hands wet or do you want someone to do the dirty work? Are you interested in tropical fish or do you just want to decorate your family room? If you don't want to be an aquarist and you're not going to clean the tank yourself, buy your aquarium from a reputable maintenance company or an aquarium fish store that does a lot of maintenance business.

9) Shop around. Look in the phonebook and make a list of tropical fish supply  stores in your area. Sometimes it's worth it to drive a little out of your way to find an excellent aquarium store.

10) Prices? Don't expect a tropical fish supply retail store to have prices as low as a mail order company or an e-commerce business.

A Healthy Tropical Aquarium... makes a happy hobby.

What constitutes success? Healthy tropical fish that live a long time, quite likely even breeding and having babies. Success also means having a tank that looks nice without a lot of maintenance.

  • Don't overfeed.
  • Don't use very deep aquariums.
  • Don't start with expensive fish.
  • Don't attempt to move large aquariums that are full of water.
  • Don't fail to replace covers on tropical aquariums.
  • Don't always blame the dealer if your fish die.
  • Don't be too sure the family cat won't fish in the aquarium.
  • Don't suddenly change the temperature of the water, either higher or lower.
  • Don't overwork your aquarium hobby. It will last a lot longer in moderation.
  • Don't allow unconsumed food to remain in the aquarium. remove it with a gravel siphon.
  • Don't fail to thoroughly disinfect an aquarium in which there has been a contagious disease.
  • Don't place new fish with yours until you are certain they are not diseased. A week in a quarantine tank is desirable.
  • Don't attempt to grow aquatic plants in very subdued lighting. They cannot prosper, and will do more harm than good.
  • Don't keep fishes in galvanized iron or zinc receptacles, nor have copper or brass in contact with aquarium water.
  • Do have patience.
  • Do understand and respect the nitrogen cycle.
  • Do perform regular maintenance on your filter to keep it clean.
  • Do properly treat all tap water before adding it to your tank.
  • Do take the time to learn basic water chemistry.
  • Do keep the pH of your tank's water stable.
  • Do avoid adding chemicals that lower the pH.
  • Do pick fish for your water temperature..
  • Do choose the fish to fit your tank.
  • Do properly acclimate fish before adding them to your tank.
  • Do perform regular partial water changes.
  • Do shop only at reputable stores.
 
Copyright Tropical Fish Place 2005