Saltwater Aquariums: Knowing Your Fish
Once you have your fish stocked in your salt water aquarium, you are done right? This is not
the case. You still have things to do including learning more about your fish. Just like people,
all fish are different from each other. Some like to eat at specific times while others want to eat
whenever they feel like it. One thing is for sure. Just like babies, you will need to provide them
with all aspects of their care. This can be more than just a chore, though. It can be quite fun
and enjoyable even. Salt water aquariums require that you do take time to take care of your
fish.
Most of what you will need to know about your salt water aquariums you will be able to learn
right from your pet store clerk (assuming that you have one that you trust and that is
knowledgeable!) You will want to know certain aspects about your fish before you take them
home. For example, you should know what types of fish you can stock together in your tank.
You should know the types of water that they need to survive in including the pH levels, the
salinity levels and the temperatures that the fish need. All fish that you put into your tank should
have similar needs in these things.
Once you get them in there, you will need to feed them. In most cases, salt water fish tend to
need to eat every three days, but this varies for each species. This is something that you
should know before you purchase your fish. You should also know what they will like to eat.
Some will require that you provide them with a varied diet including things such as cut up shrimp
and even romaine lettuce. This will help them to have a balanced diet.
You should also be able to take note of any differences that you see in your fish from time to
time. That means that you should watch the animal swim and eat and know what its normal is.
If you notice something is wrong or something seems different, the fish may be sick. This can
be caused by the water that the fish is in or a number of other conditions. You can find all sorts
of products to put into your tank to help them to stay healthy or to recover. You can talk to your
vet about any problems that you may notice and see what is recommended specifically. It is
also important to note that fish just do not live as long as people do. Therefore you can expect
to have to replace them as well.
Maintaining Your Saltwater Aquarium
You spent a good deal of time and money putting together your salt water aquarium. Now, you
are ready and able to fill it with the fish that you have loved to own. Yet, just because you are
stocking it full of the fish that you want does not mean that you are done taking care of it. The
leading cause of deaths in fish in salt water aquariums is that they are not in the right quality of
water. It is essential as a fish owner for you to take care in maintaining the tank’s water quality.
This is your largest responsibility even.
To do this, though, there are several things that you need to do in order to make sure that you
have the best quality of water and the right conditions for your fish to be in. You will need to test
several things within your tank every two weeks. You should not do this testing when you have
just added water to the fish tank or when you have just added a new fish to your tank. These
things will throw off the quality of water instantly.
Check:
• Nitrate Levels
• Salinity Levels
• pH levels
• Ammonia levels
• Nitrite levels
To know if these levels are right on, you will need to know what your fish need to have. This is
something that you should know before you even purchase your fish. You will want to find out
what needs the fish have and insure that all the varieties of fish that you place into the salt water
aquarium agree on these levels. Now, if the levels are off from what they should be, you should
purchase the right chemicals to help to level them out. These can be found at your local pet
supply store that stocks fish or you can find them on the web. If your pH levels are off, you can
adjust them by adding a tablespoon of baking soda to the tank in cases where you need to raise
it. In cases where you need to increase the level of salinity, add table salt to the water. If the
water in your tank is too salty, which is common, you can add dechlorinated water to the tank to
balance this out.
Taking care of your salt water aquarium will become more like a task that is natural and normal
rather than a challenge and too much trouble. Taking care of your fish is a great way to learn
more about them and to get to interact with them. You can become mesmerized in their beauty
too.
