Fish Tank
In Odds and Ends on 4 April 2008 with 6 comments Subscribe to RSS Feed
Thanks to two of our good friends, we were given a 10 gallon fish tank last weekend.
Personally, I haven’t had a fish tank, or fish for that matter since I was about 13. I always enjoyed my fish tank and fish, but my father was totally annoyed by the bubbling filter and our inability to keep the tank clean. On two separate occasions he decided that enough was enough and proceeded to extract the fish and dispose of them in true dad “You’re just going to drop them in the pond!?!” & “I can’t believe you can just flushed those innocent creatures down the toilet!!!” fashion.
After the trauma of those events, my older sister and I never had fish again. I don’t blame my dad for the lack of fish in my life, he was right. The fish were better off, especially the ones that ended up in the pond, because I swear they stayed alive in there for years.
Back to the present:
After acquiring the tank our friends took me out to a fish store. Not any fish store but THE AQUATIC WAREHOUSE. I had no idea aquatic warehouses existed but they do, and if you’re into our scaly little friends of the deep, it’s quite impressive.
After walking around looking at all the wonderful fish tanks, exotic creatures and ecosystems you could have and create, I realized I had no idea what I was doing. I came to terms with my lack of fish raising skills and ask one of the staff members for assistance.
I told him that I hadn’t had fish since I was a boy, and needed a starter kit to begin my new life as a fish owner.
He showed me some fish and I was beginning to get really excited about having these new wonderful little pets in our apartment when the staff member asked; “Have you prepared your tank?”. I was like; “Umm, isn’t that what I’m doing today?”. He shook his head and then informed me that I had to prepare the tank.
Preparing the Tank
Step one: buy special water or a water treatment chemical that removes any “bad” chemicals from the water that could harm the fish.
Step two: set up the water filter and water heater.
Step three: start introducing “good” bacteria into the water to remove the ammonia, and then something about nitrates and nitrites, a process that can take up to 4 weeks… 4 weeks??? All of which completely lost me. However, he said it wasn’t that complicated just time consuming to ensure happy fish, and picked out the necessary purchases for me.
As the items were rung up, I text messaged my wife to let her know I wasn’t bringing home any fish. Which I think confused her, and confused me too but c’est la vie.
That night I set up the tank. Put some stones in the bottom and a nice big lava rock in the middle, flanked by two fake plants, filled up the 10 gallon tank, hooked up the filter and heater and dropped in the magical solution that will turn the tank from a fish death trap into a happy home for future fish friends.
It’s Wedesday, and I’m still putting the solution in the tank. I find myself staring at the tank and imagining fish swimming and living in the tank.
My wife asked me last night; “So how are your fish doing?”. Absolutely, no sarcasm in her voice. *sigh*
I replied; “They’re the best fish I’ve ever had!”
I never knew having fish was so complicated, but I’m set on the tank being a success.
6 Comments
Posted by Ryan on 4 April 2008 @ 9:13pm
I think you should avoid not avoiding an orgy in the aquarium.
Posted by Drew on 4 April 2008 @ 12:52pm
@Steve: Thank you so much for all of that information. I’ll be posting again shortly on the tanks progress.
Posted by Patricia on 5 May 2008 @ 1:30am
My only experience with fish was when I was about 9 years old. Somehow or other we ended up with goldfish. One day I noticed that there were baby fishes in the small fish bowl. Before we knew it, though, the bigger fish had eaten the baby fish and that was it for me. I was so ooged out by that that I swore to never have fish again. It’s a fish eat fish world out there, man.
I hope your experience is a much more enjoyable one the third time around!
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Posted by Steve on 4 April 2008 @ 8:38pm
All this will pay off in the long run. The main reason most fish wind up belly up after the first week or two is non-existent tank prep.
While you’re sitting around waiting for your water to settle down, I suggest reading up on what type of fish will work in your water. Fish are sensitive to pH and water hardness. You can adjust both of these but it’s generally easier just to get a fish that goes with whatever’s coming out of your taps. I’d also recommend getting fish that can handle a wide range of pH and water hardness.
Once you’ve narrowed your choices, consider the social habits of the fish. Some like to have lots of other fish of their type around. Some want to be on their own. Some like to be out in the open. Some like lots of cover. You get the idea. A related matter is how big the fish grows. Some grow only as big as the tank allows. Others keep growing.
Now that you’ve narrowed that down, you’ll have to consider how many fish you can fit in there. The fewer you can manage, the less you have to clean the tank. The general rule is 1 inch of fish per gallon of water. So you can have 10 one-inch fish or 1 ten-inch fish or 2 five-inch fish. You get the idea.
But wait, there’s more! If you have more than one type of fish in the tank, make sure they get along. I find tiger barbs quite attractive but they seem to like nibbling on the long fins. Lesson: if you don’t want your fish with long fins getting stressed out from being chased around and nibbled constantly, skip the tiger barbs.
One last thing: 10 gallons is pretty small for a tank. To cut down on your cleaning regimen, stick as few small fish as possible. Of course, if the fish like crowds, give ‘em as many buddies as the tank will hold.
Some recommendations for starter fishes:
Japanese Fighting Fish AKA Bettas. Pretty much indestructible and quite colourful (males, anyway). Of course, just get one. Generally fine with other fish in the tank.
Zebra danios - Nice looking. Fast swimmers.
Guppies - Lots of colours. Get just males to avoid an orgy in the aquarium.
Of course, this is just the tip of the iceberg. Get a bigger tank and options multiply.
Hope this helps.