Beginning Fishkeeping

contributed by Thomas Narten

Welcome to the wonderful world of aquariums. This FAQ provides advice and guidance to help insure success in your endeavor. Though this document is designed for a first freshwater aquarium (saltwater people: make sure to read the SALTWATER BEGINNER FAQ), there is much information applicable to both freshwater and saltwater aquaria.

This FAQ is a work in progress; if there is anything you feel we've left out, please drop a suggestion to the author or the FAQ Working Group, and we'll see if we can add it in on the next release.

Copyright

The FAQs owe their existence to the contributors of the net, and as such it belongs to the readers of rec.aquaria and alt.aquaria. Articles with attributions are copyrighted by their original authors. Copies of the FAQs can be made freely, as long as it is distributed at no charge, and the disclaimers and the copyright notice are included.

Beginner FAQ: Introduction

What constitutes success? Healthy 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 (e.g., constantly battling excessive algae growth).

How To Insure Your First Aquarium Is a Success

Having a successful tank is not difficult, nor is it necessarily a lot of work, provided you use some common sense. These guidelines are based partly on science and partly on experience gleaned from aquarists having many years experience in ``the art of fishkeeping.'' The following list summarizes the most important rules for success. Each is discussed in more detail in subsequent sections of this document.

Have patience.

Buying a tank, setting it up and filling it with fish all in the same day, while possible, is a sure road to disaster. In fact, setting up and fully stocking your first tank will take close to two months!

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Providing an environment that minimizes fish stress is the key to success. As fish become stressed, their immune systems weaken and they become more susceptible to disease. Moreover, most fish medicines don't work very well, aren't worth the money, and frequently do more damage than good. Often, the best treatment for sick fish is to relieve stress by

performing regular partial water changes,
not overfeeding,
checking that your filtration system works,
giving them enough room to live, and
keeping them with compatible tank mates.

(See the STRESS SECTION of this FAQ for full details.)

Understand and respect the nitrogen cycle.

Fish produce toxic wastes (ammonia) that must be broken down by bacteria through biological filtration. Most fish deaths for first-time tank owners are a direct result of not understanding the nitrogen cycle and are completely avoidable. (The NITROGEN CYCLE SECTION explains how the process works.)

Perform regular maintenance on your filter to keep it clean.

Dirty (clogged) filters operate at reduced efficiency. In the case of biological filtration, a clogged filter will be unable to remove ammonia properly, resulting in fish stress and eventually death. Floss-based biological filters are cleaned by gently rinsing them in used tank water that has been siphoned into a bucket. Undergravel filters are cleaned through regular vacuuming. (Filters are discussed briefly in this beginner FAQ, and in more detail in their own FILTRATION FAQ.)

Properly treat all tap water before adding it to your tank.

Municipal water contains such added chemicals as chlorine or chloramine to make it safe for human consumption. These substances are toxic to fish and can weaken, damage or even kill fish. (See the WATER TREATMENT section of this FAQ for details.)

Take the time to learn basic water chemistry

Basic water chemistry is pH, hardness and buffering. You needn't enroll in a chemistry course, but you should know enough about water chemistry and the specifics of your local water supply so that you can keep fish happy. Every location's water source is different, and some fish won't be able to survive in your water. You can learn details about your water from a local fish store, through the use of test kits, and from local aquarium clubs (or, amazingly, from the CHEMISTRY section of this FAQ).

Keep the pH of your tank's water stable.

Rapid pH changes stress fish. Tank water has a natural tendency to become acidic due to the production of nitric acid (nitrates) from the nitrogen cycle. Keeping pH stable requires having adequate ``buffering''. If your water is soft, you may need to add buffering agents. Again, see the CHEMISTRY section for details.

Avoid adding chemicals that lower the pH (e.g. ``pH-Down'').

Such chemicals frequently have undesirable side-effects (e.g., stimulate algae growth). Moreover, in most cases (despite what books and stores tell you) the pH of water DOES NOT need to be adjusted to make it ``more perfect'' for a particular species of fish. If the pH of your tap water is b