Many people are fond of keeping aquariums in their home for many reasons. Some people keep aquarium fish because watching is very relaxing and can help to reduce stress. While other people love being able to glimpse into a world normally hidden from view. Having an aquarium at home can also be a great educational tool for parents, it can help children get a much better understand of biology and chemistry.
Setting up an aquarium is not as simple as filling the tank with water and adding a few fish. Like all living creatures fish produce waste in the form of ammonia. If the ammonia is allowed to build up it will cause something called New Tank Syndrome which can quickly kill your fish. It is called New Tank Syndrome because it mainly affects new aquariums, which have not developed their biological filtration quick enough to deal with the fish waste. To kick start the aquarium’s biological filtration you need to cycle the aquarium. This means you add a source of ammonia to the tank and wait for it to go through the nitrogen cycle. Once the cycle is complete it is safe to start slowly adding fish to your aquarium. The time need for this process varies, but it is advisable to allow for 4 weeks before adding any fish.
When the aquarium is ready there is a wide range of freshwater fish available. The Zebra Danio is a very popular fish. It is easy to keep, cheap to buy and is also fairly colorful. Aside from these great points it is one of few true shoaling fish and it’s very active, this makes it one of the most fun and entertaining fish to watch.
Guppies are a favorite among all fish keepers and in particular beginners. They are very beautiful and come in wide range of colors and tail shapes. They are also incredible easy to breed making them a great choice for those which want to try their hand at breeding. Although they are easy to breed many fish keepers have devoted they whole career to breeding guppies. There are also national and internal Guppy shows.
Another bright and beautiful fish is the Cardinal Tetra, its red and blue looks particularly good in a contrasting dark aquarium. They can be very fussy regarding water quality and they are not recommended for new aquariums or beginners. It is a peaceful fish which likes to be kept in groups of at least five.
Two colorful fish which are better suited to less experienced fish keeper are the Paradisefish and the Dwarf Gourami. They are both Anabantiods which means they an extra organ, known as the labyrinth organ which enables them to live in low oxygen water. They developed this ability because in the wild they lived in dirty low oxygen water. Although it is never advisable to keep your fish in dirty water these two fish are more likely to survive the mistakes that all new fish keepers make.