Gold Fish Care

Aquarium Setup

How to setup the aquarim in your home

You should ideally figure out where you will placeyour fish tank before you bring your new fish home.ideally figure out where you will place your fish tank before youbring your new fish home.

1) An aquarium can be the highlight of your living room and arealso a great way to brighten up living spaces. Just keep a fewthings in mind. Direct sunlight will heat the water, which isn'tgood for goldfish. Sunlight also makes algae grow quickly. So it'sbest to keep your aquarium away from direct sunlight.

2) Also keep the aquarium away from heaters and airconditioning vents. Place the aquarium preferably on a stand, if not, use a sturdy flat surface.

3) Placing your tank in the best possible environment is essential.A fish tank can be the center of attention in a room and at thesame time be a relaxing feature as well. Fish owners will tell youthat watching fish swim in a tank is therapeutic. This is very true,in fact, you can spend hours just watching them.

4) Your tank will need a sturdy base. You can buy a readymade stand from a pet store. If you don't want to buy a stand, make sure that you put it on a strong and flat surface.
5) Keep in mind that each gallon of water weighs approximatelyeight pounds. So if u have a 30 gal tank, you will need a base that can take 240 pounds of weight for your fish to live long and
healthy.

Getting started

Once you have bought all the equipment, you have decided where to keep the aquarium. You will need to assemble and install the aquarium. Fill the aquarium with tap water and add water conditioner based on the quantity of water as per the instructions. Follow instructions to get the filter working. Let it run for three days before putting in the fish.

Step - 1 Choosing a location for the tank

After selecting your aquarium, you have to select the place where it should place.

You need to keep the following in mind while choosing a location for the tank:

1) Do not place the tank in direct sunlight to maintain a constanttemperature of 74-75 degree Fahrenheit. Sunlight will cause the tank water to heat up.
2) Do not place the tank near a heater or any other source ofheat.
3) Do not place the tank near an air-conditioning vent.
4) Do not place the tank in a part of the house that is very cold or gets drafts.
5) Place the tank in a location that is close to a water source and itwould be convenient for you to change the water.
6) You should also be able to service the filters easily and perform general care.
7) The place where you place your tank should be relatively quiet.Loud noises will cause stress and you should keep your tank awayfrom stereos and television sets.
8) Do not tap the glass tank often. This will frighten your fish. If
you see a fish swimming around with jerky motions or jumping, it
may be because it is frightened.

After choosing the place considering all the above stated points, place your tank on a strong wooden table. Your table size should be greater than your aquarium size.

Step - 2 Fix the filter in the aquarium

Select the filter according to your aquarium size and type. Youcan seek advice to select the suitable filter for your aquarium.
There are too many type of filters available in the market. It isbetter to get complete details of filter that you have purchased.
Instruction to fix up the filter differs from brand to brand andtype of filters. So you have to follow the manufacturer instruction
to fix the filter in your aquarium.

Step - 3 Fix the light and heater in your aquarium

Fix the light in the tank with help of the instruction given bymanufacturer. Light arrangement helps to regulate day and night
for fish and plants. It also helps to see your fish inside the tank. Itadds to the decor of the aquarium.

You can switch on the light between 8 to 10 hours in the day andswitch off the light during the night.

After fixing the light, you have to fix the heater in your aquarium. It is necessary to fix a heater with thermostat in thetank. The thermostat is required to check the tank fromoverheating or contributing towards extra chillness. Maintaining aconsisten temperature for your fish is required. The fluctuationof temperature in the tank may lead to ill health to your fish.Keep watching the temperature inside the tank.

Following chart shown to select the heaters.

Step 4 - Place the gravel

Before placing the gravel in your tank, you have to wash gravelwith gravel washer.
It removes dust and debris from gravel. Now you can place the gravel in the tank.

Use of angular-shaped gravel helps in natural biological filtration in the aquarium.

Place the gravel 2 to 3 inches in the back and slope towards thefront in case of under gravel filter.

Step 5 - Adding plants and other accessories

Select the plants and other items which are suitable for your fishand place those items in the aquarium. In case of using plastic and
artificial ornaments, you have to wash with water before placing inside the tank.

It is better to use live plants for beginners as they aid in nitrogencycle (water quality maintenance) in the water tank. Do not place the plants very close to each other. Don't dump too many items inthe aquarium.

Step 6 - Add water and checking working of all equipments

Your aquarium looks very pleasant with decorations, light, heater and filter fixed. Now, it is time to fill water in your tank.

You should not pour water directly into the tank. It may disturb your arrangements inside the aquarium. You should take small bowl and place it at the center of the tank.

Now you can pour water into the bowl slowly. Don't fill water till the edge of the aquarium. You can fill the water till it reaches 90 percent of the tank size.

Now you should turn on the light, heater and filters. Allow theheaters, light, filters to run for two days. Check for the proper functioning of temperature and filtration. After ensuringeverything is working properly, purchase fish and add it in the
aquarium.

Step - 7 First Fish for Cool Water Aquariums

Once all the equipments are in working condition, it is an ideal time to buy a Goldfish from any pet shop. You can put your fish into the aquarium by floating method.

Step 8 - Add your fish into the aquarium.

To start with, do not buy any expensive or delicate variety of Goldfish. After your new aquarium equipment has been running for a couple of days, start with the inexpensive variety of Goldfish such as Comet. Buy three of four of them. Don't add any more fish for at least three weeks.

This is important as in the first 2 or 3 weeks, the water may get cloudy or foamy and have an odor. This is often referred to as the new fish tank syndrome. After the first three weeks (if yourfish survives), your fish will settle down and you can buy more fishes for your aquarium.

But do not add too many fishes at the same time. Add a coupleevery few weeks. Just keep in mind that each fish needs a gallon of water for every inch of its length. Use this as a guide to determinehow many fish you can put in your aquarium and prevent your aquarium from overcrowding.The chart given below will guideyou better.

You can easily follow the thumb rule for the number of fish youcan add in your aquarium. You have to provide 5 gallon space for one Goldfish to live comfortably. Calculate tank size according to this rule.

How to float your fish to the aquarium?

First, you have turn off the aquarium lights and dim light in the room where you have fixed the aquarium.

You should not open the shipping bag or box in bright light. It may cause severe stress to your fish.

1. Take the sealed bag containing the fish and floatit in your aquarium without opening the seal. Floatyour sealed bag for 15 to 20 minutes in your tank.By doing this, the temperature in your aquariumand sealed bag get adjusted and thehigh level oxygen also gets dissolved.

2. After 15 to 20 minutes, you can cut the sealedbag under metal clips. Roll the top edge of the bag one inch down (see picture 2).

Float open the bag in your aquarium (see picture3).

3. Now, add the aquarium water into the bag untilit gets full (see picture 4). When thebag is completey filled withaquarium water, you can lift the bagfrom your tank and discard half of the water fromthe bag (see picture 5).

4. Once again float the fish with the bag in youraquarium. Repeat point 3 procedure again. Afterthat, net the Goldfish from the bag and add in toyour aquarium (see picture 6).
5.Remove bag from the aquarium. You should notiscard the water from the bag into the aquarium.

Regular checking of fish and aquarium conditions

1) Goldfish need heaters to maintain the tank temperature at 74degrees Fahrenheit. They are most active at this temperature. It is also proven that Goldfish kept in a tank at this temperature livelonger and healthier. Fluctuations in temperature will put toomuch stress on your fish and cause them to fall ill.

2) But remember not to leave the lights on for too long or tooshort a period. Lights should be left on for not less than fourhours and not more than 10 hours everyday. When you turn ondifferent lights in the tank, do them one by one. This is becauseGoldfish don't have eyelids and will get stressed if all lights comeon at once.

3) Fish sleep every night and you should switch off all lights whenthey do so. Although your Goldfish might sleep during the day when the lights are on. Fish that sleep at night are healthier. Totrain them, you should switch off the lights at the same timeeveryday

4) Regular checking of water quality is the most important factorfor your Goldfish to live a healthy life.

Using the test kit (refer how to maintain water quality chapter)test pH, ammonia, alkalinity/hardness, and nitrate/nitrite in the water on a weekly basis. Please follow the below mentioned chartto maintain water quality.

5) Changing water in the aquarium is a vital factor for your Fishto live a healthy life. Without changing the fish to another tank,remove the upper surface of water from the aquarium. Replace 10to 20 % of the water in the tank with fresh water. This willequalize to tank temperature in a week. You should not pour freshwater directly into the tank. It may make stress to your fish dueto sudden temperature changes.To adjust tank water temperature and fresh water temperature,follow the below instructions.

Using water siphon hose, remove 20 % water from the surface.Before removing the tank water, you have to keep 20 % fresh water in the bucket or bowl for one day. Water should be treatedfor chlorine and chloramines before using it.

Daily check

1) Check your aquarium every 30 to 45 minutes after feeding.Remove floating foods, if any from the water surface immediately
after your fish has its food. Do not overfeed your fish.

2) Temperature of the tank

1) Equipment of tank should be checked whether filter, heater, and light are working properly.

2) Make sure water is not cloudy and without odor.

3) Check the behavior of your Fish for a few minutes by watchingit. Watch your fish swim normally in all levels. Check the skin for any signs of diseases.

Weekly check

1) Make sure the dead leaves are removed in case if you haveadded live plants in the aquarium.

2) Remove algae using algae remover once in week.

3) Change the partial water from the tank using water siphon.

4) Clean the outer aquarium glass using a window cleaner.

2 to 3 weeks

1) You have to clean the aquarium or the tank completely once in

2 to 3 weeks. How to clean the tank has been explained in detailin chapter (How to clean the aquarium).

2) Test water quality using test kits

.3) Trim the live plants.

Twice a year

1) Clean the filter completely. Replace carbon, sponge, andfloss in the filter.

2) You have to change the fluorescent light once in six months.

3) You have to check whether heater and thermometer are working properly. If not, you have to replace those.