How to Set up an Aquarium/Fish Tank

Making your Aquarium Fish Safe!

What you'll Need: Fish tank, Heater, and a Filter (Maybe). Fish will die if simply added to a glass of water. Especially water from the faucet. Water for fish should be conditioned with a water conditioner. These can be found at any pet store, and are easy to use as well as inexpensive. Follow the recommended dose on the back of the bottle, and add it to any water you add to your aquarium. These conditioners make the water safe for fish by removing chlorine and other chemicals from the water. They help lower the fishes stress and protect their bodies from these chemicals. In order to function though, a body of water, which is your aquarium in this case, needs to become an ecosystem. In the fish world, this is called "establishing." To create the ecosystem, within the gravel and filter, good bacteria needs to grow. Therefore the poop and other lively things are broken down by said bacteria. This keeps the aquarium water quality in good shape. If bacteria is not present, there will be ammonia spikes in the aquarium, which can easily kill fish. How do you get this precious bacteria? Well, the easy and impatient way is to just go buy a bottle of it. It goes by names such as "Safe Start" and can be found in any pet store. Just read the back and add the recommended dose to the tank, then you can add your fish. The old school way is to use "Hardy" fish to "Cycle"- "establish" or make the tank fish ready. Hardy fish are fish that can somewhat handle unstable water and ammonia spikes long enough for the tank to cycle. Basic hardy fish can be Molly's, Guppies, or Platys. This process can take 4-8 weeks. You can test your water parameters all you want, but it really isn't too necessary. There is no reason to obsess, as sometimes its best to just leave it alone. Just wait awhile and add your fish. Depending on your tank, a monthly water change may be needed.

Plants and Decor

Now that the tank is cycling or cycled, plants are a great way to make your tank less maintenance. There are very easy aquarium plants that don't require any care. Amazon swords, Java moss, Anubias, and really most plants aren't too hard to care for. Just pick some out at the pet store and put them in. Fertilizers can be used for the plants but with efficient lighting it really isn't necessary, although I do use them myself. Plants help keep the tank in good quality, make it more beautiful, and fish love them. You can add them to any size tank. If a tank has plants, it may not even need a hang on back filter, sponge filter, or under gravel filter, yet it is good to have one. If you plan on having a Beta fish, plants are a very good choice. Betas like slow moving water that some filters can disturb. Decor really depends on what fish you have. Some like a lot of plants, hiding places, and some fish just don't care. It is good to get a background for your fish tank, as they make your fish feel safer. These are usually laminated posters you can tape to the back. These can be found online, or at any pet stores.

Choosing Fish

Now to fish selection, you should always pick fish that can fit in your aquarium, or an aquarium that is big enough for the fish you want. Research each species of fish you want to buy, it takes less than 5 minutes. Simply googling a fish species can tell you what they need that will keep them alive and well. Be wary of what fish you put together. If any of this so far seems like too much work, then you should not get fish. These are the simplest things that need to be done for a freshwater tank, think of having fish as having a dog or a child, you'll have to put in a little work. Although fish may be labeled as "easy to care for", that does not mean there is NO commitments. Children should also be educated on how to properly care for fish as well. That means no over-feeding and no glass taping. Over feeding results in ammonia spikes, glass taping causes stress to the fish. Explain this entire article to your child who is getting fish. They will understand more than you may think.

Goldfish

If you are a beginning you will not want a goldfish. They do like cold water which takes away the heater aspect, yet they get huge and are very dirty fish. They poop a lot, and make messes when they eat. They also DESTROY plants. This makes an aquarium very dirty very fast, and will kill your goldfish if you are not properly educated on how to care for them. I would not say they are a beginner fish. Of course you may of seen a goldfish live for awhile in a bowl, but just know that fish was suffering.

Beta

Beta fish can be easy fish, but they need heaters. They like warmer waters around 75-80 degrees Fahrenheit. Male betas (the pretty ones in cups at fish stores) need to be alone as they are aggressive. They like slow-moving waters. I would recommend putting a Beta fish in a 5 gallon tank or more, but if you are putting them in a bowl, you should establish the bowl first as noted earlier. As well as put plants and a heater in their tank or bowl.

Beginner Fish

Minnows, Guppies, Platys, Betas, Mollies, and some types of Tetras are really easy and interesting fish to care for. Research any fish you may be interested in getting.

Summary

Cycle your tank. Research what fish you want. Research what kind of fish tank, heater, and filter you will need. It is as easy as a 3 second google search. Inform kids.