Ilya
Fishaholic
Today, I've have suddenly gotten the urge to take up fish keeping again. I quit after my unfortunate experience two or three years ago.
A few years back, I had gotten an aquarium from my aunt. She had it in her garage, and it was a 10 gallon tank I believe. Anyway, I had bought the required stuff (pebbles, thermometer, filter, net, and air bubbler) and had set it up. Being a complete noob at that time, I did not research before I had bought the fish. I had ended up buying 4-6 guppies, and 2-4 fish that had appeared to be Red Swordtail (this was a while back, and my memory is vague). Everything went fine, and a few months had passed. And suddenly, my fish had died.
Now, I had thought it was some illness, but now I know what I did wrong.
I had frequently changed my water, and to do this, I took the fish out and put them into bowls. Then I took the aquarium and flushed the water. I proceeded to reapply the water, wait until the filter filtered for 15 minutes, and I had put the fish back in.
One night, unfortunately, I had succeeded in cracking the tank
, but I had patched it up with water proof tape.
My guppy was pregnant, and I had been expecting it's delivery for a week. I had put the fish in a special guppy breeding/incubator, but one night, I decided to take the fish out. The next morning, I had noticed that my older fish had devoured the new born, but some had survived. I quickly put them into the incubator to isolate them from the adults. Unfortunately, a week later, my fish had died, and I had called it quits.
Now, I have decided to buy a new tank, and own cold water fish. Ones from streams or rivers. This time, I will have a good number of plants. And if I'm lucky they will survive.
I've got a few questions.
1. Do I have to change the water regularly with cold water fish? My friends dad owns an aquarium (30 gallons I think), and he says he only has to change his every year and a half. He just "squeegee's" the scum off of the glass (lol).
2. If I have a lot of water plants in the aquarium, do they help with the filtration? Or is there any other benefit from them?
3. Would snails be a smart idea? Or would they just multiply and be a nuisance?
Thanks!
A few years back, I had gotten an aquarium from my aunt. She had it in her garage, and it was a 10 gallon tank I believe. Anyway, I had bought the required stuff (pebbles, thermometer, filter, net, and air bubbler) and had set it up. Being a complete noob at that time, I did not research before I had bought the fish. I had ended up buying 4-6 guppies, and 2-4 fish that had appeared to be Red Swordtail (this was a while back, and my memory is vague). Everything went fine, and a few months had passed. And suddenly, my fish had died.
Now, I had thought it was some illness, but now I know what I did wrong.
I had frequently changed my water, and to do this, I took the fish out and put them into bowls. Then I took the aquarium and flushed the water. I proceeded to reapply the water, wait until the filter filtered for 15 minutes, and I had put the fish back in.
One night, unfortunately, I had succeeded in cracking the tank
, but I had patched it up with water proof tape.My guppy was pregnant, and I had been expecting it's delivery for a week. I had put the fish in a special guppy breeding/incubator, but one night, I decided to take the fish out. The next morning, I had noticed that my older fish had devoured the new born, but some had survived. I quickly put them into the incubator to isolate them from the adults. Unfortunately, a week later, my fish had died, and I had called it quits.
Now, I have decided to buy a new tank, and own cold water fish. Ones from streams or rivers. This time, I will have a good number of plants. And if I'm lucky they will survive.
I've got a few questions.
1. Do I have to change the water regularly with cold water fish? My friends dad owns an aquarium (30 gallons I think), and he says he only has to change his every year and a half. He just "squeegee's" the scum off of the glass (lol).
2. If I have a lot of water plants in the aquarium, do they help with the filtration? Or is there any other benefit from them?
3. Would snails be a smart idea? Or would they just multiply and be a nuisance?
Thanks!
