The 6 special rules you NEED know to prevent you f

[Jules H-T]

This is in response to the ebook some guy is selling offering you the secrets of tropical fishkeeping.

What would be your 6 rules to prevent someone from accidentally killing their fish? As serious as you like, or not, but remeber- 6 rules only, not 5, not 7!

Mine would be:

Don't forget to feed them
Do remember to keep the water clean
Don't overstock
Don't keep them by sources of heat eg. direct sunlight or radiators
Don't use flyspray near them
Don't let cats get near the tank with the lid off

Edit: Kentblokey, come on then, what are your 6 rules?

 

[KentBlokey]

I think- Do not over feed them is better advice than "Don't forget to feed them"

 

[freddyk]

1: Don't Overfeed and feed the right food! Overfeeding can kill a fish in two ways. One is quick, in which too much leftover food causes toxic spikes in the aquarium. The slower result overfeeding or feeding inappropriate foods is a decline in their health and life span (to what degree depends on species; sometimes barely at all, sometimes severely) Fish do not need nearly as much food as many think. Most mature fish can technically go weeks without, and most don't need every day. Unlike mammals they don't use internal body heat - body heat uses most of our energy.

2: Fresh water - not just clean. Water changes both remove waste and re-introduce nutrients used by livestock. Perhaps water changes should be called water refreshing. Either way - do them!

3. No stress! Stress leads to disease. Keep them natural and they act natural - natural fish (in the wild) only stress intermittently. Decorate accordingly, keep compatible fish (fighting is bad, predator with prey is very bad), keep shoaling fish in shoals, etc etc.

4: Research first. Take advantage of the forum but don't be shy about researching it yourself. This one is really an extension of no. 3

5: Don't stock beyond your or the fishes means. Overstocking is not in itself a bad thing - many species do well overstocked. In these cases your stocking levels must be in line with your filtration and water refreshing

6: Keep toxins away! Wash your hands every time you dive in, and careful with cleaners, paints etc.

 

[alabaster]

I like your rules freddyk! Except that no. 5 is kind of advanced, since it would take an advanced aquarist to have enough knowledge and know-how to overstock successfully. Its a good rule, but beginners might see it and since they've been told by Petsmart that their Whisper filter is the best filter you can buy, they'll think it gives them license to put 13 common goldfish in a 10g...

 

[digital_run]

Except that no. 5 is kind of advanced, since it would take an advanced aquarist to have enough knowledge and know-how to overstock successfully.

Not really....#4 was research fish which is probably the most important one of them all...And if you research/ask questions before hand them you would know what type of set-up you need. Nothing worse than somone new to the hobby going out and ending up with 3 oscars for their 10gal for example.

If you read before you buy you'll be glad you did.

DR

 

[Whitey]

I think- Do not over feed them is better advice than "Don't forget to feed them"

I thought it was 6 not 1?

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

"ahem";
a. CYCLING: Do a fishless cycle in your tank when you first set it up and do not add to many fish too soon once it has cycled or you may go through a mini cycle.
b. WATER CHANGES: Do a 30% water change with dechlorinator once a week minimum, gravel vacing is a good way to do this as it not only cleans your gravel but also drains the water out as you do it, hence a water change and gravel/sand cleaning session in one.
c. FEEDING: Don't overfeed your fish but also take into consideration their diet/nutritional needs so they get the right foods and don't get malnutritioned- also take into consideration your fish's state of health when feeding- i.e pregnant fish for example will need more food than when they are not pregnant so the fry get enough food as well as the mother fish, also fry will need more food on a regular basis and old fish may also need extra nutrition in their diet and some fish may also need their diet substituted with extra foods etc.
d. FILTRATION: Don't clean your filter in tap water if you are running a cycled tank as it will destroy it and cause your tank to mini cycle, also don't clean your filter out more than once every 10days as this may lead to the same consiquences- getting a the right sized/powered filter is also important if it is going to do its job well in your tank and can handle your fish's bioload too.
e. TANK STOCKING: Take care to stock the right tank mates with your fish so they don't kill/harrass each other and also take care to get the right gender ratios too and make sure your fish are not going to outgrow your tank/get stunted growth in it.
f. TANK ENVIROMENT: if you are going to have tropical fish, make sure you get a heater, if you are going to have live plants make sure the lighting can make them grow ok and not die off. Adding hiding places via tank ornements/rocks/plants/wood will also be good to help lower stress levels in your fish and help avoid over bullying or harrassment in fish. Some fish also need things like caves to sleep in during the day if they are nocturnal too. Never use things like cleaning chemicals/pesticides/chemicals not meant for fish/tank use anywhere near or in the tank too as this will destroy your fish and tank enviroment/ecosystem.

 

[Undawada]

1. Water changes
2. Do a fishless cycle
3. More Water changes
4. Seek reliable advice
5. Still More Water changes
6. If in doubt, do a water change

Edited for numbers

 

[Dubby]

here goes....

1. cycle your tank before adding lots of fish
2. join TFF
3. read the pinned articles
3. ask lots of questions
4. dont over feed
5. do regular water changes
6. dont get stressed and take hasty decisions

 

[ncjharris]

Just three

1 - research, research, research
2 - understock
3 - overfilter

 

[Whitey]

Correct tank + Correct filter + Buy healthy fish + Dont overstock + Water change + Correct temp = Thriving fish.

 

[Opcn]

whitey, most fish die from being overfed, cycled and uncycled taniks both crash when faced with a pile of flakes the size of a small horse.

 

[Whitey]

whitey, most fish die from being overfed, cycled and uncycled taniks both crash when faced with a pile of flakes the size of a small horse.

Think u got mixed up i havnt mentioned overfeeding sorry!?

 

[Opcn]

my stipulation was that you left out the most important part

 

[Whitey]

my stipulation was that you left out the most important part

Ok well if you feel something was left out maybe you could of participated in the topic yourself instead of critisising others. After all i wasnt the only one who left out overfeeding! Just a thought