- Too many fish too soon.
This is a recipe for bacterial blossom: By adding three dozen fishies at once to your aquarium, you’re placing an extremely high bio-load on the tank. That is, a whole lot of waste will be produced at once. Bacteria will feed upon this waste and grow to unnaturally large numbers, which is no good for the health of Flipper and family. It’s best to start with a few of the strongest species, and as weeks go on, slowly increase the number of fish in your aquarium.
- Not enough partial water change.
The rule of fin: Give your tank a partial water change every two weeks to maintain high-quality H2O. That’s about 20 percent, or one bucket for every 50 litres.
- Too much food, or poor quality food.
Keep Bubbles from bloating by giving him a small portion, first. Allow 30 seconds to pass, then see what’s left. Give him more at this point, if need be. Repeat this process three or four times, at the most. You’ll know you haven’t fed too much when, after one minute, no food can be seen. And if you’re wondering where you can find the best quality food for Goldie, check out our product listing.
- Using window cleaner to clean the glass.
Adding more chemicals is asking for disaster, fishies. A plain old wipedown without the Windex should do the trick.
- Shops selling the wrong types of fish to go together.
Not all fish get along, of course. So, ask your fellow pet-lovers or our resident fish petspert for help finding a reputable aquatic shop.
- Not being patient during the first couple of months of aquarium life.
It’s only natural you’re feeling excited about building your fish family, but too much too soon can lead to ill-fated fishes, cloudy tank water, or a complete restart of your whole aquarium. Again, begin with just a few of the strongest species, and slowly increase the number of fish, as the weeks go on.
- Stress and disease among fish.
Being transported from the pet shop to their new home doesn’t go swimmingly for every fish. Add to that, water not being at the quality level it should be, and your finny friend may be prone to illness. Fortunately, our fish health care page can help you diagnose and treat your sickie fishie.
- Getting the wrong advice.
That’s why we’re here, pet-lovers. Just dive right in to our Fish section, or ask our resident fish petspert if you have any questions swimming around in your head.
There you have it, pet-lovers. Now, you can go forth like a Butterfly Koi, without feeling like a fish out of water.