Fish Tank Aquariums - How To Cope With Common Problems
Posted on 08. Aug, 2009 by admin in Aquariums, Fishtanks
Now you’ve set up your fish tank aquarium you can sit back to take pleasure in your new hobby. Looking after your new aquarium is not too difficult but a number of problems may arise, particularly in newly set up tanks. Everything may seem OK for a short while then bit by bit algae begins to develop and take over the aquarium, your fish begin to die and your lovely aquarium stops looking like the pristine, sparkling tanks in all the pictures. So what did you do wrong? And more importantly what can you do to set it right?
What you shouldn’t do is panic and please do not go to the nearest pet shop, purchase chemical remedies and dump them in your tank. This will inevitably increase your problems! Something else that novice aquarium owners are inclined to do in this situation is to completely clean out the tank to start again. This is the biggest mistake as the helpful bacteria that you worked hard to encourage in the tank will be completely destroyed and you will then need to start again with recycling.
What you do need to do is understand what is going wrong and then deal with it, without the use of harsh chemical products which will disturb the the aquarium’s balance further.
Build up of Deadly Chemicals
The most worrying occurence is when the fish die suddenly. Are you sure the tank was cycled properly before before you stocked with fish? The commonest cause of sudden fish death is a build up of nitrites or ammonia from their waste products. You will need to buy an aquarium test kit to see if this is the problem. If proper cycling of the tank wasn’t carried out there won’t be enough of the beneficial bacteria to deal with all of these toxic chemicals, especially if you have lots of fish. Do you have too many fish in the tank? This will over stress the bacteria dealing with the chemicals and cause an increase in the levels of ammonia and nitrite.
Bullying Fish
Have you made sure you have the correct assortment of species in the aquarium? A number of fish can be OK when young but will turn into bullies when fully grown. Tiger barbs are notorious for being bullies. Fish that are bullies are best removed from the aquarium and given away!
Insufficient Water Changes
Have you done partial water changes weekly? Even though nitrites and ammonia are dealt with by the bacteria, they convert these into the less toxic nitrates. But nitrates can also cause a problem. If nitrate levels get too high they could cause harm to your fish and they must be removed by doing a partial water change.
Adding Chlorine or Chloramine Contaminated Water
Water from the tap will always contain be contaminated with chlorine which is easily removed by leaving the water standing for a few days. Some tap water also contains chloramines which cannot be removed so easily. If your tap water is contaminated with chloramines, or you don’t know, you must add a chemical treatment to deal with them them before you add the water to the fish tank.
Overfeeding The Fish
Overfeeding is a widespread problem, that leads to rotting uneaten food. This then releases poisonous chemicals that cause more strain on the bacteria. The effect is a rapid rise in toxic chemicals that can cause damage to your fish. When feeding your tropical fish take care you only give them what they can clear up in roughly three minutes. If you see food sitting on the tank bottom you have overfed them!
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