aquarium careOwning an aquarium comes with great responsibility. While it requires regular attention, maintenance is just simple and does not consume much of your time. The aquarium is considered as a haven for your fishes. Hence, if you fail to properly take care of it, you are putting the life of your pets into danger. The following is a guide to proper aquarium care and cleaning.

Fishes need to be fed twice daily. If the food is not consumed in five minutes, remove the excess from the water before it rots. Better yet, you can also include a freshwater snail to help in daily cleaning of your fish tank since they eat wastes and organic debris in the water. Moreover, the best time to observe the fishes is while they are eating. Take note of any unusual behavior that could be a sign that they are having an illness. A healthy fish should be able to swim smoothly and actively. It should not have any marks on its body. White and red marks can indicate parasitic infection.

While decorations such as artificial plants and corals make your fish tank attractive, these may harm your pets. Their fins might get caught on the edges of these decorations. Also monitor for presence of ammonia in the water as indicated by puffiness or redness around the gills. In cleaning the aquarium, avoid using strong chemicals. Even the smallest amount can be detrimental to fishes.

The water needs to be partially changed weekly or every other week. This is done to regulate the amount of nitrate in the water and keep the fishes healthy. Around 30-50% of the total volume of water needs to replaced. If there are newly added fishes, changing water should be done more frequently. You may use EcoBio-Block to maintain the water and reduce the levels of ammonia. This works by breaking down the nitrates and ammonia from wastes and excess food. Moreover, it resupplies the essential minerals without changing the water frequently. Algae grow normally and should be manually removed using a sponge that is specially made for aquariums. Never use just any other sponge for it may scratch the glass that may be made with chemicals and these chemicals are hazardous to the fishes. Remove the organic materials adhering to the filter pad using the aquarium water and return it in the filter. Tap water is not recommended to use in cleaning the filter pad because the chlorine in tap water can kill the beneficial bacteria in the filter pad.

A thorough monthly gravel vacuum is recommended to remove excess organic compounds from  wastes and excess food. Moreover, it is required to get rid of hazardous gases that may have built up in the gravel over time. If you have Ecobio-Block in your aquarium, then you can just manually stir the gravel once a month. In this way, the excess wastes get into the filter. Then these compounds can be easily removed by cleaning and rinsing the filter pads, which is more convenient compared to using typical gravel vacuum.

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