A few tips for all
I gave a lot of thought to this article, and figured that I would try to write something that all aquarists out there would find useful. A lot of the time I focus on a particular topic, and I imagine that this often excludes some of you out there. So, in this article, I will try and list a few tips that will help all of you out there at maintaining a healthy aquarium. There is no real order to this article.....I have basically put together a list of things as they have come to me.
Overfeeding Perhaps the most common problem I find new and old aquarists run in to (without even knowing it) is overfeeding. This is a very dangerous thing for an aquarium. Why? The bottom line in aquariums is water quality. Overfeeding directly affects water quality in one of two ways. First, increased eating by fish means an increased amount of ammonia (this is toxic to fish) production in the aquarium. Second, the food that is not eaten by the fish will degrade the water quality by introducing a lot of nitrite (also toxic to fish). So, what is the proper amount to feed? This is very dependent on the number of fish you have and the type of food you feed. However, two immediate indications that you are overfeeding are if: 1 - You are feeding more than once a day, and 2 - if you notice additional food at the bottom of the aquarium after feeding. Keep in mind that fish will eat continuously, even when full. The truth is that they can live for weeks on the oil in their stomachs. In fact, I had a friend who once left his fish unattended (this was an accident) for a month, and the fish was fine. The best thing to do is feed in moderation (your fish store should be able to give you an idea of how much to feed of the particular food you use), and only feed once a day. Also, remember that you may want to feed your fish a variety of foods....this will ensure that they get all of the essential nutrients they need from their intake.
Biological Cycle For those of you that have no idea of the link between ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate, I suggest that you take a look at some of my articles that deal with the "biological cycle" of aquariums. Such information can also been found in almost any aquarium book. Understanding the biological cycle of aquariums allows an aquarist to have a better understanding about what is going on in his/her aquarium. When you understand the cycle, then setting up and maintaining an aquarium is not as much of a mystery. In fact, monitoring of the levels of compounds, such as nitrite, are the most common way to determine the water quality in your aquarium, and also can give you an idea of where the source of poor water quality is coming from.
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