DESIGN AND MAINTENANCE OF AN AQUARIUM FOR A TROPICAL FISH

G. Ramu and G. Benarjee

Fisheries research lab, Department of Zoology
Kakatiya University, Warangal, A.P.

Aquariums are well known as small houses of fishes. The aquarium is an enclosed
clear-sided container made of high strength plastic or constructed glass for keeping or
raising animals and plants for research and observation. Having an aquarium can be much
more than just a place to put the fish and provide a natural ecosystem conditions in
artificial manner. Major component of the aquarium is tropical fish. Tropical fish
includes fish around the world living in tropical environments including salt water and
freshwater species. Ornamental fishes are much popular fishes in aquariums because of
their bright colours. Fish being put in the aquarium should be properly taken care by
regular monitoring of the fish and aquarium conditions by checking the water for
bacteria, parasite or fungi occurrences.

Some suggestions to proper maintenance of an aquarium

 Fish scales inspection, examine for any decolouration, growths or wounds, scales
that are missing is a fighting indication.

 Observation of the fish respiratory rates, slower or faster rate than normal is a sign
of problem.

 Fish eyes clarity checking, blood or cloudiness should not be present.

 Observation of the fish abnormal behavior such as unusual swimming pattern or

sluggishness

 Regular checking of the tank to ensure that dying or dead fish is not present

 Observation of all the fish individually for behavioral patterns familiarization so

that it is easier to determine a sick fish in the future

 Feed your fish with one-day intervals using diet variations.

 Replace the evaporated water on the tank with dechlorinated water.

  Once a week, removed 5 to 10 percent of the tank water replacing it fresh
dechlorinated water. Unwanted chemicals in the tank are diluted helping the tanks
internal environment similar to tap water.

 Algae scraping from the walls of the tank done once a week

 Filter pads checking every two weeks cleaning or replacing them if necessary.

 Water testing done every two weeks. Water change is done after one day.

 Ammonia, nitrate, pH levels or nitrite checking done every two weeks

 Drain off the debris from the gravel done once a month

 Always keep track the chemical contents of your aquarium and schedule
maintenance.

AQUARIUM ACCESSORIES:

Aquarium accessories are crucial to enhancing the appearance of the tank and the
overall lifestyle of the fish. Using the right aquarium accessories, you can turn the
aquarium into a fine piece of decoration in the house. With the proper accessories, you
can add to your fish’s habitat and dress up the overall appearance. When selecting
aquarium accessories, you first want to identify the type of water and the type of fish you
have.
For a saltwater aquarium, coral can be a great addition because of the elegance it adds. It
will fill the aquarium up nicely and make it look less dull. Rocks are another accessory
that can suit an aquarium perfectly. There is a plethora of different sizes, styles and
colours of rocks are available and also some options include rainbow rocks and carved
lava.
If you have a freshwater aquarium, there are just as many options to choose from to spice
up the tank. An accessory that is only suitable for freshwater is driftwood. Driftwood
comes from swamplands and sinks naturally to the bottom of the tank. This will keep it
from tangling up and injuring the fish.
Aside from adding style to your aquarium, you also need to maintain aquarium
accessories like pumps and filters. These will help keep the tank free from toxic waste
that could harm your fish. Lastly, you will need additives for the water. Additives will
allow you to keep the fish healthy and free of any kind of harm. While decorating the
tank we should considered selecting corals, pumps and filters. These can keep fish
healthy and lively.

AQUARIUM DECORATIONS
Aquariums decorations are not only beautiful to look at they also have an
important purpose that provide fishes with homes, hiding places and natural borders
resembling their natural habitat. Whereas fishes that live in dense vegetation prefer plants
and other types of tiny hiding places. Decorations are crucial for a happy and healthy
aquarium they also keep fishes from getting bored.
Types of decorations:
Tanks: there are many variants of tanks big, small, quadrilateral of polygonal.
The size of an aquarium should be according to the size and the number of fish’s you
plan to keep.
Plants: they are the most beautiful, inexpensive source of decoration for your
aquariums. Fishes love the aquatic plants as they are part of their natural habitats. Plants
are very useful as well, they bind carbon dioxide and oxygenate the water. They also use
organic waste products as nutrition and remove potentially harmful compounds from the
water. Plants can also be used to keep a check on the water quality of an aquarium, the
plant will start dieing before the fish if the water suddenly becomes toxic.
Wood, Rock and Coral: Driftwood and mangroves can create a beautiful effect
in the aquarium, some fishes particularly thrive on driftwood. Stones and rocks make
excellent decorations. Rocks can be used to create caves which many fishes are
passionate about. Coral are a beautiful addition to marine aquarium in fact they may
prove necessary for a healthy marine habitat.
Gravel or Sand: Both are presents great variety of colours. Gravel comes in
white, brown, black and white, red, green and yellow the whole rainbow spectrum. Sand
again also has a plethora of colours white, black, red, green and yellow. Both of these can
be layered in multiple colours.
Glass marbles, Ceramics, Plastic: These are all unnatural materials these can
five beautiful colours to aquarium as well as biologically harmful.
 It is imperative that you only use aquarium decorations that are safe to use in
aquariums. If you have saltwater aquariums they should be saltwater safe also. If you
don’t take this precaution your fish will die due to the organisms and toxins released by
the decorations. Decorations have both practical and aesthetical use if done tastefully and
carefully you can create a miniature aquatic ecosystem that both you and your fish can
enjoy.

PICKING THE RIGHT AQUARIUM SIZE FOR TROPICAL FISH

Perhaps you’ve enjoyed your tropical fish for many years or may be you are just
getting started with this wonderful hobby. Whatever the case, you may have questions
and concerns about how to size your aquarium to best fit your needs. Finding the right
size aquarium that will provide the right habitat for your fish is a process that doesn’t take
much time and will ensure that you have an environment you and your fish can enjoy for
many years.
You should take some precautions while selecting the tank is plenty of space is
needed for water storage, avoid placing an aquarium directly below of above an air
conditioning or heater vent, you will need a power source and a storage area for the food
and other materials, the environment of the tank must suit for tropical plants, snails,
algae, some creatures and fishes, among all these aquatic animals the symbiosis takes
place they depend one each other so all are very important for proper maintenance of an
aquarium.

SOME HELPFUL TIPS FOR CHOOSING THE RIGHT TROPICAL FISH

If you are starting out new in your tropical fish hobby then you may be wondering
just what type of fish you should get. Perhaps you want something a bit more advanced
than the traditional goldfish that sat on your dresser as a child. The good news is that
there is such a wide variety of tropical fish nowadays that you can pretty much find one
that will fit your personality and setting.
Purchase small angelfish, gold fish, goby fish because they are perfect for your
tank, you should isolate the sick fish from the rest of the bunch and selected fish must
have a tolerance capacity from various shocks and stress this might be good for aquarium
maintenance.

HOW TO DISCOVER AND PREVENT AQUARIUM FISH ILLNESS

Aquarium fish fall ill just like any other pet. The illnesses are as a result of
disease. The common diseases may be present in the water as part of the normal micro
fauna.
Different ways aquarium fish suffer from stress:
Aquarium fish usually start experiencing stress starting from the time it’s about
living the breeding farm till when the end purchaser finally picked it from retailer. Most
beginners don’t really know how to handle fish.

The quality of water is another cause of aquarium fish stress. Quality parameters
like pH, water hardness, high nitrite and carbon dioxide level, low dissolved oxygen,
salinity of water, water temperature are shows tremendous effect on fish health.

Any change in environment like physical damage, leaches, lice and introduction
of new fish could lead to stress in aquarium.

Change in weather condition is another factor that leads to aquarium fish stress.
When the weather will become cold and this could lead to stress in aquarium.

Poor diet as a result of lack in nutritional requirement always leads to poor

performance in fish immune system. Fish immune system will struggle to operate
efficiently. This will result in a stressed fish.

Warning signs of illness in aquarium fish

You can easily know your fish are going through stress if you watch them very
well and often. You will notice signs like fish swimming with clamps up (closed) in their
fins, hovering in a corner, heavy breathing and fish brushing its body against objects.
These are warning signs you need to act on immediately.
How to reduce stress in aquarium
 To reduce stress in aquarium, you need to guide against factors that lead to stress.
 Make sure you have detail information about the fish species that you will be
introducing to your tank. Enquiring about its requirements before you buy it will
help you a lot.
  Knowing the right food for your fish, you have to know as this may vary from
species to species. If you have this knowledge you will be able to provide foods
that are rich in nutritional ingredients that your fish require.

 Keep the environment clean

 When you want to introduce new fish, make sure it’s quarantined to reduce the
risk of disease.

AQUARIUM FISH FOOD TIPS

A balanced diet for your aquarium fish is essential to their survival. Most of the
commercially available dry fish foods are almost always unbalanced. In many cases, the
vitamin content will gradually decline at room temperature and since majority of the dry
food for tropical fish commonly used will only keep for about three months, it is always
advisable to buy fish-feeds in many small packs rather than in one large pack.
I will mention a few that could be found handy in some majority aquarium shops and I
will group them into two and they are flake foods and freeze-dried foods.

Flake foods
Most popular and highly recommended brands are AquarianR, TetraR and
WardleyR. They are varying in cost and quality. Wardley is the least expensive among the
three; however, the Aquarian and Tetra are richer in specialty flakes compare to Wardley.

Freeze-dried foods
You will also find freeze dried foods available in aquarium stores. They are
favourite foods for aquarium fish. They have single animal-ingredient like mosquito
larvae, blood worms and tubifex worm each. Aquarist should note that freeze-foods are
not in themselves complete diet but they can be combining to flake food or other type of
freeze –dried foods.