Pet World has Amazing Deals and Specials on Pet Supplies!

Many people keep fish as pets or as a hobby. A lot of fish have their own personalities, and sometimes will act in very interesting ways. They have different ways of interacting with each other and with the people who take care of them. Keeping fish is a fun and interesting pastime, and it usually does not take a lot of time or energy. This is especially true as fish keeping over the years has gotten easier. Today, there are newer and better filters, and a lot more information regarding fish keeping.

In this article, we will give you a list of the timeless classics to keep in mind when it comes to raising fish and maintaining your aquarium in good working order. The following is a list of guidelines that pertains to tropical freshwater fish. Most fish owners keep tropical freshwater fish, and there are nearly endless varieties to choose from (please check out the Pet World fact article on tropical freshwater fish to determine if your fish is a tropical freshwater fish).

1. To prevent cracks and fissures, as well as wobbling and instability, make sure your aquarium is set on a flat, strong surface, such as an aquarium stand.
2. After you set up your aquarium, you must wait for it to become established before adding any fish. Aquariums are considered established after 6 to 8 weeks. Established means that there are enough beneficial bacteria present to break down the toxins from the food and waste.
3. After your aquarium has had the 6 to 8 weeks to get established, start adding the fish a few at a time. When adding new fish, make sure that you acclimate them to your aquarium: first float the bag containing the fish in the tank for about 5 minutes, then add about 8 ounces of aquarium water into the bag. Do this about 5 times, adding water every 5 minutes or so. Then you may empty the bag with the fish into the aquarium.
4. Do not overcrowd the tank. Keep about one fish or less per gallon of aquarium water. Usually the rule is that a fish that is approximately 1 inch long should have one gallon of water, and a fish that grows up to approximately 2 inches long should have two gallons of water for itself, and so on.
5. The pH range of interest to the tropical fish keeper is between pH 5 and pH 9, with the vast majority of fish requiring a pH between 6 and 8. The pH range quoted for a given species may be based on its native waters. Although it might be desirable to mimic these conditions to some extent, the fish may be quite capable of thriving at a slightly different pH. All in all, providing a stable pH kept between about 6 and 8 is usually more important than having an exact value, as long as extremes and sudden changes are avoided. Aquarium pH testers and testing kits are carried at your local pet store.
6. A good temperature for tropical fish is around 78 degrees, although a range from 76 to 80 degrees is usually fine too. Just as with the pH, providing a stable temperature kept between about 76 and 80 is usually more important than having an exact value, as long as extremes and sudden changes are avoided. A few types of tropical fish, such as goldfish, are extremely hardy when it comes to temperatures and they usually do not need heaters in their aquariums. Thermometers are carried at your local pet store.
7. Feed your fish very sparingly, as fish can be easily overfed. You can feed your fish 1 or 2 times per day, but just a few flakes per fish, and make sure that all food can be finished in about 5 to 10 minutes. Never allow food to accumulate on the bottom of the tank or get sucked up into the filter. You can prevent this by not overfeeding. Remember that overfeeding is one of the biggest contributors to dirty aquariums and sick fish. There is also a more detailed article dedicated to the subject of fish foods and proper feeding techniques on the Pet World facts page, click here to get to it.
8. For the first 6 weeks after setting up an aquarium, change about 1/3 of the aquarium water about once a week for smaller aquariums (10 to 20 gallon tanks), and do this once every other week for larger aquariums (larger than 20 gallons).
9. After the first 6 weeks, you should continue to change aquarium water (1/3 only, never all) about once a month, to help keep your aquarium clean and your fish healthy. You may need to change your water more often if you keep a lot of fish in your aquarium as it will get dirty quicker. You should also change the water right away if the water looks very cloudy or if the fish look stressed. Always make sure to condition or dechlorinate the new water and get it to about the same temperature as the existing water before adding it to the tank.
10. Make sure that all filters and heaters are working well. Also make sure that you buy a large enough filter. Buy one that is larger than the manufacture recommends for your size aquarium. If you use a carbon filter, change the carbon filter on your tank about once a month. It is usually better to use an under-gravel filter with a power head and a power filter.

Koi are tropical freshwater fish that belong to the carp family. In fact, today’s beautiful and world-renowned koi were developed from common food carp by fish farmers in Japan over 200 years ago by selectively breeding the occasional fish found with some color or pattern on it. Today koi have become popular just about everywhere and are bred in every country. Currently, they are considered to be the most popular and most highly prized freshwater ornamental pond fish.

Koi and carp have always been very popular in Japan and China, and in most parts of Asia. Koi, and its direct ancestor the carp, have long been the stuff of legend in this part of the world. To the Japanese, carp and koi traditionally embody strength, courage and determination. The Chinese call koi the king of freshwater fish, and regard it as a symbol of good fortune and celebration. Koi are often referred to as “living jewels” or “swimming flowers” because of their tremendous color and color variations. All koi have similarly shaped bodies and fins, but they come in a variety of different colors and patterns such as gold, silver, orange, red, blue, black, white, and all kinds of combinations of these colors. All koi also come with adorable whiskers on their faces, called barbels.

Koi can grow up to 3 feet (36 inches) in length and can weigh over 5 pounds each! The growth rate and final size of your koi will also depend on water quality and conditions, feeding methods, and the size of the pond or how crowded the pool is. With optimum conditions, the average growth rate for a healthy koi is 2 to 4 inches at the end of the first year, 6 to 8 inches at the end of the second year, and 10 to 12 inches at the end of the third year. After the third year, the growth pattern slows down as the koi nears its maximum length.

Koi are very hardy and are fairly easy to keep, and also have a pretty long lifespan. Most koi can live at least 25 to 35 years, and with good water conditions and proper care, 50 to 100 years would not be unusual. In Japan, koi are frequently passed on to the next generation. The oldest known specimen, a red female named Hanako, was owned by Nagoya University President Komei Koshihara. Though Hanako died in 1977, a microscopic examination of one of her scales proved that she was born 226 years before her death in 1977 – she was born a few years before the United States made its debut as a nation!

To have the best quality koi that look the best and that are disease free, proper care is essential. Having adequate pond space is a very important part of this care. In fact, pond size is the main factor in determining how many koi you can keep and the quality of your koi. You can try to put half a dozen koi in 1000 gallons, but the koi will probably not grow very large or look very good. As a rule of thumb, every full size koi should have about 500 gallons to itself.

The other reason for having adequate pond space is that the smaller or more overcrowded a pond (or an aquarium) is, the lower the quality of the water. Overcrowding koi in a pond will contribute to fish stress, and greater potential for parasitic diseases and bacterial infections. Having adequate space in the pond will help the koi stay healthy and live long. The pond should also be deep enough, at least 3 feet deep. This will keep your pond cooler in the summer months, warmer in the winter months, and keep predators like raccoons and herons from eating your fish.

In the old days back in Japan, these gorgeous creatures were housed in lushly landscaped outdoor fish ponds. The ponds were constructed to provide adequate oxygenation and had a large turnover of water to ensure high water quality and filtration. With a little bit of energy and time, you can also create such an environment for your koi, or at least get pretty close to it. You can rely on either natural methods, mechanical methods, or a combination of both to achieve a healthy pond with proper aeration and filtration.

The natural method usually consists of planting some water plants in the pond to provide sufficient oxygenation and aeration for the fish, and adding a few scavengers such as snails and catfish into the pond for cleaning up wastes from the bottom of the pond. In addition to providing oxygenation and aeration, water plants also serve to further beautify your pond, help keep the water clear, and help reduce the growth of algae that can be unsightly and consume too many nutrients from the water.

If you find that your pond is not being kept clean and clear enough by natural methods, or if you plan to keep a lot of koi in the pond, you may want to use mechanical methods or a combination of natural and mechanical methods for the aeration and filtration of your pond. You would also probably need to use mechanical methods for aeration and filtration if you are keeping your koi in an aquarium, though aquarium use is not recommended for koi unless the aquarium is of a very good size. A good pump and filter system will filter the pond’s (or aquarium’s) entire volume every couple of hours, removing solid and chemical waste from your pond pretty much completely.

You can get filters that come with aerators built into them. These filters will return the water to the pond by a waterfall or fountain, which not only looks very nice but also aerates the pond extremely well. Another type of popular filter is the biological filter, which is a container that is usually filled with a medium on which bacteria will grow, and they would consume most of the waste from the water. Whichever filter you use, you should clean it at least twice a year to keep it working properly and efficiently.

With sufficient natural and/or mechanical aeration and filtration, cleaning or changing the pond water once a year in the early spring should be sufficient. However, if you notice your pond getting pretty dirty and overgrown with algae, or if you suspect chemical pollution, then you might want to change the water. In that case, change 20% of the water in your pond once a week or so for a few weeks. This simply means removing about 20% of the old water from your pond and replacing it with fresh tap water from the faucet. Avoid changing all the water at once. Scooping out leaves and other debris from the pond regularly using a net is another easy way to help keep the water clean and clear.

Overall, koi are remarkably hardy and healthy fish, much more so than even goldfish or other tropical fish. Koi can withstand a wide range of temperatures. Healthy koi can even survive under the ice in extreme cold as long as the water does not freeze solid. They will not move around or eat much if the pond water is very cold, basically hibernating. Needless to say, koi generally do not need heating. Of course, for optimum health and comfort of the fish, it is recommended that you avoid huge fluctuations in temperature and pH of the water, and perhaps use some heating during the winter months. As for food, feeding koi once or twice a day is good. There are a variety of pellet fish foods that are specially designed for koi. Koi can also be fed dried or fresh shrimp, lettuce, cooked rice or cooked oats.

Keeping koi requires some space and work, but raising them is a very fascinating and rewarding hobby. Their beauty, fame, hardiness, and longevity make them well worth it. For the avid koi enthusiast, there are koi shows in which koi compete according to their size and class, often for huge prizes. There are also hundreds of koi clubs throughout the U.S. and the rest of the world.

What brings life and beauty to your backyard, adds value and landscaping to your home, requires little maintenance, and promotes wildlife and natural ecosystems? A backyard pond! A unique alternative to the aquarium, pond keeping is a fascinating and rewarding hobby. First of all, fish are particularly fun and interesting to watch in a pond because it is such a wonderful simulation of their natural habitat in the wild. Secondly, the pond itself is a natural, relaxing, and scenic addition that can provide entertainment and enjoyment, while adding value and landscaping to your property.

The other great thing about having a small backyard pond is that they are also extremely effective in drawing wildlife right to your backyard. As a major source of outdoor water, it will be used and appreciated by neighborhood wildlife such as frogs, turtles, dragonflies, butterflies, birds, and other small animals. Did you know that ponds are currently considered an endangered natural habitat by U.S. wildlife conservation agencies? By attracting and supporting wildlife, you and your pond will play a part in promoting and protecting the natural ecosystem and the environment by contributing to the security and protection of many species. In addition, a pond and the natural ecosystem that it builds offer a wonderful opportunity for your family to observe, enjoy, study, and interrelate with wildlife in your own back yard.

Many different types of ponds are available depending on your budget, the level of energy and time that you want to put into the pond, and your backyard or space requirements. Basically, you can make your own pond or go buy one. The pond can be as simple as a small plastic “tub” pond you can buy at your local pet shop, a large water bowl, or even half of an old wooden barrel with a plastic liner. These can be placed on the patio and provide many of the same benefits as a pond built in to the ground, although you will probably not be able to keep large fish in it and there will be less potential for attracting a lot of wildlife.

There are also numerous tub kits available that can be as simple as adding water, a pump, and some plants. If you are feeling a bit more industrious, you can dig your own natural pond in the backyard, and finish it by lining it with plastic pond liner or even with a concrete or tile coating. You can then put dirt in the bottom of plastic or concrete ponds to make the ponds more organic. If you buy a pond, it will come with detailed instructions about how to install it.

How big should a backyard pond be? A pond can be as small as one foot to two feet across, to as big as a small lake. Ponds can hold from a few gallons to many thousands of gallons. The important concern is the pond’s depth. Your pond, or at least part of it, should be at least two to three feet deep. This depth is important and has three benefits. First of all, it will allow for a greater diversity of plants and fish to live in the pond. Secondly of all, it protects your fish from being possibly eaten by larger wildlife such as raccoons and herons. Thirdly, this depth keeps your pond cooler in the summer months and it will weather the winter better.

You can create tiers around the inside of the pond at various depths to allow you to place aquatic plants of different heights in the pond. Also, to help insure that small animals do not fall into the pond and drown, you can place partially submerged rocks or logs in the water, arrange some rocks or bricks into a step like fashion leading into the pool, or leave a shelf that is no more than two inches deep if you dig the pool.

Now, where do you put the pond? The main thing is to avoid putting the pond under large trees. That is because most fish and aquatic plants will grow better where they can get enough full sun each day. Specifically, you should situate your pond where it will get at least five hours of sunlight each day. The other reason for keeping ponds away from large trees is to avoid having too many leaves fall into the pond and decay there, which would be unsightly for you and unhealthy for the fish. If you plan to use a pump to recirculate water, use a filter, or light the area, be sure electrical service is available near the pond.

It will be a very good idea to get some pond plants to plant inside your pond. Pond plants are beautiful and interesting in appearance, and are also very important to the natural balance of the garden pond. Emergent and floating plants are water plants that have their roots in the water but their shoots and broad leaves floating above water. These include cattails, hyacinths, and water lilies. Submergent plants, or those that remain completely under water, include elodea and eelgrass. Finally, you may want to plant some flowers or plants around the pond. This will make your pond even more beautiful and help further attract wildlife.

As for pond aeration and filtration, you can use natural methods, mechanical methods, or a combination of both. In most ponds, pond plants will provide sufficient oxygenation and aeration for the fish. The emergent and floating pond plants mentioned above will help reduce the growth of algae which can be unsightly and consume too many nutrients from the water, while submergent plants are often used as oxygenators (this means they remove carbon dioxide from the water and add oxygen) and they will also help keep the water clear. Finally, scavengers such as snails and catfish will be sufficient for cleaning up most wastes from the bottom of the pond.

However, if you find that the pond is not being kept clean and clear enough by the natural methods in the previous paragraph, you might want to get a pump and filter system for your pond, especially if you plan to keep a lot of fish in the pond. A good filter system will filter the pond’s entire volume every couple of hours, removing solid and chemical waste from your pond pretty much completely. There are also filters that come with aerators built into them. These filters will return the water to the pond by a waterfall or fountain, which not only looks very nice but also aerates the pond extremely well.

With sufficient natural and/or mechanical aeration and filtration, your pond should not need to be cleaned very often. Normally, cleaning or changing the water once a year in the early spring is sufficient. However, if you notice your pond getting pretty dirty, overgrown with algae, or if you suspect chemical pollution, then you might want to change the water. In that case, change 20% of the water in your pond once a week or so for a few weeks. This simply means removing about 20% of the old water from your pond and replacing it with fresh tap water from the faucet. Avoid changing all the water at once. Adding fresh water to your pond occasionally will help keep the water clean and clear, and prevent excessive algae growth. Scooping out leaves and other debris from the pond by using a net or similar tool is another easy way to help keep the water clean and clear.

Now, let us take a look at some pond fish. There are a great variety of fish that do well in ponds. Some of the most popular and hardy are koi, goldfish, and catfish or plecostomus. There are also many sub-varieties of these fish. Most goldfish are relatively inexpensive, hardy, and are great for ponds. Koi are one of the more popular fish added to ponds. These fish are large, beautiful, colorful, hardy, and can live up to 70 years when properly cared for. You can put goldfish with your koi, but make sure to put about the same size fish together. Whatever fish you put in your pond, feed them food sparingly. Floating food that is specifically made for pond fish can be found at your local pet store. If your fish do not eat all of the food in 10 minutes, get a net and scoop out the uneaten food.

As you can see, keeping a pond and pond fish can be a very rewarding and fun hobby. The setup may take some time and effort, but the rewards are well worth it and maintaining the pond is not very hard at all. If you are interested in having a pond, now is a good time to start thinking about it and planning it because early spring is the best time for pond setup. Springtime is the best time to install a pond because you can start planting and stocking your pond right after you have finished it so that you can enjoy the fruits of your work almost immediately, and because most wildlife tend to be the most active in the springtime and will be more likely to find their way to your beautifully blooming pond.

Be different and stand out, and be a patron of wildlife – get a pond!