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It is very important to make partial water changes in your aquarium on a regular basis to keep your aquarium beautiful and clean and to keep your fish healthy.

If your tank is large – bigger than 20 gallons – it can go longer between changes. If an aquarium is small – 20 gallons or less – you should change water more often. You may also need to change your water more often if you keep a lot of fish in your aquarium as it will get dirty quicker.

If the tank has just been set up, change 1/3 of the water once a week for the first 6 weeks if it is a smaller tank. For a larger tank, change 1/3 of the water once every two weeks for the first 6 weeks.

As the aquarium gets established, after about 6 weeks, you can go about a month between water changes. However, if the water gets very cloudy or if the fish look stressed, change 1/3 of the water right away. Do make sure never to change all of your water at once, and of course do not take down and empty your aquarium for cleaning.

You should not remove your fish or your gravel when changing the water. If your gravel is taken out and washed, all of the beneficial bacteria will die, causing great stress and risk of sickness in your fish.

So what tools do you need to change that water?

The answer is: one clean 5 gallon bucket (two if you have a large aquarium and thus have more than about 5 gallons of old dirty water to remove, or just use one very large bucket), some good water conditioner or dechlorinator (this is for removing chlorine and other impurities from the fresh faucet tap water that you will be getting to replace that 1/3 of the old aquarium water you will be removing), and a siphon gravel cleaner.

The siphon gravel cleaner is one of the best devices for cleaning aquariums or changing aquarium water because it removes the old water from your aquarium and the dirt out of the gravel in one step. This device will help make your water changes quick and easy, and it is available at your local pet store.

Now that you have gathered your three tools, here is exactly what to do with them to change your water (for your convenience, steps 1 through 6 have been illustrated for you in the figures at the bottom of this article):

1. Get your siphon gravel cleaner and buckets ready next to the aquarium (the water conditioner or dechlorinator will be used later). See Figure 1 below.
2. Place your siphon gravel cleaner into the aquarium with the tip up and put your thumb over the bottom end of the cleaner’s tube. See Figure 2 below.
3. Raise the tube out of the water and the water will fill up the tube. See Figure 3 below.
4. Push the tube back into the tank with tip up. See Figure 4 below.
5. With the tube full of old dirty water, now simply let your thumb off, and the old dirty water will start to flow from the tank into the bucket automatically by gravity. See Figure 5 below.
6. In the meantime, move the siphon gravel cleaner back and forth on the bottom of the tank just like a vacuum cleaner, and this will pull the dirt out of the gravel and siphon it with the old water out into your bucket. Pinch the tube to restrict flow. See Figure 6 below.
7. After about 1/3 of the old water has been removed from the tank, remove the siphon gravel cleaner from the tank, and go throw this bucket of old dirty water out.
8. Rinse the bucket out, put your water conditioner or dechlorinator in the bucket, and then put your bucket in the bathtub or a deep sink. Add fresh tap water to the water. Adjust the hot and cold water, using a thermometer, to get the temperature to about 78 degrees (between 76 and 80 degrees is usually good enough) for most tropical fish.
9. Wait about 15 minutes for the water conditioner or dechlorinator to do its work on that tap water, then pour the water in to your aquarium. Of course make sure you add enough new water to replace all of that 1/3 of the old dirty water you removed.

Figure 1 - Get your siphon gravel cleaner and buckets ready next to the aquarium.

Figure 2 - Place your siphon gravel cleaner into the aquarium with the tip up and put your thumb over the bottom end of the cleaner's tube.

Figure 3 - Raise the tube out of the water and the water will fill up the tube.

Figure 4 - Push the tube back into the tank with tip up.

Figure 5 - With the tube full of old dirty water, now simply let your thumb off, and the old dirty water will start to flow from the tank into the bucket automatically by gravity.

Figure 6 - In the meantime, move the siphon gravel cleaner back and forth on the bottom of the tank just like a vacuum cleaner, and this will pull the dirt out of the gravel and siphon it with the old water out into your bucket. Pinch the tube to restrict flow.

Outdoor ponds have become very popular, and with colorful koi and goldfish, can be very beautiful.

There are many shapes and sizes in outdoor ponds, and it will help you to know how many gallons your pond holds. To calculate the number of gallons in your pond, multiply length times width times average depth in feet, and this will give you cubic feet. Then take this and multiply times 7.5, which is the number of gallons in a cubic foot.

The sun is one of the main outdoor factors that will affect your pond, so you will want to try to locate your pond such that it is not totally in the sun all of the time. The sun can cause a lot of algae to grow. Over time your pond is likely to become dirty. This can be caused by fish and leaves, dust, insects and other dirt and debris falling into your pond. A good pump and filter will help to keep your pond clean.

Also it is a good idea not to overcrowd your pond with too many fish. In a 300 gallon pond, for example, about 12 4-6 inch fish would be about right. This doesn’t sound like much, but remember that all goldfish, and all koi will grow much larger. A goldfish can reach a foot in length, and koi can reach 2 feet in length. If all 12 fish were koi, and they all grew to full size, the pond would be very overcrowded.

Something else that helps is very careful feeding of your fish. Just feed a few pellets per fish. Fish do not need as much food as you think they do. They can also eat insects that fall into the pond.

Get a pump and filter that is sized correctly for your pond and fish. A waterfall, or a water fountain is also a good idea, as this adds oxygen to the water.

Now, if your pond should turn cloudy, check to see if it is a gray cloudy, or a green cloudy. Green cloudy water is very common in the summer in outdoor ponds. This green water is caused by green algae that is suspended in the water.

Tips to get rid of green water:

1. Have a very good pump and filter for your pond.
2. Do not overcrowd or overfeed your fish.
3. You may want to make a partial water change in your pond, if your pond is not very large. Siphon or scoop leaves and sediment off of the bottom as you do this.
4. Add a product called ALGAEFIX to your pond, this will kill the algae. According to the directions, you will add some once a week to keep it under control. You may end up with cloudy, polluted water after killing all of your algae, if you had quite a lot of algae. The dead algae can pollute. You will want to make a water change, and clean your filter often.
5. You can add a product called ACCU-CLEAR to your pond, and this may help clear up the water after killing the algae.
6. Have a lot of water lilies, and other pond plants. These plants will help shade your water from the sun, and plants also use up nitrates and other food that makes the algae grow.
7. You may want to add a product called WATER SHADE. This will tint your water blue. This will help shade the water from the effects of the sun.
8. You can also buy an ultraviolet sterilizer, that when hooked up inline with your water pump, will kill all of the algae that passes through it. These can be a little expensive, but they do work.

If your pond should happen to develop a cloudy gray color, this is different from algae.

This kind of cloudiness can be caused from overcrowding or overfeeding your fish. If this is the case, remove some fish, and cut back on the food. You may want to make a water change of about 1/3 to 1/2 if you can. Make sure that you use a dechlorinating conditioner when you fill it. Make sure that you have a good pump, filter, and either a waterfall, or fountain. Clean the filter often.

Schooling fish are some of the most interesting fish to keep. One of the most enjoyable scenes in an aquarium is a group of beautiful and colorful fish swimming in unison, changing directions in an instant, yet never colliding with each other. These fish tend to be very active, energetic, and a lot of fun to watch. Most schooling fish are also very hardy fish that can be kept well in just a 10 to 20 gallon aquarium and will take all sorts of food. And sometimes, a school of fish can even be used to distract aggressive fish from fighting.

The three hardiest and most common schooling fish for the aquarium are barbs, danios, and tetras. Barbs and danios belong to the large Cyprinid family of freshwater tropical fish which also includes all koi, carp, goldfish, and minnows. Tetras belong to the smaller Characin family. Now, let us take a closer look at these fascinating schooling fish.

Tetras

Tetras come in a huge variety of colors and patterns, and two of the most popular ones are the Neon Tetra and the Cardinal Tetra. These two are quite attractive red and blue fish. The red line on the Cardinal runs from the head on back, while in the Neon it starts only in the belly region. These two tetras do need slightly more soft and acidic water, with a pH between 6 and 6.5.

There are also plenty of hardier tetras out there for beginners without special water, and they are often just as beautiful and exciting. These include the distinctive Black or Black Skirt Tetra, the brightly colored Glow Light Tetra, the radiant orange Jewel Tetra, the Flame Tetra, and the red-tailed Pristella Tetra. All of the tetras mentioned stay at a manageable maximum size of about two inches long or less. All tetras are best kept in groups of six or more of the same species.

Barbs

There are many kinds of barbs to choose from as well, with the most popular ones being Cherry Barbs and Tiger Barbs. Small and manageable (stays under two inches long), with a beautiful orange-red to cherry-red coloration, Cherry Barbs are terrific beginner fish that are peaceful, long-lived and school well. They are best kept in small schools of either three or four.

The Tiger Barb is a very beautiful and colorful barb that usually has four blue-black bands running across the body, with bright red-orange fins. The rest of the body is a brown-orange color and the back is almost like an olive green. The scales when viewed under the right light have an iridescent gold or brass look to them. The males are usually slimmer and more colorful than the females. Tiger Barbs are also extremely playful and curious fish. The only drawback is that Tiger Barbs are known to nip the fins of long-finned fish such as Angelfish or fancy Bettas. This problem can be alleviated by keeping them in schools of at least six of the same species.

Danios

Like the other schooling fish mentioned above, danios are also very energetic and fast fish that are a lot of fun to watch. In the meantime, they are very peaceful and non-aggressive fish that have almost zero reputation for bothering any other fish in a community tank. Most danios are also quite hardy and easy to keep, great for beginners. They will do great in groups of five or six.

Some of the most popular danios are the Giant Danio and Zebra Danio. The Giant Danio can grow up to four inches long and is a very hardy fish. The bottom of its body is a bluish gray, while their fins are transparent with just a hint of yellow. The most striking color comes from the yellow and blue stripes and markings that cover the Giant Danio’s sides.

The Zebra Danio has been called one of the “bread and butter” fish because of its ease of keeping, continued popularity, and its favorable price and availability. The males have gold stripes and blue-black stripes and females tend to have silver stripes in place of the gold ones. Zebra Danios grow up to about two or three inches long. They are slightly less hardy than most other tropical fish in terms of temperatures, doing best at a lower temperature of 65 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit.

As for food, barbs, danios, and tetras are largely omnivorous (eating both animal and vegetable foods) and will eat just about anything. They will eat dried, commercial flake food or freeze dried foods, but should also occasionally be treated to live foods such as blood worms, brine shrimp, and mosquito larvae. The best temperature for most tropical fish, including most schooling fish (unless otherwise stated) in this article, is around 75 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit, and the pH range should be between 6 and 8.

Most barbs, danios, and tetras do not pose a problem when mixed together, including males. They may sometimes break out of schools and chase each other, but usually they do not cause any trouble or injury as they are simply enjoying life and having fun. And although a few schooling fish such as the Tiger Barb may nip the fins of some long-finned fish, as long as they are kept in a school of five or six of their own species, they will cause no trouble.

One thing to avoid with schooling fish is adding a new member to the school. Any school of fish will establish a pecking order in the aquarium. When you add a new member of this species, then entire school order is disrupted. The established members of the school are healthy, familiar with each other, and adapted to life in your aquarium. The newly introduced member of the school has not had the opportunity to settle into your aquarium and is stressed from the move. The easy solution to this problem is to simply add all of the members of a school to the aquarium on the same day.

All in all, schooling fish can add spectacular color, beauty, energy, and fun to a community aquarium. If you have not tried schooling fish yet, there is no reason not to. Beautiful, easy-to-keep, and relatively inexpensive, most are ideal for the beginning hobbyist yet exciting enough for the seasoned fish owner. If you have any questions regarding schooling fish and their care, just ask us and we will help you any way we can.