15 Common Aquarium Mistakes and How to Avoid Them: Guidelines for Beginners

Setting up an aquarium can be a fun hobby for many people and it is often something that children enjoy doing. However, there are common mistakes that beginners make when setting up their first tank which may cause them to not have the best experience in the future. This article will cover 1 common Aquarium Mistakes and How to Avoid Them: Guidelines for Beginners so that you know what you should do before getting started.

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1. Beginning With an Aquarium That is Too Small

Small aquariums are more difficult to maintain than larger aquariums, many beginners make the mistake by assuming a small fish tank would be the best option to start with, Conditions in larger aquariums are more stable, meaning that you have more time to fix problems before they get out of control. Fish tanks 20-55 gallons are ideal for the first-time aquarist. Always start with the largest you can afford and your space provides.

15 Common Aquarium Mistakes and How to Avoid Them small fish tank

2. Not Cycling an Aquarium

A new fish tank needs to be cycled before introducing fish into the water. There are products that can help with the cycling process that will speed the process up, cycling is a process that creates a safe environment for fish, once happy that an aquarium is cycled introduce fish slowly to the tank and monitor them.

3. Purchasing Aquarium and Fish at The Same Time

It is not a good idea to purchase fish at the same time that you purchase an aquarium.

Purchase the aquarium setup first and set it up in the exact same way as if fish were in the tank.

Ghost feed the tank for at least 3 days, this will allow you to test the ph levels of the water before introducing fish.

4. Overfilling The Aquarium with Fish

The size of the aquarium will determine how many fish you should introduce to the tank, also the size of the fish will determine this too. The more fish you have the more fish waste they produce which makes it much harder to maintain, a spike in ammonia and nitrite could harm your fish or even kill them so do not put too many fish into an aquarium.

5. Not Testing Regularly

It is important to test the water of an aquarium regularly after initial setup, we would recommend using test strips that can test your fish water quickly, this test is best completed once a week.

6. Buying Male and Female Fish

Many new fish keepers don’t consider the fact that male and female fish will reproduce, in no time at all you might find your ten fish are all of a sudden twenty fish or more, so unless you have a monster of an aquarium ask the pet store owner to select the same-sex fish for your fish tank if you do not want them to reproduce.

7. Overfeeding Fish

Feeding fish is one of the most common mistakes new fish keepers make.

Fish always look hungry but they can be harmed if you keep feeding them.

Your fish should be fed once a day the quantity of food will depend on the amount of fish you are feeding.

The easiest way to judge the correct amount of food is to put an amount of food in the tank that takes approximately 2 minutes for them to eat.

8. Buying The Wrong Equipment

It is important that any equipment purchased for an aquarium can cope with its physical size. A heater or filter designed for a 30 ltr fish tank will not work well in a 120ltr aquarium.

9. Choosing The Wrong Fish

It is important to research the fish you are intending to keep, the most common fish kept in an aquarium are tropical coldwater fish and tropical saltwater fish. Make sure the fish you intend to keep have the correct tank setup.

10. Mixing The Wrong Fish Types

Depending on the types of fish you keep in your aquarium always ask your fish shop about the different varieties of fish, some types of fish don’t like other types and could cause you problems with bullying in the tank.

11. Leaving The Aquarium Lights On

Aquarium lights should be switched off after 8 to 10 hours it is important for the health of the fish, leaving the aquarium light all of the time will encourage algae growth and cause you problems, the aquarium light should be treated like the sun to humans, create a night and day scenario for your fish which will also simulate their natural habitat in the wild.

12. Removing Too Much Water When Cleaning

It is important to clean your fish tank every two weeks but if you take out too much water this alters the chemical balance of the water too much which could shock your fish, only take out 20% of the water when cleaning your fish tank.

13. Insufficient Aquarium Decorations

Fish tank decorations not only make your aquarium look nice they are also a valuable asset for your fish.

Decorations such as plants, caves, and buildings provide cover for smaller fish.

Even pet fish need a little downtime sometimes.

14. No Oxygen For Fish

Many new fish owners don’t realize that fish actually require a certain amount of oxygen to survive, an underwater bubble blower oxygenates the water for fish and is an important part of a setup that shouldn’t be overlooked.

15. No Aquarium Cover

It is surprising just how high a pet fish can jump out of the water, it is important to have a fish tank cover on your aquarium or you could find your expensive pet fish flapping around on your carpet.

Thank you for reading this article “15 common aquarium mistakes and how to avoid them: guidelines for beginners” we hope you found it useful if you would like to leave a comment below perhaps with some mistakes you made when first keeping fish.