If you have recently purchased your aquarium from a pet shop chances are that the system was fully set up for you. Such an aquarium will in all probability be self sufficient and can take care of itself for extended periods of time. However, it is important to know how to take care of your aquarium manually too. It is important to keep a tab on the water conditions of the aquarium. The type of fish you keep in the tank as well as the kind and quantity of water plants in the tank play an important role in keeping the water clean and the fish healthy.

Many tropical fish are used to living in softwater, tetras for example thrive in rain water. This means that the water has got to be as near to purity as possible. This is why it is important to get a hold of a hydrometer to test the hardness of the tank water frequently. This is easily available from any fish store. If you find that the water is getting hard it is best that you add some fresh water to the tank at regular intervals after removing some of the out of the tank.

So how do you go about avoiding the hardening of water?
First of all do not use limestone as a lining at the bottom of the tank. This is a sure way of hardening the water and is a resort used in saltwater tanks. Regularly test the water for hardness as explained above. Add fresh water to the tank to soften the water regularly. When you notice white deposits on the aquarium glass it is an indication that the water is hardening. While testing the pH of the water with a hydrometer remember that the natural level of the pH is 7. Try to maintain this level.

Try not to keep the aquarium too crowded with aquatic plants. Fish need freedom to dart around or cruise and the plants do tend to get in their way. besides this you cannot enjoy the full pleasure of the fish as the plants tend to hide them from view.

Keep the temperature of the water at 20 degrees. This is a comfortable level and the fish will stay healthy and lively. There are automatic heaters available at the local pet store and you can get yourself a handy one at a very reasonable price. These heaters are set to maintain the temperature of the water automatically so you do not have to worry.

You must also get your tank a water filter. This is a pumping mechanism that sucks water into the tank and sends it through a membrane filter. It cleans the water very effectively and needs to be manually cleaned with boiled water at regular intervals like once in 6 weeks. Remember not to over clean the filter as the bacteria on it is important. this bacteria helps in cleaning the water of fish excreta.

The water filter serves two other important purposes as well. It circulates the water in the tank and splashes the surface of the water constantly allowing the water to absorb oxygen.

If you have all this in your tank and you know know to take care of the instruments your fish will be happier, healthier and your tank will look good longer.

Abhishek Agarwal
http://www.articlesbase.com/pets-articles/caring-for-aquarium-fish-some-useful-tips-740453.html

As a beginner first learning the ins and outs of keeping an aquarium healthy, things can get a bit overwhelming. There is so much terminology and equipment, it is enough to make anyone's head spin. Learning it all a piece at a time is recommended. Patience is key in many things relating to keeping aquariums. A fish often recommended to beginners is the goldfish. Commonly available, and quite pretty when healthy, the goldfish is one of the easier fish to keep healthy and happy. Be prepared to do some reading, however. There are terms and procedures to become familiar with.

The aquarium is absolutely critical to being able to keep healthy fish, no matter what kind of fish it is. Proper care and maintenance of your aquarium is necessary, and there are daily and weekly procedures that must be followed. The first step in keeping a goldfish is choosing the aquarium. While you may see goldfish in bowls and other small containers on television and even in real life, this is really a bad idea. While a goldfish can live for a while in a small bowl like that, they will never really thrive, and will be more susceptible to disease and death. A 10 gallon minimum aquarium with filtration should be the minimum you consider for keeping a goldfish. The filter running into the aquarium agitates the surface of the water and provides more oxygen to the water, which in turn means the fish has plenty of oxygen and is healthier. More room to swim, and even some currents from the filtration, make sure that the goldfish stays happy and in shape. Don't forget to take the number of goldfish into account! More than one goldfish will require more space.

Ask the guys at your local pet store or aquarium shop (recommended) what they recommend. Don't buy too much tank at first though. Try to keep it small and simple. Tell them how many fish you intend to keep, and whether you would like to add fish later. Always do some research before buying a product you are not familiar with. There are a ton of accessories and products associated with aquariums and fish. Doing some research beforehand can keep you from buying products you don't need.

Unless you have access to well water, your tap water probably contains chlorine or ammonia. These substances are very harmful to your goldfish, and can even kill them if you have particularly chlorinated water. There are products available that you simply mix thoroughly into your tap water after filling the aquarium. They usually remove chlorine as well as adding things to the water to help your fish form its slime coat and fight off ick (a small parasite that is extremely common on fish that are stressed). If you would rather use distilled or reverse osmosis purified water, there are other additives that restore needed minerals into these too-pure waters.

Make sure you check the filters once a week, and rinse them out with dechlorinated water of some type. It is okay to use distilled water for this. It is common to get snails living on your filters. Try not to crush them, and remove them during your weekly cleaning. It is not recommended that you put these types of snails back into your aquarium, because they tend to over-breed and eat every bit of plant matter in your aquarium.

It is also necessary to keep the aquarium at a fairly constant temperature. An aquarium heater can be used to control the water temperature with some precision. You should also have an aquarium thermometer to verify the water temperature.

Abhishek Agarwal
http://www.articlesbase.com/pets-articles/aquarium-and-fish-care-how-to-take-care-of-your-goldfish-740432.html

TAKE A LOOK AT MY OTHER VIDEOS

http://www.fischbottich.de/Goldfisch.207.0.html

[Carassius auratus auratus]
+++
This is one of eight goldfish in my tank. They are still to small to
survive the redfin perch in my pond. So they stay with pumpkinseeds,
Gudgeons, Goldfish and Rudds in the tank until they are grown up.
+++
The population of this 200 liter (53 gallon) tank:

Pumpkinseed sunfish / Sonnenbarsche [Lepomis gibbosus]
Stone loach / Bachschmerlen [Barbatula barbatula]
Rudd / Rotfedern [Scardinius erythrophthalmus]
Goldfish / Goldfisch [Carassius auratus auratus]
Amur bitterling / Bitterlinge [Rhodeus amarus]
Prussian Carp / Giebel [Carassius gibelio]
Tench / Schleie [Tinca tinca]

Duration : 0:0:52

Technorati Tags: Aquaristik, aquarium, aquatic, Äquator, Aue, aufnahme, bach, Becken, Biotop, coldwater, einheimisch, elodea, endemic, endemisch, Eurasien, europäisch, europe, Fauna, fische, fish, Flosse, fluss, freshwater, füttern, gallon, Gartenteich, Gesellschaft, gewässer, heimisch, Hobby, Hornkraut, kaltwasser, Kiemen, light, liter, Mitteleuropa, Natur, Pflanzen, planted, plants, pond, Schwarm, schwimmen, sea, See, Süßwasser, tank, Teich, Tiere, Tümpel, unterwasser, Vallisneria, water, Weiher, wildfische, Wirbellose

This is my 300l (ca. 75 gal.) malawi tank with fishes / cichlids / mbuna from lake Malawi, east africa. My Malawi tank / aquarium is decorated only with rocks, this is necessary because mbuna from lake malawi are rock dwelling cichlids. Mbuna like rocks, caves and sand, so the malawi tank has to be decorated with huge stones. They are quite agressive and territoral at times but belong to the most beautiful and colorful sweetwater fishes.

In my Malawi tank, i keep Labeotropheus trewavasae, Tropheops Macrophtalmus, Pseudotropheus Saulosi, Maylandia Estherae, Labidochromis Hongi and Labidochromis caeruleus (Yellow). Especially the Labeotropheus and Tropheops are mbuna / mbunas that look very good and show interesting behaviour.

Tropheops macrophthalmus is the only mbuna / cichlid / fish in my malawi tank that has got a name. And no, its not nemo! I call him "Saddam" because he is sometimes a little tyrant!

Duration : 0:4:36

Technorati Tags: african, aquarium, cichlids, estherae, labeotropheus, malawi, maylandia, mbuna, nemo, pseudotropheus, saulosi, tank, yellow, zebra

Before buying koi fish, make sure the pond is suitable for the fish, the water is ready and cycled and a good source has been found to purchase koi from. Purchase koi fish for a pond with tips from an aquarium shop owner in this free video on aquariums.

Expert: Chris Simms
Contact: www.aquatic-central.com
Bio: Chris Simms owns Aquatic Central in San Francisco, Calif.
Filmmaker: Bing Hu

Duration : 0:2:16

Technorati Tags: aquariums, Betta fish, exotic pets, fish, fish care, fish tanks, goldfish, Koi, pet fish

Treating swim bladder disease in goldfish requires adding oraim salt to a tank to help digestion and not feeding them any food. Treat swim bladder disease in goldfish with tips from an aquarium shop owner in this free video on aquariums.

Expert: Chris Simms
Contact: www.aquatic-central.com
Bio: Chris Simms owns Aquatic Central in San Francisco, Calif.
Filmmaker: Bing Hu

Duration : 0:1:53

Technorati Tags: aquariums, Betta fish, exotic pets, fish, fish care, fish tanks, goldfish, Koi, pet fish

There are about 20,000 odd species of fish and instructions on the care of these would be extremely unwieldy. Hence the basics of tank management are covered here for your help in caring for your Fish and Aquarium. Furry creatures on land have natural coats to protect them. However, the fish are not so fortunate. Hence the right water temperature is critical for their survival. If it is too high, their oxygen supply is diminished. Too low temperature affects their health. Therefore, it is very important to go through your instruction brochure/manual which comes with the purchase of every aquarium. You must know exactly the right gravity and temperature essential for your fish to remain healthy. Goldfish requires the temperature to be at 75 degrees Fahrenheit. Tropical fish can survive at 75 degrees Fahrenheit, or in the range 80-85 degrees Fahrenheit.

Aquarium suppliers include a thermometer and at times a heater along with the aquarium purchase, depending on your chosen fish type. Goldfish can withstand lower temperatures.

Measurement of water
An important criterion to measure water is its pH, which is essentially the sourness of the water. Again, the requirement is dependent on the fish type. For saltwater fish, the pH of the water can be in the range 7.8 to 8.3; for freshwater fish, it is 6.8 to 7.2. One needs to monitor the water pH as in water with higher pH, the ammonia produced is more. In water of too low a temperature, it becomes harmful to bacteria which denitrify growth and also to fish gills. Buffers and test kits to maintain the pH balance of fish water can be purchased. In addition, water gravity and oxygen content need to be measured which is discussed here.

What is the requirement of oxygen for the fish?
Oxygen is critical to fish survival, as for humans and land animals. Insufficient oxygen causes brain death leading to physical death. Oxygen is supplied to fish tanks by air and water, which can be increased by using pumps or air supply, which provides turbulence to create oxygen. Additionally,if you maintain coolness of water, it will increase oxygen supply.

How should you measure the gravity?
Gravity is directly proportional to the chemical amounts added to the water. Unadulterated aquarium water has an ionic gravity of 1.0. For saltwater fish, the gravity level should not go beyond 1.023. Saltwater fish illness can be reduced by maintaining the gravity at 1.017 level. Low salt volume addition to the water is beneficial for freshwater or non-marine fish particularly to reduce stress. Test kits and refactometers should be purchased to maintain the gravity level.

How to maintain aquariums for saltwater fish?
This is a little difficult question to answer. Marine environments undergo consistent changes and saltwater fish are essentially marine creatures. So the ideal habitat for them would depend on the aquarium type you have purchased for them. In a larger aquarium, it is easier to maintain saltwater fish by keeping the stability of the environment. If you are yet to purchase your saltwater fish, please note that the Damsels which is a beginners saltwater fish is, in fact, very aggressive and it does not cohabit well with other fish. On the other hand, it is easier to maintain this fish than a wide variety of other saltwater fish.

A lot of information is available on the internet where you can learn everything about fish care and aquariums.

Abhishek Agarwal
http://www.articlesbase.com/pets-articles/aquarium-and-fish-care-heres-all-the-help-you-need-740510.html

There are several hobbies one can have that turn in to real passion some day. One among them is maintaining an aquarium. This hobby though is a serious one as there is no room for mistakes else you shall land up harming or killing a living creature.

Thee right place to gather ample knowledge about your fish and their house that is the aquarium is the library next door, or the global network that is the World Wide Web or the internet.

There are several starter kits available online. You shall also come across loads of information on some beginner fishes to start with this interesting hobby.

But before diving in to this interesting field here are some essential tips to remember:

1. In order to maintain your fish tank well enough, you must understand the nitrogen cycle. This cycle involves nitrates, ammonia and nitrites. The fishes naturally produce these chemicals in the water they live in. Its your job to balance these chemicals so that the water remains healthy for your fishes to survive.

2. The beginners in this hobby find it difficult to balance the ammonia in the water. In that case you could consider banking on the starter kits available online. These kits contain additives like ammonia. Basically these kits supply you with a mechanism to artificially control the degree of ammonia in the fish tank.

3. These kits also guide you through or at times make available the apt beginner fishes. These types of fishes naturally produce ammonia in an adequate amount.

4. In case you are beginning with a coldwater tank, the best option would be to have a goldfish.

5. Make sure that your fish tank contains ample amount of plants. They not only beautify the fish tank but also purify the water in the tank by absorbing the chemicals & providing oxygen.

6. The water plants break down water and ammonia. Then these plants filter the ammonia & the bad or contaminated pat of the water that is the portion that contains bacteria.

7. Plants maintain the balance between all the chemicals in the fish tank as the fishes produce lot of ammonia.

8. When you are ammonizing your fish tank with the starter fish, be very sure of the quantity of food you are feeding to the fish. Remember that you should feed only small amounts of the food initially.

9. The food that remains settles down at the bottom and rots down finally. This rotten food develops severely toxic chemicals that can kill your fish. So try to maintain the least amount of remaining food. The trick to do it simply is to watch your fish while feeding them. Only put in the amount of food it consumes in the first 2-3 minutes, that to only twice a day. In case of food, also make sure to read through the label of the fish that you always get on the purchase of the fish.

10. Make proper use of the test kits and make sure that you check the ammonia level in the water at regular intervals that is every week.

11. Usually, a proper ammonization process takes about 5 weeks or longer.

12. Before purchasing the fish tank make sure that you purchase the right stand to place this tank well.

13. Remember, the fish tank must not be exposed to direct sunlight and heaters, else more and more algae would develop in the tank thereby killing your fish.

14. Make sure that the gravel you add to the fish tank is absolutely clean. In case you have purchased boiled gravel, rinse it well before adding it to the tank. Else, you must boil it first and then rinse it and then add it to the tank.

15. The right way of adding gravel to the fish tank is to initiate from the back of the tank and then coming to the front.

16. The height of the gravel you add depends on the type of fish and the type of filter you would use. This is more particular for the front of the tank. The gravel layer in the front of the tank must be very light.

17. In case you are using under-gravel filters, the front layer of gravel would be very low.

18. Ideally, installing the filters and heaters is the last step in preparing the fish tank. But in case you are considering using a powered filter, you must install the filter before adding the gravel.

19. After adding the gravel, the next step is to add plants and other ornaments. Make sure that you rinse these additives well enough in order to maintain the purity of the water in the tank.

20. Be sure to select only marine based plants.

21. Initially fill the tank with only half of the total required quantity. Make use of pre-treated water while filling the tank halfway.

22. Once you are done with all the additives you can fill it up with water fully.

23. After filling in the tank with all the water required, keep a regular check on temperature of the water with a thermometer.

24. Now finally, place the filters in the fish tank.

25. Goldfish can be added to your fish tank at the beginning of the ammonization process. In case you are planning to purchase any other, fish you must wait for a few weeks so that the ammonization process gets completed in the fish tank.

26. Also, be sure that you do not add any new fish to the tank until and unless the water in there is crystal clear.

27. Check that the ideal way is to introduce only one fish at a time, and gradually increase the number of fishes in the tank. You could also consider starting with 4 different types of hardy fishes, one of each type.

28. The right way to add a fish in the tank is that you must afloat the fish in a bag in to the aquarium for around 15 minutes prior to leaving them in the tank. This would help your fish get acclimated to the temperature of the water in its new home.

29. Make sure that you do not add the water of the fish bag in to the aquarium as this water might be contaminated, or would at times affect the temperature of the aquarium and the P.H. level of the water in there.

30. You must check that the aquarium has the right amount of lighting. These lights are teamed with a hood that can be fit over the top of the aquarium. The fact is that most of the aquariums these days come along with a hood. Actually, the hood keeps away the critters and maintains the fish inside the tank. The hood id also used to regulate the lights in the tank.

Abhishek Agarwal
http://www.articlesbase.com/pets-articles/aquarium-and-fish-care-30-points-every-beginner-must-know-740430.html

THE NO MOSAIC MOD WILL NOT WORK WITH THIS(thanks to CaptainDayDreams) IF YOU CAN"T GET IT TO WORK_ TRY THIS TUTORIAL by Mirianna.

http://www.thesims3.com/contentDetail.html?contentId=190677

I have WA adventures and the fish from the base game always look flat. Others have already made tutorials on aquariums(including Amoebius), but none that I have seen included fish. So here it is and have fun! And it might be long but don't complain! Just imagine how long it took for me to figure this out and make the thing...

Duration : 0:6:22

Technorati Tags: aquarium, Sims 3

Visit www.underseadiscovery.com to discover more about Wayne's Shang Marine Aquariums.

Duration : 0:3:0

Technorati Tags: aquarium, fish, Marine, saltwater, tank