Caring for a large aquarium at home. Home aquarium for beginners, proper care of the fish in it

Having a burning desire to buy an aquarium, it is not at all difficult, in a spiritual impulse, to buy it, fill it with water, and start the fish. At first, such an aquarium will even delight you with its beauty, because judge for yourself: the water is clean and transparent, the fish are freshly purchased and without diseases, the glass is not covered with a thin film of plaque.

But everything in life “flows” and changes. As a result of the interaction of fish, plants, water and microorganisms contained in it, some changes will occur over time, some of them will not be for the better. Therefore, in order for the aquarium to always please the eye, it is necessary to take care of it. In fact, this care is not that difficult.

Of course, every aquarist wants to quickly get the aquarium of their dreams. And for this now we have everything we need. The input includes mineral fertilizers and fertilizers for plants, various water conditioners containing bacteria useful for water exchange processes.

But the main thing here is not to overdo it. After filling the aquarium with water and populating it with fish and plants, biochemical processes begin in it - a stable mini-ecosystem begins to form, and in fact, the larger the volume of the aquarium, the more stable the ecosystem will be. It takes quite a long time to form and you shouldn’t force this process too much, you can only help a little (add drugs to “quickly” start the aquarium). You shouldn’t constantly tinker with the aquarium, rearrange something, or constantly change the water.

Maintenance is necessary as needed (it is enough to partially change the water once a week, wash the filter, clean the glass and siphon the soil).

You should also not go too far with feeding. It is better to underfeed a little than to overfeed. As a result, the water will remain clean, because There will be no food left behind, and the fish will be more lively and active.

The basic rule is not to disturb the inhabitants of your aquarium without reason; the less you disturb them, the better they feel.

In the event of any serious disasters - mass death of fish, severe turbidity of the water, excessive growth of harmful algae, it is necessary to take extreme measures, i.e. carry out general cleaning (completely change the water, wash the aquarium, rinse the soil).

Too much zeal, lack of patience, haste, sloppy actions - all these are the enemies of your beloved aquarium. If you exclude all these qualities, the aquarium will give you only positive emotions.

And now, I would like to briefly list some main aspects. Necessary actions with the aquarium should be divided into daily and weekly.

Every day you need:

In the process of observing the inhabitants of the aquarium, you should take a few minutes to make sure there are no cracks or leaks, check the thermometer readings, and the correct operation of the equipment. Also look at how polluted the water is, whether there is any suspension, foreign objects or unpleasant odor. If the water quickly becomes dirty, the filter may be of insufficient power.
While feeding the fish, count them; if there are missing ones, try to find them. If there are dead ones, remove them from the aquarium to avoid decomposition. Try not to overfeed your pets; any remaining food from the ground must be removed using a siphon. If left, the water quality will deteriorate sharply as a result of feed rotting.

Weekly you need:

Having freed access to the aquarium, it is necessary to turn off electrical appliances (lighting, compressor, filters, heaters), remove the lid (the glass covering the aquarium). It is necessary to wash the filter, wipe the heater, thermometer, oxygen supply tubes with a sponge, and be sure to clean the glass. Lighting lamps also need to be cleaned of dust and wiped.
Thin out the plants if necessary.
Siphon the soil and add the required amount of fresh, settled water (20-30%) to the aquarium (it is advisable that the temperature of the added water be close to the aquarium temperature in order to avoid sudden temperature changes, which, by the way, are very harmful to the fish).

Aquarium maintenance work should be carried out slowly, systematically and clearly, limiting itself to only the most necessary operations. After all the manipulations are completed, you will be able to appreciate the work done and enjoy the beauty and splendor of the colors of the inhabitants of your aquarium.

Millions of people breed aquarium fish. Everyone enjoys contemplating how living creatures of extraordinary beauty splash in the home water world.

And this is not without reason, because there the active life of aquatic inhabitants is combined with unearthly calm and tranquility.

Photo: life of aquatic inhabitants

What does a beginner need for fish?

You must be responsible when purchasing a home pond. An aquarium is a fragile ecosystem in which the key is to strike a balance between clear water, green plants and exotic fish.

Therefore, you should begin your acquaintance with aquariums by studying literature and communicating on relevant forums.

For a novice aquarist, it is extremely important that the inhabitants of the aquarium cause a minimum of trouble.

To do this you should select:

Photo: medium-sized aquarium

beautiful and unpretentious fish;

Photo: selection of aquarium fish in the store

several types of algae;

Photo: choosing algae for an aquarium

snails and dry food.

Photo: snails for an aquarium

Small aquariums become clogged quickly and require frequent cleaning. Large containers, although they keep the water clean longer, are more difficult to maintain.

Photo: Large containers keep the water clean longer

An aquarist cannot do without auxiliary tools:

Backlight. All inhabitants of a home pond need lighting, because the aquarium is located away from the window. Lamps for light are installed in the lid and are sold together with the aquarium. The best option is energy-saving lamps or fluorescent lamps with a power of up to 30 W.

Photo: aquarium lighting
Filter aerator. This combined device performs two functions: it purifies water and saturates it with oxygen. The filter equalizes the temperature, creates a slight circulation of water, and destroys the accumulation of bacterial films on the surface.

Photo: filter aerator for an aquarium
Heater and thermometer. These tools will allow you to control the required temperature in the aquarium and maintain it at the desired level. The optimal environmental temperature for aquarium inhabitants is 220 C.

Photo: heater and thermometer for an aquarium
Priming. To obtain lush vegetation in a pond, a sufficient volume of suitable soil is necessary. It is better not to use a colored mixture, as the coloring pigment can be toxic and will quickly kill the inhabitants of the reservoir. Shallow soil is also not suitable - it is difficult to maintain and plants do not take root well in it. The best option is granite, quartz or basalt soil with a grain diameter of up to 4 mm.

Photo: Dutch aquarium soil
Siphon. This device is used to clean the soil from dirt, food residues and plaque.

Photo: siphon for an aquarium
Feeder. This device ensures the purity of the water, as it does not allow the food to “spread” over the surface.

Photo: aquarium feeder
Net– a tool for removing unnecessary elements and catching fish.

Photo: aquarium net
Scenery. Caves, pebbles, sunken ships, castles, houses enliven any aquarium and provide a hiding place for fry and fish.

Photo: aquarium decorations

Aquarium location

The aquarium in the room should not be located near a window, or in direct sunlight, or near heating appliances.

The most suitable place for it is the depth of the room, where you can easily go with a bucket of water or a net to carry out the necessary work. When choosing a place for an aquarium, you should take into account the close location of the outlets.

The aquarium with all its contents is very heavy, so you need to choose a durable surface for it. As a rule, a built-in cabinet is used as a stand.

Photo: location of the aquarium

The height of the aquarium should be installed at eye level so that it is comfortable to watch the aquatic world while standing or sitting. You should choose the exact height according to your height. This will be convenient in terms of cleaning and feeding fish.

Living aquarium inhabitants

In addition to fish, the aquarium requires the presence of algae and snails. The latter are a “vacuum cleaner”. Crawling along the bottom, plants and walls, snails cleanse the aquatic environment of food debris and accumulated mucus.

Aquarium plants not only enrich the water with oxygen. They play an important role in establishing biological balance in the aquatic environment and take an active part in the metabolism of fish and plants themselves.

But they need constant care, as fish and snails often eat plants and spoil their appearance.

Photo: aquarium plants enrich water with oxygen

The aquarium must be maintained every day. It mainly depends on the specific type of fish, so a novice aquarist needs to know the features of keeping aquatic inhabitants.

Maintenance does not involve any complex manipulations and comes down more to inspection, checking equipment, removing rotten plants and cleaning the aquarium.

Every morning, caring for aquarium fish for beginners begins with checking the water temperature. Different categories of fish require different temperature conditions, so it is impossible to keep such inhabitants in the same container.

A novice aquarist should select fish with the same needs. If the thermometer reading drops below normal, you need to turn on the heater, and vice versa, turn it off if the water is overheated.

Photo: you should select fish with the same needs

The appearance of unwanted algae in an aquarium is inevitable. Therefore, it is necessary to get rid of fouling regularly:

clean the walls with a scraper;
clean stones and driftwood with a brush;
Use a special funnel to remove fish excrement from the soil.

Decomposition products removed in a timely manner will not affect the biological balance in the aquarium.

It is important to remember that it is prohibited to place foreign objects in your home pond. If not properly treated, they carry many bacteria that can cause various diseases in fish and reduce their numbers. In addition, sudden falling objects frighten aquatic inhabitants.

By correctly following all the rules for caring for aquarium fish, the inhabitants of your home pond will always be pleasing to the eye.

What should be the water in the aquarium?

It is extremely important to maintain a constant water level in the aquarium. If it drops, you need to carefully add pre-prepared water.

About 1-2 times a week you will have to add 5th part of the water. The water must stand for at least three days. During this time, chlorine vapor and other volatile elements will evaporate. It is strictly forbidden to use boiled water or from the tap!

Photo: it is important to maintain a constant water level in the aquarium

During daily inspection, you may notice cloudiness in the water. There is no need to panic if the loss of transparency is not due to bacteria, but to the remains of dry food.

It is very simple to eliminate this drawback:

remove debris, clean the filter;
switch the fish to live food;
if necessary, evacuate the fish from the aquarium;
populate with daphnia to purify water.

If after a while the water does not become clear and an unpleasant odor appears, you will have to do a comprehensive cleaning of the aquarium.

Feeding the fish

It is advisable to feed aquatic pets at the same time twice a day.

Before feeding the fish, you need to lure them by lightly tapping your finger on the glass. With regular and timely feeding, the inhabitants of the aquarium develop a reflex: by the time of feeding, the fish themselves rise to the surface. The amount of feed is determined experimentally.

A varied diet makes the fish healthy and strong. Since fish are prone to overeating, you cannot overfeed them; they will quickly die. It is better to give them little food than to oversaturate them with food. It will also be useful to have a fasting day once a month.

During feeding, it is advisable to give the fish different types of food:

bloodworm;

Photo: bloodworm for feeding fish

dry;

Photo: dry fish food

vegetable;

frozen.

Photo: frozen fish food

Bloodworms must be stored in the refrigerator; frozen they are no worse than alive.

Cleaning the aquarium

In order for the inhabitants of the aquarium to have an attractive appearance and be healthy, it is necessary to maintain the biological balance of the water space.

Gradually, fish waste products, rotted algae and food residues accumulate at the bottom of the home pond, and microorganisms appear on the walls.

As they accumulate, they pollute the water, emit an unpleasant odor and lead to an imbalance in the water balance. The consequences of this process result in the death of aquatic inhabitants, so cleaning the aquarium is vital.

Photo: cleaning aquariums with neodymium super magnets

The following tools are used to clean the aquarium:

various sponges, magnetic wipers and scrapers with metal or plastic blades for removing vegetation from the surface of glass;
silicone hose with a glass tip to remove dirt from the bottom;
plastic hose for draining water.

Glass cleaning is done using a sponge or various scrapers. Sometimes you can use a nylon sponge or a razor blade as a handy material.

This process should be carried out carefully so that a sharp edge or a grain of sand that accidentally gets into the fabric does not scratch the glass.

The soil is cleaned using a plastic hose with a funnel installed at one end. This end of the hose is lowered into the aquarium and the tip is drawn along the bottom.

Photo: cleaning the aquarium soil

The other end is lowered into a bucket below the level of the aquarium. Mulm, falling into the funnel, is eliminated along with muddy water according to the principle of natural drainage.

Cleaning the surface of the water from the formed film is done using a sheet of paper.

To do this, take a white and clean paper sheet, the dimensions of which correspond to the surface of the aquarium, which lies on the surface of the water.

When you lift the paper, the film remains on it. In case of heavy contamination, the process should be repeated until the film completely disappears.

Once every six months it is necessary to partially replace the water in the aquarium, thin out and replant algae.

Each time a pond is cleaned, diseased fish are removed, soil is filtered, and shells and decorative elements are cleaned. No chemicals are used when cleaning the aquarium.

Photo: device for destroying (collecting) bacterial film on the surface of water in freshwater aquariums VUPPA-I

The easiest aquarium fish to care for

At an early stage of your passion for aquarium keeping, it is worth acquiring unpretentious fish that are undemanding in terms of keeping conditions.

Possessing a variety of colors, they will delight even the most demanding aquarist:

Many types have original colors.

A medium or large-sized aquarium with these colorful fish will become an original decoration of any interior, and the aquatic inhabitants themselves can bring a lot of pleasant emotions.

In addition, unpretentious fish do not require much trouble and will bring serenity to the busy rhythm of life.

Video: aquarium for beginners. Caring for a home aquarium. Part 1

Video: aquarium for beginners. Aquarium care. Part 2

Few can argue that there is something magical and bewitching in the movement of fish. That’s why I really want to watch them for several hours a day, hoping to comprehend their secret message to all of humanity. And although the beautiful inhabitants of the deep waters do not require special care, ignorance of even basic rules can lead to their premature death. So, anyone who would like to create such a corner of comfort and beauty in their home should familiarize themselves with some of the nuances of how to care for aquarium fish.

Choosing an aquarium

So, having decided to have these magical creatures at home, the first thing you need to do is ensure that they have a comfortable habitat. And here it is worth noting that for them, as for humans, comfort and convenience are important, so here they should not be doubly neglected.

So, starting from the very shape of the aquarium, not only the quality of life of the fish depends, but also their longevity. Therefore, when choosing an aquarium, you should pay attention to:

Size. It is worth noting that not only the amount of water poured into it, but also its cleaning frequency depends on its size. After all, as you know, all living creatures on the planet have a rather unpleasant habit of shitting themselves. Therefore, when planning to buy a huge vessel, you should not be guided by thoughts about cleaning it at least once a month.
Compliance with the dimensions of the aquarium and the number of its potential inhabitants. It is for this purpose that it is best, when making a purchase, to precisely decide on those fish that will choose it in the near future. For ease of determination, professionals recommend focusing on the fact that for fish less than 5 cm, up to 5 liters of liquid is sufficient. Therefore, knowing this nuance, in the future it will be very easy to make simple mathematical calculations and calculate the required displacement of the vessel.
Creating your own landscape design. This point will help to properly create a natural habitat for most fish, which are accustomed to hiding from prying eyes behind pebbles or in algae.

Remember that the shape of the aquarium in the first place should not cause serious complications with its cleaning and cleaning. Therefore, it is best to stay with standard rectangular samples rather than spend a lot of time trying to put in order an extraordinary option.

Choosing fish

After purchasing a fish house, it is very difficult to cope with the desire to immediately acquire its “tenants”. This is what often ruins young and inexperienced aquarists. After all, it’s not enough to just buy fish and launch them. You need to know for sure that they will get along well with each other. In addition, it is imperative to check with the sellers what temperature, hardness and acidity of the water should be maintained. And this is not to mention the fact that many inhabitants of the aquatic depths cannot live in fresh water, but prefer settled water.

Important! The temperature of fresh water should not exceed the temperature of previously collected water in the aquarium.

This selectivity is very easily explained by the high content of chlorine in fresh water, which leads to a significant oxygen content in it. This is why these cute creatures like water that has been left standing for more than 2-3 days. In addition, if you don’t want to wait so many days, you can slightly increase the water temperature to 17 degrees, thereby saturating the water well with oxygen.

And the most important thing that you need to check with the seller before purchasing is, of course, what kind of food and how many times a day to feed your future pets. After all, it would be completely illogical to lose a newfound friend due to banal overfeeding, wouldn’t it?

Decorating the aquarium

A talented designer lies dormant in the soul of each of us. Therefore, it is not at all surprising that it is very difficult to find two aquariums that are similar to each other. Pebbles, algae, various plants and other paraphernalia help to dramatically change the original appearance of the purchase, making it a real work of art and a magnificent home for your fish. But in order to do everything correctly, you still need to take into account some rules.

First of all, you need to understand that this is a house, and not a container for various decor. It is necessary to bring the conditions in the aquarium as close as possible to those that existed in the natural habitat of the fish. It is worth emphasizing that this is not a matter of 5 minutes, but after painstaking and thoughtful work, the result will exceed all your expectations.

Important! Particular attention should be paid to the selection of soil.

In addition, you should not forget about such an important detail as disinfection of each new item that you plan to add to the vessel. This approach will avoid unwanted illness or even death of its inhabitants. For example, if these are pebbles, then it is best to boil them a little, after washing and cleaning them.

Good nutrition is the key to health

Many people think that the instructions for feeding fish are quite simple? By and large, this is true. After all, what could be difficult about feeding your little friends daily, regularly and in a timely manner? First of all, it is recommended to develop a conditioned reflex in them to swim up to the surface of the aquarium and lightly tap the edge of their nail on the glass. But you should also take into account the fact that some fish can become so accustomed to following the regime that they can independently swim up to get their food at the same time.

As for the diet, it is necessary to take into account the characteristics of the selected fish. Many people recommend using dry and frozen food mixed with vegetable and bloodworms. But real professionals urge you to refrain from doing this. It is better to use frozen bloodworms, which are excellently digestible by most inhabitants of the aquatic depths.

And the most important thing is not to overdo it in feeding. It seems that it is very simple, but sometimes it is so difficult to stop, looking at how enthusiastically they eat food. This is why most young aquarists begin to try to get a little more sleep, thereby causing unintentional but serious harm to the inhabitants of the aquarium.

The fact is that frequent overeating in fish significantly reduces life expectancy. An excellent indicator of the health of fish is their behavior. As soon as it changes for the worse, this is an alarm bell indicating that their food should be cut back a little, or better yet, left to starve for a while.

Taking care of the aquarium

The final stage of caring for fish at home is maintaining the aquarium in excellent conditions. To do this, you need to correctly perform a few simple steps:

Change of moisture. It should be taken into account that the frequency of water changes directly depends on the volume of the aquarium. According to the first, it will be enough to replace 20% of the moisture. But even here you should be attentive to the level of nitrates. If there is a rapid increase in them, it is recommended to replace all the water in the aquarium. The replacement itself is carried out using a siphon, which pumps out the required amount of moisture and then pours in fresh water. As a rule, the pumping itself is done from the bottom. It is also advisable to simultaneously remove detritus while pumping out moisture.
Fish inspection. Correctly selected time for carrying out preventive examination of fish will greatly facilitate the work. And many experts recommend doing it during feeding. It is during this period that most of the inhabitants swim closer to the surface, which will allow them to be examined using a flashlight. But it should be remembered that more secretive fish quite often hide in their shelters, which will make it much more difficult to inspect them, if you don’t know about them, of course. When identifying unhealthy or strange behavior in a fish, you should try not only to determine the cause, but also, if possible, eliminate it. This fish should be kept under special control until all symptoms disappear completely.
Cleaning the aquarium. In order to maintain comfortable and cozy conditions for the inhabitants of the aquarium at home, it is necessary not to forget about cleaning it from a variety of algae, stones and snags. The best way to do this is to use a scraper. It is recommended to sift the soil using funnels. In this way, it will be possible to completely remove fish excrement, which in the future could significantly contaminate the vessel. And this is not to mention possible changes in biological balance for the worse.

Proper care of the aquarium and fish is very important for beginners. Therefore, it is worth doing this correctly from the very beginning. In this article you will learn where to start and what to avoid. Beginner aquarists who know how to care for a fish aquarium can avoid many problems.

If you decide to put an aquarium at home and raise fish, then you need instructions on how to care for the fish in the aquarium. Instructions for caring for fish in an aquarium are not provided when purchasing an aquarium. Therefore, we will try to help understand the question: how to care for fish?

How to choose the right aquarium and fish

When choosing an aquarium, it is worth considering what kind of fish will live in it. If you prefer small fish, then you should choose a small aquarium for them. But even in large aquariums you can keep schools of small fish.

But if you have no experience at all in keeping fish, then it is better to start with a small aquarium.

The topography of the soil is also important. Especially for fish that live at the bottom - this is. They need caves and grottoes for shelter.

When buying different types of fish, you should pay attention to compatibility in order to avoid conflicts. And don’t forget to prepare in advance for buying fish. For different species, there are different conditions of detention (temperature, hardness, acidity of water).

Also, you should immediately decide on the vegetation. You can get by with artificial plants, but live ones are much more beautiful. Live plants in the aquarium will make it easier to care for the fish in the aquarium, helping to maintain the necessary biological balance.

The process of cleaning the walls of the aquarium

Aquarium fish care for beginners

Caring for fish in an aquarium for beginners consists of actions and measures that an aquarist should take.

Instructions on how to care for fish in an aquarium (what needs to be done):

it is necessary to create comfortable living conditions for fish
support of parameters necessary for good biobalance
aquarium inhabitants
cleaning the aquarium and changing water
inspecting fish for damage or signs of disease

With proper care, illnesses are unlikely, but still, if your fish gets sick, you need to correctly diagnose the infection and take measures for treatment. Ours will help you with this.

Below we will consider these points, which include instructions for caring for fish, in more detail.

Necessary habitat

In this paragraph we will tell you how to care for fish in an aquarium from the point of view of their habitat. The habitat is your aquarium, which is a closed ecosystem.

Let's consider point by point how to care for aquarium fish and what measures to take for their comfortable existence:

monitor the temperature in the aquarium
using the necessary equipment, ensure aeration and filtration of water
turn on and off the lights in the aquarium (or provide this with special equipment, a timer), which is necessary not only for plants, but also for fish
monitor the quality of the decorations that will be placed in the aquarium
periodically change the water and carry out cleaning (siphon of open soil areas)
remove dead plant leaves

The soil siphon will help get rid of dirt at the bottom and food residues. By carrying out this procedure you solve the issue of changing the water. Drain 1/3 of the water. Add back water from the same source and at approximately the same temperature (do not add hot or very cold water).

Soil siphon

How to feed fish correctly

Let's look at how to care for fish in terms of feeding them.

The instructions for caring for an aquarium have one of the important points - feeding. Adult fish are fed once or twice a day. Fry need to be fed more often, four or six times a day.

Also, the required type of food depends on the type of fish living in the aquarium.

Feed should be given in small portions. In 3-4 minutes the fish should completely eat it. Don't forget about bottom dwellers. For them there is food in the form of tablets that sink.

Inspection of the aquarium and fish

You can also care for fish in an aquarium in a simple way - observation. It is necessary to monitor not only the condition of the water and plants, but also the condition of the fish and their behavior.

External signs that should immediately alert you:

scales standing on end
ulcers, wounds, plaque, spots on the body, fins and tail
lethargic, emaciated appearance of fish
excessively bulging eyes

If such signs are observed, such fish should be removed and treatment measures taken.

Cleaning the aquarium

This issue was touched upon in previous paragraphs.

But the main thing is:

periodic soil siphon
removing food debris
removing dead plant leaves

If there is a need for general cleaning (large or severe clog), then you must:

put the fish out
drain the water and rinse the soil and decorations
rinse the filter and the aquarium itself
after placing the soil, the decorations back, pour water at the desired temperature and release the inhabitants

In conclusion, let's say: fish are also living creatures that need proper care. Therefore, novice aquarists will find our article useful, which addresses the question: how to care for an aquarium and fish?

The aquarium is rightfully considered a stylish and original interior design solution. It gives the room lightness, comfort and a certain calm. Psychologists unanimously say that the underwater world puts thoughts in order, relaxes and helps to find solutions to pressing issues. For this reason, all experienced doctors have an aquarium with fish in their office. It performs a healing and aesthetic function, so you need to learn how to care for the colorful aquatic inhabitants correctly. Let's look at the important aspects in order.

How to care for an aquarium

The main mistake that new fish owners make is choosing the wrong aquarium. Despite the fact that you are not yet a very experienced aquarist, a volume of 25-30 liters will not be enough. In addition, small containers are more difficult to maintain; it is much easier to maintain a natural environment in a 55-75 liter aquarium. At the same time, you will have the opportunity to keep several types of fish at the same time.
The question that worries many is “What to fill the aquarium with?” All kinds of aquarium fillers will help you create a cozy, close to natural environment. First you need to take care of the soil, choose small pebbles. It comes in different colors, shapes and sizes, depending on the type of fish you plan to keep in the aquarium. If aquatic inhabitants have a bright color, choose restrained soil tones (sand, gray, black, white, etc.).
When the issue with the soil is closed, take care of the flora. Root aquatic plants into the base of the pebbles, from which the fish will begin to absorb nutrients. Also, such manipulations will help the inhabitants feel more comfortable; they will be able to hide in algae or grass from overly active roommates. Whenever possible, choose natural greens over artificial ones.
Be sure to purchase an aquarium thermometer. Take water temperature readings daily, and if there are deviations from the optimal readings, turn on the heating. Reproduction of viviparous fish occurs in a narrow temperature range (18-28 degrees), it is necessary to take into account the characteristics of each species separately.
Be sure to check the water hardness and cleanliness of the aquarium. Once every 5 days, replace 1/3 of the old soil with new soil. Leave your water filter on and clean it three times a week if possible. Make sure you have lighting for the aquarium; the container should be illuminated 10-12 hours a day.

For the most part, feeding fish is limited to 1-2 meals. The required amount of food directly depends on how much food the inhabitants eat in 10 minutes. Pay attention to the type of food, taking into account age factors and the time of year, when a lack of vitamins has a detrimental effect on the health of fish.
If you keep fish that are most often awake at night, stop at feeding once a day. Such inhabitants of the aquatic world eat under blue light or before turning off the lights altogether.
Aquariums with fry require more frequent feeding. If adults eat 4% of food from the total body weight, then fry eat 15%, since they grow quickly.
An important feature of fish feeding is the regimen. Make a specific schedule for yourself, write down all your meals in it. You cannot overfeed the fish, otherwise they will die. When in doubt, underfeed is better. Obesity causes fish to suffer from infertility and early death, especially for those species that tend to overeat.
There is no need to worry about the fact that you allegedly did not give the fish enough food. Leftover food quickly decomposes in an aquatic environment, so it automatically becomes unfit for consumption. Massive clogging of the aquarium also occurs, resulting in the need to regularly clean the filter and replace the soil.
Once a month, give the fish a so-called “hungry day”; do not feed them for a whole day to normalize digestion. Carry out such manipulations simultaneously with cleaning and washing the aquarium, so that all changes in the usual way of existence take place at the same time.
Feeders for aquarium fish, which are attached to the walls of the container, are very popular. Such devices do not allow food to settle on the surface of the aquarium and clog the aquatic environment. In addition, when feeding with live food, it will not sink to the bottom. The last clarification is extremely important when keeping fish that feed in the middle and upper zone of the aquatic environment.
For those who still decide to use a special feeder, this recommendation will be useful. Train the fish to start eating when you call: pour in the food, then gently tap the wall of the aquarium in the feeder area with your finger. After about 2 days, the aquatic inhabitants will develop a reflex for food, so they will strictly follow the food distribution area.
Knowledge about the natural environment of the inhabitants will help you choose the right balanced menu. Then you can easily combine one food with another, based on the preferences of individual fish species. The main thing is that the food is varied and natural, do not skimp on quality.
Do not feed your fish with dry food alone, combine it with live food. Every month, buy your pet a portion of previously unfamiliar food and carefully monitor the reaction. When feeding young animals, focus on live food. Make sure that the granules are not too large, otherwise the fish will not chew them and there will be problems with digestion. If grains or food in powder/dust form are too small, the fish will become lazy and quickly become fat.

There are often cases when it becomes necessary to move fish from one place or, even worse, a city, to another. As a result, there is a need to transport aquatic life in a more suitable way. Moving can cause enormous stress in fish, so preparation must be thorough.

Jar. You can transport fish in thick plastic bags or in glass jars. The latter option is preferable, but the container must be handled with care. Depending on the number of fish, choose the optimal volume from 0.5 to 2 liters. When transporting aquatic inhabitants in the winter, place a heating pad next to the container, wrap it in a thick woolen blanket, and then put the jar in the bag.

If the air temperature is above -7 degrees, you can use not a thick bag, but a regular plastic bag. Place the fish in a jar, wrap the container with a woolen cloth and a heating pad next to it, put it in a bag and proceed freely to transportation. An important point: in this case, the time spent on the street should not exceed a quarter of an hour.

Important!
Do not fill the jar to the brim, leave 7 cm from the neck of the container. Under such conditions, keep the vessel with fish outside for no longer than 40 minutes. If you plan to stay in the cold for a longer period of time, use plastic bags.

Plastic bag. Purchase transport bags at a pet store or market; they are considered reusable. The product is a bag made of dense polyethylene with rounded edges.

They are partially filled with water (about ¼), after which they are secured using a special silicone lock. Next, you need to pump air into the cavity using a mini-compressor. To increase transportation time, pump in oxygen.

When transporting fish of 500 individuals or more in a 20-liter bag, the holding time sometimes reaches 70 hours. If you don't have a lot of fish, purchase smaller bags and transport them in the same way.

You can often hear that such households do not require financial costs and time, but this misconception is erroneous. Experienced aquarists will tell you in detail how difficult it is to keep fish and their aquatic home in proper condition. The process requires a leisurely approach and attention to detail; the underwater world cannot exist without competent outside support.