WET PETS Decisions, Decisions!

Did you say you have an aquarium?  What’s that?  It’s empty?  Where is a project that will keep you and your aquarium busy all year long.  You start by making a choice.  Would you like to use your aquarium as a year-round home for a group of fish?  Or would you like to use it as a nature study motel, properly landscaped for visiting dignitaries from the wild world around us.

Caring for a pet is a wonderful way for kids to learn about long-time responsibility and can also be an opportunity for children to develop an interest in science. If your children express a strong desire to have a pet of their own, an aquarium can be an ideal choice in many situations.
Fish are nice.  They are very quiet.  They don’t roam into other people’s yards.  Fish are fascinating.  They have more possibilities than most people realize.  If you decide to keep fish, you can pick between tropical fish or goldfish.
Tropical fish are warm water fish that come in an endless variety of shapes and colors.  Most of them are small.  Many are expensive and have special requirements.  The water temperature should between 75 degrees to 80 degrees.  You need a thermometer, heater, aerator and filter in addition to the glass-sided tank, plants, gravel and water.
Goldfish are easy.  They are really just pretty carp.  The Chinese people began to develop these fancy fish over 1000 years ago.  Goldfish can be kept in almost any container that will hold water.  They can survive winters out-of-doors so long as the water they are in doesn’t freeze clear to the bottom. They can be happy in a bare glass jar so long as they are fed and have enough oxygen.
Oxygen is the most important thing for you to think about when you are deciding how many fish to get.  Just like you, fish need oxygen to breathe.  People use lungs to extract oxygen frm the air.  Fish get oxygen from the water that flows through their gills.  In a fish bowl with curves sides, you will need 24 square inches of water surface for each inch of fish body length.  Fill an all glass bowl only up to the widest point.  In a straight sided tank you will need about one gallon  of water for each inch of fish body.  Overcrowded goldfish spend their time at the top with their mouths partly out of the water gulping air to breathe.  Overcrowded tropical fish die.  When you are deciding what kind of and how many fish to keep, you can get your aquarium ready.
Get them young.  If you can, get young fish.  Fish that grow up in your tank will be hardier than those put in when they are fully grown.  If you are careful in selecting the, you can have more than one kind of fish living in your tank at the same time.  Ask for advice from people who sell or raise aquarium fish.  Read books from the library about fish.  Research the web on aquarium pets for reliable research sites.  Be skeptical  on amateur blogs for advice, because they might have the wrong advice for diseases and care problems.  Read about how to properly set up an aquarium, filter systems, landscapes,  feeding, providing water, care and kinds of diseases.  Research and read about all of these topics so you will know what you will need before purchasing fish and supplies.
Remember, “KNOWLEDGE IS POWER.”  Take care of your fish and enjoy them.

Filed under: Aquarium Pets

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