An environment for life

As a keen tropical fish enthusiast maintaining a clean environment for my fish to live has always been a worry, with a hectic lifestyle and three aquariums to maintain I am always worried about how clean and healthy the water is for my beloved fish. I have tried many methods, read many books but from observing the condition of my tanks I have come to learn that the best method of keeping a clean and safe environment is to leave them alone. Yes you may find that an odd statement, most of the books you read will tell you that not only is the water change the most important part of fish keeping, but that a tank should have a water change of 30 percent of the water every 2 weeks or 50 percent once a month, in fact I have found this to be extremely harmful to the fish and indeed found fish stock dwindling rapidly with this method. Having spent so much of my time trying to get the right conditions for my fish and having to see my fish die off after water changes, I decided to take a drastic approach. The fish were completely healthy before any water change, they seemed happy and I had them being hand fed. I always made sure the filter was working properly and followed advice from pet shops and books to the letter, so why were my fish stocks failing? Because the water changes were upsetting the environment the fish live in, the balance of the water is changed and the fish get nervous, defensive and worried. I decided to leave the tanks for a longer period before completing a water change, and the fish lived happily in their environment, but as soon as the next water change came along, some of the fish started weakening then dying. I then tried leaving the fish completely and not completing any water changes, and lo and behold the fish are happy and breeding as if they were in the wild. I have found that the most important aspect of the aquarium set up is the filtration system used. The better the filtration, the better the water quality and the happier the fish are. First off it is important to buy the biggest tank you can afford, the bigger the tank the more room the fish have to swim around, the more diluted toxins are, the more exciting and varied a tank can be presented (with decorations and planting) and the happier the fish. When you have bought the desired size tank have a look around for a good filtration system, I find that chemical filters with a built in aeration system are the best and easiest to manage, opt for one that is slightly above what is needed for the tank and once in operation keep a careful eye to ensure it is working properly. When the aeration system starts to show signs of stopping it is time for a filter change. Over time you will see that the water levels in the tank drop slightly, simply top up the tank ensuring that you carefully balance the PH levels in accordance with the needs of the fish you keep. You now have an environment that is both good for the fish you keep and takes up much less of your time. The fish are able to live pretty much undisturbed and can act in a more natural way, and you can enjoy watching them without the worry of having to complete water changes.