ADVICE

Fishkeeping Know-how

With the festivities just a couple of weeks away, let’s investigate some of the pitfalls of Christmas and aquaria, for both newcomers and experienced aquarists alike.

SHUTTERSTOCK

Absolute beginners!

There’s a pretty strong chance that this is your first ever copy of PFK — this may even be a part of your Christmas package along with an aquarium and a gift voucher that you’ll be itching to spend on fish on Boxing Day. So, let’s see if we can stop you racing headfirst into the jaws of ruin, as so many newcomer aquarists are prone to doing…

Your first tank — should you upgrade it?

Here’s a crazy thing you’d not expect. It’s a whole lot easier to run a large tank than it is a smaller one, and I say that as someone who has kept goldfish bowls (near impossible) as well as worked with 250,000+ litre systems (easiest job of my life).

For reasons of stability, a large body of water is much easier to keep fish in than a small one.

Temperatures can shift up and down quickly in a small volume of water, while even a tiny amount of pollution that would be toxic in a tank of a few litres can be diluted and rendered harmless in a pond.

As a starter, I would advise looking at a tank of around 60-litres capacity or more. This will provide a happy medium of enough stability to account for some newcomer errors (believe me, there will be a few) without being so large that you feel intimidated by its maintenance.

If you have a tank of around 20 litres or less, your choices as a first-time aquarist will be limited. Don’t expect to keep fish in it, because something that small and unstable is at best suited to a few shrimps and some plants. Go bigger for success — nobody ever regretted starting with a larger tank.

Siting your tank

Here’s hoping that the store gave you some advice on where not to position your aquarium. If not, then here’s a list of places to avoid around the home.

Close to doors — If you’re in the swinging arc of the door, you could smash your aquarium outright, and even if you’re not, the tank will be upset by draughts, the shock of people walking through the door (fish are mighty nervous) and the sound of doors slamming shut.

In a busy hallway — Or anywhere with a lot of human traffic. Hallways are where tanks are most likely to be collided with, which not only risks breakage, but also spooks the fish every time someone passes by.