Cichlids

How To Set Up A Fish Tank – Six Simple Steps

Posted on March 21, 2010
Filed Under cichlid care | 9 Comments

The biggest thing for now in your new hobby will be how to set up a fish tank.  You can start anywhere from a fish bowl with a few goldfish all the way up to 1000 gallon tanks.  Either way you look at it fish are a hobby that can not only be beautiful to look at but can be helpful when it comes to health.  They are peaceful and have proven to be relaxing and helpful in bringing down blood pressure.  Anyways I will give you a brief outline of 6 easy steps on how to set up a fish tank.

1.       The first thing you need to decide on before you learn how to set up a fish tank is what kind of fish you are going to keep.  You have the choice of fresh water and salt water.  Each will require a little different equipment.  While fresh water fish are easier to care for the salt water fish in most cases are much nicer to watch even though they are tougher to keep.

2.       You will have to visit a pet store that specializes in what you need.  Make sure you talk to someone who has the knowledge you are seeking out.  They will help you make a list of everything you are going to need.

3.       Now that you have everything home it’s time to figure out how to set up a fish tank.  The first thing you will need to do is decide where the tank is going to be placed in your house.  Once you have it spotted you can put in the filter, heater, gravel, plants and ornaments.  Now that’s done so it’s time to add water.  Once the water is in the tank you want to turn the heater on to the specified temperature.  Finally put the lid on the top and walk away for a bit.

4.       I know you are anxious to see the fish swimming around but you will need to wait at least a week or two.  You want to make sure everything is just perfect before adding fish.  If it’s not the fish will only die anyways.  This will give you time to get the temperature just right, it will make sure the filter is working and will ensure there are no leaks anywhere on your tank.

5.       Finally after you have figured out how to set up a fish tank you get to add fish.  It’s important to do some homework at this point as well.  You want to choose fish that won’t hurt each other.  You want to buy the correct amount.  Of course you want to stay within your budget.  Remember you will likely have these fish for a long time so be sure you are going to enjoy watching them.

6.       Now you have a fully functional tank with beautiful fish swimming around in it.  All that’s left now is maintenance.  You need to feed the fish as recommended.  You need to check the filter and heater to make sure it continues to work.  It’s just good practice to check all the equipment on a regular basis so you are hit with no surprises in the future.

When it comes to learning how to set up a fish tank you have 2 options.  You can head over to the pet store and trust the judgement of the 16 year olds that are working there or you can be prepared and do your homework ahead of time.  The book we show you will give you all the information you will need to make sure you come to the pet store prepared.  This will allow you to take the time you need to make the right decisions needed without any pressure of a pushy sales person.  Learn how to set up a fish tank now.

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Welcome to Cichlid Care

Posted on March 23, 2009
Filed Under cichlid care | Leave a Comment

Welcome to Cichlid Care!  This our very first post and we’re excited to get launched.  The intention of this post is to give you an idea of what kind of site this will be and the type of topics we will be covering.

First and foremost, we love cichlids.  We love everything about them!  We will do our best to cover a wide variety of issues that involve all types of cichlid breeds.  We hope to discuss all fish from peacock cichlid to south american cichlid to jack dempseys and many more.

Topics we hope to discuss include cichlid food and what to feed them, aquarium decor, review cichlid books and basically provide information about cichlids.

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