Top 10 Tips for Fish Owners

Ck · 24-02-2008, 21:52

1. A healthy fish always has an erect dorsal fin.

2. When transporting Koi in a car, make sure the fish is in a container that does not allow it to turn round. Then, place the container so that the fish is lying across the car and not back to front. This stops the fish from banging it's nose every time you break.

3. When transporting very small fish, twist the corners of the plastic bag and secure with an elastic band. This stops the fish from getting crushed in the corners.

4. When bringing new fish home, put their plastic bags or containers inside brown paper bags. This stops them from getting stressed on the journey.

5. Don't be tempted to tip your new fish into their aquarium straight away. You have to let the temperature of the water in the bag equalise with the aquarium water. The easiest way to do this is to float the bag in the tank for a couple of hours before letting the fish into the water.

6. When setting up a new tank, use the filter from the old tank to establish beneficial bacteria into the new water immediately.

7. Rocks in tanks shouldn't contain calcium, test them by dabbing them with a bit of vinegar. If they fizz, don't put them in the tank.

8. To stop fish from getting cold during a power cut, put a plastic bottle filled with hot water inside their tank. Replace it as necessary.

9. Don't overfeed your fish. They should have finished eating within two minutes. Anything left over just mucks up the water.

10. If you want to dispose of a terminally ill fish, don't flush it down the loo. Fish can survive for some time in the warm water of the sewers. The humane way is to put water in a jam jar, put the fish in the jar and place in the freezer.

Some fishy facts - Fish have been on the earth for more than 450 million years and were established long before dinosaurs roamed the earth.

There are over 25,000 identified species of fish on the earth. There are more species of fish than all the species of amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals combined and it is estimated that there may still be over 15,000 fish species that have not yet been identified.

40% of all fish species inhabit fresh water, yet less than .01% of the earth's water is fresh water.

The largest fish is the whale shark which can reach fifty feet in length. The smallest fish is the Philippine goby that is less than 1/3 of an inch when fully grown.

Fish feel pain and suffer stress just like mammals and birds.

Tropical fish are one of the most popular pets in the U.S. 95% of tropical fish mortality results from improper housing and nutrition.