"Elaine T" wrote in message
. com...
Eric wrote:

OK, I will now reveal that I have at one time worked as a fish
professional. I worked for one of the big "evil empire" type stores when
I needed an extra job to cover some expenses. Here are some things I wish
people knew about fish before they ever thought about keeping an
aquarium.

1. You cannot buy an aquarium and the fish you want in it the same day.
There were even people who wanted to buy a tank and a clownfish just
because they saw Finding Nemo. Even if you bought live sand and filtered
seawater this would be a long shot for the little nemo's survival. 2. You
can't stock a tank to capacity shortly after setting it up. the number
one cause of death is ammonia. Bacteria get rid of ammonia. New tanks
don't have these bacteria, so build up slow. It may take a couple of
months.

3. Algae will not kill your fish. Some people panic when they see algae.
They do stupid things as a result.

4. A teardown and rebuild is a good way to kill your fish. If the fish
were happy why do you need to take everything apart? Oh, yeah, algae. 4.
It's best to stick to fish that stay under 3 inches in a 10gal. tank

5. You don not *have to* get a CAE or a pl*co in order to "clean the
tank". If you just think they're cool, get one, but they are by no means
necessary. Every fish you add to a tank increases the load on a tank.
There is no magic fish that improves water quality. 6. If you think that
AmmoLock, Amquel, or zeolite are a long-term solution to your overcrowded
tank, you're wrong. There are countless oscar abusers who mistakenly rely
on these products.

7. Don't worry so much about your pH. It's high. The water comes from
deep wells that extend into Jurassic seabeds. Your better off just not
worrying about and letting your cardinals die young than adding pH Down
or worse to your tank.

Can anyone else add to this list?

-E

Your algae observations were really funny. I *worry* about fishtanks that
have no algae at all! What would the fish graze on when I feed lightly?

From another fish store refugee...

8. Your new tank will most likely have cloudy water for a while. Changing
the water will only make it worse.

9. No, guppies (mollies, platies, swordtails) don't lay eggs. Where did
the babies go? Well, fish have this rule... If it fits into the mouth,
it's food. Be grateful the babies are gone because livebearers will breed
you out of house and home unchecked.

10. Where did your cute little baby neons go? Didn't you buy an
angelfish last weekend? See number 9. Almost any fish will consider
eating a much smaller tankmate.

11. You have to use a gravel vacuum to clean the gravel when you change
water. If you've never cleaned the gravel before, start out gradually,
cleaning a third of the tank for the next 3 water changes. Work up to
cleaning the whole gravel bed with every water change.

12. Typical aquaria have strip lights that are wildly inadequate for live
plants. Why? So typical fish-only tanks don't grow too much algae. Get
a glass canopy and a good power compact light fixture if you really want
to grow plants. At a minimum, get a strip with two fluorescent tubes
instead of one.

13. Learn how to recognize ich before it wipes out your tank. If you
can't get to the fish store easily, keep some Quick Cure on hand.

14. Never buy a fish on impulse. Research its future size, housing
requirements, temperament, compatiblity, and food requirements before you
buy. The fish you buy on impulse and later wish you hadn't will be the
one that only eats live food, is too aggressive to keep with the rest of
your fish, costs a fortune yet hides all the time, or has an adult size of
20" long.

15. Despite their popularity, tempting colors, and low price, livebearers
are not very good beginner fish. Start with danios, tetras, rasboras,
cories, or peaceful cichlids and add the livebearers later when your tank
has stabilized.

16. Only buy fish when every fish in the store tank is healthy. If even
one fish is sick or dying, can you tell which one will be next? I like to
see most of the fish on the same shared water system healthy too. Never
add fish store water to your tank and quarantine new fish for a few weeks
if you can.

--
Elaine T

From yet another fish store refugee:

17. Fluorescent coloured stripes and spots on fish are not natural. They
are called painted fish. The process is not nice, kills most of them, and
the survivors generally don't live as long.

18. Goldfish are NOT air breathers.

19. If you have a fish which kills everything you put into the tank, then
stop trying.
--
www.NetMax.tk