Things to consider BEFORE bringing home that cute new fish…

Written By Trista Becker

FOR GENERAL INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY! If you are near me and would like advice specific to your situation - give me a call I’m happy to schedule an mobile appointment!

Something they may not tell you at the pet store, the day you bring home a bunch of new fish is NOT the day to be setting up your tank. While it may feel exciting to buy a new fish and all the things recommended by the store associate, a fish tank in reality takes around 6 weeks to set up and cycle (depending on the temperature).

Ideally, you would have the equipment all set up and know what your water parameters are before you bring home that valuable little life. While there are many ways to cycle a tank, it is usually best to think of your fish in reference to its weight and size in legnth as well as how big it will be expected to get in the end.

You can purchase a bacterial starter from the pet store to use that will work perfectly fine but DO NOT ADD AMMONIA LOCK! That will definitely impede any progress. Other options some people use are to start with a small amount of water from a trusted friend’s tank. You COULD get one small fish or even some snails or shrimp in no less than 10 gallons so you can monitor and change the water frequently enough to prevent huge deadly ammonia spikes. But that’s not very nice for those poor critters to suffer through the cycling.

You will want to measure your ammonia and nitrite daily or a few times a week so you can catch the upward then downward trend in ammonia and then the next up & down curve in nitrite. These things will need to build up enough in your tank so that your ammonia & nitrite fixing bacteria can grow and establish. REMEMBER, at even low levels these can be toxic for fish so consider that as you start the tank and continue to keep it in mind later as you attempt to add more fish. Go gradually, don’t make any huge sudden changes as things take time. The amount of time you need to wait will depend on the preferred temperature of your fish pals. Tropical fish will have a much faster metabolism than a cooler water fish.

Have a plan! Such things you’ll want to have planned out ahead of time include:

  • where you will keep the tank (you will want a location that stays warm, gets light but not direct sunlight)

  • what you would like it to contain

  • all the equipment you will need to change the water (such as a tupperware or a large juice container)

  • how much water you will change (so 10-20% every week of a 10 gallon tank would be 1-2 gallons you’ll need to measure out and put back in)

  • what water you will use (is your tap water chlorinated? IF so, you’ll need to dechorinate it - either a water dechlorinator solution from the fish store or have a bowl to leave it out for 24 hours to let the chlorine dissipate and that also gives it a chance to warm up at least to room temperature from the tap; You will also need to know if your water source is of a pH and hardness that your fish will tolerate and what the temperature comes out at)

  • do you have a net large enough and with the right size mesh for the fish you will keep

  • do you have a thermometer

  • do you need a tank heater (most cases yes you will)

  • do you have an aerator

  • do you have the right size pump for your tank

  • do you have a water test kit that measures: nitrate, nitrite, ammonia, pH, KH Don’t worry about sounding professional.

    You are now a fish-keeper!

Trista Becker