Aquarium Care

Tropical Freshwater Feeding Guide

Feeding tropical fish is slightly more involved than feeding goldfish but again, very simple.

Every fish is different.

Each and every fish is different and may require different types of food. Ask your local fish/pet shop owner what the best food for your fish is before buying or refer to a good book or online resource. Some fish may need flakes, while others may need sinking pellets, and you may want to give all your fish some frozen foods as a treat.

Feed 2 times a day.

While some say that once a day feedings are enough, I like to make sure my topical fish are fed 2 times every day. And I try not to feed the same food twice in one day. For example, flakes in the morning and pellets at night.

How much should I feed them?

Again, every fish is different, but to be on the safe side try not to feed your fish more than they can eat in a few minutes. If your fish starts taking longer than usual to eat, don’t feed them more, they may be sick, and you should resolve the illness before adjusting feeding patterns. And of course you don’t want to feed them so much that the food starts building up, or blocking the filter. Overfeeding is often times a  major cause of dirty tanks.

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How to setup your Tropical Freshwater Aquarium

Setting up your first tropical freshwater aquarium can be very overwhelming. But I assure you that it is really pretty simple. Follow this guide and your freshwater aquarium will be ready in no time.

First we’ll need to find a place to put our aquarium. Try to prevent placing the tank in direct sunlight because doing so will promote rapid algae growth, and possible overheating. Alternatively you don’t want to place your tank in a place that gets a lot of cold drafts, such as near a window or infront of an air conditioning vent.

Before you do anything you’re going to need to wash everything you plan on putting in your aquarium with hot water. As stated in the Aquarium Cleaning Guide, you’re going to want to use sponges/brushes that contain absolutely no chemicals.

The Usual Suspects.

Note: Don’t turn on any of these devices for long amounts of time until water has been added to the tank.

I’m going to assume since this is your first aquarium you got a filter like the one pictured below. First rinse out the filter sponge and media place the setup media filter into the filter. Remember: that all filters are different so refer to the instructions provided with the filter to insure that you’re using your filter correctly.

Its recommended that you always use a heater to keep the water around 74, however many will tell you different. But when dealing with tropical fish, you’re definitely making a smart decision for your fish, by choosing to use a heater.

If your tank is 10 gallons or larger I also recommend that you get an air pump. You simply connect tubing between your pump and some kind of air stone. And wire the air stone end into the tank.

Now before you put your gravel in make sure to put your aquarium on its stand or wherever you plan on putting it because the tank is now going to get increasingly heavier. Also before you put the gravel in be sure to wash that off as well, especially when working with colored rocks, because they carry a lot of paint residues. Once you have completed the above go ahead and add the gravel. One pound of gravel per gallon of water is the rule of thumb here, and you’ll need 0.5-1.0 inch thick layer of gravel.

Once you’ve placed your plants, decorations, etc. you can now add the water, trying to keep the temperature right around 74. Now is a good time to add your water conditioners (de-chlorinator, stress coat, etc.) to remove any toxins.

Now go ahead and plug in the filter, heater, air pump, and light.

Let everything run for 1-3+ days before adding your first few hardy fish. Places like PetsMart will test your water for free, try to do this before adding fish to make sure your water is safe. Ask your local fish shop, what their more hardy tropical fish are.

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Choosing Freshwater Tropical Fish

There is an insanely large amount of tropical fish to choose from when browsing at the pet store, so how do you know which fish to choose?

Well your first choice should be to go with a community tank or a species tank.
A community tank consists of many different kinds of fish all living harmoniously. While a species tank will limit you to a few species of fish that get a long together (at least to some degree). If you have a small tank I strongly suggest you stick with the community fish, as they tend to be smaller and require less space.

Again refer to my other article about how much space fish need.

Keep in mind that it will be helpful to have some sort of algae eater or plecostomus in your tank that will help keep things clean.

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How Many Fish Can You Fit in Your Freshwater Aquarium?

Note: This is way too many fish for 1 bowl.

There isn’t always 1 right answer when it comes to determining how many fish are appropriate for your aquarium. However there is a rule-of-thumb way of getting an estimate.

Goldfish:
For each inch of fish you will need 2 gallons of water.

Example: You have 3 goldfish, all measuring out to 2 inches each. So 6 inches of fish will require approximately 12 gallons.

Tropical Non-aggressive:

Each inch of fish requires only 1 gallon of water.

Example: You have 3 male guppies at about 1 inch each for a total of 3 inches. You’ll need 3 gallons of water.

Semi-aggressive Tropical:

Aggressive fish can be a little tricky since not all fish will get along, they may require more space, so ask your local fish store for specific setups.

However, they tend to follow the same rules as the non-aggressive tropical fish, and require about 1 gallon per inch of fish.

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