It can be one of the more frustrating things about adding a new fish to your tank. You treat your new baby with care, ensure that it has the right temperature and pH and food and everything else, give it a few days to adapt - and STILL it remains hidden in the back of the tank, behind the rocks, where no one can appreciate your fine new addition.
All fish get a little nervous about new surroundings, and most aren't very happy about the shocks and indignities of travel, so it's normal for a new guy to go into hiding for a day or two as it gets used to its new home. However, if it's still being shy after a few days, that tells you there's something else wrong. Until you figure it out and fix it, your friend isn't going to come out.
The most frequent problem is when your new fish is of a breed that normally travels in schools. Very powerful instincts tell this type of fish that he's not safe if he's alone, or in a group that is too small, and even long familiarity with a tank that's predator-free isn't going to overcome that instinct. With a bigger school, they'll all feel safe and spend a lot more time in the open. If you do your homework before buying, you'll know which breeds you need to buy in groups of four or five or more.
Your next step may seem a little counter-intuitive: add more hiding places to your tank. A nervous fish can be made calmer by providing a safe place he can go. Since even non-territorial fish may each want to have a place of their own to run to when evil threatening kids tap on the glass, the more fish you have, the more nooks and crannies you should provide. More hiding places = more security = more time spent out in the open.
Just decorating the tank in general will make your fish feel less uncomfortable. Prey animals in a nearly empty tank are easily stressed because they feel exposed and vulnerable, which can compromise their immune system and make it harder for them to resist disease and heal from injury. Adding plenty of rock and plant cover, or even neon-pink bubbling treasure chests, will ease the stress, which can help immensely.
Fish that are comfortable in your tank are more likely to display healthy color and natural behavior, and they're going to spend more time out of hiding and be more lively and entertaining to watch.
If you are planning to purchase an aquarium, you will want to make sure that your fish stay healthy, and the only way to ensure this is by cleaning the tank regularly. Many small stores do not carry everything you need so you might want to visit a larger store, the larger stores have many more items in stock for you to purchase. The aquarium is the home the fish live in and must be maintained for the welfare of the fish.
Before even setting up your tank decide what kind of fish you are going to keep, some people don't have much time on their hands and so low maintenance cold or easy to manage tropical fish are the best ways to go, for those with much more time and a higher level of commitment there are many varied species to chose from, including the easiest to care for fresh water fish to beautiful and fascinating marine fish.
Unfortunately rushing to the pet store and picking out the prettiest, most colorful and interesting looking tropical fish is not the best way to stock the tank. Some people have synthetic decorations and rock for there fish tanks.
If you are thinking about purchasing a fish for your saltwater tank you need to plan it out first and make sure that the fish you purchase can live in the environment with the other fish. The first step to your fish tank is setting it up and this is only the beginning. After the fish tank is setup you will need to make many adjustments, some of the adjustments are the water temperature, food and lighting, plus you must consider the items and decorations that you put into the tank.
A fish tank that is a salt water tank needs to mimic the ocean, the salt water needs to be the same salinity and the environment needs to be very similar. Once you get your tank up and running with no problems you will able to enjoy the salt water tank and the fish.
Lighting is actually as important as filtration it mimics the day light and the night so fish think they are in their natural habitat. When choosing a salt water tank and filtration systems it can be a very confusing process since there are so many to choose from. One of the most important things to remember is that filtration is very important when taking care of you tank.
For freshwater fish you may be able to get by without having one. Many people think it is easy taking care of a freshwater fish, but in reality there is work involved. At time you will need to clean your freshwater tanks, they do require cleaning, so you will need to remove the fish and place them somewhere else for the time being.
When decorating the fish tank the gravel will sit at the bottom, this make the tank much more interesting and it gives a more real feel to it. Fish tank gravel can be bought in either natural or colored designs.
There are many tanks of various sizes and shapes, when choosing the tank for you home make sure the tanks size fits and it won't be in the way or accidentally knocked over.
Both Iszuddin Ismail & David Fishman are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Iszuddin Ismail has sinced written about articles on various topics from Aquarium Fish, Adsense and Aquarium Fish. Together with Iszuddin Ismail, Mic Hudson is sharing his wealth of knowledge on freshwater and tanks. You can start with a free ebook on decorat. Iszuddin Ismail's top article generates over 49500 views. to your Favourites.
David Fishman has sinced written about articles on various topics from Information Technology, Home and web development. David Marc Fishman is the owner of www.tipsquad.com. about . Get disco. David Fishman's top article generates over 5000000 views. to your Favourites.