Whether you are starting a new aquarium or transferring a new  fish into an established aquarium, you must take care to acclimatize the fish to their new environment. Always take your fish home as quickly as possible. If your journey home will take more than an hour, then please let this be known to the AQUOTIX staff member bagging-up your  fish,  so that your fish can be  bagged-up appropriately. When you get home, open the bag, roll the sides of the bag down and float the bag in the aquarium for about fifteen minutes. This allows for the water temperature to adjust. Every few minutes add a small amount of water from the aquarium to the bag. This helps the fish  to adjust themselves to the water conditions of your aquarium. Now the fish can be released carefully into their new home.

Feed your fish once or twice a day and feed them only as much as they can eat within five minutes. Do not overfeed. Overfeeding is the easiest way to pollute your aquarium, which could kill your fish. (But do feed them enough so that they do not go skinny). Any uneaten food should be removed within ten  minutes.  Essentially, a variety of foods  should be given.  Frozen and live foods are available and are recommended as a supplement to dry foods.

Regular water changes should be carried out. For  the  average aquarium, one third of  the water volume should be removed and replaced with fresh water every week. Do not change more than 50% of the water at any one time. Any excess dirt in the gravel can be removed by using a “Gravel Cleaner”. AQUOTIX staff can demonstrate to you the use and effectiveness of this simple product. When using a bucket for water changes, ensure that it is brand new and has not been used for any other purpose. It is essential to use a “Water Conditioner”. This is a chemical product that can be added to your tap water to remove harmful chemicals such as chlorine and  fluorine. It should be used for every litre of tap water that you add to your aquarium.

The pH level of the water (acidity/alkalinity) should be  checked at least once a week before any water changes, especially in new aquariums. Ammonia and nitrite levels (toxic waste) should also be tested frequently. If you do not have any testing kits, then AQUOTIX will test a sample for you and recommend which test kits to use.

If your fish show any signs of stress, such as; clamped fins, cloudy eyes, bleeding under the scales or fins, gasping at the surface,  or any other irregular behaviour, then  you  should contact us immediately for assistance to help you prevent the problem from getting any worse.

If you are unsure about any of the above information, or you wish to pursue any aspect of fish keeping, please feel free to contact any of the experienced AQUOTIX staff for help.