Article From SubmitYOURArticle.com: Stocking Aquariums: Tips

Many aquariums fail due to over stocking or
mixing the wrong species together. People who are
new to the world of fish keeping will
understandably want to put as many fish in their
aquarium as possible, but without the correct
planning or knowledge this can quite quickly go
wrong. As with all areas of fish keeping, try to
conduct some research before you go jumping in.
Look into the needs of the fish you are wanting
to stock, and try and adapt your plans
accordingly. Having lots of fish in your aquarium
may look great, but it's not so good when they
don't last. This article goes through a few
pointers as to why you need to be careful when
stocking your aquarium, and what you can do to
avoid potential issues.

Oxygen Levels

This is probably the most important barrier that
limits the amount of fish you can stock.
Obviously, fish rely on dissolved oxygen in the
water and they need to have a sufficient amount
of it if they are to survive. Overstocking a tank
can greatly reduce the amount of oxygen
available. To get the most amount of oxygen,
ensure that your aquarium is well filtrated and
that you have a good level of plant life.

Bacteria Levels

Aquariums rely on having bacteria to produce fish
waste. Having too many fish means that there will
simply be not enough bacteria to processed the
waste from the fish. This will result in the
whole natural balance in the tank being upset and
you will start to run into issues. Test the water
regularly for ammonia and nitrites to check on
how much fish waste is being processed. Again,
having a good filter system in place will aid the
process and help keep fish waste to a minimum.

Filtration

The capacity of your fish tank will depend quite
greatly on the type of filtration you are using.
The purpose of filtration is to remove waste and
keep the water healthy for fish to live in. Using
a variation on filtration methods aimed at
removing different types of waste will help
increase the amount of fish you can keep. However
be aware that power cuts do happen, and the more
fish you have in the tank, the more harmful a
power cut will be.

Hiding Places

A big killer of fish is stress. Having plenty of
little hiding holes and furniture in your
aquarium will go a long way to reducing harmful
stress levels in your fish. If your aquarium is a
bare open space, your fish are more likely to
fight and stress each other out. Try to provide a
variation of hiding spaces using both decor and
plant life.

Behaviour

If you are looking to stock your aquarium with an
ambitious mix of species, it is vital that you do
a little bit of research to ensure that your
desired fish are all compatible. Different types
of fish will display different levels of
aggression, and if you are going for slightly
more aggressive species you have to be careful to
match them up correctly.

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For more information on fish keeping, please
visit http://www.aquariumgroup.co.uk

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