YOUR FIRST FISH

 When selecting your first fish there are certain considerations to be borne in mind:-

Although the temperature ranges may overlap we do not recommend mixing tropical and coldwater fishes in the same aquarium, as they may just not get on with each other and problems can arise.

Remember that there are 4 types of fish - do not mix them, ..

FRESHWATER - COLDWATER OR TROPICAL

 SALTWATER - COLDWATER OR TROPICAL
( these are normally referred to as MARINES)

Another golden rule is that in most cases a big fish will eat a small fish so stick to fishes of a compatible size.

When selecting your first coldwater fishes do please tell us that they are your first fishes and be guided by us on the number to purchase (this will depend on the size of tank and the type of filtration).

For tropical fishes we have indicated on the price labels a green dot wherever a fish may be considered suitable to take the rigours of a freshly set up tank.

These fish are mainly barbs and tetras and although not always the most colourful species compared to platies and swordtails they are much more suitable for the first couple of weeks.

When buying fish it is always best not to buy too many at one time and we would suggest that 6-10 is about right once again the reason is that the bacterial filtration needs to multiply to cope with the extra load :

Tropical marines are best selected on an individual basis with a member of staff

The reason that there is a need to be careful in the early stages of the life of a tank is that the tank itself needs to mature and this is a slow process taking on average about six weeks to get to the stage where it is mature enough not to have to worry unduly about it. The name of this maturing process is the “nitrogen cycle” but for the purposes of this fact sheet we shall not go into this in great depth at this time. If you require more information about this please ask for help from us. There is now a product from SeaChem called STABILITY which enables tanks to be stocked almost immediately whilst it is being used..

After the first 2-3 weeks of buying green dot fish you may safely progress to most of the other varieties, but we would suggest you avoid guppiesand siamese fighters until the aquarium is fairly well mature (about one month).

IN ORDER TO PROVIDE ONLY THE HEALTHIEST FISH POSSIBLE WE HAVE A QUARANTINE AND HOLDING FACILITY AT CAMBORNE OF APPROX.160 TANKS BUT STRESS INDUCED DISEASES MUST ALWAYS BE GUARDED AGAINST.

 ENJOY YOUR FISHKEEPING

HOME

Send mail to:   monty@trimar.co.uk      with questions or comments about this web site.

telephone 01209 713639