Regular maintenance...

Fishkeeping is a fairly low-maintenance hobby, however just like all pets, regular maintenance is vital to ensure the health of animals in your care. Try to spend a few minutes each day to check the tank over.

Daily maintenance:

• Check the fish, remove any dead ones and quarantine any diseased fish as necessary.
  
• Check the temperature, filter and heater.
  
• Feed the fish, only feed as much as the fish can consume within a few minutes and remove any food that goes uneaten.
  
• Scrape the glass.

Weekly:

• Carry out a partial, 15-25% water change, smaller yet more frequent water changes are much better than one larger water change every month or so.
  
• Test the water for pH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate.
  
• Prune the plants (use a sharp pair of aquascaping scissors).

Monthly:

• Clean the filter. All you have to with this is remove the biological media (i.e sponges) and give it a quick rinse or squeeze in some old aquarium water. Never wash the media in tapwater as the chemicals will kill the bacteria, resulting in poor water quality and consequently, dead fish. Also flush out the impeller shaft and any fixings (i.e outlet or inlet pipes to external filters).

Every six moths:

• Replace any test kits (especially those for nitrate which do have a relatively short shelf-life).
  
• Perform a 30% water change and strip down the filter, replace any damaged parts as necessary.

Annually:

• Replace part of the biological filter media. Simply cut the sponges into thirds, or, if you are using ceramic rings or balls, remove one third of these. Then replace the media. Feed sparingly for the first week or so and monitor the water quality.

What about when I go away?

If you are going away for a few days or a week, the fish will be perfectly fine without any attention and fish can last for quite a while without food. All you have to do is perform a partial water change and test the water.

If you intend to be away for a longer period then try to ask a friend or relative to check the tank every few days in your absence, and remember to leave a phone number. What ever you do, do not leave any chemicals or food in plain sight. I've heard of countless horror stories where relatives have simply dumped in food unknowingly, only for the owner of the tank to come home to an aquarium smelling of rotting food and dead fish.

Final words...

Remember, fishkeeping is a learning hobby! Everyone makes a few mistakes and so long as you do your research, the effects of those mistakes should be minimal. Ask plenty of questions, the only stupid question is the one you don't ask!

Good sources of information include forums, magazines and certain books. However try to get information from reputable sources and always take any advice you receive with a pinch of salt.

Happy fishkeeping!

Useful links...

Practical Fishkeeping magazine | the UK's biggest aquarium website
EHEIM GmbH & Co. KG
Tropica
Rolf C. Hagen Inc.
JUWEL Aquarium Homepage
http://www.adana.com.sg/productsPage/ada_fishfood.html
Tetra UK
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