Category: Aquarium Care

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Aquarium Care Goldfish Goldfish Care How To Testing Water Quality

How Often Should Water Quality Tests Be Done In Aquariums or Fish Ponds?

Water quality tests in aquariums or fish ponds should be done as much as necessary. Goldfish and other types of fish require clean water to live a long healthy life and you are the only one that can provide that for your pet fish. There are several factors that will influence how often you should be testing your water quality in fish tanks and garden ponds.

1. Do you have a newly set up aquarium or fish pond?
2. Is this an established fish tank or pond?
3. Is your pond or aquarium overstocked with fish?
4. Has any fish recently died in your fish tank that would cause concern?
5. Do you notice a smell to the water or your aquarium or pond is cloudy?

Goldfish Need Clean Water For Healthy Living - Water Quality Tests Need To Be Done RegularlyIf your aquarium or garden pond has just been set up it will take some time for it to cycle. Your aquarium or pond needs time for the beneficial bacteria to develop and grow to be able to break down fish waste. This is known as the nitrogen cycle. During the cycling process is when ammonia an nitrite levels will rise that can stress and even kill your fish. It’s very important that you test the water quality daily for fish tanks and ponds that have been newly set up. Do water quality tests for not just ammonia and nitrite but pH and nitrate too.

Pond Water Quality Tests Are Required For Fish Ponds
Remember just because the water quality is clear doesn’t mean it’s safe for your fish. Water quality tests need to be apart of your regular maintenance schedule. If you have an established aquarium, water quality tests should be done at least once a week unless you notice fish showing signs of stress, you’ve recently has some fish die, the water smells or has become cloudy. If you notice any of these above you need to test your water quality immediately. Fish tanks should never be overstocked, if you do you will need to test the water quality more frequently, do more water changes and maintenance.

For fish ponds you should test your water quality every 1-2 weeks. The reason for this is that you have a bigger volume of water, you have more space for your fish to live and grow and you have pond plants such as water lilies and marginals that will help filter your pond. This will help keep your water quality perfect and safe for your fish. If however you overstock your garden pond with fish, you don’t have an adequate filter system and you have no pond plants or water lilies, you will need to test your water quality more frequently. Water plants are excellent for pond filtration and pond owners should aim to have their pond 70% full of pond plants to have crystal clear water and to prevent algae blooms.

Attraction Red Hardy Water Lilies Perfect For Pond Filtration - Available at Country Koi Fish Farm
When taking care of fish in aquariums or garden ponds water quality tests should be done frequently. Water quality can turn poor quickly if you have an aquarium filter malfunction or if any fish has recently died. Another point to mention is that goldfish are a very dirty fish and create a lot of fish waste. Keep up to date with water changes, water quality checks and maintenance that will help keep your goldfish and other types of fish healthy and disease free.

****Never Overstock Your Aquarium or Garden Pond With Fish****

Sincerely,

Jamie Boyle
The Goldfish Guy
“Helping Goldfish Owners With Advice, Fish Care and Fish Medication Treatments for Goldfish Diseases, Illnesses and Parasites”

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Aquarium Care Goldfish Goldfish Care Goldfish Ponds How To Water Treatments

How To Lower Nitrite Levels In Goldfish Aquariums and Garden Ponds?

You should really only notice nitrite levels being high in new aquariums or small garden ponds that have newly been set up. As I’ve mentioned before in other blog posts is that it takes time for the nitrogen cycle to start working. It can take up to 4 weeks to properly cycle a new fish tank.

If you are experiencing high levels of nitrite in your goldfish aquarium or pond what you will need to do is make sure your goldfish are not showing any signs of stress. You really need to carefully observe your goldfish or any other types of fish you have in your aquarium. High levels of nitrite is extremely deadly! Nitrite can and will poison your fish and kill them quick.

Large Oranda Goldfish in Aquarium

If you do notice your goldfish are showing signs of stress you will need to lower your nitrite levels in your aquarium or garden pond. What you can do is perform a 25 – 30% water change immediately. This will reduce and dilute the presence of nitrite in your fish tank. After you do this I would also add aquarium salt to your aquarium right away. Aquarium salt will neutralize the toxicity of nitrite making it not harmful for your goldfish. Simply add 1 teaspoon of aquarium salt per every gallon of water. Lots of aquarium owners fail to realize is that aquarium salt helps fish in many ways and helps heal fish. All aquarium and pond owners should have on hand some aquarium or pond salt as you never know when you might need it.

Aquarium or Pond Salt Will Neutralize The Toxicity of Nitrite
If however your goldfish are not showing signs of stress and this is a newly set up aquarium or pond, just leave it! It will take some time for it to cycle and develop all the beneficial bacteria. Once the tank is cycled and there is an abundance of beneficial bacteria it will break down the nitrite forming nitrate which is relatively harmless to fish. During this time that your aquarium is being cycled make sure you regularly test your water quality for nitrite and record the readings. Recording the readings will show you if the nitrite is lowering. Always observe your fish and be ready to do an immediate water change if your goldfish are showing any signs of stress. High nitrite levels need to be taken very serious as it can quickly kill all your fish if you fail to act promptly.

Sincerely,

Jamie Boyle
The Goldfish Guy
“Helping Goldfish Owners With Advice, Fish Care and Fish Medication Treatments for Goldfish Diseases, Illnesses and Parasites”

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Aquarium Care Goldfish Goldfish Care How To Testing Water Quality Water Treatments

How To Raise or Lower pH Levels in Goldfish Tanks and Aquariums?

Having an aquarium involves regular maintenance such as water quality tests and you should know how to raise or lower pH levels in fish tanks if need be. Overtime your pH in your aquarium will lower and you will need to raise it depending on the type of fish you have. Certain species of fish like the water more of a acidic pH while others like the pH to be more alkaline. Aquarium owners should test their water quality at least once a week not only for pH but for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate.

Sometimes your water will get cloudy in your fish tank and you will know right off the bat that something is wrong. There are also times where the water is crystal clear and the water chemistry is at seriously dangerous levels for fishkeeping. You can’t tell just by looking at the water. I know it would be nice if we could, but we can’t. If you notice your goldfish showing signs of stress, testing the water quality should be the first thing you do. The more goldfish you have in your aquarium, the more waste is produced which will lower the pH if you don’t keep up with regular water changes.

Goldfish Tank, Aquarium With Large Goldfish and Koi

How To Raise pH Levels In Fish Tanks or Aquariums?

Sodium Bicarbonate ( Baking Soda ) Is Used To Raise pH Levels In Fish Tanks, Aquariums and PondsIf you notice that your pH is low or acidic after testing your water quality you will need to raise your pH. In order to do so you will need to have some sodium bicarbonate also known as baking soda on hand. This is the regular stuff you buy right from your grocery store. Simply add 1 teaspoon of baking soda per 10 gallons of water. It’s always best to not change the pH too drastically as it can stress out the fish even more. If your pH was off quite a bit do it on a gradual basis until your reach the recommended pH based on the species of fish you have in your aquarium. Neutral pH is what you should be looking to have for goldfish tanks.

How To Lower pH Levels In Fish Tanks or Aquariums?

Sodium Biphosphate Is Used To Lower pH Levels in Fish Tanks, Aquariums or Ponds
In order to lower pH levels you will need to buy some sodium biphosphate which you can buy right from your local pet store or online as well. To lower the pH simply add 1 teaspoon of sodium biphosphate per 10 gallons of water. More is not better when your dealing with changing water quality for fish. My rule of thumb is put less then re-test to see what the reading is and then add more if need be to get it within the acceptable pH range.

If you keep up with performing regular water changes, aquarium maintenance such as cleaning of the aquarium gravel and filters you shouldn’t have an issue with pH. If you do however you will now know how to lower and raise pH levels in your aquarium so that your goldfish can live a long healthy life.

Sincerely,

Jamie Boyle
The Goldfish Guy

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How To Lower Ammonia Levels In Goldfish Tanks, Aquariums or Fish Ponds?

Sooner or later new aquarium owners will face high levels of ammonia in their goldfish tank or fish pond and you will need to know how to lower or reduce ammonia levels. When new aquariums are set up many people will often see high levels of ammonia but this is because the fish tank is not properly cycled yet. It takes some time for all the beneficial bacteria to start working. A lot of the time even though the ammonia levels are high you can just leave it and it will slowly lower.

The biggest thing that you need to do when you notice high levels of ammonia in your aquarium or fish pond is to observe your fish. Are they acting normal, normal behaviour, are they sluggish. not eating etc.. High levels of ammonia will kill your goldfish and if you notice any signs of stress or any goldfish that has died you need to take action right away.

Don't Be Fooled! Clear Water Can Still Have High Levels of Ammonia

Here are several things you can do to lower or reduce the ammonia level:
1. Perform an immediate water change. Changing some of the water in your fish tank or pond will reduce or dilute the ammonia. After changing the water, test it to see the new results and keep a record of the reading.

2. You can always add some Ammo-Lock by Aquarium Pharmaceuticals. This works great as it locks up ammonia in a non-toxic form. Whenever you happen to see a lot of fish die this is a great emergency fish product. This will reduce fish stress and help save your fish.

3. Add beneficial bacteria to your aquarium or pond. The beneficial bacteria is what breaks fish waste, ammonia and keeps your nitrogen cycle working properly. After every water change always add some beneficial bacteria.

If your looking to know how to adjust, lower, or reduce ammonia levels in fish tanks, aquariums or ponds you should first know what causes ammonia levels to increase. Knowing what causes it, is the first step in preventing ammonia levels from increasing in fish tanks or ponds.

The #1 rule in fishkeeping is to never overcrowd your fish tank or pond or it’s inevitable that you will soon face high levels of ammonia and possibly lose all your fish. Take proper care of your fish and you will have great success with your hobby.

If you have any questions concerning ammonia levels and how to deal with lowering or reducing it please feel free to comment.

Sincerely,

Jamie Boyle
The Goldfish Guy
“Helping Goldfish Owners With Advice, Fish Care and Fish Medication Treatments for Goldfish Diseases, Illnesses and Parasites”

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Aquarium Care Garden Ponds Goldfish Goldfish Care

Why Are My Goldfish Gasping or Gulping For Air At Top of Pond or Aquarium?

Are your goldfish gasping or gulping for air at the surface of the water in your pond or aquarium? If so your goldfish could be suffering from lack of oxygen or a variety of different reasons. What you need to do is find out why your goldfish are gasping for air. Ask yourself, do your goldfish look sick, are they scratching themselves, is your pond or aquarium water too warm, have they recently been sick. Your the goldfish doctor and it’s your job to find the answer as to why your goldfish are gasping for air.

Goldfish most commonly are seen gasping for air at the surface of the water when there is a lack of oxygen in your pond, aquarium or goldfish bowl. When the water is to warm there is less oxygen available. What you need to do is perform a 25% water change immediately so that you can increase the oxygen available by aerating your pond or aquarium. For ponds a good technique is to turn your garden hose on spraying water directly in to the pond adding oxygen to the water.

Another reason why goldfish are seen gasping or gulping for air is due to damaged gills caused by either parasites or not using water conditioner when doing water changes. When you don’t use water conditioner the chlorine causes damage to the gills making it harder for goldfish to process oxygen from the water. It is very important to use water conditioner each and every time you do maintenance on your pond or aquarium.

Another good suggestion for you to do is test your water quality right away. Your water chemistry could be off the scale causing your goldfish to start gulping for air. If your ammonia spikes it can burn the gills of the fish much like chlorine will if you don’t use water conditioner. When you see fish gasping for air test your water quality immediately.

To help avoid fish mortalities due to lack of oxygen goldfish owners should add air pump to their aquarium or pond. This will help provide more oxygen for your pond or aquarium fish. To stop goldfish from gasping or gulping for air at the surface of the water it is recommended you follow all the above advice. Lack of oxygen can kill your goldfish or cause them to start gasping or gulping for air.

Sincerely,

Jamie Boyle
The Goldfish Guy
“Helping Goldfish Owners With Advice, Fish Care and Fish Medication Treatments for Goldfish Diseases, Illnesses and Parasites”

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Aquarium Care Goldfish Goldfish Care How To Water Treatments

What Aquarium Products Clear Up Cloudy Water In Fish Tanks?

There are several aquarium products on the market today that will show you how to clear up cloudy water in fish tanks. You are able to buy these at your local pet store or available online like PetSmart, Petco and other great online stores. The product that I like best that clear up cloudy water in aquariums is Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Accu-Clear Water Clarifier. This product is fast acting and clears up your water in your aquarium in no time.

There are so many different products that you can choose and here is a list of several that you are able to buy:

Eco-Bio Blocks Clears Up Cloudy Water and Reduces Water Changes Frequency

1. EcoBio-Block ( New product that I would like to try, great reviews!)

Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Accu-Clear Water Clarifier

2. Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Accu-Clear Water Clarifier

Tetra Aqua Water Clarifier

3. Tetra WaterClarifier

Koi's Choice Pond Water Clarifier

4. Koi’s Choice Pond Water Clarifier

Here are 4 great aquarium products for you to choose that will help clear up cloudy water in your aquarium.

Sincerely,

Jamie Boyle
The Goldfish Guy
“Helping Goldfish Owners With Advice, Fish Care and Fish Medication Treatments for Goldfish Diseases, Illnesses and Parasites”

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Aquarium Care Goldfish Goldfish Care How To Water Treatments

How To Clear Up Cloudy Water In Aquarium Fish Tank?

Cloudy water in aquariums is quite common and there are several things you can do to clear up your fish tank and help prevent this from occurring. How to clear up cloudy water is quite simple and the answer is proper aquarium maintenance.

What causes cloudy water to occur in fish tanks is the nitrogen cycle not being properly in balance. This means that there is more bad bacteria instead of the good beneficial bacteria that helps break down fish waste and helps keep your water safe and healthy for fish to live. If your nitrogen cycle is out of whack then cloudy water will occur in your fish tank.

Cloudy Water in Aquarium - Get Rid Of Cloudy Water Today!

Frequent Water Changes Helps Reduce Cloudy Water

What can you do to stop cloudy water from happening is easy! Frequent water changes and maintenance will help. You should also never overfeed your fish in your aquarium. Overfeeding goldfish or other types of fish helps contribute to cloudy water in fish tanks. Another thing people should do is reduce the amount of time that your have your aquarium lights on for. Leaving your lights on for extended periods of time causes algae blooms and growth over aquarium glass and contributes to cloudy water as well. People should have timers on their aquariums and never leave it on for more then 6 – 8 hours a day.

Never Overfeed Goldfish

If you want to know how to clear up cloudy water fast in your aquarium then you will need to purchase aquarium products on the market that specialize in this. When buying aquarium products that clears cloudy water in fish tanks just make sure on the label that it does not disturb beneficial bacteria and make sure it’s not harmful to fish and plants. These products will help clear your water usually in a few hours. Remember more is not better, follow proper dosage on the bottle.

Cloudy water in aquariums usually occur in newly set up fish tanks.

Have you ever had cloudy water in your aquarium?

Sincerely,

Jamie Boyle
The Goldfish Guy
“Helping Goldfish Owners With Advice, Fish Care and Fish Medication Treatments for Goldfish Diseases, Illnesses and Parasites”

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Aquarium Care Goldfish Goldfish Care How To

How To Keep Goldfish Tank Clean and Water Clear?

Keeping a golfish tank clean and water clear may be a challenge for some unless you know how to properly maintain your aquarium or fish bowl. In order to keep your fish tank clean you will need to follow a maintenance schedule to keep goldfish healthy and disease free.

Here I will show you 8 steps to keeping your fish tank clean and healthy.

Goldfish Tank Clean and Clear

Aquarium bucket for water changes

1. Perform a 25% weekly water change in your fish tank then add fresh water to your aquarium.

Aquarium Gravel Cleaners and Vacuums Makes Cleaning Fish Tanks Easy!

2. When performing your water change use an aquarium gravel cleaner that will clean and remove fish waste built up in the gravel. Discard dirty water.

Algae Cleaning Brush for Aquariums

3. Clean any algae off the sides of the aquarium glass with an algae scraper or an algae cleaning brush.

4. Clean any aquarium ornaments with a brush.

Aquarium Filter

5. Replace filter media such as sponges and carbon once a month. Never replace these at the same time your doing water changes in your aquarium as this will disturb your biological filtration.

Nutrafin Cycle

6. Add cycle to your aquarium each and every time you do a water change.

Aquarium Water Conditioners

7. Add water conditioner to remove any chlorine or harmful metals after every water change. Follow dosage on the bottle.

8. Keep aquarium lighting to a minimum to reduce algae on aquarium glass.

If you follow these simple steps you’ll learn how to keep your goldfish tank clean and water crystal clear.

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Aquarium Care Goldfish Goldfish Care

Do Goldfish Need An Air Pump In Fish Bowl or Aquarium?

By Jamie Boyle

Do goldfish need an aquarium air pump? Yes and no really. If you want your goldfish to live a long healthy life then go with an air pump. Having an air pump in the aquarium or goldfish bowl helps in so many ways. It creates gas exchange and helps add oxygen to the water. Some people believe that goldfish will live just fine without an air pump and that may be so. For instance if you have an aquarium and have a filter running this helps add oxygen to the water. The water flowing in forces oxygen into the water increasing the oxygen level that fish need.

Goldfish need oxygen too. For instance on hot sunny days in goldfish ponds you may see your fish coming to the surface gasping for air. This happens especially when you have green algae blooms. GoldfishWhat you need to do is add oxygen quickly to the water. Spray a hose directly into the water will help increase the oxygen level. In warm hot sunny days the oxygen level is low as the temperature of the water is high. In cold water is where you see an abundance of oxygen available. There is more oxygen in cold water then there is warm water. So in reference to aquarium air pumps they are highly beneficial to a properly functional goldfish tank.

Aquarium Air Pumps - Elite Air Pump Maxima

Goldfish need plenty of oxygen and an aquarium air pump is highly recommended as it helps reduce stress too. As we all know with stress can come sickness and diseases so it is always best to take all necessary steps to keeping goldfish healthy. I mentioned about a goldfish pond in the summer just to explain a little more on this subject. As far as goldfish bowls and aquariums are concerned it is to your best option to go and equip your fish tank with an air pump. The agitation that happens at the surface of the water will add oxygen to your fish tank. This will create a healthier home for your fish and will reduce stress. If people are planning on having good luck taking care of goldfish then I would suggest not to go and try and keep them in a goldfish bowl. It’s just too small and in order to have great luck with fish keeping I would get all the proper equipment needed such as air pump, filter and aquarium gravel. With basically everything in life things need oxygen to live and goldfish are much the same. Also beneficial bacteria in your filter need oxygen to live and reproduce. Air pumps can help in so many ways in keeping an aquarium healthy. I hope this helps give you more of an idea on why people should really have an air pump in their fish tank. Your goldfish will like you for it and you will have better luck with your overall experience in fish keeping. Having an air pump in your goldfish aquarium is absolutely necessary towards optimum fish health.

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Aquarium Care Goldfish Goldfish Care

Fish Tank Light Starts Fire In Tracy Morgan’s New York Home

By Jamie Boyle

Earlier this week some of you may have heard that a fish tank light actually caused a small fire in comedian-actor Tracy Morgan’s New York City Apartment. The good news is that the fire was contained and no one was hurt, not even the fish in his aquarium. Firefighters were called and were able to get control of the fire quick before it was able to spread any further. Reports say that the fire was put out within 30 minutes.

It just goes to show people how important it is to make sure your aquarium equipment is working properly. This could have turned out worse but luckily it was taken care of quickly. The fire here that occurred in Tracy Morgan’s New York City Apartment on Feb. 18th, 2009 was due to a faulty fish tank light. Tracy Morgan fish tank light causes fire in his New York City ApartmentIt is unknown whether or not he leaves his aquarium fish tank light on continuously but this is not recommended. Fish tank lights should only be on for about 8 hrs a day.

A good tip for aquarium owners is to make sure to check your aquarium equipment often to make sure it’s working properly. This can avoid possible fires in case of faulty equipment. An example of checking the equipment is to make sure you check the filters after a power outage. Power outages can cause the filter to lose its prime and cause them to run dry overheating and potentially catch fire. Trust me when they run dry they get very hot if you don’t know. Fish Tank Including LightIt has happened to me several times when the power has gone out and they were extremely hot.

All I can say is Tracy Morgan was lucky that this never spread further. It would be interesting to know what aquarium fish tank light or brand he had on his fish tank. I can’t imagine him having an old fish tank light on it. Maybe there are some faulty defective fish tank lights on the market that should be looked at further. The good news is that know one was hurt and I guess the fish in the aquarium had a little luck on their side that day too.