Tanking it

Starting your home aquarium journey

By Timmi Aplin-Barrett

An aquarium is an eye-catching and fascinating addition to any living space. You can go as simple or as complicated, as big or as small as you like and bring colour, life and interest to your home.

Smaller aquariums or starter aquariums don’t require as much maintenance as large-scale projects and are less expensive than one might think. Initial set up costs can seem a lot but once you’ve made those purchases, your wallet will still love you.

Here are some cute fish ideas for inspiration. These can be purchased from your local Animates: www.animates.co.nz/fish/live-fish. They’re all smaller fish so good for those not wanting a massive tank.

Corydoras: Grow to 2.5 -10cm depending on the type. Lifespan of 5+ years. Bottom dwellers, good with other fish

Tank basics

There’s a few things to consider when buying your first tank. A small tank can only house small or very few fish. A good rule of thumb from aquarium enthusiasts is “4L of water per 2.5cm of fish”. The bigger the fish or the more fish you have, the bigger the tank needs to be. Try to buy a tank that will be able to house your fish when it’s fully grown. Most pet shops will be able to tell you how big the fish will get. Otherwise, you can “size up” your tank as your fish grows but this can be expensive and annoying for beginners. Below are some prices on tanks from Animates. These tanks come with their filtration system already built in so you don’t need to worry about installing anything. • 21L - $130 • 38L - $145 • 46L - $230

Maintenance basics

Maintaining an aquarium can seem like a daunting task but, it’s actually fairly simple once you get the hang of it. Most aquariums need to be “cleaned” once a week, depending on how much waste your fish are producing. Scrubbing the walls – get a magnetic scrubber and use it to remove any algae that grows on the glass. You can do this as often as you like Water changes – you need to syphon out around 25 percent to 50 percent of the tanks water (depending on how often you clean it) and replace it with fresh water. Make sure you’re stirring up the stones or pebbles on the bottom to loosen any sediment Filtration changes – within your tank are “filter cartridges”. These need to be changed every two to four water changes, depending on how mucky they look Chemicals – you’ll need some kind of “tap conditioner” to add into new water to remove chemicals such as chlorine and ammonia build up. • 57L - $260 • 70L - $280 • 90L - $350 Basic care Like any animal, a sign your fish is unwell is a lack of desire to eat. Other signs your fish could be under the weather: • Spending lots of time at the bottom of the tank on the pebbles • Swimming crookedly • Hiding when your fish may not normally do so • Protruding scales. Most of the time, this can be solved by a water change or treating the water with an antifungus. However, google is your friend.

For more information regarding fish health, have a look at this Animates article: www. animates.co.nz/articles/fishhealth-101.

For more information, tips and prices of tanks and live fish, you can visit www.animates.co.nz or www.petcentral.co.nz.

Animates have a great guide to getting your tank started: www. animates.co.nz/articles/settingup-your-new-aquarium. Dwarf Gourami: Grow to 8.8cm. Lifespan of 4-6 years. Works well with other fish. Keep them away from nipping fish

Siamese Fighter Fish: (Betta fish). Grow to 8cm. Lifespan of 2-5 years. Best kept on their own as they’re highly aggressive to other fish