Fish Keeping Myths

Fish Keeping Myths

Fish keeping is a challenging job in itself, a fact further compounded by Fish Keeping Myths. Some of these Fish Keeping Myths one comes across and acts upon, may be quite damaging for the well being of your aquatic pets. This article unveils the truth behind several common Fish Keeping Myths. The information may be beneficial especially for those hesitant in starting their own aquarium.

1. Fish can grow only to the size of the tank. False. This is the commonest Fish Keeping Myth. For a normal and healthy life of fish, ample movement space in the tank does matter. In small space, big fish stay in cramped position, which may affect their health and may lead to short life expectancy.

2. Catfish keep the tank clean. Partially True. Catfish are Scavengers with some species being Predators too, i.e. they feed upon small insects and fish. The Scavenger species may eat Detritus and Algae, but definitely not the faeces of other fishes.

3. Don’t overpopulate the tank. Partially True. For the normal growth of fish, sufficient oxygen supply is necessary; else they may get suffocated and may die ultimately. Therefore, till an adequate supply of Oxygen and space is there for the normal growth of fish, their number doesn’t matter. It is however important to note that larger the number of fish more the amount of waste produced. Therefore, a highly populated aquarium requires rigorous cleaning on a regular basis. If you cannot spare so much time then better keep your aquarium only moderately populated.

4. Fish have a very short memory. False. This is another Fish Keeping Myth. It has been proved experimentally that fish identify their meal timings; the feeding tools, and even remember their owner’s face. All this demonstrates that fish learn and have a decent memory.

5. Fish are boring. False. This is another very common Fish Keeping Myth of subjective nature. Actually, finding fish keeping boring or exciting varies with the opinions of people. Those with high interest levels in fish keeping will dismiss this as myth. Now since here we are talking about Fish Keeping, we are concerned with only those fond of it.

6. Small tanks are easy to maintain. False. It’s actually the other way round. Small aquariums witness a high degree of water quality problems, such as, increase in salinity, presence of disease, unwanted algal growth, pH fluctuation, temperature variation, and high toxin levels to name some. In addition, the effect of these undesirables will be more pronounced and faster in small aquariums as compared to the bigger ones, where owing to the large aquarium size; it is easy to keep the water quality high.

7. It is necessary to maintain the pH of 7.0 in the aquarium. False. Most fish usually are adaptable to slight pH fluctuations. Some fish like saltwater fish require high pH, while some others may require it at low level. Therefore, it is necessary to keep the pH level largely stabilized according to the type of aquatic pets you have.

8. It’s good to keep Bettas in a vase with plant. False. Bettas are, Insectivorous or Carnivorous, and feed on small insects, which they readily get in aquariums and not in a Betta Vase. Also, these Vases are quite small to keep Betta, while the plants will obstruct their aerial breathing.

9. Algae eaters and bottom feeding Scavengers help keep the aquarium clean. Partially True. This Fish Keeping Myth is true to some extent as certain fish, such as, Catfish; do feed on Algae and Detritus; however they can’t completely replace the use of filters and scrubbers for tank cleaning.

10. Its not necessary to change water when filters are used in tank or aquarium. False. Aquarium Filters remove fish wastes and other impurities to keep the water clean. The filters, however, are not able to remove toxic Nitrate from water, which propels the need for water change.

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