5 Mistakes to Avoid When Cleaning Your Home Aquarium
Regularly cleaning your home aquarium is an important part of being a responsible caretaker for your aquatic freinds.
Whether you’re new to aquariums or haven’t handled the upkeep yourself, you might be unaware of some common blunders aquarium keepers make. Here are a few mistakes to avoid when cleaning your home aquarium.
DON’T REMOVE YOUR FISH
Nearly all home kept fish are very sensitive when it comes to water changes. This includes the temperature, pH levels, ammonia levels, and nitrate levels. Moving your fish to a different water container puts your aquatic life under a lot of stress and can even hurt your fish. Sudden changes can even cause pH shock, which can lead to the death of your fish.
It’s recommended, when cleaning your home aquarium, to leave at least half of its existing water. If you have to move your fish to a different container for any reason, transfer some of the water currently in your tank to the new container to reduce the risks for your fish.
DON’T COMPLETELY CHANGE THE WATER
This goes hand in hand with not removing your fish from your aquarium while cleaning. The current water in your tank is tailored to your aquatic lifes’ needs. Changing the water in your tank is a surefire way to kill all helpful bacteria that help with waste decomposition. It’s recommended to change your water every few weeks, but only change up to half of your aquarium’s water at a time.
Do not add tap water to your aquarium. Use water that specifically has low levels of nitrate to reduce the chances of negative effects and stress on your fish. Always check nitrate and pH levels before adding new water to your aquarium.
DON’T OVERCLEAN
In addition to not changing the water entirely, you’ll need to make sure that you don’t overclean your home aquarium. Unless you have a serious issue, never clean the bio media off of your tank’s filter. This bacteria keeps the circle of life in your tank in check. Getting rid of all algae and helpful bacteria can cause a spike of ammonia in your tank, which is very dangerous to your fish.
You don’t need to clean your home aquarium every day. The healthiest tanks are very slightly dirty. Consider getting algae eating fish to help with cleaning your home aquarium.
Don’t Use Soap
Never introduce soap to any part of your aquarium. Soap is extremely toxic to fish, and even small amounts can gunk up their gills and make it near impossible for them to breathe. Soap almost certainly means death for your fish.
If you accidentally get soap in your aquarium, this is one of the few circumstances where it’s recommended to immediately move the fish into new water, clean your tank thoroughly, and replace or deep clean any features that might have come into contact with the soap.
Don’t Ignore Warning Signs From Your Fish
Even if you’re cleaning your home aquarium properly and consistently, there’s always the chance something can go wrong. Watch your fish for signs of stress. If they are swimming towards the surface to breathe, swimming sideways, lacking color, or acting lethargic, immediately check your temperature, nitrate, ammonia, and pH levels in your aquarium. You’ll need to do some research on what your specific fish need, but never ignore these warning signs from your fish.
Sometimes it’s hard to keep up with every important rule when it comes to cleaning your home aquarium. Some rules are counterintuitive, such as avoiding cleaning it completely and avoiding using soap. Your best course of action is to do research for the specific needs of your fish, and always watch your fish for signs that your tank isn’t being appropriately maintained.
