STRESS ZYME by Aquarium Pharmaceuticals: This product adds live bacteria to aid in the development and maintenance of your biological filter. I am totally sold on this product. In my first 2 tanks I used nothing. What a mistake. I had nothing but problems getting my tank to cycle. I fought with cloudy tanks, tanks with high ammonia content, etc. When we purchased our first 50 gallon tank the man at the store suggested using Stress Zyme. That was all it took. The tank was fully cycled in no time at all. I didn't have to contend with cloudy water or high ammonia content. I use it every time I set up a new tank and after each water change. You always take some of the natural biological filter out during tank cleaning and this replaces what is lost in the process.

In the beginning to stimulate the natural growth of your biological filter you add 1 teaspoon per 5 gallons of water or 2 teaspoons per 10 gallons of water. You do this the first day, the 7th day and the 14th day. After that you add 1/2 teaspoon per 5 gallons of water or 1 teaspoon per 10 gallons of water after a water change. However, only add enough to bring it back up to full strength. IE: If you take out 5 gallons, add the amount of Stress Zyme required for 5 gallons of water. It will NOT hurt anything if you get too much in. This product contains live bacteria that is completely harmless to humans and pets. Basically, you can never get too much of it in your tank.

STRESS COAT by Aquarium Pharmaceuticals: I strongly suggest using it. This is a product that contains Aloe Vera. This product replaces the natural slim coating that fish lose during netting, fighting with other fish, or anything for that matter that can cause stress. It removes Chlorine from the water and helps to heal damaged and torn fins as well as other minor wounds.

As with all new fish hobbyists, we lost our fair share of fish. Since using this product we have virtually had no disease or deaths. I attribute it to the use of this product. Again I use it when setting up the new tank as well as after each water change. In the beginning or when a new fish is added to your aquarium add 1 teaspoon per 5 gallons of water or 2 teaspoons per 10 gallons of water. Add the Stress Coat the first day you set up your tank at the rate above. After that you add 1/2 teaspoon per 5 gallons of water or 1 teaspoon per 10 gallons of water after a water change. However, only add enough to bring it back up to full strength. IE: If you take out 5 gallons, add the amount of Stress Coat required for 5 gallons of water. It also will NOT hurt anything if you get too much in.

I also use it if I get an injured fish due to fighting. I will carefully net the fish and squirt the Stress Coat right on him. I then gently replace him in the water. This will greatly speed up the healing process in an injured fish.

There are other products on the market by different companies that do the same things as the above two products I mentioned. Since I have had no experience with any of them, my personal preference, is of course, the two that I have mentioned. If these products are not available in your area you may purchase them through mail order catalogs or purchase a product of a different brand that does the same thing. Basically it is a very good idea to add something to your tank that aids in promoting the biological filtration as well as something to replace the slime coating lost.

SALT: I keep salt in all my tanks at all times. I don't buy salt at the pet store because it is way too expensive. I buy regular table salt at the grocery store. Make sure you use only NON-IODIZED or PLAIN salt. The iodine will kill the fish. I use 1 tablespoon per 5 gallons of water. The salt also aids in repairing damaged fins, etc. It also helps to keep incidents of Ick/Ich down as Ick/Ich does not like Salt. It is a really good thing to use. Your fish do not have to be salt water fish to use this. Regular tropical fish are just fine with it. It does not hurt them at all. I have many different kinds of fish and none of them are bothered by it. After a water change add enough to bring it back up to full strength.

DO NOT dump the salt right into your tank if you have fish in it. It is very IMPORTANT that you either dissolve the salt in water before you pour it in or wait until the tank is full before you add it and make sure no fish are in the vicinity.

CHLORINE REMOVER: If you opt not to use Stress Coat then you will need to purchase some sort of chlorine remover to add to your tank in the beginning and after water changes. There are tons of different products out there that do that. They all work about the same. Any will do the trick for you. It is VERY important that you use something to remove the chlorine from the water as chlorine can harm or kill your fish.

When adding additives you should add them slowly as you fill the tank with water. I put them straight into the bowl that I pour the water into. (See How To Change Water/Clean Your Tank Below) This way, when you add the water to your tank the chemical is disbursed very rapidly. Another option would be to mix all of your chemicals together in a new glass and then slowly add it to your tank as you fill it with water. This is the way I do it in my larger tanks that I don't use a bowl in. It works very well.

Cycling is a natural occurrence. Good bacteria grows in your tank to eat up/destroy the ammonia and waste matter your fish produce as well as excess food. During this process your tank will become cloudy and the ammonia and nitrate levels will go up. This is a natural occurrence. The cycling process can take up to a month to complete. By adding a product such as Stress Zyme (mentioned above) you can greatly speed up the process.

A tank starts out with no biological filter at all. When you add fish to the tank the biological filter starts growing. As you add fish to your tank your biological filter will increase to accommodate the increased waste. By adding too many fish in the early stages of cycling a tank you cause problems. Your biological filter can not keep up with the waste. The best success I have had is in starting out with very few fish and slowly increasing.

A common mistake new hobbyists make is wanting to get lots of fish. This is an exciting hobby and I, like most others, wanted as many fish as I could fit in my aquarium right off the bat. I didn't want to wait. Each time I'd go to the store I just had to have this fish or that fish. Need I say, I learned very quickly that I must be patient and not overload the new tank. Bad mistake. When you add the fish to your aquarium you start the cycling process. Too many fish at first produce too much ammonia. Too much ammonia kills your fish.

Monitor the level of ammonia in your tank during the cycling period. Should the ammonia content get around 2-3 PPM then do a 25% water change, however do not do any gravel cleaning as this will disrupt the biological filtering process. However, if you have a lot of excess food decomposing in the bottom of the tank then you will need to clean that up. That is why it is VERY important not to over-feed in the beginning, or anytime for that matter. Decomposing food adds a tremendous amount of ammonia in your water. Once your ammonia levels out and stays at a pretty constant safe range, then it would be fine to start the gravel cleaning when doing water changes.

Here are some of my personal tips. 10-20 gallon tank start with 2 fish. 30-40 gallon tank start with 3 fish. 50-75 gallon tank start with 4 fish. Monitor your ammonia content the first week. If it stays consistent and doesn't get too high, then during the second week increase the number of fish in your tank. 10-20 gallon tank, add 1 fish. 30-40 gallon tank, add 1 or 2 fish. 50+ tank, add 2-4 fish, depending on the tank size. From that point on, you can add in the same number each week until you have a full tank of fish. Also keep in mind that fish are mostly schooling animals.  They like their own kind around.  Some even will die if they are all alone.  I always wanted Coral fish in my saltwater tank, but because they need to have 6 or more together to thrive and the cost of each is so high I never could have them.  I could have gotten just one, but then I would only have gotten to watch it die a lonely death.  So if you have a 10-20gl tank to start with and get 2 fish maybe they should be 2 of the same kind.  Also here I want to suggest that when you start out you should get the biggest tank you can afford.  We started out with two 10gl tanks and every problem you could have happened to them.  The larger tanks are much more forgiving and we have had less problems with these than the smaller tanks.

I know all books say that the rule of thumb is 1" of fish per gallon of water, but that just can not be done when starting a new tank. I do not go by the number of inches per gallon of water method. Each fish is different. Some grow much larger than others. For that reason, I don't want to overfill my tank. I want to leave room for the fish to grow. A fish that has the potential of growing over a foot long will not do well in a 10 gallon tank with 5 other fish. He will not be able to grow to his full size in a small tank. A fish can only grow as big as is allowable in his environment. If you purchase fish that get no bigger than an inch then you can have a lot of fish in your small aquarium.

There is a really good book out on the market that was very helpful to me when I started buying my fish. Simon & Schuster's Guide to Freshwater and Marine Aquarium Fishes. It is quite reasonably priced, $12.95. It gives excellent information on tropical fish, freshwater as well as salt water. I own a lot of different books on aquarium fish and this is my favorite. It started out as a wish book, but slowly but surely, I have obtained most of the fish I wanted.

Each fish has a color picture. There is a description of each fish; lists the temperature, pH, lighting, water hardness, tank furnishings, etc of each fishes preference. Each fish comes with a section on what types of food are best for it as well. It tells the size the fish gets to, both male and female. Explains the sexual differences. It goes into the behavior, reproduction and compatibility of the fish. It will tell you things about the particular fishes habit. For instance: The African Butterfly fish is a leaper so they suggest that you use a fully enclosed tank and to keep your lid closed at all times. Another example would be some of the eel types. They stay hidden during the day, but are very active at night. These little tidbits help when thinking about purchasing a fish. I bought a Black Ghost Knife before getting this book. I wish I'd never bought him. He cost $20 and I never saw him. He stayed hidden in his castle and never came out. I much prefer to see my fish swimming around... after all that's why I bought them.

Please note that the compatibility of the fish is very important.  A prime example of this is the Beta.  Put two males in the same tank and they will fight to the death.  Most people know about these mainly because when you go into the fish store you always see them in separate small containers hanging on the edge of a tank.  But there are a lot of other fish that have compatibility issues.  Please read up on the fish you want before succumbing to the lure of a pretty fish in the store.  My Mom had a school of Tetras with several Angelfish.  One by one the Tetras disappeared.  Tetras are small enough to be excellent food for the Angelfish! 

AMMONIA TEST KIT: I STRONGLY suggest that you get an Ammonia test kit. If you get no other test kit, get an ammonia test kit. Ammonia is the #1 killer of fish. Tropical fish just can not handle high ammonia content unless you are talking about Goldfish. Goldfish don't seem to be affected by high ammonia as much. An ammonia content that would kill other tropical fish will not harm a Goldfish.

Goldfish are extremely high producers of waste matter. They put out a tremendous amount of ammonia. Because of this reason it is advisable to not keep other tropical fish in with Goldfish. Their tanks should be monitored more frequently than other freshwater fish tanks after the biological filter/cycling process is completed. I find that our 50 gallon tank with 13 Goldfish in it the water has to be changed more frequently than my other tanks to keep them happy and the ammonia content down. Also keep in mind that Goldfish prefer cold water and even though they can survive in tropical water they will not thrive.

pH TEST KIT: Another must have. The water from your tap can vary greatly in the pH level. Fish all have their requirements for pH. Some like lower pH, some higher and some mid range. Changes in pH in the tank are another killer to your fish.  You should check the pH as often as you do the ammonia. Many fish stores offer water testing for free. Since I have so many tanks I have purchased a pH test kit, however in the beginning you can take the water in to your local fish store be tested for pH.

The pH test kit I use is Freshwater Ammonia Test Kit also by Aquarium Pharmaceuticals. It is in a blue and white box. I know I am starting to sound like a sales person from that company, but I'm not :). It's just that I have found their products to be the easiest to use, the most accurate and the best on the market. Needless to say, I have used many, many different products in the beginning and have found these to be my favorite.

The main reason I prefer Aquarium Pharmaceutical test kits over the others is the way you test your water. Many of the other kits use a pill that you drop in the tube to test with. The pill takes forever to dissolve. You have to stand there and shake the tube for hours it seems. By using the liquid you have almost instant results.

After the cycling process I change my water as needed-no set time limit. I have certain fish that tend to dirty the water more than the others. I change 25% of their water every 10 days or so. That way the you can see them better and the overall appearance of the tank is much more beautiful. Some of my other tanks don't have to be changed more than once a month or so. It's pretty much a judgment call on your part. It's real hard for me to tell you how often to change your water since I'm not there to see how quickly your fish will get it dirty.

The second consideration in water changes and cleaning is the ammonia content in your water. If there is a lot of excess waste matter or food particles on the bottom of the tank, they will produce ammonia. As stated above you need to monitor the ammonia level. If it gets high, do a water change/clean. If you notice a lot of waste or rotting food on the bottom of your tank, it is time to do a cleaning and water change.

There are also unseen chemicals in the water, such as nitrates, that can be very harmful or deadly to your fish. For this reason, I would recommend changing at least 25% of your water at least every month to 6 weeks. Most of the literature I have read states to do this every 2 weeks or so. I have found that there is no real need to do this. However, if you have one tank then I would do a 25% water change every 2 weeks. Personally for me, this would be a very involved process having as many tanks as I have.

Water evaporates in time. When it does, do NOT just top of your tank thinking that you are achieving the same results as a water change. This does NOT work. When the water evaporates it leaves behind the chemicals. These are not removed in the evaporation process. You will still need to do water changes/cleaning regardless of the amount of water you add when topping off your tank.

Replace 25% of your water every 2 weeks or so. There is no need to do any gravel cleaning at that point. Once a month you should do a gravel cleaning to avoid the plugging up of your undergravel filter and to remove the waste matter that causes the ammonia buildup.

When you clean your tank, clean only 1/4 of it thoroughly at a time. Go clear down to the undergravel filter. Leave the tube where it is until you see clear water come out of it. The next time you clean your tank, do the next 1/4 the same way. This way after 4 cleanings you will have your tank cleaned out. By doing only 1/4 of your tank each time you clean you will not disrupt your biological filter much at all. I have found this to work extremely well. Only remove 25-30% of your water at a time. Be sure and add Stress Zyme or some other comparable product after the cleaning. This will aid in replacing the bacteria that you removed by the cleaning.

When adding water back into your tank it is a good idea to place a bowl on the bottom. The deeper the bowl the better. The bowl will catch the force of the water as your pour it in to your tank. Without the bowl the water will hit the gravel full force and disrupt the surface of the bottom of your tank. I know you are sick of hearing this, but make sure it is a new bowl and you only use it for this purpose.

When you add water to your tank it is very IMPORTANT that the water you add is as close to the temperature of the water in your tank as you can possibly get it. Check the temperature of the water coming out of your faucet before you put it in your tank. 1 degree plus or minus will be fine. Anymore than that and there is the potential of harm to your fish. I use a separate thermometer for just this purpose, one that hangs on the side of the tank. I turn on the water, put a glass under the faucet with the thermometer hanging inside the glass. I adjust my water until I get it to the exact temperature as the tank I am filling and then I fill the tank. This is the safest and best way that I have found.

If you have a large tank or are replacing a lot of water in a tank, it is a good idea to check the water after every 2 or three buckets if you let the water run as you fill. The water can change temperature very rapidly without you noticing. When filling our tanks with the Python we have to continually monitor the water temperature since we are usually replacing about 80 gallons of water in our 150 gallon tank.

Remove your tubes and decorations. Clean them in warm water. NO SOAP. If you need an abrasive then sprinkle NON-IODIZED salt on your sponge and wash the article that way. Use your brushes and toothbrush to clean the air filter tubes. You can clean your filters the same way. Occasionally if I am in a hurry I will throw mine in the dishwasher on the long wash cycle and clean them that way. I add no soap, the hot water alone does the trick.  Any bits and pieces that may be left can be cleaned with a toothbrush.

Algae and lime deposits build up on the glass on top of your tank. It is a good idea to take them off and clean them every so often as well. Clean them in warm water. NO SOAP. If you need an abrasive then sprinkle NON-IODIZED salt on your sponge and wash the glass that way. If you do not keep up with the lime deposits you will have one heck of a time trying to get it off. It is very hard to remove. Sometimes taking a razor blade and scraping the glass will work if it has not been on there too long. After a while, if not cleaned, you will not be able to get it off. This will cause a clouding on your tank and the light will not shine through very well.

To clean the outside glass of your tank you can use standard glass cleaners. Do NOT SPRAY the glass cleaner right on the glass. Instead spray it on your rag or paper towel. If you spray it on the glass there is a potential of over spray getting into your tank. The chemical in the glass cleaner can harm or kill your fish. If you see water streaks on your glass it is a very good idea to clean it off right away. If not you can end up with lime deposits on the glass. (See above)