Tropical Fish

Fish from different categories may be mixed, provided the following is done:

Mixing fish from category B + D - Adjust PH to 7.0 -7.5

Mixing fish from category B + E - Adjust PH to 6.5 -7.0

Mixing fish from category B + C - Adjust PH to 6.5

We Do Not recommend that you mix fish from any other categories, as this will create problems in your aquarium.

Tips for buying fish :

• Refer to charts to see if fish are compatible.
• Only buy a few fish at a time.
• Never leave fish in your car when it is parked in the sun.
• Keep a list of the fish you purchase and bring it back to the pet shop when you purchase new fish. This will help with choosing compatible fish.

Procedures for introducing fish into your aquarium :

• Your tank should have been standing for at least 24hours before you introduce new fish.
• Test your tank water before introducing fish, so you can be sure the water is ready.

• Turn off aquarium lights
• Float fish bag in your aquarium for a minimum of 20min.
• Open bag and add 5% of the volume of the bags water with water from your aquarium. Repeat every 5-8min until the bag is approximately 90% full. (you can skip this step if you test the PH of the water in the bag and your aquarium and they are the same or virtually the same value)
• Catch the fish out of the bag (with a sterile net) and release into your aquarium, discard water in the bag.

Precautions recommended in preventing Bacterial Diseases or Parasitic Contamination:

• Dose your aquarium with General Cure capsules to prevent parasites.
• Use Melafix (a natural product) to prevent bacterial diseases (fin rot, fungus, etc.) and Immuno Vital to prevent future disease outbreaks.
• To alleviate stress and as a precaution for future outbreaks of diseases use E.M. tablets, Fin & coat/ Stress coat/ Proper PH and Immuno- vital. (Seemingly healthy fish can carry dormant bacteria/parasites and only need to be stressed out and they will have an outbreak.)
• Add Bacter Vital/ Stresszyme/ Actizyme to your aquarium when adding new fish to boost your bio filter.

Stress is a major cause of fish disease.

Stress and shock cause the protective slime coat on the fish to fall off, leaving the fish open to attack from bacteria and parasites.

Causes of Stress and/ or Shock:

• Sudden temperature changes
• Sudden change in PH and/ or water hardness. (Eg. If you do to big a water change.)
• Banging or Knocking on the aquarium glass or transport bag.
• Sudden bright light.
• Introducing incompatible fish into the same aquarium.

The major problems in keeping and maintaining a healthy aquarium is ignorance or insensitivity to your fishes’ needs.

Fish are delicate living beings, so to keep them in good health we strongly recommend that all aquarists use only the best proven quality brands available.

Our Recommendations :

Food (only top quality) – Dry: Nutron, Aquarian, etc, live and frozen foods.

Medicaments and Water Additives – Aquarium Pharmaceuticals, New Technology, Marc Weis, Eco Solutions, Prodac, etc.

Test Kits – New Technology Liquid Tests (Extremely accurate and competitively priced), Aquarium Pharmaceutical Dry Tab Tests (Most Accurate of all tests kits), Prodac Test Kits.

Helpful Hints for Maintaining a Healthy Aquarium:

• The number one cause of fish deaths is ammonia poisoning. So insure your filter is sufficient for the volume of your aquarium and is working properly by regularly testing your water for ammonia and nitrate’s. In case of excessive ammonia levels use Ammonia Remover and / or Ammo Zorb and add additional Bio Chem Stars to your filter, if your bio load is high.
• The second highest cause of fish deaths is nitrate poisoning. This can be prevented by testing water and changing 20% of your aquariums water weekly (Always condition new water by using Proper PH or Fin & Coat.) If you don’t want to make water changes then filter the nitrate’s out with Nitra Zorb in your power filter or by adding NitrateReducer (Bacteria) weekly to your aquarium.
• Nitrate and Phosphate (from fish foods) are food sources for algae growth in your aquarium. So if you keep the nitrate and phosphate levels very low you should never have any algae problems.

Phosphate levels can be kept in check by filtering with Phos-Zorb in your power filter or by adding Phosphate Reducer (bacteria) to your aquarium weekly. Tap water contains both nitrates and phosphates, to rid your water from these we recommend you use a Tap Water Purifier (this will also soften your water)

Light causes algae to grow in your aquarium as well so make sure you don’t position your aquarium in direct light and only leave your light on for 8-12 hours a day. It’s important that you have globes that are designed for aquariums as well. (Eg. Arcadia globes and fittings)

• Trace Elements and Vitamins are quickly used up out of the water by the fish, plants and bacteria (in the filter). We recommend that you replace them by adding Eco System Fish Solutions to your water.

• Testing and checking water parameters regularly is essential.

Test weekly for PH, Ammonia, Hardness, Nitrate, Nitrite, Oxygen, Phosphate, etc. according to your aquariums needs.

• Never over stock your aquarium with fish. Never buy too many fish at the same time.

• Ensure your gravel, rocks/ stones, driftwood and decorations are suitable for your aquarium. Some of these items can affect certain types of aquarium water. If you are not sure please our staff.

• Regular use of prodac Aquasalz is highly recommended. (It Increases oxygen, helps keep your aquarium clean and dose a whole lot more ask to see it in store so you can find out more.)

The information given in this leaflet is only a guide line and we strongly recommend that you purchase a book on the type of fish you plan on keeping.