Fish Care - Maintenance Schedule

Before purchasing pet fish, you should make sure to have a basic understanding of how to take care of your fish and maintain an aquarium.

Daily Fish Care

• If your fish is in a bowl, feed your fish daily.
• Change the water every 2-3 days.
• Use water that has been treated with a special water conditioner for fish.
• Do not use soap to clean the bowl. It could kill your fish.

Weekly Fish Care

• If you have a larger fish tank, you should be able to get away with cleaning the fish's home once a week. You can just change part of the water, 10-15% for most tanks, replacing it with fresh water.
• Follow the same rules listed above for the remainder.

Monthly Fish Care

• Lots of debris and waste hides in the bottom of the fish tank.
• If you have gravel in your tank, do a very good monthly vacuuming (using a syphon from the pet store).

Annual Fish Care

• Make sure your fish aren't getting too big for their bowl or tank. It might be time to upgrade to a larger size.
• Make sure you have filters and air supplies necessary for your type(s) of fish.

Now that you have a better understanding of how to take care of a fish, we have a few additional tips on how to care for your fish when you are away from home.

Fish Care Tips When You Travel

• Clean The Bowl or Tank - Do your partial water change and make sure the tank is full the day before you leave.
• Change The Filter - Check to see if a filter change is needed and replace accordingly.
• Feeding Your Fish - Do not overfeed your fish before you leave. You will only make your fish bloated, sick and constipated. It is not necessary to have someone feed your fish if you will be away for one week or less. If you will be gone a week or more, however, use one feeder block if you have a bottom feeder fish. For other types of fish, use a mechanical feeder or find a fish-wise friend to feed the fish for you.

Proper fish care is very important and will help your fish live long and happy lives!