Aquarium Care : Choosing the right aquarium size for your fish

A Sound Aquarium Care Philosophy

Aquarium and tropical fish keeping is a wonderful hobby. Although caring for your fish-tank may seem frustrating at times, it’s actually very simple as long as you know what you’re doing. That’s why I’m writing this ‘Aquarium Care’ series. I hope to help you understand the basic needs of your tropical fish, so that you can enjoy this great hobby to its fullest! A crucial step for creating a successful freshwater aquarium is acquiring knowledge about how an aquarium ecosystem works. Indeed, tropical fish aquariums, in many ways, function like miniature ecosystems. If you take some time to learn about these mini-aquatic habitats, you’ll discover that aquarium keeping is much simpler than you may have previously thought.

Having said that, I invite all to take just a few minutes to look over the aquarium care "tips" found below.

Aquarium Care Tip 1: Aquarium Size

The first thing that comes to mind when setting up an aquarium is its size. When it comes to fish-tank size, bigger is actually better. This is especially true for beginners. It may seem counterintuitive, but bigger aquariums are much easier to care for than are smaller fish-tanks.

The reason for this is twofold.

1) Large aquariums tend to stay cleaner. Think of it this way: if a fish poops in a small body of water (a fish bowl, for example), there’s a good chance that it will poison itself! Conversely, if a fish poops in a large body of water, it will just funk the place up a bit. Although the ‘fish poop’ example is a simple way of describing a complex subject, it’s fundamentally accurate. In later parts of this aquarium care series, I’ll explain the methods of maintaining clean and clear aquarium water in more detail. For now, let’s move on to the next attribute that makes large aquariums better than their smaller counterparts.

2) Large aquariums promote stable water conditions. In addition to cleanliness, aquarium conditions include pH, hardness, and temperature. The larger the body of water is, the less likely it is to suffer from outside disturbance – a cool or hot house, poor tap-water quality, etc. In short, large aquariums provide a level of chemical stability that is unmatched by small fish-tanks. So, how big of an aquarium should you get?

I recommend a minimum aquarium size of 40 gallons. Believe me, large aquariums not only look nicer, but they also require less maintenance and are easier to care for. I hope this aquarium care article has proved helpful and informative. For more information on the subject concerning aquarium setup and maintenance, visit Aquarium Care, Tropical Fish Care, at TheSmileyFish.com.