An aquarium can be a soothing and aesthetically enhancing aspect of your home’s environment. However, it is important that you get it right, or else you might be getting into much more than you can imagine. Here are some common mistakes new aquarium owners need to avoid:

Starting Too Small

Many first time aquarium owners very understandably believe that it is best to start with a small aquarium and work up from there, and there are many small aquarium kits on the market to make start-up easy. However, contrary to what might seem the most logical belief, the truth is that small aquariums are the most difficult to maintain, even for seasoned aquarium owners. An aquarium is a delicate ecosystem that can only support fish if all of the components in the water are perfectly balanced. The larger the aquarium, the greater the room for error; therefore, larger aquariums are best for beginners.

Buying Fish for the Wrong Reasons

It is not unusual for aquarium owners to purchase fish for their aquariums based on what they find most attractive. Unfortunately, not all fish are meant to cohabitate and putting the wrong mixture of fish species together can result in disastrous consequences. Make sure to research all of the fish species you plan on purchasing before you decide to put them in your aquarium, to make sure they are well suited to the water environment you will be providing, as well as to each other.

Putting Fish in Too Soon

As previously mentioned, the water in an aquarium must be perfectly balanced before fish can thrive in it. While it is only natural that you should want to beautify your new aquarium with colorful inhabitants right away, you could be killing your fish by putting them into water that has not yet had the time to neutralize. You’ll want to find quality aquarium filters from petsupplies.com, allow the water to settle, and then add your fish. Owning an aquarium takes patience.

Feeding Fish Too Much

Fish are opportunistic animals. That means they are always looking for opportunities to feed, and hunger has nothing to do with it. Just because your fish rush to the surface to ingest the food flakes you put out for them, it doesn’t mean they need it. Only give your fish enough to eat in five minutes or less. Anything more than that is overfeeding and unhealthy.

Too Many Fish

It is best to start with just a couple of very hardy fish species and then wait to let the water completely neutralize before adding more. Even then, you should be careful not to add too many fish, as all of the fish in your aquarium must share the same oxygen supply. Research the specific species you are purchasing to determine how much space they need to themselves in an aquarium.

As you can see, there is a lot to think about when starting and maintaining your first aquarium. Keep all of these considerations in mind when it comes to protecting your pets from common new owner blunders.