The children and I recently had a fun morning out, visiting a place where Tetra, the fish and aquatics specialists, were hosting and sharing about fish, how to keep them properly, to help us learn about different breeds of fish, types of aquariums and everything you need to keep fish happy and well looked after.
I think most people think fish are easy pets. You get a container, a few pretty plants, plop a few fish in, feed them, make sure they don’t get too hot or cold, clean them out occasionally, and there you have it, right?
Wrong. I partly know this, myself, having kept cold water and tropical fish, over the past few years, but I am no expert and fish, like all pets need proper care, the right environment, food, correct type of water, plant life and even companions. I didn’t know for example that you cannot put goldfish into a tank of other fish, for example, and that some fish can be very fussy about simple things like how warm their water is, whereas others are more hardy and don’t mind too much. I also didn’t know that the generic, cheapish fish food you can pick up in the supermarket isn’t always the best for all fish, and that you do really need to make sure that your fishy friends are getting the right nutrients and not just any old fish flakes sprinkled into their tanks.
It was definately eye opening and informative, and made me realize that keeping fish isn’t as simple as people would think. Fish are beautiful, and watching them swim around in a tank can be really calming and actually very therapeutic.
This was a particular favorite of mine…
But if you are thinking about getting an aquatic set up and some fish you need to think carefully about how you are going to look after them. What room you will put the tank in, what the temperature will be, the water quality, the type of fish you want, making sure you know if you fish will breed or not, and that you have the correct plants and food for them.
So, before you embark on having fish as pets, I would definitely say you need to do your research, make sure it’s the right thing for you, and that you can look after them, just like you would any other pet you might have. Fish can be fun, interesting, and very calming pets to have, as long as you remember that they are dependent on you to keep them happy and well looked after. We definitely learned a lot from our visit and met some rather beautiful fish and other creatures. Now, I have to persuade the husband that we really want a whole wall replaced with a tropical tank to accommodate the Pig Nosed Turtle that a certain small boy thinks we need to have join our family… 😉
Cute, isn’t he?
*We were very kindly treated to a visit to the Tetra shop, but all words and opinions are our own*
You are definitely right, keeping fish isn’t as easy as some people think it is! But if you put the time in to learn how to properly care for them and give them an environment to flourish, it is one of the most satisfying hobbies to get into! Nothing calms me more than sitting next to my tanks with some music on and relaxing!
Excellent post by the way! Keep up the great work!