Top 13 Misconceptions of Aquarium Fish Keeping

Aquarium fish keeping is one of the most popular hobbies around the world. While it is not the top choice for pet owners in term of how many households own them, they are in fact the most numerous. The number of pet fish exceeds all the other pet species in comparison since most people who have aquarium fish do not keep just one fish.

Partially due to their sheer number, aquarium fish are also the most likely to die due to poor care. Since they are one of the cheapest pets to keep, people often do not pay enough attention to their actual needs. A lot of beginners can avoid fish losses if they understand the basics. To do so, a lot of misconceptions require correction.

The following is a list of common false beliefs for aquarium fish keeping among the general population

1. Fish is easy to keep
Sure, a fish aquarium is easy to maintain after we have learned all the basics. Please do not think for a moment that a beginner can keep pet fish live long enough to the full extent of their natural lifespan without doing a little research first. On the average, fish die to all kinds of unnatural causes within a few weeks after people bought them.

Solution: Please do some research on how to take care of pet fish before you even start on ordering anything. It is not complex at all, but you still must learn it first. You can start learning all the basics by reading the articles on aquarium fish care in our library section. Feel free to ask any question.

2. Fish is hard to keep
Some people think fish will die easily no matter what they do. Some others believe there are too many troubles and unknown involved in fish keeping. Such as water changes.

Not really. Fish are easy to keep if you have done your homework first. You only need to do a partial water change once a week for a well-maintained fish aquarium. It certainly beats walking your dog every day if you have limited time.

Solution: Try to learn everything before you buy the fish. It will be a painful lesson in most cases if you do it in a reversed order.

3. Fish makes a good pet for children
Yes and No. Under most circumstances, even adults have no idea what they are doing when it comes to having aquarium fish for the first time. Let alone kids. Without the guidance of an adult who knows what he or she is doing, you are basically sentencing the fish to die by allowing a kid to take care of it.

Solution: First, at least one adult in the household should have the full knowledge on how to properly taking care of aquarium fish. And then this adult can show the kid how to do it. You can quickly achieve it by doing what was said in #1. Then you need to have the kid to follow the guidelines if he or she wants fish as a pet. Only when all these conditions are met, fish is indeed a good pet project for kids.

4. Pet fish is cheap to have.
Yes and no.
While most pet fish are not expensive, all the mandatory aquarium equipment and supplies you must buy will cost a lot more than the fish. But of course, it will also depend on how many fish and what species of fish you buy. Price varies a lot between different fish species available in the aquarium trade. While the whole fish keeping hobby is fairly cheap compared to keeping most other pets, it certainly cost more than most beginners think.

The fish tank is not the only thing you must have for keeping fish at home. Other things such as aquarium filter, aquarium water conditioner, fish food, are mandatory. An aquarium heater is also mandatory if you plan to get tropical fish. You also need an air pump if otherwise there is not enough surface movement to promote gas exchange between the water and atmosphere.

Solution: Once again we must refer to the importance of #1. Do your research, get to know everything you must buy to set up an aquarium at home, and why you need them. Then do the math, and come up with a good estimation of the total cost. See what kind of setup your budget allows, or if your budget allows the hobby at all.

5. Fish is a pet you can buy and bring home whenever you want them.

Sorry, it can’t be more wrong. Fish is a special case amongst pets. You can’t just decide to buy fish on the spot and expect them to live for more than a few weeks. Since they can’t live outside a well-established aquarium, you must provide a suitable home for them before bringing them home.

Solution: What you need to do is to have everything set up and running first. This goes back to #1 again. After you have researched the topics, you must make a list of mandatory items for the hobby. Once you have ordered and received all these must-have items, they need to be set up and running first long before you get the fish.

6. Size does not matter when it comes to a fish tank.
This is false. While it is true that you can get any size of the fish tank you want, it is only feasible under one condition – The tank meets the minimum required size. In general, anything less than 5 US gallons does not have enough water in it to keep stable temperature, PH, hardness along with many other things. Fish do not like fluctuation in water conditions. It can shock and even kill them.

Solution: The bigger is better. The bigger the fish tank is, the easier it is to maintain stable water conditions. However, you do not need to go overboard with it. In case you just want one or a few small tropical fish, then a 5 to 10-gallon tank will do just fine. But no less than a 5-gallon please if you are serious about keeping aquarium fish. It will keep your fish alive and healthy, and save yourself some maintenance trouble at the same time.

7. Fish can be brought home as soon as everything is set up and running. Or, in some cases people believe in letting the aquarium sit for a few days will do the trick.

False. This alone kills most fish in the hobby for beginners.
A newly set up aquarium does not have the necessary good bacteria colony required for aquarium nitrogen cycle. All fish will produce ammonia in the form of fish waste. Along with all the other rotting organic matters including leftover fish food, the tank water will be too toxic for the fish to live within weeks or even in just days. Naturally occurring nitrogen cycle must be established in the aquarium before you put any fish in. No amount of “let it sit” will do a thing until you have learned how to start the nitrogen cycle.

Solution: Please read more on Aquarium Nitrogen Cycle. Learn how to do a fishless cycling. You can only introduce the fish to an aquarium once it is fully cycled.

8. Goldfish are easy to take care of
Not really. Goldfish is one of the most common aquarium fish people keep at home. Contrary to popular belief, their needs are not “easy” to meet. It is not because they are delicate fish. Rather, they have higher demands on fish tank size, filter power, and the level of maintenance required than most other fish. Common goldfish require minimal 40 gallons for just one, and 55 gallons for two. Fancy goldfish require minimal 20 gallons for one, and 30 gallons for two. They will grow a lot bigger than most pet fish in the hobby. They also eat a lot and poop a lot, which will require more efficient filter as well as more maintenance to keep the aquarium in excellent condition.

Solution: You can meet their high demand by getting large enough fish tank and higher rated aquarium filter system. Or you are better off getting something smaller and less demanding. P.S. Please never bring a goldfish home from a fair or festival, unless you have a well-established goldfish tank at home with extra room to spare.

9. We can use tap water for fish aquarium by letting it sit for a day or two.
Wrong! Tap water has chlorine and chloramine in it. Both can kill the fish. While chlorine might be released into the atmosphere after a day or two, chloramine is a lot more stable, and it is not going anywhere. No amount of let the tap water sit will fix the problem.

Solution:

Treat the tap water with any of the commercially available aquarium water conditioners. It will remove the chlorine and chloramine instantly and make the water safe for fish.

10. We can put any species of fish in the same fish tank.
Wrong! Fish compatibility is an important fact to the well-being or even life and death of the fish. Some people mix up goldfish in a tropical aquarium, and vice versa. Other people put multiple betta fish or gourami in the same fish tank.

There is also the problem with aggression between certain fish species. Betta fish, for example, should be housed alone. Gourami too, as a relative of betta fish, they do not like their own species in the same fish tank. When there is more than just one, they will be aggressive toward each other which can cause injuries and even deaths.

Solution: Do not mix up tropical fish with non-tropical fish. The former must have an aquarium heater unless you live in a tropical area. The latter do not need a heater. Do some research on the individual fish species you plan to get. Learn about their compatibility and their behaviors before deciding on what fish to get.

11. 100% of the water and the fish can be taken out of the fish tank during a water change.
Never remove 100% the water! Unstable water conditions can shock and kill the fish. If you change 100% of the water, the temperature, PH, hardness, etc. of the new water will certainly be different. It is dangerous for the fish who cannot regulate their body temperature like us.

Solution: Do not take the fish out of the fish tank. Only do a partial water change of 30~50% as a part of the regular maintenance. You may change up to 70% or even a little more if you do it on a weekly basis. As well as you have made sure the new water temperature is close to the water temperature in the fish tank.

12. Fish can eat what we eat.
Wrong. Fish are different from humans. While humans can use carbohydrate efficiently used for energy, most fish species can’t make good use of it. Most fish need protein and fat. Their digestive system is very different as well. They might not be able to digest a lot of the food we eat. Do not feed them rice or bread or anything like that from our regular diet.

Solution: Do not go cheap on fish food. Please get commercially available fish food for fish. A single bottle can last for months, and it is worth it.

13. Feed fish multiple times a day
Overfeeding fish is one of the top problems contributed to fish deaths. Unlike us, fish do not need to regulate their own body temperature. They do not need a lot of energy to stay alive. They can live happily after with just one meal per day or even one meal every two days. More food is not better. Not only some fish might die from digestive problems when you overfeed them, but the extra food will also just pollute the water by creating more ammonia. Fish can die of ammonia poisoning. Sure, a lot of fish food bottles have instruction on them saying “feeding three times a day”. They just want you to go through the bottle quicker, so you will need to give them more money sooner.

Solution: Just feed your fish once a day. With no more food than they can finish within a minute or less. You should not see any leftover, or you must cut back on the portion size.

Conclusion: Aquarium fish keeping hobby has a lot of misconceptions. They have contributed to the fish losses for the beginners and discouraged them from trying again after the failure. Thorough research is required before getting into the aquarium fish hobby. It prevents most of the potential problems. There are certainly more of the wrong impressions and common mistakes, but we will leave it for another day.