Keeping Fish2

I recently spoke to a young couple in a large store in the local town that solely provided pets and the neccesaries to go with them. We got talking about fish and it turned out they were just getting the stuff to set up their first tank. The chap had a 200 watt heater stat in his hand, amongst a few other bits so I remarked to him that he was starting with a nice size tank. His reply took me aback as he said it was only 18x10 inches!!. The 200w heater had been recommended to him by the sales person and he was oblivious to the fact that this would, in the event of a mishap, quickly boil the tank and his fish!
I then advised him that a tank of that size in a centrally heated room would only need a 50 watt heater stat to keep it ticking over at 75C. I also told him that it was prudent to get a spare heaterstat and this could be used to preheat the water ready for water changes, not only serving this purpose but testing the spare at the same time. He was also going to buy a load of expensive very large (6mm+) fancy coloured gravel and an under gravel filter. I explained that large gravel is of no use with a U/G filter, IF, he wanted to use a U/G filter he would need a gravel mixture of about 2-4 mm max for it to work effectively, and anyway , I personally do not use them as A. they do not promote plant growth, and B.you are unable to control what medium your filter uses as you can in an internal (or external) power filter.At this point, his daughter, a girl of about 10 yrs, pulled his sleeve, asking to go and get the fish!. It turned out they were going to keep them in a bucket until the tank was filled and ready. Good Lord, I thought, you would think that the petshop "person" would at least hold back selling them fish at this early stage, but no, a good punter is a godsend to them, so away they went to buy the fish. I had had enough by then and went and got the two fish I had come for and left.. Why buy fish there I hear you asking?, well believe it or not, out of the few suppliers in my area, they have the best kept tanks, the assistants are careful catching the fish and even let you catch your own,(when they get to know you),AND they give a WRITTEN seven day guarantee on them !. When you go to buy fish, have a good look round the tanks first, before you buy. Check for dead or dying fish, are the fish healthy looking, pert, active,have all their fins and not ragged edges, how many are there in each tank. You will have a hell of a job getting a particular fish from an overcrowded tank. If there are many dead fish in the tanks, (you cant help the odd one dying unnoticed), or the tanks look unkempt, mention this on your way out to look for a better supplier.! It seems many petshops today do not quarantine their fish before selling them and this is the reason I strongly recommend a second tank for fish to be kept in for a minimum of 7 days prior to tranferring them to your main tank. This will give time for most illness's to show up and be treated. Nothing like putting a stressed fish straight in your main tank after a bumpy ride home, a change in temperature etc. Just the thing to bring out some Ich (whitespot) and spread it around your main tank. This would cause you to treat the whole tank, and, if you had gone for the under gravel filter , you would not be able to change the filter media to remove the medication. (more Later). Whilst I'm an the subject, most recent reports seem to indicate that white spot is present in fish and water at most times, lying dormant until the right conditions for it come along. One of the main causes for a fish to present these conditions is STRESS. Do try at all times to cause your fish as little stress as possible. Some of the causes of stress are rough handling, temperature changes, bad water conditions, ( this can be Ph as well as nitrates or contaminants), I recently bought some large fancy goldfish an old chap had tank bred and kept. They averaged about 8 inches in body length, so it was obvious he had had them a few years. He had lost interest and was moving house and had let the tanks "go to pot", letting the filters get clogged, mulm accumulate and the water levels and condition go down. I bought all his equiptment and the fish more from pity than want as I could not let these fish suffer any more. They had advanced whitespot, fin and tail rot, and bleeding all over the bodies and tails. In fact before I got them cured and well again, one of the long finned comets had lost 6 inches of its tail!, just rotting off in lumps into the tank!. Glad to say they all survived and can be seen on my website.