Fish seem to be an ideal pet for both beginners and busy people. Furthermore, with a well-decorated tank, it can even take the décor of your home to a whole new level. However, like all pets, keeping fish is not a walk in the park. One of the hardest parts about having fish is regularly cleaning out their tank. To make this task easier for you, here are some simple steps to follow while washing a fish tank or bowl.
- Empty Out the Tank
In order to clean the tank, you will have to empty it of its contents including the fish and any decoration pieces.
- Removing the Fish
Take the fish out of the tank and keep it in a spacious container, such as a bath, immersing it in the same water it has been in inside the tank.
- Clean the Decoration Pieces
It is likely that over time the decoration pieces you have left in the tank have accumulated bacteria and is really dirty to even look at. You can clean them by running them under hot water to eliminate majority of the germs.
- Cleaning the Fish
Just like the tank, the fish may also have a lot of bacteria and parasites on it. In order to clean it, prepare some saltwater and let the fish remain in that water for a couple minutes. This will help remove anything unwanted or harmful from the fish.
- Cleaning the Tank
Rinse the empty tank or bowl with warm water to get rid of dirt and bacteria. It is important to keep in mind not to use soap or other cleaning agents which are not meant to be in contact with fishes. Toxins from these chemicals will end up risking your pet’s life.
In the case of a small fish bowl, you can simply dump the dirty water out of the bowl and rinse the gravel and rocks in a colander with warm water.
In contrast, if you are cleaning an entire tank, you will have to use other methods to get the water out without disturbing the gravel for example, siphoning the water out.
- Introduce Aquascape
Planting live aquatic plants in your tank serves many purposes other than hiding the filtration equipment. Aquascape can reduce algae from forming in your tank or bowl significantly and also improves filtration. Therefore, you should consider introducing aquatic plants in your fish tank to prolong the cleanliness of the tank.
- Set Up and Wait
In the case of a fish tank, you have to reassemble the tank such as the filtration system and such. However, after you finish setting it up you should wait 24 hours before letting the fish back in the tank in order to let the water conditions to adjust to the settings of your tank.
Final Thoughts
It is important to do extensive research and ask help from professionals when you are handling with fish because they might be easy pets to keep but they also die as easily. By following these steps you will be able to successfully clean your fish tank or bowl.
