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I suppose this follows on from my previous posting regarding fish2007-11-24 23:35:51

I want to buy some fish, but from previous experience, say after a few days or so, the water stinks and clouds up. Is there something that can be bought to stop this and to save me from having to clean the bowl out each week?

Answers:

* Make sure you start off with clean water. This is not tap water or bottled water. You can usually buy RO (reverse osmosis) water from pet shops or use filtered water from home.

* Set up the bowl/tank and leave it to stand with the filter & pump running for 5 days. This allows the nessesary bacterial to culture. If you are impatient you can add a bacterial boost to the water again from a pet shop.

* Add the fish one at a time, with at least a weeks delay. This gives the bacteria time to populate to the increasing number of fish.

* Don't over feed the fish. They should be able to eat everything within a few mins. Scoop out anything left uneaten and only feed once or twice a day.

* Make sure you buy a good filter. Clean this out on a weekly basis using water from the fish tank. If you use tap water you will kill the bacteria on the sponges and it's the bacteria that help break down the cr@p.

* Once every month change 10% of the water with more RO or filtered water. You don't want to remove too many of the bacteria but you need to dilute the toxins etc in the water.

Finally, remeber fish tanks shouldn't smell. If it starts to, go to your pet shop and seak advice.

EDIT: Just saw the advice above about not having real plants in the tank. Agree to a point. My fish love to eat the plants so once a month I add for a couple of days as a treat but remove them before they go slimy even if not fully eaten.

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Get a small aquarium with a cleaning pump on it. You will, eventually, have to clean it out, but this will delay things for a while. Also, try algae eating fish or snails and live underwater greenery.

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Use plastic plants rather than real ones.