| Donna Monday | | | | to the atmosphere. While frogs aren't technically |
| Growing up, our family maintained at least two | | | | fish, we never thought that our well-fed fish |
| tropical fish tanks at all times. There was the "big | | | | would enjoy frogs for dinner. |
| tank" (the traditional rectangle aquarium) and the | | | | I still shudder at the memory of seeing that poor |
| "little tank" (the decorative jug-shaped tank that | | | | helpless tiny frog hanging from the jaws of that |
| doubled as a lamp). I remember tapping on the | | | | fish. We also saw aggressive fish pick on and take |
| glass gently to get the attention of the fish and | | | | bites out of other non-aggressive fish. If you don't |
| being delighted when they seemed to respond by | | | | separate them, eventually the non-aggressive fish |
| swimming close to my finger. | | | | will die. |
| | | | Freshwater Aquarium Care |
| Freshwater Tropical Fish | | | | Aquarium care maintenance is a real responsibility. |
| First, I suggest finding some credible freshwater | | | | This is where your fish live 24/7 and they need a |
| tropical fish information and reading up on the | | | | clean environment. This is a chore that needs to |
| subject before going out to buy your first | | | | be done regularly so keep that in mind when |
| freshwater tropical fish. These fish are delicate. | | | | considering setting up a home fish aquarium. |
| And some need special care. | | | | A good aquarium care guide can show you how |
| We had (at any given time): tropical angel fish, red | | | | to clean a fish tank with the fish in it, or you can |
| Oscar fish, plain guppie and fancy tail guppie fish, | | | | transfer the fish to another holding tank while you |
| kissing fish (these are fun to watch!), popeye fish | | | | clean the dirty one. How do you clean a fish tank? |
| (my sentimental favorite), scavenger fish (keeps | | | | Usually it involves taking a hose and draining out |
| the tank clean), and even a small pet shark. | | | | the dirty water, then replacing it with clean fresh |
| While many of these fish may all come from the | | | | water. Don't forget to turn your pump back on |
| same waters, they may not all get along when | | | | after cleaning the pump filter. |
| plopped together in a small space. A good tropical | | | | If you have aquarium plants, you'll also want to |
| fish guide can teach you how to keep and breed | | | | read up on aquarium plant care. |
| tropical fish and give you recommendations for | | | | Tropical Fish Diseases |
| tropical fish to keep together. Believe me, if you | | | | Unfortunately tropical fish are prone to diseases. |
| make a mistake, you'll see your share of fish | | | | Tropical fish medicine is available if your fish come |
| fights! | | | | down with fish ich or ick (a sticky white film on |
| Feeding Fish | | | | their bodies), or some other disease. You want to |
| One of the most important basics of tropical fish | | | | catch any disease in time before it kills them. |
| care is learning how and what to feed your fish. | | | | More Tropical Freshwater Fish Information |
| Tropical fish need a special diet and goldfish food | | | | You can get complete fresh water tropical fish |
| won't do. When you buy your tropical fish online | | | | information online that can tell you all you need to |
| or from a reputable tropical fish dealer, you should | | | | know and more about live freshwater tropical fish. |
| also purchase the correct fish food for the | | | | There are also good articles on tropical fish |
| specific types of fish you are keeping. If you | | | | keeping that are a good guide to keeping tropical |
| don't know what to buy - ask. And, please don't | | | | fish healthy and happy. |
| overfeed the fish - they can die from overeating. | | | | Tropical fish are a wonderful addition to your |
| Oh yeah. Better learn about semi-aggressive | | | | home. With proper care and maintenance, you will |
| tropical fish for tanks as well. We used to have a | | | | get many hours of enjoyment out of your exotic |
| couple of mouth breeder fish that really liked | | | | home aquarium. |
| those cute little frogs we put in their tank to add | | | | |