Keeping Pet Fish-02

 Keeping Pet Fish-02
1. I said do not put your finger into the fish tank.
Why?
Our hands are the dirtiest possible (as far as the fish is considered).
Fish does not have an advanced immune system.
They do not have neutrophils to kill bacteria.
If there are leftover food and if we introduce our nasty pathogenic bacteria into the fish tank, the fish are dead within 24 to 48 hours.
 
2. You should not touch the food with fingers especially to grind them to tiny pieces (to feed young fish). Every time you do that one adds a unhealthy dose of bacteria to the food. Use a tiny spoon and put some silica gel into the fish food container. 

3. Buy only good quality food and in small quantities, perhaps to last two to three weeks. Do not buy them in bulk. Cheap food are always contaminated and processed badly.
Check to see whether the food has not gone stale, every time you feed.
 
4. Have lot of water plants including floating plants with roots. The fish would eat the leaves and the plants support a lot of infusoria (one cannot see with the naked eye) as they grow.

Infusoria

These are very small organisms that are ideal for feeding newly hatched egg laying species. 

5. Leave fish without food for at least one day in 7-10 day period.
Why?
Fish store part of their fats as brown fat (that have high energy content) in their tissues for use during long periods of starvation. This fat is not used when the fish is well fed (like gold fish who become bloated and ugly).
Brown fat is especially abundant in newborns and in hibernating mammals. It is also present and metabolically active in adult humans, but its prevalence decreases as humans age.
Its primary function is thermoregulation.

Brown fat produces heat by non-shivering thermogenesis.
6. Healthy fish can last two weeks without food if they have sufficient amount of brown fat. Unfortunately not all of your fish will have adequate stores to last your vacation.
 
7. When changing water one must make sure there is no chlorine in water.
The chlorine will kill your fish within 20 minutes.
One must leave water for at least three days for the chlorine to escape.
My recommendation is minimum of 10 days.
How do you do that.
 
8. Have a separate water tank which can hold three times your requirement for one change.
 
9. When changing water each tank should have separate tubing (do not interchange) to tug into the main pipe that comes from your storage tank. 

10. Do not use soap or detergent to clean hands or utilities. 

Detergent affects the gills of fish and their breathing.
Detergents can have poisonous effects in all types of aquatic life if they are present in sufficient quantities, and this includes the biodegradable detergents. 
All detergents destroy the external mucus layers that protect the fish from bacteria and parasites; plus they can cause severe damage to the gills. 
Most fish will die when detergent concentrations approach 15 parts per million. Detergent concentrations as low as 5 ppm will kill fish eggs. 

Surfactant detergents are implicated in decreasing the breeding ability of aquatic organisms.