By BETH ANN BATES
When you think about owning a fish tank, the idea of keeping records may not enter your
mind. But written records of your tanks are one of the most valuable tools a fish keeper
can have. Good records will serve as an excellent learning tool, increasing your skill as a
hobbyist, and saving you lots of frustration in the process. This is especially true for
beginners. So, how do you do it?
To get started, I recommend buying a small notebook and keeping it (with a pen) near
your fish tank. Make a home for it somewhere handy, so you don’t have to hunt for it.
Naturally, you will be looking at your fish tank everyday. Beginners may like to take notes
of their daily observations. This is an excellent way to teach children about caring for a
fish tank.
While you are enjoying the beauty of your fish (and live plants if you have them), you are
also looking for changes in the tank environment, both positive and negative. Positive
changes would be things like growth of your fish (and plants), the birth of fry and healthy,
active behavior on the part of your fish.
Negative changes are signs of trouble, such as tell-tale symptoms of disease in your
fish, or algae growth. Generally, anything growing in your tank that you didn’t put there on
purpose is bad news.
In freshwater fish, anything on their bodies resembling white spots or fuzzy cotton is likely
to be a disease or fungus. By observing your tank carefully on a daily basis (such as
during feeding), you can find and resolve issues quickly, before they become major
problems.
Also during daily observation, take the opportunity to check on the health of your
equipment. Check the heater, air pump, filter and lights. Is everything functioning
properly? For example, if you notice that the water temperature is too low, you will check
to see if the heater is working. If it’s too high, the heater could be stuck. So the first thing
that you might want to track is your observations, negative and positive. Remember to
date each entry.
What else will you record in your fishy notebook? Let’s start at the beginning. When you
set up a brand new tank, I would recommend that you record the particulars:
Date tank set up.
Description of tank (size, style, location).
List of equipment including brand names (filters, heaters, lights).
Description of substrate (gravel, plant fertilizers).
Account of live plants (names, size, color, where purchased).
Notes on anything else such as decoration, driftwood, etc.
Initial water parameters.
Dates when fish are added and number of fish (Note: you should not put in fish
immediately upon setting up tank. Water should mature for at least 24 hours before fish
are added.)
Number and description of fish (species, colors, size and gender).
The water parameters deserve particular attention. The qualities of water that relate to
fish-keeping can be a complex topic, filling an article in itself. I’ll just cover the bare
basics here, as it relates to recordkeeping.
I suggest that you check and record the basic water qualities of your tap water, because
when you fill a new tank, you do so with 100% tap water (plus tiny amounts of additives
such as declorinators). Some qualities will vary from town to town. This is the starting
point.
The most important water parameters to note are ammonia, nitrate and nitrite, ph, and
general hardness. As a new tank ages, with the addition of fish, the water parameters
will change, as the tank goes through a process called the nitrogen cycle. During this
process, the consistent production of fish wastes leads to the generation of bacteria that
converts the ammonia of the waste into nitrites and more bacteria that converts the
nitrites into nitrates.
This is all good, except that until the beneficial bacteria succeeds in gaining a stronghold
in your aquarium, the ammonia and nitrites can kill your fish. You need the healthy
bacteria to develop and be large and in charge without losing any fish. This is not easy,
and the process can take weeks.
Careful recordkeeping is critical to avoiding disaster. It’s very important that you are
checking the levels of ammonia, nitrites and nitrates as the tank goes through this
progression. Many people feel that you can not do normal water changes during this
period, because that will slow down the progression of the cycle. However, if you have
over-stocked the tank (which most beginners do), than the spike in ammonia could
easily kill your fish. So the other school of thought is that you must change 25 to 50% of
the water if you get an ammonia reading of .25 ppm or above. Then the cycle will be
elongated, but at least you will not lose any fish. The nitrogen cycle is too complex topic
for me to fully cover here. If you are setting up a new tank, you should do more reading on
this subject.
Once your tank is established, you will probably test the water when you get ready to do
your water changes. I test and record the water qualities before I change the water. If
ammonia or nitrites are present, you need to change a larger quantity of water.
Experienced hobbyists with established tanks may not be keeping written records of their
daily observations, but I would still recommend notes of every water change.
Aside from water parameters, what else might you want to track? Note the date and what
percentage of water you changed, any additives used in the water, any changes to filter
media, addition or removal of plants, and any other actions or observations.
And of course, you will note the addition of any new fish to your tank, either by purchase or
by birth, and the death of any tank occupant. Anything that you change, or that changes in
the tank’s surroundings, can affect the aquarium. For example, the change of seasons
can impact the temperature and humidity in your home and thereby effect your tank.
With my first tank, I was surprised to find that I had a problem with the lighting in the
winter. I had the basic “starter kit” ten-gallon tank with a hood that had incandescent
bulbs over open water. In the winter, while I was at work during the day, the temperature
in my apartment was turned down to the chilly range to save on utility bills. The cats have
fur coats—they can handle it, right? But the difference in the tank temperature and the
room’s air temperature caused condensation on the inside of the hood, causing the
bulbs to short out. I eventually purchased a new hood with a glass cover for the bulb.
So, what are you going to do with all these notes anyway? Glad you asked! First, review
your notes as soon as you see a problem. Whatever the problem is, be it death of a fish
or plant, algae growth, or anything else, your notes should help you investigate the
cause. Nine times out of ten any undesirable fish health or water appearance issue will
correspond with a lapse or delay of tank maintenance activities. Poor water quality
always leads directly to fish illness.
By keeping good records, you will see how far you can go before you run into trouble.
Refer to your records to see when you last did a water change, how often and how much.
Maybe it’s not enough, and you need to adjust your schedule. Often when fish become
visibly ill, it’s too late to reverse their plight. When it comes to your aquarium, an ounce of
prevention (water changes) is definitely worth a pound of cure.
As for less drastic problems, your records will help you link the difficulty with your recent
tank conditions. Why are the fish not spawning? Could it be the water temperature? In the
event of equipment failure, you will want to know, how long it did last? The installation
date will be in your notes.
With this information you can compare the quality of different brands of equipment. If a
plant is not thriving, when was it last fertilized? And so on. By reviewing your notes, you
may identify a possible cause of the problem, which will suggest possible solutions. To
address the problem, try only one thing at a time and continue to keep notes of what,
when and how. For example: the plants are no longer thriving. Your records show that
you used a fertilizer when you planted the tank a year ago, but not since. You decide to try
Brand X liquid fertilizer. You add 2 teaspoons to the fresh water in your weekly water
changes. You record this and note the percentage of water changed on March 1st, 8th,
and the 15th. On the 22nd, you still don’t see good results. You re-read the Brand X bottle
and see that you can use up to 4 teaspoons at each weekly water change. So you add 4
teaspoons on March 22nd and the 30th. On April 6th, you think that the plants are
improving, but you are still not completely satisfied. You continue the fertilizer at the 4-
teaspoon dose and start experimenting with the lighting.
Or maybe you decide to switch from Brand X fertilizer to another product. Eventually, you
find the right combination of products, maintenance activities and tank inhabitants that
work for you. This is how you learn and grow as an aquarist. When you are satisfied with
your results, you will have a valuable account of how you achieved success. Then you
can start all over again with another tank, with different species of fish and plants! My
friends who are interested in breeding their fish often keep detailed notes to facilitate that
process. The birth and growth of fry, the coloration and other characteristics of the
parents are all items of importance.
This hobby can be endlessly complex. That’s the beauty of it! To be successful, you have
to become a student of the hobby, and every student needs to take good notes. Your
notebook is a reference guide, a how-to book of mistakes to avoid and successes to
repeat. Keeping a notebook can help the beginner understand what her ten gallon guppy
tank needs to stay healthy, and records will help the experienced breeder raise multiple
tanks of championship show fish. So keep learning, keep growing, and keep your fish
happy!
First Published March 2007 in The Animal Companion
When you think about owning a fish tank, the idea of keeping records may not enter your
mind. But written records of your tanks are one of the most valuable tools a fish keeper
can have. Good records will serve as an excellent learning tool, increasing your skill as a
hobbyist, and saving you lots of frustration in the process. This is especially true for
beginners. So, how do you do it?
To get started, I recommend buying a small notebook and keeping it (with a pen) near
your fish tank. Make a home for it somewhere handy, so you don’t have to hunt for it.
Naturally, you will be looking at your fish tank everyday. Beginners may like to take notes
of their daily observations. This is an excellent way to teach children about caring for a
fish tank.
While you are enjoying the beauty of your fish (and live plants if you have them), you are
also looking for changes in the tank environment, both positive and negative. Positive
changes would be things like growth of your fish (and plants), the birth of fry and healthy,
active behavior on the part of your fish.
Negative changes are signs of trouble, such as tell-tale symptoms of disease in your
fish, or algae growth. Generally, anything growing in your tank that you didn’t put there on
purpose is bad news.
In freshwater fish, anything on their bodies resembling white spots or fuzzy cotton is likely
to be a disease or fungus. By observing your tank carefully on a daily basis (such as
during feeding), you can find and resolve issues quickly, before they become major
problems.
Also during daily observation, take the opportunity to check on the health of your
equipment. Check the heater, air pump, filter and lights. Is everything functioning
properly? For example, if you notice that the water temperature is too low, you will check
to see if the heater is working. If it’s too high, the heater could be stuck. So the first thing
that you might want to track is your observations, negative and positive. Remember to
date each entry.
What else will you record in your fishy notebook? Let’s start at the beginning. When you
set up a brand new tank, I would recommend that you record the particulars:
Date tank set up.
Description of tank (size, style, location).
List of equipment including brand names (filters, heaters, lights).
Description of substrate (gravel, plant fertilizers).
Account of live plants (names, size, color, where purchased).
Notes on anything else such as decoration, driftwood, etc.
Initial water parameters.
Dates when fish are added and number of fish (Note: you should not put in fish
immediately upon setting up tank. Water should mature for at least 24 hours before fish
are added.)
Number and description of fish (species, colors, size and gender).
The water parameters deserve particular attention. The qualities of water that relate to
fish-keeping can be a complex topic, filling an article in itself. I’ll just cover the bare
basics here, as it relates to recordkeeping.
I suggest that you check and record the basic water qualities of your tap water, because
when you fill a new tank, you do so with 100% tap water (plus tiny amounts of additives
such as declorinators). Some qualities will vary from town to town. This is the starting
point.
The most important water parameters to note are ammonia, nitrate and nitrite, ph, and
general hardness. As a new tank ages, with the addition of fish, the water parameters
will change, as the tank goes through a process called the nitrogen cycle. During this
process, the consistent production of fish wastes leads to the generation of bacteria that
converts the ammonia of the waste into nitrites and more bacteria that converts the
nitrites into nitrates.
This is all good, except that until the beneficial bacteria succeeds in gaining a stronghold
in your aquarium, the ammonia and nitrites can kill your fish. You need the healthy
bacteria to develop and be large and in charge without losing any fish. This is not easy,
and the process can take weeks.
Careful recordkeeping is critical to avoiding disaster. It’s very important that you are
checking the levels of ammonia, nitrites and nitrates as the tank goes through this
progression. Many people feel that you can not do normal water changes during this
period, because that will slow down the progression of the cycle. However, if you have
over-stocked the tank (which most beginners do), than the spike in ammonia could
easily kill your fish. So the other school of thought is that you must change 25 to 50% of
the water if you get an ammonia reading of .25 ppm or above. Then the cycle will be
elongated, but at least you will not lose any fish. The nitrogen cycle is too complex topic
for me to fully cover here. If you are setting up a new tank, you should do more reading on
this subject.
Once your tank is established, you will probably test the water when you get ready to do
your water changes. I test and record the water qualities before I change the water. If
ammonia or nitrites are present, you need to change a larger quantity of water.
Experienced hobbyists with established tanks may not be keeping written records of their
daily observations, but I would still recommend notes of every water change.
Aside from water parameters, what else might you want to track? Note the date and what
percentage of water you changed, any additives used in the water, any changes to filter
media, addition or removal of plants, and any other actions or observations.
And of course, you will note the addition of any new fish to your tank, either by purchase or
by birth, and the death of any tank occupant. Anything that you change, or that changes in
the tank’s surroundings, can affect the aquarium. For example, the change of seasons
can impact the temperature and humidity in your home and thereby effect your tank.
With my first tank, I was surprised to find that I had a problem with the lighting in the
winter. I had the basic “starter kit” ten-gallon tank with a hood that had incandescent
bulbs over open water. In the winter, while I was at work during the day, the temperature
in my apartment was turned down to the chilly range to save on utility bills. The cats have
fur coats—they can handle it, right? But the difference in the tank temperature and the
room’s air temperature caused condensation on the inside of the hood, causing the
bulbs to short out. I eventually purchased a new hood with a glass cover for the bulb.
So, what are you going to do with all these notes anyway? Glad you asked! First, review
your notes as soon as you see a problem. Whatever the problem is, be it death of a fish
or plant, algae growth, or anything else, your notes should help you investigate the
cause. Nine times out of ten any undesirable fish health or water appearance issue will
correspond with a lapse or delay of tank maintenance activities. Poor water quality
always leads directly to fish illness.
By keeping good records, you will see how far you can go before you run into trouble.
Refer to your records to see when you last did a water change, how often and how much.
Maybe it’s not enough, and you need to adjust your schedule. Often when fish become
visibly ill, it’s too late to reverse their plight. When it comes to your aquarium, an ounce of
prevention (water changes) is definitely worth a pound of cure.
As for less drastic problems, your records will help you link the difficulty with your recent
tank conditions. Why are the fish not spawning? Could it be the water temperature? In the
event of equipment failure, you will want to know, how long it did last? The installation
date will be in your notes.
With this information you can compare the quality of different brands of equipment. If a
plant is not thriving, when was it last fertilized? And so on. By reviewing your notes, you
may identify a possible cause of the problem, which will suggest possible solutions. To
address the problem, try only one thing at a time and continue to keep notes of what,
when and how. For example: the plants are no longer thriving. Your records show that
you used a fertilizer when you planted the tank a year ago, but not since. You decide to try
Brand X liquid fertilizer. You add 2 teaspoons to the fresh water in your weekly water
changes. You record this and note the percentage of water changed on March 1st, 8th,
and the 15th. On the 22nd, you still don’t see good results. You re-read the Brand X bottle
and see that you can use up to 4 teaspoons at each weekly water change. So you add 4
teaspoons on March 22nd and the 30th. On April 6th, you think that the plants are
improving, but you are still not completely satisfied. You continue the fertilizer at the 4-
teaspoon dose and start experimenting with the lighting.
Or maybe you decide to switch from Brand X fertilizer to another product. Eventually, you
find the right combination of products, maintenance activities and tank inhabitants that
work for you. This is how you learn and grow as an aquarist. When you are satisfied with
your results, you will have a valuable account of how you achieved success. Then you
can start all over again with another tank, with different species of fish and plants! My
friends who are interested in breeding their fish often keep detailed notes to facilitate that
process. The birth and growth of fry, the coloration and other characteristics of the
parents are all items of importance.
This hobby can be endlessly complex. That’s the beauty of it! To be successful, you have
to become a student of the hobby, and every student needs to take good notes. Your
notebook is a reference guide, a how-to book of mistakes to avoid and successes to
repeat. Keeping a notebook can help the beginner understand what her ten gallon guppy
tank needs to stay healthy, and records will help the experienced breeder raise multiple
tanks of championship show fish. So keep learning, keep growing, and keep your fish
happy!
First Published March 2007 in The Animal Companion
| Write it Down! Recordkeeping for Aquarists |
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