Don’t buy the first fish off the boat.

Posted by dallasfishguyon March 25, 2015August 10, 2018in Aquarium MaintenanceLeave a comment

Don’t buy the first fish off the boat.

Dallas Aquarium Experts – Aquarium Service Company

Avoid buying any new arrivals from your local fish store recently received. If the fish are still in a packing create, that should give you a clue. You should see a large number of bags containing fish floating in the aquariums on the days the store receive new shipments. Most dealers receive new fish at least once a week. Ask your dealer which days these are. A good dealer doesn’t allow customers to purchase fish until there has been sufficient time to quarantine them. This quarantine prior reduces the fish’s stress from shipping and allows the shop’s personnel to treat any disease that shows up in the first few days after arrival.

If you happen to see some fish that catch your eye while they are still in the bags, ask the dealer to hold them for you until a reasonable quarantine period has expired. Most dealers willingly agree to do that. Helpful merchants who take the time to grant such simple requests provide customer satisfaction are defiantly worth patronizing in the future. Stop for a moment and ask yourself one simple question. If I owned the fish shop, would I do this for my customer? If the answer is yes, then you should expect your dealer to do the same thing.

At Dallas Aquarium Experts we quarantine all of our client’s fish prior to delivering them to their new aquarium. Dallas Aquarium Experts the best aquarium service in Dallas, Plano, Frisco and Allen Texas. Call us today for a free estimate on aquarium service.

Keeping your Aquarium Healthy

Posted by dallasfishguyon March 22, 2015August 10, 2018in Aquarium MaintenanceLeave a comment

Choose healthy stock and always quarantine all new additions. Be cautious of local fish stores that do not take the time to quarantine their stock before selling it to you. Ask yourself “why would my local fish store tell me to quarantine the fish before putting them into my aquarium, yet not take the time to quarantine a fish before selling it to me.” Especially a fish that most likely has little to no warranty?

Don’t hope to keep all the fishes that you like the look of; bear in mind the size of your aquarium and the compatibly between species.

Remove uneaten food at the earliest opportunity. Acclimatize the fishes to any new food over a period of time – at least several days.

Do not neglect regular partial aquarium water changes using only reverse osmosis aquarium water. Top off evaporation losses in saltwater aquariums with RODI fresh water. Make all necessary water condition changes gradual.

After a period of time, algae will grow all over the tank. This should be removed from the front panel of the aquarium. There is no need to remove the algae from the remaining panels of the aquarium, as the fish will graze on these.

Finally do not regard any of the above as avoidable chores; most of them should be included in the pleasurable side of fish keeping, providing for your fishes the care and attention that they undoubtedly deserve. They will repay you in the best manner possible-by presenting you with a living picture of color and beauty. And remember if you need an aquarium service provider or aquarium maintenance, Dallas Aquarium Experts is the best aquarium service provider in DFW. Contact us today for a free estimate.

AQUARIUM MAINTENANCE and WATER CHANGES by Dallas Aquarium Experts

Posted by dallasfishguyon January 3, 2015January 3, 2015in Aquarium MaintenanceLeave a comment

Aquarium Service

WATER CHANGES- Serve an important role in your aquarium, yet you either love them, or hate them. We at Dallas Aquarium Experts are in the “love them” camp and when we are designing an aquarium for a client, we’re often asked to make water changes as easy as possible.

The role a water change plays is to export nutrients out of your saltwater aquarium. By removing existing water out of your system and replacing it with fresh saltwater, nutrient levels are reduced and other important levels (calcium, magnesium, trace elements, etc) are increased. Here’s the key thing to note about the reduction of the nutrient levels though: unless a large (50% or more) water change is performed, you’re not going to reduce nutrient levels by a large amount. I often hear people talk about having a high phosphate or nitrate levels and the advice given is to a 10-20% water change. The water change isn’t going to provide the large drop in levels that are needed to maintain proper water quality and keep your aquarium looking its best.

Why even do smaller water changes then if they aren’t useful unless the quantity of water removed is large? Several reasons:

1) When water changes of 20% are done on a weekly basis or 30% are done on a bi-weekly basis this should be sufficient as long as the aquarium is not over stocked and feeding is done appropriately. This will greatly reduce larger issues down the road that are difficult, expensive, and usually slow to correct.

2) Replenishment of elements. Until an aquarium is well stocked with corals, calcium, magnesium and alkalinity levels can be maintained simply through water changes.

3) Promotes good habits. When doing a water change, you have to pay attention to your aquarium as you are turning pumps on/off, removing water, changing filter media, checking fish health, etc. The water change exercise is a great time to look over the aquarium to make sure everything is looking good and running well. Maintaining a weekly water change routine forces you to give your aquarium a good look over which will help catch any problems faster.

Our way isn’t the only way however it is the way that has worked for Dallas Aquarium Experts and our clients time and time again.

Benefits and Role of Dallas Aquarium Experts as your Dallas Aquarium Maintenance Company

Posted by dallasfishguyon February 20, 2011in Aquarium MaintenanceLeave a comment

Aquariums are found in locations other than a home. Many doctor offices, restaurants, schools, hotel lobbies, stores and hospitals include a tank in their décor. The greenery of the plants and the graceful swimming of the fish can produce a calming effect in a room.

Staff in offices and institutions should not be expected to take care of the aquarium, except for feeding the fish, so this is where an aquarium maintenance company could benefit these locations.

Role of an Dallas Aquarium Experts as your Aquarium Maintenance Company

Dallas Aquarium Experts will do the following for our clients

• Counsel the client on all the options for an aquarium system. There are decisions to be made on a saltwater or freshwater tank, size and shape of tank plus how much money the client is willing to spend.

• Set up the aquarium equipment and then supply the fish, plants and decorations.

• Advise client on daily care of the fish and identifying any problems with the equipment, water or fish.

• Service the aquarium on a regular basis and usually once a month at a minimum. The servicing will include testing the water and observing the health of the fish. It also includes regular water changes and cleaning of the tank and equipment.

• Replace fish and plants when required.

• Provide emergency services if equipment fails or if fish show signs of disease.

Benefits of Hiring an Dallas Aquarium Experts as your Aquarium Maintenance Service Company

• Relying on experts to take care of the aquarium can enable people with no knowledge of aquariums to have a tank in their place of business.

• The aquarium and fish will be healthy due to constant monitoring and routine maintenance.

• Even if a client knows how to maintain a tank, there is a matter of finding time to take care of the tank while trying to conduct business.

• If the aquarium system is on a rental contract, everything can be returned to Dallas Aquarium Experts if the client does not wish to renew the contract.

Even homeowners can benefit from hiring an aquarium maintenance company. There are people who need to have the guidance of an expert especially if the aquarium system is expensive. In addition, homeowners can save time by having someone else take care of their tank.

Tips for Giving Your Pet Goldfish a Long and Healthy Life

Posted by dallasfishguyon February 5, 2011April 30, 2011in Aquarium MaintenanceLeave a comment

Tips for Giving Your Pet Goldfish a Long and Healthy Life

Overview of Goldfish:

Common and fancy goldfish are Asian Carp, Carassius auratus. They have been bred in the Orient for over a thousand years, and in Europe for over a hundred years to provide all of the colors and shapes available to hobbyists today.

Goldfish are a temperate fish found in cool streams, lakes, and ponds throughout Asia and part of eastern Europe, though all the specimens found in the hobby today are captive bred. Goldfish can be easy to care for, however, they do require some care. Given proper care and a good, healthy environment, goldfish can sometimes live nearly 50 years!

Goldfish Equipment & Maintenance:

To keep a goldfish healthy, remember to provide them with plenty of clean, cool water.

Your goldfish’s temperature should never rise above 74° Fahrenheit (about 23.5° Celsius), and ideally should remain between 65° and 68° F (18° and 20° C) so you will need a thermometer. Keeping a goldfish above 72° F (about 22.5° C) for long periods of time will result in Oxygen deprivation, which can cause nerve damage, heart damage, and can seriously hamper the immune system, making them more susceptible to many diseases, from easily treatable Ick to nearly untreatable swim bladder infections.

Keep your goldfish in a fish tank no smaller than a 10 gallon (about 38 liter), and make sure that a minimum of 6 gallons (23 liters) of the space in that fish tank is dedicated to each goldfish (each goldfish should have 6-8 gallons or more (roughly 23-30 liters or more) space in the goldfish aquarium). A 10 gallon fish tank is really only suitable for one goldfish.

This will provide sufficient space for your goldfish, so he can remain healthy, and this will allow the aquarium to help you keep healthy goldfish.

Goldfish should never be kept in a fish bowl.

Perform your weekly 10-15% water changes, so that your goldfish always has clean water and so that any waste that is not processed by the aquarium filter is removed.

Your goldfish will need a filter to keep the water from becoming toxic, and you will need to keep the filter in good condition. When selecting a filter, if you have fancy goldfish, make sure that the filter will not produce excessive current in your fish tank, and this will make it difficult for the fancy goldfish to swim.

Goldfish Food & Care:

Remember that your goldfish is an omnivorous (eats anything) scavenger, so provide him with a varied and high carbohydrate diet. Many goldfish foods are available on the market today, and most frozen fish foods are also appropriate, provided you do not feed meaty foods too often.

Goldfish have large appetites, but they also graze for food constantly. Don’t let their ‘mock hunger’ and grousing around for food fool you into over feeding them. Your fish should be able to consume all the food you offer within two minutes of feeding. If there is food in the aquarium after this time has elapsed, this will contribute to poor water quality and make your goldfish more susceptible to disease.

You will only need to feed your goldfish once a day. If you feed more than once a day you will increase the waste your fish is producing and will also increase the risk of over feeding, so it becomes more important that you are performing your weekly 10-15% water changes and all necessary filter maintenance. Providing a proper diet will increase your goldfish’s life expectancy and bolster their immune system.

Goldfish, like almost any fish, are aware that they are prey animals. In order to feel comfortable, they need to have lots of hiding places. Goldfish do not seem to be too particular about their cover, however, you do want to make sure that you do not use any sharp or rough decorations that your goldfish may get hurt on, especially if you are keeping any fancy goldfish that have impaired vision.

Like most other fish, they are more comfortable and will come out more and be more active if you can provide them with 50-75% cover – this means you should make half to three fourths of your tank space hiding places. Providing sufficient cover will reduce stress and therefore improve your goldfish’s immune system, reducing chance of disease.

Goldfish Companionship:Goldfish can, like most fish, be kept with fish with similar care requirements and temperament. However, this very quickly limits you to other goldfish – fortunately, there are many different and interesting fancy goldfish to choose from.

When looking for a companion for your goldfish, remember to select goldfish with similar handicaps. If their disabilities are too different, it is very likely that some will out compete the others for food, and you can have a goldfish starve to death while another gets fat right before your eyes in your fish tank.

Finally:

Remember, goldfish are beautiful living creatures. It is the responsibility of the pet owner to care for their pet and provide a healthy environment. So give your goldfish space, clean, cool water, plenty of hiding places, and high-quality, high-carbohydrate foods and he should be a good companion for a long time.

This one is for you Gracie! I hope you enjoy your new aquarium. Take good care of Catcher and Mary, I’m sure they will love their new home!

Much Love,

Dallas Aquarium Experts