Summary: Fish keeping means observing your fish for at least 5 minutes every day

What is the most important thing for fish keeping?

It might be obvious but the most important thing in fish keeping is observation. Most fish, or more correctly most living things, have different set actions for when they are happy and when they are in discomfort. If you do not invest at least 5 minutes a day observing your fish’s behavior, there is a huge possibility you will be hit with a problem. I will go over why in this article. 

Is it easy or difficult to manage a tank?

Most people say having a fish is easier and less maintenance than having a dog or a cat. And yet others say that fish keeping is more work. Because everyone has their own standards for what makes things difficult, both opinions are correct.

However, while fishkeeping, no one gives you a list of things that needs to be done yet it is the most valuable and most needed information for novice fishkeepers. 

There is a ‘golden time’ for tanks, fish, and other living things too. 

Most people say that the way to beat a disease is to catch it early.

If you miss that opportunity, rehabilitation or restoration can become impossible.

They call this time the golden time. 

If a problem arises within the golden time, it would be near impossible to catch and fix the problem without having observed your tank daily.

Living things bigger in size than fish, like dogs and cats, have a relatively longer golden time. Since the size of a fish is small,

you can say they have a short golden time. If a fish catches a disease, and is neglected for a week,

it would be safe to say that most would result in death. The disease itself is a problem but in order for that disease to occur,

the fish’s immune system must have been compromised and thus the tank’s environment must have been off balance in order for the fish to get sick. 

Don’t miss the golden time

So what should we do to not miss the golden time?

Yes, that is correct. We have to observe. 

Observing is important because you can quickly catch a problem when it has occured, but in order to do that, it is important to observe a stable tank, fish’s actions and appearance and what their normal actions are. These normal activities give insight to what an abnormal action is.  

If you don’t spend time observing your tank and fish, it would be difficult to distinguish an abnormal behavior from a normal one even if you saw it. 

For example, if a fish is scratching its body on the bottom of the tank, or a white substance is excreting from the fish and floating in the tank, or there is white mold on the part of the body, etc, you would need to notice that these occurrences are not usual. 

It is difficult to notice a problem and the longer it takes the worse the problem gets. 

It might seem easy when you are reading this article but it is not as easy as it seems. The difference between an experienced fishkeeper and a novice fishkeeper arises from their observational skills.

Fish keepers with a lot of experience know exactly what needs to be observed. So they are able to catch and treat the problem swiftly. 

On the other hand, inexperienced fish keepers catch the problem too late and often end up coming to a point where nothing can be done. Yet, since they are inexperienced, they do not know that they are too late so they purchase and use unnecessary and often expensive medicines and end up becoming stressed and abandoning fishkeeping forever.  

Experienced fishkeepers know when to stop. 

Experienced fishkeepers catch a problem early on yet also knows what to do when it is too late. In this case, they usually euthanize the fish or at least separate the sick fish and do their best to treat it. 

On the other hand, inexperienced fish keepers might not catch the problem at all until the fish die thus putting the whole tank at risk. Most diseases are highly contagious so it is most likely that the disease will spread to the other living things in the tank. So it is common to see a sick fish quickly quarantined and treated.

Now you know why observation is so important.

These additional problems and solutions cannot happen without a good observation skill. Observation is that important. 

So let’s spend at least 5 minutes observing our fish and increase our fishkeeping abilities.

// Today’s tip

If you find a fish that you want, before purchasing, look at plenty of pictures and/or watch videos to be able to pick healthy fish. If direct observation is difficult, don’t forget that indirect observation is just as helpful!

Have a good day.