How many fish can I put in my tank?

You've probably been told 1 inch of fish per gallon of water.

That's true, to a degree. It's really about the body mass, and the load the fish will put on your tanks biosystem. eg: in a 10 gallon tank, I can easily keep 25 neon tetras, this far exceeds the inch per gallon rule! BUT I couldn't keep 1 6 inch Oscar as the waste produced would far exceed the tanks ability to process, not to mention that Oscar is gonna be mighty unhappy with no swimming room!!

No! Goldfish become quite large, and produce tremendous amounts of waste, they truly need a tank large enough to accomodate them at full growth, and you will have to perform regular cleaning and water changes to keep your goldfish happy and healthy!

Fish will only grow as large as their tank right?

FALSE!! Fish will grow to their genetic potential. If you have a small tank, and have no plans to upgrade to a larger tank, please buy fish that will not grow to exceed their habitat. It can be very hard to find a new home for a large pacu that outgrew that 20 gallon tank! Please, ask the sales help how big will this fish be as an adult, and plan accordingly. Do your homework before going fish shopping!!

What is a water change, and why do I have to do them?

Your fish are living in a closed system, waste builds up, and can easily reach toxic levels. To avoid this toxic condition, it is advised that you remove apx 30% of your tank water weekly, replacing it with fresh, dechlorinated water. In the wild, ponds and lakes are 'flushed' by nature, in our tanks, 'we' have to become the flushing mechanism to keep our finned friends happy and healthy.

I never do water changes and my tank is crystal clear! My fish are fine too!

We hear this a lot, but clarity of the water has nothing to do with the health of the tank! Toxins are invisible to our eye, but your fish are 'breathing' them in every day. While many fish can acclimate to foul conditions and live, they are not thriving, and when you decide you want to add something to the tank, rest assured, that fish is going to die, and probably start a cascade of deaths in your tank!

The answer is a simple No. All tanks require regular maintenance. A good vacuuming and water change weekly, combined with regular filter media changes provides your fish with a healthy, happy environment. Most diseases in fish are directly caused by poor water quality. Healthy water equals healthy fish! Most folks get rid of their tanks because they get discouraged by constant illness and deaths in the tank. If you allot 15-20 minutes a week to your tank, you'll enjoy your fish, and save money as you're not constantly buying expensive medications, or replacing dead fish!

Our goal at Land & Sea is to educate folks on how to keep a happy, healthy aquarium, we don't want to sell a bunch of medications, we want to sell you healthy fish, that you can enjoy for years to come!