What are some practical ways to keep fish without changing the water
Changing the water when keeping fish is a very troublesome task. When should you change the water, should you replace all of it, or only part of it? These questions trouble many fish keepers. How can you keep fish without changing the water?
1. Add nitrifying bacteria on a regular schedule
Normally you should regularly add nitrifying bacteria to the tank. Nitrifying bacteria will consume and break down organic matter and nitrates. This makes the water in the fish tank clear and transparent, without any grey haze. It also lowers the nitrate content, making the water quality more suitable for the fish to live in. However, what keeps the nitrifying bacteria alive is the filter media inside the canister filter and the substrate, so when choosing substrate it is best to use aquatic plant soil or ceramic pellets, these low substrates that have enough gaps when spread out.
2. Clean the canister filter regularly
If you do not change the water, then you must regularly rinse the canister filter clean. Do not use chemical products such as laundry detergent. For filter media it is best to use porous filter media. This is because the substrate will gradually break down into powder over time and, together with the feces of fish and shrimp, flow with the water into the canister filter. If the canister filter becomes clogged for a long time, it will cause the nitrifying bacteria added earlier to die off in large numbers, and then the nitrate content in the fish tank will rise, and the acidic water quality will kill the fish.
3. Grow aquatic plants in the fish tank
Experienced friends will probably put a few aquatic plants in the fish tank, because aquatic plants absorb carbon dioxide and produce oxygen as they grow, increasing the oxygen content of the whole fish tank and letting the fish grow more healthily. Moreover, when old leaves of aquatic plants rot they turn the water into what we commonly call “yellow water”, and this kind of water quality is more suitable for the fish to grow in. Not only is it convenient, it is also attractive.
Keeping fish without changing the water can be achieved. As long as you do the above three things, you can save yourself such a troublesome task.