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Water quality maintenance will require some effort on your part but it's absolutely crucial to keeping your fish alive and well. Every one to three weeks you should replace about 20 percent of the water with fresh water. This helps maintain stable conditions and mimics natural processes. Using a gravel vacuum is an easy and efficient way to remove some water and remove detritus (decaying organic matter) from the substrate at the same time. Detritus build-ups can prove harmful to your fish. Make sure to carefully follow the instructions for your gravel vacuum to avoid unnecessary messes.

Once you've removed about 20 percent of the water, it's time to replace it. Never pour water straight from the tap into your aquarium. You need to treat the water first. To minimize stress to your freshwater creatures, blend hot and cold water so that you achieve about the same temperature as the water in the tank. Then add decholorinating drops or tablets to the water to eliminate harmful chlorine. Then very slowly pour the treated water into the tank.

Next you can test the pH of the water with a pH test kit to make sure it's at the right alkalinity level. If the pH level is off, your pet shop expert can direct you to the proper agent to fix the problem. To discourage overgrowth of algae, keep your aquarium away from direct sunlight and refrain from overfeeding your fish.