Daily checklist: #
- Monitor tank temperature: an increase in temperature might indicate a chiller problem or a change in the tank insulation.
- Feed trout: only as much food as they can eat in a couple of minutes (one pinch or less when they are smaller). You may feed more than once a day, however. There are also mathematical guidelines for fish feeding, if you’d like to follow those.
- Remove extra food: a turkey baster works well. Extra food will increase harmful ammonia in the tank.
- Check for any dead fish or debris: remove dead fish immediately.
- Equipment check: ensure that water is flowing from the chiller and the filter and that the bubbler is still working.
- Water quality testing: Check ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and pH levels with your aquarium testing kit (often, if not daily).
Weekly checklist: #
- Vacuum gravel (this will often be how you remove water for your water change).
- Water changes: change water about once a week. If you are not having water chemistry issues (high ammonia or nitrites), small changes (around 10% of water) are better for routine maintenance because they stress the fish less. Big changes (never more than 30%) are better at removing compounds from the tank when there are spikes in ammonia or nitrite.
In either case, be careful of large temperature swings. Make sure the water you’re putting in is cool and chlorine-free (treated with a tapwater safe-for-aquariums product). - Add your bacterial boost mixes: Special Blend and Nite-Out II or one of the “-zyme” products.
- Clean off (shake out) any meshes or sponges that cover intakes, as these can get clogged with waste or debris. You may want to do this in a bucket of removed tank water, so as not to set the debris free in the tank.
Monthly checklist: #
- Vacuum or otherwise clean the chiller’s air filter: this may require removing the face of the chiller, but this step is VITAL to protecting the inner workings of your chiller and prolonging its life. Dust can seriously clog the fan, radiator, and other parts.
- Do any needed filter media changes, as per the manufacturer’s instructions, with the trout in place; keeping the tank bacterial colonies happy is the most important job.
More on water changes: #
The Nitrogen Cycle in your aquarium: The nitrifying bacteria in the tank change trout waste (ammonia) into nitirites and then further into nitrates. Nitrates are eventually converted to nitrogen gas. While ammonia and nitrites are fairly toxic to the fish, nitrates are not very toxic at all and can be removed with small (10% of volume), routine water changes. Most of the nitrifying bacteria are surface dwellers. They live on all the surfaces of the tank and equipment, and especially on all faces of the gravel.
Vacuuming the gravel will remove debris that could eventually suffocate the good bacteria (or create other problems) if allowed to remain. In vacuuming the gravel, you will also be removing water. This removal is usually sufficient water change for your tank. Replace all the water you siphon out with tap water in the bucket. Always treat tap water with Amquel Plus, NovAqua or something similar. As you add the new water to the tank, monitor the tank water temperature. You may need to add the new water in stages, so as to avoid wild swings in temperature (which will stress the fish).
More on water quality testing (pH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate): #
Use your pH and ammonia test kits to check the water conditions regularly—at least once a week, but more often is better.
pH: Test should indicate a neutral or near-neutral pH (in the high 6s or near 7) or slightly alkaline (in the high 7s or low 8s). Water that is acidic (below pH 7) or VERY alkaline (above pH 8.5) can cause problems with fish health. Above all, the trout need a stable tank pH. Large changes in the pH can stress the fish.
Ammonia levels are best as close to zero as possible, though a small amount of ammonia is inevitable. You want ammonia and nitrite levels to remain consistently low (preferably under 2ppm, and definitely under 4ppm for ammonia, and not too much higher for nitrite), and that your nitrate levels will rise. This simply means that the bacteria are doing their job. Eventually nitrate should level off and can be removed with water changes. (You can read much more about ammonia on our all-about-ammonia page.)
If you are not sure about your levels, watch your fish. Are they happy? Do they swim around, look for food, or hold a constant place in the tank? When you put food in the tank, do they respond enthusiastically? Some trout are adventurers, and others are homebodies, but as long as you have some of each, and they are spread throughout the water column (some at the top and some at the bottom), that is good. Eventually you will know what sorts of water chemistry your trout can handle–it is never the same for any two tanks. If fish behave strangely (lethargic or swimming weirdly) or start dying in large numbers, poor water quality is often the root of the problem. This is where a large, gentle (slowly adding the new water in) water change would be called for.
More on feeding #
Trout should be given small amounts of food. Overfeeding the fish can pollute the tank environment. Give only one pinch of food at any time, and remove all the extra food particles. Trout do not need to be given food daily, but as long as the amount is small, up to 2-3 daily feedings are acceptable. The trout will seem “hungry” all the time; remember that they are wild animals, and their instinct is to eat any food presented to them, no matter how often. These trout can survive over a weekend without any food, but during vacations it is best for someone to check on the tank and provide a small amount of food on a regular basis.
