Tip of the Day – 9/8/2011

Aquarium incidents happen all the time, but it would seem that the minute you step out the door for a short trip to an aquarium event or just a mini vacation, all hell breaks loose. Equipment fails, fish disappear, and corals turn into white skeletons. Many hobbyists return home to nothing out of the ordinary, but a lot come home to find massive die off, or at least some major issues that need immediate attention. There’s no real way to cope with all of this stress after you’ve been on a plane for several hours, but you can possibly prevent the issues from ever happening. If you are traveling without your spouse, get him or her to take care of the tank while you are gone. Otherwise, a trustworthy neighbor or hobbyist can take on the task. Give your aquarium sitter one or two very simple tasks, explain each thoroughly, and hope for the best. The only real things that need to be taken care of are water top offs and tossing in a little bit of fish food, and I highly emphasize that word “little”.