Cleaning & Water Maintenance

Fish tanks need cleaning regularly, and OlliePets offers a complete range of equipment to make life easier for you. Choose from cleaning pads, protein skimmers, syphoning equipment, algae magnets and more.

Fish health

Fish can be really interesting and rewarding pets, but as with all animals you need to make sure that you give them the healthiest and happiest home possible. Your fish’s health requirements will be different depending on the type of fish you have, whether you keep coldwater, tropical or temperate fish, each environment needs specific things to make sure that your aquarium or pond is safe for your pet. From setting up and cleaning your aquarium to maintaining pH levels, we’ve put together lots of information on how to keep your pet’s home healthy and hygienic. As well as maintaining a safe place for your fish to live, you also need to regularly check on their health to help you prevent and deal with any issues that might arise

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Top tips for keeping your fish healthy

While keeping a colourful aquarium of fish is widely considered lower maintenance than owning a larger pet, it’s still vital that you know how to properly care for your new finned friends. Here, we take a look at the basics of caring for your fish’s health and wellbeing.

How long do fish live for?

If you provide your fish with the perfect home for their individual needs, you can expect them to live for up to five years if they’re tropical and over ten years for goldfish and other fresh water species.

A fish in prime health will be alert, have bright eyes, a good appetite and swim with ease. Their breath will be even and gentle, and they’ll have little to no damage to their fins or scales.

Common reasons for ill health with fish

There are a few reasons why your fish may become ill. Luckily, most of them can be quickly sorted if you keep an eye out for symptoms and know what each one of them means.

Generally, fish tend to become sick by a change in their natural environment. Keeping their tanks clean, regulating their oxygen supply, treating their water with the right products and ensuring you don’t pair fish together that are predators are the simplest ways of securing your new finned friends’ happiness.

Top tips for keeping your fish healthy:

1. Clean their tank regularly- Poor water condition is the number one cause of most fish illnesses. Make sure you look after your fish tank by regularly cleaning and replacing the water and gravel.
2. Carefully monitor their activity– Fish should be sociable and alert, so if you notice a drop in their energy levels, this is a sign that there’s an issue. Again, conditions within the tank are the most likely candidate when it comes to a cause.
3. Check the water chemistry– Certain species of fish will require you to add things to their water to keep them healthy and happy. If the pH levels or ammonia and nitrite levels are too high, you could do more harm than good.
4. Regulate the water temperature– A couple of degrees can make a huge difference to your fish’s health. You’ll need to make sure you keep a close eye on the temperature of the water in their tank and take steps to cool it down or heat it up when necessary.
5. Stick to a routine– To avoid your fish becoming stressed or confused, try to feed them at the same time every day. You should also change their water at regular intervals and turn their tank light off at the same time every night (if you have one).