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Home / Your water services / Drinking water / Water quality / Keeping fish

Advice for keeping fish

Advice for keeping fishOur tap water is safe for humans but it's not always ideal for keeping fish.  Some types of fish require specialised environments, so it's important you seek advice from your aquarist first.

Here are a few useful tips to help keep your fish happy and healthy:

  • Always use tap water from a mains fed cold tap.
  • Never use water from a storage tank, hot tap or artificially softened water.
  • Allow the tap to run for a while to remove standing water from the pipe work before using it as some fish are very sensitive to metals used for domestic pipe work such as copper and zinc.


Flick through the tabs below for more advice. 

Check the temperature of the water

Tap water is generally much colder than the water in indoor aquariums and fish tanks, and can even be colder than pond water, especially during summer months.  Fish are vulnerable to rapid temperature changes and if exposed to them can go into shock, which may be fatal.  To avoid this, you should always ensure that tap water reaches the same temperature as the aquarium before use (+ or -1 oc).

What about chlorine?

We add chlorine (or in some cases chloramine) to the water supply at the treatment works to disinfect it to ensure it is free from harmful organisms.  Whilst the addition of chlorine isn't harmful to humans, it can be harmful to fish and other aquatic organisms, so it's important you remove the chlorine before adding any water to your fish tank or pond.

 

Chlorine dissolves naturally if water is left to stand, although it can be hastened by aerating new water.  For small water changes (<10% of volume) or topping up an aquarium make sure once the water is added that the chlorine level hasn't risen above 0.02 mg/l, this can be checked using a simple tester kit available from your local aquarist.

Filling ponds

If you're filling a pond use a fine spray and direct the nozzle upwards to aerate the water.

 

For larger ponds you may find it beneficial to use a Granular Activated Carbon filter that will quickly absorb chlorine.

What about pH?Kitchen tap

The pH value of the water in a fish tank or pond may be different to that of water drawn straight from the tap and sudden changes of pH may cause stress to fish. Test kits and pH adjustment products are available from aquarium shops to enable the appropriate changes for each species to be made.

What about nitrate and associated compounds?

Most fish can tolerate much higher levels of nitrate than those allowed in drinking water. Food added to aquariums, the natural activities of fish and fertilizers added around ponds can increase the levels of nitrate significantly. Whilst nitrate itself is not likely to be a problem to fish, in certain conditions it can degrade into compounds such as ammonia and nitrite which even at low levels can cause stress to the fish.

What about phosphate?

Phosphate is present in drinking water at levels that may not be suitable for fish. You should seek advice from your aquarist who'll be able to advise you on how best to measure and reduce phosphate from the water.


The main source of phosphate in fish tanks and ponds comes from food and waste products. High phosphate levels can promote algal growth but good maintenance will stop this becoming a problem.

What about algae?

Tropical plant

Excessive algal growth can occur within aquariums or ponds as a result of too much light, surplus nutrients (nitrate and phosphate) or insufficient plant growth. Restricting the available light, adding rapid growing plants or even introducing species that graze on the algae can help to address the problem.

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