Fishkeeping as a Hobby
Life can be too overwhelming; and having a diversion, like hobbies, that you enjoy outside of your work can prove to be very beneficial. Hobbies provide a healthy outlet for various energies and finding time to do what you enjoy doing can reduce stress and enhance the quality of your life. If you don’t have a hobby yet, why not try fishkeeping? Fish in general are easier to keep. They don’t demand so much of your time and provide a great sense of relaxation. And if you don’t know where and how to start, join and follow different groups that are into fishkeeping; and find out why they are so in love with this hobby.
If you think you are too busy to try fishkeeping, take inspiration and learn about the basics of setting up your first aquarium from Tyler Britt from Britt Aquatics! Tyler is happily married with two kids and despite his busy schedule as a full time bank branch manager, he still finds time for his fish.
During Sundays, Tyler goes live as he hosts Aquarium Addicts in Instagram for fishkeepers and aquarium hobbyists like him. Despite his busy schedule, Tyler takes time to engage in his hobby of fishkeeping and setting up aquariums. Follow his Instagram aa_aquarium_addicts and listen to his live podcast to learn more about the proper way of setting up your fish tanks especially if you are a newbie to his hobby.
Fun fact!
Tyler has been doing martial arts pretty much all his life. A born achiever, he got his black belt in Matsuno Kajukenbo Kia at the age of 16; and has competed all over the United States. At one point, he even held a national title from the Ohana national martial arts competition.
Tyler is currently working on three projects; and the biggest one is turning his 110-gallon fish tank into a black water Amazon biotope. He is also building a guppy pond in a large pot that will have a waterfall effect using aquarium filter. Tyler is also getting ready to start working on his third project which is building a display rack with four 10-gallon tanks for dwarf cichlids. Not easy projects, but if you have the passion for your hobbies, it’s all worth the effort.
Spending time on his hobby is a natural diversion from Tyler's rather busy and stressful work schedule. It provides him with the perfect work-life balance.
For serious hobbyists like Tyler, it is imperative to create an environment that is close to the natural habitat of his fish. By adding live plants and corals, fish can have more hiding spaces and areas to swim around.
Much as Tyler takes pride in his fishkeeping hobby, he makes sure that he provides his fish with nothing but clean, safe, and healthy water, knowing that water is the most crucial element for any fish. Poor water quality weakens their ability to fight off infections, causing them to become very stressed. This weakens their immune system making them more susceptible to infections.
He regularly tests the quality of his aquarium water using SJ Wave aquarium water test strips, which tests the 7 most important elements of your aquarium water. SJ Wave test kits are so convenient and easy to use, even toddlers can do it like a science activity project.
Ammonia, which is an invisible chemical, is highly toxic to your fish; and is considered the #1 killer in freshwater fish. Unfortunately, it occurs naturally in every aquarium as a result of decaying organic matter and general fish waste. High concentrations of ammonia in the water make it difficult for fish to eliminate ammonia from their bodies. This buildup of ammonia can cause stress, gill and internal organ damage, and eventually death. Avoid unwanted ammonia fish kill by testing the ammonia levels in your aquarium. And don’t forget to clean you aquarium and change water change every two weeks at a minimum, depending on the size of your tank and volume of fish. Ideally, however, you should be changing a portion of your tank water once a week.
Visit the SJ Wave website and learn more about their water testing kits; and start your fishkeeping hobby.
