Habitat Care Sheets

Caring for your Habitat
 
Placement of your Habitat – Your Habitat will thrive and be happy in a well lit room away from direct sunlight.

Feeding your Livestock  – Choose the appropriate food for your Livestock eg Algae Flakes for Shrimp and Snails, and Protein Crumble for Fighters. Feed once daily only giving your animals as much as they can eat within a 5 minute period and then removing the balance to avoid excess waste in your Water. 

Keeping your plants healthy – Remove any sick plants carefully immediately. Also, remove wilting parts of the plant, such as old leaves to avoid decomposition and fouling of the water.
 
Water Changes – All fish, shrimp and snails require regular water changes. These water changes should be done every 2 weeks.

• if possible try to have a bucket that you use exclusively for your Habitat so that you don’t inadvertently put nasty chemicals in the water. A plastic bucket is best for this purpose.
• You will need to remove 1/4 to 1/3 of your existing water and replace it with tap water that has been treated (mixed) with Declorinator (Prime or API Tap Water Conditioner)to remove toxic chemicals such as ammonia, nitrates or nitrites.
• The alternative to treating the water is to allow it to age for 24-48 hours sitting in a bucket before adding to your Habitat.
• If you have shrimp it is always a good idea to age your water by letting it stand in the bucket for 24 following adding the Prime to allow the water chemistry to stabilise and the water temperature to be similar to the temperature in your Habitat to not shock your livestock.
• Every 2nd water change (every 4 weeks) you should also clean your gravel. The easiest way to do this is with a Water Siphon that can be purchased at Mappins or a Pet Store.
• Using a clean chemical free cloth you can also wipe the inside and outside of your bowl/jar to keep it looking it’s best.