I know the feeling! You just want to put the fishes in your tank and start admiring them! But the worst thing you can do now is to rush it. Water treatment is the most important step in rearing fish. It’s really do-or-die for your fishes, so try to rein in your impatience 😉

My recommended water treatment method is to use anti-chlorine. You need to do this project in the morning before 9 am, or in the evening after 8 pm. I find that the water from the tap is pretty warm if you collect the water in the afternoon.

First you need to go and buy a fish water container that can hold enough water for at least half of your fish tank size. Of course if you enjoy carrying loads of heavy water around, then by all means buy a large container! 😂 This fish water container you have to mark (use permanent black marker to write on all sides of the container) it: “For Fish Use Only!!!”, and you go and tell everyone in your family that nobody is to use that fish water container for whatever purpose. Same thing, when you first buy the container, you give it a quick water-only rinse, then you fill it to the brim with water, and you leave it overnight. Next day, you tip the water out (no need to use cloth to dry the pail) and it’s ready for use. Start by filling the fish water container  with tap water (leave at least 1 inch depth of unfilled space at the top, so the water does not slosh over when you carry it to your tank), squeeze a generous squirt (though I should, but I don’t bother to read the instructions about how many capfuls to how many gallons of water. It’s too hard, haha) of anti-chlorine into this water, and if you can, please leave the water to treat overnight. If you need the water urgently, you still have to wait at least 3 hours for the anti-chlorine to treat the tap water.

When I first started keeping fish, I did not want (I did not have spare money) to buy anti-chlorine, so the aquarium shop uncle taught me this cheaper method of treating tap water. What you can do is to fill the dedicated fish water container (sorry, but this dedicated ‘fish water container’ you must buy) with water, and you leave it for at least 3 days! The chlorine in the water would have ‘dissipated’ more or less, and it will be good enough to use. I remember that when I progressed onto my second, and then my third fish tank, there was pails everywhere in my home. ROFL! That prompted me to stop this ridiculous nonsense, and I went to buy anti-chlorine.

Anti-chlorine costs about $7 per bottle, depending on the brand of anti-chlorine that you buy. I have tried anti-chlorine that costs $30 a bottle, and I don’t find that the fish lives longer in the water. So I think that a medium price range brand of anti-chlorine will do.

By the way, I know that there are alot of fish water experts out there. Sorry, I know that this blog is probably hard for you to read because you are in the know. My advice is for really for ordinary would-be aquarium wannababes, and though it is not 100% correct in theory, but it is what I have done, taking into account teachings by the fish shop owners. It has worked well for me and my fishes. Ordinary people like me don’t have time to measure PH or ammonia of the water, and anyway we don’t intend to study fish rearing as an in-depth subject. Haha. We just want to rear fish, that’s all.

But of course, ordinary people like me will not go to the fish shop and buy those exotic expensive fish that are notoriously hard to keep. Like discus fish, Nemo marine fish or luohan fish. These fellas are very sensitive about their water, so ordinary people, let’s just skip these precious ones. 🐟😘

Pictured here is the anti-chlorine that I have been using for many years, but you are free to choose whatever catches your fancy. I buy this brand because the fish shop near my home only carries this brand of anti-chlorine, and the fish shop owner is helpful when I ask him questions about fish. If you are clueless about what you want to do, go to Qian Hu (located at 71 Jalan Lekar). It’s a good place to pick up pointers about fish keeping, and they do have many types of fishes, and also a wide range of fish tank accessories. Do keep in mind that if you are a newbie, don’t go and spend hundreds of dollars on this new fish keeping hobby. Make sure you have the time and commitment to give our fishes a good home! That’s good Feng Shui! Does Feng Shui work? Make Feng Shui work!

P.S.: the plural of fish is fish… right? Somebody tell me 🤣