Buying Fish Toys? Use These Tips to Make Fish Tank Life Happen

Buying Fish Toys? Use These Tips to Make Fish Tank Life Happen

Fish toys have come a long way since their humble beginning as a novelty piece for fishermen. These toys now come in all shapes and sizes, can be made of all kinds of materials, and are designed for a variety of purposes. We'll discuss some of the more popular types available, as well as some of the reasons why they're important to have around. After reading this article, you'll know how to properly entertain (and even bond with) your fish, when fish get bored, which fish species in particular like playing with toys, where to get them, and how to create unique fish toys.

Many types of fish toys are meant to be displayed in an aquarium. Aquarium plants are especially popular because they provide a beautiful, decorative feature for any aquarium and make for an inexpensive alternative to real fish food. A quick search on the Internet will turn up thousands of ideas, from simple bubbles and plastic balls that make great floaties for the tank to hand-carved wood and rocks that can also serve as a focal point for an aquarium display. Aquarium plants also provide the additional benefit of being something that's easy to keep clean.

Some fish don't enjoy having their heads in the water while swimming, and fish toys are great ways to prevent your fish from drowning or getting a thrush - a fungal infection that develops in fin-to-fin contact. One type of this is called swim bladder disease, and it's very common in betta fish. Swim bladder disease causes white patches to appear on the body of your fish and eventually makes its way to their eyes, causing them to become sunken and inflamed. As you can imagine, this isn't pretty, and it requires immediate treatment.

Fish that live tanks and grow in saltwater aquariums also need toys to keep them occupied. Sand and dirt balls are great fun for just about any fish, although live corals may also do well with these. You can also provide tropical fish like the Amazon Sword with small aquarium-type sand and gravel. Fish also love to gnaw on aquarium decorations such as sponges, coral skeletons and driftwood, so keep this in mind when choosing aquarium fish toys and other decorative items.

There are many other types of fish toys to choose from if you're looking for something a little more unique. Clown fish like to bite, climb and chew, so a good idea is a rubber ball or something similar that's easy to hold onto but won't let the fish take it from underneath. Fish are social animals and having different toys to play with helps create the bond between owner and fish, another great reason to invest in multiple aquarium fish toys. My own children grew up playing with plastic castle toys, but they were far superior to anything that was ever offered by that point in time. Nowadays, plastic is still fine, but there are dozens of different kinds of unique aquarium toys that are both safe and fun for any guppy. My two favorite ones are the octopus ball and the squid!

One thing that happens far too often, especially with new breed of fish toys, is fish get bored or perform improper tricks. If a fish loses its way, gets sick or whatever, it's important to immediately change the fish toys so the animal gets back on track. It may seem harsh or difficult, but you'll be much happier in the long run if you make a few quick changes every now and then. For example, don't let your guppy plunk away at that rock it came across - change it immediately! The same goes for changing the hardness of the hardness-compound of the tank rocks, changing the temperature of the water, lighting and so forth.

Tags:animal toys | animal toys for kids