As a hobbyist fishkeeper, I made the same mistakes that all of my fellow hobbyists do. The indiscriminate purchase of fish, overfeeding and improper tank maintance, coupled with a lack of knowledge, resulted in the unfortunate loss of too many beautiful fish.

It was because of these losses that I read and studied , and studied. I sought out and read every bood or magazine that was at all related to aquariums, , tropical fish, or aquatic plants. I thought that I could learn something about fish keeping whether or not it was directly related to my situation.

One thing became clear from all the reading about the care of fish. The need for regular partial water changes (regardless of species, water type or tank size) was mentioned in every book and magazine article.

My hobby has grown from a 10 gal. tank, to a couple , larger tanks. Consisting of Tropical Fish, fancy Goldfish, and Corydoras Catfish. All since I discovered the value of water changes and put my newly found knowledge into practice. I have been successful, with no more fish losses, and healthy fish growth and no disease. And, I have even had unplanned spawning of Mollies and Corydoras Catfish in my community tanks.

I had assumed that all hobbyists, except novices, practiced regular partial water changes, but several things have shown me that this is not the case. People I know who have kept fish for years have asked me how I get my fish to grow so large. After comparing my feeding and tank maintance regimes with their's, regular partial water changes seemed to be the only difference. I do, they don't.

When I comment on my maintenance routine, other hobbyist invariably tell me they don't perform maintence tasks as frequently as I do and their fish are just fine. But, are they? Why haven't they grown? Most of the fish available in the pet stores in our area are juveniles, so if everything is fine, why don't they grow? And, have any of their fish surprised them by spawning in their community tanks? My Cory cats have spawned on twice in recent weeks. And my Mollie unexpectedly presented me with fry one morning.

Another fact that convinces me regular water changes aren't a common practice in the four used aquariums I've purchased from four diffrent people. he tanks were all covered with a dried film (probably from algae) that was easy to clean with vinegar. But, the tanks that came with accessories and power filters told the real story. The accessories were so filthy that I pitched them into the trash. The power filters didn't work and were