How to Start a Freshwater Aquarium

If you are new at tropical fish there’s no need to worry; all you simply have to do is follow these few steps:

Step 1

Pick the type of fish tank you would like. Do you want a single species tank? Maybe you would like a community tank. Read on to see the differences between these types of tanks.
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Single species tank: Single specie aquariums, as you may have guessed, are aquariums that house only one specie of fish. Single specie tanks are usually made up of fish that are not compatible with other types of fish. You can make a single species tank out of any fish specie you would like.

Community tanks: Community tanks are the most common tropical tanks. With a mixture of fish that are compatible with each other, a community tank would make the perfect touch for any home. Community tanks are not only neat to look at but are also easiest to care for out of the group of freshwater tanks.

Step 2

Now it’s time to pick your aquarium. The type of aquarium you get mainly depends on the fish you’ll be purchasing. The general rule for determining tank size is “one gallon of water per one inch of fish.” Say you get a fish that’s five inches in length; you would need to house it in a minimum of a 5-gallon tank.

Step 3

This is the fun part! It’s time to choose your décor. All you need to know while picking out your décor is:
1- Give the fish plants to hide in.
2- Make sure the fish have a place in the tank to call their own.
3- Don’t fill the tank too full of décor and plants or your fish won’t have enough room to swim, leading to stress and illness.
4- Have fun and be creative.

Step 4

Determine where to place your tank. You can keep it virtually anywhere in your house so long as it’s not directly in front of a window, which will lead to algae growth in your tank.

Step 5

You need to choose the kind of plants that would be best for you. Plants come in both plastic (made for fish safety) and real aquatic plants. If you are fixated on your plants looking real then you could still go with fake plants, there’s a wide variety of plastic plants out now.