The very first thing you need to know is – Do not buy your fish at the same time you get your tank and supplies. This is the biggest mistake most people make when buying aquarium set ups. You and your family are in the store looking at all the beautiful fish and decide an aquarium would be perfect for that corner spot in the living room. You’re right.

Although it would seem to be the thing to do, now is not the time to buy those awesome fish. Your new tank needs to be prepared so you can introduce your fish in a healthy manner that will give you years of enjoyment. Very few people think they need to learn how to set up a fish aquarium, and unfortunately not many store employees instruct them differently. They happily bag up the fish along with all of the supplies and send the new fish owners on their way. Those fish usually do not make it past the first few days.

Things you will need to set up a fish aquarium:

• The size tank you pick for your family aquarium. Please decide before hand what types of fish you’d like to house in that tank and be sure it is of adequate size for the adult version of those species of fish.
• A good filtration system made for the size tank you have purchased.
• Enough gravel of the color of your choice and in an amount suited to the size of your new tank.
• A fish net, and the type of fish food for your desired fish.
• A hood and light set up.
• If you have city water with chlorine you will need to buy an additive that will take out the chemicals in the water, or buy distilled water for your tank.
• A ph testing kit
• If you have decided on tropical fish, you will also need a heater and a thermometer. The new adhesive style thermometers work best and last a long time.
• NO FISH

There are some kits you can purchase that will include all of the above for ease of purchase. When you get your new supplies home and set up the tank you will need to rinse the rocks well before adding them to the bottom. Be sure your tank is where you want it to be because once it is full of rocks and water it will be too heavy to move without breaking the seal on the glass bottom and possibly the glass itself.

There are two ways to cycle your new tank, the fishless method, and the fish method. The fishless method is the best way as it is the only way to insure your fish do not die in the cycling of the new tank. Research both methods carefully before making your final decision. Whichever way you choose you should still wait at least a week before attempting to add any fish to your new tank.

Aquarium Setup:
The Blue Hippo Tang loves places to hide, provide them with plenty of caves and crevices. They also love to swim and are fast fish, wide open areas are needed.

Diet:
Tang’s need a variety of live and frozen foods. They love zooplankton and should be fed a diet that includes brine shrimp, grindal worms, mysis, as well as flake and pellet foods. Several feedings daily is better for Tang’s than one larger feeding.

Supplements such as broccoli, peas and leafy greens are great additions to their diets. However, large amounts that aren’t consumed could change the quality of the water.

Tank Mates/Community:
May be kept with other peaceful fish about the same size. They may not get along with other male Tang’s in the tank unless the tank is very large.

Behavior:
Blue Hippo’s are very timid and will sometimes wedge themselves into crevices or caves when threatened. They will also lay over on their sides and play dead!

Color:
The Blue Hippo Tang is a beautiful, vibrantly colored fish. It’s bright royal blue body is accented with a black design on the upper section  that starts at it’s eyes and extends along the dorsal fin. It curves around to go just above the pectoral fin and splits to cover the edges of it’s tail fin.

Their dorsal and anal fins continue all the way back to it’s yellow tail and they’re trimmed in a black edging. They have thin bodies and are generally oval shaped.

Breeding:
Blue Hippo Tang’s are egg scatterers and their breeding season is usually February and March. However, successful breeding in captivity is very difficult.

Interesting Notes:
These are very playful fish and have been known to chase bubbles in the tank. Some have been seen playing with gravels, snails or other small tank items.

Written by Connie Corder for The Home Aquarium, Copyright 2008

Besides feeding them, the other part of keeping your fish happy and healthy comes by keeping the water and tank clean. Thankfully with the use of a few key tools you can make your weekly water cleaning and changes a pretty simple task. The main tools you will need to keep your tank in tip top shape are a siphon which is sometimes referred to as a vacuum, a bucket used for nothing else besides water changes, an algae brush and a bottle of dechlorinator. All of these items are available at your local pet store.

The best place to start your weekly water changes is by removing any algae from the glass of your tank. The algae brush is the perfect tool for doing just that. You simply scrub the inside walls of the tank with the algae brush and it wipes away all of the algae built up on the glass walls of the tank. Some of it will likely end up floating down to the bottom of the tank, but don’t worry the next step will help us take care of just that problem.

After all of the algae has been removed you will want to get your siphon and bucket out. Starting the siphon can be a little difficult the first few times you use it, but stick to it and it will be a breeze in no time. As long as all of the parameters in your tank are showing good from your test kits, then you will only need to remove about 20% of the water. When using the siphon you will want to stick it down into the substrate of your tank to make sure you are sucking up all of the leftover waste and food that your algae eater and cat fish (if you have any) were not able to eat. It is very important to not let these two things build up in your tank; if you do you will likely spike your nitrates and maybe even poison your fish.

Once you have removed about 20% of the water it is time to start filling your tank back up. This is why it is essential to not use your bucket for anything else. If you were to use it for mopping the floor or cleaning the house it will likely have small chemical particles from cleaning products, and while these may work well to clean your house they are quite harmful to your aquarium and fish. Be sure to check the instructions on the dechlorinator you are using and mix the proper amount into each bucket to make sure no chlorine makes its way into your tank; this too can be quite harmful to your fish.

By following these simply steps on a weekly basis you can rest assured that you will be taking proper care of your fish and that they will be as happy and healthy as possible.

Written by Mike Barton for The Home Aquarium Copyright 2008

Of the pets my daughter has acquired over the years I would have to say she has learned the most from her aquarium. Since her Dad is an experienced aquarium keeper I was able to teach her how to properly care for her fishy friends; and if you have no experience with aquariums there is a lot more to it than you would think!

We started by selecting the type of fish that she wanted to keep. This should always be the first step so that you can be sure to purchase an aquarium large enough to house the chosen fish. Contrary to popular belief a small bowl or jar is simply not large enough to house any fish and in my opinion borders on animal cruelty.

After deciding on the fish, we purchased an aquarium kit which contained the aquarium itself, a filter to keep the water clean, a heater to keep the water at the proper temperature for the selected fish, a canopy and light, as well as a bag of substrate to layer over the bottom.

After setting the aquarium all up we were now at the most difficult point, waiting one to three weeks for the water to cycle so that we could add the fish. Though it seemed like a lifetime to her, the time passed rather quickly and we finally had the fish she picked out swimming happily in her tank.

Sadly most new people to the hobby there, but at this point the work and responsibility learning is just beginning. She is now responsible for cleaning the tank and changing the water once a week, remembering to change the media in the filter once every one to three months, as well as feeding her fish on a daily basis. Sure this may seem like a big choir for a little girl her age, but she loves her little water-bound friends and keeps them happy and healthy with a smile on her face.

As an added benefit, by going through the process of selecting the fish first, and then building everything around that to properly house that species of fish she learned a lot about, and gained a great respect for nature and intricate systems.

Written by Mike Barton for The Home Aquarium

Aquarium Setup:
The natural habitat for the Peacock eel is the slow moving waters of streams and rivers in Southeast Asia. This eel thrives in the dense aquatic plants and a substrate of sand, silt and fine gravel. These are the conditions that should be duplicated in the aquarium.

The Peacock eel likes to have plenty of hiding places as this helps it to feel safe and secure. A lot of plants, especially floating ones are recommended as well cave like areas created by using rocks, wood, artificial ornaments, and even short sections of PVC piping.

When they are introduced to a new aquarium it can often take several weeks before they become accustomed to their new home. Providing the proper habitat can significantly reduce the time it takes for them to settle in.

Peacock eels are notorious jumpers so it is very important that your tank be covered well. If you use an external power filter or pump pay particular attention to any openings around them as the eel will eventually work its way to escaping the aquarium.

Diet:
Peacock eels are often difficult to feed because of their shy nature. In the wild Peacock eels eat live food such as insect larvae, crustaceans and worms. Try to provide similar types of food for the Peacock eel in your aquarium. Mosquito larvae, brine shrimp and blood worms work quite well, but small earthworms are a particular favorite.

The Peacock eel is a nocturnal creature, so the best time to feed them is at night when the lights are turned out.

Tank Mates/Community:
The Peacock eel is a good addition to a community aquarium because it is very peaceful. However, it will often consider smaller fish to be food. The best companions for the Peacock eel are other similar sized peaceful fish and aquatic animals that like the same water conditions.

Behavior:
The Peacock eel is very peaceful and tolerant when housed with fish of similar size.

Color:
There are different coloration patterns among specimens from different areas, but generally Peacock eels are brown in color with the back being darker than its sides. A thin yellow line runs along its sides from its snout to the caudal (tail) fin. The Peacock eel also has a series of five eye-spots that run from the dorsal fin and back to the caudal fin.

Breeding:
Breeding the Peacock eel is very difficult. In fact, there are only very few known instances where they have been successfully bred in captivity. The Peacock eel, in the wild, is known only to spawn during the monsoon season.

Aquarium Setup:
A larger tank is recommended, especially if you’re planning to have several Royal Gramma Basslets. But, they have been kept successfully in tanks as small as 10 gallons when only one is present.

If a small substrate is used they will enjoy digging and rearranging the sand or gravel. They need lot’s of caves and crevices, many Royal Gramma’s won’t venture far from their chosen home. It’s recommended to have at least two hiding places for each Grammar in the tank.

The aquarium needs to have good water circulation and the water quality needs to be maintained. They can do very well in a reef tank, although they might eat marine worms and small crustaceans.

They prefer as much tank decorations as you can have to hide in and choose the perfect home. Gramma’s are very good jumpers, so make sure that the tank is covered.

Diet:
Gramma Basslet’s aren’t picky eaters, however if they’re fed the same foods over long periods of time they might become picky. Feeding them a wide variety of foods can prevent this from happening.

They will eat almost any flake food and thrives on meaty foods. It can be fed shrimp, clams or fish as long as they’re chopped up small enough for the Gramma to eat.

Their vibrant colors will often normally fade when kept in captivity. A variety of foods and vitamins that contain color enhancers will prevent this and keep their colors vibrant.

Tank Mates/Community:
While normally peaceful fish most Gramma’s will show aggression towards other males of the same species. However, in a large enough tank with lot’s of hiding places they’ve been known to get along well together.

Other fish in the community can include Clownfish, Damselfish, Gobies, Catfish, Firefish, Rabbitfish and Butterflyfish. Any fish large enough to eat them should definitely be avoided. These include Lionfish, Trigger’s, Grouper’s and Snapper’s.

Behavior:
Royal Gramma’s said to be shy fish, they will spend lots of time out in the tank. But, if threatened or startled they will quickly dart back to the safety of their home. While Gramma’s might be smaller fish, they will quickly defend their home against any tank mates.

Color:
The Gramma’s front section has bright shades of purple and lighter shades of violet. The back half of this beautiful fish is a bright, almost neon yellow. There’s a black stripe that goes from the front of it’s mouth up over the top of it’s eye and a black spot at the tip of the dorsal fin.

Breeding:
In the Royal Gramma family it’s the males that make the nest. He will carry pieces of plants or algae into his den and get the nest ready for the eggs. The spawning starts with the male shaking his body at the female and then returning to his den.

He will repeat this display until he entices her into following him into the den. The eggs will be deposited inside the nest and are guarded by the male until they hatch in approximately one week.

Interesting Notes:
These entertaining little fish can be found hanging out at all angles in the tank. They’re often found upside down in the cave or crevice that they’ve claimed as their home.

Under different lighting conditions the purple and violet shades can appear to change. Sometimes they can look bluish and even have a green shade. You can experiment with light to change the colors of your Gramma!

Aquarium Setup:
The Kaudern’s Cardinal normally doesn’t bother corals and plants and can be kept in marine setups. They like lots of caves for hiding and claiming as territories. They love live rock and won’t bother any coral you may have in the aquarium.

Diet:
Kaudern Cardinal’s are carnivores and need a balanced diet consisting of meaty foods. They can be fed bloodworms and any type of marine flesh such as shrimp, fish and clams as well as pellets and flake foods.

Tank Mates/Community:
Cardinal’s can be tanked together as long as the aquarium is large enough for them to have their own space. Cramping too many into a small tank can result in aggression.

Although semi-aggressive, they can be housed with almost any other fish of the same temperament. Tank mates should also be kept in the same size range as the Cardinal’s.

Behavior:
Kaudern’s Cardinal’s are very slow swimming fish that often seem to almost just be floating along. They differ in personalities as some will be more active during the day, while others prefer to come out at night.

Color:
The Cardinal is a very sought after fish with hobbyists and is becoming close to being placed on the endangered list due to over collection. The Cardinal’s silvery body has dramatic, black vertical stripes and is covered with white spots.

The spots are translucent on the silver body, but are more noticeable on the black fins. The Cardinal’s long dorsal and anal fins are complimented by a tasseled dorsal fin. The caudal fin is deeply forked giving this fish a elegant appearance.

Breeding:
Kaudren Cradinal’s are one of the easiest saltwater fish to breed in the aquarium. This species are mouth brooders which contributes to the survival of the fry.

Once breeding has occurred the males mouth will bulge at the jaw line and they won’t eat anything. The male will carry the eggs for 20 days or even longer, before they hatch.

Once hatched and released, the young should be removed from the tank until they’ve grown large enough not to be eaten. However, a Long Spined Urchin added to the tank will give the young fry a hiding place for.

It is difficult to tell the males from the females, if breeding is planned buy several and let them pair off. Once a pair has formed, the male may begin to pick on the remaining fish. Unless you have a large tank, you may have to separate them.

Aquarium Setup:
Auriga Butterflyfish are bold swimmers and need lots of room to move around. They’re also shy and should have plenty of hiding places such as caves and crevices.

They prefer a sandy bottom and aren’t reef compatible as they will eat most types of invertebrates and corals. This species is very sensitive to low levels of ammonia in the water, but are normally a healthy breed if the water quality is maintained.

Diet:
Auriga’s need a vitamin enriched diet of marine fish. They can be fed crustaceans, shrimp, mollusks and any flake or frozen foods containing algae. Supplements can be given like broccoli and asparagus.

Feedings should be done three times daily in smaller amounts. And, since Butterflyfish have such small mouths, food needs to be chopped finely for them to be able to eat it.

Tank Mates/Community:
These can be kept with species of similar temperaments and sizes, but not of the same colors as they will probably fight. Suitable tank mates can include Wrasse, Tangs, Hawkfish and Triggers.

Keep in mind that fish have individual personalities. Each Butterflyfish may not get along with the same fish of other species. Any fish tanked together should be watched for aggression towards each other.

Behavior:
Auriga’s can be tanked with members of their own species, however they may not get along very well with other males. Best kept with other peaceful or mildly aggressive fish, they will need a large tank to have their own territories.

It’s best to introduce Auriga’s to the tank at the same time, they tend to get along better. They will form mated pairs, but may chase any other fish that are the same colors, sizes or have the same appearance.

Color:
These vividly colored fish can add a stunning splash of color to an aquarium. Their oval shaped bodies are compressed and are white, black and bright yellow.

The Auriga’s have a black band that runs from the top of their heads and ends at the jaw, covering the eye. The back of their bodies are vivid yellow with an eye spot at the top of the dorsal fin.

They have perpendicular bands that run up and down on snow white front bodies. These bands may or may not be lined with black. And, they have an elongated nose that they use to dig in corals and substrate for foods.

Breeding:
Auriga Butterflyfish are very monogamous, they will choose a mate and remain with the same partner for years. Breeding in captivity is quite difficult, the fry go through a metamorphosis that increases mortality rate.

They can breed all year long and will spawn frequently. Eggs are released into water columns and externally fertilized. The eggs float in the water columns for around 30 days before morphing into plankton and spending another 40 days floating in the column.

Hundreds of thousands of eggs can be released during each spawning. There’s very little information known about their breeding and parenting habits since they are so difficult to breed. But, it’s suspected that once the eggs are released there’s no further parenting or protection from the parents.

Interesting Notes:
When first introduced to the tank, the Auriga Butterflyfish may refuse to eat. If this continues or three days or more, try offering them live foods. If they still refuse to eat, soaking their food in garlic can sometimes coax them into eating it!

Butterflyfish have very small mouths and their teeth are flexible! As they age a long, trailing filament will begin to grow from their dorsal fin that can grow up to 8 inches long.

Aquarium Setup:
The suggested large size tank isn’t for the Green Mandarin’s size, it’s for their feeding habits. They feed off of the bottom on the live rocks and sand and need a large feeding area to assure they can find enough pods. Although, smaller tanks can be used if the pod population is sufficient.

Mandarin’s can be kept in reef aquariums without any problems. They like live sand, live rocks and love lots of places to hide. They’re almost always scouring the bottom for food.

Diet:
Diet is about the only problem with these fish, they will often refuse to eat. Another problem is that they’re slow and other fish will take the food before they can even get to it.

Adding brine shrimp and worms to the aquarium will help in providing them with a steady diet. Many Mandarin’s will only eat live foods, rotifers can also be added to the diet. Fresh chopped shrimp and other seafoods can be added as well.

Tank Mates/Community:
These are very peaceful fish that seem to ignore and be ignored by other fish. They can be introduced into any community of peaceful fish and even large fish as long as their not overly aggressive.

If two Mandarin males are kept together it is likely that they will fight. They should either be kept as a single species in the tank or kept as a pair. Some suitable tank mates are Firefish, Cardinalfish and Clownfish.

They should not be kept with Triggerfish, Sharks, Rays or Groupers. Angelfish in the same tank may also pose a problem. Since the pod population in the tank is their main source of diet, they shouldn’t be kept with other fish or invertebrates that eat pods.

Behavior:
Green Mandarins are very docile, slow moving fish. They use their pectoral fins to sort of hop or walk across the bottom of the tank and across rocks and corals.

Color:
The Green Mandarin is a very exotic, detailed fish, almost looking as if it’s been carefully painted by hand! The body is covered in a maze like design that feature colors of blue, green and orange.

There’s some white accents and a series of small yellow spots at the sides of it’s head. Some may have browns, black and instead of orange, the color may be more reddish.

Breeding:
Though difficult, spawning Mandarins has been successful. When the females stomach becomes swollen, keep an eye on the pair. They will make some practice runs, aligning their bodies and swimming into the water column.

Eventually on one of these practice runs, the female will release the eggs. Once the eggs are released, the pair will quickly descend to the tank bottom and the eggs will rise to the top of the water.

Eggs will need to be removed to keep them from being ate. You can carefully scoop them up off of the waters surface with a cup or small bottle.

The eggs will hatch in just hours, but the Mandarins begin life as prolarvae that have no eyes, mouth or fins. Although, they will have large yolk sacs to feed on.

The fry will go through several transformations and should be ready to eat by the time they’re four days old. They can be fed a diet of rotifers and zooplankton.

The fry will go through various color changes and body changes for almost two months. By the time they are around 50 days old, they will start to show their intricate designs and some colors.

Interesting Notes:
Green Mandarins have a built in protection mechanism that deters predators. They can secrete a poisonous, toxic mucus through their scaleless skin!

Due to their preference for foraging for live food on the tank bottom, the mortality rate in Mandarin’s is high. Many are only able to survive for a few months.

You can train your Mandarin to eat other foods. Keep your Mandarin in a breeder basket and start feeding them live brine shrimp. Then slowly introduce frozen foods to the basket. Once they’ve started eating the frozen foods release them into the tank!

Learning all about fishes when you are planning to set up a home aquarium or fish tank is obviously the most important thing to do and while there are many ways to investigate about the proper living conditions of each type of fish, acquiring respectable and trustable books is perhaps one of the best and most entertained ones.
 
In this sense, and luckily for all of those who love fishes and care about their safety and comfort, there are lots of amazing books available in the market. Tropical fishes are certainly the most popular types of fishes and therefore, they are the most abundant subject of investigation. For such creatures, you should read books like Barrons Books Tropical Freshwater Aquarium Fish from A to Z, by Barron’s. This is a truly interesting and useful book where you will find lots of information for different types of tropical fishes. It is especially recommended for beginners who may feel overwhelmed with specific material. By the same editorial you also have Barrons Books Tropical Aquarium Mini Encyclopedia Book, another great choice for beginners.

The Everything Tropical Fish Book, by several authors and edited by Adams Media Corporation, is another incredible book that will provide you with the most important information through a very accessible and understandable language.

Of course, there are many other choices but these are definitely useful and interesting as well as cheap. You must get them!