We don't claim to be experts in aquarium fish care, but instead hobbyists and enthusiasts with real world experience. As a matter of fact, I believe in practical care advice, from people who have been there before, to that of some 'fanatical expert', who would have you spend $1,000 on the care and feeding of a guppy. Fish die, it is a natural part of fish-keeping. While we eagerly accept tips from those 'fanatical experts', we expect you to read what they have to say, read what other 'experienced' fish keepers have to say, and make your own judgment as to what to do.

As time goes on, more questions will be answered in our forums. Until then, here is a beginners FAQ for someone interested in tropical fresh water fish care. Unfortunately, in most aquarium superstores, (and even some specialty stores), many of the salesmen know nothing about fish or fish care at all. They are happy to sell you a fish if you want, or not.. Most stores do have some sort of compatibility information, which you should read.

This FAQ is intended for beginners. It is written without a lot of technical mumbo-jumbo, so the average beginner can understand it. If you are already beyond this stage, you are best off perusing our forum sections.

#1. The Beginning:

A - The Tank) Decide what kind of fish you want. If you want to raise Oscars, you will not do well with a 10-20 gallon tank. Decide how much room you have, and finally how much money you are prepared to spend. Remember, the cost of the tank itself is one of the smaller costs you need to worry about. Sure, that big tank is easily affordable, but remember, you need more filtration, more lighting, more electricity to run it all, more fish, more heat (where necessary), more chemicals, etc. All those 'more's' equal to more money. The age old adage of one inch of fish per gallon is still a pretty good guide. In other words, if the fish you are buying have a 1" maximum size, you can comfortably put 10 into your 10 gallon tank. If the fish will grow to 10", than 1 in that 10 gallon tank will be pushing it. One caveat, however, is that the larger your tank, the easier to keep your water quality consistent. Whereas a small tank will experience massive swings in chemical and temperature readings, a larger body of water moves much more slowly - usually giving you a chance to catch something before it goes awry.

B - The Water) Have Patience. You can't just fill a tank with tap water, start the filters, and put a fish in. Well, you could, but the fish will be dead by the morning. While different fish require different water qualities, that is for a future discussion. Here, we will concern ourselves with starting a basic tank and making it a suitable environment for your basic fresh water fish. Tap water contains many additives that kill bacteria. Problem is, those additives also kill fish. Chlorine is one of the biggest offenders, especially here in my home state of Florida. Luckily, chlorine will evaporate out of your tank usually within a day - especially with good surface agitation. While they make instant detoxifiers, I would use these in emergencies, and/or in addition to basic common sense (don't put your fish in the first day!!).

B2 - The water part 2). Clean whatever you are putting in your tank (gravel, ornaments- etc). Don't think that just because it is made for your aquarium, that you can just put it right in. The gravel in particular, is full of small particles that chip off during handling. Rinse through these before you put them in and you will be much happier later when you can see your fish. Normally, you will get a bloom in the first few days anyway (cloudy water), which is partly chemical, and partly physical. Rinse as much of the physical away first, and you will save a lot of problems once you start. All that stuff clogging your filter doesn't help much anyway.