There are some things that will help your fish thrive, such as finding the proper pH balance, and monitoring nitrates & nitrites in the water. Light sources and plant life also affect their environment.

Also, it’s harder to achieve a good acquatic system in a small tank than a large tank. The smallest I’d recommend for a beginner is 20-30 gallons (unless you want to get frustrated with fast algae build-up and floating carcasses), and tropical fish are the most sensitive so inquire about hardier types of fish that you like the look of. But stay away from the expensive ones until you’ve got th hang of it.

Just get some basic info from a good aquarium services store to get you started. It may sound like they’re not easy to care for, but once you get the hang of it, it’s really quite simple.

I started with a 5 gallon, graduated to a 10 gallon, then a 30 gallon and now I’ve had my 55 gallon for the last 7 years without a problem. If you’re really into it, the best thing I can recommend is a canister filter (mine is an E-heim) which you store under the tank in a cabinet rather than those stupid noisy plastic things that hang off the back of the tank. Canisters are more powerful and do a much better job at keeping the tank clean, and you only change the filter media 4 times a year (so while they are more expensive at the outset, they save you money in the long run… and they’re worth it because it’s less work).

Jim says we can put my Miller Lites in it.

I’m not a fan of fish foisters either, FYI.

Hot water and a scrub should be fine - but BLEACH? BLEACH?!

At some point I’m going to have to post about “how to look after your fish, and not kill them like ACW did. With BLEACH.”