Fish are wonderful pets. To have them, you need no special
skills, only the proper fish and equipment for your
situation. Then give them reasonably good care and you'll
be spectator to a magical, watery world.  Having an
aquarium is known to lower stress levels because the
brilliant colors and graceful motions of the fish have a
calming effect.  If you have a small living space or very
little time to lavish on a pet, fish are perfect for you.

Fresh water tanks are the place to begin your experience
as keeper of an aquarium.  They are quite a bit easier and
more economical to set up and maintain than salt water
aquariums.

Your choice of tank will be guided by two initial factors.
1) Where will the tank fit into your home?  The available
space will determine how large a tank you could have. 2)
How many fish will you want?  The water surface area that
the shape of the tank creates will be the limiting factor
of the size and number of fish you can have.  This is
because the oxygen that fish require comes through the
surface of the water.  In an overcrowded tank, the fish
will suffocate!

Use the following simple calculations to determine the
tank size for the number and size of fish you're planning
to have, (keeping in mind the space that's available in
your home to place the tank).  For each linear inch of fish
body, you'll need 12 square inches of water surface area.
So, let's say you have a couple of two-inch Angel Fish.
That's 4 inches of fish body length times 12 square inches
of water surface for each, equaling 48 total inches of
surface area necessary for the Angel Fish to have
sufficient oxygen.  A 6-inch by 9-inch rectangular tank
would create 54 square inches of water surface.  That would
nicely support those two Angel Fish, but would be too small
for three of them.

Once you've thought about the size of tank you have space
to fit in your home, and you've figured out how many fish
body inches that tank can support, the next step is to
select the fish you'd like to have for your aquarium
community.  Think this through before you start buying the
fish.  Fish behavior is ultimately more important to your
decisions than color and size.  You are creating a
community of living creatures in which all members are
forced to live, so plan ahead to save some of your pets
from becoming another pet's dinner.

You have many families of tropical freshwater fish from
which to choose.  Each species will have a preference for
upper, middle, or lower levels of the tank.  Here are a
couple of tropical fish families to help get you started
with your planning.

The Anabantid Family.  This is the family of the famous
and popular Siamese Fighting Fish.  Since the males will
fight to the death, it is critical that you only have one
male per tank.  In the same family is the calm and peaceful
Gourami, which grow from 1 to 5 inches.  The stunning Gold
Gourami and the Kissing Gourami are two types.

The Cyprinid Family.  These are medium sized, very hardy,
and come in a wide variety.  The family includes Barbs,
Danios, and Rasbora.  The Barbs are schooling fish that are
generally middle and bottom dwellers.  The Tin Foil Barb
can grow to eleven inches.  Danios are smaller, at 2 to 4
inches, and prefer the upper water levels.  A middle level
fish is the Rasbora, which range from 1-4 inches.

If you do your homework before you start buying your fish,
you will enjoy the community you've established for a long
time to come. Carefully selected combinations for preferred
water level will make your tank variable and interesting.

As a biologist, Jeanine Hughes has made a study of topics
related to Aquariums. She is contributing writer of
articles for <a href="http://freeaquarium.com">The News
about an Aquarium</a> your premier resource on-line for
information on Aquariums. Find the archive of articles at:
http://www.freeaquarium.com/

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