I have had tropical fish of different types for over 20 years, many of them just the everyday common Swordfish, guppy and basic fish such as that but I have also have others where I very nearly had success at breading mouth brooders. The reason I didn't get anywhere with that the was that other fish in the tank ate the eggs before I could get them safe.

I have had an elephant fish, several ghost fish, loads of Neon's which are my wife's favourite, and also red stripe, which are of the Neon family.

I have found that the "little nipper" AKA Angel fish, are one of the worst to have in an aquarium, the reason the have a nickname "little nipper" is that they nip at other fish, I would advise anyone to be careful when getting a new tank and say leave them alone for someone else to have. they look nice but have a nasty feature.

I have also had red tail sharks which are nice, one problem is, they never like getting caught in the net for a clean out of tank water, if fact one of mine once jumped out of the bucket and up my daughter's skirt, she was about 10 at the time and was helping me and my wife clean the tank out, we thought it funny but the daughter was far from amused.

Plecostamus are a nice gravel cleaner and can grow to quite a size if treated right. mine was about 8 or 9 inch long and about 5 years old when it died. He was sharing a 6 foot tank with several other fish and never bothered any of them, a very nice fish for keeping the bottom of the tank clean.

The Gurami is another mouth brooder which is a fairy easy to keep fish, this fish, is nicknamed little kisser, the male and female kiss, exchanging eggs into each others mouths, the male is the one which lays on the eggs to hatch them and take of them until they are old enough to fend for themselves, but I like to try keep them away from any other fish at all other than the parents, though now I have downsized to a 4 foot tank and have 3 red tail sharks, 3 ghost fish, an elephant fish, and several others I cannot remember the name of.

When the time comes to change stock, we have decided to have Neon's and red stripe only, they give a really nice effect when the light is on and you are watching them.

It has been said that fish are one of the most therapeutic things to have, due to the relaxing nature of the tank and the way the fish just swim so calmly, but if you gently tap on the glass, it is like a person hitting you with a 7 pound hammer, so what would fish feel like I wonder?

WARNING always make sure that when you buy new stock, to make sure you always take time introducing a new fish to your tank, never ever just pour the water into your tank when you have bought a new fish, you MUST take time to allow it to acclimatise to your own tank, and gently add tank water to the bag, NEVER bag water to the tank.

When cleaning tank, i personally always wash the tank with a little salt, as this helps to kill any germs or bacteria which maybe present, then as I rinse it out, I wipe the tank with a few pieces of kitchen roll or similar to wipe out any excess salt, it is not needed once you wipe it and let stand for a few mine's.

Always choose a good strong table or unit, the tank will be very heavy once the water is in, Start by washing the new tank, gravel, plants etc in Luke warm water. you can use salt if you like, mine is as a preference but some stockist do sell liquids to wash the tank with, having said that, salt is a natural killer of bacteria and the like so i opt for the oldest and best.

Once you have done this, put the gravel, ornaments, plants etc into the tank and slowly fill it. Make sure you use a saucer or something like that so the water, as it gently enters the tank doesn't move the gravel etc from the chosen position. This will take you quite some time, but it is worth it in the end. If you are having tropical fish, then make sure the water is at a temperature of mid 70's-80 degrees. Leave the tank for about a week to 10 days for the water etc to settle, make sure, you know the PH of your water, this is very important, you can obtain a test kit from your local fish stockist and some shops will test your water for you and help you with choosing the best looking and healthiest fish, and advise you what is a good fish to include with what fish, after all, you wouldn't put a Japanese Male fighter with another male of any species, they are born killers and will kill a male in defence of it's "territory" so always ask, everyone is willing to help.



Guppy Male at top, Female at bottom

Live bearer, don't eat their own babies provided they are fed well and breed every couple of weeks so you soon have a tank full of fish cheaply, you will have to add a new male every once in a while so as not to get them interbreeding.

Male Swordtail

Live bearer, but tend to eat their own babies,, the male has a point at the tail end the female has no point at the end of the tail....



Plecostomus Cat fish

Always remember to clean your tank and change about one third of the water around once every 8 weeks or so, this is so that there is always some fresh water to oxygenate the older water and mixes the bacteria fish need with fresh water, there is less chance of poison doing this, so they say,

  I sometimes do mine a little more often and sometimes a little less so it is  not a rule of thumb to do it like this but a good idea to use it as a basis for newcomers to fish keeping.



I will not have snails in my tank,, they kill the fish!!!!! many folks like snails in the tank, they do look nice but, having said this, you will find that your fish start to lose scales, this is because snails have a very tiny little mite which attaches its self to the scales of the fish and tears them off, you cannot see them, they are too small for the naked eye but beware, they are there. You can obtain either a snail cure for your tank or alternatively you can if you prefer keep watching and taking out the snails, but this can be a tedious task and quite time consuming, the other alternative is to keep about a teaspoonful of salt in a 2 foot tank, and about 2 teaspoons in a 4 foot tank Never a lot though or you can kill the fish easily...
Here are a couple of pictures of my tank..

You will see driftwood and ornaments, this gives the fish a place to hide, some fish are very scared of the human, so the driftwood and ornaments give them a place to hide. Also they may sleep during the day so i am told, so what better place than somewhere dark and personal?

 You may also see some very small images,, they are Daphnia, live water flee which i grow myself in our garden pond. They are very good for the fish and give them live food, I personally prefer to give live food at times than the dried stuff from the shops. Live is best if you can have a small area you can grow some, once you get one lot that is it, no need to buy any more just do not overfeed them or the intestines are susceptible to perishing and causing the fish to bleed internally..