For beginners who would like to try taking care of fish as a hobby, instead of starting in a fishbowl start using the glass box for your aquarium; in choosing the right size - it should be one inch of fish per gallon. Depending on your filtration you can double or triple the load. The glass box must be propped at all four sides because unequal distribution of its weight may soon result to damage or cracks in some parts and worst is leak in the glass. It should also be placed in a cool place without exposure to direct sunlight otherwise algae would easily grow fast.
In any aquarium setup, a good filter is essential to prolong the lives of the fish inside because the filter's role is to annihilate those waste products produced by the tenants there. These are the leftover foods, the rotting plants and fishes, and fish-poop that turns into invisible toxins. There are many available filters in the market today that you could choose from.
For the decoration, you can choose from the very popular sunken ships to the simulated driftwood. How it looks will depend on your moods, tastes and likes. Real plants look better than the artificial ones and would even benefit the fishes inside because of the natural photosynthesis. But maintaining real plants really need much time as you would put fertilizers; you would trim its leaves regularly so for beginners, plastic plants will do in the meantime.
Patience will play an important role in the maintenance of an aquarium as you would change gallons of water in your fish tank regularly but not on a weekly basis. Changing the water supply 25-50 percent will do with cleaning of its surroundings to prevent bad bacteria to accumulate and harm the fishes.
Colorful fishes like Guppies will definitely add life to your aquarium especially with its dazzling colors and unique patterns. What makes them more interesting is that - there are no two Guppies that are exactly alike. Each of them is unique.
Mollies are very popular for beginners; these are varieties that are easy to take care of and multiply so fast, they give birth to as many as 60 fry at a single time. That is how productive they are.
Swordtails are considered a classic for beginners but they are very easy to take care and love to stay in tanks. Kois are also known as carps and they add amazing colors to your tanks especially the large ones.
