Most beginning aquarium owners are soon overwhelmed with the large number and variety of decisions required when setting up a new aquarium. Unfortunately the last decision that is often made concerns the type and number of fish that are going to live in the tank. When the owner does decide on buying fish it is often done based on color and appearance. As a result, many new tanks fail to thrive and many fish perish as a result. There are over 25,000 identified species of fish and over 2,000 of these are available to the aquarist.
Many tropical fish do.
Once you have decided what fish you would like to have in your tank, then the rest of the decisions will fall into place much easier. One of the most important steps to take is to build the aquarium around the chosen fish species not the other way around. You will be much more successful and have healthier fish if you build your aquarium around the needs of the fish rather than around your desire to have an attractive tank. If you create an aquarium where the needs of the individual fish in the tank are placed first it will be both healthy and beautiful. The type, size and location of the tank will be tailored to best suit the species of fish you choose.