Can you just wake up one day and decide that you want to own a fish tank? Yes, of course, you can do this, but before you hop into this hobby, you need to know more about aquariums, aquarium supplies, and many other things! Each fish has special needs, requires special water temperature, type of water, and most importantly, you need to know if the species go well together. Keeping predator fish in the same tank as fish that is on the total opposite of the food chain is not recommended. Before we dive deep into this topic, we need to set the firm ground for a better understanding of the aquatic world.

You could technically choose between two types of aquarium, where the first one is called a marine aquarium, which holds seawater fish, and the second one could be categorized as plant-based, which is for freshwater fish. Should you first shop for fish and then build the aquarium based on its needs, or should you build an aquarium and then buy fish that can live in those created conditions? There is a huge difference between tanks for saltwater fish and tanks for freshwater fish. Yes, you will still need pumps, filters, and other pieces of equipment regardless of the type of tank. Saltwater tank, or more precisely, saltwater species require a special mixture of water and salt. You can make this mixture at home. However, this is a process that requires much more than mixing water and sodium together. The percentage of sodium that goes in the clear water should correspond to the preferences of fish species. On the other hand, we have freshwater tanks and these tanks are built differently. Even though we have a wide variety of filters, you can either pick a canister filter or a hang-on filter that you simply attach to the back of the tank. By all means, you should avoid gravel filter in case you want to build freshwater tank! Now that we know all this, what is the next move? You should find a list of species, select category – saltwater fish or freshwater fish, and pick three to four fishes.

Aquarium Labs also have a list of fish species that go well together and live in synergy, meaning that you can start with building medium size tank for fish of your preference. Taking care of no more than three fish in one tank seems like an easy task. Still, we recommend building a bigger tank, with all the necessary equipment. Later on, as you start to learn more about fish’s behavior, tanks, and others, you can experiment and even challenge yourself. But for starters, you should stick with what you know. In conclusion, fish are really sensitive and delicate beings. A slight change in water temperature can seriously harm them, so make sure to do your research.