Basics to Starting an Aquarium

There are 3 basic types of aquariums. They are listed below as follows:

1. Community Tanks
2. Planted Tanks
3. Marine Tanks

For beginners it is MOST recommended to start a community tank as it is not only the easiest but cheapest as well. Here you can add almost all the fish that you want together without having to worry about many other factors that the other two categories offer. Community tanks are the sandbox for beginner aquarists where they can learn to explore and discover the envious life of us aquarists. Planted tanks are plain amazing and we are currently working to erect one in the near future; the marine section however being the most expensive is out of our reach for research currently.

So you’ve bought your own aquarium and fishes and cant wait to have them making at home in your aquarium. Don’t know where to start? Maybe this can help:

1) Put your fish into a bucket 60% filled with water. Don’t fill the bucket as some fishes might jump out (e.g Swordtails).

2) Wash the stones/substrate that you have bought thoroughly about 4-5 times making sure that it doesn’t have the muck or dirt in it left. That would harm your fish as well as any marine plants that you may have purchased.

3) Place some Styrofoam(শোলা) or old newspapers on the surface of where you will keep the aquarium. 

4) Place the tank on the Styrofoam/newspaper layers properly so that it is placed firmly.

5) Put the stone/substrate spreading it equally all over the surface, don’t pile it up on once place that will put extra pressure on the glass. You can vary the levels a bit for decoration purposes.

6) If you have a gravel filter then make sure to insert it properly before putting the stone/substrate.

7) Slowly add water. If you have a power filter then install it after finishing adding the water.

8.) Turn on the filter and wait for at least 30 minutes. Don’t add fishes until at least 30 minutes.

9) Add any decorations you have. Give some shelter for fish to hide when fatigued. A cave will do just fine.

10) Slowly add the fish. Try putting them into the water from the bucket. Like use a mug, if you cant its fine just use the net.

11) Keep the lights turned on for at least 7-9 hours daily.

12) Enjoy.     <;,,)))

If you need recommendations for what fishes to buy try following this:

1) Zebra Fish. These fish are small playful and move in schools of at least 6. They are perfect for beginner aquarists as they are quite hardy and have regenerative properties. They come cheap as in 30-50 per pair depending on on their size. They come in silver, pink and white with golden or bluish stripes through them.

2) Rainbow-tail Guppies.These are the most common fish in Bd, They may appear shabby (but those are the female ones) look a bit harder for the attractive male ones. They have a wide range of bright colours in their bodies and tails. They are good for beginners and cost about 40-140 per pair depending on the colour.

3) Moon-tail Mollies. These fish are peaceful fish like the above ones except a bit quieter than them both. They are found in full black full white or dalmatian commonly costing about 40-60 per pair. The males have a crescent moon shaped tail while the females a round one.

4) Angel Fishes. These fishes are slow moving peaceful fishes. They are available in black , white or dalmatian in Bd costing about 50-140 pair depending on the size.

5) Platy. These are bright red fishes distinguishable by their black tail ends. They are about the same size as guppies costing 40-60 per pair.

For more details about these fish mentioned please go to 

Feeding

To feed the fish its best to buy the Osaka Green fish food. Its the black and green packet one costing about 70 taka. Look at the back of the packet to verify RED INDEX level. The higher the level the more the color enhancing Spirulina inside it. These have mini pellet foods. For small angels, guppies and blackghosts it might be too big so you can buy a micro pellet food as well. They cost 10-15 taka more and are a bit harder to find.

It is best to give the fish a change in food after about 15 days. So you can also try Tubifex (Freeze dried worms cut into boxes) These are a favourite of most fish. They can also be found in Katabon. But restrict yourself into at max 2 boxes per week. Any more and you may spoil your fish.

The best fish food is Bloodworms . They are quite expensive about 300-600 per can. Also restrict the allowance of this food but be a bit more lineant to sensitive fish like Discus or Frontosa.

Everyday take one mug of water from you aquarium at night and replace it with clean water. You’ll notice the difference if you don’t. Just 1 mug. Take care not to overfeed as Osaka Green will cloud the water, meaning the water will turn murky. Other fish foods will also drop down to the floor but may not cloud the water, instead they would begin to decay as in rot . ~~~ There are bacteria on the aquarium floor-bed. They feed on the fish excreta and use up oxygen in the process which is why changing the water is important. They release nitrogen as a byproduct. They do not harm fish but will feast on and grow in numbers if excessive food pellets falls to the floor. Don’t feed your fish too much. Feed them once in the morning at around 10 and after 12 hours again. Do not give any more food between these times. Unless you have a pregnant fish (Guppy, Swordtail,etc).

For reference to over feeding the fish check out the experiment done by N.A.I.N.E. :
Careful about fish food

It is best to have a heater and thermometer with you to see if the temperature drops too low if you live in someplace cold like Canada or if it gets too high(that's when you will need a chiller) like in Saudi Arabia. These aren't recommended for beginners but that depends ENTIRELY on your geographical location.

Happy Fishkeeping-(anything you need help with just mention in the comments section)