Setting up a freshwater aquarium involves making a number of important decisions: the size of your tank, the type of filtration you’ll need, how best to light and heat your tank, what kind of substrate to install, and so on. However, these decisions will all stem from the most important factor: what kind of fish do wish to raise in your tank?

Your available space may limit the size of your tank, and if you are a beginner, a smaller tank might be advisable. Contrary to expectations, larger tanks are easier to maintain than smaller tanks, because they are less subject to sudden fluctuations in water chemistry and temperature; it’s easier to maintain a stable environment in a larger tank. A beginner should probably not start out with a 200-gallon tank, but, depending on your available space, something from 20 to as much as 50 gallons might work.

Then, determine the number of fish your tank can hold. Figure, very roughly, on 2 inches of fish (in length) per gallon of water. And find a reputable dealer who knows what he’s talking about and will back up his product. Look at the display tanks in the shop; are they clean, tidy, and populated with healthy fish? Ask several questions about appropriate fish for your tank and gauge the dealer’s general knowledge. If he is hesitant in answering, you might want to go to another shop.

A popular approach is to assemble a collection of fish and create a community aquarium, housing from ten to thirty fish that are nonaggressive. A community aquarium with, say, twenty-five fish might require a 40-gallon tank. Most nonaggressive fish in such an environment will eat flake or pelleted food, and will thrive in water with balanced, middle-of-the-road pH, temperature, and hardness values. Good community fish include guppies, mollies, swordtails, gouramis, tetras, silver dollars, loaches, and goldfish.

Tetras are active schooling fish that adapt well to a peaceful community aquarium. There are a wide variety of tetra species of different colors; it’s usually best to keep at least six tetras of the same species together, in a well-planted aquarium with moderate lighting. Loaches are more eel-like in appearance and are bottom dwellers, spending much of their time hiding from the light. Pygmy chain loaches, usually less than 2 inches in length, are very active, swimming in schools along the bottom of your tank searching for food.

Swordtails are also active swimmers, so allow for a bigger tank for these fish. Swordtails are tolerant of a broad water temperature range, but appreciate brackish water, so a pH range of 6.8 to 7.8 is most comfortable for them. These striking fish have been extensively bred in captivity and are available in a variety of colors, including red, green, albino, and even neon colors.

Gouramis are another good choice; a chocolate gourami, for instance, is a peaceful fish that is brownish in color with pearly yellow vertical stripes. These fish do well in pairs and can mix with other peaceful fish in a community tank. Gouramis require a bit more care than some other fish families; chocolate gouramis need at least a 30-gallon tank and have delicate constitutions, prone to bacteria and skin parasites. Good water quality, and frequent water changes, are required.

Angelfish, a member of the cichlid family, are common freshwater aquarium denizens, though these fish can grow large (up to 12 inches in height) and can live long (at least 10 years). They do best either singly, or in groups of four or more; smaller groups tend to be competitive. In community tanks, angelfish mix best with silver dollars, larger tetras, swordtails, mollies, some gouramis, and others; as they grow larger, angelfish may eat small fish such as guppies and neon tetras, so be sure to mix these fish appropriately.

For an entirely different aquarium environment, you might want to consider an aggressive aquarium, which houses a smaller number of larger fish. Aggressive fish may attack and eat smaller fish, so an aggressive aquarium should include a mix of fish that are roughly the same size, and your aquarium should include plenty of structure on the substrate (such as rocks, plants, or driftwood), providing hiding places for the different fish to stake out territory.

An aggressive community usually requires a bigger tank, and, because most aggressive fish swim along the length of a tank rather than top-to-bottom, you will need a long (rather than tall) tank. A 40-gallon tank is probably the smallest you should consider for an aggressive community; if you plan to purchase bigger fish, for instance 10 inches or longer, then don’t consider any tank smaller than 50 gallons.

A good aggressive fish to start out with is a cichlid. Convict cichlids are territorial and aggressive, but they don’t get too big; they prefer hiding places and dim lighting. Convicts are also easy to breed, if you have a pair, though a breeding pair of convicts will probably require their own tank. A single convict can mix with other cichlids such as oscars, jack dempseys, and green terrors; females are less aggressive than males.

Oscar cichlids are bigger than convicts, growing up to 12 inches, but they are semi-aggressive and can mix with other semi-aggressive cichlids as well as silver dollars and other families. Because of their size, oscars require large tanks, over 100 gallons for a pair. Yet another cichlid, the green terror, is small (6 to 8 inches) but extremely aggressive; if you mix a green terror with other fish, the tankmates should be at least as big in size, with the capability to defend themselves. Get the biggest tank you can manage, and be prepared to segregate your green terror from his tankmates if he becomes too violent, either by screening off part of your tank or keeping a separate tank.

Piranhas are one other aggressive fish that are sometimes kept in freshwater aquariums; these carnivorous fish do best in schools of several fish, and require lots of room for swimming around. A minimum tank size would be 2 gallons for each inch of fish you introduce to your tank, with a 6-foot length. A school of piranhas should probably be kept in their own tank, though some other aggressive fish, such as various cichlid species, may be able to hold their own. If you do plan to mix piranhas with other species, add the new fish singly, to see how they adapt.

If you have limited space for an aquarium, you can keep things simple by housing a single fish only. Fish that do well alone include goldfish, large catfish, and some of the aggressive species.

Your choices are endless, and if you do research to ensure that you have a compatible community, you can create a freshwater environment that will give you years of pleasure.

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