Learning how to set up a fish tank is not all that difficult, but there are some steps you should follow. First, you must realize a few things about an aquarium setup. A tropical fish tank is just like having a dog or a cat when it comes to the amount of effort on your part. In order to have a successful freshwater tropical fish tank you will have to work at it. Once a week, or at most once every two weeks, you will need to perform some kind of maintenance on the tank. Most of the time you will be performing water changes. You will also have to feed your fish at least once a day. Setting up and running a fish tank does cost money. There are recurring expenses such as replacing filter media, buying food, etc. Check out the Freshwater vs. Saltwater Aquarium page to get an idea of the setup costs involved. If you are up to the challenge, please proceed!

If you have white cloudy water or gray cloudy water in your fish tank and you have just set it up, it could be the dust from the gravel or sand. Be sure to thoroughly rinse your substrate before adding it to your aquarium. This can be difficult to do with sand but the dust particles should settle in a day or two.

Place your aquarium in an area where the light and temperature of the tank won't be affected by external sources such as windows and heater vents. Sunlight that enters the room through an unshaded window could affect the temperature of your tank. This could also lead to green algae problems for your tank down the road. You will want to place your aquarium on a stand that will be able to hold its total weight. You also want to be sure that the floor is able to support the total weight of the aquarium and stand. A good rule of thumb for determining the total weight of a full aquarium is 10 pounds per gallon of water. For example, a 55-gallon tank will weigh approximately 550 pounds when filled with water!

As far as what to feed the guppies to condition them for breeding, I suggest black worms, half a cube of frozen bloodworms, half a cube of frozen brine shrimp, and/or a few good quality flake foods such as foods made for guppies, or plankton/krill/spirulina flakes, and some occasional liver flakes, etc. The best advice I can give about feeding your fish is to vary the diet, and do not feed them the same thing each and every day. Your fish will thank you for doing this by growing faster, looking better, and being healthier in the long run.

Usually the result of an algae bloom. The green water will not harm your fish but it is not the most pleasant thing to look at. This happens because of the amount of nutrients and the amount of light entering the aquarium. Your tank water is nutrient rich, which may mean that you're feeding too much, your tank may be overstocked or you're not doing enough water changes or a combination of all the above. Avoid placing your aquarium where it could receive direct sunlight. Direct sunlight will cause not only algae problems but temperature fluctations as well.

These strains may cost up to, if not more than $85 for a trio (one male and two females). But, keep in mind that the breeder that has these fish for sale has been working on this strain for quite some time using a process of "line-breeding" to keep the strain as nice looking and pure as possible. These are the potential breeders of a show quality guppy. Don't get me wrong, some breeders have taken the average guppy from a local shop and through line breeding have developed some very beautiful show guppies.

Pond keepers sometimes use a UV Sterilizer on their outdoor ponds to help control algae growths. While we agree that these sterilizers can have a positive effect on the algae growth in your tank, there are better, less expensive methods to use for controlling algae in the aquarium and we recommend you try some of the ideas presented above.

Currently I am working with some store bought guppies, one of my males has a green colored body with a snake skin pattern that starts right behind the gill plates and carries on back to the beginning of the tail, hence its name "green snake skin". The fins of this fish are what's called a "delta-tail." This is a tail fin that is about three times as tall from top to bottom as the fish's body is from bottom of belly to the top of its back.