Smaller tanks are ideal for fish such as goldfish, mollies, betas, or neons. These fish are usually easy to care for, but require a good bit of maintenance due to the fact that they produce large amounts of waste.
Goldfish are the most difficult to keep clean, as they produce more waste than any other fish. You will have an easier time feeding fish in small tanks as well, because you can buy one canister of flake or pellet food to last a few weeks in most cases. Ideal sizes for small tanks are one gallon, five gallon, ten gallon, and twenty gallon tanks.
While sometimes easy to clean, smaller tanks do tend to limit the type and quantity of fish that you can have, but if you want a few fish that will grow no larger than three inches or so, a small tank is just for you.
Larger tanks that hold more than twenty gallons of water are more cumbersome, so choosing the right size both for your fish and your home is a good idea.Some species that can use a larger tropical fish tank setup are eels, koi, sharks, seahorses, and other larger fish. Many exotic fish collectors choose even larger fish for the extremely large tanks that are over 150 gallon capacity, but these usually come from specialty shops that have to special order them or have them made to specific dimensions.
In-home large tanks require frequent cleaning and usually require a filtration system that is not necessarily mandatory in smaller tanks. Filters are a great way to help keep the tank clean of leftover food particles and of solid wastes, but must be cleaned often to ensure that they continue to work properly. Larger tanks, while sometimes more maintenance, are often more pretty to look at and can house more of a variety of fish with plenty of room to grow.
Whether you choose a small tank or a large one, you have to make sure that what you use as decorations is not harmful to your fish. Some gravels and rocks are not made for aquatic tanks and can only be used in mostly dry tanks such as reptile or amphibian tanks.
They often contain parasites and dirt that could harm some species of fish, so choosing the proper gravel and plants is very important.
Finding the right tropical fish tank setup for you and your home is a pretty big undertaking at times, but with a little research and a lot of love, you can create the perfect environment for your fish without any problem. It helps if you can consult someone who works with fish in a pet store or at a breeding center about what you need to do before you jump in head first, but for some fish, reading a book about it will do the trick of informing you just as well.
Find out more about getting the perfect size fish tank .
