Hi,i'm Monica.I'm looking for some help on how to keep fish.I plan to keep some fish once i graduate from university.And i know all things are difficult before they are easy.So i need to take advice from others and get more information about keeping fish.In addition,i want to keep some freshwater fish at first,which will be easier for a beginner.Any suggestions for me to start my work of keeping freshwater fish?
1. Do you plan to have tropical fish or goldfish? (I personally recommend tropical fish, since goldfish are messy and they get too big for a 20 gallon)
2. Do you want to have real plants in your aquarium? Or just decorations and fake plants? Aquariums without plants are a lot easier to maintain, but real plants make the aquarium look better, and also provide fish with some extra source of food (algae and small organisms live on plants etc.)
3. What exactly species do you plan to have? If you don't know yet, answer this one first, what sizes of fish do you want to have? I personally prefer fish of under 3 inches long at full adult size, because I can have a lot of them then. I also prefer school fish, because it is cool to look at them swimming in groups together.
Firstly,i also think tropical fish will be better,which will be easier for me(beginner).Secondly,having real plants in my aquarium is better for others,and you know,a fish tank just like a small ecosystem.But for me, i would rather to have some fake plants,why?Just like what you have said above,aquariums without real plants are a lot easier to maintain.Thirdly,for the species,i have no ideas.For the sizes,i prefer small fish,and fish of 3 inches is ok for me.But i don't know how many fish i can keep for 20 gallon tank lol.Oh,i need to conside many things before i decide to buy some good aquariums.Thanks for your remind.
If possible, it is still the best to buy fish from local fish stores. Because that will allow you to personally pick fish individually. You can have a chance to pick the healthy looking, disease free ones by yourself, and it minimize the travel time. Local fish store might also use the same tap water as your home, which makes it easier for fish to adapt to your tank water.
When you say "good things", do you mean by the aquarium equipments? You can always check them online and compare to your local pet stores' prices. I've listed quite a few popular online pet stores under General Discuss section with the topic of "Your favorite pet stores", although those stores only sell in the U.S. I think. I've seen on the Facebook page of drsfostersmith.com, someone from UK asked if they ship to UK, they asked him to call to arrange it.
Yeah,good things mean the aquarium equipments.Thank you for your suggestions.I will scan those websites.You think that picking fish at the local stores is better than buying them through the websites.But the problem is that i don't know how to pick the healthy fish,which is hard to tell.Do you have any experience in picking better fish?
Local fish can adapt to your local water PH and hardness easier than fish from other places. You must pay attention on how the fish look. If they look inactive at the store, there might be a problem. If they have visible unusual signs such as white spots on them, there is parasite. Just pick the active, healthy looking fish. In the case of your local fish store is terrible, you can buy them online.
Plan to have fish, looking for advice 
