I want to get a fish tank and maybe five fish (all the same kind). What do I have to do to take care of them? WHat all do I need to purchase besides just the tank itself? Is there a way to get the tank to clean itself?

My advice is firstly and most importantly, don't even consider goldfish. Grow massive, need huge tanks. Best size fishtank for a beginner is 24" wide standard rectangular tank as anything smaller can be much harder to look after. Fish I'd recommend for a beginner would be coldwater Zebra Danios or White Cloud Mountain Minnows. They're not very colourful, but they're fast and interesting to watch. You don't need a heater for them but you will need a filter. If you want a heater it gives you a lot more options. Check out online auction sites as many people buy all the stuff, then either get bored or move onto larger tanks, leaving you with a bargain. With a filter, you'll just need to clean that when required and do your normal weekly water change of 25%.

15 years of fishkeeping.

yea its called a filter

a filter and while you are at it, get one or two algae eaters.

used to have fish

(I would like to mention that sometimes female bettas don't get along, it depends on their personalities. My first betta girl tank they tried to kill each other, the more recent one I've started is doing much better! :) Pets Questions and AnswersPets Questions and Answers

Please check out this forum,
www.aquariacentral.com
they are very helpful and have a lot of great fish projects and advice!
(They are my favorite fish forum! :)

Good luck and happy fishing!

If your a starter fish keeper I say you go to petsmart and get a 10 gallon Starter kit it comes with all you need to get started on most likely many years of fish keeping...FOLLOW THE LINK


http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2753071&lmdn=Fish+Aquariums+%26amp%3B+Bowls

Ok here we go. First you will need to by a testing kit, preferably API, no matter what fish you will be keeping, you must always test the water parameters. If you plan on buying saltwater you will need the following: a heater, or chiller depending on your species of fish, good filtration a canister at least, a large tank, because they stay in the proper ranges and are easier to keep up with than a small tank. I know this from experience. You will need a skimmer, heater guards if you keep seahorses. plenty of live rock and live sand, and grasses for the fish to hide in. If it is fresh, you still should follow the same guidelines. Also get a RODI unit, this will keep unwanted chemicals out of your tank. The only difference between salt and fresh in my opinion is the live rock and sand seeing how it will not survive without salinity. you will need a hydrometer to test for salinity, even for fresh because sometimes medicating fresh you will need some sort of salt, and you do not want it to get too high. Plenty of medications on hand like antibiotics, anti fungals and you want plenty of buffers like PH up or PH down, Phosphobuster, amquel to reduce nitrites,and nitrates if they spike suddenly, and prime(to rid your water of chlorine and chloramines, and it gives your tank a good slime coat). You also want Stability to add good bacteria during the cycling process, dip stick testers for water changes and a siphon hose to conduct the water change along with at least two five gallon buckets. You also want amino omega and garlic extract for nutrition and prevention of disease. You want plenty of food and of different varieties, like bloodworms, brine shrimp, mysis shrimp, pellets, and flake food. Mix it up, do not feed the same thing everyday and like I said dose it with the garlic extract and amino omega. You want good lighting, some fish require lighting during the day. Power heads so that your fish can get exercise and good water movement inside the tank, water does not sit still in nature, why should it inside your tank? You also need a quarantine tank for new fish and a hospital tank for sick ones. Inside the quarantine you just need a heater, filter, substrate and some sort of fake plants or ornaments for them to hide in. In the hospital tank nothing but a powerhead it will push the water around producing oxygen, and seeing how sick fish need lower temps or the infections will grow you need no heater, and a filter will reduce your meds. As far as getting the tank to clean itself, the answer is yes! You can get a clean up crew of snails for algae, a bottom feeder for food, examples include, hermits or stars for salt, catfish for fresh(just one example there are many more). they will make this job a whole lot easier. I know this is a lot of info, but this is what it takes to be really successful at this hobby. I think I have mentioned everything, Good luck, it sounds hard but the hardest part is getting your parameters right and the cost of everything. Oh yeah and you might want to invest in some air stones, both battery operated in case you ever lose electricity or need to raise your PH and do not want to add chemicals, and ones that plug straight into the air pump. I learned as I went, and it was excruciating, hopefully this gives you an idea of everything you will eventually have to buy.