Stock slowly :

This is crunch time. If you put too many fish into your aquarium too soon, they may die. The best way to combat this "new tank syndrome" is first to cycle your tank properly. This means getting a colony of bacteria growing in your filter before you add fish, so that they are ready to consume the waste as soon as the fish are added.This fishless cycling can be done by adding maturation agents to the water, which add live bacteria and their food, making it safe. Once fish are added, the bacteria levels will expand to cope with the extra waste, but if you add too many fish too soon, the bacteria will not multiply in time and ammonia and nitrite will be present in the water, poisoning the fish.

Don’t overfeed :

Food manufacturers recommend feeding three times per day, but if you have a new tank, this is often excessive.If you are watching your water quality or stocking a new tank, one feed per day is usually enough. Only once you have a full quota of fish and your tank has been running trouble-free for a few months should you increase the feeding, and even then feed little and often.How much is a pinch? Good question, because depending on the size of your fingers and the type of food you are feeding, amounts will be vastly different. Ask your retailer to demonstrate how much they feed to each of their fish, so you get a more accurate idea.

Don’t overstock :

This is a really easy mistake to make. There is so much choice in the shops and they crowd their fish, so why can’t you? The answer is that overstocked aquariums suffer many problems like lack of oxygen, inadequate filtration and an increased risk of disease.Territorial fish like most cichlids will become more aggressive, and you will have to maintain your tank much more frequently. Growing fish can even be stunted by a lack of space, and all your fish may look chewed and dog-eared as a result of overcrowding. If you want more fish, the only answer is another tank.

Choose function over novelty :

When choosing a tank, get one that is the right shape. Spheres, columns, hexagons and corner tanks do not have the surface area or swimming length that a standard rectangle provides. It may not look as funky, but your fish will be much happier, and equipment will fit more readily into a rectangular-shaped tank.The same goes for gaudy decoration. Most tropical fish are adapted to a wild environment, and that means muted colours like browns, greys and greens. Offer bright blue gravel to a brown catfish, and it will turn pale in an attempt to blend in. Use white gravels and all your fish will look pale and washed out. Natural coloured sands and gravels will make fish feel at home.

Buy as big a tank as you can afford :

The essential bit of kit if you want to keep fish indoors. If you are new to keeping fish, you really should buy as large a tank as you can, and that means 60 cm/24” or over in most cases. The reason for this is that larger bodies of water are more stable than smaller ones, but a larger tank benefits you by enabling you to keep more fish. Most community fish are better in groups, but there are hundreds to choose from. A larger tank means you get to keep more of the fish that you see in the shops.

Find a good retailer :

This may be crucial to the success of your new tank. A good aquatic shop will not only provide the equipment and livestock that you need, but more importantly they can offer trustworthy advice. A good retailer thinks about the long-term effects of what you do and won’t sell you unsuitable livestock because it will ultimately come back to them, so it is also in their interest to get your tank running smoothly. Check out our list of the UK's top shops, as voted for by PFK readers in our 2011 reader's poll.

Join a fish club :

Have you ever thought about joining your local fish club? Some clubs may seem a little antiquated, but they all contain one important factor, and that is experienced fishkeepers. A good club will have hundreds of years worth of combined fishkeeping experience and expertise, and they are a good place to pick up home-bred fish and unusual species as well.If you specialise in a certain type of fish, you could join a national club that caters just for them. Choose cichlids, goldfish, catfish, livebearers, anabantoids or killifish to name just a few, and you will enter a world of people who are fanatical and approachable about the type of fish that you love.

Keep the easy stuff first :

As frustrating as it may seem, if you are inexperienced in keeping fish, you really should opt for hardy, non-aggressive species first. Hardy first fish will feed readily and acclimatise to most types of water, even water that may be slightly too hot or cold. Platies and danios have stood the test of time and may be hardier than goldfish in some circumstances. They may even breed.Hardy fish do not have to be kept long term, and an understanding retailer will often part-exchange if you wish to upgrade to say Discus or Malawi cichlids in time.The advantage of keeping hardy fish initially is that you can practise feeding and water changes on them, and it won’t end in disaster if at first your methods are a bit crude.

Make time for maintenance :

Aquariums can look very attractive, but without some work on your part, they can quickly turn into an algae-filled swamp. Set aside some time every day, every week and every month for different levels of maintenance.Daily maintenance may take just a few seconds, checking that equipment is functioning and the front glass is clean.Weekly maintenance may involve wiping cover glasses and topping up evaporation losses, or even a small water change.