1. Beneficial Bacteria
The most important factor to keeping any aquarium fish is having an “established” setup. This means having good bacteria that has grown in your filter and throughout your tank. If your setting up a new aquarium you can jump start the cycle by grabbing some used filter pad from someone else’s established filter. Put that dirty pad in your filter and run it for a couple hours and you should be ready for fish.
Our favorite filters are the Penguin series filters made by Marineland. They are basically just like any other filter on the market EXCEPT they have a “bio-wheel” that bacteria grows on as it spins. What makes that bio-wheel so effective is that water is slowly running through it while mixing with oxygen. This creates a deadly combination for creating beneficial bacteria. These filters have been top sellers for decades and have amazing reviews.