OK, I will now reveal that I have at one time worked as a fish professional.
I worked for one of the big "evil empire" type stores when I needed an extra
job to cover some expenses. Here are some things I wish people knew about
fish before they ever thought about keeping an aquarium.

1. You cannot buy an aquarium and the fish you want in it the same day. There
were even people who wanted to buy a tank and a clownfish just because they
saw Finding Nemo. Even if you bought live sand and filtered seawater this
would be a long shot for the little nemo's survival.

2. You can't stock a tank to capacity shortly after setting it up. the number
one cause of death is ammonia. Bacteria get rid of ammonia. New tanks don't
have these bacteria, so build up slow. It may take a couple of months.

3. Algae will not kill your fish. Some people panic when they see algae. They
do stupid things as a result.

4. A teardown and rebuild is a good way to kill your fish. If the fish were
happy why do you need to take everything apart? Oh, yeah, algae.

4. It's best to stick to fish that stay under 3 inches in a 10gal. tank

5. You don not *have to* get a CAE or a pl*co in order to "clean the tank".
If you just think they're cool, get one, but they are by no means necessary.
Every fish you add to a tank increases the load on a tank. There is no magic
fish that improves water quality.

6. If you think that AmmoLock, Amquel, or zeolite are a long-term solution to
your overcrowded tank, you're wrong. There are countless oscar abusers who
mistakenly rely on these products.

7. Don't worry so much about your pH. It's high. The water comes from deep
wells that extend into Jurassic seabeds. Your better off just not worrying
about and letting your cardinals die young than adding pH Down or worse to
your tank.

Can anyone else add to this list?

-E