Just to say a huge thanks to everyone for all the advice, it's very
welcoming as I'm sure you guys have to answer these questions every single
week, so thanks for your patience.

So, my background looks like OMAHA BEACH at the moment, with six crucifixes
in it, but fingers crossed that'll be the last time... I gave everything a
good wash, let it dry out over night, and once I'd put the gravel in I
bought this massive new rock-face / cliff decoration that looks absolutely
amazing, full of places to hide and a lot better than what I had before.

I've put some nutrafin cycle in the water, dechlorinated it, and am going to
leave it for about a week before putting in - on the advice of the aquarium
owner - a really hardy species of goldfish, just to speed things up. Is this
quite a common thing to do? I also think I'll give up on fantails as I've
been told they are one of the harder species to keep (after killing four of
them, I see why)... suggestions? I like the idea of smaller fish, maybe
orandas and a zebra fish... anything that's not going to get swimbladder
disease or finrot as easily as the last few... whatever happens, I'm going
to make sure I add them at big intervals and make sure the water's kosher,
as I don't want a repeat of the killing fields that my last aquarium became.

I'll get the hang of this eventually - meanwhile, thanks for your help!

R