A Plan

Ideally, you will be able and willing to study up ahead concerning the aquarium hobby to where you knowledgeably choose both the system and the livestock you intend to keep,
instead of "ending up" with a tank of certain size/shape, filtration/aeration/circulation gear, lighting et al... that impinge on your ability to choose and suit the life you intend to keep. In this ideal circumstance, you would know the quality of the part of the water world you
intend to mimic... and the livestock's' needs specifically.

System information:
    • The size/shape of the tank needed... how much it
       weighs, where you'd place it.
    • What sort of stand/support you're going to need/want...
    • The type of gravel for the fishes, invertebrates,
       and possibly plants... what color,
       make-up chemically, physically... the depth/amount...
    • What sorts of lighting; brightness, quality... timers
       to aid in creating a steady light/
       dark cycle.
    • Filtration and circulation...

 And for the proposed livestock:
    • Best initial purchase size range, growth rate, likely
       maximum size.
    • Water quality preferences and ranges... e.g.
       temperature, pH, water hardness, water
       movement, light brightness
    • Foods and feeding.
    • Temperament; likelihood of bullying, predation.
    • Habits of swimming/location, space needs.

Another Approach: Centerpieces

Most folks will be finding themselves already in a "fixed"
position of having a set-up in hand, or at least the principal components. Given this perspective, or starting point, you can work out what you might want to keep in a few ways...
My favorite approach involves building a collection around a "must have" organism...Something that I really want to
keep... and working from there in making sure the conditions
that my "number one" piece of livestock enjoys are amenable
to my secondary et al. choices.

As an example, let's say I have a 29 gallon aquarium...
nominally 30 wide, 12 deep front to back and 18 inches tall. For my must have centerpiece I want to keep an African
Butterflyfish, Pantodon buchholzi. Doing a bit of looking
up I have an idea of its likely purchase size... about 3-4 inches, it's maximum size, without the tail, is about four inches...And what sorts of water conditions this fish likes: Softer, acidic, tropical... and not too much light as it lives near the surface, nor current... Oh, and a completely covered top... so it doesn't leap out of the tank!

Note that you really don't need to be overly concerned
with "how" hard or soft your water
is, nor usually with whether it's tropical or cold water...
Just the general matter of whether
this is so for the species you intend to keep. Similarly,
some freshwater fishes will tolerate
some salt content in their water, but by and large, it is
best to keep freshwater systems
fresh, brackish as so, and marines in turn as
full-strength saltwater.

Now, as to the issue of the other livestock... obviously,
with that trap-door like mouth, any small fishes will likely become food... Likewise, this fish doesn't care to share the surface area... so top-dwelling tankmates are out... as are too fast-moving ones that would spook it badly (e.g. tinfoil barbs or silver dollars)...

What sorts of fishes might be good choices then? One way
of figuring this out is to consider what other fishes et al. are found (and collected) from the area where Pantodon
makes its life... Some definite good choices here are the
Mormyrids, like the Elephantnose and Baby Whale; the African Knifefish; and the Mochokid Catfish (the "squeakers" mainly
of the genus Synodontis). Some "mid-size" tetras you might like are the Congo, and the genus Alestes.

Plants

As previously stated, the African Butterflyfish doesn't
like too-bright lighting, and you want to keep it feeling safe and secure to discount it jumping and injuring itself... Live plants do all sorts of good things for freshwater systems. Some good "biotopic" selections include slow-growers of the
genus Anubias, fast-growing Crinums, and Bolbitis heudelotii.
Another excellent choice and personal all-time favorite aquarium plant choice is the "Indian Fern" (it is found in Africa), Ceratopteris thalictroides, or the congener C. cornuta. African butterflyfish love the shade this genus supplies (grown floating... it can be rooted as well),
and they do very well in low-current settings.

The Value of Lists

I can't state emphatically enough just how important list-making as a tool can be... There is no better way for you to gather and absorb useful information than applying your mind, hand, pen and paper... A table of the qualities you're looking for, species to mix can be easily constructed and the "boxes" filled in with simple (and fun!) searching. Believe me,
finding out all this before spending good money on life
that may not be compatible... is the way to go.

Finding Out About All This?

Resources abound for a curious mind... the Net has a myriad of sites, BB's... and there are a plethora of in-print books and magazines... that are easy to search with a little help from a librarian. Again, I urge you to take good (written) notes re what you want and its specific needs... and to record the sources of this information. Unfortunately, a good deal of what is posted on the Net is a bit "noisy"... not often in total agreement. It is best to take all you encounter with "a grain of salt", and remain speculative re single source, personal accounts.

How can you find out what comes from the same area? Use the Net! Put search words like "Plants from Africa to use in aquariums" in your engine... and go!

Cloze

A hodge-podge approach to stocking ones aquarium system is to be guarded against... These "garden variety" mixes of supposed "community" organisms rarely work out satisfactorily... With unneeded tension, extra maintenance and poor showing, growth and behavior of specimens as
consequence of slipshod, inadequate investigation ahead of
their acquisition. Do be a conscientious consumer and look
into the needs and compatibility of the life you intend to keep before buying it. To the extent that you know what you're doing, so much more will be your enjoyment and understanding of your aquarium world.

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