With the help of an experienced fishkeeper from the Epic Aquarium website, we managed to gather some great fish tanks to get you started. This 10-gallon, glass aquarium is the perfect medium—manageable enough for beginners and hobbyists, but sizable enough for long-time fish owners. Fill it with a variety of nonaggressive fish—like neon and cardinal tetras—and cute aquarium decor. For a tank this size you’ll want a filter that turns over 40 to 60 gallons per hour. A 5-gallon tank is the best size for a few smaller tropical fish, like guppies, or even cherry shrimp, which can play a useful role as scavengers and algae eaters. This aquarium comes with its own filter, and a low-profile LED light for watching your fish swim around. If you want a statement piece for your room, check out Lifegard Aquatics’s 5-gallon aquarium. The angled design makes it even easier to watch little tropical fish dart around. This tank also comes with a full kit of essential fishkeeping items, like a heater, net, LED light, built-in filter with a pump, and algae magnet. Vivosun’s aquaponic tank is great for sprucing up the top of your aquarium with a little foliage. This system gives you the best of both worlds—fish waste is an excellent fertilizer, and plants are excellent at cleaning water. It can support hydroponically growing houseplants like pothos and philodendron; herbs like rosemary, basil, and mint; or even salad greens. A 1.4-gallon fish tank is ideal for a single betta, a fish that prefers private, tight spaces. A tank this size has a small footprint and is low effort, making it perfect for a bedroom or office, or for kids honing their fish-keeping skills. The tank comes with a built-in filter, an LED light, and two plastic plants.
