Fishkeepers School All fishkeepers are welcome whatever their level of experience to our school. Here we turn fishy message boards on their heads. Rather than waiting for people to post a problem when their fish are almost on their last gasp, we intend to take the fishkeeper through every aspect of our wonderful hobby right from the beginning with purchasing their first tank. Keeping fish successfuly is not like keeping a dog or a cat where only one species is involved. Tropical freshwater fish alone encompass a massive diversity of species, the husbandry requirements (physiology, nutrition and ecological) of which can be as different as that of a hamster and a horse!  To be successful, the beginner must often embark on a sharp upward learning curve, and must understand the basics of the various aspects of fishkeeping. When you consider that an estimated 95% of captive fish health problems are environmentally induced you will understand the need to learn. Cruelty through ignorance is no excuse. Many new fishkeepers assume that filling a tank with water and adding fish is fishkeeping. They are often unaware of the complexity involved in the hobby so don't bother learning about it. Needless to say the fish die, often to be replaced by more fish doomed to a short life in an unsuitable environment. Thousands of people worldwide are guilty of such cruelty through ignorance.  While we cannot possibly hope to educate all the novice fishkeepers out there, what we can do is ourselves learn. The internet is an information highway, what we learn today can be passed on tomorrow, and on and on.   Topics for this term:-   Buying a new tank:- Tank size & type, including discussions on weight, surface area, oxygenation, hoods,  lighting & Siting the tank.   Equipment:- Discussions on filters and filtration, heaters & maintenance equipment. Decorations:- Discussions on substrates, rocks, bogwood and unatural decor items. Plants:- To include discussions on live and fake plants, advantages and disadvantages. And eay to grow and care for plants suitable for novices. Quiz:- Covers topics in the Buying a New Tank, Equipement, Decorations, and Plants sections. Starting up and running in:- To include discussions on the nitrogen cycle, new tank syndrome, and water chemistry. Various discussions to follow on first fish, transporting and introducing the fish, compatibility, nutrition etc. Fishkeepers school is a free educational service brought to you by BTF community. All you need to do is join Fish~The A~Z community in order to take part.