Perhaps the most common mistake made by novices in the aquarium hobby is to buy an aquarium, set it up and add fish immediately. Typically, many of the fish die from what is known as new tank syndrome: the result of not allowing the tank to cycle or “break in.” As with so many aquarium problems, new tank syndrome is avoidable by reading about fishkeeping or seeking expert advice before actually trying to keep fish. Unfortunately, such research is usually conducted only after the tank has been littered with little corpses — sometimes several times if the would-be aquarist assumes that there was something wrong with the first batch of fish and goes back to the shop for more.
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