Planting and Cleaning
Aquatic plants are a necessity for any aquarium. However you must be sure to choose the correct plants, and maintain them properly. Adding a good amount of greenage will help to oxygenate your tank, add color, and provide places for your fish to hide. There are some experts who would suggest one plant for every square inch, but this is not needed. A few artistically placed plants will be fine for your aquarium. Your best bet is to plant a plant for every 2-3 square inches of the floor. This will keep your tank well oxygenated, keeping the water cleaner, and keeping your fish healthy.
Be sure to trim off any dead leaves or branches before you plant your aquarium; also inspect the plants for any insects or eggs. To be safe, you can immerse your plants in a disinfectant before placing them in the water. Use household ammonia and water in a 1 to 50 mixture, and allow them to soak for a few hours. This process gets rid of any impurities, but keeps your plant and the fish unharmed.
Selecting Fish:
The most aesthetic part of the aquarium is the fish! You should select your fish based on how healthy the appear and their beauty. Age should not be too much of a concern as many breeds can live for 10-20 years in an indoor tank, and even longer outdoors. Fancier breeds, tend to only live 5-10 years, so you will want to be a little more age conscience with these fish.
Fish will adapt to their surroundings in most cases. They will only grow as large as their surroundings allow, so a fish in a tank indoors will be much smaller than a fish outside in a large pond or tank.
Fish should be cleaned and disinfected just like you would for the plants. Allow them to swim for two hours in some potassium permanganate, using one V^-grain tablet to a gallon of water. This removes any bacteria from the fish, and helps the fish to adjust from the shock of moving into their new home.