hi i'm jack and i want to hear some tips for keeping fish and can allow amitures turn into a pro :f77:

What are you wanting to keep?

everything you need to know is contained within this forum. do some browsing, get familiar with the search function.

if you want to be a pro a lot of it is trial and error. my only advise is to take all advise with a grain of salt. some people will give terrible advise, including fish shops. it's best you find stuff out for yourself from credible sources.

Water is critical.... :fshi:

On a more specific note, look after the water and the water takes care of the fish. Keep NH3, N02 levles at zero and N03 levels low and you are fine. Don't keep fish that you cannot provide an adequate home for. Fish keeping is made way harder than it needs to be. Make sure you are a 'fish keeper' as opposed to a 'fish haver' but by making your way to this site we assume that you already are.

The above is all good advice. A huge amount of information is contained within this website and also the forum. Don't restrict your reading just to the posts but go to the home page as well.

Google is also a good source of information.

You are better to read through everything and then ask specific questions related to what you have read. That way people are more likely to give you reasonable answers than a general comment like you have put on this thread..

My tip for fishkeeping -

Research before you even purchase a single item otherwise you will end up buying something you do not need.

all of the above....... plus

check out this library on cichlid forum, what the refer to New World Cichlids and African cichlids are your two main sides of the choice. Each group required different water parameters and foods to the other.

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/

Then once you've decided on which team to bat for your next challenge will be to sort out what is available here in NZ and what setup they need.

Good luck. We are here to help when you need it.