1. Provide plenty of places for your aquarium animals to hide. Studies have actually shown that the more places a fish has to hide, the less likely they are to do so! Hiding spots also provide safe spots of refuge for smaller fish in the aquarium
2. Catfish sometimes require freshwater as juveniles and then as they get old they will need a more brackish environment. Make sure you read up on your catfish to learn what its needs will be when it gets older.
3. You need to have some healthy natural bacteria to process the wastes and chemicals in your aquarium. This will take around 4 weeks to grow naturally, but you can purchase products to speed up the process.