1. You should always take the time to acclimate your fish to the aquarium. Acclimating your fish will get them used to the environment of the aquarium. Adding fish directly can be too much a shock for your fish and can pose health hazards.
2. 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.
3. 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