I have had a tropical aquarium for over a year and a half. My aquarium is equipped with a biological filter, one 500 air pump, a hang on tank filter, a florescent hood, and a hang on tank heater. My biological filter is now completely developed and I do 25% water changes every month or so. I always have several fish in my aquarium.
In my aquarium I usually have around 10 fish. Most of my fish are Tetras. I have 1 bleeding heart tetra(Hyphessobrycon erythrostigma), 3 (unknown) tetras, 2 bloodfins, 1 Von Rio Tetra (Hyphessobrycon flammeus), 2 Moon Cory Cats, and 1 Chinese Algae Eater.. One of the Cory cat (when I first got it) was very lively and always moving about the tank and It seemed to be very healthy. Now I think that the Cory Cat is either having stress or had explored all it wants. I enjoy fish keeping very much and I am learning more every day.
I usually trim my plant once every three months. If it isn't trimmed then it starts to touch the surface, crowds the tank, and slows the water current so there is a layer of algae that forms on the surface. The plant also blocks the light and makes it hard to see the fish and the tank. Any type of plant will probably need trimming every three months or even every month if you want to maintain a constant look.
I like to feed my fish a pinch of flake food twice a day. I am currently using Wardley Tropical Fish Flakes. The flakes I have used have worked well over the past few years. I have never tried to use live food in the tank but if the option arrives I will try it.
Currently the light is on about 12 hours a day. The light is now on a timer that automatically turns the light on and off every day. This method works well because the light turns on and off at the same time every day.