Top 5 Dither Fish to Help Shy or Aggressive Fish If you have timid or territorial fish in your aquarium, try calming them down with dither fish. Dither fish have outgoing personalities and swim out in the open all the time. Their confident behavior signifies to shy fish that there is no immediate danger and it is safe to come out of hiding. A large group of dither fish also helps to distract and diffuse the hostility from fish bullies so that they can’t single out any one fish. Learn more about the best dither fish that can change the dynam...

Top 10 Easy Fish That Beginners Always Love Certain aquarium fish are classified as “beginner fish” because they are easy to care for, very colorful, and won’t break the bank. However, even experienced fish keepers often turn to them because they are such crowd pleasers and don’t take as much attention as more high-maintenance species. After years of helping customers in our local fish store, these are our top 10 beginner fish we find ourselves recommending over and over again. 1. Black Neon Tetra (Hyphessobrycon herbertaxelrodi) Th...

How to Grow Aquarium Plants for Profit Caring for live aquatic plants can begin with a bit of a learning curve, but once your planted aquarium starts flourishing and becomes overgrown, what do you do with all the extra vegetation? Is it possible to sell your extra trimmings as an extra source of income? As with most side hustles, you need to determine how much time, money, and effort you are willing to invest. Some people are hobbyists who just want a little fun money to help offset their aquarium keeping costs, while others are m...

How to Customize Your Aquarium Filter with Filter Media Aquariums can widely differ in their size and stocking levels, so it makes sense that people want the ability to customize the filtration to best suit their needs. Most filters – such as hang-on-back (HOB), corner box, internal, canister, and sump filters – can be modified by changing the types of filter media used inside. Filter media refers to the different layers of materials that tank water gets filtered through before returning to the aquarium. Keep reading to learn about the different k...

How to Care for Water Wisteria (Hygrophila difformis) Water wisteria (Hygrophila difformis) is a very popular aquarium plant in the hobby because of its lacy leaves, bright green color, and rapid growth. While its care requirements are easy, this species is very prone to melting and losing its leaves when you first purchase it (similar to melting Cryptocoryne plants). Find out our best tips and tricks for planting your new wisteria, getting past the melting phase, and propagating it to grow new plants. What is Water Wisteria? This aquatic stem p...

Top 5 Oddball Fish for a 10-Gallon Aquarium If you’ve been in the aquarium hobby for a while, you have probably owned a majority of the most popular fish sold at pet store chains. Keeping oddball species is a great next step for advancing your fish keeping knowledge. Oddball fish tend to have unusual appearances, can be harder to find, and may come with complicated care requirements. If you are up for the challenge but have limited space, check out our 5 favorite oddball fish that can be kept in a 10-gallon aquarium. 1. Shell Dwellers ...

5 Best Aquarium Plants for High Tech Planted Tanks with CO2 Have you ever heard the words “low tech” and “high tech” being used when referring to a planted aquarium and wondered what the difference was? To put it simply, the more energy that goes into an aquarium setup, the “higher tech” it is. A high tech planted tank may use intensely bright lighting, a pressurized carbon dioxide (CO2) gas system, and large amounts of fertilizer. Because a lot of energy is going into the system, high tech setups are often very costly and need more maintenance than a...

Care Guide for Hillstream Loaches – The Oddball Algae Eater Reticulated hillstream loaches (Sewellia lineolata) are one of the coolest-looking algae eaters, but there’s a lot of conflicting information about their care requirements that makes people hesitant to try them. After more than a decade of owning, selling, and breeding them, this article shares our personal experiences on how to successfully keep this amazing species. What are Reticulated Hillstream Loaches? There are many types of hillstream loaches that live in similar environments, but let...

Care Guide for Clown Killifish – Colorful, Top-Dwelling Nano Fish Looking for a colorful, little fish that stays in the upper third of your nano aquarium? Say hello to Epiplatys annulatus, also known as the clown killi, rocket killifish, and banded panchax. These common names come from the alternating vertical bands of dark brown and tannish-yellow on its body and the vibrant, flame-like tail that males possess. While adult killies can reach up to 1.4 inches (3.5 cm), most of the fish sold at stores are juveniles around 0.5 inch long and won’t display their...

How to Culture Microworms for Fish Fry Live foods are extremely useful when breeding fish because their enticing movements encourage the babies to eat and grow at a faster rate. However, some fish (such as betta fish, ram cichlids, and rainbowfish) produce miniscule offspring that are too small to eat traditional fry foods like live baby brine shrimp or crushed flakes. Instead, you can easily start a culture of micro, banana, or walter worms to keep the babies happy and healthy. What Are Microworms? A “micro worm” is a common name...

10 Best Background Plants for Beginner Aquariums One of the easiest ways to make your fish tank look less like a glass box and more like a slice of nature is to cover the back wall with a lush forest of tall aquarium plants. Check out these 10 beginner-friendly background plants that grow to 12 inches (30 cm) or more. Before we begin, remember that most of these plants are grown emersed (or above water) at the plant farms, so when you bring them into your aquarium, their original leaves may melt away since the plants must grow new leaves th...

How to Quarantine Fish the Easy Way Many beginners may not know this, but one of the easiest ways to stop your fish from getting sick is to set up a quarantine tank. This separate aquarium is used to temporarily hold newly purchased fish or ailing animals that need a quiet environment to heal. By putting them in isolation, it allows you to closely observe their health, administer any treatments, and prevent illnesses from spreading. Once they are completely healthy and disease-free, you can safely add them to your main display ...

Top 5 Peaceful Gouramis for a Community Tank Gouramis are a unique freshwater fish, often known for their flat, oval-shaped bodies and whisker-like feeler fins. As a type of anabantoid or labyrinth fish, they have a special labyrinth organ that acts like rudimentary lungs, allowing them to gulp oxygen from the surface and create bubble nests for breeding. Gouramis sometimes get a bad reputation for being ornery, so we found our top 5 peaceful gouramis that play nice with other community fish. 1. Female Powder Blue Gourami Dwarf gouramis...

How to Use Airline Accessories in Your Aquarium Aquarium air pumps are quite easy to use – just connect the pump to the air-driven device (like a sponge filter) using some airline tubing and plug it in. Then, why are there so many airline accessories and which ones do you actually need? Keep reading as we briefly explain five of the most common airline parts that can transform the way you use your air pump. 1. Check Valve If you only get one item from this list, a check valve is an essential must-have. It contains a flapper or stopper that...

What is Neon Tetra Disease? Neon tetras are a popular nano fish known for their beautiful, red and blue stripes, but sometimes they get a bad reputation for being a “sensitive” fish that is prone to dying. In our experience, these tetras are just as hardy as other danios and rasboras, but there are several factors that may weaken their immunity and make them more inclined to catch illnesses. Let’s discuss why neon tetras get sick, what is neon tetra disease, and how to prevent it. Why Do Neon Tetras Get Sick? The first ...

5 Best Foods for Freshwater Aquarium Shrimp If you’re not trying to breed champion-quality shrimp, then finding the “best” food to feed freshwater shrimp is not as hard as you may think. Aquarium companies know that ornamental shrimp are very popular right now, so they spend a lot of marketing dollars trying to convince you that shrimp have very specialized needs that only their brand of shrimp food can meet. In reality, dwarf shrimp are last on the food chain, serving as scavengers that eat decaying plants, deceased animals, algae, an...