Home · FAQs

FAQs

Create an account to receive blog posts in your email.
What easy plants are best for beginners?
We like to recommend slow-growing aquarium plants that require low light and little to no fertilizer. In fact, some plants like marimo moss balls, anubias, and java fern don't even need substrate. Read this article to learn about the top 10 easy aquarium plants for beginners.
Read more...
How do I make a taller stand for the Ziss brine shrimp hatchery?
If you would like to make a taller stand for the Ziss brine shrimp hatchery so that you can fit a larger container underneath, we have some easy DIY instructions using PVC pipe.
Read more...
What recipe do you use to hatch baby brine shrimp?
We recommend the following recipe for hatching: Fill the hatchery with approximately 2 liters of water. (Use 1-2 drops of dechlorinator if your tap water has chloramine.) Add 2 tablespoons of aquarium salt if you have hard water or marine salt if you have soft water. Add up to 1 tablespoon of brine shrimp eggs. Heat the water to 74-82°F (23-28°C) either by heating the entire room, shining a small lamp with an incandescent or halogen bulb, or placing a small heater inside the water. Wait 24 hours (or more if the...
Read more...
How to use the Ziss brine shrimp hatchery
Read our full article here on with step-by-step instructions and images how to install the hatchery and what recipe we use to hatch the brine shrimp eggs. If you prefer to watch a video demonstration, here is our video tutorial, as well as an extra video on how to build a taller DIY stand from PVC.
Read more...
How do I get rid of snails in my fish tank?
In general, snails are not harmful to aquarium fish or plants. As detritivores, they tend to consume leftover food or dying plant leaves, which helps to clean up your aquarium. However, some people do not like how quickly they reproduce, so here are some tips that may help. If the snails are already in your fish tank, you can control the population by decreasing the amount of food available to them. Snails will only breed if there is available food, so only feed as much as your fish can entirely...
Read more...
Do snails eat live aquarium plants?
Thankfully, most small snails found in freshwater aquariums do not eat healthy aquatic plants. This includes pest, bladder, nerite, mystery, ramshorn, assassin, and Malaysian trumpet snails. If you see them nibbling on a leaf, it's usually because the leaf is dying or melting back.  To learn more about why your plant may be dying, read our article on nutrient deficiencies. If your plant's leaves are melting, it may be transitioning from emersed growth to submersed growth, which you can read about in this article.
Read more...
Do you ship live snails or shrimp?
Unfortunately we don't sell fish, invertebrates, or any other live animals online, but we have partnered with  other vendors that offer discounts through their affiliate programs. See the full list here.  
Read more...
Do your aquarium plants come with snails?
Yes, we purposely keep snails with our live aquarium plants in the warehouse before they are sold. They are excellent algae eaters and will not eat any healthy plants or leaves. If you are concerned about the snails hitchhiking on the plants you buy, you can manually remove them and their eggs before putting them in an aquarium. Some people also quarantine their plants for 4 weeks to ensure that all the eggs have hatched and the baby snails are removed beforehand. Finally, you can consider using a plant dip like reverse...
Read more...
What aquarium plants are safe to put with goldfish?
Goldfish are notorious for munching on or digging up aquatic plants, which is a shame because live plants are both beautiful and beneficial. Thankfully, we’ve found several plant species that are not only easy to care for but also tough enough to stand up to your goldfish’s curious nibbling. Read this article on 5 easy plants for goldfish aquariums.
Read more...
How do I make Repashy gel food?
Gel food for aquarium fish is a unique addition to the hobby that goldfish aficionados, catfish enthusiasts, and fish breeders have come to love. Read this article to find out how to make a batch of Repashy gel food in only 7 minutes.
Read more...
Why is my java fern slowly losing its leaves and dying?
Java fern is a slow-growing plant, and if it's not getting enough nutrients, it can also take a long time to die. If your java is losing leaves, has brown or yellow leaves, has leaves with lots of pinholes, is growing lots of plantlets from its leaves, or has stopped growing new leaves – it could be suffering from a nutrient deficiency. The first step is to make sure the rhizome of the java fern is completely uncovered (e.g., the rhizome is not buried in substrate or suffocating under too much...
Read more...
Why is my banana plant losing its bananas or tubers?
Banana plants are known for their unique banana-shaped tubers, so it can be disappointing if yours start to lose them. Most likely, the banana plant is not getting enough nutrients, so it has started to consume its stored energy in the tubers in order to survive. Feed your banana plant a root tab or two every 3 months (or as needed) to ensure it gets enough to eat.  This phenomenon can also happen with other bulb plants (like the dwarf aquarium lily or tiger lotus) where the bulb will start to soften and...
Read more...

Categories