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...

7 Best Foreground Plants for Your Next Planted Aquarium When beginners build their first planted aquarium, they usually buy any plant catches their eye and plunk it down wherever there’s an empty space in the tank. However, if you want to take your planted tank to the next level, consider incorporating some tried-and-true design techniques. A good rule of thumb is to plan out the aquarium in layers from front to back, such that the shortest plants are in the foreground and the tallest plants are in the background. This bleacher-style arrangement e...

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 Feed Frozen Fish Food to Your Aquarium Feeding only fish flakes or wafers to your aquarium fish is like the human equivalent of only eating protein bars every day. Yes, they contain a well-balanced mixture of nutritious ingredients, but wouldn’t it be nice to treat your fish to a sumptuous roast chicken dinner every once in a while? Then you should try frozen fish foods. This premium-grade fish food is packed with high-quality proteins, healthy fatty acids, and gut-loaded vitamins. After live foods, frozen foods are the next close...

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...

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...

How to Care for Aquarium Fish While on Vacation When going out of town, it can be stressful trying to arrange care for your pets. Thankfully, aquarium fish are generally on the easier side of care requirements because you don’t need to walk them, let them out to use the restroom, or even feed them every day. Here are four methods we recommend for ensuring your fish stay happy and healthy while you’re away. Before You Leave… Give your fish tank a good cleaning a couple of days before your departure. Do a partial water change, vacuum the sub...

How to Raise Baby Fish Fry in Your Aquarium One of the most thrilling parts of the aquarium hobby is getting your fish to breed. If you are taking good care of your fish and feeding them well, one day you may spot a tiny baby darting around the tank. While accidental fry are always exciting, there are several ways you can increase their survival rate or boost your numbers if you plan on selling them for profit. 1. Protect the Eggs from the Parents Many fish do not show any parental care towards their offspring and will happily eat thei...

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 Ways to Clean Algae from Your Fish Tank Algae is a natural part of the aquarium ecosystem because it helps to purify the water from toxic waste chemicals and serves as a food source for algae-eating fish and invertebrates. However, most people see it as an unwelcome guest since too much algae can obstruct your view of the fish tank and slow down healthy plant growth. Let’s talk about 5 easy methods for cleaning algae off your aquarium walls and decorations. 1. Use Tools to Manually Remove Algae Physically removing algae with your o...

How to Save Your Baby Fish with a Breeder Box Most fish do not show any parental care toward their offspring, so when they lay eggs or give birth in an aquarium, the next generation can easily become a quick snack for the adults. In the wild, babies try their best to hide from would-be predators by using camouflage, swimming to shallow waters, and taking cover in dense vegetation and tiny nooks. In an aquarium, we can help increase their survival rate even more by using a breeder box to contain the fry and protect them from larger fish. ...