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My fish is bloated. What should I do?
If your fish has a swollen abdomen, it could be caused by several things. Run down this checklist to see which disease your fish may have: Obesity: If you are overfeeding your fish, it may be overweight. In this case, fast the fish for 3-7 days and then decrease its food portion size. Constipation: If the fish is unable to pass any waste, its digestive system becomes backed up with food. Stop feeding the fish for 3-7 days and then feed it high-quality fish food with lots of roughage, such as frozen daphnia, frozen cyclops,...
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How to get rid of green water
If your aquarium water looks like pea soup, you probably have green water, which is caused by a proliferation of free-floating, single-celled phytoplankton. Unfortunately, they replicate so quickly that you cannot flush them out with large water changes. Green water can come from too much lighting (especially if the tank gets direct sunlight sometime during the day), an excess of nutrients (such as accidentally double-dosing fertilizers), or an ammonia spike (such as from a new tank that has not been cycled yet or overfeeding by a pet sitter). To get rid of...
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How to get rid of blue-green algae (BGA)
Blue-green algae (BGA) is technically not a type of algae, but rather a cyanobacteria that grows like a slimy blanket coating the substrate, plants, and decor. It comes with a rather distinctive smell that many fish keepers learn to recognize before the bacterial colony is even visible. No one is 100% sure what causes BGA, but in general, improved aquarium upkeep and increased water circulation with an air stone or powerhead can help keep it away. Algae eaters typically will not eat the stuff, so don't count on their help in...
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How to get rid of green spot algae (GSA)
Green spot algae (GSA) looks like tiny, hard green spots on the aquarium walls and slower growing plants that are very difficult to clean off. A lot of things can cause an outbreak, such as too much light or an imbalance of phosphate. Try using a glass-safe or acrylic-safe algae scraper (with the blade attachment) to remove the algae from aquarium walls. A simple razor blade can also work. Nerite snails are also a good first line of defense since they seem to like eating GSA. Just be aware that, while this species...
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How to get rid of hair, staghorn, string, and other filamentous algae
Filamentous algae refers to the many types of algae that look like wet hair when you take them out of the aquarium (e.g., hair algae, staghorn algae, string algae, and thread algae). These algae can be problematic because they grow so rapidly or are hard to get rid of. They’re generally caused by an excess of certain nutrients (such as iron), too much light, or not enough nutrients (to match the long lighting period). Therefore, try decreasing your lighting period, increasing fertilization, or decreasing iron. Siamese algae eaters, amano shrimp,...
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How to get rid of black beard algae (BBA)
BBA is one of the most problematic algae that people run into because not many things eat it. As per its name, it grows in very thick, bushy clumps that are usually black or grey in color (but sometimes reddish or brownish). This algae likes to grow on driftwood, aquarium decor, and plants, and if left unchecked, it can completely engulf an aquarium in one to two years. Unfortunately, there’s a lot of different things that can contribute the growth of BBA, so there’s no one simple way to treat...
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How to get rid of brown diatom algae
Brown (and sometimes green) diatom algae looks like a dusty, flour-like substance covering your aquarium walls, substrate, and other surfaces. Because it’s so soft, it easily rubs off, and many animals (like otocinclus catfish, snails, and shrimp) like to eat it. Diatom algae is most commonly seen in newly planted tanks and is often caused by high levels of phosphates and silicates. It’s one of the simplest algae to get rid of because if you just give it some time, the plants will naturally consume the excess phosphates and silicates, and...
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How do I plant my carpeting plants?
There are many kinds of foreground plants and even mosses that can be used to cover the ground in your aquarium, but this section is specifically referring to short, dense carpeting plants with lots of tiny leaves and very weak roots. Examples include monte carlo, dwarf baby tears, and pearl weed (not the grass-like carpeting plants such as dwarf sagittaria, micro sword, and dwarf hair grass). Most websites recommend breaking up a pot of carpeting plants into very small pieces and planting them around the aquarium with the hopes that they’ll spread, but...
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How do I plant vallisneria, dwarf sagittaria, or other grass-like plants?
"Grass-like plants" refers to vallisneria, dwarf sagittaria, micro sword, and other stoloniferous plants. These species propagate via stolons or runners – little horizontal stems that produce a small plantlet at the end, eventually creating a long chain of connected plants. As with rosette plants, plant the roots into the substrate, and don’t cover the base of the plant’s leaves. Oftentimes, one pot comes with several individual plants, so plant them separately (not in one, single bunch) so that there’s a little space between each one to grow and multiply. You can also place...
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How do I plant my bulb plant?
The banana plant, dwarf aquarium lily, tiger lotus, and aponogetons (also sold as “betta bulbs” at pet store chains) are all types of plants that grow from a bulb or tubers. Rinse the bulb or tubers to remove any rock wool or loose substrate covering it, and place it on top of the substrate. If the bulb starts floating, you can either wait for it to sink or place it loosely under a piece of hardscape to keep it weighed down (until it develops roots that will firmly anchor it into the substrate)....
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How do I plant my stem plants?
Stem plants are known for growing vertically from a single stem with leaves coming out directly from the stem. Think of bacopa, moneywort, and Pogostemon stellatus. To prepare the plant, remove the basket, ring, or rubber band wrapped around the base of the stems. Plant each stem deeply, at least 2 to 3 inches into the ground, which means the substrate may cover some of the bottom leaves. Don’t plant the stem plants all in a single bunch but rather individually with a little space between so that the roots have some...
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How do I plant my moss?
Mosses are similar to rhizome plants in that they don’t require substrate and can be attached to hardscape via thread or glue. In fact, instead of being packaged in pots, they’re usually sold already affixed to a mesh rectangle, driftwood, or decor. Moss can also grow as a large, free-floating mass, which is great for colony breeding since baby fish can easily hide from the adults in the dense coverage. Java moss and Christmas moss are some of the most readily available varieties on the market. Marimo moss balls are technically a type of...
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