How to Use Root Tabs to Fertilize Aquarium Plants Is your live aquatic plant not growing or losing leaves, even though you’re giving it plenty of light and liquid fertilizer? Most aquarium plants can absorb nutrients from both the water and the substrate (e.g., gravel, sand, or aquatic soil), but some species prefer one method over the other. If your plant is a “root feeder” that favors consuming from its roots, then we need to give it a nutrient-rich substrate or ground-based fertilizers called root tabs. What Are Root Tabs? Root tabs are d...

7 Best Fish Tank Ideas for a 10-Gallon Aquarium A 10-gallon fish tank is one of the most common “starter” aquarium sizes because it’s small enough for an apartment, a kid’s bedroom, or even your kitchen counter. If you’re not sure what kind of fish to get or how to design the tank, get inspired by 7 of our favorite aquarium setup ideas. 1. The “Centerpiece Fish” Aquarium A centerpiece fish refers to that one aquarium fish that really draws everyone’s attention because it’s usually the biggest animal compared to the other community tank mat...

How to Make Gel Fish Food in 7 Minutes Most fish foods fit into one of four categories: dry (e.g., flakes and wafers), freeze-dried, frozen, and live foods. However, gel food for aquarium fish is a unique addition to the hobby that is sold by companies like Repashy Ventures. It comes in a jar of powder that you mix with hot water and let solidify into a jello-like consistency. When dropped into a fish tank, the gel food quickly sinks to the bottom and is easy for both small and large fish to nibble on. Unlike many other fish foods...

Top 10 Betta Fish Plants for Your Aquarium Looking for a way to take your betta fish tank to the next level? Give live aquarium plants a try. Not only do aquatic plants help purify the water from your fish’s waste, but they also provide a beautiful, natural environment for your betta. In the wild, Betta splendens are commonly found in tropical marshes and rice paddy fields chock-full of thick vegetation. Therefore, aquarium plants serve as excellent enrichment for your betta to explore, obstacles to block line of sight in case he gets...

How to Set Up a Beginner Planted Aquarium If you’re looking to level up in your aquarium keeping skills, consider adding live aquatic plants. Not only do they add a natural beauty to your tank, but they also help consume toxic waste chemicals and purify the water for your fish. Follow along as we step you through the process of setting up your first low tech planted aquarium. Before You Start: Gather the Planted Tank Supplies Let’s first form a shopping list of necessary materials. If you are new to planted aquariums or are working o...

How Many Fish Can I Put in a Fish Tank? One of the most common but hardest questions we get is “How many fish can I put in a 10-gallon tank? What about a 20-gallon tank? 55 gallons?” As you may guess, there is an infinite number of possible fish combinations for each aquarium size that we could recommend. To simplify things, let’s first understand the three factors that will most impact your fish stocking levels and then discuss our general guidelines for introducing the right number of fish to your aquarium. #1 Waste Load If you a...

Care Guide for Platy Fish – Feeding, Breeding, and Tank Mates Looking for a colorful, hardy fish that’s easy to breed and looks great with live plants? Platies have always been one of our favorite livebearers to recommend to both beginners and veterans. Learn more about their care requirements when it comes to housing, tank mates, feeding, and of course breeding. What are Platy Fish? Platies are a popular livebearer in the freshwater aquarium hobby that are native to Mexico and Central America. The two species most commonly available in fish stores are ...

What is Mulm or Detritus in Aquariums? Is there a brown or black substance that seems to collect like dust bunnies all over the floor of your fish tank? This dirt-like material goes by many names – such as mulm, detritus, and debris – and it’s a naturally occurring part of healthy aquariums. Keep reading as we dissect what mulm is made of, whether you should remove it, and how to minimize its appearance. What Is Mulm? Mulm starts off as fish poop, plant leaves, leftover fish food, and other organic materials that are decomposing i...

How to Care for a Dwarf Aquarium Lily Wish you could put lily pads in your aquarium? Check out the dwarf aquarium lily or Nymphaea stellata. This beautiful, easy-to-grow species hails from India and Southeast Asia and is often used as a midground or background plant. Its bulb spouts a compact bush of 4-inch, arrow-shaped leaves and then eventually extends long stems of lily pads that float at the water surface. Compared to your typical green aquarium plant, the dwarf lily provides unique textures and interesting colors ranging fr...

How to Care for Hornwort in Aquariums and Ponds Hornwort is a popular aquatic plant for both fish tanks and outdoor ponds because of its fluffy-looking stems, extremely fast growth, and ability to consume excess nutrients from the water. Learn about the care requirements for hornwort and whether or not it’s the right plant for you. What is Hornwort? Ceratophyllum demersum is known by many common names, such as rigid hornwort, hornwart (a frequent misspelling), and coontail. It grows very tall in the wild and will easily reach all the way t...

How to Breed Aquarium Fish for Profit Fish keeping can be an expensive hobby, so many aquarists wonder if it’s possible to make money by breeding aquarium fish. Based on our experiences from running a fish store, speaking with many fish breeders, and personally breeding fish to sell, we’ve collected the most important things you need to know about the best fish to breed, what supplies to buy, and how to sell them. Can You Make Money Breeding Fish? The reality is that selling fish from home as a full-time job is not a very profita...

Why is My Cryptocoryne Plant Melting? You just planted your new cryptocoryne (or crypt) plant in the aquarium, and it looks perfect for the first few days. Then you notice that one or two leaves aren’t doing so well. Maybe they are turning yellow-brown, have large gaping holes, or are simply withering away. Soon the whole plant looks as bare as a maple tree in winter. This phenomenon is very common with cryptocorynes and is often called “crypt melt.” Crypts (and many other live aquatic plants) are very sensitive to major changes...

How to Use an Aquarium Air Pump (and Make It Quieter) Air pumps are commonly used with aquarium filters, decorations, and many other air-driven devices, but what exactly do they do and how do you know if your fish tank needs one? In this article, we explain when to use an air pump, how to pick the right one, and how to install it in your aquarium. What is a Fish Tank Air Pump? An air pump is a mechanical device that sits outside of the fish tank and uses electricity (either from a wall outlet or battery power) to pump air into the aquarium. The ...

Care Guide for German Blue Rams – Housing, Breeding, and More Between their iridescent colors and confident personality, German blue ram cichlids are one of the most striking freshwater fish in the aquarium hobby. When you see a healthy ram in breeding condition, almost every hue of the rainbow is displayed. In this article, we interviewed master breeder Dean to share his decades of experience in keeping, breeding, and raising this amazing dwarf cichlid. What are German Blue Rams? Mikrogeophagus ramirezi is a South American dwarf cichlid that goes by ma...

How Often Do You Feed Fish (and How Much)? If you’re new to aquariums, figuring out how to feed your pet fish can be a little confusing. They always come up to the glass and beg for food, but does that mean you should give it to them? Keep reading to learn all about how much and how often to feed fish, what to give them, and how long they can go without food if you’re on vacation. What Do Fish Eat? When looking at rows and rows of fish foods at the pet store, it becomes clear that not all fish eat the same thing. The ingredients in be...

How to Treat Livebearer Disease Livebearer disease is a catch-all term used to describe many disorders that commonly affect livebearers (or fish that bear live young). These different ailments can include the shimmies, wasting disease, body fungus, and more. The first step is to properly diagnose your fish and then treat for their specific type of livebearer disease. Why Are So Many Diseases Called “Livebearer Disease”? Livebearers are frequently raised in hard water or brackish environments (see this article for more detai...