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...
Do red plants need more iron?Iron primarily helps to create green chlorophyll pigment and not red pigment. However, red plants like scarlet temple or Ammannia gracilis can benefit from extra iron because many of them are also high light plants that consume more nutrients in general. Red-leafed plants contain large amounts of red pigment and smaller amounts of green chlorophyll, and scientists are looking into the purpose of these red pigments and why red plants become more vibrant in bright sunlight. Under intense lighti...
Does Aquarium Co-Op have any discount codes?Aquarium Co-Op no longer offers discount codes, even if you see them mentioned in past videos from us or other creators. Instead, we choose to always offer our best prices up front while still providing rapid USPS Priority shipping, quick customer service response time, and tons of free educational content in our YouTube videos, blog articles, and online forum.
How many fish can I put in a 40-gallon tank?One of the most common but hardest questions we get is “How many fish can you put in a 40-gallon aquarium? What about a 20-gallon tank? 55 gallons?” As you may guess, there is an infinite number of possible fish combinations for each tank size that we could recommend. To simplify things, read this article that discusses the three factors that will most impact your fish stocking levels, as well as our general guidelines for introducing the right number of fish to your aquarium.
How many fish can I put in a 75-gallon tank?One of the most common but hardest questions we get is “How many fish can you put in a 3-gallon aquarium? What about a 20-gallon tank? 55 gallons?” As you may guess, there is an infinite number of possible fish combinations for each tank size that we could recommend. To simplify things, read this article that discusses the three factors that will most impact your fish stocking levels, as well as our general guidelines for introducing the right number of fish to your aquarium.
How many fish can I put in a 29-gallon tank?One of the most common but hardest questions we get is “How many fish can you put in a 29-gallon aquarium? What about a 20-gallon tank? 55 gallons?” As you may guess, there is an infinite number of possible fish combinations for each tank size that we could recommend. To simplify things, read this article that discusses the three factors that will most impact your fish stocking levels, as well as our general guidelines for introducing the right number of fish to your aquarium.
How do I cancel my order?Our packing and shipping crew works extremely fast, so once you submit an order, you only have a very short window during warehouse hours to attempt to cancel the purchase. Try contacting our customer service team using our contact form or by emailing shipping@aquariumcoop.com. However, once the order has been packaged, there is no way for us to cancel the order at that point. The good news is that orders submitted after 4 p.m. PST usually won't be packed until the following day, so you h...
10 Best Algae Eaters for Freshwater AquariumsIf your aquarium is covered with unsightly algae, you need some hungry helpers to get the outbreak under control. In this top 10 list of amazing algae eaters, we’ve gathered animals that are not only safe for aquatic plants but can often work together for increased effectiveness. At Aquarium Co-Op, we’ve sold thousands of live plants, and one of our main concerns is keeping the plants as free of algae as possible. That’s why we utilize the most effective algae eaters in the aquarium hobby for...
How to Set Up a Beginner Planted AquariumIf 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...
10 Best Goldfish Foods You Need to TryGoldfish have been bred for hundreds of years to have special features like elegant double tails and egg-shaped bodies. That compact physique can sometimes cause constipation and digestion issues, so goldfish owners devote a lot of time and energy into finding the best foods for their water piggies. After decades of personally keeping and raising goldfish, here are our top 10 foods we love to feed to ensure that our goldfish get a wide variety of essential nutrients, color-enhancing ingredien...
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 th...
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 h...
How do I plant my cryptocoryne?Cryptocoryne plants, also known as “crypts” for short, are a kind of rosette plant that requires substrate and needs root tabs to grow well. Common types include Cryptocoryne wendtii, Cryptocoryne spiralis, and many other species. Similar to sword plants, you want to bury their roots while keeping the crown of the plant above ground. Crypts are very prone to melting whenever they’re introduced into a new aquarium, so don’t throw away your crypt if its emersed leaves fall off. Once the plant g...
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 t...
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 Aqua Huna and other vendors that offer discounts through their affiliate programs. See the full list here.
10 Smart Ways to Use an Aquarium Catch Cup or Specimen ContainerHave you ever seen those clear rectangle boxes hanging on the outside of tanks at your local fish store? You are looking at one of the most versatile tools in the fish keeping hobby – the aquarium specimen container or catch cup. It acts like a small, transparent bucket for observing fish, holding aquarium supplies, and a million other uses. Learn about the top 10 ways we find ourselves using catch cups every day at our retail fish store and personal fish tanks. 1. Observation It can be hard ...