Aquarium Co-Op

How to use an air stone for aquariums An air stone is a small, weighted bubbler that produces very small bubbles in the water. This simple accessory helps to gradually diffuse air into the tank, improve oxygenation of water, and minimize the amount of bubbling noise you’ll hear. You can use an air stone by itself or in conjunction with a sponge filter to improve the efficiency of the filtration. The air stone creates a steady stream of tiny bubbles (instead of large, intermittent bubbles) that produces constant lift in the sponge...

My discount code doesn't work 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 do I set up a hospital tank? 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 ...

Returns Policy Our goal is to provide a fair way to satisfy our customers and not lose money while doing it. We make every effort to fully disclose how our products work and what is to be expected. A damaged product during shipping is an automatic replacement from us. When it comes to a difference of opinion such as: "My fish doesn’t like this food." That we don’t refund for. However, if you decide the light you bought is a bit too green for your liking, provided it is in the original box, within 90...

How do I plant my anubias, java fern, or other rhizome plant? The most popular types of rhizome plants include anubias, java fern, and bolbitis. They all have a rhizome, which is like a thick, horizontal stem or trunk. All the leaves and stems grow upwards out of the rhizome, while the roots grow downwards from the rhizome. The great thing about rhizome plants is that you don’t need any substrate to grow them. You can wedge them between cracks in rocks or mount them to driftwood using super glue gel or sewing thread. (For more details on how to use supe...

Why is my plant dying or melting? It is normal for plants to "melt" when they change environment. There are a few causes for this, one would be different water parameters. It is likely your water is different from ours and the plant will want to restructure and get it's roots in place to start taking in nutrients. This lag time can cause the plant to consume itself to keep itself alive during the transition. (For more details, read our article on crypt melt.) Another cause would be a plant converting from emersed ...

How to get help from Aquarium Co-Op Learn More Browse through our many free resources to help you learn more about freshwater fish, aquarium equipment, or live plants. We have released hundreds of videos and articles and continue to put out new content every week. Read our blog for in-depth articles Watch our YouTube videos Search our FAQs for commonly asked questions Ask Questions If you've looked through our educational content and still can't find the information you need, join our Facebook group or our online foru...

How do I make my air pump quieter? If you bought an air pump from the pet store, most likely it’s a diaphragm air pump, which uses a diaphragm that rapidly vibrates back and forth to suck in air from its surroundings and then push that air into your fish tank. This vibration unfortunately can become quite noisy over time. Try these solutions to make it quieter: Place a small towel, block of foam, or other soft material under the air pump to cushion the vibrations. Make sure the air pump (and its cushion) is resting on a solid...

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 ...

pH In Your Aquarium We generally like to run all of our tanks at a pH of 7.0 to 7.8. If you don't have this range, it doesn't mean it can't work for your fish. It's just a great range to be in if your tap water is already there. We recommend not modifying it if you're already in this range. If you are below this range, we use 1 pound of crushed coral sprinkled into the gravel for each 10 gallons of water to raise the pH slowly over time. This needs to be replaced from time to time, typically ...

Should I remove the pot from my aquarium plant? Most plants purchased from Aquarium Co-Op come in a plastic pot stuffed with rock wool. In most cases, you want to remove this little basket and the stuffing, unless you plan on using an Easy Planter decoration. Follow these instructions to easily remove your plant from its packaging: Squeeze the pot to push out the plant and rock wool. If the roots are overgrown and tangled, you may need to trim them back a little to free the basket. Split the rock wool in half, and take out the plant in th...

How can I write a review about a product? To write a review of a product that you have purchased from us is very easy to do. Firstly please go to the product page of the product you would like to review. You will see some stars underneath the title of the product, click or tap these stars and there the website will take you to the reviews section. Once there, clicking or tapping a button which says 'Write a review', will open out a new form where you will be able to enter in your details, your star rating and your review. At...

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...

5 Best Tank Mates for Betta Fish Betta fish are known to be fierce fighters, especially towards their own species, but did you know you can add tank mates to their aquarium? Yes, depending on your betta’s personality, he or she can peacefully cohabitate with other fish and invertebrates. However, make sure their aquarium is at least 10 to 20 gallons with lots of cover and live plants or else the betta fish may become overly territorial. Here’s our top 5 list of favorite tank mates for you and your betta fish to enjoy. 1. Kuh...

How to Properly Clean Your Fish Tank When people find out you keep fish, they probably imagine a crusty, algae-coated tank where you can barely see anything swimming inside. But with just a few easy steps, you can keep your aquarium looking like a beautiful work of art. Follow along as we share our top tips for cleaning your fish tank like a pro. Before You Get Started… There are several frequently answered questions we often hear from beginners, so let’s address those first: How often do you need to clean a fish tank? Some peop...

There's a Whale at Aquarium Co-Op's Retail Store This Week! 🐋 In the Aquarium Co-Op retail store this week we got in a few oddball fish you may never have seen before including the Red-Lip Goby, Orange Hatchet Danio, and the cool electric mormyrid, Doral-Banded Whale. We also got in some large breeder Super Red Bristlenose Plecos as well as lots of medium-large Amano shrimp. For plants this week, our Anubias Nana and Barteri are looking amazing as well as the carpeting Dwarf Baby Tears and Micro Sword arrived very full. For this week's Tank...