Aquarium Care Guides
996 articles- Conductivity and TDS ProbesHow EC probes work, why TDS in ppm depends on a hidden 0.5–0.9 conversion factor, temperature compensation to 25 °C, salinity via PSS-78, KC
- ORP (Redox Potential) in AquariumsWhat an ORP probe measures, the reference scale, how oxygen, organics, pH and ozone move it, verification with ZoBell’s solution, probe care
- pH Probe Calibration and MaintenanceHow a glass pH electrode works, two-point calibration with pH 4/7/10 buffers, slope and offset limits, temperature compensation, storage sol
- Vampire Crab Paludarium SetupVampire crabs (Geosesarma) are small land-dwelling crabs that breed without a larval stage. This guide covers humidity, temperature, a small
- Fiddler Crab Brackish SetupFiddler crabs are intertidal brackish-water animals, not freshwater pets. This guide covers land area, salinity, moulting, claw dimorphism,
- Aquatic Newt Tank SetupHow to set up a tank for aquatic newts: water depth and land area by species, cool temperatures, escape-proof lids, feeding, skin toxins and
- African Dwarf Frog Tank SetupSetting up a tank for Hymenochirus: easy access to air, gentle filtration, warm water, sinking foods, shed skin, chytrid and Salmonella awar
- Axolotl Fridging and Fungal InfectionsWhat the veterinary and scientific literature says about water mould (Saprolegnia) in amphibians, salt baths, tea baths and the hobby practi
- Axolotl Temperature Control and CoolingWhy axolotls need cool water around 16–18 °C, what research links to temperatures above 24 °C, how colonies and keepers cool water, and why
- Fluorescent Transgenic Aquarium Fish: Origin, Species and RegulationFluorescent transgenic aquarium fish: origin in zebrafish research, the species on sale, their legal status in the US, EU, UK, Canada and Br
- Dyed and Tattooed Aquarium Fish: Methods, Health Effects and CampaignsHow aquarium fish are artificially coloured by injection, dye baths and laser tattooing, what sources report on mortality and disease, and h
- Hybrid Aquarium Fish: Origins, Health and Conservation ConcernsHow hybrid aquarium fish such as blood parrots and flowerhorns arose, what sources report on their fertility and deformities, and why hybrid
- Selective Breeding for Hobbyists: Goals, Selection and WelfareHow hobbyists can plan selective breeding of aquarium fish: setting goals, choosing selection criteria, handling non-selected fish, planning
- Line Breeding and Inbreeding Depression in Aquarium FishWhat line breeding and the inbreeding coefficient mean, what fish studies show about fertility, survival and deformities, and how outcrossin
- Guppy Colour Genetics: Basics for BreedersHow guppy colour is inherited: Y- and X-linked male ornaments, autosomal recessives such as golden, blue and blond, why females carry hidden
- Salinity, Specific Gravity and Conductivity: Units, Temperature and ConversionsHow ppt, practical salinity, specific gravity and conductivity relate, why every SG needs reference temperatures, how conductivity is compen
- Iron and Trace Element Chemistry: Fe2+/Fe3+, Chelators and MicronutrientsWhy iron precipitates as pH and oxygen rise, how fast ferrous iron oxidises, how EDTA and DTPA chelates hold iron at different pH and light
- Redox Chemistry in Aquariums: Electron Acceptors, Substrate Zones and SulfideHow oxidation-reduction works in tank water and substrate: the redox ladder from oxygen to sulfate, layered zones in sediment, hydrogen sulf
- Dissolved Gases and Supersaturation in Aquarium WaterHow temperature, salinity and pressure set gas solubility, what total gas pressure and percent saturation mean, and how warming water or pum
- Nitrite Toxicity and Chloride Protection: Brown Blood Disease ExplainedHow nitrite turns haemoglobin into methaemoglobin, why chloride blocks nitrite uptake at the gills, the chloride:nitrite ratios used in aqua
- Ammonia vs Ammonium: How pH and Temperature Set the Toxic FractionThe NH3/NH4+ equilibrium explained with a fraction table by pH and temperature, why test kits read total ammonia nitrogen, and what this mea
- The Carbonate System in Aquarium Water: CO2, Bicarbonate and BufferingHow dissolved CO2, carbonic acid, bicarbonate and carbonate interconvert, what the pKa values 6.35 and 10.33 mean, and why alkalinity (KH) k
- Japanese Rice Paddy Medaka Biotope AquariumOryzias latipes in its rice paddy habitat: seasonal temperature range, still shallow planted water, paddy fauna, indoor and outdoor keeping,
- Mexican Cenote and Livebearer Spring BiotopeHard, alkaline, transparent karst water of Yucatán cenotes and Mexican springs, the Poecilia and Xiphophorus livebearers that live there, an
- Orinoco Clearwater Biotope AquariumHow clearwater differs from blackwater and whitewater, what the Orinoco basin looks like, its cichlid, tetra and catfish fauna, and how sand
- West African River Biotope AquariumA soft, acidic West African river biotope drawn from the Congo and Niger basins: Pelvicachromis, Congo tetras, Aphyosemion killifish and but
- Australia and New Guinea Rainbowfish Creek BiotopeA creek biotope for Melanotaenia and Pseudomugil: seasonal wet and dry flow, the wide natural range of pH and hardness, planted margins with
- Southeast Asian Hillstream Biotope AquariumHow to model a fast, cool, oxygen-rich Southeast Asian hill stream: loach and danio fauna, water-worn rock and biofilm, published water chem
- Central American River Biotope: Cichlids and Livebearers in Hard WaterCentral American river biotope: warm, mineral-rich, neutral-to-alkaline water, rocky streams versus slow sandy rivers and cenotes, cichlids
- Lake Victoria Haplochromine Biotope: History, Conservation and SetupLake Victoria haplochromine biotope: a 15,000-year species flock, eutrophication and Nile perch, about 200 extinct species, CARES maintenanc
- Lake Malawi Biotope: Rocky Mbuna Shore and Sandy ZoneLake Malawi biotope aquarium: hard alkaline water at pH 7.7–8.6, the rock zone of the mbuna versus the sand zone of Aulonocara, rock-pile aq
- Moulting Biology of Shrimp and CrayfishHow shrimp and crayfish moult: stages of the moult cycle, hormonal control, where calcium for the new shell comes from, and the documented c
- Air-Breathing Fish: Labyrinth Organs, Gut Breathing and LungsHow some fish breathe atmospheric air: labyrinth organs, gut breathing in catfish and loaches, lungfish and lung-like swim bladders, and why
- Fish Reproductive StrategiesHow fish reproduce: egg scatterers, cave and substrate spawners, bubble nesters, mouthbrooders and livebearers, plus sex change and the main
- Fish Swim Bladder and BuoyancyHow the swim bladder keeps bony fish neutrally buoyant: physostomous and physoclistous types, the gas gland and rete mirabile, buoyancy cont
- Fish Stress Physiology: Cortisol and the Stress ResponseThe physiology behind fish stress: the hormone cascade that releases cortisol, primary, secondary and tertiary responses, how cortisol suppr
- Fish Gill Structure and FunctionHow fish gills are built and how they work: filaments and lamellae, countercurrent gas exchange, ion regulation by ionocytes, ammonia excret
- The Fish Immune System: Mucus Barrier, Innate and Adaptive ImmunityHow fish defend themselves: the skin and mucus barrier, innate and adaptive immunity, immune organs without bone marrow, temperature effects
- Fish Coloration and Chromatophores: Pigment, Structure and Colour ChangeHow melanophores, xanthophores, erythrophores and iridophores make fish colours, how pigment and structural colour differ, why fish change c
- Fish Senses: Lateral Line, Hearing, Smell, Taste and ElectroreceptionHow neuromasts, the inner ear and Weberian apparatus, olfaction, taste barbels and electroreceptors work in fish, and what zebrafish noise s
- Environmental Enrichment in Aquariums: What the Studies ShowEvidence on structural, foraging and tactile enrichment for fish from zebrafish, cichlid, salmon and betta studies, with the measured outcom
- Fish Pain and Welfare: What Science SaysThe evidence on fish nociceptors and responses to noxious stimuli, the scientific debate over whether fish feel pain, and what it implies fo
- Fish Cognition and Memory: What the Research ShowsPeer-reviewed studies on fish memory, conditioning, tool use in wrasses and face recognition, each tied to the species tested, and why the t
- Courtship and Spawning Displays in FishNuptial colour, courtship dances in sticklebacks, bettas and killifish, bubble nests, sand bowers, mouthbrooding cues, and why courtship and
- Territoriality and Dominance Hierarchies in FishWhy fish defend territories, how dominance hierarchies form in cichlids and gouramis, what the resident advantage and sex ratio do, and how
- Do Fish Sleep? Sleep-Like Rest States in FishHow researchers define sleep in fish, what zebrafish studies show about its regulation, how species rest at night, why some fade in colour,