Aquarium Care Guides
2820 articles- Botanicals and Leaf Litter in the Aquarium (Blackwater)Dried leaves and seed pods release tannins that tint water, gently lower pH in soft water, and grow biofilm. They create blackwater conditio
- Estimative Index (EI) Fertilizer Dosing for Planted TanksThe Estimative Index (EI) doses nutrients in excess so plants are never limited, then resets the water column with a large weekly water chan
- Mixing Synthetic Saltwater for Marine AquariumsHow to prepare artificial seawater from synthetic salt: using purified water, target salinity, measuring with a calibrated refractometer, mi
- Coral Dipping and QuarantineWhy new corals are dipped and quarantined: the pests and hitchhikers they carry, the dip-rinse-inspect procedure, removing the frag plug, an
- Coral Placement: Light and Flow in a Reef TankHow to place corals by their light and flow needs: light zones from SPS at the top to softies low down, PAR, flow types, lighting acclimatio
- Hatching Brine Shrimp (Artemia) for Fish and FryHow aquarists hatch Artemia cysts into nauplii as a live first food for fry and small fish, covering salinity, temperature, hatch time, aera
- Cloudy Aquarium Water: Causes and FixesWhat different kinds of aquarium cloudiness mean — bacterial bloom, substrate dust, green water and tannins — and how to respond to each, in
- Dissolved Oxygen and Aeration in the AquariumWhy dissolved oxygen matters for fish and beneficial bacteria, how it enters water through surface exchange, what lowers it, and how to reco
- Green Spot Algae (GSA) Control in the Planted AquariumGreen spot algae forms hard green dots on glass and slow-growing leaves. It is linked to low phosphate and high light, and is controlled by
- Trimming and Pruning Aquarium PlantsA guide to trimming aquarium plants by type: topping stem plants, mowing carpets, removing old rosette leaves, dividing rhizome plants, and
- Diagnosing Nutrient Deficiencies in Aquarium PlantsA guide to reading nutrient-deficiency symptoms in aquarium plants, using the mobile-versus-immobile nutrient rule to tell old-leaf from new
- Feeding Corals in a Reef AquariumHow corals get nutrition from light and from feeding: zooxanthellae photosynthesis plus heterotrophic feeding, what to feed by coral type, b
- Dosing Calcium and Alkalinity in Reef TanksHow reefkeepers replenish the calcium and alkalinity corals consume: two-part dosing, kalkwasser, calcium reactors, the Balling method, matc
- Calcium, Alkalinity and Magnesium in the Reef TankThe 'big three' reef parameters for coral skeletal growth: what calcium, alkalinity and magnesium do, their target ranges, why they are inte
- Ornamental Fish Farming: Producing Aquarium FishHow aquarium fish are farmed commercially — the main production hubs and systems, the livebearer and egglayer groups, breeding and rearing,
- Polyculture and Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture (IMTA)How polyculture combines species with complementary feeding niches, and how IMTA pairs fed species with extractive species so wastes become
- Giant Freshwater Prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii) FarmingHow the giant freshwater prawn Macrobrachium rosenbergii is farmed, from its brackish-water larval phase and freshwater grow-out to male mor
- Giant Tiger Prawn (Penaeus monodon) Farming: A Production GuideThe giant tiger prawn (Penaeus monodon) is the largest farmed penaeid and was long the dominant farmed shrimp. It is grown in brackish ponds
- Whiteleg Shrimp (Penaeus vannamei) Farming: A Production GuideWhiteleg shrimp (Penaeus vannamei) is the world's dominant farmed shrimp. Production relies on SPF postlarvae, intensive ponds, and strict b
- Milkfish (Chanos chanos) Farming: A Production GuideMilkfish (Chanos chanos) is a hardy, low-trophic foodfish farmed in brackish ponds, pens, and cages across Southeast Asia, traditionally rai
- Barramundi (Asian Seabass) Farming: A Production GuideHow barramundi (Lates calcarifer) is farmed: catadromous, euryhaline, protandrous biology, pond and cage culture, hatchery larviculture with
- Gilthead Seabream Farming: A Production GuideHow gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata) is farmed: protandrous reproduction, Mediterranean sea-cage culture, hatchery larviculture, feeding an
- European Seabass Farming: A Production GuideHow European seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax) is farmed: Mediterranean sea-cage culture, hatchery larviculture with live feeds, carnivorous fe
- Disinfection in Aquaculture: Eggs, Equipment and FacilitiesHow disinfection breaks disease cycles in aquaculture — salmonid egg surface disinfection with iodophor, equipment and footbath disinfectant
- Probiotics and Prebiotics in AquacultureHow beneficial microbes and the substrates that feed them improve fish and shrimp health, support water quality and help reduce antibiotic u
- Vaccination in Aquaculture: Types, Routes and Disease PreventionHow vaccination prevents bacterial and viral disease in farmed fish and cuts antibiotic use, covering vaccine types, the diseases targeted,
- Nocardiosis in Fish: A Disease GuideFish nocardiosis, caused by Nocardia seriolae, is a chronic granulomatous disease producing white nodules in internal organs. It is hard to
- Pancreas Disease (PD) of Salmonids: A Disease GuidePancreas disease, caused by salmonid alphavirus, damages the pancreas, heart, and muscle of farmed salmon and trout. There is no cure; contr
- Amoebic Gill Disease (AGD) in Farmed Salmon: A Disease GuideAmoebic gill disease, caused by Neoparamoeba perurans, damages the gills of farmed salmon. Unlike most listed diseases, it is treatable with
- African Catfish Farming: A Production GuideHow African catfish (Clarias gariepinus) is farmed: air-breathing biology and extreme density tolerance, RAS and pond culture, induced spawn
- Catla Farming: A Production GuideHow catla (Labeo catla) is farmed: surface zooplankton feeding, fast growth, role in Indian major carp composite polyculture, pond fertiliza
- Rohu Farming: A Production GuideHow rohu (Labeo rohita) is farmed: column-feeding biology, role in Indian major carp composite polyculture, pond fertilization and feeding,
- Banned and Restricted Drugs in Food-Fish AquacultureA reference to drugs prohibited in food-producing fish — chloramphenicol, nitrofurans, malachite green and others — why they are banned, and
- Fish Treatment Routes: Medicated Feed vs Bath vs InjectionHow the main fish treatment routes compare — medicated feed, bath or immersion, and injection — with the strengths, limits and best use of e
- Drug Withdrawal Periods and Residues in Food FishWhat a withdrawal period is, why it matters for food safety, how it is set from residue studies and water temperature, with examples of FDA-
- Gas Bubble Disease (Gas Supersaturation) in Fish: A GuideGas bubble disease is a non-infectious condition caused by gas supersaturation of water. Dissolved gases form emboli in fish tissues, causin
- Grass Carp Reovirus (GCRV) Haemorrhagic Disease: A Disease GuideGrass carp reovirus causes haemorrhagic disease with high mortality in young grass carp, especially in warm water. There is no antiviral cur
- Infectious Myonecrosis (IMNV) in Shrimp: A Disease GuideInfectious myonecrosis virus causes whitish muscle necrosis and elevated mortality in farmed Penaeus vannamei. There is no treatment; contro
- Bighead Carp Farming: A Production GuideHow bighead carp (Hypophthalmichthys nobilis) is farmed: zooplankton filter-feeding, role in polyculture with silver carp, pond fertilizatio
- Silver Carp Farming: A Production GuideHow silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) is farmed: phytoplankton filter-feeding, role in polyculture, pond fertilization, hatchery ind
- Grass Carp Farming: A Production GuideHow grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) is farmed: herbivorous biology, role in Chinese polyculture, hatchery induced spawning, growth, wee
- Emamectin Benzoate in Salmon: Sea Lice Control and ResistanceHow emamectin benzoate, an in-feed avermectin, controls sea lice in farmed salmon, why resistance is widespread, and the integrated pest man
- Chitin Synthesis Inhibitors for Crustacean Fish ParasitesHow benzoylurea chitin synthesis inhibitors such as diflubenzuron treat crustacean fish parasites like anchor worm and fish lice, with sourc
- Anthelmintics for Fish: Deworming Nematodes and FlatwormsHow dewormers such as fenbendazole, levamisole and praziquantel treat nematodes and flatworms in fish, with sourced doses and cautions about
- Winter Ulcer (Moritella viscosa) in Farmed Salmon: A Disease GuideWinter ulcer, caused by Moritella viscosa in cold seawater, produces skin ulcers in farmed salmon, causing mortality, welfare problems, and
- Proliferative Kidney Disease (PKD) of Salmonids: A Disease GuideProliferative kidney disease, caused by Tetracapsuloides bryosalmonae, severely swells the kidney of young salmonids. It is temperature-driv
- Yellow Head Disease (YHV) in Shrimp: A Disease GuideYellow head virus causes rapid mass mortality in farmed shrimp, with a yellowing swollen cephalothorax. There is no treatment; control relie
- Pangasius (Striped Catfish) Farming: A Production GuideHow pangasius (Pangasianodon hypophthalmus) is farmed: air-breathing biology, intensive Mekong Delta pond culture, induced spawning, fast gr
- Atlantic Salmon Farming: A Production GuideHow Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) is farmed: the two-phase freshwater-to-seawater cycle, smolt production, sea-cage grow-out, feed and FCR,
- Rainbow Trout Farming: A Production GuideHow rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) is farmed: cold-water requirements, raceway and tank culture, high-protein feed and FCR, hatchery an