Aquarium Care Guides
2881 articles- Surface Film on Aquarium Water: Causes and FixesThe oily or dusty film on still aquarium water is dissolved organics and biofilm. Learn what causes it, why it hurts gas exchange, and how t
- Growing Carpeting (Foreground) Plants in a Planted TankA practical guide to growing a low foreground carpet: light and CO2 needs, the best species by difficulty, planting technique, spread via ru
- The Dry Start Method (DSM) for Carpets and Planted TanksThe dry start method grows carpeting plants emersed in moist substrate under high humidity before flooding the tank. Learn the steps, suited
- Staghorn Algae: How to Identify and Control ItStaghorn algae forms tough grey-green branching strands on leaf edges and equipment. Learn to identify it, why it appears, and how to contro
- Quarantining Marine Fish: Copper, Hyposalinity and TransferMarine ich and velvet are far deadlier than freshwater parasites. Learn observation quarantine, copper in a fish-only tank, hyposalinity and
- Reef Supplements and Trace Elements: A Cautious GuideBeyond calcium, alkalinity and magnesium lie dozens of trace elements corals use in tiny amounts. Learn what they do, what water changes rep
- Reef Nutrient Management: Balancing Nitrate and PhosphateHow to keep nitrate and phosphate in a reef tank low but not zero, why both excess and starvation harm corals, and the export methods that h
- Culturing Daphnia (Water Fleas) as Live FoodHow to culture Daphnia, a nutritious live food and natural roughage for juvenile and adult fish, covering container, feeding, aeration, harv
- Culturing Microworms for FryHow to culture microworms (Panagrellus redivivus), a small nematode that bridges infusoria and baby brine shrimp as a live food for growing
- Culturing Infusoria for First FoodsHow aquarists culture infusoria — tiny freshwater micro-organisms — as a first food for very small fry too small for brine shrimp, with a si
- Green Dust Algae (GDA) Control in the Planted AquariumGreen dust algae is a powdery green film on glass, common in new tanks. It regrows fast after wiping because of a free-swimming spore stage,
- 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