Aquarium Care Guides
2820 articles- Setting Up a Hospital TankHow to set up a treatment tank: a separate, simple system where sick fish can be medicated without harming the display biofilter or sensitiv
- Diagnosing Sick Fish: A Symptom-Based ApproachHow to investigate sick fish: test water quality first, read clinical signs, and follow a systematic decision path before reaching for medic
- Hydra in AquariumsHydra are tiny freshwater predators with stinging tentacles. They thrive on overfeeding and threaten fry and shrimp; control by cutting feed
- Planaria in AquariumsPlanaria are flatworms that thrive on excess food and detritus. They can prey on shrimp eggs and weak fry and are removed by cutting feeding
- Controlling Pest Snails in AquariumsBladder, ramshorn and Malaysian trumpet snails multiply rapidly when overfed. Populations are reduced by feeding less, trapping, manual remo
- Hair and Thread Algae in AquariumsHair and thread algae form long green strands driven by excess light or a nutrient imbalance. They are controlled by manual removal, rebalan
- Brown Algae (Diatoms) in AquariumsBrown algae are diatoms, single-celled algae with silica cell walls. They bloom in new tanks fed by silicate and usually fade as the system
- Green Water (Algae Bloom) in AquariumsGreen water is a bloom of free-floating algae caused by excess nutrients and light. It is cleared with a blackout, a UV sterilizer or a diat
- Cyanobacteria (Blue-Green Algae) in AquariumsCyanobacteria are photosynthetic bacteria, not true algae. They form slimy mats in low-flow, nutrient-rich tanks and are removed by manual c
- Black Beard Algae (BBA): Causes and TreatmentBlack beard algae is a red alga of the genus Audouinella. It is linked to fluctuating CO2 and organic waste, and can be removed by spot trea
- Aquarium Algae: Causes and ControlAquarium algae grow when light and dissolved nutrients fall out of balance. This guide covers the main triggers and a practical control stra
- New Tank SyndromeWhy uncycled tanks spike ammonia and nitrite, the warning signs in fish, and how to manage and prevent it during the first weeks.
- Controlling Aquarium NitrateWhere nitrate comes from, what levels are considered safe, and the main ways to reduce it: water changes, live plants and denitrification.
- Ammonia Poisoning in AquariumsCauses and symptoms of ammonia poisoning, how pH and temperature change its toxicity, immediate response, and how to prevent it.
- Understanding and Managing pHWhat pH is, what drives it in an aquarium, how carbonate hardness buffers it, the danger of a pH crash, and how to adjust pH safely.
- Water Hardness: GH and KHThe difference between general hardness (GH) and carbonate hardness (KH), how they affect fish and plants, units, and how to raise or lower
- Key Aquarium Water ParametersAn overview of the core water parameters to monitor: temperature, pH, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, GH and KH, with target ranges and testing.
- Aquarium Water ChangesWhy partial water changes matter, how much and how often to change, dechlorination, temperature matching, and gravel vacuuming.
- Fishless CyclingA method to establish the biofilter by dosing ammonia instead of using fish, with testing milestones and ways to speed it up by seeding medi
- The Aquarium Nitrogen CycleHow beneficial bacteria convert toxic ammonia to nitrite and then nitrate, and why establishing this cycle matters before stocking fish.