Charlie Morton 
If you’ve been in the aquarium hobby for a while, you’ll probably have heard of UV sterilizers. By passing water through UV light, the sterilizer reduces the number of algae and bacteria suspended in the water column. But while many people claim that UV sterilizers are useful for clearing up cloudy or green water, there … Read more
Knowing how to achieve the right water pH for a particular community of fish is a skill that separates fishkeeping pros from the rest. But what if your water pH is inconsistent and keeps fluctuating? Because unstable water pH can be dangerous to fish health and tank ecology, it’s important to know how to correct … Read more
When it comes to aquarium equipment, almost everyone knows that a reliable filter and lighting are essential, as is an aquarium heater for tropical fish tanks. But other aquarium accessories can be incredibly useful, too! Here we’ll look at some of the most underrated bits of aquarium gear, and explain why you may wish you’d … Read more
Sometimes, you’ll buy a stunning new fish only to find that it hides or sulks for days or even weeks. What is this behavior about, and how should we encourage them to reveal their full glory? Here we’ll explore the main reasons that your fish may be hiding after being introduced to a new tank, … Read more
When it comes to aquarium design, it’s easy for things to get over-complicated. Elaborate planting and fancy layouts might look impressive, but they also take considerable time, effort, and money to establish and maintain. Thankfully, a beautiful and effective aquarium design doesn’t have to be complicated. With a strong vision for what you want to … Read more
Purchasing an aquarium setup can be a daunting task. First, you need to choose the right tank, then the right substrate, lighting, heater, and filter before you can even consider plants, invertebrates, and fish! If all of this seems like a bit of a headache, you may be happy to hear about all-in-one aquarium kits! … Read more
Humans have taken some big steps in recent years to acknowledge our detrimental effect on world climate and ecology. Thankfully, many of us are now trying to reduce our ecological impact, but how does this affect fishkeeping? Keeping an aquarium can indeed leave a significant footprint on the planet’s ecology, yet there are several practices … Read more
Have you ever gazed into a thriving community tank and wondered how every fish, plant, and critter appears so healthy and glowing with vitality? The answer often comes down to a few simple habits that separate pro fishkeepers from the rest. If you want to boast a vibrant community tank, in radiant health, we suggest … Read more
When it comes to good fish keeping, certain habits and routines make excellent fish keepers stand head and shoulders above the rest. While maintenance tasks may sometimes feel like a chore, the glowing health of your fish and plants will reward you many times over. By following each of the 10 steps listed below, you’ll … Read more
There’s so much to learn about routine aquarium maintenance that it can take a while to learn the ropes, and longer still to become a maintenance master at all times! In reality, most of us have made many routine maintenance errors, especially when we were starting out with our first fish tank. Occasionally, even experts … Read more
If you’ve ever had a good look at a Lionhead, Pearlscale, or Celestial Eye Goldfish and wondered if those extreme mutations might cause the fish to suffer, you’re not alone. More people than ever are beginning to question the ethics of keeping fancy goldfish, a pet that has been so severely inbred that they often … Read more
Mystery snails are one of the most popular aquarium snails in the world, and one of the reasons is that they’re fairly easy to keep. That said, even the most robust mollusks can suffer from health issues now and then. If your mystery snail is producing copious amounts of slime, it usually means that it’s … Read more
In some cases, swim bladder disease is a minor condition that will only last a few days, but in other cases, it can become a permanent ailment. Where chronic symptoms are mild, a fish may be able to continue living a long and relatively happy life, but in more severe cases, euthanasia may be the … Read more
Sometimes, important scientific discoveries remain hidden away in obscure journals for years before the findings receive wider recognition and application. This year (in February 2023) a scientific paper reviewing the stinging nettle’s potential as a food in aquaculture revealed that the ‘backyard weed’ can boost growth rate, reproduction rate, and immunity levels, as well as … Read more
If you have a reef tank, you’ll likely enjoy having a few snails in your tank as good company for your other invertebrates and as part of a cleanup crew. However, Vermetid snails are quite another matter. These snails are pests, and you must get rid of them immediately. But what’s so bad about Vermetid … Read more
