Planted tank troubleshooting and honest aquarium advice

Quick answer: The panda cory (Corydoras panda) is one of the most popular and adorable bottom-dwelling catfish, named for the black, panda-like patches over its eyes, on its dorsal fin, and at the base of its tail. It is small, peaceful, and social, and easy to keep in a group. Two things catch people out, though. Pandas like cooler water than most tropical fish, around the low 70s F, and they need fine sand rather Read more

Quick answer: Vampire crabs (Geosesarma) are small, stunning semi-terrestrial crabs, usually deep purple with cream spots and pale, glowing eyes, and they make fascinating pets. The single most important thing to know before you buy one: they are not aquarium fish and must not be kept in a water-filled tank. They are land animals that need a mostly-land paludarium, roughly 80 percent land to 20 percent shallow water, along with high humidity, a tight lid, Read more

Quick answer: The galaxy rasbora (Danio margaritatus), better known as the celestial pearl danio or CPD, is one of the most beautiful nano fish in the hobby. It has a dark blue-green body scattered with pearly “galaxy” spots and bright red-orange fins, it stays under an inch long, and it is peaceful and hardy once settled. Two things surprise new keepers. Despite the name, it is not a rasbora at all, it is a danio, Read more

Quick answer: The pygmy corydoras (Corydoras pygmaeus) is the tiniest, most charming cory catfish you can keep. At about an inch long it is peaceful, active, and perfect for nano tanks, and unlike most cories it spends a lot of its time hovering in midwater like a little underwater hummingbird instead of just sitting on the bottom. Keep a group of at least 8 to 10, give them fine sand rather than sharp gravel, which Read more

Quick answer: The honey gourami (Trichogaster chuna) is one of the best beginner centerpiece fish you can buy. It is small, peaceful, hardy, and a soft golden color, a single one is happy in a 10 gallon, it eats almost anything, and it gets along with most calm community fish. The one thing to sort out before you buy is the name game. Honey gouramis are constantly confused with dwarf gouramis and with thick-lipped gouramis Read more

Quick answer: The best algae eater fish for most freshwater tanks are the otocinclus, the bristlenose pleco, and the true Siamese algae eater. For small tanks, shrimp and snails like Amano shrimp and nerite snails often do the job better than any fish. No algae eater keeps a tank clean on its own, though. Each one eats only certain kinds of algae, none of them fixes the cause, and two popular “cleaner” fish, the Chinese Read more

Quick answer: If your nerite snail is still stuck firmly to the glass, a leaf, or a piece of wood, that is a good sign, and it is most likely just resting. Nerites can sit in one spot for two to three days, sometimes a whole week, and that is normal. If the snail has fallen off, is lying loose on its side in the substrate, and gives off a strong rotten smell, it has Read more