Quick answer: A standard 55 gallon fish tank measures 48 x 13 x 21 inches (122 x 33 x 53 cm), holds about 208 liters, and weighs around 75 to 80 pounds empty and roughly 600 to 650 pounds once it’s filled with water, substrate and decor. That weight means it needs a proper aquarium stand on a level, solid floor. It’s a great size for a big community tank, a group of angelfish, schooling Read more
Quick answer: Silver dollar fish are peaceful, disc-shaped South American schooling fish, related to pacu and piranhas but completely gentle. The common silver dollar (Metynnis argenteus) and the spotted silver dollar (Metynnis lippincottianus) grow to about 6 inches (15 cm), while the red hook silver dollar gets much bigger. They live around 10 years, need a group of at least 5, and do best at 75 to 82 F with pH 6.0 to 7.5. Adults Read more
Quick answer: A standard 5 gallon fish tank measures about 16 x 8 x 10 inches (41 x 20 x 25 cm), holds about 19 liters, and weighs roughly 55 to 62 pounds once it’s filled with water, gravel and decor. It’s the ideal size for one betta, a colony of cherry shrimp, a few snails, or a tiny group of nano fish like chili rasboras. What most people get wrong is treating a 5 Read more
Quick answer: Bladder snails (Physella acuta, also called Physa acuta) are tiny freshwater snails with a thin, see-through, teardrop-shaped shell that opens on the left side. They grow to about 0.4 to 0.6 inches (1 to 1.5 cm), live a few months to about a year, and lay small, clear jelly egg clutches on glass and plants. Each snail is both male and female and can even fertilize itself, so one hitchhiker on a new Read more
Quick answer: Planaria are small free-living flatworms, usually 2 to 15 mm long, with a triangle-shaped head and two dark eyespots that make them look cross-eyed. They glide smoothly over the glass and substrate, and they’re white, gray or brown. In a fish-only tank they’re mostly a harmless nuisance, but in a shrimp tank they’re a real problem, because they eat baby shrimp, shrimp eggs, snail eggs and fish eggs, and can attack molting shrimp. Read more
Quick answer: Cherry shrimp (Neocaridina davidi, also called red cherry shrimp or RCS) are small, hardy freshwater shrimp that grow to about 1 to 1.5 inches (2.5 to 4 cm) and live 1 to 2 years. They do best in a cycled, planted tank of 5 gallons or more, at 68 to 78 F with pH 6.5 to 8.0, GH 4 to 10 and KH 1 to 8. They eat biofilm, soft algae and leftovers, Read more
Quick answer: Malaysian trumpet snails (Melanoides tuberculata, also called red-rimmed melania or MTS) are small, cone-shaped freshwater snails that grow to about 1 inch (2.5 cm) in aquariums and live roughly 1 to 2 years. They spend the day buried in the substrate, eat leftover food, detritus and algae, and keep sand from compacting. They’re harmless to fish, shrimp and healthy plants. Most Malaysian trumpet snails reproduce without a mate and give birth to live Read more
Quick answer: Cherry barbs (Rohanella titteya, formerly Puntius titteya) are small, peaceful barbs from Sri Lanka that grow to about 2 inches (5 cm) and live 4 to 6 years. Keep a group of at least 6 in a planted tank of 20 gallons or more, at 73 to 81 F with pH 6.0 to 7.5. Males turn deep cherry red, while females are tan with a dark side stripe. They’re hardy, easy to feed Read more
Quick answer: A standard 10 gallon fish tank measures 20 x 10 x 12 inches (51 x 25 x 30 cm), holds about 38 liters, weighs around 11 pounds empty and roughly 100 to 115 pounds once it’s filled with water, gravel and decor. It’s a good size for one betta, a small school of 6 to 8 nano fish like galaxy rasboras or ember tetras, a group of pygmy corydoras, or a shrimp colony. Read more
Quick answer: Assassin snails (Anentome helena, often sold as Clea helena) are small, striped freshwater snails that hunt and eat other snails. They grow to about 0.75 to 1 inch (2 to 2.5 cm), live 2 to 3 years, and do best at 72 to 82 F with pH 7 to 8 and hard water. They’re a natural way to control pest snails like ramshorn, bladder and Malaysian trumpet snails, and they breed slowly, so Read more