Planted Tank Care and Aquarium Problem Fixes

Black beard algae tufts growing on an anubias leaf and driftwood in a planted aquarium

Black Beard Algae: What Causes BBA and How to Get Rid of It

Quick answer: Black beard algae (BBA) is a red algae that grows as dark, bristly tufts on leaf edges, driftwood, rocks and filter outlets. To get rid of it, cut off the worst leaves, spot treat the rest with liquid carbon or 3% hydrogen peroxide using a syringe, and then fix the real cause, which is usually CO2 that rises and falls through the day, weak or uneven flow, and old, slow-growing leaves with organic … Read more about Black Beard Algae: What Causes BBA and How to Get Rid of It

By Anum Saeed, ago
Bristlenose pleco with bristles on its snout resting on driftwood in a planted aquarium

Bristlenose Pleco Care: Size, Tank, Diet, Sexing and Breeding

Quick answer: Bristlenose pleco care is easy once you get the diet right. These small South American catfish grow to about 4 to 5 inches (10 to 13 cm), live 10 years or more, and do well in a 20 gallon or larger tank at 72 to 80 F (22 to 27 C) with a pH of about 6.5 to 7.8. Give them a cave, a piece of driftwood and clean, well filtered water. The … Read more about Bristlenose Pleco Care: Size, Tank, Diet, Sexing and Breeding

By Anum Saeed, ago
Bristlenose pleco on driftwood next to an albino bristlenose pleco in a planted aquarium

Pleco Fish: Types, Adult Size, and Which Pleco Fits Your Tank

Quick answer: “Pleco fish” is the common name for the armored suckermouth catfish (family Loricariidae) sold as algae eaters, and the most important thing to know is that they are not one fish. Some, like the bristlenose pleco, stay around 3 to 5 inches and fit a 20 to 30 gallon tank. Others, like the common pleco and sailfin pleco, are sold at 2 inches but grow to 12 to 17 inches or more and … Read more about Pleco Fish: Types, Adult Size, and Which Pleco Fits Your Tank

By Anum Saeed, ago
Planted freshwater fish tank setup with driftwood and live plants on a wooden stand

Fish Tank Setup: How to Set Up a Fish Tank Step by Step (Beginner Guide)

Quick answer: A basic fish tank setup takes one afternoon: put the tank on a level stand, rinse everything with plain water, add substrate, decor and plants, install the filter and heater, fill it with dechlorinated water, and switch everything on. The part most beginners get wrong is what comes next. A new tank isn’t ready for fish until it has cycled, which means growing the bacteria that break down fish waste, and that usually … Read more about Fish Tank Setup: How to Set Up a Fish Tank Step by Step (Beginner Guide)

By Anum Saeed, ago
Anubias plant growing on driftwood in a planted aquarium, showing its broad green leaves and healthy growth.

Anubias Care: How to Plant It, Keep It Algae-Free, and Not Kill It

Quick answer: Anubias is one of the toughest, most beginner-friendly aquarium plants there is, so hardy it is named after the Egyptian god of the dead and often called almost impossible to kill. But there is exactly one way people do kill it: burying the rhizome. Anubias grows from a thick horizontal stem called a rhizome, and if you bury that rhizome in the substrate, it rots and the plant dies. So you attach anubias … Read more about Anubias Care: How to Plant It, Keep It Algae-Free, and Not Kill It

By Anum Saeed, ago
Green flame moss growing upward in vertical spires on rock and driftwood in a planted aquarium

Flame Moss: How to Grow the Vertical Flame Look and Keep It

Flame moss (Taxiphyllum sp. “Flame”) is the aquarium moss that grows straight up. Instead of sprawling sideways like java moss, it twists upward in tight, flickering spires that look like small green flames rising off rocks and driftwood. It is easy, low-tech and needs no CO2, which makes it one of the best ways to add height and movement to a nano tank, shrimp tank or aquascape. The catch is that the flame shape is … Read more about Flame Moss: How to Grow the Vertical Flame Look and Keep It

By Anum Saeed, ago
Bushy green hornwort with feathery needle whorls growing and floating in a planted aquarium

Hornwort in the Aquarium: Care, Planting, and Why It Sheds

Quick answer: Hornwort (Ceratophyllum demersum) is one of the toughest, fastest-growing, and most useful plants you can add to a tank. It has no roots, so you either float it or loosely anchor it, and it thrives in almost any conditions, from tropical tanks to unheated coldwater setups and ponds. It soaks up excess nutrients, fights algae, oxygenates the water, and gives fry and shrimp a place to hide. The one thing to expect: hornwort … Read more about Hornwort in the Aquarium: Care, Planting, and Why It Sheds

By Anum Saeed, ago
Two pink kissing gouramis lip to lip in a planted aquarium, showing their signature kissing behavior

Kissing Gourami Care: Size, Aggression, and What the “Kissing” Really Means

Quick answer: The kissing gourami (Helostoma temminckii) is a large, hardy, distinctive fish famous for the lip-locking behavior that gives it its name. Here is the first thing to know: that kissing is not affection. It is a display of dominance and aggression, usually between males squaring off over territory. The second thing: these fish grow to 8 to 12 inches, so they are not the cute little community fish they look like in the … Read more about Kissing Gourami Care: Size, Aggression, and What the “Kissing” Really Means

By Anum Saeed, ago
Turquoise-green green terror cichlid with orange-edged fins and a forehead hump over sand and rocks in an aquarium

Green Terror Cichlid Care: Size, Aggression, Tank Mates, and the ID Confusion

Quick answer: The green terror cichlid (Andinoacara rivulatus) is a stunning, big-personality South American cichlid, iridescent green and blue with orange-edged fins and a domed forehead on mature males. It is also, as the name warns, aggressive and territorial, and it grows to 8 to 12 inches, so it is not a beginner or community fish. It needs an experienced keeper, a large tank of at least 75 gallons, sand and rock decor it will … Read more about Green Terror Cichlid Care: Size, Aggression, Tank Mates, and the ID Confusion

By Anum Saeed, ago
Nitrogen cycle diagram showing fish waste turning to ammonia, then nitrite, then nitrate, with water changes at the end

How to Cycle a Fish Tank: The Complete Beginner’s Guide

Quick answer: Cycling a fish tank means growing the beneficial bacteria that turn toxic fish waste into something harmless, and you do it before adding any fish. The best and kindest way is a fishless cycle: set up the tank, add a source of ammonia (bottled ammonia or a pinch of fish food), and wait while the bacteria grow to process it. Your tank is cycled when ammonia and nitrite both read zero within 24 … Read more about How to Cycle a Fish Tank: The Complete Beginner’s Guide

By Anum Saeed, ago