If you’re thinking about getting into fish keeping, then the 10-gallon aquarium is the perfect size to dip your toes into the hobby. Not only is it large enough to allow you to keep a wide variety of fish, but it’s still small enough that any maintenance is quick and easy. But that doesn’t mean that 10-gallon aquariums are only for novices, as many experienced hobbyists use these tanks to create stunning aquascapes with carefully cultivated plants and schools of colorful fish. Listed below are some of the best fish you can choose for a 10-gallon aquarium. Some have stunning colorations, while ..read more

If you’ve ever wanted to take the plunge and get into the aquarium hobby, it can feel overwhelming at first. When you first walk into a pet store, you’re confronted with a wall of tanks containing brightly colored fish and invertebrates. And while some will survive in almost any conditions, others seem to drop dead if you look at them wrong. So, what fish should a beginner get for their aquarium? The good news is that there are plenty of fish that are easy to take care of—even if you make a few mistakes along the way. All the fish on this list are perfect if you’re new to the hobby, and as a b ..read more

The glass catfish (Kryptopterus vitreolus), also known as the ghost catfish, or the phantom catfish, is a unique species of small catfish native to Asia. As the name implies, these catfish have a body that is transparent, with their skeletons and internal organs clearly visible. The only time their body will become translucent – turning a milky white color – is during serious illness or when near to death. The Kryptopterus vitreolus available in the aquarium trade were long thought to be Kryptopterus bicirrhis, but were then later classified as Kryptopterus minor, before finally being identif ..read more

When my daughter brought home two goldfish from a local fair a few years ago, I had absolutely no idea what to do with our new pets. I had never kept fish before, and I didn’t know much about goldfish other than they seemed to love living in bowls. So off to the local pet store I went, where on the advice of an employee, I purchased a 0.5-gallon (1.8 liter) plastic aquarium, a bottle of goldfish food, and a cute little net. Needless to say, things didn’t go too well. One of the goldfish died before the end of the week, leaving my young daughter devastated. Even worse, the other goldfish didn ..read more

There are few things more frustrating to a fishkeeper than dealing with algae. Even if you follow all the rules – no natural light, don’t overfeed your fish, and don’t overstock your aquarium – you’ll still often find yourself fighting algae blooms. And no one enjoys spending hours laboriously scraping algae off of aquarium glass and decorations. But the good news is that you don’t have to handle the algae by yourself. There are several fish and invertebrates that you can enlist as a cleaning squad to keep your aquarium clean and free of algae. Bristlenose Pleco If you want the best algae ea ..read more

The rainbow shark (Epalzeorhynchos frenatum) is a small freshwater fish native to Southeast Asia. But despite its name, it’s not actually a shark and belongs to the Actinopterygii family (ray-finned fishes). While these fish are popular in the aquarium hobby, they are not suited for a beginner and should only be kept by an experienced fishkeeper. While these fish are often advertised as ‘algae eaters’, the amount of algae they consume is far less than plecos or other commonly available algae eaters (Read The 3 Best Algae Eaters for Your Aquarium here). Most fishkeepers who purchase these fish ..read more

The upside-down catfish (Synodontis nigriventris) is a small catfish with the unique habit of swimming and resting upside-down. These fish spend upwards of 90% of their time in the inverted position and have a reverse colour scheme to most fish – with their belly being darker than the dorsal area. This is to help them camouflage from predators as their belly is exposed to the surface of the water when they hunt insects. And while many people purchase upside-down catfish for their strange swimming habits, their small size and peaceful nature also make them an ideal choice for community aquariu ..read more

If you’ve ever seen a picture online of an immaculate aquarium, you’ve probably wondered how someone can possibly keep their fish tank so spotless. But there is no secret to keeping an aquarium sparkling clean, and if you follow the steps in this article, your aquarium should start to improve almost immediately. And don’t feel discouraged if your aquarium is already overflowing with grime and algae. I’ll admit when I started out, my first tank was a disaster. The glass was constantly smudged, hard water was crusted around the filter, and instead of live plants, I had fields of lush algae coat ..read more

The Kenyi Cichlid (Maylandia lombardoi) is a popular fish in the aquarium trade, where it’s often found under a variety of names, including kenyi mbuna, kennyi mbuna, and lombardoi mbuna. It’s also sometimes classified under the genus Metriaclima, due to an ongoing dispute over the naming. This species is highly sexually dimorphic, and the mature males take on a bright yellow color, while the females are a light blue and have dark vertical bands. When mouthbrooding its young, a female will take on the yellow coloration of the dominant male in the aquarium. These fish are not recommended for a ..read more

If you’re like many aquarists out there, the thought of having a perfectly aquascaped tank with a brightly colored school of fish bores you to tears. You want something different. You want a unique aquarium, filled with oddball fish that people can’t help but notice the moment they enter a room. Luckily, the aquarium trade has no shortage of strange freshwater fish, with many looking almost like they’ve been plucked from an alien world or the deepest depths of the ocean. There are fish with no eyes, fish with transparent bodies, and catfish that spend their lives swimming upside down. Listed b ..read more