Discus Fish

by: Gendo Ikari

Photo by caz.kovacs

The Discus fish is a South American Cichlid that belong to the genus Symphysodon, which currently includes three species: The common Discus fish (Symphysodon aequifasciatus), the Heckel Discus fish (Symphysodon discus) and a new species of Discus fish which has been named Symphysodon tarzoo. The Discus fish was first introduced in the 1920’s and is now regarded as one of the most beautiful of all aquarium fish. While they are colorful and attractive, they are quite difficult to care for; nevertheless, their popularity continues to rise. 

The Single Most Important Aspect in Keeping a Discus Fish Alive: Water

by: Jordan Wilson

Photo by Foto Martien

Aside from the fact that the discus fish can cost quite some penny, amateur aquarists should be wary about keeping it because they can be quite difficult to maintain. 

It's not that you have to look after them all the time, but they really need daily care to keep them healthy and happy, and this is not a task for those who do not simply have the time, money, nor patience to do so. 

Types of Freshwater Aquarium Shrimp

By Brian Huat Wong


There are many types of freshwater aquarium shrimp. Some are well suited to life in captivity in a shrimp aquarium and some are not as they will die out once held in captivity. For the most part, though, it is fairly hardy and do well with minimal care. We will look at several different shrimp in this article.

Photo by untamedfox

Firstly, the Red Cherry Shrimp. As you might suspect, the name comes from it red coloring. However, the red color in the shrimp is not widespread when you first get them until they get comfortable in their new surroundings. The female of this species is a darker red than the male. Both male and female can withstand water temperatures that vary.

Photo by AuRoRiN & MoOoK

The Bee Shrimp. The Bee Shrimp is so named because of the stripes along the outer shell that resemble the stripes on a bee. This shrimp eats either fish food or algae. If you want to breed shrimp, the Bee Shrimp is an easy one to breed but it will not thrive in water temperatures that gets too warm.

Photo by rmhprintz

Third on the list is the Tiger Shrimp which has jagged stripes like a tiger. It will also eat fish food or algae. For breeders, know that this shrimp will cross breed so if you want to keep your shrimp pure to their original coloring and species, then do not put them together in the same tank.

The Green Shrimp cannot tolerate water that's too hard. It belongs to the Indian Dwarf family of shrimp and when upset or unhealthy, it green color won't be the same. That's usually a sign that something is either disturbing the shrimp or it needs to be investigated for disease.

Photo by Noon F.F.

An interesting shrimp for most hobbyists is the Snowball Shrimp. Many assume because the shrimp has a pale color that is where the name came from. But it is called Snowball because the eggs look like snowballs. You can see the eggs through it body. It is sturdy and breeds easily.

The Malaya Shrimp is a rare shrimp that can thrive in ordinary tap water that is been treated for the chlorine that is dangerous to shrimp. Unlike some in the species, it will not interbreed. The unique Ninja Shrimp is a color changing mainly found in Japan. It has a high tolerance for a variety of water temperatures.

One of the rarest shrimps is nicknamed the Vampire Shrimp. The scientific name for this shrimp is Atya Gabonensis. It is a large shrimp given the nickname because the front legs resemble fangs.

The Yellow Nose Shrimp is a transparent shrimp with a long nose that can appear orange under some lighting. Before you set up your shrimp aquarium, make sure you study exactly what kind of water temperature and food your species will need to thrive.


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Brian Wong is a freshwater fish enthusiast, and enjoys helping others get started in this amazing hobby. His newest book, "The Ultimate Guides To Freshwater Aquariums" teaches aquarists everything they need to know about starting and maintaining a thriving freshwater aquarium. For more great information on shrimp aquarium, visit http://www.freshwateraquariumguides.com


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Brian_Huat_Wong

Keeping Betta Fish in Your Freshwater Tank

By Nancy Pelsky

Photo by amberlschmidt 

Aquarium keeping is fast gaining its popularity among other forms of hobbies and more people are becoming interested in keeping a reef tank at home. Especially for beginning hobbyists, it is easy to find the aquatic world fascinating and to experience the joys and rewards that goes with it. No matter how fun it is, it could be very discouraging when you find some of your aquarium inhabitants had died. Naturally, when you do not have the experience in keeping fishes and maintaining water conditions, you would probably be experiencing the same problems more often. Such could quite be disheartening and might make one think about ending his aquatic venture.

Setting up a New Freshwater Shrimp Aquarium

By Ryan Wood

Photo by untamedfox

Setting up a new shrimp tank can be very easy as long as you do it properly the first time. You don't want to rush into things! Haste makes waste when it comes to mimicking nature, so please don't attempt rush nature.

Aquarium 101

Photo by Foto Martien

So you've decided to set-up your first aquarium and begin your long worth-while journey into the world freshwater aquariums. But you are worried about what could go wrong in the process.  Don't be!

Planted Aquarium have compiled a number of informative articles just for you to help you quickly jump-start your first aquarium and start enjoying it as soon as possible. After reading all of these articles you should feel like a pro who's been at it for years!

If you have questions along the way, don't hesitate to ask them in the comments section. I'd be happy to answer them.

Last but not the least, enjoy your experience with freshwater aquariums! It's a hobby after all. :)


Aquarium 101 Series

The following are the informative articles we've been talking about. It is listed from the beginning of choosing your aquarium up to maintaining it and it's occupants.


Choosing a Fish Tank

Is Acrylic or Glass The Best Aquarium

Setting Up Aquariums: Where Do I Start?

Aquarium Decorations Creating Homes for Fishes

Aquairum Plants and Lighting Mini-guide

Type Of Fish To Stock In Tropical Freshwater Fish Tank Aquariums

Tropical Fish And It's Aquarium Maintenance

Welcome to Planted Aquarium!

Photo by Chikit Yeung 

Welcome to Planted Aquarium: One-stop Destination for Aquarium Lovers! This blog is dedicated to collecting, archiving, and sharing the most informative articles related to freshwater aquariums on the net. Our goal is to be the one-stop site for all the enthusiastic aquarists out there in search for information on creating, maintaining, and enjoying your aquarium. Whether it be about fish, shrimps, and even oddballs, we have it all.

Type Of Fish To Stock In Tropical Freshwater Fish Tank Aquariums

by: Jill Kaestner

To make your aquarium a stunning swirl of activity and color, you will want to add a variety of tropical freshwater fish. All fish have different colors, patterns, fin designs, sizes, shapes, temperaments and ideal living conditions. For the welfare of fish and therefore the success of tank aquariums, it is vital that you research the fish you would like, to know which ones can live together in health and harmony. For example, you cannot match (i.e. without stressing or harming your fish) peaceful and aggressive fish, ones that like cooler water and ones that need higher temperatures etc. Common sense stuff!

10 Tips For A Successful Betta Splendens Reproduction

by: Laurentiu Craciunas

Betta splendens (Siamese Fighting Fish) is one of the most wanted fish in everyone's aquarium. Breeding Bettas is not hard, though you might face problems at spawning them. They are oviparous fish, the male builds a nest in which the eggs/fry are kept for few days under the strict care of the Betta male. If you follow the next advices, you have big chances to get nice results of your Betta fish spawning.

Setting Up Aquariums: Where Do I Start?

by: Joe Haworth

Aquarium equipment

To set up fish tank aquariums you will need this equipment: filter, lighting, heater, gravel, plants and decor. You will also want replacement filter media and aquarium test kits to examine water parameters and monitor the nitrogen cycle. I enthusiastically advise buying entire system fish tank aquariums which come with all the necessary aquarium equipment. This means you are not confused as to what precisely you need for setting up your fish tank or bewildered by the range of numerous types of equipment for sale. Purchasing tank aquariums with all you want gives you peace of mind and relieves a lot of pressure!

Breeding Tetra Fish Successfully

by: Linda Paquette

If you are keeping tetras, chances are you are breeding tetras, even if unknowingly. In the wild, tetras normally breed during the rainy season, but in the aquarium, they may breed year round. Female tetras are egg-scatters that typically fill with eggs every ten to fourteen days.

The female tetra indiscriminately sprays her eggs into clumps of fine-leaved plants. The eggs are adhesive and stick to the plants. However, tetras as well as other tank mates often find tetra eggs and small fry an irresistible delicacy.

Apistogramma , Dwarf Cichlids In The Aquarium

by: Auke Veenstra

The real apistogramma's come from southern America, they all have the same characteristics, like a complex breeding behavior, as their large relatives, only their size is different. Besides the apistogramma group there are also some relatively popular dwarf cichlids from Africa, like the Pelvicachromis group. From this group the most widespread cichlid is the Pelvicachromis pulcher, also known as the Kribensis or Purple cichlid.

Tropical Fish And Its Aquarium Maintenance

by: Low Jeremy

Tropical fish includes fish around the world living in tropical environments including salt water and fresh water species. They are popular fish in aquariums because of their bright colors. Tropical also refers to tropical climate wherein the climate is warm or moist all throughout the year integrated by abundant vegetation.

Aquarium is an enclosed clear-sided container made of high strength plastic or constructed glass for keeping or raising animals and plants for research and observation. The ecosystem of the species is copied on smaller scale controlling environmental factors.

Aquarium Plants And Lighting Mini-guide

by: Nathan Miller

Aquarium plants are as important to aquariums as water is to fish. Aquarium plants add more life to aquarium and make it to look beautiful while completing the aquarium community structure.

The most important thing to bear in mind with plants is to form an attractive background, leaving ample space so the fish can swim undisturbed and be seen. The tall, grassy type is best planted at intervals in rows, while the feathery ones look better when they are bunched into small clumps, which makes them to appear like branching bushes.

Aquarium Decorations Creating Homes for Fishes

by: Rajesh Rastogi

 Aquarium decorations are not only beautiful to look at they also have an important purpose. They provide fishes with homes---- hiding places and natural borders resembling their natural habitat. There are many different types of decorations, for instance Cave dwelling fishes love aquarium decorations that structure like caves, holes and crevices. Whereas Fishes that live in dense vegetation prefer plants and other types of tiny hiding places. Decorations are crucial for a happy and healthy aquarium they also keep fishes from getting bored.

Breeding Discus – 3 Ways to Encourage Spawning

by: Rob Clarke

So you have a mature pair of discus fish that have shown an interest in each other but there not laying any eggs.

The most important factor in discus breeding in the water quality, make sure it is soft, acidic and clean. If you have this water, your most likely stressing over why there isn’t hundreds of eggs in the tank. If you have discus ready to lay eggs there are a few ways in which you can give them a helping hand.

Choosing A Fish Tank

by: Daci Georgieva

People think that if you choose to have a fish tank it is a simple decision, but it can become, instead of a pleasurable hobby but, a big disappointment. So consider several things to before you decide to buy it:

Location. To decide where to locate I you should consider not only its size but also its shape. Usually tanks have every gallon of water 8 pounds weight plus the weight of the tank itself. Rocks ornaments, filters, stands, hoods and gravel add the additional 4 pounds per gallon. A 50 gallon tank can weigh over 500 pounds and it can be positioned to a small floor area of your home. There could be an unexpected problem if your corners have been cut with the floor joists by the builder so first you should inspect the floor before choosing where to place it otherwise your tank would shake every time someone walks by,.Even you can find it find it downstairs which is the worst of all. Room temperature is also very important because heat can cause a lot of problems while excessive cold means additional expense in order to maintain a suitable temperature. Direct sunlight is also undesirable as it may cause an algae growth.

Tips on Rearing of Flowerhorn Fish

 by: Goerge Kepner

The Flowerhorn is a very hardy fish and it is relative easy to rear. However, there are also certain measures and techniques to adopt in order the very best quality out of your fish. No fish can survive in captivation without some control with the environment to the owner's part.

Choosing flowerhorn fish will be lively, and don't easy for being caught. No external injuries on the outer fish body. It have to be healthy no sign of diseases found.

The Location of this aquarium really should be placed in a quiet location and avoid direct sunlight or high traffic area. It is best to start using a bigger aquarium of 3-4 feet and above for every adult flowerhorn.

Picking The Right Aquarium Type

by: Nathan Miller

Aquariums have evolved into a very popular hobby, with about millions of aquarium and tropical fish enthusiasts worldwide.

Starting in the 1850s (when the predecessor of the modern aquarium were first being developed as a novel curiosity) the ranks of aquarium keeping has grown as more sophisticated systems including lighting and filtration systems were developed to keep aquarium fish healthy.

Neon Tetra Facts

by: Joe Haworth

Neon tetras or Paracheirodon innesi are members of the family Characidae. Characidae are commonly referred to as Characins. Neons are natives to southeastern Columbia, eastern Peru, and western Brazil, including the tributaries of Solimoes. They can be found in black water or clear water streams

Neons are an all time favorite among freshwater aquarium owners. In any given mouth approximately 1.8 million neon tetras are exported to the US alone. Their petite size most certainly contributes to their popularity. They rarely exceed an inch and a quarter in length. You can keep an entire school of them in an aquarium no bigger than 5 gallons. They are the perfect choice for desktop nano tanks.

Is Acrylic or Glass The Best Aquarium

by: Jim F. Johnson

An aquarium in your home can really make a space come alive. It's no wonder that millions of people are tapping into this hobby. Most hobbyists will start with a fishbowl or a small tank. Invariably, however, they will enjoy it so much that they will soon opt for a bigger size.

When purchasing an aquarium, one issue that often comes up is should I get a glass aquarium or an acrylic aquarium. While arguments can be made for each, when purchasing a large aquarium, acrylic is usually the best choice. 

How To Grow Daphnia For The Aquarium

by: Alden Smith

The benefits of feeding live food to fish in a community tank are many: live food will improve vigor and color, and more closely resemble the food found in the fish's natural habitat. Live food is easily obtained.

Some drawbacks include the transmission of diseases or parasites to the aquarium, it is time consuming to maintain the cultures, and a lot of space needs to be devoted to raising live foods. The cost of equipment and supplies needed to maintain cultures is also a consideration for the beginner.