Live Plants Or Fake Plants -- Which Is Best in Your Tropical Aquarium?

When setting up an aquarium one of many considerations is "do I use fake plants or real ones?" The corollary of course is "Which one is better?" They both have "good" points and "bad" points.
Fake plants are either plastic or fabric ("silk"). Some have weighted bases, and can be either realistic or fantastic in appearance.

Pros:

• You can have an ocean type plant in a freshwater aquarium.
• You don't need a plant friendly light or plant food.
• You give your fish places to hide in and swim around, thus creating a more natural and less stressful setting.
• You can pick some really wild colors in plastic plants including: pearl white, pink, gold, blue, purple or black. They also come in green :-)
• You can have "silk" plants which have more natural colors and a wide variety of leaf shapes. As they are softer, they will move more naturally in any current you create with a bubbler or powerhead.
• You can coordinate the plant colors with your home decor.

Cons:

• Since they don't die off, you can get bored with your decor.
• If you do not have an algae eater fish, they need manual cleaning -- use an old toothbrush, and rinse it in water.
• Even with an algae eater fish, they may need manual cleaning.
• Often more expensive than live plants.
• You can only use aquarium safe plants from a pet store. Never buy fake plants from a craft store and put it in water. The dyes may be toxic to your fish.
  

Real plants, like outdoor garden plants, can be grown from bulbs. Some have runners or bare roots, some self-propagate. Some species will flower!

Pros:

• You can create an amazing natural habitat.
• If you love to garden, this is a great way to do so, especially in the winter months. :-)
• Your fish can nibble on the plants, augmenting their diet.
• Live plants provide oxygen.
• Live plants use up some of the fish waste as their food.
• Live plants inhibit algae growth, by using up that part of the ecosystem the algae would use.
• Live plants turn an incomplete ecosystem into a more complete one.
• Live plants reproduce more leaves, grow taller, less boring.
• You give your fish places to hide in and swim around, thus creating a more natural and less stressful setting.
• Live plants are various luxurious shades of green, including variegated greens, purple, and reds.

Cons:

• You must have plant friendly lighting (replace the bulb(s) every 6 months!), planting media, and aquatic plant food.
• You have to prune the dead or damaged leaves.
• Your fish will eat your plants, so you will have to buy new ones from time to time.
• You have to plan out a planted aquarium as carefully as you would a garden.
• For example: if you use fluorite (a great growing medium) you must rinse very thoroughly, and put a 3 inch layer of gravel on top to keep the fluorite from floating around.
• Or you can use fine aquarium sand to root your plants into, avoid gravel vacuuming (most of the time), and still need weekly plant feedings.

For those who want their aquariums to be part of their overall home decor and design, try:

The Inspired Aquarium: Ideas and Instruction for Living with Aquariums

Here are a few other good books to get you started in planning your aquarium. Several of them cover using both fake and real plants in an aquarium habitat:

Setting up a Tropical Aquarium Week by Week

Encyclopedia of Aquarium Plants

Creating a Natural Aquarium (Onterpet Handbooks)

The Simple Guide To Planted Aquariums

Aquarium Plants (Mini Encyclopedia Series for Aquarium Hobbyists)

A Few Pet Store Phrases Translated :-)

• Tropical: they need a heater and water temperature of about 76 to 80 Degrees F. So you must buy a heater with the correct wattage for your aquarium and a thermometer.
• Livebearer: if you buy one male, your need at least two females and they will have babies!
• Community: you must have a school or shoal (i.e. at least 3 or more of the same type or species) to ease fish stress and increase survival chances. Yes, the occasional neon tetra can live alone, but this is the exception, not the rule. Neons do best (and are nicest to watch) in a group of at least six to eight.
• Aggressive: they need a lot of living space. They are territorial, will often feed in a frenzy and will sometimes fight other fish. It also means they grow larger (anywhere from 6 inches to 3 feet!) However, almost any type of fish can exhibit aggressive behavior. Even a red minor tetra. For those fish that grow to at least 6 inches assume you need at least 2 gallons of water for every one inch of adult fish -- so find out how big they get before you buy!
• Requires Aquarium Salt: see my blog entry "Why Aquarium Salt?"
• Algae Eater: there are many species. Some grow to be 2 inches, others 2 feet! For which type to get for your aquarium see my blog Lights! Water! Algae!
• Bottom Feeder: is often confused with an algae eater. These are usually catfish that eat food which falls to the bottom of an aquarium. Except to be really healthy they require food of their own such as sinking shrimp pellets.
  

Why Aquarium Salt?

No, you are not turning your tropical aquarium into a marine habitat. Aquarium salt is sea salt -- not table salt (iodides are toxic to freshwater fish). Hardware stores call it Solar Salt and sell it in 50 lb. sacks. Most pet stores carry it, in much smaller quantities. :-)

Aquarium salt is a water conditioner (one of many!) that reduces outbreaks of Ick (a parasite), helps prevent bacterial and fungal infections, enables a fish's gills to work better and puts back some of the natural electrolytes our water treatment plants remove. When my Black Ghost Knifefish became ill and was losing his slime coat, the first thing I did after gravel vacuuming was to add salt.

The usual dose is 1 tablespoon (15ml) of this salt for every five gallons. Assuming I perform a water change by gravel vacuuming my aquariums every week, I probably add more salt once every two months.

Oscars Redux or Oscar! Oscar! Updated

I finally released my baby one-eyed albino Oscar into the main aquarium. He (she?) is dwarfed by the other inhabitants. He will probably have to be moved to another aquarium when larger.
Both the albino and the almost full grown Tiger Oscar are happily eating almost anything I give them. Like frozen krill, bloodworms and brine shrimp. Or cichlid pellets and shrimp pellets. Even algae wafers. The Tiger Oscar gets feeder fish as a treat, too. All the Tiger's wounds have healed nicely. So it's almost time to name them! :-)

I Want a Blue Fish, is There Such a Thing?

Yes, there is. In order of difficulty to keep alive:

The easiest to keep is a Betta fish. They come in various shades and mixtures of blue, red, purple, greenish, gold, yellow and even pink. Each one is unique. Almost every pet store carries them. Just have a 1/2 gallon bowl, water conditioner or dechlorinator, and feed 3-4 Betta pellets a day. See my previous post Betta Versus Goldfish.

For an aquarium of at least 20 gallons, there are Gouramis which can be blue, pale blue, gold and striped.

For South American cichlid fans, there is the new Electric Blue Dempsey, and the Turquoise Severum. Just get a 60+ gallon (or larger) aquarium with very good filtration.Or plan on one fish in a 30 gallon aquarium. A powerhead to create a current and add to the oxygenation is also very helpful. In my experience, allocating 2 gallons for every inch of full grown fish keeps the tank cleaner and the inhabitants less aggressive. By way of example: a 6 inch Severum needs 12 gallons all to himself. And a twelve gallon tank would be barely big enough for him to swim in. BTW, my Severum (a female, I think) not only has a brilliant turquoise coloring, red/gold bottom fins, and black strips and spots that appear or disappear depending on her mood.

For African Cichlid fans, there are a wide variety of blue species. Keep in mind they need very high water quality, aquarium salt, fantastic filtration and a pH of 7.4 to 8.2 depending on what lake their ancestors came from. Not to mention a really big aquarium.

Betta versus Goldfish

No, not a duel to the death or even a prime time fight. Lots of people want to know which of these two fish is the best "starter fish" for a child (or themselves). The answer is "It depends on what you want".

Both can live in a bowl or an aquarium. Both can live alone. For the Betta this is essential (most of the time). Both require weekly water changes, water conditioner or dechlorinator, and daily feedings.

If you want lots of movement: choose a goldfish

If you want a variety of colors to choose from, you want a Betta fish

If you like live plants, so will these fish. The goldfish will devour live plants, the Betta will nibble on and hide in them.

If you want to perform more water changes, get goldfish. They are messier and the ammonia they produce can kill them, if you don't change their water every 5-7 days.

Betta fish live alone. The only exception is the female, which in groups of three, with lots of plants can usually live in harmony. When a male Betta blows tiny bubbles to create a nest, only then is it safe to try introducing a female. Bettas can live with some other fish in a tropical community tank. Just no other fish with big fancy fins. Neon tetras (and many others) are OK.

For everything you wanted to know about keeping and breeding Betta fish see BettaTalk.com. What she doesn't know, isn't worth knowing.

Goldfish can only live with other goldfish -- they produce more ammonia than other fish, and they will nip and bump other fish. Besides, neon tetras look like a good snack to a goldfish.

The Two Most Asked Questions at Fish Pet Stores

1. Why are my new fish dying?

2. Why is my water murky/bad smelling?

Why Aquarium Water Changes and Water Testing Are Important

Each of my aquariums is a closed but incomplete ecosystem. Sure, I have a heater, thermometer, great filtration, plant and fish friendly lighting, and I add dechlorinater, aquarium salt and Cycle as needed. My fish eat the live plants.

It is incomplete because it is a sealed ecosystem, unlike Nature.

In the wild these fish would have fresh moving water, constantly changing the micro environment in which they live. Thus is true even for lake-dwelling fish, like African Cichlids, since streams feed into their lake habitats, and rainfall (however intermittent) replenishes evaporated water.

I tell all my customers that the first line of defense against poor water quality issues are regular water testing and water changes via gravel vacuuming.

The Solution: Weekly quality tests and weekly aquarium cleaning.

There are three methods for water testing:

1. Bring a water sample in a clean container or even a ziplock bag to your nearest fish store -- after you call to see if they will perform free water testing. Be sure they explain the results to you and help you find any solutions you need. The best places will give you a form with the test results written down. The form explains what is being measured, why, and the normal parameters. Even if they don't have such a form, the really good salespeople explain this to you and even show you how to read the test strip, as well as what products can help if there is a problem. Typically, you get the 6 in 1 test, but can also have ammonia or chlorine tested if you ask for it. Sometimes they will even test your salt level, if you ask nicely.

2. Buy and use dip sticks such as Jungle's 6-in-1 Quick Dip Test Kit. I scoop out water from my aquarium in a container I use just for this purpose. Dip the stick in, then remove quickly. Only an ammonia test strip has to be gently waved in the water. Don't shake! Compare colors on the strip to the paper chart on (or in) the bottle. Nitrate and Nitrite results take a few seconds to develop.

3. The test tube kit (aka Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Freshwater Master Test Kit). You have test tubes, reagents, and lots of directions and charts -- OK it is a little like Chemistry 101. But the results are the most accurate of all.

NEVER put any of the test water back in your aquarium -- the chemicals from the tests are not good for fish.

The Genteel Art of Gravel Vacuuming a Fish Tank

WHY?
The purpose is to vacuum up the fish waste and uneaten food (you haven't been overfeeding have you?*) so it does not pollute your incomplete ecosystem aquarium. If you don't do this, the nitrates lead to nitrates which in turn causes ammonia, which stresses fish and can kill them. Fish that have been living in an uncleaned aquarium become used to the gradually deteriorating water conditions. Newly purchased fish are less able to tolerate a drastic change from a shop tank to poor water quality in a home tank and so are more likely to gasp for oxygen, drop listlessly to the bottom, and even die.

WHAT?
OK, there is the manual siphon and the tap or faucet driven siphon such as Python No-Spill Clean and Fill Aquarium Kits. There is also the non-water removing sludge extractor, the more expensive continuously working waste removal system, and an inexpensive battery powered waterless gravel cleaner. I have only used the first two products, and they both work well for me. I have the 20 foot extension for the Python so I can thoroughly clean and replenish the water in all four of my current aquariums in less than 30 minutes.

HOW?
First, 1 inch = 10% of your tank's water volume. Change 30% or 3 inches at one time. Follow this rule, and you won't risk temperature-shocking your fish when you add clean dechlorinated water. Having said that, here are the two simple steps to avoiding temperature shock:

a. Prepare water and let stand at room temperature for about 1 to 2 hours
b. For larger (or very dirty) aquariums, mentally divide your aquarium into halves and gravel vacuum the left half of the tank bottom today and the right half in about 3 to 4 days from now. You can even "divide" your aquarium into thirds, so long as you only siphon out about 30% of the water with the fish waste at a time.

I wield the rigid tubing which remains in the fish tank like a cookie cutter. Push down on one spot gently, wait until the cloud of waste rises from the gaps in the gravel, moving high into the tubing, then lift slightly and move the tube to the next spot, gradually going over the entire bottom of the tank. No fish are removed, but decorations can be moved as waste tends to accumulate around their bases. Live plants can be gently gravel vacuumed around.

Each product has its own usage explanations. While you are removing fish waste (which is grey, brown, blackish in color, while uneaten food is pale) you are (usually) also removing water. After using the gravel vacuuming products that remove water, you must of course replace the water with clean, dechlorinated water. Be sure to add dechlorinator/water conditioner to the fresh water either before or as you add it to the cleaned tank.

*N.B. As a general rule feed fish once a day, and only what they can consume in 3 to 5 minutes. If possible, turn off the filter while feeding. It teaches the fish to recognize feeding time, and keeps your filter from grabbing up the food before the fish do. As an added bonus, this extends the life of your filter media by not plugging up the micro pores with uneaten food.

Top Tips and Tricks of Keeping Black Ghost Knifefish (Apteronotus albifrons) Alive and Healthy

Water Conditions:

Temperature should be between 76 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Never let the ph drop below 6.6 (acidic end of the spectrum), it causes the Black Ghost Knifefish (BGK) slime coat to start vanishing, and the fish to become sluggish and stop eating. If more than 2 to 4 days pass under these conditions, the BGK will start dying.

Juveniles are more sensitive to water quality than fish older than 2 years. I keep salinity at about .18 to .20 which helps stop the Ick parasite from acting up, as well as preventing many bacterial and fungal problems.

Never use any ammonia locking water conditioner with a BGK. I almost killed my first BGK with this.

If facing poor water quality, use water changes of 30% (3 inches of water) every 3 to 4 days for two weeks, and place bagged ammonia absorbing pellets (AquaClear pre-bagged or loose Marineland (Diamond) into an aquarium-safe mesh bag; rinse in clear water before using either one) into your filter to solve the problem. I replaced the pellets once every two weeks for a month. By the way, these pellets are aquarium-safe zeolite. Rinse thoroughly with cold water before use.

It is because of the easily interchangeable media that I chose to use AquaClear products over 16 years ago. RENA Filstar, Fluval and Magnum have created canister-style filters with similar capabilities. These canister filters are more costly, sit on the floor, and are primarily designed for aquariums of 55 gallons and larger. RENA just introduced a smaller version that hangs on the back of the tank, just as filters by AquaClear, Whisper, Top Fin and others do.

Aquarium Habitat:

Sand and small gravel bottom, fake driftwood, silk type soft leaf plants -- no hard edges to scrape the BGK's delicate scaleless skin. BGKs do not appreciate a lot of bright light, so I use ambient house light, rather than an overhead light. I have used Lees brand knifefish tubes, hamster tubes, and even custom cut plastic tubing (over 18 inches long and about 5 inch diameter) all with the edges carefully sanded to remove possible rough spots.

Some more sites to visit to learn about the Black Ghost Knifefish:

Badman's Tropical Fish

Drs Foster and Smith Pet Education web site

Tropical Fish Forums

I found this article about "training" (actually acclimating) a BGK to being touched quite interesting.

Black Ghost Knifefish (Apteronotus albifrons)

One of my favorite fish is the Black Ghost Knifefish (Apteronotus albifrons). It is just amazing to watch. To freely mix descriptive metaphors a Black Ghost Knifefish (or BGK) is matte velvet black with two white tail rings, and resembles a rippling curtain (the bottom fin is almost the length of its body) hanging off a curtain rod (the back/spine area) with its tail as the gently waving rudder. It has reflective eyes, a gaping mouth (although less gaping than a moray eel), is light sensitive and uses electrical signals and receptors in its head to navigate and find food. It likes caves, or cave-like structures, or any decor that makes it feel (electrically) secure. See my other post for current habitat and favorite foods.

The problem with many commercial aquarium decorations is that some have internal sharp edges which can severely damage this scaleless fish's body, even killing it. My second BGK, purchased a year after our first one died, somehow scraped "his" face damaging the electrical sensors. In spite of my efforts to hand feed him, he did not survive. After 6 months I decided to try again.

Wikipedia gives a nice summary, although my experiences with pH and temperature vary from what they suggest. In aquatic stores I have never seen BGK line up as the Wikipedia article suggests, in fact in they seem to avoid each other, with the larger ones chasing the smaller ones away. In store tanks with 3 or more BGK's, they are all hiding in separate locations.

The Wikipedia entry states: "The black ghost knifefish, Apteronotus albifrons, is a tropical fish belonging to the ghost knifefish family (Apteronotidae). They originate in South America in the Amazon Basin in Peru and from Venezuela through Paraguay in the Paraná Rivers. They are sometimes found in aquaria. The fish is all black except for two white rings on its tail. It moves mainly by undulating a long fin on its underside. It will grow to a maximum length of 20 inches (50 centimeters).

The black ghost knifefish natively lives in fast moving, sandy bottom creeks in a tropical climate. They prefer water with a 6.0 - 8.0 pH, a water hardness of 5.0 - 19.0 dGH, and a temperature range of 73-82 F (23-28 C). They are nocturnal, but they are weakly electric fish and use an electric organ and receptors distributed over the length of their body in order to find insect larvae.

Due to their electrical charge, a close, contained group of knife fish (as in an aquarium) will line up side by side."

Those Gold Spots in Your Aquarium Just Moved!! No, It's My Gold Nugget Plecostomus

One of my favorite new freshwater fish is my Gold Nugget Pleco. He lives with my Black Ghost Knifefish. Just the two of them in one long tank. They are both South American river fish and have much the same environmental needs.

My aquarium setup:

• small gravel, only about 1/2 to 3/4 inches deep
• a long piece of fake driftwood
• a heater
• two thermometers -- one at each end of the aquarium
• Aquaclear filter
• Aquaclear powerhead rated for a 10-20 gallon tank
• several "silk" plants of the long leaf sargassium types

They both need a gentle current, so I opted for a lower speed powerhead, to provide the current, without blowing these two baby fish around. PH 6.8 to 7.2, Temp. about 78 degrees F. I add aquarium salt as needed, use Cycle and NovAqua water conditioners. I gravel vac the aquarium about once a week using a Python kit.

Even though both of these gentle fish like to hide, my habitat setup lets me enjoy watching them, while keeping the fish feeling secure in their surroundings.

Both fish eat thawed frozen brine shrimp, and live ghost shrimp. The pleco also eats shrimp pellets, sliced zucchini squash, and even "Burpless English Cucumber". I use an aquarium safe clip with suction cup to hold the zucchini in place, locating it near his favorite hiding place. He (she?) has ignored all brands of algae wafers I have tried.

Some websites to learn more about Gold Nugget Plecos:

Drs. Foster and Smith

Planet Catfish

Tropical Fish Forums

So You Want to Know More About Setting Up and Running a Successful Aquarium?

Whether you are getting started with a new aquarium or wanting to learn more about freshwater and marine aquariums and their inhabitants, these are some places I have found valuable for gathering information on the web.

A valuable list of things you don't want to do to an aquarium

Aquarium Fish.net

Aquarium Hobbyist

Aquarium Terminology Glossary

Drs. Foster and Smith Fresh and Saltwater index of articles

Drs. Foster and Smith Pet Education web site
(covers all types of pets)

Old Fish Tank Syndrome

Petco Care Guides and Article Index
(covers all types of pets)

Petsmart Care Guides Index of Articles
(covers all types of pets)

Successful Aquariums

Aquarium Heater Tried to Cook My Fish!

I glanced at my fish who were lethargic and their gills pumping faster than normal. Then I looked at the thermometer on one end of my aquarium. And then the other thermometer at the far end. Temperature was between 84 and 86 degrees F. Not good.

I checked the heater, the setting was unchanged from where it has been for almost a year. I turned it all the way to the lowest thermostat setting -- yet the heating element light which shows heat is being generated was still on! Really not good. I unplugged the aquarium heater, waited over 15 minutes and pulled it out of my fish tank. The thermostat had failed. Had I not been home to see this, my fish would have probably been dead by that night.

Luckily, it was a Top Fin brand, for which Petsmart gives a lifetime guarantee. Even though my original receipt was gone, I was able to exchange it for a new aquarium heater the next day.

Moral of the story: always check your pets before you go to work!

Lights! Water! Algae! And What You Can Do About It

OK, the green stuff on the interior walls of your aquarium is algae. If you have water and light (incandescent, fluorescent or natural) you will get algae growth on the walls and decor of your fish tank. Sometimes, the algae decides to bloom and turn the water itself green. Neither situation makes for a happy owner viewing his or her fish.

Here is what I have found:

In any aquarium under 10 gallons, get one totally non-aggressive Otocinclus algae eater. Maximum growth size is 2 inches.

In a 40 gallons (or larger) aquarium one Plecostomus (pleco for short) -- or one of his more elaborate looking cousins. Maximum size 18 to 24 inches depending on who you talk to. You can slow the growth somewhat by not overfeeding algae wafers and zucchini as I did with my first pleco. One quarter algae wafer every other day helps this. When I feed cut strips of zucchini, I use an aquarium-safe clip with suction cup device to pin the zucchini to the wall. Otherwise the hungry pleco has to catch a floating zucchini raft on the water's surface.

If I have an aquarium in between these sizes, maybe the less aggressive and slower growing rubber lip pleco. But not in a cichlid tank. They are not as well armored as their cousins.

One of my favorite plecos is the Gold Nugget or L081. Another is the striking Bristlenose pleco.
All of these are suckermouth armored catfish, and most if not all, originate in South America.

Planet Catfish has an exhaustive list of all catfish species by Latin name. You can also search their database "Cat eLog" using common, scientific, L and C designations as well as other options. Lots of photos submitted by various contributors.

OK so I am enamored of various catfish species. After all, I like cats too! :-)

For those who want to have an in-depth understanding of the biological processes that create algae (or if you prefer quick and easy chemicals), visit Drs. Foster and Smith Top 10 Algae Busting Tips. This is a listing of 5 other algae related articles from the same site.

Just a note, when I use water clarifiers , algaecides, or even after my weekly gravel vacuuming, I put filter fiber into my filtration unit to absorb the fine particles of sludge or algae. In a day or two, it is full of brown or green material and I throw it out.

Tiger Oscars are eating!

I gave the large Tiger Oscar 6 feeder fish before I left for work today. He (or she?) ate them all!
The baby albino Tiger Oscar is now eating the Tetra baby cichlid pellets and OSI's blood parrot pellets, as well as the thawed blood worms. Apparently they both prefer night feedings, unlike my other cichlids who will eat anytime. Hooray!

Update on Oscars

The baby one-eyed albino tiger oscar has begun eating, mostly frozen bloodworms (a type of mosquito larvae) and torn bits of frozen krill. He tries the tiny Tetrafin cichlid pellets, but spits them out. Not sure if it is the taste or hardness that bothers him. Based on my experience, a congenital defect in a fish may mean there are other internal problems as well. So no naming him until he has lived for at least two months.

The larger oscar has refused all foods! Frozen krill, brine shrimp and bloodworms, shrimp pellets and cichlid pellets of various types. My last resort is to try a live feeder fish. I have raised the temperature to 79 degrees F and increased the aquarium salt to .10. His bite marks are healing.

Oscar, Oscar!

Recently, I brought home two Oscars (not the movie industry type). Oscars are a type of large and aggressive South American Cichlids. There are three basic types sold in most fish stores: Tiger, Albino Tiger and Red. There is also the less common Zebra Oscar.

The small albino tiger Oscar has a congenital defect -- only one normal eye, the other underdeveloped. He swims sideways keeping his bad eye to the water's surface. His good eye watches for predators. Much like my rescued Angelfish who lost an eye to another fish. For now he is in a breeder fish holder inside one of my aquariums. I used this both to protect him and to acclimate him to the other inhabitants (and acclimate them to him!)

The other is a half grown Tiger Oscar for whom I just started up an unused tank. He is and will remain the only inhabitant for now while I evaluate his condition. He has a lot of recent bite marks and is acting stressed. I started the tank by adding water from my existing tanks, as well as my two favorite aquarium water conditioners NovAqua and Cycle, a beneficial bacteria product. I have tried lots of different brands, and researched other people's experiences on the Net, and found these to be the best.

Cory Catfish (Corydoras) are fun to watch

Otis and Pepperjack (two Corydoras catfish) are swimming in formation looking for food. I have had various Corys for years, their lifespan in my tanks is about 8-10 years. Only the albino cory does not seem to form shoals (schools) in an aquarium. The color of the gravel/sand has affected these two Corydoras; on black gravel they are both darker than they were on lighter "natural" colored gravel. So my albino cory is in another tank with natural gravel. I don't want it to get stressed as its color would stand out too much on black gravel and so this fish might not come out to eat.

I have had Corys successfully living in community, semi-aggressive and even some types of cichlid aquarium groupings. They are non-aggressive, but spiny and plated, so more aggressive fish will not bother them.

If you buy Corydoras get at least two at the same time, they like to stay together and this causes them less stress. While they are often purchased "to clean up the food the other fish leave behind on the tank bottom", they eat a minimal amount of algae, and require some (about 1-2 per individual) sinking shrimp pellets, and/or some frozen brine shrimp or bloodworms to stay healthy. They are scavengers.

We enjoy their antics, zooming up and down the height of the tank, my younger son likened them to really fast elevators, naming some of them "Otis".

A few places to learn more about these active diurnal plump fish:
Corydoras Catfish (aka Cory or Cories)

Numerous Corydoras photos and Latin names on Planet Catfish

Archive of Catfish articles by species

Mom is Hooked on Fish, Again!

There was a small fish tank when I was growing up, and when our oldest son was about 3 years old we got him a Betta fish. Mom got hooked on fish, Again. We went from community fish such as Guppies, Platies and Mollies with Corydoras catfish and various Plecos to Bala Sharks, Iridescent Sharks, Black Ghost Knifefish, South American Cichlids (Severum, Blood Parrot, Convict) and I am now contemplating an African Cichlid tank.

I have learned many lessons, some the hard way. Test your water quality every week. Feed your fish once a day, no more than they can eat in 3-5 minutes, and turn your filter OFF while feeding them. Rinse the carbon filters until they run clear or kill your fish (dry carbon sucks oxygen out of water). Regular water changes via gravel vacuuming are vital to the ongoing health of an aquarium and the first line of defense against poor water quality.

Using a Python system prevents your spouse from getting annoyed at your spilling water on the new laminate flooring. It also speeds up the process tremendously if you have more than one aquarium.

BTW, my day job is working in a huge pet store, mostly with fish and small animals. So I have a unique perspective in being both a hobbyist and a professional. In my blog I'll share some of what I have learned about different species and aquatic setups, stores I have visited, warning signs before buying fish, etc.

I currently maintain 3 freshwater fish tanks in or near our kitchen, so I can watch the various inhabitants while I drink my coffee.