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.