3,895 answers about fish & aquatics
A healthy aquarium is a balanced one — water chemistry, filtration, stocking and feeding all work together, and most fish problems start with the water. This page gathers the fish and aquatics library of KinsLe Answers in one place, organized by topic for freshwater and saltwater keepers alike. Every answer is original, written by KinsLe, and tied to a real KinsLe feature.
649 answers in Home & Lifestyle — page 10 of 28
Kuhli loaches suit a tank built at floor level: soft sand they can sift and burrow into, tangles of driftwood, smooth stone piles, leaf litter, and low caves or tubes where the group can pile together out of sight. Plants should be sturdy and shade-casting, such as Java fern and anubias on wood plus moss, rather than…
Harlequin rasboras suit a softly lit, planted tank with broad-leaved cryptocoryne and similar plants whose leaf undersides females use when spawning, backed by fine stem plants and driftwood. Leave a clear midwater lane so the school can move together, and add floating plants to dim the light, which deepens their…
Guppies suit a lushly planted tank with fine-leaved cover such as Java moss, water sprite, and the dense grassy plant often called guppy grass, plus floating plants that shade the surface. That thicket matters most for fry, who need hiding places in their first days, while adults use the planted edges and open centre…
Goldfish suit tough, fast-growing plants they cannot easily shred or uproot, such as anubias and Java fern tied to rock or driftwood, plus hornwort or duckweed offered as nibbling greens. Choose smooth, rounded decor with no sharp edges, keep a wide open swimming area in the middle, and skip delicate stem plants that…
Corydoras suit a tank with a soft sand floor left open for group foraging, low planting around the edges, smooth stones, and shaded shelter under driftwood or broad leaves. Sand is the headline choice: corys dig their barbels into the substrate hunting food, and sharp gravel wears those barbels down. Decor should be…
Cherry shrimp suit a soft green jungle of fine planting: mosses to graze and hide in, floating plants overhead, small pieces of wood and smooth stone for biofilm surfaces, and leaf litter on the floor. Every surface in a shrimp tank is a feeding surface, so texture matters more than showpieces, and dense cover is what…
A bristlenose pleco's tank is built around wood and hiding places: real driftwood it can graze on, at least one snug cave per fish, flat stones, and sturdy broad-leaved plants it will not immediately bulldoze. Driftwood is not optional decoration for this species — rasping wood forms part of its natural feeding…
A betta suits soft, smooth, plant-filled decor: broad-leaved plants with leaves near the surface to rest on, floating plants to soften the light, and one smooth hide to retreat into. Everything in a betta tank passes the snag test — long fins tear on sharp plastic plants, rough ornaments, and jagged rock, so choose…
Angelfish suit a tank planted tall: broad-leaved plants and upright stems at the back and sides, a few vertical pieces of driftwood, and open swimming water left clear at the front. Their deep, triangular bodies are made for slipping between vertical growth, and broad flat leaves double as the spawning surface a pair…
Zebra danios need bright, clear, full-spectrum light for about eight to ten hours a day to match their energy — these are fast, surface-and-midwater swimmers whose blue-and-gold striping flashes best under crisp daylight. They are far less shade-demanding than most small fish and will use the whole lit length of the…
Siamese algae eaters need moderate to fairly bright light, around eight to ten hours a day, because their job and their food depend on it: steady light grows the soft algae film they graze and keeps the broad-leaved plants they rest on healthy. Balance is the craft — too little and there is nothing for them to eat and…
Pearl gouramis need soft, diffused light rather than bright overhead glare — floating plants overhead make them feel covered and bring out their pearly spotting. Run a moderate fixture for about eight to ten hours on a timer, with shaded corners among tall plants where a shy fish can withdraw. In gentle light a…
Kuhli loaches need dim, sheltered lighting — they are shy, dusk-active fish that hide all day in a brightly lit tank. Keep the light low or heavily shaded with floating plants, driftwood, and leaf litter, run a modest day of around eight hours, and give them deep shadow to retreat into. You will actually see more of…
Harlequin rasboras look and behave best under soft, subdued light that mimics their shaded forest-stream home, rather than bright white glare. Diffuse a moderate fixture with floating plants or taller planting, keep a dark substrate underneath, and run about eight to ten hours on a timer. Under gentler light the…
Guppies do best under bright, full-spectrum light for about eight to ten hours a day, which shows the males' colour at its best and keeps a planted tank growing. In a guppy tank the plants matter almost as much as the fish: fine, bushy growth gives fry somewhere to hide from hungry adults, so light strong enough for…
Goldfish need moderate, full-spectrum daylight lighting on a timer for about eight to ten hours a day, followed by real darkness so they can rest. They do not need intense or specialised light for themselves, and because goldfish produce heavy waste that already feeds algae, longer or brighter days quickly turn the…
Corydoras do best under moderate to subdued lighting with shaded areas they can rest in, rather than a bright, bare tank lit all day. A steady timer of around eight hours suits most cory tanks, with plants, wood, or overhangs dimming parts of the sand where the group noses and naps. Very intense light over pale,…
Cherry shrimp need no special lighting of their own; the light in their tank is really for the plants and mosses they graze, and for showing their red colour. A moderate light on a timer for about six to eight hours a day grows the biofilm and gentle algae they feed on without triggering an algae takeover. Provide…
A bristlenose pleco needs subdued lighting and dependable darkness far more than it needs brightness, because it is a largely nocturnal fish that works the tank after lights-out. Run the lights mainly for the plants and for viewing, on a timer of roughly eight hours, and build in caves, wood, and shaded overhangs…
Angelfish need moderate, steady lighting on a regular timer rather than bright light blazing all day. Aim for a consistent day of around eight to ten hours, with tall plants or floating cover casting shaded areas the fish can drift into, because constant glare makes these tall, slow fish tense and washes out their…
White cloud mountain minnows can start in a 10-gallon tank, but an active school really belongs in a 20-gallon long aquarium with room to ride a gentle current. These cool-water fish are constant swimmers that scatter and regroup all day, so length matters far more than depth, and a group of eight or more keeps them…
Threadfin rainbowfish need a tank of at least 20 gallons with a long footprint, and a school in a 30-gallon aquarium will display far more freely. Males spend the day showing off their long, trailing fins to each other and to females, and that display behaviour needs open mid-water room plus planted margins to retreat…
A sparkling gourami pair fits a 10-gallon tank, while a small group does better in 15 to 20 gallons with dense planting and floating cover. These tiny labyrinth fish live among stems near the surface, build bubble nests under leaves, and prefer calm water, so thickets and quiet corners matter more than open swimming…
A scarlet badis pair or small group can live in a 10-gallon tank, provided it is densely planted with plenty of small hiding places. These tiny, shy fish claim miniature territories among leaves and caves, so a thicket of plants, leaf litter, and broken sight lines gives them more usable space than bare extra gallons…
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