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 22 of 28
The biggest seasonal swings come from three changes: central heating cycling on and off, which warms the room unevenly through the day; windows opened near the tank, which let in cold draughts or summer heat; and direct sunlight reaching the glass as the sun's angle changes with the season. A tank near a radiator,…
Zebra danios are hyperactive surface swimmers, so plant their tank around the edges and leave the full length of the middle open as a runway: Vallisneria at the back, Java fern and Anubias on wood at the ends, Java moss low in the corners. Choose tough plants that tolerate cooler water and a current, because danios…
Swordtails are big, active livebearers, and their classic planting is a Vallisneria jungle along the back and sides — tall ribbons that shelter females from persistent males and give fry their first refuge. Add Amazon swords for structure, Java fern on wood, and a floating plant or two, since swordtails jump and a…
Siamese algae eaters earn their keep by grazing algae from plant leaves, so suit them with sturdy, broad-leafed plants that can carry both the algae and the fish: Anubias and sword plants (Echinodorus) are ideal grazing platforms, backed by fast-growing Vallisneria and stem plants. Give these active fish a long tank…
Platies are hardy livebearers that suit equally hardy plants: Java fern, Anubias and Vallisneria form a trouble-free core, with Amazon swords for height at the back. Because platies breed readily, fine-leaved cover matters — Java moss and guppy grass give fry somewhere to survive their first days among hungry adults.…
Pearl gouramis are calm labyrinth fish that build bubble nests at the surface, so floating plants are the essential planting: water lettuce, Amazon frogbit or salvinia give a male anchor points for his nest and shade that keeps these shy fish relaxed. Back them with tall Vallisneria and Amazon swords for sheltered…
Neon tetras come from dim, soft, acidic blackwater streams, so suit their tank with plants that share that taste: Amazon swords, cryptocoryne, Java fern and Anubias petite, all of which grow well in soft water and low light. Float Amazon frogbit or salvinia above them to diffuse the light — neons colour up best and…
Mystery snails eat plants as readily as they clean them, so the plants that suit their tank are the tough, bitter ones they mostly leave alone: Anubias and Java fern lead the list, with well-established Vallisneria and sword plants (Echinodorus) usually surviving too. Avoid soft stem plants and delicate floating…
Mollies live in harder, alkaline water and graze constantly, so suit their tank with plants that tolerate those conditions and survive being nibbled: Vallisneria, Java fern, Anubias and hornwort are the reliable core. Add guppy grass or Java moss as fry cover, because mollies are livebearers and newborns need…
Kuhli loaches are shy, eel-like bottom dwellers, so the plants that suit them are the ones that build cover at floor level: Java fern and Anubias anchored to driftwood, cryptocoryne clusters, and a cushion of Java moss over soft sand. Add floating plants to dim the light, because kuhlis forage far more boldly in…
Harlequin rasboras suit broad-leaved, gentle planting: cryptocoryne is the classic choice because harlequins glue their eggs to the underside of a broad leaf, java fern adds more of the same wide surfaces, and floating plants dim the harsh light this shaded-stream fish dislikes. A school hangs in mid-water over dark…
Guppies suit plants that double as a nursery: java moss and guppy grass give newborn fry dense cover in their first vulnerable days, floating plants with trailing roots shade the surface where guppies feed, and hornwort grows fast enough to soak up the waste of a busy, breeding colony. Fine, feathery planting matters…
Goldfish need plants that can survive being eaten and excavated: anubias and java fern taste bitter and anchor to rock or wood out of digging range, crinum's tough leaves hold up well, and fast growers like hornwort work as an edible crop you fully expect to replace. Anything rooted in gravel should be guarded with…
Corydoras suit low, soft planting that leaves the floor open: cryptocoryne and anubias on wood along the back give cover, while the front stays clear sand where the group can shoal and sift. These are bottom fish with delicate barbels, so the planting plan matters less than what it leaves bare — a tank carpeted wall…
Cherry shrimp do best with plants that grow grazing surface and hiding cover: java moss is the classic, offering biofilm to pick at and shelter for moulting shrimp and newborn shrimplets, while floating plants, anubias and other mosses add more of both. Everything in a shrimp tank should stay gentle — choose…
Cherry barbs shine in a thickly planted tank: java moss and fine-leaved plants give this shy schooling fish cover and somewhere to scatter eggs, while cryptocoryne and bushy stems build the sheltered edges the school hugs. Males colour a deep cherry red only when they feel hidden enough to display, so dense planting…
Choose plants that can take a rasping mouth: anubias and java fern tied to wood or rock, sturdy Amazon swords and Vallisneria usually hold up, because a bristlenose pleco grazes biofilm and algae off every surface — leaves included — and can strip soft, delicate foliage down to the veins. Driftwood is as important as…
Bettas suit soft, broad-leaved, low-demand plants: anubias and java fern give them leaves to rest on just under the surface, floating plants like salvinia shade the water and help anchor a bubble nest, and java moss adds cover without needing bright light or CO2. Avoid sharp plastic plants, which tear long fins, and…
Expect a planted tank to spill about as much light as a bright desk lamp or a small television: a defined pool of light over the tank, plus a softer glow that reaches across a dark bedroom, strongest with an open top and a light mounted high. The spill runs for the whole photoperiod — often eight hours — so in a…
Aquarium plants grow well under full-spectrum light in the daylight range — around 6,500K — that is strong enough to reach the leaves at the substrate, run for six to eight hours a day on a timer. Intensity matters more than the wattage on the box: a bright light over a deep tank can leave carpeting plants starved,…
In a fish-only tank everything serves the fish: a modest light for viewing, any clean substrate, and filtration sized for fish waste. A planted tank is built around living plants as well, so it needs stronger full-spectrum light on a timer, a nutrient-rich substrate or root tabs, regular fertilizer and trimming — and…
Before a very large aquarium goes in, phone your insurer and say its size out loud: many policies cover accidental water damage but treat huge tanks, sumps and equipment failure as details they want declared, and renters usually need the landlord's written consent first. Then treat prevention as the real policy — a…
Expect frogs and toads, dragonflies, newts, songbirds and bees to adopt a koi pond quickly — most garden wildlife is a bonus, not a problem. The serious planning is for the grey heron, a patient dawn hunter that wades into shallows and spears fish, so design against it from the start: edges steep enough that a heron…
In simple terms, CO2 injection feeds your plants carbon. Plants build their leaves from carbon taken out of the water, and in most tanks the small amount that dissolves naturally runs out long before the light does, which caps how fast plants can grow. A CO2 kit bubbles extra carbon dioxide through a diffuser during…
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