Introduction 1 About This Book 1 Foolish Assumptions 2 Icons Used in This Book 3 Where to Go from Here 4 Part 1: Getting Started with Freshwater Aquarium Basics 5 Chapter 1: Taking the Plunge: Just the Essentials 7 Focusing on the Tank, Stand, Accessories, and Equipment 8 Knowing where to put your tank 8 Looking at the tank and stand options 9 Figuring out what (besides fish) to put in your aquarium 9 Considering aquarium equipment 9 Determining what you really need 10 Caring for Your New Aquatic Pets 10 Eyeing differences in species 10 Assessing which types of fish are best for you 10 Buying fish — what you need to know 11 Feeding your fish — what types of food to buy 11 Taking care of sick fish 12 Understanding Water, Chemicals, and Live Plants 12 Grasping everything water 12 Using chemicals to improve your aquarium conditions 12 Testing your water 13 Getting a system going 13 Adding live plants 13 Fixing common problems 13 Expanding Your Aquarium Hobby 13 Breeding your fish: Yes or no? 13 Keeping track of your progress 14 Broadening your hobby 14 Contemplating other types of aquarium structures 14 Chapter 2: The Practice of Aquarium Keeping 15 Recognizing the Amazing Benefits of Owning an Aquarium 16 Identifying Aquarium Water Systems 18 Freshwater systems 19 Saltwater systems 21 Brackish systems 22 Organization Is the Key to Success 23 Chapter 3: Finding a Good Location 25 Making Sure Your Floor Is Sound 26 Taking Room Temperature and Its Effects into Consideration 26 Wicked windows 27 Deadly doors 28 High Traffic Areas, Children, and Pets (Spell D-I-S-A-S-T-E-R) 28 Contemplating Your Water Source When Placing Your Aquarium 30 Thinking about Other Household Items 30 Furniture and space 30 Electrical outlets and TVs 31 Overhead lighting 32 Cleaning considerations 32 Chapter 4: The Tank and Stand 33 Buying a Tank: What You Need to Know 33 Water is heavy 34 Watching the tendency to overspend 35 Checking out starter kits 35 Size matters — gauging space requirements 36 Taking people into consideration 37 Deciding where to buy 38 Examining the Different Types of Aquariums Available 39 Glass aquariums 40 Acrylic aquariums 41 Plastic aquariums (bowls and small tanks) 42 Rimless tanks 42 Considering Different and Unusual Aquarium Styles 43 Wall-mounted aquariums 43 In-wall tanks 43 Furniture aquariums 44 Tower aquariums 44 Indoor pond barrels 45 All-in-one tanks 45 Betta tanks and water gardens 45 Special tanks from the pros 45 Choosing the Right Tank 46 Tank size 46 Tank shape 47 Carrying capacity 47 Picking the Right Stand 47 Wooden cabinet stands 48 Angle and wrought iron stands 48 Aluminum stands 49 Do-it-yourself stands 49 Material-based stands 49 Bow-front stands 49 Moving an Aquarium 50 Chapter 5: Aquascaping Your Aquarium: What to Add and Not Add in Your Tank 51 Taking Clues from Your Fish’s Natural Environment 52 Getting the Lowdown on Substrates 53 Starting with the basics: Gravel, aqua soil, and fluorite 54 Thinking about pH with your substrates 54 Knowing which substrates to avoid 55 Being aware of gravel size and the perils of sand 56 Adding new substrate to your system 56 Using established substrate 57 Considering Rocks, Wood, and Artificial Plants 57 Rocks for freshwater tanks 58 Wood for a freshwater tank 58 Plastic plants 60 Contemplating Other Aquarium Decorations 62 Keeping safety first 62 Eyeing plastic divers and other oddities 62 Aquascaping Tips and Tricks 63 Chapter 6: Selecting the Equipment and Other Stuff Your Aquarium Needs 67 Taking the Mystery out of Filters 68 Mechanical filtration 69 Biological filtration 69 Chemical filtration 70 Sifting through Filtration Systems 70 Undergravel filters 71 Sponge filters 71 Corner filters 72 Power filters 72 Canister filters 73 Fluidized bed filters 74 Diatom filters 74 Wet/dry filters 75 Natural filtration with plants 75 An underground filter’s best friend — powerheads 76 Gauging Heaters and Thermometers 77 Submersible heaters 77 Nonsubmersible heaters 77 Digital heaters 77 Heating your aquarium: Thermometers 78 Making Bubbles with Airstones and Pumps 79 Air pumps 79 Airstones and other bubble makers 80 Connecting Tubing, Valves, and Tees 81 Air-line tubing 81 Gang valves and tees 82 Creating the Best Lighting 83 Looking at bulb types 84 Making a hood choice 85 Part 2: Taking a Closer Look at Fish and How to Care for Them 87 Chapter 7: Fish Anatomy 101 89 Understanding What Makes a Fish Go 90 The dorsal fin 90 The caudal fin 91 The anal fin 91 The pectoral fins 92 The pelvic fins 92 The adipose fin 92 Swimming movement 92 Breathing In and Out — Respiration 93 The gill method 93 The labyrinth organ method 94 Getting Acquainted with the Senses 95 Sight 95 Hearing 97 Smelling 97 Tasting 97 Feeling 98 Comprehending Osmosis and the Salt-to-Water Ratio 98 Fish that don’t drink water 99 Fish that need to drink water 99 Recognizing Traits to Identify Fish 99 Body shape 100 Taxonomy 100 The swim bladder 102 Color and its purpose 102 Chapter 8: Figuring Out What Kind of Fish to Buy 105 Looking Closer at Freshwater Fish 106 Anabantids 106 Cyprinodonts and livebearers 108 Catfish (plecos, cories, and one special Cypriniforme) 112 Characins 114 Unusual characins 117 Loaches 119 African cichlids 120 American cichlids 121 Cyprinids 125 Freshwater tropical invertebrates 127 Contemplating Coldwater Fish and Invertebrates 129 Koi (Cyprinus carpio) 129 Goldfish (Carassius auratus) 129 White cloud mountain minnows (Tanichthys albonubes) 132 Coldwater invertebrates 132 Thinking about Captive-Bred Species 134 Buying Fish Online 135 Chapter 9: Working with a Fish Dealer to Purchase Your Fish 137 Choosing a Quality Fish Dealer 138 Searching for a fish store 138 The importance of great service 140 The store’s appearance 140 Dealer Practices: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly 142 Do Bee dealers 143 Don’t Bee dealers 143 Wanna Bee dealers 144 Developing a Good Relationship with Your Fish Dealer 145 Selecting Healthy Fish 145 Start simply and do your homework 145 Look for signs of good health 146 Know your fish’s behavior 146 Understand how big the fish will grow 147 Avoid the first fish off the boat 148 Don’t be Doctor Doolittle 148 Getting the Right Fish without Going Overboard 149 Chapter 10: Feeding Your Wet Pets — Diet and Nutrition 151 Understanding Basic Nutrition 151 Recognizing what your fish need 152 Being aware of overfeeding 153 Underfeeding is just as bad 153 Feeding just what your fish need 153 Knowing What Type of Eater You Have 155 Taking action when they stop eating 155 Meeting your carnivores’ desires 156 Going leafy and feeding vegetarians 156 Feeding fish that eat anything that falls into the tank 157 Identifying the Different Types of Food 157 Prepackaged foods 157 Frozen foods 158 Freeze-dried foods 158 Spirulina 159 Live food — the stuff they really love and want 159 Brine shrimp 160 Infusoria 161 Rotifers 161 Tubifex, bloodworms, mosquito larvae, and earthworms (yuck!) 161 Feeding Fry 162 Microworms 162 Liquid, powdered, and growth foods 162 Chapter 11: Recognizing Diseases and Treatments 163 An Ounce of Prevention 163 Your daily review 164 Your weekly to-do list 165 Monthly checklist 168 Identifying Common Ailments and Cures 168 Common bacterial infection 169 Constipation 169 Dropsy 169 Fin rot 169 Fish louse 170 Freshwater velvet 170 Freshwater ich 170 Fungus 171 Gill parasites 171 Hole in the head 171 Intestinal parasites 172 Large skin parasites 172 Mouth fungus 172 Pop-eye 172 Septicemia 173 Skin flukes 173 Slimy skin disease 173 Swim bladder disease 174 Tuberculosis (TB) 174 Keeping an Eye Open for Frequent Causes of Disease 174 Carbon dioxide poisoning 175 Poor water quality 175 Metal poisoning 175 Chemical poisoning 175 Improper diet 176 Overfeeding 176 Frightened fish 176 Relying on a Tried-and-True Home Remedy: Giving a Salt Bath 177 Playing Detective: The Sherlock Holmes Method 177 Using Quarantine Tanks 178 Grasping the purpose and advantages of quarantining 178 Knowing how much time to quarantine 179 Keeping good records: Writing it all down 179 Focusing on the tank 179 Setting Up a Hospital Tank 180 Understanding Medications 180 Part 3: The Background Players: Water, Chemicals, and Plants 183 Chapter 12: All Water Isn’t Created Equal 185 Comparing Different Water Types 186 Tap water 186 Rainwater 188 The advantages of bottled water (not Perrier) 189 Well water (don’t count on it) 189 Collecting Water from Bodies of Water (Why You Want to Forget This Bad Idea) 190 Adding Water to Your Aquarium 190 Using a garden hose 190 Using a Python 191 Moving water the old-fashioned way 191 Chapter 13: Considering Those Crazy Chemicals 193 Understanding Chemical Use 194 Knowing when to use (and not use) chemicals 194 Following instructions to the letter 194 Knowing Which Chemicals You Need to Start Your Aquarium 195 Glass cleaner 195 Dechlorinator 195 Water conditioner 196 Cycling chemicals 196 Bacteria in a bottle 197 Bacteria on a medium 197 Maintaining Your Aquarium: Chemicals to Use 197 Using the Right Chemicals for Your Plants 198 Create your own rainforest 198 Plant growth 199 Root tabs 199 Algae control 199 Naming Chemicals Your Fish Need for Medication 200 Chapter 14: The Nitrogen Cycle and Water Testing 201 Eliminating Fish Waste 201 Conditioning Your Tank 202 Starting the Nitrogen Cycle 203 Encouraging nitrosamonas (good bacteria number one) 203 Promoting nitrobacter (good bacteria number two) 205 Monitoring through the conditioning period 205 Speeding things up a bit 206 Preventing new tank syndrome 207 Testing Ammonia, Nitrites, Nitrates, and pH 207 Changing the water regularly 207 Maintaining proper pH levels 208 Testing Hardness (dH) 210 Chapter 15: Putting It All Together 211 Setting Up Your Tropical Freshwater System 212 Setting Up a Small Plant Tank 214 Setting Up Your Coldwater System 215 Setting Up Your Simple Indoor Goldfish Pond 216 Chapter 16: What You Need to Know: Live Plants for Aquariums 217 Understanding What Live Plants Do for Your Aquarium 218 Identifying Different Plant Types 220 Ferns and mosses 221 Floating plants 221 Stem plants 221 Rooted plants 221 Cuttings 222 Maintaining Plant-Friendly Aquarium Conditions 222 Temperature requirements 222 Substrate for rooting 223 Filtration 223 Feeding 223 Lighting 224 Other supplements 224 Purchasing and Transporting Your Plants 224 Taking from the wild 224 Buying from a dealer 225 Buying online 225 Getting plants home in one piece 226 Achieving acclimation 226 Noticing Potential Plant Problems 227 Recognizing signs of poor plant health and what to do about them 227 Algae 228 Medications 228 Planting Techniques and Aquascaping 229 Chapter 17: Choosing Plant Species for Your Tank 231 Considering Foreground Plants 232 Baby tears (Micranthemum umbrosum) 232 Brazilian micro sword (Lilaeopsis brasiliensis) 233 Cryptocoryne (Cryptocoryne wendetti) 233 Dwarf anubias (Anubias nana) 234 Dwarf four-leaf clover (Marsilia hirsute) 234 Java moss (Taxiphyllum barbieri) 235 Madagascar lace (Aponogeton fenestralis) 235 Pearl grass (Hemianthus micranthemoides) 236 Looking at Midwater Plants 237 Aquatic banana plant (Nymphoides aquatica) 237 Coffeefolia (Anusbis barteri) 237 Dwarf sagittaria (Sagittaria subulata) 237 Water wisteria (Hygrophila difformis) 238 Contemplating Background Plants 238 Amazon sword (Echinodorus amazonicus) 238 Carolina fanwort (Cambomba caroliniana) 239 Corkscrew val (Vallisneria spiralis) 239 Elodea (Egeria densa) 240 Giant anubias (Anubias barteri) 241 Hornwort (Ceratophyllum demersum) 241 Oriental sword (Echinodorus oriental) 242 Red ludwigia (Ludwigia mullertii) 243 Red-stem milfoil (Myriophyllum matogrossensis) 244 Stargrass (Heteranthera zosterifolia) 244 Going with Floating Plants 244 Amazon frogbit (Limnobium laevigatum) 245 Duckweed (Lemna minor) 245 Envisioning Pond Plants 245 Water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) 246 Water lettuce (Pistia stratiotes) 246 Starting with Some Easy Plants 247 Part 4: Breeding and Other Fun Stuff 249 Chapter 18: Being Prepared When Trouble Strikes 251 Tackling Physical Fish Problems 252 Separating fighting fish 252 Solving the aggression problem 252 Looking at the injured 253 Dealing with a stuck fish 253 Correcting Feeding Problems 253 Getting your fish to eat 253 Addressing a food hog 253 Dislodging items eaten by your fish 254 Cleaning up the aftermath 254 Addressing Equipment Problems 254 Handling uneven stands and tanks 254 Fixing a clogged filter 254 Analyzing heater problems 254 Lighting falling into the tank 255 Exploding light bulbs 255 Flickering lighting 255 Facing Tank and Decoration Problems 256 Checking for leaks 256 Getting your fish to safety 256 Repairing a small crack 256 When an entire side of your aquarium breaks 257 Uprooted plants and decorations 257 What to do when you lose power 257 Confronting Water Problems 257 Solving green algae problems 258 Controlling chemical problems 258 Cooling a tank that’s too hot 258 Warming a tank that’s too cold 259 Chapter 19: Setting Up the Breeding Tank 261 Deciding to Breed Your Aquarium Fish 262 Breaking new barriers 262 Gaining new knowledge and enjoyment 263 Conserving the environment 263 Choosing Your Equipment for Breeding 263 The aquarium 264 Putting a lid on the whole thing 264 Decorations 264 Substrate 265 Spawning grates 265 Turning up the heat 266 Filtration 266 Plants for safety, spawning, and inspiration 267 Getting the Water Right 269 pH and dH control 269 Water temperature 269 Cleanliness 269 Chapter 20: Ready, Set, Spawn 271 Introducing the Bride and Groom 272 Dealing with aggressive males 274 Setting up the second date 274 Yay, my fish really like each other! 274 Darn, my fish hate each other! 274 Understanding Breeding Types 277 Livebearers 277 The egglayers 277 Saving Everyone from Everyone Else 279 Saving Mom and Dad from Mom and Dad 279 Saving the kids from Mom and Dad 280 Saving the kids from each other 281 Raising the Fry 281 Stepping up to brine shrimp 282 Giving them a real home 282 Picking new stock 282 Understanding Genetics 282 Choosing the best 283 Obtaining variation the good way 283 Obtaining variation through mutation 283 Creating strains through inbreeding 283 Choosing the Right Species for You 284 Breeding livebearers 284 Other fun fish to breed 285 Chapter 21: Recording Data and Photographing Fish 289 Keeping a Logbook 289 Making Your Fish the Stars They Were Meant to Be 290 Knowing Where to Take Pictures 291 Photographing Your Fish with Digital Photography 292 Recording fish 293 Printing your work 293 Sharing your work online 294 Photographing Your Fish the Old-Fashioned Way 294 Film cameras 294 The film 295 Lenses 296 Considering Lighting 297 Relying on lighting 297 Making your fish shine 299 Focusing Your Camera 300 Understanding Composition Techniques 300 Using the rule of thirds 301 Panning the scene 301 Setting up for close-ups 302 Shooting the Tank 302 Building your own photography tank 303 Using different backgrounds 304 Chapter 22: Expanding Your Hobby in Fun Ways 305 Entering a Fish Show 305 Getting to Know the Types of Shows 307 Participating in exhibitions 307 Understanding competition classes 307 Preparing Your Fish for the Show 308 The holding tank 308 Water conditions 309 Tank considerations 309 Knowing what the judges are looking for 310 Transporting Fish to and from a Show 312 Remembering to Have Fun 313 Joining an Aquarium Club 314 Volunteering at an Aquarium or Zoo 314 Writing an Article 315 Setting Up a Tank for a Worthy Cause 316 Sharing Your Love of Aquariums and Science with Others 317 Chapter 23: Advancing Your Hobby: Other Types of Aquarium Systems 319 Trying a Brackish Aquarium Setup 319 Considering a Marine Aquarium System 320 Identifying the types of marine systems 321 Setting up a simple marine aquarium 322 Setting up a coldwater fish-only marine system 323 Comparing Freshwater and Saltwater Systems 324 Adaptability 324 Availability 325 Cost 325 Beauty and friendliness 325 Equipment 326 Part 5: The Part of Tens 327 Chapter 24: Ten Cool Aquarium Gadgets 329 Aquarium Claws (Those Handy Picker-Upper Doodads) to Move Decor 329 Algae Cleaners to Keep Dry 330 Extendable Fish Nets, the Long and Short of It 331 A Tool Box for Storing Stuff 331 Light Timers for the Win 332 Aquarium Sealer (Flood Insurance) 332 Aquascaping Tools to Make You a Star 332 Digital Water Testing Makes It Easy 333 Automatic Gravel Cleaners Do the Job 333 Aquarium Smart Controllers (Spy on Your Fish) 334 Chapter 25: Ten Ways to Kill Your Fish without Even Trying 335 Go Away on Vacation and Forget Them 335 Play Doctor without a License 336 Give Your Cat a Sushi Bar 336 Stuff Your Fish with Seven-Course Meals 337 Mix Apples and Oranges 337 Add Too Many Fish (the Shoehorn Syndrome) 338 Don’t Do Your Homework 338 Let the Neighbor’s Unruly Kid Play with Your Fish 338 Become a Hypochondriac Hobbyist 339 Buy Used or Cheap Equipment 339 Chapter 26: Ten Scientific Fish Laws 341 The Fish Law of Thermodynamics 341 The Fish Law of Metamorphosis 342 The Fish Law of Motion 342 The Fish Law of Anti-Matter 343 The Fish Law of Nutrition 343 The Fish Law of Company 344 The Fish Law of Potential Energy 344 The Fish Law of Psychic Felines 344 The Fish Law of Aggression 345 The Fish Law of Time 345 Chapter 27: Ten Aquatic New Year’s Resolutions 347 Feed the Fish the Good Stuff 347 Clean the Tank Frequently 348 Reduce Celibacy 348 Remove Algae 348 Monitor Filter Mediums 348 Turn on the Lights 349 Use My Test Kits 349 Pay Attention to My Fish 349 Redecorate the Tank 349 Share with Others 350 Index 351

Understand aquarium setups and fishkeeping basicsBuild the luxury tank of your dreamsMaintain a thriving aquatic environment Create your own amazing underwater world An aquarium is a beautiful blend of art form, nature observation, and pet ownership…not to mention a whole lot of fun! If you've ever dabbled in the idea of brightening your home with an aquarium, this book is the place to start. What goes into keeping fish happy and healthy? Does it matter where I put my aquarium? Is all that equipment necessary? Do fish get sick? Should I try to keep live plants in there? Is an aquarium hard to maintain? Find the answers and the guidance you need to start enjoying this fascinating hobby! Inside... How to choose a tankEquipment you need to haveWays to select fishCommon fish ailments and curesWhen you need chemicalsHows and whys of water testingPicking plants for your tankTips for breeding your fish