Fish Lore Aquarium Blog

Just published a new article on activated carbon. Hopefully it can help explain the use of AC to newbies.

Saltwater Fish Profile – Green Mandarin - At first glance you might be thinking that a Green Mandarin, which only gets to a couple of inches in size, is the perfect fish for a nano tank. However, they are considered quite difficult to keep because it is difficult to get them eating standard marine aquarium foods.

Book Review – The Reef Aquarium Volume One - Book one provides the ground work of educating the reader on the coral reef, nutrients, the biology of corals, lighting, aquascaping, water parameters, marine invertebrates, stony corals and clams.

Book Review – Baensch Marine Atlas Volume 2 - While volume one covered anemones and crustaceans, volumes two and three deal with invertebrates and corals. Volume 2 of the Baensch Marine Atlas comes in at around 736 pages with over 700 photos!

Book Review – Saltwater Aquarium Models - Saltwater Aquarium Models is around 270 pages and is printed in black and white with about 15 pages of color photos in the middle of the book

Book Review – Advanced Marine Aquarium Techniques - What was nice to see was that there were entirely new topics presented in this book regarding saltwater aquarium systems. Many books seem to rehash the basics and after you’ve read a couple of them you start to see a pattern developing. Not so in this book

Book Review – Simple Guide to Garden Ponds - A backyard pond is a big project and really, you need to research this thoroughly since it will cost a bit of money and labor on your part to set it up. You want to get it right the first time.

Book Review – Breeding Freshwater Fish - Breeding Freshwater Fish covers a lot of ground and details how to breed a lot of different fish species.

Book Review – Guide to Fancy Goldfish - This isn’t a big book and doesn’t delve deeply into any one topic but provides the basics for beginners to goldfish keeping.

Book Review – Goldfish Owner’s Manual - The books from Barrons are usually fast reads and can get a new hobbyist up to speed on all the basic information on the topic at hand. If you want a more detailed book this goldfish book probably isn’t for you. It is more general in nature and doesn’t go too deeply into any one subject.

Book Review – Super Simple Guide to Koi - the author provides all the information you need to get you up to speed quickly in koi care, equipment needed, feeding, diseases and how to care for this fish year round.

Equipment Review – CAD Lights Biopellet Reactor - CAD Lights has a new conic bio pellet reactor available that is supposed to be more advanced than your standard bio pellet reactor.  Biopellets are starting to be used by more and more saltwater aquarium hobbyists.

Saltwater Fish Profile – Gem Tang (Zebrasoma Gemmatum) - Why is this fish so expensive? The main reason is that it is rarely collected and hardly ever seen in the aquarium trade. If you do happen to see this tang on sale expect to pay around $3,000 for it!

Saltwater Fish Profile – Black Tang (Zebrasoma rostratum) -  Being an herbivore, the Black Tang primarily eats filamentous algae in the ocean. They are found in lagoons and seaward reefs at depths of 26 to 115 feet. Having a good amount of live rock in the tank will help with not only the biological filter but the rock will also provide grazing opportunities in between their main meals provided by you.

Book Review – Marine Chemistry is all about marine aquarium water. It starts off with a basic introduction to natural saltwater and synthetic saltwater and proceeds through all of the major aquarium water topics providing detailed information on each. There are also lots of really nice photos throughout the text. Full review here: Marine Chemistry