Fish Lore Aquarium Blog

There was already a Fish Lore “group” but I created an “official” Fish Lore page here: Fish Lore on Facebook

Here is the Forum thread on Fish Lore Facebook for more details.

A new coral profile is now up on Fish Lore and it’s on the Montipora Digitata.  Just like many SPS (Small Polyp Stony) corals this one needs moderate to high lighting levels, high and turbulent flows and proper water parameters (pH, alk, calc, mag, sg, etc).  It is a fast grower under the right conditions so give it plenty of room to grow.  Check out the coral profile for more information.

There is another new saltwater aquarium fish profile on the Blue Throat Triggerfish.  If you’re considering a trigger for your saltwater aquarium the Blue Throat Triggerfish is one of the least aggressive, although it’s still a trigger so stock accordingly.

I started adding videos to my YouTube channel here: Fish Lore Aquarium Fish Videos. I have a lot of older videos that I need to upload and some newer videos from the reef tank set ups.  The newer aquarium fish videos are mostly of my corals and reef tank fish and those are in HD but the older videos were compressed to be very low resolution from the old days of dial-up.  :)

Added two new saltwater fish profiles recently on the Lavender Tang and Tomini Tang.  The Lavender gets to about 8 inches as an adult and the Tomini gets to about 6 inches as an adult.  The Tomini Tang is used as a tank cleaner type fish by hobbyists and given it’s small adult size (for a tang) is very popular.   The Lavender is not quite as common but still a very pretty fish and can be considered hardy for a saltwater fish.  For more info check out the profile pages here:

Tomini Tang
Lavender Tang

There is a new book titled The Coral Reef Aquarium available.  It was written by hobbyist Tony Vargas that is sure to please the new and future reef tank keepers out there.  It’s nice to have a new and up to date resource for those entering the reef tank hobby.  Check out more details about this book on the review page here: The Coral Reef Aquarium Book

Acropora coral (Acropora spp.) is one of the most obsessed about and most sought after species of coral for reef tank keepers.  Under the right conditions these corals can grow fairly fast and making an acro frag is trivial to say the least.  Captive grown acro frags are highly sought after and you can usually turn them in at your local reef shop for store credit, trade them with friends and even sell them online.   A pinky size frag can go for $15 to $50 dollars or more!

There are tons of different color morphs with slightly different water flow and lighting requirements but there are some things in general that they require and we provide that info in a recent coral profile written here: Acropora Coral.

Aquarium hobbyists are always interested in gadgets, especially ones that will make their lives easier.   I noticed this vacuum at the local stores and in the various print catalogs and was thinking it would be perfect for keeping my bare bottom reef tank clean in between water changes. Read the rest of this entry »

There is a new review up on the Ecotech Vortech MP40W-ES which is a state of the art powerhead.  The MP40 costs about $400 which puts it out of the price range for most hobbyists but reef tank keepers looking for some really interesting and dynamic water flows should be very interested in the types of water movement(s) this pump can provide. Read the rest of this entry »

The Fish Lore aquarium forum is now on available for smart phones such as the Android and iPhone via the Tapatalk application.  You can pick it up on the app store for $2.99.  It really makes posting pictures and browsing the forum very fast and easy. Read the rest of this entry »

A relatively recent item in the saltwater aquarium world over the last year is Biopellets and many manufacturers are jumping on the band wagon to get their own version of these pellets to market.  These polymer based pellets are used in fluidized reactors such as the TLF Phosban 150 reactor and the claim is that they will reduce and/or help eliminate nitrate and phosphate in your saltwater aquarium or reef tank. Read the rest of this entry »

The latest magazine issue is now online.  We have a couple member spotlights, a saltwater profile and the winner from the previous month’s photo contests. Read the rest of this entry »

The October issue of the Fish Lore Aquarium magazine is now online!  Thanks to TonyG and Lorabell for the spotlights and J. Ferguson for writing up some profiles.  There is also a book review on breeding saltwater fish species.  Read the rest of this entry »

The latest fish lore aquarium magazine is now uploaded.  Thanks goes to the members spotlighted – jgon and mare2009 and the article writers; FearTheFishies, Matt6765, Gouramiguy17, TonyG, Butterfly and MaddieLynn! Thanks for your help.

Here are the links to the articles: Read the rest of this entry »

The July 2009 Fish Lore Aquarium Magazine is now online.  Thank you to Megusta and SteveAngela for writing articles and to the members that were spotlighted this month: Aquarist48, Coffeebean and Minnow.  Read the rest of this entry »

The June 2009 Fish Lore Aquarium Magazine is now online.  As always there are a couple of interesting articles to check out.  Lifesabeach and agabr123 contributed member spotlights.  Matt wrote up an article on his Red Sea Max Aquarium and MeGusta wrote a fish profile on the elephantnose fish.  Read the rest of this entry »

It’s that time again for a new magazine issue.  The May 2009 Fish Lore Aquarium Magazine is now online.  Check it out.   There are a couple member spotlights (thanks NavyScuba and Gremlin), an article on shell dweller cichlids (thanks Fish Addict), an article on Algae Control, another on the Purple Tang and one on the Birdsnest Coral.  Read the rest of this entry »

Anyone that has had an aquarium set up for any amount of time can tell you about algae.  Aquarium algae control is a popular topic on forums too.  So with that in mind I decided to write up something that would be helpful to aquarium newbies for controlling algae in their aquariums.  The article is kinda long but hopefully it touches on the many possible causes and sources of algae problems in your tank.  I was also kinda selfish in that I plan on linking to it when someone has an algae problem on the forum. Read the rest of this entry »

Another new small polyp stony (SPS) coral profile is now up on the Birdsnest Coral (Seriatopora hystrix).  It has a few different color variations with the pink birdsnest being very common.  They are somewhat pricey but if you have the right setup they should grow nicely for you. What do you need to keep this coral? Well, the proper lighting to start, then add in the appropriate amount of water flow and stable water parameters.  Read the rest of this entry »

The Purple Tang is quite popular among saltwater fish hobbyists with larger tanks and they are expensive! Ranging in price anywhere from $100 – $150 and that is online. Locally you can expect to pay more.  The scientific name for them is Zebrasoma xanthurus and they are collected in the Red Sea, the West Indian Ocean and a few other locales.  Like other tangs, the Purple Tang needs lots of swimming space, proper tank mates, slow acclimation and the proper diet for adequate long term care. 

Read the rest of this entry »

Just uploaded the April 2009 Fish Lore Aquarium Magazine.  Thanks to Platy Ben and Amanda for the articles and Au01st and Nick Goody for the member spotlights. Read the rest of this entry »

I just added a new aquarium book review to the site.  The book is “Giant Clams in the Sea and Aquarium” written by James Fatherree.  If you currently have Tridacnid clams or plan on purchasing them in the future then this book is for you.  It provides in depth information on every species of the giant clams.  Read the rest of this entry »

The March 2009 issue of the Fish Lore Aquarium Magazine has been uploaded for you to read.  This was a pretty big issue this month.  We had Fish Lore Member Spotlights on Choffman, Red1313, MeGustaUnaPez and SteveAngela.   A big thank you goes out to PFP and Tom with the freshwater fish profiles this month.  Also included are a couple of coral profiles and info on protein skimmers.   If reading about aquariums and fish is what you like, check out the magazine. Read the rest of this entry »

What exactly is a protein skimmer and do you really need one for you new saltwater aquarium?  These are two questions that are often asked by newcomers to the hobby and we try to help you out with some general info on skimmers and their function in the saltwater aquarium. 

Not everyone “needs” a protein skimmer but there are many benefits from using one on your tank.  Yes, they can be very expensive but when you think about the benefits and the improved water quality that you get from using them you may think that they are not so expensive after all.  Read the rest of this entry »

A nice looking coral (albeit a pricey one) is the Acanthastrea species of corals.  In general they are undemanding needing moderate lighting and moderate water flows.  Stable water parameters along with supplemental feedings are needed too if you want better growth rates.  Fragging them is easy too.  Still not sure Read the rest of this entry »

One of the pieces of equipment you might be interested in for your aquarium is a Reverse Osmosis / Deionization water filter.  These are sometimes simply called RO/DI units.  If you keep an aquarium that runs high output flourescent or metal halide lighting, like for a reef tank or a freshwater planted tank, you probably should know about these water purification devices.

Running high output lights can really spell trouble in an unbalanced tank loaded with nitrates, phosphates and other dissolved organics that can lead to algae blooms.  Starting with good source water out of the tap for water top-offs, water changes, and tank fillings can become a crucial component for your aquarium.  Read the rest of this entry »

Just put up a new coral profile on the Candy Cane coral (Caulastrea furcata).  For a Large Polyped Stony coral (LPS) the candy cane is relatively easy to care for since it can be quite hardy in the right conditions.

Read the rest of this entry »

The February 2009 Fish Lore Aquarium Magazine is now uploaded.  Special thanks to Alessa, CapeKate and PFP for writing articles this month and to Matt and Shaina for the member spotlights!  It was another fun issue to put together and hopefully you will find it a fun read.

Here are the links to the articles:

• Member Spotlight – Matt
• Member Spotlight – Shaina
• Betta Life – Chapter 5
• Fish Profile – Blood Red Parrot Cichlid
• Fish Profile – Sparkling Gourami
• Feeder Fish
• Equipment Review – Octopus 800s Hang On Back Protein Skimmer
• Forum Thread of the Month – Aquarium Abbreviations, Acronyms, Lingo, etc
• January 2009 Fish and Aquarium Photo Contest Winners

This is regarding a review on the Ocotopus HB 800s Hang On protein skimmer.  I am always interested in reading about the latest and greatest when it comes to aquarium equipment, especiall protein skimmers.  I feel that protein skimmers (for saltwater tanks) are one of the most important tools we can use other than regular partial water changes to keep the aquarium water at optimum levels.  

Whenever I come across a post or article on a new skimmer I always read it with interest, hoping to find the next great skimmer.  I had been hearing repeatedly how good the Octopus line of skimmers perform and was very interested in checking one of them out.   I was also interested in picking up a deltec 600 but couldn’t find one online or locally for a decent price.  Those deltecs are expensive!  Too expensive if you ask me…

Read the rest of this entry »

The latest Fish Lore Aquarium Magazine is now up.  Here are the links to the articles:

January 2009 Fish Magazine
Member Spotlight – Isis
Member Spotlight – Nemo Addict
Member Spotlight – Mathas
Fish Profile – Figure 8 Puffer
Coral Profile – Ricordia Florida
Coral Profile – Frogspawn Coral
New Aquarium Game – FishCo
New Page – Aquarium Fish Videos
Forum Thread of the Month – DIY Spawning Net for Egg Robbers
December 2008 Fish and Aquarium Photo Contest Winners

Thanks,
Mike

Coming in a variety of colors the corallimorphs also have the benefit of being fairly hardy beginner corals assuming that you have the proper lighting levels and water conditions. Red, pink, purple, blue and greens are common. Don’t place them too closely to other corals though and they should grow nicely, albeit slowly for you. Fortunately they are easy to frag in the home aquarium.

Read the rest of this entry »

Just launched  a new aquarium fish video page that is loaded with helpful aquarium and fish care videos.  We will add more as time allows.  Check it out here: Aquarium Fish Videos.

One of the more popular species of Large Polyp Stony Corals is the Frogspawn coral, Euphyllia divisa.  They have some easily met requirements and they sport some really cool colors.  The frogspawn can be quite aggressive with other corals though and they need plenty of space between themselves and other corals due to the long sweeper tentacles.

Read the rest of this entry »

The latest Fish Lore Aquarium Magazine is now online. There are a few profile articles, a couple of member spotlights, the photo contest winners, a fish quiz and a lighting equipment review. We made a change starting this month for the aquarium of the month and fish of the month photo contest winners. Read the rest of this entry »

There is a new aquarium game out called Fishco.  The premise is very similar to Fish Tycoon and if you’ve played Fish Tycoon you will be up to speed in no time.  This game improves on many of the facets of gameplay though and is worth checking out.  If you are interested in Read the rest of this entry »

If you are looking for something easy to keep to start your journey in coral keeping the Button Polyps or Zoanthids can be a good one to start with.  They are fairly hardy and will tolerate quite a range of water conditions but will do best and grow quicker under reef like conditions.  They are not outwardly aggressive with tank mates but they do grow quickly and can overtake large parts of the rock work. Read the rest of this entry »

Researching lighting for a reef tank can be bewildering at times.  How do you know which lights are good and which are crap?  Reviews of course.  The cash required for reef tank lights can be significant and you’ll want to research as much as possible to make sure you’re making the right decision.  Hopefully we can help you out if you’re looking into the Nova Extreme T5-HO lights.  You may also be interested in this setup if you’re wanting to keep a freshwater planted tank. Read the rest of this entry »

The latest magazine is now online.  We have fish care profiles, member spotlights, the forum thread of the month, the photo contest winners and more!  To Read the rest of this entry »

If you’re looking for a decent scavenger for your saltwater aquarium you may want to check out the brittle stars.  They ship poorly but once they’ve acclimated to your saltwater tank they should do fine provided that your water quality is kept in the optimal range, i.e. very low nitrates, stable salinity and pH, etc. Read the rest of this entry »

The latest magazine is now online if you’re looking for something to read.  We had a lot of member spotlights this month.  Pandora, Alessa, FishFolk and Annadvn were all spotlighted.  There were 3 new fish profiles in the past month and the first small polyped stoney coral profile on the Montipora capricornis. Read the rest of this entry »

There is a new coral profile up on the site on the Small Polyped Stoney coral named Montipora Capricornis.  There are several different color varieties available and this could also be considered a good first SPS coral to start out with if you’ve never kept SPS corals before.  That is, if your tank parameters and equipment are in line with what is required for keeping this coral. Read the rest of this entry »

I wrote a new article that talks about some of the more commonly described areas and zones on the coral reefs.  Since the plan is to have more coral profiles on the website it makes sense to have an article describing these areas since the location in which corals are normally found can lend some insight into their captive care requirements. 

Read the rest of this entry »

This is a powerhead modification that is talked about quite frequently amongst saltwater hobbyists to help increase the flow rates in their aquariums.  This is actually one of the better and less expensive ways to get the water really moving in your reef tank or FOWLR. 

Be advised that if you have a sand substrate you may need to keep it higher in the tank because it really whips up the current in the tank.  There are several positive aspects of implementing this Maxi Jet mod.   If you’re interested in getting more out of your maxi jet powerheads Read the rest of this entry »

There is another new saltwater fish profile on the Three Stripe Damselfish on the main website.  These damsels get to be about 4 inches in size but have personalities similar to some of the other more aggressive damsels.

For a minimum tank size you’ll need at least a 30 gallon tank, preferably larger of course.  They are quite hardy and could be considered a good beginner’s fish if not for their temperament.  The trick with keeping these damsels is finding Read the rest of this entry »

The September 2008 issue of the Fish Lore Aquarium Magazine is online.  We have another round of really good reads.  Two member spotlights, two freshwater profiles, as always the forum thread of the month and the photo contest winners.

This month we also added a “Betta of the Month” contest.  There was a really good turnout for it and it must have been hard to cast a vote in that contest with all those beautiful bettas.

Here are Read the rest of this entry »

The August issue is online now.  Alessa1235 wrote an article with tips for beginners on what to do to get the cycle started and what to do after you get it going.  There is a game review, some saltwater fish profiles, member spotlights on Andy and CoryD, winners of the photo Read the rest of this entry »

We’ve signed up with Big Fish Games to start putting some of the fish and aquarium games on the main website.  The latest one we reviewed is “Jenny’s Fish Shop”.  This is a really fun game that the entire family can play.  Sure, it’s not really a fish shop simulation but it’s still quite fun.  Read the rest of this entry »

This is one interesting looking fish.  The Pajama Cardinalfish is a favorite among saltwater reef keepers due to their small size, temperament and they are relatively easy to care for and breed!  Yes, breed.  They are mouth brooders and could be considered a candidate for those saltwater hobbyists out there interested in trying their hand at breeding marine fish.  For more Read the rest of this entry »

The July 2008 Fish Lore Aquarium Magazine is now online.  This month we have 4 member spotlights, some saltwater fish profiles and a humorous article by Atmachine.  The member spotlights are always fascinating to read.  If you’re interested in reading this magazine issue, here are Read the rest of this entry »

The Naso Tang needs a large tank to adequately care for them given their potential size of a whopping 18 inches, likely not that big in the aquarium but this is still a big fish. Read the rest of this entry »

One of the largest of the saltwater butterfly fish is the Lined Butterflyfish, Chaetodon lineolatus. They can get up to 12 inches or so and need at least a 150 gallon aquarium.  Take your time acclimating them and keep them out of reef tanks otherwise you risk losing some of your prized corals.  Read the rest of this entry »

The June 2008 issue of the Fish Lore Online Aquarium Magazine is now online.  Thanks to the article authors this month: Tom, Sirdarksol and RB. Also thank you to the members that were spotlighted: MartinisMommy and MissMTS.  These articles and member spotlights are always interesting to read.  The photo contest Read the rest of this entry »

There is now a profile on the Eibli Angelfish.  This is one of the bigger dwarf angels with the potential to get up to 6 inches. They are sometimes found on the reef amongst C. vrolikii at depths of 1 to 30 meters. 

Read the rest of this entry »

Today I added “categories” for Freshwater and Saltwater Fish Species in the fish picture photo gallery.  You can upload your pics if you’d like to show off your species!  I think this will be cool once we start getting some of the categories filled out with pics.   Couple of things: Read the rest of this entry »

Hi All – I upgraded the forum software to the latest and greatest version over the weekend.  So, what’s this mean for the members? Well, let’s see: Read the rest of this entry »

A couple days late due to some scheduling issues on my part prevented me from pushing out the magazine this month on the 1st.  Lots of great stuff to read this month including member spotlights, forum thread of the month and some interesting articles.  Check Read the rest of this entry »

Maintaining and testing the calcium and alkalinity levels in a saltwater reef tank set up can be quite the chore if you have a tank full of growing corals.  There is a piece of aquarium equipment that can help you out called the calcium reactor.  Read the rest of this entry »

Have you ever had to deal with green bubble algae in your saltwater aquarium?  We have and it’s not fun.  Just wrote an article on what to do and how to deal with this algae without pulling what’s left of your hair out.  

There are several different varieties of this bubble algae and we talk about the most common one – Ventricaria ventricosa.  Hope it helps you deal with this algae.  If you have a tip on dealing with this algae post it on the article page and we’ll add it!  Read the article here: Green Bubble Algae.

We’ve always thought it would be a cool idea to have our favorite fish species printed on a t-shirt and now it’s possible!  We’ve hooked up with zazzle.com to have these shirts printed.  You can totally customize all of these shirts to your liking.  Change the shirt color, shirt style and even change the image size and plug in your own text! 

If you’re interested, check it out here: FishLore T-shirts. We’ll be adding new fish species for the t-shirt designs frequently, so check back often. Have fun!

Just uploaded the latest Fish Lore Aquarium Magazine for April 2008.  We have more member spotlights, a book review, aquarium chiller review, an article on cyanobacteria and a freshwater and saltwater fish profile.  Here are Read the rest of this entry »

If you have a larger saltwater tank, say around a 100 gallons or so, with little to no invertebrates you might just be interested in the Harlequin Tuskfish.  This fish is a beauty and will do well with similar sized species although avoid housing them with inverts.  They should leave the corals and clams alone but may eat smaller fish species and motile inverts.  Here’s the fish profile if you’re interested in learning more about these fish: Harlequin Tuskfish

This week I read an interesting book on aquarium design.  I’m not the most creative person and any creative help I can get I’ll take.  If you’re looking for inspiration for an upcoming aquarium setup or redesign you may want to read this book first. 

Read the rest of this entry »

For the saltwater tank owners or the cold-water fish species keepers out there we recently reviewed a “nano” chiller. 

If you have a smaller tank less than 40 gallons and you are interested in getting an aquarium chiller you might be interested in this chiller.  Read the review here: JBJ Mini Arctica Aquarium Chiller

Just uploaded the March 2008 issue of the Fish Lore Aquarium Magazine.  This month we have more Fish Lore member spotlights, nano tank setup, betta tank setup, book reviews and freshwater and saltwater fish profiles. Thanks to Tom, Sabi, Atm and COBC for their help. 

Here are the articles for this issue:

Read the rest of this entry »

Looking for a book to help identify those corals at the store and what the requirements are for the various species?  If so, this book could be what you’re looking for.  Then again, if you’re looking for very detailed info on each of the coral species, it may not be the book for you.  Check out the review here: Corals Reference Guide

A new saltwater book review is online.  The Nano-Reef Handbook is geared towards those hobbyists interested in keeping those small nano tanks.   For those saltwater hobbyists interested in setting up a nano aquarium, is this book worth the investment? Find out by reading the review on The Nano-Reef Handbook.

Recently I put up a review of the nintendo wii game Endless Ocean.  This is not your normal game where you’re constantly button smashing.  Thank goodness, right?  It’s not rated “T” or “M”, but it is rated “E” for everyone. Everything coming out for the xbox 360 or the ps3 seems to be rated mature or teen. When you have kids that you want to play games with this gets kinda frustrating after awhile. The Nintendo Wii is so much more family friendly.  Endless Ocean is a game  Read the rest of this entry »

Hi All – I added the functionality to list your aquarium information in your profile that will display in all of your posts in the forum.  This was recommended by the Fish Lore moderators and is a good one.  Often times when asking for help we have to repeat the same old question: “What are your tank water parameters?”  Read the rest of this entry »

Hi All!  I just uploaded the latest Fish Lore Aquarium Magazine issue for February 2008.  The articles this month: Read the rest of this entry »

A new saltwater aquarium equipment review is up on the FishLore.com.  There are a ton of really crappy skimmers out there for smaller saltwater and reef type tanks.  Many hobbyists (including me) tried to go the cheap route and start a tank with an inexpensive protein skimmer.  We soon find out that it doesn’t work and so then we get the next one up in price.  That one still doesn’t work very good so we finally do what we should have done from the beginning and thoroughly research and shell out the cash for the more expensive skimmer.  

Is this another crappy one or does it Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve wanted a nano cube for some time now.  I’ve been saving up for a much larger saltwater reef tank too but just could not wait any longer.  MTS (Multiple Tank Syndrom) reared it’s ugly head and I got the 28 Gallon JBJ Nanocube with 150 watt HQI Metal Halide.  This aquarium is really nice and I’m very happy with it.  If you’re interested in seeing how I’ve set mine up, see JBJ Nano Cube Setup

You can post comments on the nano cube setup page too.  If you have one of these nano cubes I’d be interested in hearing your thoughts, tips, advice, etc.

Happy New Year!  

The January issue of the FishLore magazine is out.  We have member spotlights, fish profiles, a forum ettiquette article, an aquarium first aid article, the fish and aquarium of the month contest winners from December are announced, a continuation of Atm’s nano saltwater tank setup series and an article on aquarium chillers.

Here are the article links: Read the rest of this entry »

Just finished a new article on these very pricey pieces of equipment.  Freshwater hobbyists can probably skip over this article, unless you’re interested in keeping coldwater species.  Reef Tank hobbyists running high-output lighting systems may be interested in getting an aquarium chiller.  Read the rest of this entry »

Seasons Greetings all! This is just an fyi that the December Fishlore magazine has been released. Thanks to all the article authors that contributed and congrats to the fish and aquarium photo of the month contest winner!  Winners will receive their $10 e-gift to Petsmart.com via email from Mike. 

This month the magazine features the following articles… Read the rest of this entry »

We just released the November issue of the Fish Lore Online Aquarium Magazine.   This month we have member spotlights on COBettaCouple, Tim and Armadillo.  4 fish profiles were written on the Cockatoo Cichlid, Purple Firefish, Six Line Wrasse and Read the rest of this entry »

Greetings – this is just a quick note to let you now about a new feature on the forum.  We now have arcade games for our members.  If you want to waste a few minutes, stop by the arcade and see how well you do at some of the different games.  Read the rest of this entry »

The October issue of the Fish Lore Online Aquarium and Fish Magazine is ready for you to read!  We had another great turn out of articles from the members and we’re sure you’ll enjoy reading this issue.  The October issue includes…

• Fish Lore Member Spotlight – Butterfly
• Fish Lore Member Spotlight – Chickadee
• Forum Thread of the Month – Fantasy Betta
• Fish of the Month – Mahachai Betta
• Fish Keeping for Beginners Part 2: Basic Equipment and Extras
• DIY – Build Your Own Aquarium: Part 1 – The Stand
• Why Have a Planted Tank?
• Colored Aquarium Lighting
• Betta Breeding
• Fish and Aquarium Photo Contest Winners

Read the rest of this entry »

We just launched a new auction and classifieds system for FishLore members.  You can create your own ads and set them up to be in either auction, classified, or wanted format.

For example, if you want to sell an item using the bidding system you’d select “auction” when setting up the ad.  If you want to sell an item with a fixed price you’d select the “fixed price” ad type.  You can also post ads for items wanted.  Read the rest of this entry »

We’ve tallied the votes and the winning pictures for the fish of the month and aquarium of the month contests are… Read the rest of this entry »

We had some pretty big uprades last month on the forum and photo gallery.  We’ve switched software for both applications and while there were a few hiccups, I think things are getting back to normal now…  Hopefully these upgrades will help things run smoother and give us the ability to easily add enhancements going forward for our members. Read the rest of this entry »

At the urging of the members we have decided to launch our own monthly online magazine.  These articles will be written by the FishLore members and edited by Mike.  We had an awesome turn out for articles with some being held in reserve for the next issue.  If future responses are as good as the first one we should have some very interesting magazine issues for the future. Read the rest of this entry »

The winners of the latest fish and aquarium photo contests have been determined. And the winners are…. Read the rest of this entry »

The winners of the latest fish and aquarium photo contests have been determined.  And the winners are…. Read the rest of this entry »

We recently added the Koi profile to the website.  This species, Cyprinus carpio, is recommended for the backyard pond or extremely large aquariums only.  They simply grow way too big for most home aquariums.  We get receive lots of correspondence from Fish Lore visitors and it’s worrisome how many are keeping koi in a fish tank.  Yeee-ikes!   Read the rest of this entry »

There had been some talk about coming up with some new member names for the fish forum.  We have been using the default names that come with the software since the beginning.   So we came up with 6 different groups of names for the members to vote on and they decided that they liked the following: Read the rest of this entry »

We recently finished adding some cool new mods for the forum.  One is the Google member map for the SMF forum software.  You can place your pin and keep zooming in until you can see your house!  For the younger members, please, please, please don’t use this feature or if you do, don’t put your pin on your exact location.

Also added some new smiley sets and new forum avatars.  The previous smileys were getting kind of old and it’s always good to add new stuff.

One last thing before I go, we are voting on new member names on the forum.  There are six groups/options to choose from, so if you haven’t already, get over there and vote.  I’ll keep the voting open for a few days so more members can participate.

Thanks,

Mike

The winners of the June 2007 Fish of the Month and Aquarium of the month photo contests have been determined. 

Read the rest of this entry »

Yesterday I upgraded the forum software to the latest version of SMF, which is currently version 1.1.3.  It took a few hours to do a major backup of the database, attachments and other important files and then the upgrade started.  It took a couple of tries and once had a CPU exceeded error, but it finally clicked in and the upgrade finished successfully.

We have a slightly new look and feel to the fish and aquarium forum but the main reason for upgrading was for security enhancments and hopefully new mod packages that will be coming out.  There were some issues with some older mod packages that we we’re running (member location map, smf seo, etc) and we are starting from scratch with all new mod packages.  I will continue to make changes as needed and implement ideas raised by our members.  Some of the best ideas have come from the Fish Lore members. 

New avatars are also available and we’ll be adding more soon.  If you’re not a member yet, stop by and browse our Aquarium Fish Forum.  I think you’ll like it.  We have some fantastic members (3500+) and we’re growing daily.

Thanks for reading,

Mike

New article for those freshwater hobbyists out there that are interested in setting up a saltwater aquarium but weren’t sure if they were ready for the task.  We try to keep it simple and easy to understand.  Differences in setup, costs, equipment and aquarium maintenance are discussed.  Check it out: Freshwater vs. Saltwater Aquarium

The Fish Lore forum is growing well and we have tons of fantastic members that go to great lengths to help others with their fish and aquarium problems.  It’s really cool to see folks helping each other they way they do.  I wanted to write this post not to brag about the members here (I’m very proud of our members) but to help those new to fish forums or even forums in general.  This post has advice on structuring your questions in order to help the forum members understand your situation better so that they can provide a good response to your inquiry.  Read the rest of this entry »

Since the vacation days are upon us, I wrote a new article on what to do with your fish and aquarium(s) while you’re on vacation.  Is it possible for your fish to go that long without food?  What should you do before your leave?  Is there a list of things to give a fish sitter?  You betcha – check out the article here: Going on vacation – what to do with your fish

Yesterday I added an article about how to setup a hang on the back of the tank refugium using an AquaClear Power Filter. These aquaclears are nice to use because of they way they’re set up and have a larger open area conducive for a mini-refugium.  You can get one of these setup for less than  Read the rest of this entry »

I recently wrote and uploaded an article that explains the equipment and steps involved in setting up a reef tank.  A reef tank is a saltwater aquarium that is used primarily to showcase soft and hard stony corals and invertebrates.  Fish are kept in a reef tank too, though not stocked Read the rest of this entry »

The May 2007 winners for the Fish of the month and Aquarium of the month photo contests have been determined.  Read the rest of this entry »

This past week the fish lore forum crossed over the 3000 member mark!  The forum is growing incredibly fast – all thanks to the wonderful members we have here.  I’m often amazed at the patience and willingness to help others that our members demonstrate on a daily basis on the forum.  Read the rest of this entry »

We now have a sister website called http://www.fishloreblog.com that will be used to house the FishLore member blogs.  I think this is going to be a lot of fun and it can give those members that want to, a chance to run their own blog. 

Having a blog has been a really cool experience and I didn’t expect to like blogging as much as I do and I hope those that have signed up enjoy the blog thing too.  There are so many things you can do with wordpress - many themes and plugins are available and you could literally spend hours sorting through them all.  Themes are the look and feel of a blog and the blog plugins are the “widgets” that you can use to enhance the administration and the user experience. Read the rest of this entry »