Fish Care & Aquarium Articles from The Home Aquarium!
The Home Aquarium is here to give you detailed information about specific types of aquarium fish, other aquatic animals, aquarium plants and general aquarium and fish care.
A fish aquarium can make a nice addition to just about any room in your house. You just need to read up and learn how to keep your aquarium fish healthy and happy so they will be beautiful in your home or office.
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Royal Gramma Basslet
Common Names: Royal Gramma, Fairy Basslet
Scientific Name: Gramma loreto
Family: Grammidae
Maximum Size: 3 inches
Life expectancy: 5 years
Minimum Tank Size: 30 gallons
Temperature Range: 72 – 78°F
pH Range: 8.1 – 8.4
SG: 1.020 – 1.025
Water hardness: 8 – 12
Temperament: Peaceful
Origin: Caribbean, Tropical Western Pacific
Aquarium Setup:
A larger tank is recommended, especially if you’re planning to have several Royal Gramma Basslets. But, they have been kept successfully in tanks as small as 10 gallons when only one is present.
If a small substrate is used they will enjoy digging and rearranging the sand or gravel. They need lot’s of caves and crevices, many Royal Gramma’s won’t venture far from their chosen home. It’s recommended to have at least two hiding places for each Grammar in the tank.
Kaudern's Cardinal
Common Names: Kaudern’s Cardinal, Longfin Cardinalfish, Banggai Cardinalfish
Scientific Name: Pterapogon kauderni
Family: Apogonidae
Maximum Size: 3 inches
Life expectancy: 5 years
Minimum Tank Size: 30 gallons
Temperature Range: 72 – 78°F
pH Range: 8.1 – 8.4
Sg: 1.020 – 1.025
Water hardness: 8 – 12
Temperament: Semi-Aggressive
Origin: Indonesia
Aquarium Setup:
The Kaudern’s Cardinal normally doesn’t bother corals and plants and can be kept in marine setups. They like lots of caves for hiding and claiming as territories. They love live rock and won’t bother any coral you may have in the aquarium.
Auriga Butterflyfish
Common Names: Auriga Butterflyfish, Threadfin Butterflyfish, Cross-Stripe Butterflyfish
Scientific Name: Chaetodon auriga
Family: Chaetodontidae
Maximum Size: 9 inches
Life expectancy: 5 years
Minimum Tank Size: 50 gallons
Temperature Range: 72-78 °F
pH Range: 8.2 – 8.4
SG: 1.021 – 1.023
Water hardness: 8 – 12
Temperament: Peaceful
Origin: Fiji, Hawaii, Indo-Pacific, Maldives, Tonga
Aquarium Setup:
Auriga Butterflyfish are bold swimmers and need lots of room to move around. They’re also shy and should have plenty of hiding places such as caves and crevices.
They prefer a sandy bottom and aren’t reef compatible as they will eat most types of invertebrates and corals. This species is very sensitive to low levels of ammonia in the water, but are normally a healthy breed if the water quality is maintained.
Green Mandarin
Common Names: Green Mandarin, Mandarinfish, Mandarin Dragonet, Psychedelic fish
Scientific Name: Synchiropus splendidus
Family: Callionymidae
Maximum Size: 4 inches
Life expectancy: years
Minimum Tank Size: 30 gallons
Temperature Range: 72 – 78 °F
pH Range: 8.1 – 8.4
Sg: 1.020 – 1.025
Water hardness: dkH 8 – 12
Temperament: Peaceful
Origin: Indonesia, Australia, Philippines and New Guinea
Aquarium Setup:
The suggested large size tank isn’t for the Green Mandarin’s size, it’s for their feeding habits. They feed off of the bottom on the live rocks and sand and need a large feeding area to assure they can find enough pods. Although, smaller tanks can be used if the pod population is sufficient.
Mandarin’s can be kept in reef aquariums without any problems. They like live sand, live rocks and love lots of places to hide. They’re almost always scouring the bottom for food.
Clown Triggerfish
Common Names: Clown Triggerfish, Yellow-blotched Triggerfish, Big-spotted Triggerfish
Scientific Name: Balistoides conspicillum
Family: Balistidae
Maximum Size: 1′ 8″ inches
Life expectancy: 20 years
Minimum Tank Size: 125 gallons
Temperature Range: 72-78 °F
pH Range: 8.1 – 8.4
SG: 1.020 – 1.025
Water hardness: 8 – 12
Temperament: Aggressive
Origin: Christmas Island, Coral Sea, Indo-Pacific
Aquarium Setup:
Due to their large adult size, Clown Triggerfish need really big tanks. They’re active fish that like to swim and will often search for food on the tank bottom rearranging things such as plants and rocks.
They sleep in caves and hide in them when frightened. So, make sure that you provide lots of large size caves and hiding spots for them. You can use rocks to create caves, but they will need to be secured or they may get knocked over.
Dwarf Flame Angelfish
Common Names: Dwarf Flame Angelfish, Flame Angel, Dwarf Angel
Scientific Name: Centropyge loriculus
Family: Pomacanthidae
Maximum Size: 4 inches
Life expectancy: 10 years
Minimum Tank Size: 30 gallons
Temperature Range: 72 – 78 °F
pH Range: 8.1 – 8.4
SG: 1.020 – 1.025
Water hardness: 8 – 12
Temperament: Semi-aggressive
Origin: Pacific Ocean
Aquarium Setup:
The Dwarf Flame Angelfish loves live rocks to nibble on between meals. A strong water flow is recommended and they need lots of hiding places such as caves and rock structures.
Ocellaris Clownfish
Common Names: Ocellaris Clownfish, Anemone Fish, Nemo, Orange Anemone Fish, Clown Anemonefish
Scientific Name: Amphiprion ocellaris
Family: Pomacentridae
Maximum Size: 4 inches
Life expectancy: 6 years
Minimum Tank Size: 30 gallons
Temperature Range: 72 – 78 °F
pH Range: 8.1 – 8.4
SG: 1.020 – 1.025
Water hardness: 8 – 12
Temperament: Peaceful
Origin: South Asia
Aquarium Setup:
The best suited tank setup for the Ocallaris Clownfish is a marine tank with lots of coral, rocks and plants. They like lots of places to hide, so caves and crevices will be appreciated by these little beauties!
Maintaining a Saltwater Aquarium
Maintaining a saltwater aquarium will seem intimidating to a beginner. But, once you’ve gotten use to the routine it won’t seem near as tedious. Just keep in mind that the beauty of a marine tank is well worth the maintenance!
There are several things that need to be done on a daily basis to ensure that you system stays healthy. Catching any problems early can mean the difference between a minor problem and a major one.
You’ll probably enjoy your tank so much that you’ll be looking at it all the time, but at least once a day take a close look. Watch for any differences in the fishes appearance or behavior.
How To Setup a Saltwater Aquarium
A saltwater aquarium is the most beautiful aquatic display that you can have. It’s also one of most expensive and time consuming and you should make sure that you’re ready for the commitment before starting one.
Unlike freshwater fish, saltwater fish require stringent water conditions. The aquarium water must mimic sea water as closely as possible for them to survive.
Your first decision should be the type of fish you want to purchase. The size of the tank, the substrate and tank decorations will greatly vary depending on the species of fish.
Cobalt Blue Zebra Cichlid
Common Names: Cobalt Blue Zebra Cichlid, Cobalt Blue Cichlid
Scientific Name: Pseudotropheus Zebra
Family: Cichlidae
Maximum Size: 5-6 inches
Life expectancy: 10 years
Minimum Tank Size: 50 gallons
Temperature Range: 72 – 82°F
pH Range: 8.0 – 9.0
Water hardness: 10 – 18
Temperament: Aggressive
Origin: Lake Malawi
Aquarium Setup:
The Cobalt Blue Zebra Cichlid loves sandy substrates for digging and burrowing. Laterite based substrates work really well as they will also help in maintaining the required alkalinity.
They need caves and rock structures to have places to claim as their own territories. But, they are very active swimmers so make sure to leave them plenty of open room.
You should also include lots of small smooth gravel if you plan on breeding them. They will pick up the gravel and move it to a chosen spot to build their nest.