Biotopes are great! Who doesn’t love a well designed and thought out biotope aquarium or terrarium? Perusing the web I saw that the Biotope Aquarium Design contest had released a printed magazine of contestants from 2016. I had to add this one to my collection of books and periodicals. Print …
Read More »Terrarium From an Old Fashioned Lantern
You can get some pretty good ideas for interesting terrariums and micro aquariums for the home. Lanterns meant to burn oil using a wick have a glass to protect the flame from wind and reduce the chance of fire. It also makes an attractive terrarium for home decor. “It was …
Read More »Should Your Next Fish be Wild Caught or Captive Bred?
In the aquarium hobby, we often hear about wild caught fish. More often than not we hear not to purchase wild caught fish. Are farm raised or captive bred fish the best option? Captive bred can really make an impact but sometimes, wild caught does more than you think. Which …
Read More »Aquascaping Maintenance Schedule
Planted aquariums can be visually stunning and a great environment for livestock. However, you must commit to the all important regular maintenance routine that comes with them. Missed water changes or fertilizer doses, clogging of filtration, lack of water changes, CO2 running out, and plants being overshadowed all contribute to plant …
Read More »Why Did My Cryptocoryne Melt?
Why Did my Cryptos Melt? A common question I get is from aquarium keepers asking why their cryptocorynes have turned into a goo. Usually, it involves either newly acquired plants or plants that have been moved around in an established tank. It is a common occurrence and it isn’t always a …
Read More »A World of Eriocaulon Aquarium Plants
A World of Eriocaulon by Bernd Marks Unfortunately Eriocaulons are still a marginal phenomenon in the hobby, and they really don’t deserve this status. For almost 2 years I have kept E. shiga, E. sieboldianum, E. polaris, E. sulawesi sp, and E. goias. In the course of time I have …
Read More »Multiplying Eriocaulon Plants by Division
Dividing Eriocaulon to Produce New Plants by Bernd Marks I have kept a variety of eriocaulon for a couple years. Erio’s are a marginalized aquarium plant and it should be more popular with hobbyists for many reasons. First of all, they are easy to keep and secondly they are …
Read More »Koyna and Krishna River Confluence Biotope
Koyna and Krishna River Confluence Biotope by Jeroen Vanhooren Biotope: Small tributary of the Koyna river near the confluence with Krishna river (India) Dimensions: 70*50*35 (l*d*h) Technical description Lightning: 1 x Aquatlantis Easy Led 6800 K (28 W) – time controlled. Filter: Internal sump with 2 sizes mechanical filtration media and …
Read More »Attaching Plants with a Fly Tying Bobbin
Pinpoint Your Plant Placement With a Fly Tying Bobbin by James Montgomery There are many ways to attach plants to rocks, driftwood, and other materials. The advances in cyanoacrylate glues have made fast sticking super strong glues available cheaply. Rubber bands and wire clips also work well. However there’s one …
Read More »Capable and Versatile Cryptocorynes
Cryptocorynes are an interesting group of plants. They are largely easy to keep and make great low light plants for the planted aquarium. Naturally they grow along shaded stream banks and shallow water as they are really mostly semi aquatic plants. There is a wide variety of species available to the …
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