Cycling an Aquarium
Mark G N Ferguson breaks down the process every new aquarium depends on — where the ammonia comes from, where the bacteria come from, and how to get them established.
Results for “C number”
The article archive, searched in full.
The Desert Fish Habitat Partnership
Freshwater conservation is set to become one of the most pressing environmental problems of the coming decades. A look at one partnership working on it in the American desert.
In Memoriam: U Tin Win (1944 - 2014)
An appreciation of U Tin Win, who died in August 2014, and whose work shaped both the scientific exploration of Myanmar's freshwater fishes and its ornamental export trade.
European killifishes part 1: the genus Aphanius in Spain
Matt Ford introduces the Aphanius killifishes of Spain: Eurasian, attractive, seldom discussed, and a long way from the African and American species that define the group.
Stunted growth means stunted lives
The first of a series supporting BIAZA's Big Fish Campaign, on why aquarium fishes are treated as disposable and why, in some cases, size really does matter.
Major Changes in New World Cichlid Taxonomy
A review of the herichthyin cichlids of Middle America has named eight new genera and moved a number of aquarium favourites between them. What changed, and why.
South Asian barbs - a guide to nomenclature
An extensive review has broken up the genus Puntius and moved a great many aquarium favourites into new genera. A guide to which name is now which.
The HMF - What's That?
Rüdiger Rautenberg on the Hamburger Mattenfilter — cheap, widely loved by German breeders, and barely known outside mainland Europe.
For Peat’s Sake...
Matt Ford argues the hobby should stop using peat — a valuable, non-renewable resource whose extraction is visible from orbit.
A Passion for Cichlids
The first of an interview series. Ichthyologist and aquarist Michael K. Oliver on the systematics of Malawi's cichlids, and on diving the lake to collect them.
The mystery of the aquarium tiger barb...
Matt Ford on a fish everybody knows and nobody can name: the aquarium tiger barb turns out to be of decidedly questionable identity.
'Phallusy' or foe? The myth of the candiru
The candiru has been credited with destroying manhood for over two hundred years. What the fish actually does, and how much of the legend survives the checking.
Five new species of Badis described from West Bengal, India
Stefan van der Voort on five new Badis described from West Bengal, and on how much of that region is evidently still unexplored.
Heating the Aquarium
Why tropical fish need heating at all, and the basic ways of providing it — starting from the temperatures the tropics actually hold.
Whaddaya mean, too hot?
Many aquarium fishes are held at temperatures they would never meet in nature. Rüdiger Rautenberg on how following the rules on heating may be costing you money.
Badis singenensis, the most unique badid gets a name – or does it?
Stefan van der Voort on a new Indo-Burmese badid and whether its name will stand — printed here in the original text, after a magazine altered it without asking.
Botiid fishes of the 'Modesta complex' – an analysis of natural history and behaviorisms
Mike Ophir on the loaches of the 'Modesta complex' — long treated as the community tank's cleaning crew, and still poorly served by what is known of their care.
Breeding Yasuhikotakia sidthimunki - the dwarf chain loach
Mark Duffill, a self-confessed loachaholic of thirty years, on keeping and finally breeding the dwarf chain loach.
New darter characins from Brazil
Almost every darter characin in hobbyist literature is called Characidium fasciatum. New species from Brazil are a reminder of how little that name settles.
New shrimp from Hong Kong and southern China
The 'tiger' and 'bee' shrimps have long been treated as variants of a single species. New descriptions from Hong Kong and southern China settle what they actually are.