Posts by Avery

  • Spread of Invasive Zebra Mussels

    If you have recently purchased any plants or moss balls from Petco/Petsmart, or someone who uses the same Breeder as them, you may want to be on the look out for these highly invasive mussels.


  • Fiddler Crabs

    I’ve owned them once or twice, they can be really fun but the issue is that many stores keep them in pure freshwater which isn’t good for them. Also make sure that you cover every single hole since they are escape artists, and they do need a place with land so they can escape the water fully.

  • How do you clean previously used aquarium equipment?

    I mostly soak mine is a mixture of vinegar and water for a few hours. Then depending on if there is anything dirty, I use a magic eraser with water and scrub it all off (or use those like bathroom toilet brushes to get into the tighter, smaller spots).


    If something is toxic about it, depending on what it is I may use a diluted bleach mixture and then soak in water with prime for days. But that’s very, very rare at best.

  • How do you ship out fish to buyers elsewhere?

    It depends on where it’s going. If I know it’s going somewhere cold, I’ll add heating pads - likewise if it’s going somewhere hot, I’ll add cooling pads to try to not overcook or overheat.


    As far as medicine, I avoid feeding 2 days before shipping (with next day shipping bring a requirement) in order for them to not poop and ammonia poison themselves from stress. I also add in some stress relief, with a tad of prime just in case levels get a little high.


    I’ve never personally shipped or received a fish from outside of my native country (US), so no clue how how to even manage that since many countries can take over 30 days with port inspections and delays.

  • Hardest fish to keep?

    Many say that Discus are hard to keep due to their specific water parameters requirements, but I think there are a ton that can also fall into that due to their diet (such as freshwater puffers, and not the pea puffers) or due to their size as an adult (Bala Sharks for example get massive).

  • Breeders stock illnesses

    I’ve noticed since the pandemic that a lot of the common fish stores tend to now have breeders who have more genetic issues, or they are seemingly coming in with more illnesses than before (or normal). I’m not sure if this is due to them having to hold the fish longer and therefore overstocking the tanks before shipment, or if something else is going on.

  • Petco Dollar Per Gallon Sale

    Yeah I noticed this as well, and dependent on if it stays this way in the future I will change some of the wording in here as they updated it. It does however stays roughly the same price for 29 gallons and below (maybe a few cents in difference).

  • Do you think there will be any GloFish that are saltwater fish?

    I’ve honestly wondered this as well. I’d assume if more freshwater species get added that are harder to breed, and if there is a big enough demand along with stores willing to stock a saltwater variant - it may be possible. Although I wouldn’t really count on it since I feel like those who buy them and their glofish tanks (which are painfully small and overpriced), probably won’t pay double what a saltwater fish is for the GloFish aspect added to it.

  • Aquariu.ms News: Edition 6

    Please let us know if you have any suggestions or complaints about the theme. I’be personally tested it on my device in various browsers but nah not have accounted for every use case.

  • Anemones

    I know that with any type of coral, it really is all about making sure that you have the right lighting, nutrients, and also making sure the tank parameters are setup correctly.


    Having any one of those off tends to be stressful to the coral, which can over time kill it (or it can die in the transition from store to your tank when acclimating if done incorrectly too).

  • Modern Tank Design Materials

    Have you recently walked in a pet store, and noticed that a lot of the newer tanks (specifically below 30 gallons) tend to now use a mixture of plastic and glass, or glass and acrylic? I feel like when we get more unique designs using items such as black lit lighting, floor lighting, or various coated glass (such as darker glass) they tend to go without full glass all over.

  • Root tabs vs. liquid fertilizers?

    I always use root tabs before I add substrate, and then liquid fertilizers as time goes on. I’m sure you could push down a ton of root tabs into the substrate again if you wanted too or more near the roots of plants if you used like sand (feel like gravel would be a PITA to push down and not have others try to float up).

  • What’s up with the false information spread on social media for cures that work or don’t?

    Sadly like a range of topics, many either just don’t know, or have received false information from others (even other websites or communities) and they think that it is correct.


    With Ich specifically I have seen this a ton of times where many state that heat doesn’t kill them no matter how hot (or the temperature it does will fry all of the fish), but this has been proven false in many studies and that heat alone (or with salt) can eradicate it completely.