Home >> July, 2009

“For the record…”: Keeping track of your aquarium

Posted on: Friday, July 31st, 2009 in: aquarium maintenance

Eileen here. With all of the water changes, filter changes, feedings, testing, supplements and other changes and maintenance we do on our aquariums, it can be difficult to remember what was done and when. Some problems with aquarium systems as well as regular maintenance are dependent on what has been happening with the tanks over [...]

That Fish Place Coral system upgrades – Part 1

Posted on: Wednesday, July 29th, 2009 in: Retail Store Displays

Dave here.
Back in January, I posted a blog about some of the changes and upgrades to the fish room here in our retail store.  Over the past few weeks we have gotten back to working on our upgrades, and I wanted to start a series of blogs to let folks know what is going on. 
Behind [...]

Algae in Freshwater Aquariums and Ponds: a Primer – Part 1

Posted on: Monday, July 27th, 2009 in: aquarium maintenance

Hello, Frank Indiviglio here.  I must confess that I like algae, perhaps because many of the creatures that I favor – shrimp, tadpoles, snails, loaches and others, do best in algae-rich tanks.  I’ve even encouraged algae to grow on the backs of aquatic snakes and turtles in zoo exhibits, much to the chagrin of the [...]

Freshwater Shrimp: an Overview of Popular Aquarium Species – Part 2

Posted on: Friday, July 24th, 2009 in: Aquarium Livestock

Hello, Frank Indiviglio here.  Please see Part I of this article for information on the care of freshwater shrimps, and for profiles of other popular species.  Today I’ll highlight a few beautiful, lesser-known species in the genus Caridina and Brazil’s yellow-bellied grass shrimp.
Red-Nosed or Rhino Shrimp, Caridina gracilirostris
A relative newcomer to the trade, the rhino [...]

The Olive Nerite: an Algae-Eating Snail for Fresh, Brackish or Marine Aquariums

Posted on: Wednesday, July 22nd, 2009 in: Aquarium Livestock

Hello, Frank Indiviglio here.  I’m partial to snails…from tiny stream dwellers indigenous to the spray zone of one waterfall in NY to the huge lumbering African land snails, all that I’ve worked with have been fascinating.  But aquarists often have a love/hate relationship with snails, searching for one that will consume unwanted algae while not [...]

Rare Sea Turtle pays a Visit, and Leaves a Gift, at a Virgin Islands Resort

Posted on: Monday, July 20th, 2009 in: Aquariums and Fish in the News, Fun Stuff, General, conservation

Hey everyone, Eileen again with a quick and interesting bit of news! 
One of our former TFP colleagues recently shared with us an exciting experience, and I wanted to pass it along. Erica Palmer, an assistant curator at Coral World in St. Thomas and a former That Fish Place Fishroom Supervisor, knew that the story would peak our interests, and [...]

Species Profile: Upside-down Jellyfish (Cassiopea sp.) in the Home Aquarium

Posted on: Friday, July 17th, 2009 in: Aquarium Livestock, Saltwater Aquariums

Eileen here.
One of the most iconic images of a jellyfish, the one most people think of, is that of a dome-shaped animal with long flowing tentacles drifting through the water. For the aquarium community however, this is not the one that we usually see in our tanks. A far more common aquarium jellyfish is the [...]

Archerfish – Aquatic Snipers

Posted on: Wednesday, July 15th, 2009 in: Aquarium Livestock, Brackish Aquariums

Patty here. Often brackish fish are a hard sell to people on the market to start an aquarium.  Fish appropriate for brackish systems don’t tend to be as colorful or as easy to mix in communities as many other types of fish, or so many think.  But though these fish are often banished to a [...]

Freshwater Shrimp: an Overview of Popular Aquarium Species – Part 1

Posted on: Monday, July 13th, 2009 in: Aquarium Livestock, Freshwater Aquariums

Hello, Frank Indiviglio here.  Until recently, freshwater shrimp have largely been ignored in the US aquarium trade. I’ve kept a few native species over the years, and was awed by some huge, long-clawed specimens that I collected and released in Costa Rica.  But it wasn’t until I visited Japan several years ago that I became [...]

Common Fish Diseases and Conditions

Posted on: Friday, July 10th, 2009 in: Common Aquarium Questions, General

Eileen here. Please enjoy the 4th installment of my fish glossary of terms (Check out part 1, 2, and 3). We will be publishing it in its entirety at some point.
Common Diseases and Conditions:
Ammonia Burn: As the name suggests, this is a burn-like injury caused by highly acidic ammonia build-up. Ammonia can cause open wounds [...]