That Fish Blog – Aquarium Advice and Information

For those of you who weren’t able to attend this year’s TFP/NCPARS Winter Frag Event, you missed a great time! Over a 6 hour period on that frigid Saturday (Jan. 30), our retail store was what can only be described as a reef geek’s dream. What spends most of the year as our pond fish and plant display room, became a sea of people, tables, and tanks. The event had over 400 attendees in the swap area, thousands of coral frags of all kinds, great deals from our manufacturers, and a whole lot of smiles. A big thanks and congratulations to everyone at NCPARS and the TFP staff who was involved organizing and working the event, even though it got a little crazy for a while, things went smoothly and we all had a great time. Read More »

Hello, Craig here again with with another answer to a common plant problem! This time I’d like to address a problem some aquarists have with Cryptocorynes. Crypts are generally described as hardy, low maintenance plants, but not everyone finds them to be that way.

Why do my Crypts look like they’re melting?

So, you are standing in a fish store and over hear someone talking about Crypt Rot. Sounds pretty nasty doesn’t it? They aren’t talking about mummies or some weird disease you get from exploring pyramids. They are talking about an unfortunate problem with an otherwise very sturdy group of plants known as Crypts.

Members of the Cryptocoryne genus are well known and well established within the aquarium hobby. The most popular of the Crypts, Cryptocoryne wendtii, is tolerant of lower light, higher heat, and just about anything else you can throw at it. Though there are some types that can be tricky to keep, the species that are regularly available to hobbyists are certainly considered to be among the most reliable and versatile plants around. Read More »

Hello, Jason here with some lesser known facts about a very commonly purchased fish. Also known as the Common Pleco, the Trinidad Pleco, Hypostomus plecostomus, may be one of the most frequently offered algae-eating “sucker fish” in the aquarium market. It is sought after by many freshwater aquarists to solve their algae problems. But, the fact that is that though these fish can be effective algae eaters in a tank, they grow too large for most home aqauriums.  A full grown Trinidad can grow to a length of 24 inches. That is about the same length as a 20 gallon tank. They have a pretty rapid growth rate, so it does not take them long to outgrow most tanks. Realistically, they should have a tank that is a minimum of 150 gallons, and even a tank of that size may not give these fish enough room to turn and move about freely. Read More »

Hello everyone! We are only ten days away from the second annual TFP/NCPARS Winter Frag Event, being held here at our retail store in Lancaster, PA .  On Saturday January 30^th our store will be invaded by coral reef enthusiast from all over the northeast, we are looking forward to having a great time, and a great turn out.  Last years event was a blast, everyone had a great time, we think this year will be even better.  The event is open to anyone who wants to attend, there will be an admission charge to enter the frag swap market area, and have access to the special speaker presentations, and Raffles.  Visit Fragswapper.com to pre-register and get more information.  Pre-registration is not required.  Whether your just starting out in the reef hobby or you’ve been collecting for years, you may find something awesome to take home to your tank.  There should be in excess of 1,000 frags available between the swap and TFP’s own stock! Read More »

Hello, Frank Indiviglio here. The biggest stumbling block in keeping the fascinating seahorses, pipefishes and seadragons (Family Syngnathidae) is providing them with a balanced diet – all are confirmed live-food specialists, and need a variety of prey items if they are to thrive.  However, once past that hurdle we are sometimes faced with a dilemma unique to these fishes – a buildup of gas in the male’s pouch.

Pouch Malady

Seahorse and their relatives are well known for their unusual reproductive strategy.  Females deposit eggs in the male’s special brood-pouch, where they develop and hatch.  Male seahorses have even been shown to adjust the salinity of the water in the pouch to meet the special needs of the incubating eggs.

For reasons not fully understood, gas sometimes accumulates in the pouches of male seahorses and related fishes.  Animals so afflicted float head down at the surface and soon expire. Read More »