That Fish Blog – Aquarium Advice and Information

Sometimes shopping for that special someone can be rough, especially if your special someone’s favorite past time is aquarium keeping. You may not know what they already have or what they need, or what they use on a regular basis. Here are a few suggestions sure to please the budding fish lovers or seasoned aquarium keepers of the family.

Let’s get the obvious choice out of the way. You could play it safe with a TFP gift card. Purchase the card for any amount and allow the recipient to spend at his or her leisure.

Maybe you have a child that has expressed an interest in keeping fish, or you have a friend who may not have the time for a real tank, but would enjoy a low maintenance pet. A betta set-up may be the perfect gift solution! With several new and attractive bowl habitats available, setup is quick, easy, and fun.  The Tetra Waterfall Globe is an excellent option, and it includes simple filtration and LED lighting. Elive Betta Bowl Planters are unique setups that combine betta enclosures with live plants!  Top off the gift by taking the recipient out to pick out a beautiful, easy to care for betta and maybe some decor to adorn their new bowl.

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Here at That Fish Place – That Pet Place, our retail store display tanks are ever-changing.  Whether we add some new livestock, hook up the latest equipment or simply get bored with what’s out there, our tanks are in a constant state of flux. This blog takes a look at a few of these displays, and points out a couple highlights about their designs and the staff whom maintain them here at the store. As always, if you have any questions or comments regarding specifics or anything else about the tanks, feel free to shoot us an email at marinebio@thatpetplace.com or hit us up on Facebook or Twitter.

Matt’s 34 gal. AquaEuro Nano Reef Setup

Maintained by

Floor Supervisor Matt Maurer

Unique Equipment

• Aqua Euro USA 34 Gallon Reef Aquarium System – 150W HQI & 6 LED
• 1/10 HP Aqua Euro Chiller

Livestock Highlights

Maurer’s Reef is highlighted by a pair of mated Seahorses

Doug’s 65 gal. 250 Red Sea Max SPS Tank

Set up and Maintained By

Floor Supervisor Doug Fries

Unique Equipment

• Standard Lighting and Filtration from Max 250 Aquarium
• Bigger protein skimmer to support corals – Super Reef Octopus LX1000S HOB Skimmer
• Upgraded Giesemann Bulbs
• 2 Vortech MP40 Pumps for improved circulation
• TAAM Poly Media Reactor for dosing

Livestock Highlights

• Lots and lots of coral: Acropora sp., Montipora sp., Pocillopora sp., Frogspawn, Green Hairy Mushrooms, Various Zoanthid sp., Purple Star Polyps
• Blue & Orange Crocea Clam
• Male and Female Onyx Percula Clownfish, Male and Female Lyretail Anthias, Starry Blenny, Six Line Wrasse

Cory’s 55 Gallon Freshwater Planted Community Tank

Maintained by

Aquatics expert Kory Stahl

Unique Equipment

• 48 in. Marineland Reef Capable LED System
• Marineland C360 Canister Filter
• Koralia Evolution 550 for circulation

Livestock Highlights

Cory’s gorgeous planted tank is highlighted by a wealth of aquatic plants. Including Pearl Grass, Water Sprites and a Tiger Lotus. The community fish setup includes a koi freshwater angel and various tetras.

Check our our Facebook page for additional pictures of all of our store displays, past and present. We’ll highlight updates to our larger displays in a later blog.

Have a great holiday!

I love a green aquarium…not green in the algae-covered, pea soup kind of way, but green as in dense with varying colors and textures of aquatic plants. We all know that there are many types of aquarium plants, from slow growing Anubias to massive Echinodorus, but one of the often overlooked groups is the mosses. These colonies of simple, prehistoric plants have a special niche in the aquarium when it comes to aquascaping, and they’re also really useful to many types of fish. Here’s a little primer on common mosses for aquariums and what they can bring to your tank.

About Mosses

Mosses aren’t like other plants. They’re simpler in structure, lacking roots and the thick vascular leaves of true plants. These plants don’t blossom or produce seeds.  Most mosses reproduce with spores, relying on moisture to fertilize and create the next generation. Aquatic mosses simply spread, creating new plants with their existing vegetation, so a small portion can populate a vast area. Simply place or anchor small bits or strands where you want them to grow and, under the right conditions, you’ll have lush mounds in just a few short weeks.  Read More »

Over the past few weeks, there have been lots of great news stories about aquariums, fish and the ocean – too many to each get their own blog! Some are funny, some amazing, some sad. Here is a run-down of some of my favorites from the aquatic sphere.

Beluga to Reunite with Mariachi Band

This is one of the older stories, from the ancient history of August, but I am in love with the video that sparked it. A mariachi band was playing for a wedding at the Mystic Aquarium back in July and had a jam session with the aquarium’s resident Beluga, Juno. The aquarium reunited the band with its new fan at a cocktail party. The party is long gone, but that adorable video is still around! Read More »

The Marine Bio Staff at That Fish Place gets a lot of questions regarding fish husbandry (what can I put in my tank and will it get along with…), especially as technology is advancing and smaller aquariums are becoming easier and easier to maintain. Freshwater options tend to be much easier – small schooling fish like tetras, danios, guppies and others have been aquarium staples for ages – but smaller saltwater tanks can be much trickier to populate. Aside from the tempting beauty of many larger or more aggressive fish, even smaller fish from the coral reefs have more territorial personalities than their freshwater counterparts. Many popular fish either grow far too large, aggressive or territorial for the smaller aquariums that are becoming very popular.

So what fish should you look for? Here are some suggestions for smaller aquariums (30 gallons and under for the purpose of this blog). Keep in mind that these are general recommendations and guidelines; not all the fish in these groups are appropriate for smaller tanks, so if you find one you like, make sure it’s still compatible for your situation. Read More »