Captive Aquatics: An Aquarium and Ecology Blog

Five Freshwater Fish for Beginners

When I started in the hobby at age 12, I wanted to buy every fish I saw and cram it into my 15 gallon tank, that had little room to spare (now I know better!).  I had no clue where to start in buying fish and bought what ever was the cheapest and prettiest at the time.  I thought a fish is a fish and their isn't anything different about them, but boy was I wrong.  Now, years later I can say I have changed and decided to help others with finding good beginner fish.  Here are my top five beginner fish for a freshwater tank.

 

Product Review: Marineland Multi-Stage Canister Filter

Marineland canister filter 360

I'm a fan of aquarium canister filters: in my opinion, they are a step up from underground filters, power filters and other filtration methods commonly used in freshwater aquariums.  I like canister filters because there is no visible equipment in the tank (I hate that!), multiple filtration media types can be used inside, have a high turnover rate (gallons per hour) and are 'all-in-on', combining mechanical, chemical, and biological filtration in one filter.  I recently purchased a Marineland Multi-Stage Canister Filter model 360 to use for my 75 gallon planted freshwater aquarium, and was surprisingly disappointed.