Since the weather is so cold, and I am not shipping, I decided to take a minute to address one of the questions I get asked the most- WHAT do I feed my super small fish? YourFishStuff.com has a huge range of products for any type of fish, but I will focus on the three that I use the most. In addition to having great quality foods and excellent customer service, Your Fish Stuff (a husband and wife team from NJ) is a big supporter of regional...

“The freshwater snail Clea helena is a Southeast Asian species closely related to the marine whelks (family Buccinidae). In the trade it is most commonly called the ‘assassin snail’ or ‘snail-eating snail’. Among scientists it is also known as Anentome helena and as Clea (Anentome) helena. This latter designation reflects the division of the genus Clea into two subgenera, Clea (Clea) and Clea (Anentome) for the Asian species, and Clea...

This fish is undoubtedly uncommon, despite its classification by Weitzman in the 60’s. It is rarely imported, and rarely as the correct fish or in good health. They are a very interesting, albeit subtly flashy, fish.  Often, when fish from Peru are imported, there is little information provided about their collection point both because the collector is being proprietary or they just don’t know, as the fish are acquired second-hand....

Many of you know that I have a certain fondness for large (monster) primitive fish. I would like to take a few minutes to give some more information on the this particular species, as well as a bit of a history lesson and overview on the care and feeding of this very unique and special fish. Polypterids date back over 100 million years in fossil records and are among the most primitive of the ray-finned fishes. Their fossil distribution ranges...

There are scads of articles, posts, and opinions on what the proper means of acclimation for a new fish or invertebrate are, and why they do or do not work. I am simply giving my opinion, based on what has worked for me, and the steep learning curve I have had since I started importing. My choices for acclimation are based on comparative observations I did on the survival rate of thousands of fish and invertebrates, they are by no means the...

Apple snail breeding is what really initially got me involved with invertebrates. I started out with a few and worked on making some of the more recessive colors (pink, purple, etc) dominant. They are still one of my favorite invertebrates and come in a wide range of colors: blue, ivory, “black”, purple, pink, green, gold, many with striped variations as well. They are sex specific snails who lay their clutches above the water line....

Thai micro crabs are a really fascinating creature. There is much to be learned about their breeding, but I get asked tons of questions about them so figured I would take a minute to share what I know about them after keeping them for several years. A brief profile can be found in my species page. Micro aptly describes this dimunitive species. At full maturity, their body size is only about the diameter of a pencil eraser. They have long legs...

Nerites are a fantastic addition to a tank, especially planted tanks, but one must take caution when choosing how many to add. While nerites are small and won’t produce viable young, they are very specialized feeders. They graze on biofilm and flat algaes very efficiently. It can be a big challenge to supplement their diet. Occasionally they will take something like a vegetable pellet, blanched vegetables, or gel foods (Repashy Soilent...

So many of the new gobies coming out of Taiwan are very attractive and enticing to hobbyists. Stiphodon atropurpureus is no exception! The males get a bright cobalt blue and their interesting movements and activity are a constant source of amusement in a tank. While most people won’t deny the appeal of their great colors and interesting behaviors, care must be taken to provide an adequate tank environment for them. Most stiphodons are...

Amano shrimp are without a doubt the best algae eating shrimp available on the market. They will readily eat hair algae as well as graze constantly. They are great to help keep plants and decor clean. Its also quite easy to supplement their diet with normal fish foods. They do not breed in freshwater and have a lifespan of about two years. They reach a relatively large size of two inches at full maturity and can tolerate temperatures from...