Frequent Aquarium Questions

• I have a pacu that changes from silver-grey to almost black. What is the reason for this?
  
  
• Could I keep a wild-caught perch or chub in my pond?
  
  
• How long does it take a 4" koi to grow to at least 15" ?
  
  
• I have a tank with 2 tiger oscars and 2 red blood parrots. So far no aggression between the two, but the parrots don't eat and/or move much when feeding. What can I do?
  
  
• I have 2 tiger barbs in a 5 gallon tank and every once in a while one of my tiger barbs back fin will turn from clear to dark black. Can you tell me what this means?
  
  
• how i can know if a tiger barb"fish" is healthy?
  
  
• How long do male swordtail fry take to develop their "swords"?
  
  
• I use an air pump in my betta tank. It forms a thick layer of bubbles at the surface. Can the betta breathe through that?
  
  
• I have a dwarf gourami and a flare gourami that keep nipping each other's fins. Is that normal?
  
  
• I currently have a 10 gallon tank with 3 Sunset Fire Platys. One of the platys is fiercely swimming in circles near the gravel at the bottom of the tank. Is the fish looking to lay eggs or is it ill?
  
  

• I have a pacu that changes from silver-grey to almost black. What is the reason for this?
  
  This is a common behavior on laterally compressed fish who use camaflouge to blend in with their environment. Fish also exhibit color changes due to stress or aggression in their environment.
  
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• Could I keep a wild-caught perch or chub in my pond?
  
  Please advised that some states require a license to remove fish out of the wild and keep as pets. If the pond is deep enough to sustain water through the winter, the fish can survive.
  
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• How long does it take a 4" koi to grow to at least 15" ?
  
  Fish growth is influenced by many factors including diet, water quality, water temperature, size of its environment, and current stocking levels.
  
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• I have a tank with 2 tiger oscars and 2 red blood parrots. So far no aggression between the two, but the parrots don't eat and/or move much when feeding. What can I do?
  
  This is a no win situation for the parrot cichlids. It will only be a matter of time before the parrot cichlids get abused by the oscars.
  
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• I have 2 tiger barbs in a 5 gallon tank and every once in a while one of my tiger barbs back fin will turn from clear to dark black. Can you tell me what this means?
  
  Barbs are notorious fin nippers. The discoloration is probably due to this.
  
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• how i can know if a tiger barb"fish" is healthy?
  
  
  
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• How long do male swordtail fry take to develop their "swords"?
  
  Only males grow the "swords" and they start growing when the fish is about 75% of its adult length.
  
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• I use an air pump in my betta tank. It forms a thick layer of bubbles at the surface. Can the betta breathe through that?
  
  Yes. Bettas are actually bubble nest builders.
  
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• I have a dwarf gourami and a flare gourami that keep nipping each other's fins. Is that normal?
  
  Yes. Without overstocking your tank, you need to populate the tank with more fish to disperse aggession.
  
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• I currently have a 10 gallon tank with 3 Sunset Fire Platys. One of the platys is fiercely swimming in circles near the gravel at the bottom of the tank. Is the fish looking to lay eggs or is it ill?
  
  Platys are livebearers. Assuming your water quality is kept up to par and eating properly, I would not be too concerned.
  
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