Frequent Aquarium Questions

• I bought a third fish yesterday from a Wal-mart from a tank labled common goldfish. There was one fish that caught my eye, a white bodied fish with an orange-red cap on its head. It looked so mush like a red capped ornanda but was in a common goldfish tank for 25 cents. Can common goldfish have these colors?
  
  
• Can I put a male betta and a female betta in the same bowl together or do I need to keep them apart?
  
  
• I just purchased some Jelly Bean Parrot Cichlids and cant find any info on them in any of my books. I was wondering if you could give me advice on where I could find some info on them.
  
  
• I have a bunch of fancy guppies. I was wondering if they need salt water?
  
  
• I've read you cant put any other fish in with ciclids because they will eat other fish. I have an algae problem and I have a large algae eater. Can I put it in the Cichlid tank?
  
  
• Can I put ghost shrimp in with my goldfish?
  
  
• My Beta has started chasing it's tail, and he nips his tail fins off! Is this a common problem, and what can I do to prevent this from continuing?
  
  
• I know that many larger fish will eat neon tetras what are some larger fish that won't bother them.
  
  
• What causes a Red-Tail Shark's tail to lose color? I purchased two and have had them for about 2 days. While one has gotten larger, the other is still small and dull in color. Should I separate them?
  
  
• I have a pair of clown loaches in a twenty gallon tank. One is fine the other I never see for days at a time. every time I clean the tank he swims out and looks great. I know they are mainly nocturnal feeders, but I would like to see it once in a while.
  
  

• I bought a third fish yesterday from a Wal-mart from a tank labled common goldfish. There was one fish that caught my eye, a white bodied fish with an orange-red cap on its head. It looked so mush like a red capped ornanda but was in a common goldfish tank for 25 cents. Can common goldfish have these colors?
  
  Absolutely! Goldfish can come in many colors.
  
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• Can I put a male betta and a female betta in the same bowl together or do I need to keep them apart?
  
  Male Bettas must be kept alone. The male will kill the femal if you place them together. Information on breeding Bettas is in our FAQ.
  
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• I just purchased some Jelly Bean Parrot Cichlids and cant find any info on them in any of my books. I was wondering if you could give me advice on where I could find some info on them.
  
  Jelly Bean Parro Cichlids are just another variation of the Parrot Cichlid so by simply doing a search for "Parrot Cichlid" on any search engine, you will be able to find the information you need. Any information about Parrot Cichlids will also be applicable to your Jelly Bean variety.
  
  The Parrot Cichlid is not a true species of fish, so most fish books don't bother to describe them at all. Parro Cichlids are a hybrid, made by breeding two different species of Cichlids, which results in a malformed sterile fish. Because this mutated fish has a deformed mouth and body, they have difficulty swimming and eating. Such hybrids should never be bred, and are frowned on by most aquarists, which is why you are having a hard time finding information on them.
  
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• I have a bunch of fancy guppies. I was wondering if they need salt water?
  
  No, guppies in the wild live in semi-brackish water not saltwater. Fancy guppies are raised in freshwater but do appreciate a little aquarium salt in the water, about one teaspoon per ten gallons.
  
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• I've read you cant put any other fish in with ciclids because they will eat other fish. I have an algae problem and I have a large algae eater. Can I put it in the Cichlid tank?
  
  It depends on the Cichlids and the size of the tank. Some Cichlids, like Managuensis and Dovii Cichlids, are too aggressive to put almost anything in with them, including large Plecostomus, which we assume is your algae eater. However, even Jack Dempseys, Red Devils and most African Cichlids will leave most larger Plecostomus alone.
  
  If the tank is smaller than 50 gallons, watch the fish carefully, as in smaller tanks, Cichlids tend to gt more aggressive because they have a smaller territory to defend.
  
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• Can I put ghost shrimp in with my goldfish?
  
  It MAY work, especially if you have fancy goldfish which are not streamlined and agile. However, Comets or Shububkins are fast enough to catch shrimp. Goldfish are opportunistic feeders, and if they can catch the shrimp and it will fit in their mouth, they will eat it.
  
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• My Beta has started chasing it's tail, and he nips his tail fins off! Is this a common problem, and what can I do to prevent this from continuing?
  
  No, that is not a common problem at all; in fact it's the first time we've heard of it in more than thirty years of keeping and breeding Bettas. Our guess is that the Betta is not getting fed properly. Bettas do not like flake food; they eat freeze-dried and frozen foods. Try changing the diet.
  
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• I know that many larger fish will eat neon tetras what are some larger fish that won't bother them.
  
  Any fish with a mouth large enough to swallow another fish will probably eat that other fish.
  
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• What causes a Red-Tail Shark's tail to lose color? I purchased two and have had them for about 2 days. While one has gotten larger, the other is still small and dull in color. Should I separate them?
  
  In general, fishes can become faded for a variety of reasons. Many fishes have "night" colors which they show when there is no light (most common fishes do best with a regular day-night light schedule to simulate what they would experience in the wild). They can also show a faded coloration when in stress; stress is casued by a variety of factors. However, for two red tailed sharks, it could very well be aggression, as they are somewhat territorial. If you have a small aquarium (say, under 50 gallons) I would say they are definitely fighting with each other, and would reccommend separating them if possible. If this is a new aquarium (i.e. one that has not gone through an initial cycling period), that could also cause stress, causing the fish to pale.
  
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• I have a pair of clown loaches in a twenty gallon tank. One is fine the other I never see for days at a time. every time I clean the tank he swims out and looks great. I know they are mainly nocturnal feeders, but I would like to see it once in a while.
  
  Clown Loaches are schooling fish. They thrive in groups of six or more, and languish in singles or pairs. Your aquarium is a small one for a group of these fascinating fishes, or even a single one seeing as how they can grow to over 8 inches in length, albeit slowly. I generally reccommend an aquarium of at least 50 gallons to keep these guys, and this will allow you to have a nice population of six or eight of them in addition to other community fishes.
  
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