The Aquarist's Edge

Your guppy has just had her babies, so what do you do now? This episode covers guppy fry care through the first 30 days: where to keep them, what to feed them, how to keep the water clean, and what's normal week by week. Whether your fry are staying in the main tank or growing on in their own tank, it'll help you raise more of them. 💬 Join the conversation: Do your guppy fry grow up in the main tank or a separate one, and how many usually make it? Share your answer in a review or find us on social media and tell us. 👍 If you enjoyed this episode, follow The Aquarist's Edge on your podcast app and share it with a fish keeper who may need to hear it. ☕ If this show has helped you in your fishkeeping journey, please consider supporting by buying me a coffee here: https://ko-fi.com/artsfishroom 🔍 Keywords: guppy fry care, what to feed guppy fry, guppy fry in main tank, how to raise guppy fry, baby guppies, guppy breeding box, guppy grow out tank, baby brine shrimp, sexing guppies, livebearer fry care

Has your guppy looked ready to give birth for weeks, with still no fry in sight? In this episode Art explains why a pregnant guppy might not be giving birth. He covers gestation, stored sperm, the late-pregnancy signs to watch for, and how to tell a gravid female from one that’s bloated or ill. It’s for any fish keeper staring at a round guppy and wondering what to do next. 💬 Join the conversation: Have you had a guppy who seemed pregnant forever? Did she eventually drop a brood, or did it turn out to be something else? Share your story in a review or find us on social media and tell us. 👍 If you enjoyed this episode, follow The Aquarist’s Edge on your podcast app and share it with a fish keeper who may need to hear it. ☕ If this show has helped you in your fishkeeping journey, please consider supporting by buying me a coffee here: https://ko-fi.com/artsfishroom 🔍 Keywords: pregnant guppy not giving birth, how long are guppies pregnant, guppy gestation period, signs guppy is about to give birth, guppy gravid spot, guppy breeder box, pregnant guppy or dropsy, guppy bloated or pregnant, guppy fry, livebearer care tips

What would your fish say if they could send you a voice note? In this episode, a goldfish in a bowl, a betta in a vase, a nipped angelfish, a lonely neon and a few others write in to an aquarium agony aunt with the problems they face most often. It's a light-hearted look at the most common beginner aquarium mistakes, with honest, practical answers for new and experienced fish keepers alike. 💬 Join the conversation: If your fish could send a voice note to an agony aunt, what would it say? Share it in a review or find us on social media and tell us. 👍 If you enjoyed this episode, follow The Aquarist's Edge on your podcast app and share it with a fish keeper who may need to hear it. ☕ If this show has helped you in your fishkeeping journey, please consider supporting by buying me a coffee here: https://ko-fi.com/artsfishroom 🔍 Keywords: beginner aquarium mistakes, goldfish bowl, betta fish in a vase, fish compatibility, fin nipping, neon tetra shoal, overfeeding fish, aquarium pH swings, holiday fish feeding, multiple tank syndrome, fishkeeping tips

Did you choose the stuff on the bottom of your tank by colour? Most of us did, but your substrate affects your water chemistry, your plants, and whether fish like corydoras and eartheaters can feed the way they're built to. This episode compares gravel, sand, aqua soil, crushed coral, dirted tanks and bare-bottom tanks, matches each to the fish and shrimp that suit it, and works through some of the hobby's longest-running substrate debates. 💬 Join the conversation: Are you a sand, gravel or aqua soil keeper, and have you ever switched and noticed a difference in your fish? Share your story in a review or find us on social media and tell us. 👍 If you enjoyed this episode, follow The Aquarist's Edge on your podcast app and share it with a fish keeper who may need to hear it. ☕ If this show has helped you in your fishkeeping journey, please consider supporting by buying me a coffee here: https://ko-fi.com/artsfishroom 🔍 Keywords: best aquarium substrate, sand vs gravel aquarium, aqua soil planted tank, shrimp substrate, corydoras sand, crushed coral African cichlids, how to clean aquarium sand, dirted tank, bare bottom aquarium, fishkeeping tips for beginners

Why did your first fish die within days of setting up the tank? It's called new tank syndrome, and it's just one of ten hard lessons this episode covers. Whether you're setting up your very first aquarium or you've been in the hobby for years, this one's built to catch something you didn't know you needed to hear. 💬 Join the conversation: What's the mistake you made early on in this hobby that you'd go back and fix if you could? Share your story in a review or find us on social media and tell us. 👍 If you enjoyed this episode, follow The Aquarist's Edge on your podcast app and share it with a fish keeper who may need to hear it. ☕ If this show has helped you in your fishkeeping journey, please consider supporting by buying me a coffee here: https://ko-fi.com/artsfishroom 🔍 Keywords: new tank syndrome, nitrogen cycle explained, beginner aquarium mistakes, overstocking a fish tank, dechlorinator tap water fish, zebra danio aggressive, dwarf gourami aggressive, best first fish tank size, freshwater aquarium mistakes, fishkeeping tips for beginners

Can you actually cross-breed aquarium fish, and would you even want to? This episode looks at where hybridisation really happens in the freshwater hobby, and what it means for the fish and the fishkeeper when it does. Art works through the two groups where crossing is most common — livebearers like platies and swordtails, which will hybridise without any encouragement at all, and cichlids, where mbuna cross in mixed tanks and fish like flowerhorns and blood parrot cichlids exist purely because of deliberate breeding. He also covers the less-talked-about case of Corydoras catfish hybridising in mixed shoals, the genetics behind why some crosses produce healthy fry and others don't, and why hybrid cichlids are so often sterile. If you've ever wondered whether your "tuxedo platy" is really a hybrid, or you're trying to keep a clean cichlid breeding line, this episode gives you the practical answers. Topics include: livebearer hybrids, platy and swordtail crossing, mbuna hybridisation, flowerhorn and blood parrot cichlid origins, Corydoras hybrids, fish genetics and hybrid viability, hybrid sterility in cichlids, ethics of fish hybridisation, conservation risks, preventing accidental hybrids. Enjoyed the episode? Please follow The Aquarist's Edge and leave a review to help more freshwater aquarists discover the show. ⭐ Enjoying the podcast? Please leave a review as it helps other fishkeepers find the show. ☕ Support the show by buying Art a coffee: https://ko-fi.com/artsfishroom

What a rookie error! This is a short apology to all those who happened to listen to the very raw unedited version of Series 3 Episode 31 earlier today...

Can you actually cross-breed aquarium fish, and would you even want to? This episode looks at where hybridisation really happens in the freshwater hobby, and what it means for the fish and the fishkeeper when it does. Art works through the two groups where crossing is most common. He also covers the less-talked-about case of Corydoras catfish hybridising in mixed shoals, the genetics behind why some crosses produce healthy fry and others don't, and why hybrid cichlids are so often sterile. If you've ever wondered whether your "tuxedo platy" is really a hybrid, or you're trying to keep a clean cichlid breeding line, this episode gives you the practical answers. Topics include: livebearer hybrids, platy and swordtail crossing, mbuna hybridisation, flowerhorn and blood parrot cichlid origins, Corydoras hybrids, fish genetics and hybrid viability, hybrid sterility in cichlids, ethics of fish hybridisation, conservation risks, preventing accidental hybrids. Enjoyed the episode? Please follow The Aquarist's Edge and leave a review to help more freshwater aquarists discover the show. ⭐ Enjoying the podcast? Please leave a review as it helps other fishkeepers find the show. ☕ Support the show by buying Art a coffee: https://ko-fi.com/artsfishroom

Can you actually grow plants in a tank with no heater? In this episode of The Aquarist's Edge, Art breaks down why coldwater and goldfish tanks developed such a bad reputation for plants and which ones genuinely thrive in them. He works through the tough, unappetising options that survive both cold water and grazing fish, the "sacrificial" plants worth growing on purpose so goldfish have something to eat that isn't your centrepiece, and the lighting, substrate, and CO2 basics that actually determine whether any of it grows. Along the way there are practical, do-it-this-week tips. If you keep goldfish, White Clouds, or any unheated community tank and have been told plants just aren't for you, this episode will change how you plan your next aquascape. Enjoyed the episode? Please follow The Aquarist's Edge and leave a review to help more freshwater aquarists discover the show. ⭐ Enjoying the podcast? Please leave a review as it helps other fishkeepers find the show. ☕ Support the show by buying Art a coffee: https://ko-fi.com/artsfishroom

Can better colour really be trained into a fish, or is it mostly down to luck and genetics? In this episode of The Aquarist's Edge, Art breaks down what actually drives fish colouration, from diet and water quality to lighting, substrate, and social grouping. He looks at where colour genuinely comes from, why carotenoid-rich foods matter for reds and oranges, how chronic stress quietly dulls even healthy fish, and why factors like substrate tone and shoal size can visibly change how a fish displays. The episode also sets realistic expectations, since genetics ultimately sets the ceiling no amount of good care can raise. If you're chasing more vibrant fish, wondering why your tank doesn't look as colourful as you'd hoped, or just curious what's actually happening beneath the surface, this episode will help you separate what you can influence from what you can't. Topics include: fish colour, colour-enhancing fish food, carotenoids in fish diet, fish stress and colouration, aquarium lighting for colour, substrate and fish colour, shoaling fish behaviour, fish genetics, freshwater fish care, and realistic fishkeeping expectations. Enjoyed the episode? Please follow The Aquarist's Edge and leave a review to help more freshwater aquarists discover the show. ⭐ Enjoying the podcast? Please leave a review as it helps other fishkeepers find the show. ☕ Support the show by buying Art a coffee: https://ko-fi.com/artsfishroom