Kevin — Editor & Site Owner

Proper acclimation is the difference between healthy new fish and dead ones in 48 hours. The process: float the sealed bag 20-30 minutes to match temperature, drip-acclimate over 30-60 minutes to match water chemistry, then net fish (NEVER pour the bag water) into the tank. Total time: about an hour. Skip it and even hardy species can die from osmotic shock; do it properly and even sensitive shrimp transition without losses.

Angelfish (Pterophyllum scalare) suit large community tanks (200L+) with peaceful tank mates that don't fin-nip or get eaten. Best matches: corydoras, bristlenose pleco, larger tetras, peaceful gouramis, kuhli loaches. Avoid: neon tetras (eaten as adults), tiger barbs (fin-nip), bettas (fight).

Aquarium algae has 4 root causes: too much light, too many nutrients, not enough plants, no clean-up crew. Fix the cause + add the right algae eaters (amano shrimp, otocinclus, bristlenose pleco, nerite snails) and the tank stays clean for months.