Flora & Fauna

Java Fern Windelov is a distinctive cultivar with finely branched, feathery leaf tips that give it a lacy, coral-like appearance unlike any other aquatic plant. Named after Tropica founder Holger Windelov, it is a classic of the hobby. The ornate leaf structure adds exceptional texture to midground hardscape and is particularly striking when highlighted from above. Care is identical to standard Java Fern.

Java moss is an incredibly versatile moss that can be tied to driftwood, rocks, or left free-floating. It provides excellent cover for fry and shrimp and serves as a natural grazing surface. It tolerates a very wide range of conditions and requires no CO2 or specialised fertilisation.

Elegant Tanganyikan cichlid with black-and-white chequered markings. Pairs for life and is a devoted parent. Relatively peaceful and a great entry point into Tanganyikan cichlids.

The julii corydoras is often confused with the false julii (C. trilineatus) which is more commonly sold. True julii have spots that do not connect into lines. Both are charming, peaceful schooling fish suited to planted community tanks with fine substrate.

Soft coral that grows into a branching tree shape. Prolific grower and propagator — commonly frags itself. Peaceful but its natural chemicals can inhibit nearby coral growth.

Famous for its lip-locking 'kissing' behaviour — actually a dominance display. Pink or green form available. A voracious algae grazer that also strips soft plants. Grows large.

The kitty tetra is a relatively new species to the aquarium trade with a beautiful rosy-pink body and striking red and black finnage. It is closely related to the rosy tetra and shares its peaceful temperament. A charming choice for soft-water planted community tanks, where its delicate colouration glows under warm lighting.

Brown tang covered with fine yellow-orange spots. Excellent detritivore and algae grazer. More peaceful and compact than most tangs. Great reef fish.

A dwarf, slow-growing variant that stays short and bushy — typically under 15 cm — making it suitable for the midground of small to medium tanks. Leaves are wider and rounder than the standard form. Reliable and low-maintenance.

The Kribensis is an attractive, personable West African dwarf cichlid from Nigerian coastal rivers and one of the most beginner-accessible cichlids available. Both sexes are colourful — females develop a bright cherry-red belly when in breeding condition. Pairs form strong bonds and jointly guard fry in caves, making them fascinating to observe. They are tolerant of a wide range of water conditions and generally peaceful outside of breeding territory.

The Kuhli Loach is an eel-like, nocturnal loach from Southeast Asia with alternating yellow-orange and dark-brown banding. It wriggles through substrate and around plant roots searching for food, making it a fascinating and useful bottom-level scavenger. Kuhli Loaches are social and do best in groups of five or more; lone individuals are shy and rarely seen. Fine sand is essential to protect their sensitive underbellies.

The Lake Kutubu rainbowfish is one of the most intensely coloured species in the genus. Males develop a vivid turquoise-blue upper body that grades to silver-yellow on the lower flanks. It is a robust, active fish suited to larger planted or Dutch-style aquariums. The intense colouration only develops fully in mature males in well-maintained water.

Lake Tebera rainbowfish is a medium-sized species with males displaying a yellow-gold body with a reddish-orange upper flank and vivid red fins. It is a hardy, colourful rainbowfish that is easy to breed and well suited to community tanks with other peaceful species. Its bright colouration intensifies significantly during spawning courtship.

The lambchop rasbora has a slimmer body than the harlequin rasbora with a characteristically narrow, wedge-shaped black mark on the rear half. Peaceful and undemanding, it is ideal for nano planted tanks and pairs beautifully with shrimp.

The go-to algae control fish for reef tanks — relentlessly grazes film algae and hair algae off rocks and glass. Camouflaged brown-grey with warty skin and charismatic perching behaviour.

One of the smallest vertebrates in the world — females reach just 1.5 inches. A fascinating livebearer from the USA that thrives in cool, planted nano tanks. Ideal for a species setup.

Leather corals (toadstool corals) are large, robust soft corals with a mushroom-like form. They are extremely hardy and grow quickly, making them popular with beginners. They periodically shed a waxy coating and close up temporarily — this is normal behaviour.

Bacopa caroliniana is a robust, easy-going stem plant with rounded, fleshy leaves arranged in whorls along upright stems. Under high light the leaves develop a golden to pale-pink tinge; under low light they remain mid-green. It has a distinctive lemon scent when leaves are crushed. A reliable background or mid-background plant for community tanks and an excellent beginner stem plant that tolerates a wide range of conditions.

The lemon tetra is a classic, elegant fish with a translucent lemon-yellow body, vivid yellow dorsal and anal fins edged in black, and striking red eyes. It is a hardy, peaceful schooling fish that has been in the hobby for decades. The intensity of yellow colouration deepens considerably under warm, high-quality lighting in a planted tank.

Compact rosette plant with spoon-shaped leaves — green on top, vivid purple underneath. One of the most striking two-tone aquascaping plants. Very adaptable and slow-growing. Excellent as a midground accent.

Large, fleshy-polyped LPS with smooth round corallites and vivid colouration. Extremely hardy and popular in mixed reef tanks. Inflates dramatically after lights-out to capture food. Accepts a wide range of conditions.

Instantly recognisable by its elongated snout and white body with red grid pattern. Perches in gorgonian sea fans and black coral, propping itself on its fins. Bold and long-lived in captivity.

Strikingly colourful — males flash vivid red, orange, and yellow with iridescent highlights during display. Peaceful and active; best kept as one male with several females. A jewel of the mid-water column.

Ludwigia Palustris is one of the most accessible red stem plants, displaying green upper leaf surfaces and deep reddish-pink undersides that are visible as the stems wave in current. It is far less demanding than L. arcuata or Super Red Mini, making it an excellent entry-level red plant for tanks with moderate light. Fast growth means it requires regular pruning to maintain shape.

Malaysian trumpet snails are beneficial substrate dwellers that burrow through gravel and sand, aerating it and preventing the build-up of toxic anaerobic pockets. They are predominantly nocturnal and are often only seen at night. Populations can explode with excess food, but remain in check with controlled feeding.

Marble Bettas carry a transposon-driven colour mutation discovered in the 1970s that causes random, irregular patches of pigmentation. One of their most fascinating traits is colour instability — a marble betta can spontaneously change colour pattern over its lifetime as the transposon activates or silences pigment genes. This unpredictability makes every individual unique and constantly surprising to their owners.

Small, cold-water snail — an exceptional algae grazer often used in reef tanks as clean-up crew. Prefers cooler temperatures so it's ideal for FOWLR tanks or tanks below 74°F. Peaceful and prolific.

Beloved velvety-green spheres of filamentous green algae — not a moss at all. Forms naturally in cold lakes where wave action rolls colonies into balls over decades. A low-maintenance aquarium icon that grows extremely slowly. Rotate occasionally for even light exposure.

The largest clownfish species, maroon-red with bold white stripes. Highly aggressive — best kept as a single specimen or bonded pair. One of the most striking reef fish available.

The most popular carpeting Marsilea in the hobby, producing tiny two- or four-leaf clovers on short petioles that hug the substrate to form a dense, bright green carpet. Significantly smaller than M. hirsuta, making it better suited to nano tanks and foreground work in larger scapes. Grows reliably with good light and CO₂ but is surprisingly tolerant of lower-tech conditions compared to HC Cuba. The clover-shaped leaves are charming and create an instantly recognisable, naturalistic foreground.

The smallest Marsilea species commonly available, producing miniscule two-leaf forms when submerged that create an incredibly fine, lawn-like carpet. Its wide geographic distribution makes it very adaptable to different water conditions. Under high light it carpets tightly to the substrate; in lower light, petioles elongate as the plant reaches for the surface. One of the most low-maintenance carpeting options available — more forgiving than HC Cuba or E. Belem.

Iconic labyrinthine-patterned brain coral — the classic reef centrepiece. Hardy, slow-growing, and tolerant of moderate conditions. Green fluorescent under actinic lighting. A timeless display piece.

Dazzling rainbow colouration — females green-blue, males sporting a vivid magenta-and-green pattern. A sand-diver that buries to sleep. Natural predator of flatworms and pyramid snails.

Fast-growing stem plant with distinctive oak-leaf-shaped leaves. Extremely easy and undemanding — grows well without CO2. The unusual leaf shape adds variety to planted tank backgrounds.

Small water lily that propagates prolifically from plantlets on its floating leaves. Produces striking red-spotted green pads. Remove surface leaves regularly to keep the plant growing compact submersed growth.

The trident java fern is a cultivar with deeply lobed, multi-pronged fronds that create an elegant, fern-like silhouette. Like all java ferns it attaches to hardscape and requires no substrate. Very low-maintenance and suitable for low-tech tanks.