Flora & Fauna

Large cichlid that sifts sand through its gills for food particles. Peaceful despite its size. Needs a deep sand bed and pristine water quality.

Striking livebearer with vivid red, black, and yellow patterning on males. More delicate than standard guppies and prefers brackish to soft freshwater conditions.

Orange-and-black banded Caridina shrimp. Requires softer, more acidic water than Neocaridina species. Striking coloration and increasingly popular in the hobby.

Very fine, dark green threads — slightly stiffer than Spirogyra and less silky. Wraps tightly around plant stems and mosses. Caused by low CO₂ and high light. Siamese Algae Eaters are one of the few fish that readily consume it.

The threadfin rainbowfish is a delicate, striking fish with males displaying long, flowing finnage tipped in vivid colour. It is a micro-predator that requires calm water and very small live or frozen foods. Best kept in species tanks or with the smallest, gentlest tankmates.

Elegant pencilfish with three distinct horizontal stripes and vivid red markings on the fins. Peaceful and slow-moving — ideal for low-flow planted tanks. Best in groups of 8+.

Stunning apisto with brilliant iridescent blue and red markings. Males are notably elongated and display vivid colour during spawning. Peaceful for a cichlid and works well in planted community tanks.

Torch coral is a striking LPS coral with long flowing polyps tipped in gold, white, or green that wave like flames in gentle current. It shares care requirements with other euphyllia corals but is somewhat more sensitive to elevated nutrients and temperature spikes. Torch coral disease (rapid tissue necrosis) can devastate colonies, so quarantine new specimens.

Cool-water dwarf cichlid with a yellow body and blue iridescence. Cooler temperature preference than most apistos. Peaceful and excellent for planted tanks.

Eleocharis Vivipara, Umbrella Hairgrass, is uniquely different from other hairgrass species — when grown submerged its slender stems branch repeatedly into arching, umbrella-like tufts rather than simple grass blades, creating a highly textural midground accent. Each stem tip can produce plantlets that anchor to substrate, aiding natural propagation. It needs moderate light and benefits from CO2.

Vampire shrimp (giant African filter shrimp) are large, impressive filter feeders that sieve fine particles from the water. Despite their intimidating name they are completely peaceful. They require strong flow and regular fine food additions to thrive.

A captive-bred variety with dramatically elongated, veil-like fins on the dorsal, anal, and caudal fins. The flowing fins are visually stunning but more delicate — avoid housing with fin-nipping species. The veil gene can be combined with any colour morph (silver, koi, marble, etc.).

Striking Malawi hap with a giraffe-spotted pattern. Males develop a vivid blue head. A crafty ambush predator that lies still pretending to be dead to lure prey. Best with other large Malawi haps.

A captive-bred morph with additional vertical black stripes beyond the standard three, creating a more densely barred zebra-like pattern. A popular show variety that stands out in species-specific or South American biotope scapes.