The Fishkeeper Friend

So, you’ve decided to get your first-ever fish tank. Now what? After you get that big ol’ glass box, you’ve got to get started somehow. What products do you buy? From whom do you buy? The fishkeeper friend strikes again! In this article, we’ll explore some of my favorite products for a budding aquarium hobbyist’s dream tank.

Part one: The best of the basics

#1 API Stress Coat + Zyme water conditioners

You can’t just put some sink water and fish in a glass container and hope your fish tank works out! Why? Because tap water (and hose water too!) contains chlorine. Fish don’t naturally live in chlorine in the wild and they shouldn’t be expected to survive in chlorine in an aquarium, either. So, how do you remove chlorine? That step is easy: use API Stress Coat + Zyme water conditioners to make your aquarium water clean, clear, and free from the harmful chemicals found in tap water.

I’ve been using this for tanks new and old for as long as I’ve been in the hobby of fishkeeping. Stress Coat is a great dechlorinating agent and I’ve never seen it fail before. As a bonus, it also helps renew and strengthen the natural slime coat that protects the scales of your fish.

Stress Zyme isn’t a chlorine-removing product like Stress Coat, but it helps in other ways that make it essential to the tank. It is full of healthy bacteria that’ll help clean your aquariums naturally. From the settling in the gravel to making a home in your filter, it can assist activated carbon and remove even more harmful chemicals.

Overall, this duo is my favorite water conditioner brand and products for beginner and advanced fishkeepers’ tanks!

#2 Tetra Whisper IQ Aquarium filter

Now, while I have talked about getting fish from pet stores before, I have found that their water filters aren’t reliable. Often, a pet store brand filter might not cut it in the long term. In the past eight months, I’ve had two different PetSmart Top Fin Silentstream filters burn out in short succession. Luckily, there are more trustworthy brands available at a similary price.

Tetra’s Whisper IQ filter does an amazing job of keeping the tank clear, well-aerated, and free of any debris. Not to mention, some fish might enjoy swimming in the wake it creates at the surface of the water! My Threadfin Rainbowfish love this filter, and I hope you fishkeepers will too!

#3 Rubbermaid Roughneck 3 3/4 Gal. Plastic Bucket

I know what you’re thinking: why could you possibly need a plastic bucket for an aquarium? The answer: you’re going to want one when you start doing water changes. I love this bucket for cleaning tanks especially. While you might be tempted to use a regular organizing bucket or plastic water pitcher (and that’s fine, for lower budgets) a designated bucket for cleaning your tank(s) is nice.

Think about it: you never know if someone is going to wash that plastic pitcher you’re using with dish soap (soap is toxic to fish) or put it in the dishwasher. This bucket is sort of like declaring “Hey, this is my aquarium equipment. Don’t use it for anything else. ” It also doesn’t hurt that this bucket comes with a nifty handle!

If you don’t have the space to store a regular bucket, you could invest in a folding bucket to store easily. It might be a little pricier, but worth it in terms of storage if you don’t have a ton of space.

#4 Laifoo 5ft Aquarium Siphon Vacuum Cleaner

While it might not be a name brand, in personal experience, this gravel cleaner has worked great for both gravel and sand substrate aquariums. The gentle flow and clear tubing make it easy to see how much ammonia, algae, and substrate you’re sucking up with the water. Bonus: if anything ever gets stuck in the tubing, you can easily take apart the tube from the end attachments for cleaning!

What is it that makes this vacuum stand out from the others? One of my favorite features is the clip that you can put onto the tube of the vacuum. Then, once you secure it onto a bucket and start the pump up, cleaning becomes a breeze. Say goodbye to worrying about a spill! Now you can focus on cleaning the tank.

For a bigger tank the water flow might be a little slow. If you need a reference, it takes about two to two and a half minutes to fill the Rubbermaid bucket that’s #3 on this list. Honestly, if you’re cleaning a smaller tank, such as a 10-20 gallon, this cleaning vacuum is a great choice.

#5 Top Fin Fine Mesh Net

Here’s a scenario for you: imagine you get home from the fish store and a realization comes to you as you start to acclimate your fish. How are you going to actually get those tetras into your tank? When acclimating fish, you can’t just dump the whole bag of fish and water into your tank as soon as your allotted 15 to 20 minutes are up. All kinds of problems could occur with this dumping method; what if the store you bought from uses a different type of water conditioner than you do? Who knows what reaction that might make. Another issue becomes that the pet or aquarium store’s tank might have had different water levels than your tank does. Suddenly dumping your fish into a new tank with different water parameters can shock them. Acclimate your fish slowly and, when done, take the unsealed bag from the tank and over a container, pour the contents into your net. Now all the fish are in one net and you can easily put them in the new tank!

Part Two: Delightful Decorations

#1 Aqua Natural Substrate

When it comes to decorating a tank the first thing you have to start with is substrate (gravel, sand, or another ground material). Imagine if you just had some rocks and plants sitting on the glass bottom of your tank! 

Aqua Natural’s sand has yet to fail me. While it’s not a fancy substrate for more refined plants, real plants still thrive in this sand without pre-added minerals. I have had Amazon Swords, an El Nino fern, Jungle Vals, and several species of anubias thrive in this substrate with a little help from Flourish plant fertilizer, which you simply pour into a tank.

Ethically sourced and triple-cleaned, you can also be sure that this sand is completely safe for your fish. After a good rinse to get rid of dust, this sand can become the highlight of your tank. Bonus bonus: it’s available in two colors: a stunning black or white!

This sand is also perfect for burying the fish tunnels included on this very same list!

#2 Spansee Aquarium Tunnels

These tunnels are the coolest thing I have ever seen for sale in the fishkeeping hobby! Completely fish-safe after a quick rinse and easy to bury under substrate the tunnels are one of my favorite additions to any tank.

Once you shimmy the tunnel into your sand or bury it neatly in your gravel against a tank wall, your fish will have an instant hideaway where you can still check on them. I’ve had Kuhli Loaches, a species of nocturnal cleaning fish, even burrow into upside down tunnels and rest there during the day. It really lets you feel like you’re part of your aquarium while your fish can have a safe place to hide when it feels stressed.

However, some fish, mostly social schooling fish, won’t take a shine to these tunnels. An energetic Neon Tetra school won’t be interested in hiding below ground. However, a curious Betta will likely explore. It really depends on whether your fish decide to use these tunnels or not. But of course, if you buy these tunnels on Amazon, there are usually free returns!

#3 Underwater Treasures Aquarium Plants

So live plants aren’t going to work for the type of fish you want to get? Well then, the next best thing becomes fabric aquarium plants. Why fabric and not plastic? The answer is surprising: fish can hurt themselves on plastic plants! If you leave a sharper-edged plastic plant in your tank a fish blowing by at full speed can nick itself on it. The most liable fish to get harmed this way are fancier fish such as Bettas with long fins, fish with sensitive or little to no scales such as Kuhli Loaches, or even a longer-finned Goldfish!

But as soon as you start searching on Amazon, it seems like most of the results are plastic plants; and if there’s any fabric options at all they’re often smaller and not ideal for a larger (or taller) tank. I had trouble finding any fabric plants that would fill my 36-gallon tank. That’s when I stumbled upon Underwater Treasures’ selection of faux aquarium plants at my local aquarium store. The tallest one reaching about twelve inches in length, I took them home and was immediately satisfied by the majestic effect the plants had on my tank.

Underwater Treasures has a wide range of plants available online, too. Just be sure to look carefully at your selected plant before buying it online though. Underwater Treasures also sells plastic, so be sure to check that your plant is your ideal material before clicking that order button.

#4 TopFin Premium Aquarium Gravel

…And now I’m circling back around to PetSmart again. One second, I’m telling you not to buy their filters.The next, I’m telling you about their gravel. But really, if you are looking for a natural or colorfully hued gravel you can depend on your local PetSmart to deliver. With an array of different gravel colors and amounts, TopFin might just have the most trustworthy gravel readily available for a good price. From glow-in-the-dark to the hues of a pebble-covered beach, the options at your fingertips can even become hard to choose!

The main concern I have with painted gravel is the fact that it might chip after time. While this won’t likely be a problem for a long time if you’re using brand-new gravel it will become one years later. It is pretty easy to tell when you need to switch out painted gravel in a tank. If a good percent of your gravel is chipping and you can see the original pebble color underneath it’s time to replace that gravel. From there, the process is pretty do-it-yourself; as long as your fish are in a separate tank while you switch the gravel it should be a pretty easy process.

#5 VIP.LINE Aquarium Backgrounds

Need a high resolution, interesting, and good quality background for the back of your tank? Take a look at some of VIP.LINE’s beautiful backdrops and see if any of them fit your fancy! From neon jellyfish floating in a black sea to a dramatic freeze of a dragon in stone, I love these backdrops. They can make a statement (or dare I say, splash!) in any tank, big or small.

The application for these backdrops is actually surprisingly simple.

Part Three: Excellently Random

1 Colgate Extra Clean Toothbrush Pack

This one is hard to explain. Once you’ve started up your tank you’re going to need something to scrub off the algae that will inevitably begin to grow on decorations and tank glass in time. While any toothbrush will work, the Colgate Extra Clean toothbrushes are nice and stiff for scrubbing hard on annoying algae. During a cleaning session, it’s always convenient to have these on hand.

Why not just use an algae killer? Don’t take the easy route. Over 10 of my fish have died from exposure to cleaners that claim that they won’t harm  fish with the chemicals that are used to remove algae. Don’t buy it. Not only will they harm living organisms in your tank, but they never seem to work very well. API AlgaeFix even seems to simply encourage algae growth!

#2 SLSON Vegetable Clips

Want to give your fish some variation in its diet but don’t want to just float a spinach leaf around in the tank? SLSON’s six pack of vegetable clips (yes, they are sold for aquarium use) can solve that problem easily. With their strong clamps and attached suction cups, they’ll readily hold onto a curved or flat glass wall of your aquarium.

Another handy trick these clips are useful for is acclimating fish. It’s the worst when you just have to leave a sealed bag with some fish in it just floating around in the water while it warms up to your aquarium’s water. If your tank has a hinged hood, you can prop it up right, and simply attach the suction cup to your tank’s hood and clip on that bag and it’ll float perfectly!

#3 AquaMiracle Automatic Fish Feeder

Be honest; when it comes to going on vacation, do you wonder if those fish food blocks are actually giving enough food to all of the fish in your tank while you’re away? Personally, I feel like the feeding blocks are all show most times. Another problem with these is that your fish might even fight over the block to eat, especially if you have more aggressive fish.

Have no fear! There’s another solution to feeding your fish on vacation. No, you don’t have to hire your neighbor or pay someone to come over to your house. An automatic feeder can do the work for you.  AquaMiracle’s feeder will periodically release food on whatever schedule you set, whether you want it to feed your fish every 8, 12 or 24 hours! The reason I like this feeder in specific can be summed up in one word: batteries. Some feeders you’ll find might have to be charged, and that’s just one more risk you don’t need to take. I’ve found that another automatic feeder that has to be charged actually tires out faster than AquaMiracle’s.

#4 Amazon Basics Microfiber Cleaning Cloths (24 Pack)

There will come a day when you might need to dry up some spill from your tank. (After all, what are fish tanks filled with?) When that day comes you can be prepared. With two color sets to choose from (green, gray, and pink or blue, white, and yellow) These microfiber hard-working cloths can sponge up any slip you make.

Why do you really need a separate set of cloths just for your fish? Think about it. If someone decides to use the regular washcloths to dry up some bleach or other toxic material that could poison your fish you would have no idea until it was too late. Plus, you can store these cloths somewhere closer to your tank than the bathroom cabinet because they won’t be needed for anything other than fishkeeping.

#5 KINGOU Flat Glass Marbles

Safe for fish and shipped in a handy plastic storing container these clear, colorfully hued marbles can add a cute splash of color to your tank’s plain gravel. Imagine how beautiful rainbow clear pebbles would look mixed in with your white sand! I also appreciate how they pack an even array of colors in their container when they sell it.

And unlike other companies that use a colored film on clear glass marbles, they use actual colored glass for their marbles, so you won’t have to worry about tiny pieces of plastic in your tank. This also means the color of the marbles won’t fade, even after a long time of being used in an aquarium.

Some fishkeepers even choose to use clear marbles for substrate instead of sand or gravel. While this won’t work for live plants, if it fits your style, it might be worth it. You can buy clear marbles from KINGOU at Amazon.com as well.

No matter what products you decide to use in your tank or even how you decorate it, it’s about your personal satisfaction most of all. This list was made up of my favorite products for my tank. That doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to love them, too. Whatever things you decide to use, the Fishkeeper Friend wishes you good luck with your tank!