--- title: Fishkeeping & Aquariums description: Fishkeeping is keeping aquatic life healthy in a closed system. You will learn the nitrogen cycle, water chemistry, filtration, stocking, planted and low-tech tanks, and how to recognize and treat common fish diseases. category: personal-development subcategory: pets-and-animal-care difficulty: beginner, intermediate, advanced url: /subject/fishkeeping-and-aquariums --- # Fishkeeping & Aquariums Fishkeeping is keeping aquatic life healthy in a closed system. You will learn the nitrogen cycle, water chemistry, filtration, stocking, planted and low-tech tanks, and how to recognize and treat common fish diseases. ## Available Resources 2 Books • 1 Websites • 1 Papers ## Websites ### 1. Management of Aquarium Fish (MSD/Merck Veterinary Manual) **Author:** Barbara D. Petty, Ruth Francis-Floyd This is the authoritative free source for the disease part of the topic. It replaces a scattered set of forum threads and single-disease sheets with one structured chapter plus linked sibling chapters on bacterial, parasitic and viral diseases. A veterinary reference chapter on keeping aquarium fish healthy. It covers history-taking, diagnostic techniques, treatment and regulatory limits on drugs, quarantine and biosecurity for home aquariums, and common water-quality problems, with linked chapters on bacterial, parasitic and viral fish diseases. **Difficulty:** Advanced | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://www.msdvetmanual.com/exotic-and-laboratory-animals/aquarium-fish/management-of-aquarium-fish **Tags:** fish health, fish diseases, quarantine, water quality, veterinary medicine ## Papers ### 1. Ammonia in Aquatic Systems (UF/IFAS FA16) **Author:** Ruth Francis-Floyd, Craig Watson, Denise Petty, Deborah B. Pouder A University of Florida extension fact sheet on the nitrogen cycle. It explains how bacteria convert ammonia to nitrite and then nitrate, why un-ionized ammonia is far more toxic, how pH and temperature shift toxicity (with a lookup table), and how to test and control ammonia. This is a primary, institutional source for the chemistry behind cycling, which hobby guides only paraphrase. It is free and short, and the pH/temperature toxicity table is the key piece most beginner sources skip. It is written for ponds and aquaculture as well, but the chemistry carries over directly to aquariums. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://ask.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/fa031 **Tags:** ammonia, nitrogen cycle, water chemistry, aquarium cycling, fish toxicity ## Books ### 1. Ecology of the Planted Aquarium **Author:** Diana L. Walstad This is the definitive text for the planted and low-tech part of the topic, backed by hundreds of citations to primary research. A book that uses the scientific literature to explain how planted aquariums work as ecosystems. Topics include plant nitrogen uptake versus bacterial nitrification, soil substrates, allelopathy, CO2 and nutrient dynamics, and the low-tech 'Walstad method' of soil-based tanks with little filtration. **Difficulty:** Advanced | **Language:** English | **Price:** Paid **Link:** https://dianawalstad.com/aquariums/ **Tags:** planted aquarium, aquatic plants, walstad method, aquarium ecology, soil substrate ### 2. The Simple Guide to Freshwater Aquariums (2nd Edition) **Author:** David E. Boruchowitz This is the standard single-volume beginner text. It is organized around the husbandry principles that prevent common failures, so it works as a structural foundation rather than a species catalog. A 256-page freshwater aquarium manual from T.F.H. (2009). It covers tank and equipment choice, biological filtration and cycling, water changes, compatible stocking, feeding, and routine maintenance, and stresses avoiding the beginner mistakes that most often kill fish. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Language:** English | **Price:** Paid **Link:** https://www.amazon.com/dp/0793821223?tag=edmonddante07-20 **Tags:** freshwater aquarium, aquarium setup, biological filtration, fish husbandry, aquarium maintenance ## Youtubes ### 1. Aquarium Co-Op (YouTube channel) **Author:** Cory McElroy Cory McElroy's long-running video channel on freshwater fishkeeping. It covers tank setup, cycling, filtration, stocking choices, easy live plants, low-tech planted tanks, and diagnosing and treating common fish diseases, all shown on working tanks. This is the best free visual on-ramp for someone setting up a first tank. It is a store-owned channel, so viewers should skip past the product plugs. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://www.youtube.com/@AquariumCoOp **Tags:** freshwater aquarium, aquarium setup, aquatic plants, fish diseases, fish stocking --- *This content is part of Dantes.io - Your Treasure Map to Knowledge* *Curated by humans at Dantes.io. Personal study use welcome; republishing this curation requires permission (team@dantes.io).* View this page online: https://dantes.io/subject/fishkeeping-and-aquariums