Questions & Answers
What is your favorite thing about working at Aquarium Co-Op?
My favorite part of working at Aquarium Co-Op is the sense of community and family. Everything I do feels important and it shows in things like sales and views. It is a great feeling to know that others trust my judgment.
What are your professional background? I am self-taught. Everything I know was acquired through hours of research and practice. My love for cinematography and music inspires me to keep learning and to produce the highest quality photos and videos within my skillset.
What has been your best moment while working for Aquarium Co-Op? My best moments are meeting with the legends of this hobby, documenting their journey and putting it out there for the world to see.
What do you do in your daily job at Aquarium Co-Op? My main job is to be the cameraman and edit the videos from scratch to finish. This includes all graphics, animations, color, and sound. I also create graphics and labels for many of our in-house products and take all of the product photos for the website.
What is your favorite fish and why? My favorite fish are Celestial Pearl Danios because they look like a tiny brook trout, Pseudomugil luminatus (Red Neon Blue Eye Rainbowfish) because I like their amazing fin action and Melanotaenia herbertaxelrodi (Yellow Rainbowfish) because I love rainbows, how they flash and because it’s really hard to find a nice yellow fish.
What would your dream aquarium be? An aquascaped 800 gallon with as many Celestial Pearl Danios as will fit.
– Type of tank: Community planted tank – How long has it been setup? About 6-8 months – Fish stocking list: Celestial Pearl Danios, Melanotaenia herbertaxelrodi, Pseudomugil luminatus, cherry shrimp, ramshorn snails – What is your biggest goal or challenge with this aquarium? Evaporation is my biggest challenge because it’s open top
What products do you highly recommend?
Easy Green because it is very user-friendly and not too complicated. It’s safe for virtually every type of livestock and grows plants very well. It makes fertilizing aquarium plants easy. – Xtreme Krill and Spirulina Flake Foods – Flake food is very versatile because you can feed larger flakes to large fish, but you can also break them up to feed nano fish. Xtreme flakes looks more natural, as it has grooves. It doesn’t look processed like other flake food. I love that it was made by a hobbyist and not by a big corporation. The reason why I use both types of flakes is because you can’t just feed protein or veggies all the time, you have to mix it up so that your fish get a variety of foods. – Coarse Sponge Pad – because you can cut it to fit any filter and it has the perfect amount of pores per square inch so you don’t have to constantly clean it
Do not spend too much on livestock that you do not have the right habitat for. It will lead to disaster and cost you money. Be patient. Once you have the right setup, then you can spend the money. – Don’t jump to conclusions when your fish are doing something out of the ordinary, medication should be used as a last resort. If you don’t wish to cover your tanks, keep at least a covering on them overnight. In my experience, my fish always jump out of the tank at nighttime – especially rainbow fish. If you’re away for a long time or if you have other priorities, stock your tanks only to the extent that you won’t have a problem. Lighter stocking is always better and always take into account for worst case scenario. I.E. You’re away for seven days. A good trim on your plants will go a long way. Plants will grow bushier and healthier if they are regularly trimmed. Even if you have jungle tanks, trimming plants will ensure that they don’t grow out of control and shade out any other plants. Use your scissors with confidence!