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. It feels like all I do is important, and that shows in sales and views. And it’s a good feeling to know people trust my judgement.
What are your professional background? I am self-taught. Through hours of practice and research, I have learned all I know. My appreciation for cinematography and score really inspires me to continue to learn as much as I can and produce the best quality videos and photos within my skill set.
What is your most memorable moment at Aquarium Co-Op, and why? Meeting with legends in this hobby, documenting their journey, and then putting it all out there for the rest of the world.
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. That includes all graphics, animation, color and sound. I also design labels and graphics for many of our products in-house and take all product photos for our 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 would 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 takes the guess work out of fertilizing aquarium plants. – 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. Just looking at the Xtreme flakes, it appears more natural because it has grooves and doesn’t look totally processed like most other flake foods. It was created by an experienced hobbyist and not a large company. 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 SpongePad is flexible and can be cut to fit any filter.
– Don’t overspend on livestock that you don’t already have the perfect habitat for, it will end in disaster and you’ll lose money – be patient and wait until you have the best setup for the livestock you want to keep, THEN 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 have the space to cover your tank, put a lid over it 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. If you are away for 7 days, a good trim can make a big difference. Trimming plants keeps them healthy and will allow them to grow more bushy. A trim is a good way to ensure your plants don’t get too big or shade out other plants, even if you keep them in jungle tanks. Use your scissors without fear!