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My first name is Greg, but people have been erroneously calling me "Gary" my whole life. Compared to what they do to my last name, Gary isn't much of an issue. I sometimes joke with my wife that I should change the spelling of my last name, in order to more closely match one of the horrible...

When I first saw your post, I thought that you were a dude (based on your profile photo), wanting a girl's name. I wasn't sure how to respond. Unless you really are a dude, in which case- well, that's cool, too.

Please note, I said "the shrimp would not survive, so it really wouldn’t matter in this case". However it's also worth noting that the OP does not appear to have known that, so the intent would be the same. With all of the publicity and awareness regarding the problem of invasive species, it...

While it’s true that the shrimp would not survive, so it really wouldn’t matter in this case, this “set it free” mindset really torques me. This is exactly how we end up with invasive and destructive species in places they don’t belong: snakeheads, lion fish, goldfish, Burmese pythons, tegus...

Last night. Just don’t ask me about the time before that.

I’ve had aquariums since I was a kid, but not always, and seldom more than one or two tanks. What keeps me going with fish is that it’s not my main hobby. My main hobby is amphibians and reptiles, so most of my focus is on them. With the fish, I keep things simple. I keep a few easy species, I...

I’ve kept a few cold water tanks over the years, stocked with natives that I’ve collected myself. It’s not particularly difficult, however many species require live food, and not all plants will thrive in colder temps.

It’s interesting and all that, but it ultimately puts the fish on the same level as toys.

A baby musk turtle, in a full 60 gallon, is likely to drown, fish or no fish.

I love white clouds.

My favorite is guppy grass. Why? Because it grows well for me, yet isn’t duckweed.

A few years ago, I built a large paludarium for the purpose of creating a mixed species environment. It’s eight feet long, four feet deep, and six feet high. The lower section has a pond liner, which was initially filled with water. I added zebra danios, white clouds, and various small tetras. I...

I use a chemical free "magic eraser". Fast, easy, effective.

I did something similar with an old stock watering tank. I raised up some "feeder" goldfish. I brought them in during the winter. Some lived twenty years.

I am in the process of building a pressurized room in my house. It’s a modified cooler from a butcher shop. I won’t need the pressurized tanks, and cleaning and feeding can be done with less disruption to the fish. I plan on working primarily goblin sharks. This will be right next to my sea...

I’d like to have some calico angel fish. I’d also like some green tiger barbs.

My profile picture is of a leopard frog that I photographed on my property in northern Minnesota.

I've found that a bare bottom tank is preferable. Easier to feed, easier to clean.

I'm not sure whether this is a ghost story, but I enjoy telling it. When I was 19 or so and just getting started in the business world, I moved back in with my folks for a year or so. On summer weekends, they went to their lake place a couple hours away. I worked a retail job on the weekends...

I don't remember- we had aquariums when I was a toddler. Most likely, the first fish were something my dad netted up in one of the nearby wetlands. We lived out in the country. The first aquarium that I remember, I was probably ten or eleven. It was a 29 gallon that a relative gave us. I...

What are the best plants for a low light, cold water tank? So far, I've only gotten duck weed to do well....

Gouramis.

I have a theory about that. My theory being, most people are stupid about most things. I think that most people are at least smart about one or two things. A hobby or something that really interests them, and hopefully they are smart about whatever they do for a living. But they lack common...

Friend, I am a snake and lizard owner myself. I can tell you that, from my fairly extensive experience with them, they are no more yucky than your fish. In fact, they may even be less yucky, depending on one's definition. They aren't slimy, they can usually be handled, and they are far more...

People think you're weird because of your fish? Try telling them that you keep reptiles and amphibians. I get blank stares, followed by "why"? I hear about how much they love killing snakes, how icky they are, about the snapping turtles they've butchered, about the rattlesnakes that have...

I've kept fish since I was a kid- probably fifty years or so- but not continuously, or ever more than two or three tanks at any one time. I consider myself a beginner, really.

I culture superworms and dubia roaches, primarily to feed reptiles and amphibians. However, some of my larger fish like them too.

You are correct, brown anoles tend to outcompete green anoles. But, if the enclosure is sufficiently large, with lots of basking and hiding spots, plenty of prey items, etc, they might be OK together. I would keep a close watch on their behavior though, and be ready to separate if needed.

I'm going to make BBQ ribs outside this afternoon. It's only 12 degrees F here.

When I was a kid, we had a den, and in the corner was a stand with my two aquariums on it. I also had a skateboard, it was winter, and the den was the only room in the house with a smooth floor. I don't really need to go into any more detail, do I?

25 or so years ago, I was built almost as well as the "gym" guy. Now, though, I consider the "aquarium" guy to be pretty buff.

You know you're a fish nerd when the "decor" in your backyard consists mostly of cool rocks, driftwood, and buckets of aquarium gravel.

You know you're a fish nerd when, bored one day, you go into a box in the back of your closet. You're digging through books, and you come across your high school yearbook. You pick it up, hold it in your hands, and discover that there is old, dried, duckweed on it.

At a former home of mine, I built a pond and stocked it with feeder goldfish. The next day, I went to check on them, and they were floating at the top, dead. I fished them out, and that was that. I had a busy summer that year, and completely neglected the pond. Didn't even look at it. When fall...

I don't dream about fish very often; however, my main hobby is actually amphibians and reptiles. I dream about them nearly every night, and have since I was a toddler.

Yes, it can speed it up dramatically. I use a piece of filter media or gravel to seed a new tank, and find that it is cycled in days, instead of weeks.

Please don't release the turtle into that pond, unless that's where it was originally collected.

I don't use a top for any of my turtles. They do not require deep water. I provide rocks in the middle of the tank for basking. If you feel like a lid is necessary, you could easily make one to fit your needs. I have found that vinyl stock watering tanks are much better for housing turtles than...

I own some wooded property in northern Minnesota, with over 1/2 mile of river flowing through it. The river has lots of branches in it. In the summertime, I swim the river, and retrieve sunken driftwood. Since it's already waterlogged and weathered, I don't even need to weigh it down when I...

I've ordered from a few, including live aquaria and modern aquarium. Both have worked out fine for me.