FishForever exists because most fishkeeping advice online is either written by someone selling you fish, or generated in bulk by a machine that has never kept a tank. We’re neither.
What we cover
Tropical freshwater fishkeeping for UK hobbyists. Beginners and improvers first — because that’s where mistakes cost the most fish. Planted tanks, community tanks, breeding livebearers, disease identification, welfare-first stocking. Everything is written in litres, Celsius, and pounds, using products you can actually buy from UK aquatic shops or from a UK Amazon delivery.
We don’t cover marine or reef in detail. There are excellent UK sites that do, and we’d rather write well about a smaller area than shallowly about a bigger one.
How we work
Every article is written by a named human, then reviewed against three checks before it goes live:
- Is it accurate? Cross-referenced against peer-reviewed veterinary literature where relevant, and against the practical experience of the author.
- Is it welfare-first? We won’t recommend under-tanked stocking, impulse-purchase species, or care that keeps a fish alive but not thriving.
- Is it useful in the UK? No US-only medications, no imperial-gallon conversions, no shops that don’t ship to Britain.
Where a recommendation involves a product, we say so plainly. When we link to a retailer, we may earn an affiliate commission — but we recommend the product first and check the affiliate program second. Our full Affiliate Disclosure explains how this works.
Who writes
Jaqline Smalling — Lead editor. UK-based hobbyist for the last decade, mostly planted community tanks and livebearer breeding. Prefers under-stocking to over-stocking, always. Writes here about beginner-friendly, evidence-based fishkeeping.
More contributors are joining as the site grows. Every article carries the byline of the person who wrote it.
What we don’t do
- We don’t do sponsored posts disguised as reviews. If a product feature is paid, it’s marked at the top of the article.
- We don’t repost AI content. Every guide is written by a person. AI helps with research or outlines occasionally; it does not write the prose.
- We don’t shill for one shop chain. Independent aquatic shops, Maidenhead Aquatics, SwellUK, AllPondSolutions, Amazon UK — we recommend whoever has the best product at the fairest price.
- We don’t recommend species that will suffer in a beginner tank. No common plecos in 60-litre tanks. No goldfish in tropical setups. No fish sold as “starter fish” that turn out to be sensitive to ammonia. If a species is popular but wrong for beginners, we’ll tell you so.
Getting in touch
For editorial questions, corrections, or suggestions: hello@fishforever.co.uk or via the contact form. For privacy or data-protection matters: privacy@fishforever.co.uk (see Privacy Policy). For advertising or partnership enquiries: hello@fishforever.co.uk (please put “PARTNERSHIP” in the subject line).
The name
“Fish Forever.” The point of the hobby is fish that live out their natural span. Nine years for a goldfish, six for a bristlenose, three for a well-kept guppy. Anything less than that means we did something wrong — usually water quality, sometimes stocking, occasionally bad luck. This site is here to help make “usually water quality” one less common cause of death for UK-kept tropical fish.