Cloudy water – some animals seem to cloud their water much faster than others. Fiddler crabs for example. Simply increase the number of partial water changes. Usually two a week is more than enough for most animals.

Algae – Algae is going to want to grow in your bowl, especially if you have animals and plants that do not require a lot of water changes and if you globe is getting a lot of direct sunlight. But don’t worry, Algae can be controlled by a number of ways.

• Snails – Trumpet, rams horn and mystery snails will eat algae
• Plants such as Arachis and Hornwort, while great oxygenators also secret a chemical that specifically fights algae growth
• Reposition your globe, even for just a few weeks to where it gets less sun

Death of animals and plants

Too many animals can over burden a globe’s natural filtration ability causing the entire population to die off quickly from ammonia poisoning.

The wrong types of animals for the globe can have dire effects. For example, 4 zebra danios will do well in one of our large globes but put 4 Tiger Barbs of equal size in the same size globe and they will probably fight to only one is left. Another example are goldfish which really don’t do well in any kind of bowl. They produce so much ammonia that daily water changes would be necessary.

Temperature requirements vary from animal to animal and should definitely be considered when chosen your pet. The charts below can help.

Overfeeding – again, be aware of the damage caused by uneaten food.

Lack of oxygen, good oxygenator plants are Anacharis and Hornwort. Also globes should not be filled too fare above the half way mark to allow for a greater amount of water surface to interact with air.

Plants, even water plants need a certain amount of light and usually near any window will do fine for any of the plants mentioned . Plants need food as well and will do best when there is some form of animal producing CO2 and ammonia (plant food).

Scum, Scum buildup can develop on top of water and sides of bowl. Clean the bowl with a natural sponge or aquarium sponge cleaner, NO SOAP!