About

Practical fish-keeping help from someone who actually keeps fish

FinFettle is written by Haitham Houly, a freshwater aquarist who's been keeping tanks since 2017. It started with a Juwel Trigon 190 that I cycled the hard way — fish-in, with a few mollies, before I properly understood the nitrogen cycle. Losing fish to mistakes I didn't know I was making is exactly why this site exists.

An established freshwater aquarium with driftwood, rockwork and fish — One of my tanks today — the photos and clips across this site are all of my own aquariums.

And another — a planted community of neon tetras and corydoras over a driftwood scape.

A Juwel Trigon 190 corner aquarium with blood parrot cichlids, clay pots and an artificial plant — My Trigon 190 in its parrot years — four red and four polar parrots, kept from 2022 until spring 2026, when they outgrew it and I sold them on.

What I do

FinFettle gives worried fishkeepers a calm, honest answer to two questions: what's wrong, and what do I do next. I build free tools — starting with a aquarium volume calculator — and plain-English guides that lead with good husbandry, not pill-pushing.

How I get it right

Every page combines hands-on experience with authoritative sources — university extension services, veterinary and hobby bodies, and manufacturers' own published labels — which I cite so you can check them. Where a dose matters, I relay the manufacturer's label rather than inventing my own numbers. I say when I'm unsure, and I keep the highest-stakes advice conservative.

Know when to get help

I'm an experienced hobbyist sharing what has worked for me and what the sources say — not a professional. Everything here is educational and husbandry-first. When a fish is declining fast or you're out of your depth, that's the moment to lean on an established tank, your local aquarium shop, or an experienced fishkeeping friend.