South Africa
About the brand
API: water science, bottled for fish keepers
Since 1963
The pharmacy the aquarium hobby grew up with
Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Inc. opened in Chalfont, Pennsylvania in 1963 with a narrow brief: make aquarium water safer for the fish living in it. Its scientists were among the first to put laboratory-grade liquid reagent tests into a hobbyist's hands, and the ammonia, nitrite and pH kits that followed became the way a generation of fish keepers learned to read their water. More than 30 global patents later, the blue and yellow bottles are on the shelf of almost every aquarium shop on earth.
In 2003 the company joined Mars, Incorporated — the same group behind the Waltham Petcare Science Institute — and the range has kept growing since: conditioners that work in seconds, bottled nitrifying bacteria, plant-based remedies, and a complete pond line for water gardens.
The API care routine
Condition. Test. Treat. Maintain.
Good water is a routine, not a rescue. The API range is built around a simple loop that keeps parameters where fish need them — and every step has a product on this site.
Condition
Tap Water Conditioner and Stress Coat neutralise chlorine and chloramine and detoxify heavy metals the moment new water goes in.
Test
The Freshwater Master Test Kit and the 5-in-1 strips read pH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate — the invisible numbers that decide fish health.
Treat
Quick Start seeds the filter with live nitrifying bacteria; Melafix, Pimafix and Super Ick Cure deal with infections when they appear.
Maintain
Stress Zyme keeps the filter bed working, Accu-Clear polishes the water, and Bio-Chem Zorb, Nitra-Zorb and Phos-Zorb pull problems out of it.
Since 1963
Aquarium Pharmaceuticals opened in Pennsylvania in 1963 and has worked on one problem ever since: keeping aquarium and pond water healthy for the fish in it.
30+ global patents
API's own research scientists pioneered treatments the hobby now takes for granted — from ammonia detoxifiers to the liquid reagent tests that read water accurately.
Test, then treat
Liquid test kits read the water precisely; conditioners and remedies fix exactly what the test finds. Clear dosing on every bottle means no guessing and no overdosing.
Made for stocked tanks
Dosed as directed, API conditioners, clarifiers and filter media are designed to go into a tank with the fish and plants still in it — you treat the water, not the fish.
API in South Africa
Local supply, local answers
Jungle Aquatics in Fourways, Johannesburg stocks the API range as an independent South African reseller — genuine bottles with the dosing charts in millilitres and litres, the master test kits, and a counter staffed by people who test tank and pond water every day and can read your results with you, in person or over the phone. Orders ship to anywhere in the country.
This site is the catalogue: every API product available locally, explained in plain language with its dosing, its uses and its limits, and a direct link to buy each one at jungleaquatics.com.
Frequently asked questions
Who makes API aquarium products?
API is the brand of Mars Fishcare, part of Mars, Incorporated, and is made in the United States. It began as Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Inc. in Chalfont, Pennsylvania in 1963 and joined Mars in 2003.
Is API a good brand for beginners?
Yes. The range is built around a simple routine — condition new water, test it, treat what the test finds — and every bottle carries a dosing chart in millilitres and litres. The Freshwater Master Test Kit and Stress Coat are the two products most beginners start with.
Can API products be used in saltwater and pond systems?
Many can. Most single-parameter test kits, Stress Coat, Ammo Lock, Quick Start and Stress Zyme are labelled for freshwater and saltwater, and a separate API Pond line covers outdoor ponds at pond doses. Each product page on this site states which water types it suits.
Is the API sold in South Africa the same formulation as overseas?
Yes. Jungle Aquatics sells genuine API product supplied through the brand's South African distributor, in the manufacturer's own packaging with its standard dosing instructions in millilitres and litres.
Where can I buy API products in South Africa?
From Jungle Aquatics in Fourways, Johannesburg, in store or online at jungleaquatics.com with delivery across South Africa. This site links every product to its listing there.
Available in South Africa
Stocked & supported by Jungle Aquatics
South Africa's leading pet and aquarium store since 2007 — with the API range on the floor in Fourways, advice from people who test water every day, and easy ordering from anywhere in the country.
