In this part of the articles library you will find information about
different types of aquarium decorations and what to think about when
you select, purchase and arrange them. Aquarium decoration is not only
beautiful for the aquarist to admire; the fish will also appreciate an
aquarium that is decorated instead of barren. If you arrange your
aquarium decorations properly they will form hiding places and natural
borders and make the aquarium more like the natural environment for
fish. Natural borders can help to reduce the amount of aggression in an
aquarium. If you want to introduce a new fishes, you can rearrange the
aquarium decorations and break up all the old territories in order to
make the old inhabitants less territorial and give the new fishes a
chance to claim their own territories.
Cave dwelling fish species will love aquarium decorations that form
caves, holes and crevices. Fish that live in densely grown waters will
appreciate plants and other types of tiny hiding places. An intelligent
and curious fish that is bored in your aquarium can perk up
significantly when you give him a plastic diver that is blowing
bubbles. Aquarium decorations can even be used as spawning sites for
many fish species. Plants are one form of aquarium decoration that can
play a much larger part in the aquarium than simply being beautiful.
Plants will bind carbon dioxide and oxygenate the water. They will also
use organic waste products as nutrition and thereby remove potentially
harmful compounds from the water. Some aquarists use cheap but
sensitive aquatic plants as canaries in the aquarium. If the water
suddenly goes bad, the plant will die before the fish and the aquarist
will notice the problem and be able to handle it before the fish begin
to die.
Some people find aquarium decorations tacky and want their aquarium
to be as clean and sterile as possible when it comes to decorations,
but the fish do not care about fashion – they care about sheltering
places, a varied environment and things to investigate. Today, there
are fortunately a lot of beautiful and stylish aquarium decorations to
choose among and even the pickiest minimalist can find something to his
or her liking.
It is common for aquarium decorations to consist of natural
materials; such as rock, wood or coral. These are commonly used in set
ups that have been arranged in order to look as natural as possible. An
aquarium can be like a tiny piece of the true habitat for the fish
species. Some aquarists will for instance set up an aquarium with
Tanganyika cichlids, and turn the aquarium into a small replica of the
part of Lake Tanganyika where the selected species live; including Lake
Tanganyika plants and a substrate that is similar to the sandy bottom
in Lake Tanganyika. There are also plenty of artificial aquarium
decorations that can look very realistic. Plastic plants can for
instance be a good idea in an aquarium with plant eating fish species.
Coral replicas and artificial anemones are popular in saltwater
aquariums. If you are a beginner saltwater aquarists, it is recommend
to start out with a fish only aquarium and use artificial coral and
anemones as aquarium decoration, since corals and anemones are hard to
keep and have very particular requirements.
In addition to the natural or natural looking aquarium decorations,
there are also a wide range of aquarium decorations that would not
normally be found in a lake, river or ocean. It can for instance be
fantasy sea monsters from fairytales or copies of the Egyptian
pyramids. Sculls, bones, shipwrecks, and half buried treasure boxes are
also popular. Some fish keepers like the idea of a sunken Atlantis and
decorate their aquarium with statues and temple ruins.
It is very important that you only use aquarium decorations that are
safe to use in aquariums. If you have a saltwater aquarium, you should
make sure that they are saltwater-safe as well. If you place normal
decorations that are not intended for aquarium use in the water they
might leak toxic compounds. It is for instance common for many types of
ornaments to contain minerals that will be dissolved by the water and
slowly poison your fish. If you pick stones, wood etcetera from the
wild you can introduce harmful organisms to your aquarium, e.g.
parasites, fungus, virus and bacteria.
Aquarium Decoration Article
Aquarium decoration - a few word about different aquarium decorations
Rock and Wood in Aquascaping - How to test for toxicity. Sources. Aesthetics of aquascaping.
