Aquarium Ornaments
advertisement
Interesting under
water scenes are created by using the right combination of
aquarium ornaments. By choosing the right décor an aquarist can create the perfect environment to raise happy and healthy
fish. Sure,
aquarium ornaments are wonderful to look at, but they also serve a bigger purpose. There are many pieces that also function as important survival tools for aquatic
pets. When choosing ornaments for an
aquarium you’ll have to assess the needs of your
fish, pick features that accommodate those needs and use them to create and eye-pleasing scene.
There are so many different aspects of
decoration to think about when building an
underwater scene. Keep in mind you are creating a whole world for your
fish to live in. It is a three-dimensional space where your
pets will eat, breath, sleep and hide, so where do you
start? The best place to begin is at the bottom.
The first thing to decide is what to put at the bottom of the
aquarium. There are so many substances to choose from.
Gravel is most commonly used to decorate the bottom of tropical
tanks. It’s easy to
clean and it has a little bit of weight if you need to anchor down a few
plants.
Gravel comes in many different colors and textures to match any ornaments you may choose for your scenery. Adding larger
river stones or marbles can increase the aesthetics and add dimension to plain
gravel.
Once a
substrate is chosen it is time to
start looking for that perfect
background. There are flat ones that are positioned in the back of the
aquarium and there are three-dimensional ones that are placed on the inside of the posterior
aquarium glass. Both serve the purpose of hiding the unsightly
water filters that hang on the back of the
tank. Choosing one is a matter of preference. But keep in mind that the scenery that hangs inside the
water will be added to your list of
aquarium cleaning duties.
The next step in
aquarium decorating is the fun part and that is choosing the one or two dramatic pieces that will become the focus of your whole
underwater scene. The
fish will love it no matter what it looks like but be sure that it provides plenty of hiding space. These
aquarium ornaments can be almost anything, sunken ships, hollowed out logs, rocky caves, castles or houses, and the list goes on and on. Be sure to pay close attention to the size of these centerpieces in comparison to your
fish and
tank. You’ll want to have enough space for hiding beneath it and also enough free swimming space above for your
pets to move about. Once you have the big pieces picked you can go on to find smaller
accessory pieces.
Accessory ornaments can be useful features added to your
tank with specific purposes in mind. If you have active
fish that require a little more oxygen you can look for
underwater rivers and bridges or bubbling treasure chests. These
decorations tend to need
air pumps to
power them and can take the place of a plain old
air stone. Some
fish appear to have fun when swimming through turbulent waters and this is a good way to provide such currents. Another type of functional ornament is the submersible
light ornament. This type of
decoration provides a soft glow in the
aquarium, just enough to see in without the powerful, bright
light of the
aquarium hood. These lighted features often come in different colors to enhance the tones of the
tank.
The final step in
aquarium décor is choosing the right
plants. This will be the final touch of personality and color in your
aquarium. Decide whether you want a lot of
plants or just a few. If you plan to raise larger
fish it would be best to use just a few as they tend to rearrange the things they can move. If you raise smaller
fish you could probably use more
plants so the
tank appears fuller. Then you need to decide whether you want to use real or
plastic plants. Again, with the larger
fish you should choose the more durable
plant which is plastic. If you have smaller
fish it doesn’t matter which you choose because they can’t hurt real or fake
plants.
Once you’ve chosen all of your
aquarium ornaments you may need to rearrange the layout a few times before it’s absolutely perfect. Just keep trying until you get it right and your
fish will love you for it.
This is my daughter’s
aquarium with colorful
rocks and
plants, glass marbles and a bubble blowing diver.
A cave made of
river rocks vs. a plastic
rock cave
Plastic plants
Plant Background
Larger stones give plain
gravel added dimension.
Feel free to visit
Decorating Your Aquarium at firsttankguide.net too!
sponsored links
Aquarium Ornaments
has been viewed times since June 30, 2009.
Share your experiences, use as many words as possible! Also, got questions? We'll answer them! All comments are held for approval and moderation. Bear in mind that we're receiving questions every hour and every day. In average over 100 questions each day! That's why we
NEED your help.
Become our sponsor (click here) and we'll be able to answer you fast. Even though we're doing our best to answer all questions, many of them have to wait over a month or a couple of months until they're published and answered.
Donations will make a difference!
Don't use URLs in your comments (such comments won't pass our spam protection)! Subscribe to our
RSS and be notified when your comment becomes visible. Also use
forum.aqua-fish.net!
Check out the most popular articles on our site!