Aquarium Decoration Sitemap

Introduction - The fact that you are reading this booklet indicates that you have some interest in keeping an aquarium.

What do you want in an aquarium—a conversation piece, a decorative addition to your home furnishings? You may have it—with showy animals requiring a minimum of care and attention.

Colorful tropical fish in a beautifully styled aquarium can be the center of attraction of a wall layout, they can even be part of the wall, a living picture outlined by a shadow frame.

01. Selecting Your Aquarium - Far too many people start off on the wrong foot by acquiring an aquarium first and deciding what to do with it afterwards. Sometimes this turns out well enough, but it is equally likely to cause a good deal of difficulty and expense.

Of course, if the tank has been given to you as a present, or you have bought one in a moment of enthusiasm while looking round a store, you must make the best of it; but if you are considering the purchase of an aquarium in the near future, a lot will be gained by giving a little thought to the matter beforehand, aided by a preliminary perusal of this book.

02. Accessories - This is the field where modern aquarium management takes over in an important way. The first 75 years of the hobby saw the development of an elaborate theory of proper proportioning of water volume and area, plantings, and fish population, called the "balanced aquarium", in which the waste matter of the fish was completely consumed by the plants; the plants, in turn, gave up oxygen to the water in proportions necessary to maintain the fish life. Although this theory was exploded in England by scientists of great reputation nearly 50 years ago, it persists to this day.

03. Sand + Rocks - Before putting anything in the aquarium, make sure that the glass is quite clean. You will not have the opportunity again for a long, long time. If you have an old tank, scrape off all lime deposits from the glass. Scrub inside with ordinary table salt and a very little water. Rinse well. If this does not remove all deposits, use steel wool or a razor blade scraper. Scratches inside the glass, under water, will not show when the aquarium is filled.

04. Water - Water is water—or is it? Water varies in a number of ways all around the world. Some of it is suitable for human use without treatment or change. Some waters have iron, or sodium, or lime in such quantities as to be unpleasant to drink, at least to the uninitiated.

Mineral compounds of calcium or magnesium are called "hardness" compounds, and waters throughout the United States and Canada range from completely soft (or without hardness) to extremely hard.

05. Plants + Planting - Most people like green growing plants, and you will find this very human desire expressed in aquariums. Almost every successful and beautiful aquarium has growing plants in it. Contrary to popular belief, it is not necessary to pack your aquarium with dozens of plants. Plant for decorative value, use as few or as many as you desire to make a tasteful arrangement.

06. About Fishes - Not until the preparations described in the preceding chapters have been completed should fishes be obtained, and it is a good plan to let the tank settle down for a day or two before introducing them. This will not only ensure that the plants are already doing their job, but will eliminate any risk of their being disturbed by the fishes before they are properly rooted. In the meantime, it will be wise to learn something about fishes and their requirements.

07. Aquarium Fishes - As with the plants, so among fishes there are many which have no English name, though as they become popular they tend to acquire them. Generally speaking, however, it is better to learn the scientific names, because these are internationally used, and more exact. These names are usually derived from Greek or Latin words, often descriptive of some feature of the fish or plant concerned. They are always in two parts. The first part, beginning with a capital letter, is called the generic name, and indicates the group to which the species belongs; the second part, always beginning with a small letter, is the trivial name, indicating the particular species.

08. Maintenance - With the introduction of the fishes your aquarium is complete. If you have followed instructions in the previous chapters, it will give you very little trouble from now on. With a properly set-up tank, enough plants and light, reliable heating, and healthy fishes you will have a successful aquarium.

Sometimes also called a sediment-remover, this is simply a piece of glass tubing, the upper end of which is closed with the finger. The lower end is placed over the sediment and the finger raised, when the material will shoot up into the tube; the moment this happens, close the top again and lift the tube out, emptying it into some other receptacle.

09. Breeding Fishes - If you begin, as advised, with a few Livebearers, it probably won't be long before one of the females has a brood of youngsters. In an ordinary community tank most of these will promptly be eaten by the others, unless there is a very thick screen of plants for their protection. However, this event may inspire you with a desire to breed them more success fully.

10. Ailments + Enemies - Some textbooks on aquarium-keeping devote a considerable space to the subject of this chapter. In the present work it will not take very long, because if you follow the earlier instructions faithfully you should not be bothered very much with diseases and parasites. And I have left it until the end because it is the last thing you should think about. Aquarists who fear that their fish are sick, or worry about every little blemish, have the most trouble, because they are continually juggling with salt-baths, temperatures and a host of drugs.

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