Aquarium Care

Nature aquarium started as an upgrade from an ordinary aquarium making hobby to an art. It is where an aquarium that was originally intended for fancy fish was aquascaped with real live underwater plants. In ordinary aquarium, the emphasis of the hobby is the fish, while the emphasis of nature aquarium is the habitat and aquascape of the aquarium.

This art was popularized by a renowned Japanese photographer Takashi Amano. His specialty is naturistic photography which gave birth to his new art, nature aquarium. It’s like giving real life to all his photos and putting it inside the glass. His photography brought him to different parts of the world, and his nature aquarium became popular worldwide.

The aquarium that we are talking about is not an ordinary aquarium. Its main idea is about creating a miniature ecosystem inside the glass under a controlled environment, where fishes, bacteria, invertebrates, aquatic plants, and all other aquatic living organisms can live together as if they are living in the open wild.

There are several kinds of aquatic plants that you can plant inside the aquarium depending on your preferences and artistic imagination. “HC” or otherwise known as Hemianthus callitricodes can be a perfect choice for carpeting while Ludwigia Arcuata is a perfect choice for giving a purple color background for your aquarium. Dwarf Hairgrass is a good choice for creating a mountain like view. Again, it is all up to your own artistic imagination.

For the fishes, please note that since it is a miniature ecosystem, it is not really advisable to have huge fishes like Arowana or Oscar. It’s not what we are trying to achieve here. It is best to have small fishes such as Guppy and Tetra. If you can have some other colorful small fish, the better. But please, no Gold Fishes alright?

Also try to consider some invertebrates such as small shrimps and snails. They eat algae and some other harmful bacteria inside the nature aquarium. They can help maintain the balance of the ecosystem inside the tank.

Algae can also destroy the beauty of your aquarium that is why it needs to be controlled. But don’t bother yourself to totally eliminate it. Else, you will have an imbalance ecosystem, and you won’t have some food for your invertebrates. Just note that the goal here is to have a well balance ecosystem.

An alternative to invertebrates is a fish called “Siamese algae eater”. It is one of the best fish algae eater out there. But it is recommended to only have 1 Siamese for every 20 gallon tank.

Lastly, you also need to take care of the CO2 and oxygen, lighting, filtration, and substrate systems of your aquarium. These things are essentially important in growing the plants inside the aquarium. A mediocre quality of these tools won’t do any good to your plants.

Takashi’s hobby has become a business later on when he founded the Aqua Design Amano. He started this company that design high quality equipments for nature aquariums. Though they are quite expensive, the quality of these equipments are just so amazing and perfectly fit for your desired aquarium. It definitely one of the highest quality brand out there specifically designed for nature aquariums.

Bince is a nature lover. To learn more about nature aquarium, you can visit our site www.natureaquariums.org.

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Making up an aquarium at home used to be so simple; any hopeful aquarist who could put together a reasonable arrangement of aquatic plants, a few funny pebbles and a little plastic castle in a glass box could end up looking like a sensitive guy for his trouble. If you have ever seen the ethereal and exquisite effects of Japanese aquarium decor though, you know how real the artistry involved in aquascaping is. The organic and harmonious look achieved in Japanese aquarium decor principles often makes people imagine that these are actual attempts at re-creating a biotope, the habitat of an actual ecological community. As tempting as it is to imagine that, these are as man-made as anything you would see in any modern aquarium, and sometimes they are inspired by landscapes you would see above water to boot.

There is something about a living environment: the harder you try to artificially replicate it in your own aquarium, the more elusive it becomes. But if you are lucky and if you try, you may end up with aquarium decor that you find more beautiful than the original. The Japanese aquarium styles sees the fish and the environment they live in as equally contributors to the final effect, after the philosophy that the frame can sometimes be considered to be as important as the painting itself.

The first step to designing your Japanese aquarium would be to pick the general shape of the landscape you want within the tank; popular landscape shapes include arranging for a generally concave look, where the surface rises all around a central valley, and a convex look where the landscape rises from the peripheries of the aquarium to a central prominence. The ideal aquarium decor layout would place before the viewer no more than one or two areas of focus, of something good and catchy to look at. There shouldn’t be lot of stuff thrown in there, each piece competing for attention.

Japanese aquarium decor philosophy places some value in imbuing tank designs with a sense of depth. The most popular way to do this is to use lowrise aquarium plants and not bushy ones. The larger shapes in the aquarium need to be the rocks and the driftwood you bring in, and not the plants. Riccia and hairgrass are great choices; for a neat look with excellent depth, try using contrast – plants of different colors, some close-cropped and tidy, others that hang a little more free, and so on.

A natural underwater vista would include a number of rocks and pebbles of the same type. It might be tempting on your visit to an aquarium supplies store to pick a couple of all the best-looking rocks around for a Technicolor effect; while that might be the way to go for Vegas-like glamor, you must remember that you are going for the natural look, for Oriental restraint. Try to pick all your aquarium rocks, as many as you get, to belong to the same geological type, more or less. When you arrange them around the bottom of your tank, the placement that should work best is usually where the action of water currents would kick them around. The natural look is best achieved by rolling the rocks around and letting them rest where their center of gravity dictates.

Of course the aquarium you dream up can never be precisely to your standards; an aquarium is a living environment, and is a place of free biological growth. If you can somehow factor that into your core philosophy, you should be ahead of most first-time designers and perhaps you could say something grand to people who come in to admire your handiwork, like “According to ancient Japanese wisdom, the earth that supports life and the life that lives on it must all be free”.

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Responsible fish keeping starts with your aquarium setup. Make sure that the aquarium you choose is large enough for the fish that you want. Many people believe that fish will grow to the size of their tank, but stunting their growth by keeping them in a small tank will reduce the lifespan of the fish. Eventually, you will need to upgrade the aquarium if you started with a too-small tank.

Find out as much as you can about the fish that you plan to keep, to know what size of aquarium you need to get for them. It is best to factor in the adult size of the fish when choosing the size of the aquarium. But if you got a small aquarium and later it became too small for your fish, then upgrade as soon as possible to the appropriate size.

Make sure that the fish you choose will be compatible with each other. Responsible fish keepers will not add different species to the same aquarium without first making sure that they will get along. Different fish have different requirements for pH, water temperature, and other measurements, too. Do not purchase too many fish for your tank, either. Just because they are small doesn’t mean that several dozen of them can fit in your small aquarium.

When you want to dispose of some of your fish or aquatic plants, be sure not to release them in a pond, stream or other water bodies anywhere. This is because fish that have grown too big for your aquarium may not fare well in other environment or, even if they survive, they may cause an imbalance in the local ecosystem when they breed or feed on other creatures in the water.

A lot of tropical fish found in the aquarium cannot continue to live outside the aquarium especially in frigid waters. Releasing them in this environment is like giving them a death sentence. If you cannot afford an upgrade of your tank, returning your fish to the pet store is a better alternative.

Aside from getting the right aquarium, you also need other aquarium equipment like a water filter and a heater. These are important for the good health and comfort of your fish. The type and specifications will again depend on the needs of your fish. Be sure that they are working properly before putting in your fish.

Even with a filter, responsible fish keeping also includes regular water changes. Test the water weekly to track pH, nitrates, ammonia, and other water quality indicators. You can reduce water changes with beneficial bacteria. The EcoBio-Block Family Products do a great job with this. Their unique system of delivering beneficial bacteria on a regular basis insures that your water will stay clear and healthy even while reducing water changes.

Some of your fish may be small but that does not mean that you can just disregard them or that they will survive with less care than what you are giving to the other fish. Do not forget to feed your fish. Make sure that they receive proper nutrition. Find out the best kind of food for them.

Responsible fish keeping means taking the responsibility of caring for your fish seriously. This involves keeping them in a healthy environment, feeding them and providing for their every need.

Leonard Boyler has been keeping fish for more than 20 years. His favorite products make aquarium care and maintenance so easy from start up to clarifying cloudy aquariums. To find out more about how to have clear water and healthy fish please visit ONEdersave.com.

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by Ruby Bayan

As caretaker of the simulated natural environment in your tank, you will have to make sure that your aquarium flora are planted well, and receive adequate light, nutrients, and the constant care and maintenance they need to thrive. This may all seem a bit overwhelming, but once the plants are established, they do not really require much fuss.

Planting Techniques

Once you’ve chosen your assortment of aquatic plants and are ready to introduce them into your tank, be sure you are not also introducing unwanted elements such as snails and tiny predators. Rinse your newly acquired vegetation under clean water and remove damaged or decaying leaves, stems, and roots. Plant them into their designated places gently to minimize bruising.

Rooted plants should be planted into the substrate only up to where their leaves meet the roots. Burying them too deep will cause the stems to rot. If the plant is mature and has a good root system, you can trim off a third of the roots, including the old brownish ones because these are, in effect, dead roots.
Tubers should be planted at an angle, with the shoots just above the substrate; otherwise, the plant will not survive.

Cuttings, which are usually sold in a bunch or cluster, should be separated and planted one by one, and properly spaced out for better growth. Spacing them will also help provide adequate lighting to the bottom leaves. Thrusting clusters into the substrate, or tying them together, will crush the stems and cause them to rot. Trim off a few leaves from the bottom of the stem and sink the stem into the substrate up to its first bottom leaf.

As to the placement of plants in your tank, try to follow some basic principles:

1. Put tall ones, and those that tend to grow tall and thick, at the sides and at the back.
2. Plant short and rosette-type plants in the front and center.
3. Do not use the rooted plants in areas where fish that have a tendency to dig can uproot them. Instead, plant them behind rocks, driftwood, or other dominant decor.

Lighting Considerations

All plants have unique lighting requirements. Some require intense light while some can’t tolerate it. Most aquatic plants require about 10 to 12 hours of light exposure in order to thrive, and very few will continue to flourish if the light source is partially blocked by tall neighboring plants.

Remember that if certain species like the red-leafed and fine-leafed ones need bright light, extending their exposure to regular light (i.e., the standard fluorescent tube that came with the tank) will not suffice. Putting the aquarium by the window so that it will catch the sun’s rays is not a good idea either — too much light will encourage algae growth. The best strategies are to add fluorescent light tubes or install aluminum reflectors behind the light source, and to ensure that the glass cover is always clean so that proper illumination reaches all the plants.

Regular Care and Maintenance

Just as you would diligently check on the health and wellness of your fish, give a little attention to your aquatic plants as well. Here’s a list of things to do:

1. Fertilize. Aquatic plant fertilizers that are rich in nutrients like iron and potassium are available as pellets and in liquid form. Follow the product instructions on the quantity, schedule, and manner of applying these fertilizers. Some substrates are mixed with laterite clay that is specifically beneficial for tank vegetation.
2. Change some of the water. Aquarium plants play an active role in the tank’s nitrogen cycle, but sometimes the water composition degrades into one that is not any longer highly beneficial to plants. This is when your assistance is required — once a week, changing the water (less than 20 percent) helps in refreshing the quality of the environment. Be sure to de-chlorinate and check the temperature of the new water before introducing it into the tank. You may also add fertilizer to the new water if appropriate. If you have an EcoBio-Block in your tank, water changes can be done less frequently.
3. Do regular check-ups. Regular maintenance for plants also includes trimming dead or damaged leaves and branches, propagating by cutting or separating new growth, and removing snails. Some serious aquatic plant enthusiasts introduce CO2 into the tank to boost the plant systems. You can inquire from your vendor about this option.
4. Avoid toxic elements. The standard manner of treating fish ailments is by dropping medication directly into the water. Unfortunately, some fish medications are harmful to plants, affecting leaf coloring, absorption of nutrients, and overall health. Therefore, when medicating fish, transfer them to a tank containing no plants. Also, when using water conditioners and anti-chlorine treatments, never pour them directly on the plants. (Also, remember to take out your EcoBio-Block, medications can be toxic to the beneficial bacteria).

And finally, address warning signs. Be aware of indications of poor maintenance. When environmental conditions are not ideal, you will see the effects on the leaves of the plants themselves. Pale and widely spaced leaf growth in the stems is a sign of poor or insufficient light. Yellowing of the leaves is a sign of lack of nutrients like iron. Blackening of the leaves indicates pollution. Holes or damage indicates the presence of either snails or vegetarian fish. Attend to these distress signs immediately so that your aquarium garden will always be in good health.

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