An aquarium for a modern city dweller is a wonderful opportunity to observe wildlife. Bright multi-colored fish live their own lives, calming and creating a good mood. But the aquarium is also a kind of living picture that gives a special charm to the interior.
The designs of modern Aquariums are extremely varied. This is a classic rectangular, and round, and corner, and a screen aquarium. He can stand on the table, hang on the wall, take his place in a niche – in a word, there are plenty of opportunities. There are even aquarium walls that look great in the living room, but you will hardly be able to make one with your own hands, it is better to order it from an experienced master. Before starting fish, think if you have a suitable place in your apartment and if you have enough time to keep your little pets. Only a well-tended aquarium can decorate the interior.
Decide what kind of aquarium you will have at home. It is not necessary to contain fish in it. Ornamental aquatic plants will also decorate the apartment. You can also keep invertebrates – shrimp, molluscs, crabs, crayfish. It all depends on your capabilities, including financial ones. Having decided on the inhabitants, choose the type of dwelling. For example, a round aquarium is not suitable for keeping invertebrates and fish, because debris and excrement will accumulate in a conspicuous place, about 1/3 of the height of the bottom. But on the other hand, plants feel good in such an aquarium, and they look good.
Many fish, such as scalars, veil-tails, telescopes, shubunkins, need large aquariums, and some need frequent water changes. In addition, different fish require different water temperatures. So, if normal room temperature is enough for swordtails and guppies, then it is better to keep discus fish at a constant temperature of about 27 ° C, and for veil-tails, telescopes and goldfish, heating water is generally undesirable. Choose residents for the aquarium who need approximately the same temperature regime. The volume of the aquarium depends on the type and size of fish that will live in it. So, for large cichlids, it is impractical to start an aquarium of less than 100 liters. A novice aquarist, buying a small fish, puts it in a small vessel, not considering that the fish can grow up to 20 cm or more, as often happens with veil tails and scalars. As a result, the fish dies, and interior decoration also fails.
The aquarium cannot be overpopulated with different types of fish – many of them do not get along well with each other.
If you want a beautiful aquarium, but don’t have enough time to care for its inhabitants, limit yourself to plants or easy-to-maintain organisms. For example, an aquarium with neons does not take up much space and does not require much effort. You can add other small haracin fish to them – these fish get along well with each other and in nature live in approximately the same conditions. In this case, the backlight plays a very important role, which should be natural and sufficiently bright. Excess light is also harmful – water can bloom.
You can keep fish that live in different layers of water together.
A dwelling for fish needs to be equipped in such a way that a “living picture” will decorate the interior. A decorative back wall can be supplied. In pet stores, you can easily find decorations for aquariums, which are made from baked clay. You will also need driftwood, especially if you are going to keep catfish. It is better to buy driftwood from specialists, since they must be specially prepared. Shells and decorative stones are best used to decorate the back wall, placing them behind the aquarium in a special transparent box, sprinkling them with coarse river sand.