Aquascaping

          Aquascaping a fish tank is the part of fish keeping where you can be creative and make an environment that you and your fish can enjoy!      
         Aquascaping is the actual designing of your tanks interior looks. When you aquascape your tank, it is very important to not only make it enjoyable in your view, but also in your fish's view. Create a living environment that is expectable for your fish to live in comfortably, while at the same time look good for viewers!
    
  When designing your tank, its best to make your fish comfortable. To do so, be sure to add plenty of aquarium plants, caves, and others places for your fish to hide when they need to! Aquarium caves don't always have to be bought! You can use natural tank decorations like rocks and driftwood to create your own caves.
   
       The easiest way in my opinion to aquascape a fish tank is by trying to imitate your fish's natural environment.  If your fish natural live around plants, try to design your tank with plenty of plants! If your fish live naturally in rocky underwater areas, add plenty of rocks to the tank. Imitating a fish's natural environment can not only be pleasing to the fish, but also to viewers as well.

 So overall, when aquascaping and designing your aquariums, be creative. Make sure you satisfy your fish needs and your own! Below are photo's Of my tanks and there aquascapes:

1#: Below are two photos of my African Cichlid Tank. African cichlids come from the Great Vift lakes in Africa. There natural environment has many of rocks; so I filled my tank with lots of rocks, a few plants, and a sandy bottom!



2#: Below are two pictures of my American cichlid tank, hold cichlids from  South and Central America. I designed my tank to match south American planted rivers with driftwood!

 
 

 

 

3#: Below is my mixed tropical tank. The fish in this tank are from different areas of the world, so I used different natural themes including rock caves, driftwood, and plants!

Tank De'cor

For some people, the decorations of the tank can be most enjoyable. Being able to create a suitable habitat can be a good experience for fish lovers. There are many different things that you can add to your tank that can make it a piece of art. Some of the most common décor include:

Gravel/Sand: In every aquarium, it is good to have some type of material to cover the bottom. It is very unnatural to keep a aquarium where your fish are swimming over glass. The two most common bottom materials are aquarium sand and and aquarium gravel. Both materials can look very nive in your tank and it is comfortable for the fish because in most natural fish enviornments the floor is covered with sand or gravel. They both are relativel easy to clean with proper tools. Gravel is also so in a variety of colors. Both sand and gravel can be a very beneficial in your aquarium.

Plants: When designing an aquarium it is good to add some plants to create a natural look. Fish tank plants are sold both live and artificial. I recommend artificial for begginners because most fish may attempt to eat of unroot live plants. When getting plants, it is extremely important to get them all from pet stores. Some people add regular household artificial plants to aquariums and danger fish because many household artifial plants contain toxins that can kill your fish. It is best to get all aquarium plants from pet stores; and if you want to add anything else consult a fish expert at a pet store before adding it. Aquarium plants can be very beautiful in a fish tank providing height and color to your tank.

Rocks: Rocks can be very beautiful in aquariums and it can bebeift your fish. You can create caves or other hideout with rocks. Rocks can be purchesed at pet stores or you can add your own rocks. Many rocks found in streams or lakes can be very beautiful. Rocks can show differernt colors, shapes and patterns and can add a lot to your tank at a low expense. Most rocks can go imedetly into your aquarium after being washed, but rocks with bright colors like reds, purples and golds may cantain millstone or other chemicals that can danger fish.

Driftwood: Driftwood is another beautiful form of fish tank décor creating diversity and shape in your tank. Most pet stores sale drithwood, but some people add drithwood that they find on their own. When adding driftwood that you fing, it is important to boil it in hot water to kill in parisites that may live in it. Driftwood that you find will almost always float to the top of your aquarium (unlike drithwood sold at stores) so it is good to anchor it with rocks to keep it down. Driftwood will only need to be anchored for about a year, after that it will stay down on its own.

Other Décor: There are many other choices when decorating a tank as well. Many pet stores sell aquarium decorations like caves, corals, and shells. Pet store also sale aquarium ornements like bridges, trees, barrels, and many old ruins (such as Roman ruins and greek Ruins). May aquarist also add bubbles to their aquarium with an aerator, which pushes air through a tube into an air stone (comming in multiple designs), creating bubbles in your tank, which can also be beautiful.

When adding tank décor to your tank, it can be very delightful. Just keep in my the types of fish that you plan to add and what their natural enviornment is like. Your tank can be enjoyable for both you and your fish if you put the right amount of effort into it.