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An aquarium without plants is like a room without furniture, empty and uninviting.

Even the most exotic fish can’t be shown to benefit in a tank devoid of vegetation, as it is by contrasting the many colors of the fish with a natural background of several shades of green, that we discover the charm of tropical fish.

When selecting rocks keep in mind your aquarium should represent, as near as possible, a healthy picture of underwater life. Rocks of multishape and colour should never be put in the exact same tank, as they’re unlikely to be discovered naturally mixed.

Rocks could be made to form arches, terraces, and to hold banks of sand at higher levels. They’re,essentially,the inspiration stones of a well laid-out aquarium. It’s not, needless to say, important to have any rock in the tank. Some extremely attractive scenes could be designed with plants alone.

My own two favorites are Cumberland stone and also the greenish-brown, flat, slatey-looking rocks discovered in Devonshire streams. These flat natural pieces can either be pressed into the sand to form a high pinnacle, or laid flat and built up one upon the other to form a natural-looking ledge.

Weather-worn pieces are the very best, but attempt to steer clear of rocks with jagged protrusions, as they might trigger injury to your fish.

I have already mentioned the significance of avoiding nooks and crannies where uneaten food can pollute and sediment collect, but I make no excuse for repetition. If after the rocks and stones have been sited to your liking you will find any of these pockets, fill them in totally with sand.

As a safeguard, scrub all new pieces with a tough bristle brush and water to remove any dirt, and then boil. Steer clear of using rocks of a soft or synthetic nature; these turn out to be soluble in water.

If you have a piece of doubtful rock, put it in a bucket of clean water for a couple of days, if an oily ring appears on the surface, don’t use it.

Even though I would not suggest it, it’s feasible to make rocks to suit your own taste, using cement and sand. After the rocks have been moulded to the needed design, and actions have been taken to make certain that no sharp projections have been left, leave for about a week to thoroughly harden. Then boil for a minimum of an hour, which will remove most of the totally free lime. Next soak the ‘rock’ in a strong solution of permanganate of potash for about six hours. In addition to disinfecting the s rock, it also adds to the appearance by making it look more natural and weathered. A final soak under a running tap for an hour and also the rock is ready for use.

Leave fertilising to the fish; they’ll supply all that’s essential. If the plants aren’t doing well; it’s most likely due to insufficient light, or maybe they’re bunched too closely together.

If the tropical fish enthusiast is interested in experimenting, he should be careful of the fertilizer utilized. W. T. Innes recommends liquor made from pulverised sheep’s manure and shooting it into the sand about the roots by using a pippet tube. Frankly, I have never discovered it essential or desirable to fertilize, but prefer to find a trigger for the trouble, instead of introduce another element into the tank.

Ordinary builders’ sand should not be used simply because it’s challenging to clean and packs tightly, making it tough for plant roots to penetrate, and it doesn’t permit the water to circulate. The very best sand could be bought washed ready for use. Nevertheless, it should be washed again just prior to you put it into your aquarium, as it’s certain to have collected a quantity of dust whilst in store. This sand is truly fine grit of a pebbly texture, ranging in size from about & in. to J in. It should not be larger as bits of uneaten food may fall between and cause the water to foul. It’s also worth noting that any large stones put into the tank for decorative effect should be pressed well into the sand for the same reason.

The depth of sand could be varied to suit your individual taste, but for general purposes I have found a 2-in. layer of sand ideal.

The sand should be thoroughly washed with successive rinses of water, and stirred until the water remains clear when the sand is disturbed. It should then be boiled in a bucket to ensure that no germs are introduced into the tank, and washed again. This may seem a trifle fastidious, but it means that when the tank is finally set up, your aquarium will be in a healthy state and, if you take reasonable care when you introduce new plants and fish, it will remain healthy. Do not be tempted to put a layer of earth under the sand in the misaken idea that it will assist the plants to grow. It doesn’t work out in practice.

Remember the fish provide nourishment needed by the plants, but if the temptation is too great to overcome, and you feel you must experiment, use potting compost or clay, or try a mixture of one third peat, one third clay and one third coarse sand-this planting medium has the advantage of being proven, to some extent, by Dutch aquarists. Nevertheless, if you are experiencing your early days of fish-keeping, start with sand, it’s much safer, and remember; under no circumstances use garden soil.

Attractive presentations and lay-outs could be effected by sloping the sand from about 4 in. at the back of the aquarium to about 1.5 in. at the front, or any other gradient that is pleasing and practical. Such an arrangement shows the plants to better advantage, and encourages the sediment to drift to the lower level, at the front of the tank, where it could be easily siphoned off.

There is a minor problem in retaining the sandy slope if it’s steep, simply because of the natural tendency of sand is to flatten out when saturated with water. This could be overcome by pressing strips of thin Perspex vertically into the sand to form barriers, and concealing them with a further layer of sand. When you are planting or doing any other work in your aquarium which disturbs the base and makes the water cloudy, you will discover when it settles that it leaves a thin dirty film over the top of the sand. Siphon this off.

Plants not only supply decoration along with a means of simulating natural conditions, they’re also functional in the sense that they assist to supply oxygen under certain conditions.

All animal life, and this needless to say includes fish, take in oxygen and expel carbon dioxide. Plants, on the other hand, under the influence of strong light, take in carbon dioxide via their leaves and give off oxygen.

This is an over simplified explanation of photosynthesis, but it does demonstrate the functional aspects of aquarium plants.

As stated previously, oxygenation of the water in an aquarium is far more dependent upon the area of the water exposed to the atmosphere than to the plants it might contain, but the benefit of a well lit and planted tank is in the capability of the plants to absorb some of the carbon dioxide.

It’ll be appreciated, as a result, that the fish and also the plants have some relationship with regard to their capacity to assist in the sustenance of every other, so it’s not surprising that planted aquarium with out fish rarely prosper.

Prior to putting new plants into your tank just make certain that they’re clean and totally free from germs and unwanted snails. To do this, rinse them under the tap and remove any yellow or decaying leaves, and also remove any of the jellylike eggs of snails you might find on the leaves. They can then be immersed in a solution of concentrated lime water diluted with water to a proportion of six parts tap water to one component lime water. To make lime water, liberally mix hydrated lime in water and let the sediment settle, then draw off the clear water and mix as previously described.

The plants should be left in the solution for 10 minutes, no more, and then placed in a solution of permanganate of potash for a like period. The strength of the potash should be a quarter grain to a gallon.

It’s essential never to permit the plants to get dry whilst they’re in transit, or at any other time. They should be wrapped in a number of layers of newspaper soaked in water with a final wrapping of greaseproof to stop evaporation.

When adding plants to the tank after it has been filled, a pair of planting sticks will probably be discovered helpful. Push the plant into the sand with one of the sticks, and heap sand around the roots with the other. The sticks could be made by splitting a bamboo cane or any thin strip of wood, and sandpapering it smooth. A ‘V’ notched in the end of one will permit stray root strands to be pushed well into the sand.

If plants aren’t firmly anchored into the sand, their buoyancy causes them to rise to the surface. Plants with little roots could be anchored temporarily with thin strips of lead wound around their base. Don’t squeeze the lead so tough that it’ll bruise or injure the delicate structure of the plants. If the roots turn out to be black via contact with the lead, or any other reason, you are able to return them to their natural colour by floating them in water exposed to strong sunlight for 24 hours.

Plants should never be bunched closely together. They should be planted to permit water and light to reach the stems. Closely packed roots can form a trap for sediment.

When obtaining new plants, it’s greatest to choose them about half-grown instead of more developed specimens which have reached or even surpassed their greatest.
Plants covered with algae should be avoided, the algae chokes the plants and tends to spread.