How to Make More Territories in an Aquarium

When there are several different types of fish in an aquarium there is a chance that they will fight over hiding places in the tank. These hiding places can be large clump of plants, caves or areas under a soft substrate like sand. To prevent fish from fighting over these territories, an aquarist can add additional cover areas to the interior of the tank. Once these additional territories have been added each fish can have its own safety zone.

Things You'll Need

  • Real or artificial plants
  • Driftwood
  • Rocks
  • Plastic ornaments
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Instructions

    • 1

      Place several plants in the corners of the tank about an inch from the side of the aquarium. These can be live or plastic, as long as they offer small fishes a place to hide. This type of territory is good for danios, guppies, tetras and other smaller fish. This type of planting to add distinct territories works in any size aquarium.

    • 2

      Place a large piece of driftwood in the center of the tank. The driftwood doesn't have to have holes in it but this is a good feature, especially if you have small cory cats or plecos. This type of territory is used by bottom feeders as both a place to hide and an alternative food source. Placing it in the middle of a tank adds visual interest while it keeps the bottom feeders out of the corners so they scavenge the entire tank.

    • 3

      Build a cave with rocks. Caves can be made to fit fish of any size and are sought after hiding places in a tank. A solidly built cave can be placed in any area of the tank but areas near the sides offer structural support so that fish can't knock them over. You can either make this a free form rock cave or glue the rocks together before placing them in the tank. If you are going to use glue make sure it is aquarium safe and doesn't contain materials that will be harmful to your fish.

    • 4

      Purchase plastic or resin ornaments for your tank. These can be fancier version of caves that smaller fish can hide inside or solid objects that fish can hide behind.