Aquarium Background Ideas

Whether they keep saltwater fish, freshwater fish or just a couple of plastic fish in a dry tank, fish enthusiasts are passionate about their aquariums. So passionate, in fact, that when they are putting together an aquarium, they can put hours of thought and hundreds of dollars into the tank. With so much effort going into an aquarium, it's no surprise that many fish enthusiasts want to create a perfect background to complement the contents of their aquariums. And it's also no surprise that there are many options to choose from.

  1. Pre-printed Photo Background

    • Many aquarium and pet stores sell pre-printed photo backgrounds that are sized for an aquarium. These backgrounds are usually made of plastic or otherwise laminated to protect them from moisture. Usually they also come with some form of adhesive or a suction cup system to adhere the photo to the back of the aquarium. When selecting this type of background, it is important to match the photo to the contents of the aquarium. A freshwater tank would look odd when paired with a photo of a coral reef.

    Textured Background

    • An increasingly popular option in a fish tank is a textured background. Although some fish stores sell these types of backgrounds, some inventive aquarium owners have made their own. Textured backgrounds include a curtain-like row of plastic plants, or a set of blocks that snap together to resemble a cave. A few aquarium owners have sculpted Styrofoam to look like stacks of rock.

    Found Objects

    • Just as some fish enthusiasts take pride in building textured backgrounds, others use their aquariums to showcase interesting items that they have found. In this way, nontoxic, fish-friendly mementos such as rocks collected on vacation, water plants or plastic souvenirs picked up at a gift shop can become focal points of a fish tank.