Aquascaping Techniques

Aquascaping is a term used to describe the hobby of artfully decorating an aquarium by arranging plants, rocks, driftwood and other natural elements into an aesthetically pleasing display as well as a comfortable home for your fish or other underwater life. There are endless ways to go about designing your fish tank, but all involve learning about and deciding among which items to include in your aquarium.

  1. Natural

    • Use the same plants, coral, driftwood, sand and gravel that are found in lagoons, rivers, lakes or oceans. If keeping a particular species of fish in your tank, research the natural environment where that species originates from to learn which additions would be best suited for your tank. Colors should be muted---never garish. Muted colors are a good backdrop for brightly colored fish, corals or invertebrates.

    Submerged

    • You can also make an aquascape that appears to be a sunken landscape. Small plants can be arranged to look like trees or large bushes. Adding piles of rocks or a small, aquarium-safe statue can heighten the illusion. Letting green algae grow in some areas will create the illusion of grass. It's never good to completely eliminate all algae from any tank, as algae does help to keep the water chemistry stable. Another way to give the illusion of grass is to attach java moss with cotton thread onto a decoration. Some people also like to have plants be only partially submerged.

    Safety Tips

    • Never take rocks, gravel, sand, driftwood or plants from their original environment and use them in an aqauascaping tank. They may be saturated with chemicals that could leach out and poison the fish and plants. According to the book "Today's Essential Guide to Keeping Goldfish," by Bernice Brewster and Nick Fletcher, the way to test a rock to see if it is safe enough for an aquarium is to drip some vinegar onto it. If the vinegar bubbles, then the rock is unsafe. Also, to keep a rock pile from tipping over, connect the rocks to the bottom of the fish tank with aquarium sealant.