When Nature Aquariums Becomes An Art and Business
Nature aquarium started as an upgrade from an ordinary fish tank building hobby to an art. It is where an aquarium that was originally intended for fancy fish was aquascaped with real) underwater plants. In ordinary aquarium, the emphasis of the hobby is the fish, while the emphasis of nature aquarium is the habitat and aquascape of the fish tank.
The great hobby was first popularized by Takashi Amano, a Japanese artist. He was known in photography of nature scenic views which brought him to wonderful places of the world. With his interest to nature, he incorporated his creative imaginations inside the fish tank which later on became a popular work of art.
The main idea of nature aquarium is creating an ecosystem inside the fish tank where fish, harmful and beneficial bacteria, shrimps and other invertebrates, water plants, and all other forms aquatic life live together like that of what we see on National Geographic. Only that, it is inside the fish tank. In other words, it is a small ecosystem.
There are many kinds of aquatic plants that can be used for aquascaping depending on your style and creative imagination. You can use a plant named Hemianthus callitrichodes or otherwise known as "HC" for covering the landscape. For giving a different look aside from green, Ludwigia Arcuata maybe a good choice. For designing a mountain like scenic view, Dwarf Haigrass or Elocharis acicularis may be a good choice. Again, it depends on your own preferences and creative mind.
With the fishes,, please note that since it is a small ecosystem, it is not recommendable to have big fishes like Arowana or Oscar. It's not what we are trying to build here. It is best to have tiny fishes such as Guppy and Tetra. Getting some colorful fish is also good. But please, no Gold Fishes alright?.
Also try to consider some invertebrates small shrimps. They eat algae and some other harmful bacteria inside the nature aquarium. They can help maintain the balance in inside your aquarium.
Though algae is a part of the ecosystem, algae has to be controlled inside the fish tank. They multiply so fast. They can destroy the beauty of your aquarium and may have detrimental inside the tank. Having some shrimps and snails is a great help in maintaining the ecosystem in balance.
If you do not like invertebrates, a fish known as Siamese algae eater, would be a perfect match against algae. It is best if you have one Siamese algae eater in 20 gallon tank.
Lastly, consider the lighting, CO2 and oxygen, substrate, and filtration systems. They are very important in growing the plants well. Successful nature aquariums have excellent systems of the 5 mentioned above.
Takashi Amano's hobby became an art, then later on became a business. With the scientific study of the right equipments for nature aquariums, Takashi started Aqua Design Amano, a company that manufactures good quality lighting, CO2 and oxygen, substrate, and filtration systems. The equipments mentioned are quite expensive than the ordinary ones. Rest assuredly however, they are of the highest quality that you can get with the brand.
The great hobby was first popularized by Takashi Amano, a Japanese artist. He was known in photography of nature scenic views which brought him to wonderful places of the world. With his interest to nature, he incorporated his creative imaginations inside the fish tank which later on became a popular work of art.
The main idea of nature aquarium is creating an ecosystem inside the fish tank where fish, harmful and beneficial bacteria, shrimps and other invertebrates, water plants, and all other forms aquatic life live together like that of what we see on National Geographic. Only that, it is inside the fish tank. In other words, it is a small ecosystem.
There are many kinds of aquatic plants that can be used for aquascaping depending on your style and creative imagination. You can use a plant named Hemianthus callitrichodes or otherwise known as "HC" for covering the landscape. For giving a different look aside from green, Ludwigia Arcuata maybe a good choice. For designing a mountain like scenic view, Dwarf Haigrass or Elocharis acicularis may be a good choice. Again, it depends on your own preferences and creative mind.
With the fishes,, please note that since it is a small ecosystem, it is not recommendable to have big fishes like Arowana or Oscar. It's not what we are trying to build here. It is best to have tiny fishes such as Guppy and Tetra. Getting some colorful fish is also good. But please, no Gold Fishes alright?.
Also try to consider some invertebrates small shrimps. They eat algae and some other harmful bacteria inside the nature aquarium. They can help maintain the balance in inside your aquarium.
Though algae is a part of the ecosystem, algae has to be controlled inside the fish tank. They multiply so fast. They can destroy the beauty of your aquarium and may have detrimental inside the tank. Having some shrimps and snails is a great help in maintaining the ecosystem in balance.
If you do not like invertebrates, a fish known as Siamese algae eater, would be a perfect match against algae. It is best if you have one Siamese algae eater in 20 gallon tank.
Lastly, consider the lighting, CO2 and oxygen, substrate, and filtration systems. They are very important in growing the plants well. Successful nature aquariums have excellent systems of the 5 mentioned above.
Takashi Amano's hobby became an art, then later on became a business. With the scientific study of the right equipments for nature aquariums, Takashi started Aqua Design Amano, a company that manufactures good quality lighting, CO2 and oxygen, substrate, and filtration systems. The equipments mentioned are quite expensive than the ordinary ones. Rest assuredly however, they are of the highest quality that you can get with the brand.
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