HOME AQUARIUM

A general decorative aquarium is the most common type of home pond for aquarists. In such an aquarium, one or two mistakes are not so noticeable, unless, of course, it is quite spacious, and the "mistake" is not to buy a predator! By ignorance, lovers often buy "pretty little fish," which only in the course of time discover their predatory nature, from a young fish turning into a creature capable of snout, teeth and a mouth to grab and destroy prey. Some of them do not appreciate their fellows at all. For example, there are a number of catfish, which during the day quietly hide in their shelter, and at night, when other fish are asleep, swim out for hunting. Since owners usually do not take this hunting seriously, one day they start to wonder why it's getting smaller in the aquarium. Predators should in principle be kept in a separate tank (and who wants it?) Or along with fish of the same size, and even larger, so that predators can not eat them. It is hardly possible to describe all the variants and types of common ornamental aquariums. It's just as difficult as advising anything about the size of a home pond. The larger the tank, the more opportunities you are provided. But, on the other hand, you can not ignore the upcoming costs - not so much for the acquisition of an aquarium, but for its maintenance. Usually, the electricity consumption (lighting, filter pump and heating) is not so great and it fits perfectly into the normal family budget. Heating water in an aquarium of medium size for one month requires exactly the same amount of electricity as heating a full hot bath through a direct- flow water heater with a capacity of 2 to 3 kilowatts. Young aquarists are often advised to purchase a 60 cm long tank along with a "beginner kit" (a set of necessary accessories for the aquarium). This is perfectly correct if the owner of the aquarium is a child. But if the addiction to aquaristics suddenly felt an adult, then you should start with an aquarium of medium size: 1 00 - 120 cm in length.

Some types of decorative aquariums

In order for each reader to get an idea of ​​what the "contents" of his home tank can be (without water), and what fish and plants are compatible with each other, we give here some typical examples.

Note regarding the tank itself: first you need to plant the plants; They need to give a few weeks in order to take root. All these fish are not particularly sensitive and demanding. They should not be purchased at the same time; You should pay attention to the fact that the fish you selected, which will remain small, were not represented in your aquarium by tiny individuals: larger species, perhaps, will consider them forage! Three aquariums, called the last, are designed for continental combinations. In them, you can connect different species at will.

Aquarium for young aquarists

Dimensions: 60 x 30 x 30 centimeters

Bottom soil (height 4 cm): well washed aquarium gravel, grain diameter 2 - 4 mm. Requires 7 - 8 liters (kg). If it is supposed to arrange it with tiers, then the amount of gravel increases accordingly.

Material for buildings (shelter for fish): a lot of stones (not containing lime), decorative roots or snags about 2/3 of the length of the tank.

Plants: 50 Sagittaria subulata (buy bun), 12 Ludwigia repens , 6 Lim nophila sessiliflora, several small specimens of Microsorium pteropus (attach a rhizome and it grows into the ground with tenacious roots), 4 Cryptocoryne petchii, 50 Echinodorus tenellus (as a herbaceous plant In the foreground of the composition).

Pisces: 20 Paracheirodon axelrodi (red neon), 1 - 2 Ancistrus dolichopterus , 1 pair (!) Apistogramma cacatuoides (aphistogram of the cockatoo), 4 Corydoras hastatus or S. pygmaeus (armor catfish). Fish of these species (all of which originate from South America) must be kept at a water hardness of up to 12-14 ° dH and at a temperature of about 25 ° C.

For more severe water, the following composition is recommended: guppies - 3 females and 4-5 males, 2 Poecilia velifera (pecilia highly finallicus), 1 -2 Ancistrus dolichopterus (anciscus vulgaris) and, possibly, several more speckled pecilia (Xiphophorus maculatus). So that the red glare appeared in the aquarium.

Common aquarium for beginners

Dimensions: 100 x 40 x 40 centimeters

Bottom soil (6 cm high, bulk layer in 2/5 of the total area at the back wall of the aquarium); Aquarium gravel, grain diameter 3-5mm; Wash well. The base surface requires approximately 24 liters (kg), for the terrace (tier) an additional 10 liters.

Material for buildings: The terrace must be arranged in such a way that the fish can not push the gravel down through the cracks between the parts of the building, otherwise it will become lower. It is recommended to combine the construction of plates (light or dark slate), placed one on top of the other at the joints. The building from the rear can also be laid out from such plates or from other stones that do not contain lime (lavalite, sandstone ). You can use as parts the pieces of roots.

Plants: 10 Ceratopteris thalic t roides , 20 Ro t ala rotundifolia, 20 Lobelia cardinalis, 5 Cryptocoryne affinis, 20 Vallisneria spiralis (bundle), 1-2 packs of Vesicularia dubyana (Javanese moss for fastening on the tree), 2 Nymphaea lo t us Solitaires or separately growing nymphaeas, when allowed to shoot, require free space, approximately 12 x 12 cm).

Pisces: 10- 12 Barbus tetrazona , 7 B. con chonius , 15 Bra-chydanio rerio (zebra danio rhero ), 2 Epalz e or h ync h us Kalop terus (finely finely decorated epalcehorin, destroys algae), 1 Labeo bicolor (two-color Labeo, several individuals biting each other continuously !), 4-6 Botia macracantha (clown-botsiya- not left alone, used to live in a pack !).

Or

40 Paracheirodon innesi (neon fish of Innes) or P. axelrodi (red neon), 20 Pe ti t ella georgiae ( Georgia petite ) or similar but slightly larger Hemigrammus rhodostomus (red nosed tetra), 2 to 4 Ancistrus dolichop t erus Anthracite simple), 10 Nemafobrycon pa l me ri (tetra royal), 1 Pterygoplichthys spec. (Pterygoplicht from the family of chain soms, it happens that only a few specimens are on sale, sometimes it reaches 20 cm, then it should be planted), 10-12 shellfish of different species (Corydoras live in only large groups), 10 Ca rn egiell a s T rigata (marble carnation).

Large common aquarium "Africa"

Size: 160 x 50 x 60 centimeters

Bottom Soil: see South America

Plants: 12 Ceratopteris thalictroides (fern dissected), 8 Crinum natans (lily with wavy leaves, tuberous plant), 40 Vallisneria spiralis (vallisneria spiralevnaya, buy bundle), 20 A mman i a senega l ens i s (Senegalian ammonium), 4 - 6 Anubias lanceolata ( anubias lanceolinate from West Africa, reaches a height of 30 cm, place in the background of the composition), 10 Anubias nana ( anubias nana).

Pisces: 12 - 16 Phenacogrammus in t errup t us (beautiful Congo, or rainbow fenocogram), 10 Arno Idych t is spilopterus , 10 Nannaethiops unitaeniatus (nannethiops), 3 pairs of Neolebis ansorgii (neoleb Anzorga, if you can get it) Gnafhonemus peters ii , 4-6 Notopterus afer , 2 Ctenopoma acutirostre (leopard ketopoma, if there are no small fish in the aquarium), a lot of Synodontis nigriventris (catfish-somnodite, you can take other types of synodonts , But only take into account that some of them become quite large).

Large common aquarium "South America"

Size: 160 x 50 x 60 centimeters

Bottom soil: (height 8 cm, laying the terrace along the entire length, about 20 cm deep from the rear wall, difference in height between the tiers 5 cm): aquarium gravel, grain diameter 3 - 5 mm; Wash well. The base surface requires approximately 64 liters (kg), for the terrace (tier) an additional 16 liters; Part of the total mass may be nutrient soil (nearby or inside, see the recommendation on the package); Such supplements are offered by specialized trade.

Plants: 8 Echinodorus bleheri (large Amazon), 3 E. cordifolius (Echinodorus heartle), 10-15 E. latifolius (average Amazon), 100 E. Tenellus (herbaceous echinodorus), 20 Ludwigia palustris (ludwigia), 20 Myriophyllum matogrossense (brown periflorous) or M. brasiliense. To give a green color to a tree or naked stones, you can use Javanese moss (Vesicularia dubyana). In contrast to the dark background (tree), round leaves of the white- headed firrow Hydroco t yle leucocephala look good).

Fish: 100 red neon (Paracheirodon axe l rod i ), 15 Moenkhausia pittieri (diamond tetra), 15 M. sanctaefilomenae (red- eyed moenkausia, or filomena), 20 Hyphessobrycon flammeus (flaming tetra, or tetra von Rio), 6 Papiliochromis ramirezi 2 pairs of Aequidens curviceps (aka curviceps) or A. dorsiger (red-breasted akara), 6 P t erophyllum al tum ( 4), 4 Peckoltia pulcher (tape peculiar), 2 Panaque nigrolineatus (panac black-and- Linear) or P. spec .. 4 Ancistrus dolichopterus (anciscus vulgaris), 20 - 30 Corydoras - different species (small, daily-characterized carotid soma, well-felt only in the group), 20 Ca rn egiella Strigata (marble carnation) .

A large common aquarium "Asia"

Size: 160 x 50 x 60 centimeters

Bottom Soil: see South America

Plants: 12 Ceratopteris thalic t roides (fern dissected), 8 Crinum thaianum (Thai krynum), 6 Cryptocoryne affinis (Hertel cryptocorona), S. Ciliata (Cryptocorina ciliated), 12 C. Pefchii (cryptocorona petch ), 20 Hygrophila corimbosa (hygrophilamolimon) or N. angustifolia - the one that can be purchased , 8-10 N. Difformis (hygrophilic-oak, also known as Synnema triflorum). 15 Lim nophila aquatica or L. indica (limnofila Indian), several Microsorium pterop t us (Javanese fern) and / or several plants of Vesicularia dubyana (Javanese moss). For a spectacular and colorful composition in the background: 10-15 Rotal a macrandra (rotal red-leafed); Several specimens of Nymphaea lotus (red or green tiger nymphaea, tuberous plant, each requires at least 12x12 cm of bottom area).

Fish: 6 Balan t iocheilus melanop t erus (shark balls, only a limited period can be kept in the aquarium: reaches a length of 25 cm), 10 Barbus nigrofasciatus (black barbs), 10 B. everetti (barbe clown), 10 B. t etrazona (Sumatran barbs), 10 B. Tic t o (scarlet barbus), 15 Danio aequipinnatus, a synonym for D. malabaricus (malabarian zebrafish ), 30 Rasbora heteromorpha , R. pauciperforata , 6 Epalceorhynchus kalop t erus (finely- finned epalcehorin, destroys algae) , 6 Gyrinocheilus aymonieri (girinoheil, Siamese algae), 6 Botia macracantha (botsiya-clown), 10 Bt ia sidthimunki (netted botsiya), 6 Trichogaster leerii ( gurami pearl).