HOME IN THE HOME - AQUARIUMS AND AQUARIUM FARMING
Advantages and subtleties of keeping a fish tank at home.
Types of aquariums, basic tips for choosing and taking care of fish.
Sometimes you want to get away from everything and everyone and just relax. Sit in silence, play Chopin and indulge your eyes with something eternal, real, lively, peaceful.
In modern life, more and more people tend to get pets, it's a human need to take care of someone. Children learn responsibility when they have a living creature at home who is totally dependent on them. There are plenty of options to choose from. Cats, dogs, rodents - understandable; reptiles, wild animals - exotic; who likes what. But there is also the aquatic world. A human being consists of water by 80%, the surface of our planet is covered by water by 70%, the world of oceans and seas is unknown to people like cosmos. It fascinates, it attracts.
Aquarium
Everyone has an opportunity to have his own little underwater world at home, to observe it, to take care of its inhabitants. In fact it is a full fledged ecosystem. Plants, algae, fish, snails and the bacteria that live in the ground coexist in perfect harmony and provide everything needed for each other. The school child will be able to understand and master several natural science topics by live example. Younger children love aquariums: colourful fish appeal to the eye and soothe an unstable child's psyche. Children learn from an early age to be "responsible for those whom they have tamed", to feed their little friends, to clean and tidy their house, to choose new castles for them at the pet shop, to bring back from the sea beautiful shells, sand and colored stones. You begin to understand what it means to take care of them, you develop your curiosity.
Also important is the fact that the aquarium is an excellent humidifier of the room space. Water continuously evaporates from the open surface, saturating the air with moisture, so necessary in our flats with artificial heating. Humidification is especially useful in homes with family members with respiratory diseases or allergies.
The aesthetic value of having such a picturesque interior element in your home is obvious. An aquarium surpasses any picture, because every second it is different, it has life, movement. The water soothes, the measured movements of colourful fish and rippling seaweed relax, lazy snails crawl on the glass, a catfish burrows in the stones, shaking its long whiskers; the carved shells and smooth pebbles remind of the sea.
Now let's sort out what the "price" is for this corner of paradise in your own home.
"Aquarium keeping" is the whole science of setting up and maintaining an aquarium competently. Ignorance of the basics of this science will lead to the death of silent pets, and they can not even complain if they feel bad. So from the very beginning of the idea of having a piece of underwater paradise at home should be treated with the utmost responsibility.
If you never had an aquarium, and you first decided to take this step, you first need to choose a place where it will stand, and decide on the size and shape. Generally, the shape is either rectangular, circular or angular. The round and angular aquariums will fit into virtually any interior, but they will be small and not suitable for all fish species. The rounded shape also has the peculiarity of distorting the underwater pictures. A rectangular or angular shape is preferable.
The volume and size of the aquarium depend on the size of the room, the number and species of fish you plan to put in it.
The most important thing for an aquarium is the quality of the glassware and the equipment installed to maintain the biological equilibrium.
Starting up
The first thing to do is to rinse the inside of the new aquarium with water. Do not use soap or other detergents for this purpose, because they are not completely rinsed with water and will act toxic to the inhabitants of the aquarium. Next, fill the bottom with special soil, the best approach is gravel or sand with a diameter of 2-4 mm, you can partially use small pebbles. Lay out on the bottom of the aquarium with a thickness of 3-7 cm, it is better to make a slight slope towards the front glass.
To your aquarium was not like the others, there are a variety of options for decorating it: you can make a backdrop, set the stones, decorations, special snags, possibly artificial plants. A large variety of these are available in pet shops for every taste and pocket. It is, however, take into account how kinds of fish, which will be you live, will fit the entourage. That is, despite all the beauty that can be arranged, it must be as similar to the habitat in which the species lives in nature.
The next step is to fill the water, tap water will do.
To your fish have lived in the neighborhood with you as comfortably as possible, connect the aquarium filter, install a compressor, it will saturate the water with oxygen, a heater. After two or three days, you can plant plants. At the same time you will notice a slight clouding of water in the aquarium. Do not be alarmed, this is a natural process. After a few days, the turbidity will begin to decrease and you can put the fish back into the tank when the water is clear again.
The topic of fish care requires a separate discussion. It is worth noting the most important conditions, so that your new family members simply do not die in the first few days:
- When selecting fish species, be sure to know what they are: Peaceful or aggressive - territorial. Some may fight to defend their territory, etc.
- There should not be too many fish in the aquarium for a certain volume, otherwise the bio-balance in the aquarium will not be established. Be sure to provide a place where the fish can hide from prying eyes.
- Conditions should be as close to natural, natural as possible.
- The fish should not be overfed. Try feeding them once a day first, then you can go to two, but reduce the amount of food. Most importantly, determine in the family, who will do it. So it didn't turn out that today all family members remembered about the fish and everyone fed them, and tomorrow, on the contrary, everyone thought that someone else will feed.
- Keep an eye on the condition and behaviour of your pets. A fish is healthy when it eats well, is active and does not hide all the time. If you notice something wrong with it, pay attention to the condition of the water in the first place, so that it is not turbid and does not have an unpleasant odor.
- An aquarium is a separate home, and every home requires periodic and general cleaning (much less often). It is recommended to change the water in the aquarium partially, weekly about 10-25%, so that the hydrochemistry of the water does not fluctuate drastically, and the fish are not stressed. It is better to perform this procedure often in small portions than once a month and change a large volume of water at once! It is not necessary to leave tap water untreated.
If you encounter "aquariums", you'll find that it's not too difficult and everyone can do it. Experience the pleasure of having your own underwater world in your home which is a joy to behold.
It's worth it. It's a hobby that's addictive because it brings you positivity and peace of mind!
