Tanganyika cichlids

Limiting the amounts of nutrients that reaches the pool is usually easier than limiting the light. If you are planning to dig a new pond for your garden you can

however take light into account and chose a shaded part of your garden where pond algae is less likely to thrive. (But don’t forget that placing your garden pond next

to trees and bushes will force you to clean your pond more frequently since leaves and other types of debris will fall into the water.)

Two major contributors of nutrients to a garden pond are food and surface water. If you keep pond fish or any other animals in the pond, make sure not to over-feed

them. It can be a good idea to introduce scavenging species that will seek out left-over food and devour it. After heavy rains, surface water streams that empty

themselves in the pond tend to bring large amounts of nutrients to the water. You can prevent this by building a mound around your garden pond or dig special trenches

for surface water. It is also a good idea to avoid using fertilizers (especially those rich in phosphorus) in the area around the garden pond.

You can force the algae to compete for nutrients by keeping your garden pond heavily planted. If you have plant eating fish or other animals in the pond, chose though

and sturdy plants that grows fast and will tolerate being nibbled on. In a pond filled with plenty of thriving plants, there will be much less nutrients available for

the algae and this will limit their growth rate and make sudden algae blooms less likely. There are many different pond plants to choose among; make sure that you pick

species that will thrive in your particular climate and avoid delicate species that might find it hard to compete with the algae.
Aquarium algae control
Algae control
Algae

Just as in a pond or swimming pool, the one who controls light and nutrients will control the algae growth of the aquarium. Controlling how much light that reaches an

outdoor swimming pool or pond is naturally tricky, but controlling how much light that reaches an aquarium as fairly straight forward. One of the reasons why so many

aquarists chose to place their aquariums in basements and garages is that such areas typically have small windows or no windows at all. It is also easier to make the

rest of your family accept a darkened room in the basement than a darkened living room or kitchen. Use a timer to control when the light is switched on an off each

day.

When it comes to nutrients, it is very important not to over-feed your fishes since left over food can become food for the algae and cause an algae explosion in the

aquarium. Keeping the water quality up is not only important for the well being of your fishes; it is important if you wish to keep algae growth under control as well.

Do not feed your fish more food than what they will devour in a few minutes. Ideally get a “cleaning crew” of suitable scavenging species that will seek out left over

food and eat it. It is also important to carry out frequent water changes since this will remove nutrients from the water.

Last but not least, you can use animals and plants to combat algae in the aquarium. Plants and algae compete for the same nutrients and algae problems are therefore

less common in well planted aquariums. Use can also introduce animals that will feast on algae, such as algae eating fish and invertebrates. It is important to choose

animals that will appreciate the environment (pH-value, temperature, tank mates, etcetera) in your particular aquarium. Also keep in mind that many algae eaters need

to be given food as well since they can not get everything they need by grazing the limited amounts of algae present in your aquarium, especially not after a while

when they have decimated the algae populations.
Aquarium Decoration

In this part of the articles library you will find information about different types of aquarium decorations and what to think about when you select, purchase and

arrange them. Aquarium decoration is not only beautiful for the aquarist to admire; the fish will also appreciate an aquarium that is decorated instead of barren. If

you arrange your aquarium decorations properly they will form hiding places and natural borders and make the aquarium more like the natural environment for fish.

Natural borders can help to reduce the amount of aggression in an aquarium. If you want to introduce a new fishes, you can rearrange the aquarium decorations and break

up all the old territories in order to make the old inhabitants less territorial and give the new fishes a chance to claim their own territories.

Cave dwelling fish species will love aquarium decorations that form caves, holes and crevices. Fish that live in densely grown waters will appreciate plants and other

types of tiny hiding places. An intelligent and curious fish that is bored in your aquarium can perk up significantly when you give him a plastic diver that is blowing

bubbles. Aquarium decorations can even be used as spawning sites for many fish species. Plants are one form of aquarium decoration that can play a much larger part in

the aquarium than simply being beautiful. Plants will bind carbon dioxide and oxygenate the water. They will also use organic waste products as nutrition and thereby

remove potentially harmful compounds from the water. Some aquarists use cheap but sensitive aquatic plants as canaries in the aquarium. If the water suddenly goes bad,

the plant will die before the fish and the aquarist will notice the problem and be able to handle it before the fish begin to die.

Some people find aquarium decorations tacky and want their aquarium to be as clean and sterile as possible when it comes to decorations, but the fish do not care about

fashion – they care about sheltering places, a varied environment and things to investigate. Today, there are fortunately a lot of beautiful and stylish aquarium

decorations to choose among and even the pickiest minimalist can find something to his or her liking.

It is common for aquarium decorations to consist of natural materials; such as rock, wood or coral. These are commonly used in set ups that have been arranged in order

to look as natural as possible. An aquarium can be like a tiny piece of the true habitat for the fish species. Some aquarists will for instance set up an aquarium with

Tanganyika cichlids, and turn the aquarium into a small replica of the part of Lake Tanganyika where the selected species live; including Lake Tanganyika plants and a

substrate that is similar to the sandy bottom in Lake Tanganyika. There are also plenty of artificial aquarium decorations that can look very realistic. Plastic plants

can for instance be a good idea in an aquarium with plant eating fish species. Coral replicas and artificial anemones are popular in saltwater aquariums. If you are a

beginner saltwater aquarists, it is recommend to start out with a fish only aquarium and use artificial coral and anemones as aquarium decoration, since corals and

anemones are hard to keep and have very particular requirements.

In addition to the natural or natural looking aquarium decorations, there are also a wide range of aquarium decorations that would not normally be found in a lake,

river or ocean. It can for instance be fantasy sea monsters from fairytales or copies of the Egyptian pyramids. Sculls, bones, shipwrecks, and half buried treasure

boxes are also popular. Some fish keepers like the idea of a sunken Atlantis and decorate their aquarium with statues and temple ruins.

It is very important that you only use aquarium decorations that are safe to use in aquariums. If you have a saltwater aquarium, you should make sure that they are

saltwater-safe as well. If you place normal decorations that are not intended for aquarium use in the water they might leak toxic compounds. It is for instance common

for many types of ornaments to contain minerals that will be dissolved by the water and slowly poison your fish. If you pick stones, wood etcetera from the wild you

can introduce harmful organisms to your aquarium, e.g. parasites, fungus, virus and bacteria..
Aquarium Resources

In this part of the articles library we have gathered a lot of articles about general aquarium maintenance. If you do not find what you are looking for here, the

information is probably located in some of the other article categories. If you for instance are looking for information about general saltwater aquarium maintenance,

you can take a look in the category named “Marine Aquariums” as well, since categories frequently overlap. If you are looking for spawning advice, you can find the

information in the “Breeding” category or by looking up your specific species in the species database.