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Aquatic Plants for Your Aquarium
Some Fish Need Schools and Some Schools Need Fish
An aquarium at school -- what a wonderful idea, and it can inspire the students to learn skills of observation bringing them closer to nature.
While an aquarium in a school needs to beautifully equipped, it should also require a minimum of care.
After this aquarium has been set up for a while, you will find a suitable group of students who will enjoy caring for it, under proper supervision of course. They need to be able to have access to the aquarium without obstruction while unauthorized people can be kept away from the tank.
In addition sufficient electric and water supplies need to be easily available to them, along with the basics of care for the aquarium.
The biggest advantage to an aquarium at school is the possibilities of observation to the students.
Fish that breed easily can give the students the opportunity to observe the courtship and care of the young for fish like the dwarf cichlids. Several types of fish work well in a community tank that are live breeders.
Class outings can supply an endless opportunity for observation in smaller tanks. These tanks can be used on a seasonal basis for observation of other animals including frogs (development of tadpoles), sticklebacks (courtship, laying of eggs and care of the brood), and newts (courtship, pairing, laying of eggs). These are all animals that can be watched during the spring; of course these need to be returned to the water where they were first found after they have grown.
For other seasons, the mouthbrooding cichlid or dwarf gourami are well suited for behavioral studies in school, as they willingly spawn all year long.
Since these species do not normally eat their young they are a wonderful tool of observations for courtship, pairing, and care of the young.
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Verify that individual groups of plants have not sent stringers into other groups of plants and become twisted.
The purpose of thinning your plants is to allow more light into the aquarium, thus allowing the plants to grow more.
Remember that each time you transplant a plant from one location to another it needs time to acclimate to that location. The thing to remember when your aquarium is well established is to transplant only when it is really necessary.
The plants that float on the surface absorb a lot of the light, and the plants in the lower layers have to fight for light. As pretty as floating plants are, they take away a lot of light from the lower plants and should be kept to a minimum.
Thin only when it is absolutely necessary, usually because you have too many plants. At the same time try to preserve the combination of the plants as you originally planted them.
In the first few months after planting, it is important to touch the plants as little as possible. But once your aquarium has become established, you can exchange those groupings that you don't like or are not attractive with other, more decorative plants. |
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Now remove the appliances and plants, sort the plants by species, and place in bowls or pails of water.
The rocks, roots, and rear wall are removed at this time and placed in pails. Remove the fish and place them in a large container; be sure to cover it so they cant jump out.
Rinse the substrate with cool water until the rinse water runs clear. Do not use hot water; this allows you to save some of the established bacteria.
Now rebuild your tank using the same materials as before. This is a perfect time to try those new ideas you had regarding your tank, replacing items you were not happy with the first time around.
Related Topics: Reestablishing an Aquarium ,
The Back Wall of Your Aquarium , Audubon Aquarium of the Americas
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