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Water works
Decorating with aquariums can be thrilling and therapeutic

BY MAI LI MUÑOZ
SALISBURY POST

Enjoying an aquarium in your home does not require professional installation. Pet store owners say beginning and maintaining a tank is simple if you keep certain tips in mind.

Freshwater — fish that require some salt and which some consider a “smart”fish — or saltwater tropical fish are most often used to decorate, says Randy Majeska, owner of Pet Super Store in Kannapolis. They range from tiger oscars, or South American bass, to goldfish.

“Most people, if they want variety, can go for either one. Freshwater tropical fish just require that temperature zones stay the same; they can’t fluctuate too much,” Majeska says.

One thing people don’t realize, he says, is that fish don’t have to be gold to be called goldfish. “There are oodles of varieties of goldfish — blacks and golds and reds and whites and fantails and non-fantails.”

Freshwater tropical fish should stay between 75 and 80 degrees; goldfish start to stress past 80 degrees. And the pH balance, the degree of acidity or alkalinity of the water, should be no more than 7.0. The amount of salt in a saltwater fish tank should be relatively high; pH for saltwater fish should not drop below 8.1.

“pH is the difference between Coke and Drain-O,” says Marty Northam, owner of Mount Pleasant Pets. “Drain-O’s a neutral with alkaline but it works as an acid. Coke, that’s pure acid. Saltwater fish like Drain-O.”

When dealing with freshwater tropical fish, Majeska recommends keeping an eye on the family and size of the fish. That increases the chance of having a community that exists well together.

“There are certain families of fish, like the cichlids, that are known to be more aggressive, and it’s a varied group,” he explains. “It varies from a fish called an angelfish to a fish called the ‘green terror’ … to American cichlids to South American cichlids to African cichlids. They are very territorial.”

Cichlids need to be kept separate from other fish because they have the ability to destroy fish two or three times their own size.

In terms of community, there are live bearers and those that lay eggs, such as tetras or beta fish, and danios, which come in a variety of species and colors and generally all get along.

Another important fact to keep in mind when choosing fish for your home is to make sure the biggest fish in your tank doesn’t have a mouth bigger than your smallest fish. Big fish will eat small fish.

Choosing the fish that are non-aggressive and community-oriented is not a difficult task. But Majeska stresses the importance of knowing what you want when shopping around.

There is no one rule regarding fish placement, he says, regarding choice, but when you go to choose more fish down the road, you’ll need to know what you have so that you can find something compatible.

Pet store owners can offer suggestions, Majeska says. “If you want a good deal on merchandise, go to a department store; if you want knowledge, go to your local pet store.”

Once you’ve picked your fish, the next step is learning to maintain them.

“The bigger the tank, the easier it is to take care of,” Majeska says. “That allows more water to be dispersed over a period of time.”

Northam, who also delivers, sets up and maintains aquariums, explains that waste can be toxic to fish if it’s not kept at a safe level.

“Once you start up your aquarium, fish use the bathroom; whatever you feed them comes out, he says. “When it comes out, it changes into ammonia. From ammonia, it turns to nitrites. That’s when your aquarium is at risk for problems.

To avoid ammonia build-up, he and his wife, Angie, who is co-owner of the store, suggest using a biological supplement or liquid enzyme.

If you maintain your tank correctly, nitrate, instead of nitrite, will form in the tank and turn into a fertilizer base, which is good for live plants. From that, anaerobic bacteria is created, which is a “good”bacteria. “Bad”bacteria, also known as “ich”or ichthyophthirius multifiliis, can cause unwanted spots on the fish.

Cleaning a five- or 10-gallon tank can be fairly simple:Either use a vacuum or move the fish to another clean container with the same temperature water while you clean it, refill the tank with the same or water water, and replace the fish.

But, you might wonder, how easy can it be to change the water in a 55-gallon or larger tank?

Since the filter cleans the tank regularly, monthly maintenance on a tank only requires a 25-percent water change, a process that involves vacuuming out a fourth of the tank’s water while adding fresh water, cleaning the glass with an algae magnet that can be found in a pet shop and using a gravel vacuum that siphons particles of waste.

“With that type of maintenance done on a monthly basis, you won’t have to break the tank down,”Randy says. “The most important thing is to have a well-seasoned tank and take care of it with a small amount of work instead of waiting until it’s a big problem.” Some tanks can be set up for years without any problem at all.

One of the most interesting steps in setting up an aquarium is decorating the tank.

For some filters to function properly, gravel is required.

Gravel gives plants, artificial and live, a base, and can be found in nearly any color to match the decor of your home. Solid colors, neons, earth tones and color mixtures brighten up the tank, hide some of the fish waste and algae and keep it from looking “bare.”

Backgrounds, from tame to eye-catching, can also give a tank an attractive look.

Though there are no special backgrounds to accent the four aquariums in the home of Diane Hayman Beaver and her daughter, Dorothy Hayman, they have been firm believers in the art of decorations of the finned variety for the past 20 years.

Plecostomus, cichlids and neons fill the tanks in their house. Diane was introduced to the hobby by her daughter, who now has African tree frogs in her own fish tank.

For Diane, who works at Pillowtex, having the fish is not only therapy for her house, but also for her head.

She used to work for the Michelin Tire Company and says that, after hard hours of work, she would go home and unwind by watching the relaxing motion in her fish tank.

“I just sit, sometimes, and start watching them and I’ve been there an hour before I even realize it,” she says. “It really is calming. I have high blood pressure and I think it makes me feel better. Sitting in front of the TV after a bad day is not the same at all.”

“The little things bring pleasure to you,”she says.“It’s a pet, but it’s more than that. It’s almost like they have their own personality.”