How to prepare an aquarium as a gift?

Start Small

First of all, make sure that the person for whom you are going to design an aquarium with a fish really dreams of him. It would be irresponsible to give a pet to someone who is not ready to take care of it. So, let’s start preparing the gift.

We advise you to opt for a small aquarium with a volume of 12-15 liters. It will be easy to find a place for him in the house – on a stable surface, away from heaters, air conditioners and direct sunlight. Caring for such an aquarium is not difficult. Today, nano aquariums are taken seriously, respected by both beginners and experienced experts. A small aquarium will decorate the house and a source of positive emotions.

A small aquarium for novice aquarists will make it clear how interesting it is for a person to take care of the underwater world and its inhabitants. If a child becomes the happy owner of a nano aquarium, caring for a fish will teach a young nature lover to be responsible for pets.

A great option is a small spherical aquarium, which comes with a backlight and a waterfall filter, which not only purifies the water and saturates it with oxygen, but also creates a picturesque effect.

The aquarium is able to give the beauty of wildlife that no illustration can convey. The fish moves smoothly in the water, hides in the leaves of plants, enthusiastically absorbs the food that the owner brings to it. Life is in full swing in the aquarium every day, it is a pleasure to watch it. And how many compliments about the aquarium will be heard from the guests!

Decor is safe and easy to clean

The decor of the aquarium suggests room for creativity. In the pet store there are various types of soil, driftwood for an aquarium of various sizes, caves, grottoes and other decorations. Think about what an aquarium should be for your loved one? Would a future aquarium owner love stories about treasure maps and pirate schooners? Or watching documentaries about the impenetrable jungles of the Amazon? There is an interesting solution regarding decor for everyone.

The main thing is to remember about safety. Decorations for the aquarium must be purchased at a specialized store. No matter how beautiful a stone from your collection of minerals is, it will not work for an aquadome. You don’t know how much it will increase the hardness of the water, how it will affect the health of the fish?

An important question is what plants will be in the aquarium? Live plants look attractive but require some aquarium experience and care. For the novice aquarist, artificial plants are well suited. They can be transplanted at will in the aquarium from one place to another.

If you think that in an aquarium there must certainly be not only fauna, but also flora, we recommend unpretentious plants. Christmas moss, Javanese moss, dwarf anubias – this is a good start for a beginner aquarist. To more firmly fix the plants in the ground, you can press them at the roots with a small decorative snag.

It is important that the decorations are of high quality and do not have sharp corners and strong roughness. The decor should be such that the fish does not damage the scales about it.

Take the time to put together a greeting card with aquarium care instructions. Weekly cleaning will take no more than half an hour. It is necessary to drain a third of the water using a small thin siphon tube. Prepare water for replacement: draw cold from the tap, bring to the desired temperature with boiling water and add Tetra AquaSafe water conditioner. Pour the prepared water into the aquarium. Aquadom glass can be wiped with a clean sponge both inside and out. Decorations can be cleaned with a new toothbrush if necessary.

What is important when choosing a fish

The choice of fish, even for an aquarium of modest size, is very large. We will offer a couple of options, based on the fact that it will be more comfortable for a novice aquarist to take care of unpretentious underwater inhabitants. It is important to consider not only the size of the fish. Is the potential inhabitant of the aquarium a flock or a loner? Does he have a calm disposition or does he strive to jump out of the aquarium?

A good option is neon or other small tetras. They will not arrange an escape from the aquarium, but they are accustomed to live in a flock. Therefore, even in 15 liters, you should have a flock of four to five fish. The popular blue neon live for about three to four years.

Betta fish are often recommended to beginner aquarists. They feel great being alone. Males have larger and more impressive tails. Watching the dance of the cockerel fish in the aquarium is always interesting. Such a fish lives on average two to three years. During this time, a novice aquarist will have time to understand how much he likes a new hobby. And is it worth it to start, say, goldfish that can live 20 years?

First, you should start the aquarium, and then go to the pet store for the fish. An hour or two of tedious waiting in a bag of water is stressful for the fish. Let the underwater inhabitant be waiting for a ready-made new cozy aqua house.

Running an aquarium

Modern technologies allow you to start the aquarium in the shortest possible time. However, don’t leave it to the last minute. On the day you plan to give a gift, the aquadome should already be an established ecosystem in which the fish feels comfortable. Get a set of drip tests in advance, which will keep the level of hardness and acidity of the water in the aquarium under control.

Previously, when starting an aquarium, it was necessary to defend the cold water from the tap for two to three days. After the launch, it was necessary to wait two to four weeks for the aquarium ecosystem to acquire beneficial microflora. And only then it was possible to start the fish.

Today, water treatment products do the job in one day. You will need a Tetra AquaSafe water conditioner, and to start the biological processes Tetra Bactozym (placed in the filter) and Tetra SafeStart (filled with water). 

Wipe down the aquarium, equipment, and decor with a damp, clean cloth. Fill the soil, set the scenery and plants – live or artificial.

Draw cold water from the tap, use boiling water to bring it to a temperature comfortable for the fish you have chosen. Add a water conditioner to neutralize harmful impurities found in tap water. Fill the aquarium with prepared water, but not to the brim. Add the bacterial culture capsule to the filter and pour the liquid containing the bacteria into the aquarium itself. Wait at least half an hour. Now you can start the fish in the aquarium.

The day after the housewarming party, you can feed the pet. Today it is not a problem to purchase ready-made food for almost any type of fish. It is enough to feed once a day. A suitable portion is one that is eaten with appetite in two to three minutes. The activity of the fish is a signal of her good health.

We wish that the aquarium prepared by you becomes an unforgettable welcome gift!