You have just picked up a brand new aquarium tank at the pet store, and have the decor left. The tanks were beautiful at the pet store, but that’s not what you bought. You only have the tank without the decor. It’s up to you to decorate it.

The first thing to do is decide on a theme. You can choose anything between sunken ships, plants, and Disney theme. The theme you select for aquarium decor is simply a matter of what you want. After that it is a good idea to create a rough sketch and scale everything to size. By doing this, you will help fit everything in the new tank. You will also make sure it looks good. A little planning goes a long ways.

There are many different types of decorations for your aquarium available. And by many I mean hundreds, even thoushands to choose from. Anything from driftwood to gravel, rocks to ceramic decor, and even plastic plants are just a small range you have to select from. Once you pick a theme, the rest is easy. One simple thing to keep in mind, is that you will want to generally arrange the smaller items in the front, and the larger in the back. Just so you can see them.

You will want to avoid putting random, yet good looking, items into your aquarium. They may look good, but are not always healthy for the fish.

Before placing everything in the aquarium, you will want to wash them. Average household bleach, soaps, and other cleaning productions can actually harm the fish. Your aquarium decor should be cleaned about once a month with cleaner made for cleaning aquariums. You will want to look at cleaners that remove biological deposits, and mineral deposits.

Some tips to keep in mind when choosing your decorations, are to go with a variety of decorations. You will be creating more flexibility in the types of fish you can put in the tank. And by variety, I mean that when you setup your decor, try and leave plenty of caves, nooks, tunnels, and shelters for your fish to explore. And they wont just explore them, some fish will actually retreat to shelter when they feel threatened. You will want to keep plenty of free swimming room as well, so don’t over do it.

Bear in mind the types of fish when initially planning on how to decorate. Some fish don’t like all setups that other fish do like. Researching what types of environment fish like can go a long way when planning.

Aquarium decorations can be there for other reasons than simply looking good. They can be used to disguise ugly pluming and other necessities of the fish tank. The fish will enjoy the shelter as well, and even may start little fish families in the shelters.

Fish will sometimes create territorial boundaries out of the rocks and structures. Fish love to explore, and the more ridges and holes the better. Whenever you clean your tank, it is a good idea to rearrange the aquarium decor. In turn, keeping the aquarium fun and new for the fish, and you!