The Tools and Stuffs in Decoration
What's needed and what to do?

Decoration goes with the fish, together they beautify the tank. Whether you want to make it a show tank or just a normal home tank, you still need decorations. You can't place Discus in a bare tank with nothing at all! They need places to hide and spots to rest at night. Won't you find it weird or unpleasant to look at a tank of Discus with no plants, no wood and no nothing? I am not an expert in aquascaping, but I'll tell you what I know and what I think.

Let us see all the decoration materials used.

Many people use this to decorate their Discus tank. It gives the tank a more "wild" feel to it. Discus love to hide behind them and go in between them too. What's more the driftwood releases small amounts tannins which instantly turn the aquarium tea brown. The tannins will still be released slowly in the tank for several months before all traces of tannins are unnoticeable. Tannins are good for the fish, it's what they experience in the wild. Natural wood is also ideal for acting as an acid buffer. The tannins help soften the water and create a slightly acid pH. which is good for your Discus. To get more benefits from the this effect, add peat to your aquarium and read our Filter Media section.

Plants! They are a must! Even if you want a bare-bottom tank for easy maintenance, you would need some plants. Whether it's live plants in pots or plastic ones, just add them in! They come in many different sizes and shape. There is a massive number of plant type to choose from.

Live plants do lots of beneficial things to the aquarium. Firstly, they beautify the tank. They also increase the O2 levels in the tank. Live plants also absorb wastes produced in the aquarium, thus serving to purify the water. They also harbor bacteria that aides in breaking down wastes and keeping the fish healthy. In addition, live plants effectively forms a buffer against fluctuating pH levels and high levels of nitrites. Well maintained planted aquariums often need little chemical filtration.

I have tried placing live plants in my aquarium, but what I don't like about live plants is, when it starts decaying. If the decaying parts are not removed quickly, they can pollute your water and choke up your pumps. Live plants need more than 10 hours of light to photosynthesize. Furthermore, it is possible for live plants to carry harmful pests such as snails, and parasites that cause diseases. Thus, I still stick to my use of artificial plants in all my tanks. Some artificial plants look real too!

Pebbles are another form of substrate. They are larger in size, thus leaving more gaps in between each other. This is an advantage for people like me, who wants to beautify the tank yet make cleaning and maintenance easy going. Any dirt or waste that settles in the gaps would easily be siphoned out. Pebbles come in different colours and sizes to help you decorate a home for your Discus. I like prefer the pebbles to be black in colour, as that brings out the natural colour of the Discus. A colourful object on a dark background is bound to be the centre of attraction.

Rocks are also a great naturally occurring form of decor, but not all rocks are suitable for an aquarium. Make sure that rocks contain no metals, ask your retailer if in doubt. Rocks which are like limestone should be avoided as they increase hardness. When positioning rocks, always position them directly on the tank bottom and support the base with substrate. I suggest siliconing the rocks together as a precaution. Clown loaches or catfishes burrowing under the rocks can create the most rockfalls that may crack the base of your tank and cause a massive leakage.

Aquarium background paper add life behind the aquarium glass and give the tank a more aesthetic look.

Another type of background, is black spongy and irregular. I don't know what they call it, but it's placed within the tank. It can establish a slope at the back of the tank, like a rock cliff. Sounds cool, huh? Very suitable for Discus, because it black and that enhances the bright coloured Discus.

What decoration to avoid

Plastic "decorations" on sale at a local aquarium store are an eyesore when it appears in a Discus tank. Personally I don't like sunken ships, fisherman or bubbling clams. They look awful and do not benefit the fish. However, some artificial items are effective and even satisfy the needs of the fish. Artificial wood and plants look rather realistic and they make your Discus feel more comfortable. It's also not that dangerous, to be placed in a Discus tank. An incident happened a year ago, when my friend had one of his Discus suck in a sunken ship! It was later discovered, dead. :0(