If you own a fish tank, you might consider adding some decorations inside the tank so that your fish will not be lonely inside. Aquarium decorations also will help your tank not to look empty. Many people would love to gaze a tank that has rocks or woods inside. Rocks and wood help to give a similar look of the natural environment for the fish. Yet, there are few things to be considered prior to adding these decors to your aquarium. We will talk about the advantages and disadvantages of using these decors inside your freshwater fish tank.
Pros
Here are the pros relating to the use of rocks and wood in your fish tank:
- Rocks or wood can be useful in setting specific water parameters that your fish needs. For instance, several kinds of rocks like Texas Holey Rock and Limestone will raise the pH of the tank and serve as a barrier at times. On the contrary, driftwood often lowers the pH and tends to soften the water.
- Some fishes feed themselves with algae from the rocks or wood on their natural habitat, some fish even eat the wood itself. Placing rocks or woods in your fish tank will give your fishes extra instinctual activities at the same time giving them a healthy and natural diet.
- These objects also provide a great area for certain bacteria to nitrify and build colony. These are good bacteria that help get rid of harmful substances such as ammonia and nitrites from your fish tank.
- Almost all aquarium hobbyists opt to keep fishes in an environment which is nearly similar to their natural habitat. This isn’t as vital as before since many fishes today are bred in captivity, however, it’s still nice to see fishes inside a tank which is a replica of their natural environment.
- Some fishes, especially the non-aggressive kind tend to hide themselves from the aggressive type, thus, rocks or woods are great areas to hide. Rocks or woods will also make fish feel safer if they are used in living in caves. Moreover, these decors are a possible breeding area or laying of eggs for fishes!
- The most common advantage of rocks or woods is just for visual purposes, just a decor. Your tank will definitely look fantastic if you incorporate gorgeous designs such as stylish rocks or a stunning piece of driftwood. For some aquarists who go for the natural look, adding stones or woods inside the tank will help you attain your goal of setting up a natural habitat for your fishes.
Cons
Here are some of the cons regarding with the adding of rocks or woods in your tank.
- Too much is never good! So if you place a lot of rocks or woods inside your tank, it will be harder for you to clean your tank without removing all of them, added time will bother you. Naturally, uneaten foods will be trap on the back of the rocks which later on will cause a bad water quality and it is harmful for your fish. Some uneaten foods will sink to the substrate behind these rocks or woods, though you can use vacuum to clean the substrate it is still hard to do this if you have these objects, it will be okay if you remove all these from your tank while doing so. If you really wanted to put a lot of rocks or woods inside your tank, then tell yourself to be ready for the cleaning time, because you need to remove all of them to clean the tank properly.
- Putting rocks or woods also will make it hard to catch fish out of the tank or locating the dead ones. As said earlier, it is a good place to hide; therefore, catching fish will be a problem without taking these rocks or woods first out of the tank.
- There are certain rocks or wood that affects the water parameters in your tank, and this will be harmful to your fishes especially those who prefer a fix water parameter level. If you put driftwood in an African cichlid tank, the cichlids favor a higher pH and the driftwood will provide a more acidic environment.
- Almost all rocks are heavy. Even if you have a glass or acrylic aquarium which is ready for great weights, set limits on it. It is recommended not to put too much weight at the bottom of the fish tank or at the back glass of the tank. One good thing to do if you want to load too much weight in your tank is to purchase an egg crate, cut it to size and place it on the bottom of your tank, underneath the substrate. The egg crate will help scatter the weight of the rocks.
- At some instances, putting rocks or woods will serve an eyesore for some of the fish tank viewers. Driftwoods can stain the water of the tank if not boiled properly. This is great if you prefer a black aquarium or cloudy water inside your tank but obviously, we all know that you don’t! Algae are known for having a good offer to the fish tank, but too much of it will harm the fishes and the whole tank. Rocks or woods can be a great place for algae to thrive in. A thin layer of algae is nice to see on rocks or woods but if a mass of algae thrives in obviously it’s not good to see them.
Aquarium decors enhance the beauty of your tank, but be cautious of the things that might happen inside the tank if you have these decorations.
Aquarium Direct Inc 