Organic. Period.

How many of us have one of the small, one gallon aquariums tucked away in a closet or cabinet? Each of my grown children had one of these at one time or another, and I recently found one when I was cleaning out a closet.

There is an inherent problem with these small aquariums. The manufacturers tell you that you can stock it with a couple of tiny fish like neon tetras or zebra danios or guppies. Yet even these small fish need more room to swim than these small tanks provide. These are also schooling fish, and they are happiest and healthiest when they are living in large groups of their own kind. Often these small fish become lonely and will not eat, literally starving themselves to death.

Two interesting species that will thrive in a tank this size are brine shrimp and ghost shrimp. Brine shrimp are native to inland salt water lakes and can live in various degrees of salinity. They are often sold as “Sea Monkeys” and they are quite entertaining to watch. Ghost shrimp are transluscent scavengers that will clean up an aquarium. They, too, are interesting to watch, as they look for food on the bottom or swim upside down eating from the surface. Small particles of flake food will keep either of these nourished. Both tiny shrimp species are food for larger fish. They like normal room temperatures of 65 – 80 degrees.

Another way to use a small aquarium is for a water plant display. You don’t even need to include fish. There are many beautiful aquatic plants available, and you can create a lovely arrangement to brighten up a room.

Trackback URI | Comments RSS