The trendy nano aquarium

The trendy nano aquarium

By Troels Andersen and Jan Ole Pedersen The trendy nano aquarium is a tiny ornamental tank where plants and fishes together create an interaction of life and atmosphere in the living room or on the office. Tropica is providing the plants for your nano aquarium and, in addition, we would love to inspire you and help you to avoid pitfalls. In the nano aquarium, you may realize a dream to depict what you have seen in the shop or somewhere on the web but in a much smaller scale. This type of tank requires less technical equipment, less grooming and maintenance and then, it is the opportunity to keep a planted tank on your desktop, in the living room or in the nursery. As a first planning step, you should consider the overall objective of your tank. Although much simpler than the traditional planted tank, even plants for nano aquaria must be chosen to match your technical equipment and how much time you want to spend on grooming and maintenance. Correct lighting, CO2 fertilization, filter, pump, fertilizer - the lot - are required if you choose difficult plants, whereas none of this is required if you go for more slow growing and hardy plants. Tropica provides plants for the nano aquarium whether the simpler with minimum requirements for technical equipment and limited maintenance or the more advanced types. Microsorum, Anubias and Vesicularia are ideal plants for nano aquaria with minimum maintenance requirements and technical equipment. They are slow growing and thus, they do not need a daily supply of nutrients (CO2 and fertilizer) and they can thrive with even simple light sources such as halogen lamps with 10 or 20 Watts in combination with frequent water changes. Many genera such as Eleocharis and Marsilea can also grow without CO2 and in dim light but you will see them flourish when CO2 is added to the tank. Fast growing plants are more demanding and they require a constant supply of nutrients to maintain the growth. Typical examples of such plants are Hemianthus and Glossostigma. These plants quickly form a dense carpet in the nano aquarium but they require constant supply of CO2 and liquid fertilizer in order to do so. A real difficult plant is Utricularia graminifolia. Even under optimum conditions with high light (40 or 50 Watts) and continuous supply of liquid fertilizer there is no guarantee for a successful result but the goal is so rewarding so that it is worthwhile to try. Still in the more difficult end, you will find the red coloured stem plants such as Rotala wallicii and Ludwigia repens 'Rubin' and they look just beautiful in a dense green carpet of Hemianthus or Glossostigma. In addition to optimum lighting, CO2 addition and use of liquid fertilizer, these fast growing and demanding plants also require regular trimming. Carpet-forming species can be trimmed both by cutting horizontally from above and by reducing the overall density. Stem plants are trimmed by cutting the apical shoot that can be replanted or by cutting it at the ground then replanted part of the apical shoot. Pieces of rocks and driftwood are ornamental components in the nano aquarium creating space and style in the tiny environment. They may be used as decoration in themselves or as foundation for plants. It is easy to use pieces of rocks or driftwood as substrate for plants. For example, a rhizome from Microsorum or Anubias may be anchored to rocks or driftwood with a piece of fishing line or rubber band and after a month or so, the string or rubber band may be removed when the plants have anchored themselves to the substrate. Tiny pieces of moss or Hemianthus can also be fastened between branches on driftwood or cavities in rocks; the possibilities are numerous. As the name suggests, nano aquaria are tanks with very little water. Hence, the handling of plants is critical prior to planting. Tropica recommends that you always soak your plants in water up to 24 hours prior to planting (in your shop, plants are usually kept in water) so that potential surplus of fertilizer from our production is washes out in order to prevent algal growth or other adverse effect on the fragile environment. It is easier to remove stone wool from the roots if the plant is held under water in the sink or even in running water under the tap. Here, we also recommend that you remove old leaves and pieces of dead roots in order to provide the best possible start for the plants and the nano aquarium as a whole. On the Interzoo in Nuremberg 22-25 May 2008, Tropica presents 6 nano aquaria. These tanks will be presented on this page as well just after the show with photos of individual tanks, list of plants, technical requirements plus tips and tricks for establishment and maintenance of these tanks. These nano aquaria represent the entire range from the simple low tech tank to the demanding nano aquarium with a broad range of plants suitable for these wonderful aquaria. Shrimps are an integral part of these trendy tanks. There are many kinds of shrimps but the bee types (bumble bees and crystal red) are particularly popular. Apart from adding life and colours to the tank they also help keeping algal problems to a minimum since most of them are herbivores and excellent algal eaters. All aquarists have faced the annoying problems that algae create, but shrimps seem to be the most effective weapon in this ever lasting fight against algae and thus, Tropica recommend keeping shrimps in the nano aquarium. Caridina multidentata (formerly known as C. japonica or just the Amano shrimp) is particularly effective but also the red cherry shrimp (Neocaridina denticulata) is a great algal eater. Ask also you local dealer what they recommend since new shrimps are constantly coming up.

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