Many fish tank owners like to decorate their aquariums, even picking out themes and including toys such as castles or treasure chests \u2013 but are these important for the fish and the environment or are they just to please the owner\u2019s eye?<\/p>\n
If the idea of an aquarium is really about keeping fish then surely decorating a tank with fake castles or some kind of theme, is just to indulge the owner and does little to support the aquatic life within the tank?<\/p>\n
Actually, it has been shown that adding decorations and toys into the tank not only make it look more attractive but it does provide benefits to the fish as well. It gives them places to hide and escape to, like they would in their natural habitat.<\/p>\n
Putting toys into tanks such as the plastic castles, shipwrecks or treasure chests helps to vary the environment and gives the fish a vital escape route.<\/p>\n
Fish need to hide when they get stressed out \u2013 this can be from any number of causes such as someone knocking on the glass, too many faces watching them, other fish can cause stress by fighting or being territorial. All of these issues mean sometimes fish need to hide away and recover.<\/p>\n
Providing toys and decorations gives fish essential dark spaces in which to relax and escape the source of their stress. The other reason they are important is they also provide a safe place for your fish to lay their eggs or bear their young.<\/p>\n
In fact, having a tank with fish, that have no place to hide when they get stressed, will have a detrimental effect on their health, so toys within an aquarium have a vital role for the fish as well as making the tank look more attractive for humans. When it comes to taking care of your fish<\/a>, aquarium toys really could be an essential part of your tank.<\/p>\n So what kind of toys should you include in your fish tank? <\/strong><\/p>\n It is important to choose toys which will be of use to your fish and generally, only one fish will use each hiding place, so you need to create several and make sure they are the right size for any of your fish to swim inside.<\/p>\n You need to make sure the entrance is big enough for your fish to get in and out of easily \u2013 you do not want any of them getting stuck. You can either buy ready-made plastic decorations for this purpose, or you can use natural materials like wood and rock to create hiding spaces within your tank \u2013 or perhaps a mixture of both.<\/p>\n If you are tempted to put lots of toys in your aquarium to fit your theme, such as figurines, or any other type of toy which looks nice but doesn\u2019t provide a hiding place, then that\u2019s fine, as long as you make providing hiding places the first priority.<\/p>\n If your tank isn\u2019t big enough to hold the decorative pieces and the hiding places, then you must make the hiding places the first thing you set up for your fishes\u2019 health. If you decorate your tank with lots of pretty figures but no place for the fish to escape, they will become stressed and unwell.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Decorating your tank with toys, particularly those which can hide the aeration tube so they look like they are blowing bubbles, can be pretty but having sick fish will make your tank very unappealing so make sure you put the fish first.<\/p>\n