Terdapat pelbagai jenis akuarium yang boleh dipilih dan dihasilkan mengikut cita rasa pemilik akuarium. Antaranya ialah:

1. Akuarium Air Tawar

Ikan emas mempunyai gaya renang yang mengasyikkan!
Akuarium jenis ini paling mudah disediakan. Hal ini kerana pemilik tidak memerlukan kos yang banyak untuk memelihara ikan. Selain itu, pemilik mempunyai banyak pilihan hidupan peliharaan seperti ikan, udang, tumbuh-tumbuhan, amfibia, siput dan krustasia. 

Ikan air tawar terdiri daripada 2 jenis, iaitu jenis tropika dan jenis bersuhu rendah seperti koi dan ikan emas. Oleh yang demikian, pemilik tidak boleh mencampur ikan jenis tropika dan bersuhu rendah dalam akuarium yang sama. Hal ini kerana keperluan suhu yang berbeza boleh menyebabkan jangka hayat ikan menjadi pendek dan perkembangan ikan terbantut. Lazimnya, ikan jenis tropika sesuai dengan suhu antara 24 hingga 27 darjah celcius manakala ikan jenis bersuhu rendah sesuai dengan suhu 20 darjah celcius dan ke bawah.

Dekorasi bagi akuarium air tawar boleh menggunakan pasir, batuan kerikil, batuan besar, kayu mati, tumbuhan hidup atau palsu, hiasan seramik dan plastik. Akuarium moden kini diperbuat daripada plastik, kaca lutsinar dan kaca akrilik.

2. Akuarium Marin

Reef Aquaria - mengandungi hidupan laut, terumbu karang, coral dan invertebrata
Akuarium marin juga dikenali sebagai akuarium air masin atau air laut. Kos menyediakan akuarium jenis ini lebih mahal dan rumit pengendaliannya berbanding akuarium air tawar. Hal ini kerana peralatan yang digunakan lebih banyak dan kualiti air perlu dipantau dengan lebih ketat. Tambahan pula, hidupan air masin yang sukar diperolehi menjadikan faktor harganya lebih mahal. Walau bagaimanapun, hidupan air masin mempunyai kehebatan dan keunikan tersendiri lebih daripada hidupan air tawar.
FOWLR - mengandungi ikan air masin, batu karang hidup
Pemilik air masin membahagikan akuarium jenis ini kepada 3 kategori, iaitu ikan semata-mata - fish only (FO), ikan dengan live rock - fish only with live rock (FOWLR) dan terumbu (reef aquaria).
FO - mengandungi ikan air masin dan replika batu karang/batu karang mati
Untuk tangki FO, pemilik lebih cenderung menayangkan spesis ikan air masin yang besar dan agresif serta menggunakan penapisan mekanikal dan kimia. Berbeza pula dengan tangki FOWLR dan terumbu, live rock dijadikan sebagai penapisan biologi semulajadi bagi melindungi sisa nitrogen bermanfaat metabolisme bakteria.

3. Akuarium Air Payau (brackish-water)
Aligator Gar merupakan ikan air payau

Akuarium jenis ini mengandungi air payau yang biasanya ditemui di kawasan paya bakau. Kadar kemasinannya antara air tawar dan air masin, atau lebih dikenali sebagai Spesific Gravity (SG). Ikan jenis brackish-water mempunyai tarikan tersendiri seperti Puffer, Goby, Archer, Gar dan Bichir.

4. Akuarium Komuniti (pelbagai spesis)

Akuarium komuniti breckish-water seperti Archer fish, fire eel

Akuarium jenis ini mempunyai lebih dari satu spesis. Ikan-ikan yang dimasukkan dalam akuarium mestilah mempunyai persamaan dari segi perangai dan keperluan air. Contohnya, kebanyakan ikan air tawar hidup dengan pH air antara 6 - 8. Kelebihan daripada akuarium jenis ini menawarkan kepelbagaian warna dan tingkah laku ikan yang mampu menarik minat dan menghiburkan pemilik akuarium.
Akuarium komuniti air tawar seperti Discus, Penguin Tetra
Akuarium komuniti Cichlids
Jadi, peminat ikan air masin boleh mencampurkan pelbagai spesis hidupan air masin dari Laut Merah, Lautan Pasifik dan Caribbean tanpa sebarang masalah. Begitu juga dengan peminat ikan Cichlids, boleh mencampurkan spesis dari Tasik Malawi dan Tasik Tanganyika.

Akuarium komuniti monster fish - besar dan agresif!
Selain itu, terdapat beberapa spesis ikan air tawar dan air masin boleh bercampur dengan ikan air payau. Walau bagaimanapun, ikan air tawar sudah pasti tidak boleh bercampur dengan ikan air masin.

Syarat utama bagi sesebuah akuarium komuniti ialah persamaan perangai dan keperluan air ikan. Ciri-ciri ikan yang tidak boleh dimasukkan dalam akuarium komuniti ialah terlalu agresif (piranha), mempunyai kawasan/wilayah tersendiri (cichlid), jenis pemangsa (gar), bersaiz besar dan aktif (catfish), jenis ikan penakut dan pemalu (discus) serta mempunyai cara pemakanan tersendiri dan perlahan (pipefishes).

5. Akuarium Biotope
 
Susunan kayu mati, pemilihan warna pasir dan pencahayaan yang sesuai umpama di dalam Sungai Amazon
Istilah biotope selalunya sinonim dengan perkataan habitat. Jenis akuarium ini disediakan bagi menyerupai sama seperti persekitaran hidupan tersebut. Contohnya, Discus yang berasal dari Sungai Amazon.

Faktor persekitaran seperti air, tanah dan ciri-ciri geografi Discus diadaptasi dalam susun atur akuarium tersebut. Selain itu, penambahan tumbuh-tumbuhan sebenar dari lokasi asal dan pencahayaan yang sesuai mampu menggambarkan suasana sebenar Discus di Amerika Selatan.




Position your aquarium in a place that it will be a feature and easily viewed and enjoyed. It must be in a location where you can easily access it for maintenance and feeding.

The tank must not be near a window or in strong direct sunlight. This will cause excess algae, may overheat the aquarium and may also clash with your lighting timer, giving the aquarium too much light during the day.

It is clearly ideal if the tank is positioned close to electricity supply (that will not be tampered with or unplugged) and also within fairly easy reach of a water supply to make water changes painless.

It is important not to put your fish tank in a busy or confined space that people use. Continual motion close to the tank may well stress the fish, especially at night when the lights are off. Huge shadows passing across the tank can literally petrify the fish. I have seen the contents of a community tank so scared by lots of people around at night time that all of the species school together in a frenzied manner. This is not good.

If you have other pets, especially cats, make sure that they have no access to the top of the tank.

I recommend not having the tank exposed on all sides. It is best for the fish if the back wall of the tank is next to a wall or covered by a mural, so that there is never any movement across 1800 of their vision. Aquariums that are islands in a room or built into walls and viewable from 2 rooms often cause the fish to feel trapped and stressed in the long term. If you really do want to do this as a feature, make sure that there are plenty of hiding spaces in the tank.

One nice aspect of fishtanks is that they can provide a lovely source of side or ambient lighting for a room or hallway. I have a fishtank in my hall, which means that even with the main room lights off, the room is light enough to walk through without having to reach for the light switch. Aquarium lights on a timer can make a house look occupied which may have security benefits and often when I get home, there is already a light on when I walk in the house. As mentioned above, I don't recommend putting your tank in a hallway if it is narrow or confined.



Common Name: Java Moss
Proper Name: Taxiphyllum barbieri
Category: Ferns & Mosses
Suhu: 18-30 C
pH: 5-8
Pencahayaan: Sedikit
Perkembangan Pertumbuhan: Perlahan
Aras Kesukaran: Senang
Asal: Asia
Kedudukan dalam Aquascape: Mid-ground, foreground


Scientific Name: Caridina Multidentata
English Name: Amano Shrimp
Origin:  Taiwan, Japan and Korea
Adult Size: Up to 2 inches (5 cm)
Behavior: Peaceful
Tank Level: Bottom
Minimum Tank Size:  10 gallons or larger
Diet: Omnivore
Breeding: Egg layers
Care level: Easy
Water pH: 6.0-7.0
Water Hardness: -
Water Temperature: -
Water Movement: -
Lighting: -
Lifespan: -


Scientific Name: Puntius titteya
English Name: Cherry barb, Crimson Carplet
Origin:  Sri Lanka
Adult Size: Up to 2 inches (5 cm)
Behavior: Peaceful
Tank Level: All over the tank
Minimum Tank Size:  10 gallons or larger
Diet: Omnivore
Breeding: Egg layers
Care level: Easy
Water pH: 6.0-7.0
Water Hardness: 5 to 19 dH
Water Temperature: 73.0 to 79.0° F
Water Movement: Moderate
Lighting: Moderate – normal lighting
Lifespan: 5 – 7 years

Do not overfeed your fish.

Fish are cold blooded and as such they only need food for energy and health. They do not needs huge amounts of food to heat their bodies like us. Your aquarium heater does that. Overfeeding is a common mistake and leads to unhealthy fish in dirty aquariums. I recommend feeding daily and have one day a week where you don't feed them at all. If your fish are hungry at feeding time and visibly excited, this is a good sign that you have healthy fish.

Try and give them a bit of variety in their diet. Buy them a few different food types and mix it up. Over the course of a week, I recommend 5 days of various dry foods, 1 day of frozen or live food. The dry foods are packed with nutrients, but live food and frozen live food are a great source of protein and they love it. It is not good to give too much live/ frozen food as it makes a mess and dirties the tank and doesn't contain good balanced nutritional content.

The instructions on fishfood packets usually says to give them as much as they will eat in a few minutes several times a day. I believe this is wrong! Fish will eat an enormous amount in a few minutes and feeding this much will lead to dirty aquariums and unhealthy bloated fish. The manufacturors of food clearly have a vested interest in you using more food. Once a day as much as they eat in one minute will usually be fine.

Some fish like small amounts blanched lettuce or spinach or pieces of cucumber. Do not leave these in the tank though. Remove the remains after 1 hour.

You may well need to use different types of food for different fish. For example your bottom dwelling catfish will not feed on flake. It can be hard to get the right food to the right fish. I recommend using the following tactic. Feed bottom dwellers first and let their pellets or wafers sink to the bottom. Delivery through a piece of filter tube to the bottom can be useful to stop your fiesty middle dwellers stealing it before it reaches the bottom. Next very quickly feed the middle top dwellers, to distract them from stealing the bottom dwellers food.

Depending on your fish, you may need to device other tactics to get the right food to the right fish. It can be funny to watch, but if middle dwelling fish get hold of catfish wafers a game of fishtank rugby often ensues.

Blocks of frozen live food are best delivered by half filling a glass with tank water, dropping in the food blocks and leaving for 10 minutes to thaw. Give it a stir to break up all the bloodworm, brineshrimp or whatever and then poor into the tank. The act of filling a glass in the tank sends my fish into a frenzy of excitement.

Take a little bit of regular time to enjoy your fish tank, watch the fish and their behaviour. You can tell if your fish are happy and healthy if they respond to your presence by wanting food. Be aware that fish behaviour may well change when you are present. This can be a good indicator though, if fish hide away when you are around the tank, there may well be a problem. Fish that do not come out for food may well be ill or stressed.

Some species may become a little fiesty with each other if you are present and you do not feed them. I have especially noticed this in Barb species, if you are around for a while the dominant fish may weel want to demonstrate that they are the boss. This is quite ordinary and rarely results in any serious injury. If your fish are seriously hurting each other, then you have a problem and you may want to remove one to balance out the community.

The colouration of your fish is another good indicator of tank and fish health. If your fish are looking pale you may well have a problem.

Check that the filter flow is OK, check the temperature is stable and correct, check that there isn't too much algae. Smell the water to check that there is no decay. If the water smells noticably bad, you probably have a problem.

If you see any large piles of muck, do a water change/ clean asap.

Good water quality is an essential aspect of fishkeeping. Broadly speaking, if you have a good community and you look after the water quality, the fish will look after themselves. See other topics below for further tips about maintaining good water quality.


Essentials are:
  1. Regular cleaning
  2. Good filtration
  3. Not over-feeding
  4. Minimum dead space
  5. Not having too many fish
  6. No dead/decaying plants