. Many of the freshwater aquarium fish we see in our pet stores originate from the tropical river of the Amazon in South America. The Amazon has more number of fish and vegetation of all rivers in the world come up with.

The astonishing variety and beauty of Amazonian fish and plants is what drew me to this manner of aquarium. I've fallen in love with creating Amazon community tanks and recreating the environment and natural eco-systems of the river.

The diversity of the Amazon River and its many streams indicates there are infinite ways in which you may make an Amazon theme, as well as the style and decor of your reptile shop adelaide setup depends on what kind of fish you want to keep.

Today I shall concentrate on creating an Amazon themed aquarium suitable for Angelfish or Discus. These fish can grow quite big so that it is recommended to have aquarium at least 150-200 litres or more in volume. They're also rather peaceful fish, so are really suitable for your community tank, so long as follow several basic guidelines.

For my theme I need to recreate the flooded jungle of the Amazon. Every wet season the Amazon River bursts its banks to flood the nearby jungle. Currently the fish head into the jungle to find the right quiet place to breed. This is actually the sort of aquarium I need to symbolize and can lead you through the process.

Collecting the Decor for an Amazon Aquarium

For an Amazon themed aquarium the decor (gravel, stones, driftwood, plants) should be as natural as possible.

For me this is a great excuse to get out into nature and explore some nearby rivers and streams. If you're fortunate enough to reside nearby to a clear natural river or stream as I am then it is the perfect place to acquire exactly what you really need for the Amazon setup.

The river near me has wonderful brown/red gravel that's truly fine almost like sand. I collect 2-3 pails worth of the gravel for my substrate. You can give it a quick clean using a hose in a half-full bucket, stirring the hose end through the gravel and pouring out the dirty water, however this is not necessary and it really can be valuable to leave the dirt and other bits of leaves and stick in there as this may help with plant growth.

TRICK: Remember to get the best gravel you can; this will aid plant growth while the roots can readily propagate through the gravel, otherwise the plants as well as their roots will have a tough time.

When you are down at the river be certain to accumulate some bigger rocks and tons of interesting looking driftwood. You can begin preparing your aquarium scape when you find bits of driftwood and rock. Make sure you gather more driftwood than you desire though, as quite frequently I am going to bring home a fine piece of wood just to find it's way too large and also would not appear good in the pet shops adelaide.

You may supply the driftwood a fast scrub with a brand new scourer in the event that you want to clean them up. This is a great idea as some of the wood might have traces of algae on them and frequently you cannot see it. It's not completely necessary though and should be fine provided that the river it originated from is clean fresh water.

If you are less blessed as me and cannot find these things in the wild, then you can find them from the local pet shops or garden supplies shops. In case you purchase them be sure to wash them completely before using visit.