Desktop Aquarium Equipment for the Beginner

Keeping an aquarium on the kitchen counter or on the office desktop can be a real pleasure. Watching fish has been proven to relieve stress and many find a properly maintained fishtank to be a very attractive decoration. However, before you go out and buy your equipment and fish, it is imperative that research is done to ensure the happiness of both the fish and the caretaker.

Before you buy anything, you must first determine what kind of fish you want in your tank. In a desktop aquarium, options are a bit limited. Generally, you are looking at a number of small fish, one type of aquatic frog, snails, plants, and shrimp. More info on stocking in another of my articles. But for now, you should get a general idea of what kind of fish you would like, as it will determine what kind of tank you will need.

Of course, you will need a fishtank. Anything above one gallon will do, but tanks from 2.5 gallons and up will be able to accomodate far more kinds of fish. I highly recommend buying something over 2 gallons, as it does not take nearly as much space as it sounds like. Different kinds of tank are available, including corner tanks, bowfront tanks, acrylic and glass. Corner tanks fit well into corners, and bowfront tanks have curved front panes that take up a bit more room. Most smaller thanks are made of acrylic, and this is OK because acrylic is 10 times stronger than glass and is much lighter, but tends to scratch up much easier. Glass tanks are generally considered to be more attractive.

In a one to two gallon tank, pretty much the only humane options for stocking is ONE betta fish with some shrimp, one-two african dwarf frogs, or just a bunch of shrimp and snails with plants.
A 2.5-5 gallon tank can accomodate many species of small fish, as well as a betta, frog, or shrimp.

Most climates will need a small heater, depending on what type of fish you have. Using a heater on a tank under 2.5 gallons is not recommended, as temperature will fluctuate very easily in such small volumes of water. The most important thing to buying a heater is DO NOT BUY THE CHEAPO HEATER. Reliability is key here, and cheap heaters may overheat your fish or cause big temperature fluctuations that will stress out your fish. If you buy a heater, you also need a thermometer. Make sure you get one that hangs inside the water to get an accurate reading.

A lot of small tanks come bundled with a filter. Almost all filters EXCEPT UNDERGRAVEL FILTERS will be sufficient. Matching replacement cartridges should be purchased for your filter, as they are disposables and need to be changed monthly or so. Undergravel filters don't do very much to purify the water; they merely separate the crud from everything else by keeping in a seperate compartment. Filters also serve the dual purpose of agitating the water. In most cases, an air pump is not required. Small filters are also pretty quiet and are acceptable to keep in a bedroom.

Gravel and Decor. Fishtanks are more asthetically pleasing with gravel and plants, rocks, or wood. Many aquarists choose not to use gravel on smaller tanks, because it makes it difficult to perform frequent water changes. With gravel, you would need to purchase a gravel vaccuum (under 10 dollars) to suck out the debris from the gravel. Gravel vaccuums make water changes very easy. Decorations such as fake plants and driftwood are also good additions, as they allow your fish to hide and give them a more interesting environment, as well as make the tank look much nicer.

Live plants are a fantastic addition to a small fishtank, because they reverse the effects of toxic chemicals that quickly accumulate in a desktop fishtank environment. For the beginner, I suggest java moss for a good, hardy plant that improves water conditions. More information on Java moss in another of my articles.

You will probably also need a fish net to make vacuuming the gravel easier.

For more information on keeping a small aquarium, check out my other articles.