Newest aquariums are watery wonders

Brightly colored saltwater fish navigate an oversized wall tank at Picasso Exotic Aquatics in Leawood.

The Heart of America Aquarium Society of Kansas City has approximately 70 members, mostly from the Kansas City area. About 500 registered users take advantage of the information provided on the club’s website, which includes a forum, as well as dates of monthly meetings, auctions and swap meets. Membership is $12 a year; many aquarium stores offer discounts to members. Visit kcfishclub.org for more information.
Planted tanks
The world would be a terrible place if we walked outside and “nature” were filled with nothing but plastic trees, shrubs and grasses. Keep that in mind when you’re creating a home for your fishy friends. Fans of planted, or living, aquariums say real plants slide bearingmake for happier fish. Plants also reduce nitrate levels in the tank, provide oxygen for the fish and create natural hiding spots for some of the more shy species in the tank.
Ditching those plastic plants and baubles in favor of real plants also means your freshwater aquarium will be a thing of beauty for you to enjoy, as well.
Take some tips from Jack Dannels and Kristina Mulbrook, members of the Heart of America Aquarium Society of Kansas City, and David Whitcraft, president of the club:
• Some plants adapt well to the basic aquarium and are eager to grow, while others are very challenging and require specific food, water and light conditions. It’s best to start simple with plants like the anubias, java fern, or the Cryptocoryne species of plants.
• Be sure you’re buying actual aquarium plants that will live under water. Some plants sold as aquarium plants are really bog plants and don’t fare well fully submerged. As a rule of thumb, don’t put freshwater plants in salt water, or vice versa.
• You’ll need an inch or two of aquarium gravel, along with some aquatic soil mixed in. The larger the plant, the larger the root system, so the deeper the substrate the better. Aim for around 3 inches.
• Water needs to be conditioned to remove the chlorine and chloramines. Liquid fertilizer or plant tablets may be added but are not always necessary.
• The final ingredient for a planted aquarium is lighting. The more complex the lighting source, the more costly it is to obtain and maintain. Find bulbs in hardware stores or specialty fish shops. Most plants like lights to be on for 12 hours and off for 12 hours.
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But the members of a club in Kansas City have a suggestion for a truly moving collection, sure to be a brilliant conversation piece.
Fish.
We’re not talking about fish that hang out in just any old digs. Those plastic plants in that rectangular tank? Your guppies aren’t in their glory. And you know the glass container that’s so common its shape has earned the name “fishbowl”? Your beta is bored.
It’s time to go house shopping for your fishy friends.
Kristina Mulbrook, a member of the Heart of America Aquarium Society of Kansas City, says winter is a great season for those afflicted with Multiple Tank Syndrome.
“Aquariums, no matter what the size, are a focal point to the home,” Mulbrook says. “They can add color and life to a space, especially if they’re planted tanks. In the winter, you can enjoy these tropical underwater gardens when the snow is coming down outside.”
Visitors to Picasso Aquatic Exotics have the opportunity to step into a little slice of the tropics when visiting the Leawood store, which features more than 6,000 gallons of water in freshwater and saltwater aquariums.
Those heading in to pick up a goldfish might find themselves mesmerized by freshwater tanks filled with peacock cichlids, brilliant betas and friendly discus fish.
The saltwater tanks, however, are the biggest draw. Each features an array of anemones and corals, such as swaying long-tentacled anemone and the aptly named mushroom polyp. Crowds are drawn to brilliantly colored fish like the clownfish, lipstick naso tang, flame angel and blue jaw trigger dart. The colorful bunch flit and dance through the swaying corals.
Picasso’s owner, Karen Young, says she’s taken great care to ensure the aquariums these fish call home are good for the inhabitants — and their owners.
The first tanks to catch the eye in the store are cylindrical aquariums that appear to be mounted in a column. One of these tanks, which holds 60 gallons, will soon be home to jellyfish — a first for the store, Young says. The tanks, made by Creative Aquariums, sell for $5,797.
If that price point intimidates the average fish fan, Young points to the tiny Picotope saltwater tank. The 3-gallon tank by Transworld Aquatic Enterprises, $67, can hold only two or three fish, but it’s easy to maintain, Young notes.
Look-down tanks, which allow you to view the aquatic life from above, and half-circular shaped aquariums also sell well, she says.
“We felt like there was a need for an aquarium store that was a living art gallery, where people could see what an aquarium could really be,” Young says. “Watching fish actually lowers your heart rate and your stress levels. It’s why doctors and dentists have them in their offices.”
Young encourages her clients to keep the tanks in a room they spend a lot of time in.
“They won’t do much good for you if they’re tucked away in an office or your bedroom, or any room you rarely spend time in,” she says, pointing out a Fluval Chi aquarium, a 26-gallon tank topped with a gurgling fountain.
You don’t have to talk Jack Dannels into spending time watching his fish dart about his tanks. He has 30 aquariums, many of them filled with plants, ranging from 2.5 gallons to more than 250 gallons. He’s been a fish fan for many years.
“I got my first jar of guppies when I was 6, and I’m 57 now,” Dannels says. “I love to maintain the tanks and attempt to keep a variety of species of plants and fish alive and hopefully reproducing.”
He’s been with the Heart of America Aquarium Society, which members often simply call the “fish club” for many years.
“I get great satisfaction out of being able to keep and propagate both plants and fish that I can share with my fellow hobbyists.”
Like Dannels, Michael Meyer, vice president of the fish club, is fascinated with the way fish, especially those from the tropics, propagate.
“Live bearing fish — like guppies, swordtails, mollies and platies — are very popular in the hobby,” Meyer says. “Many fish lay eggs by scattering them into plants and rocks, while others purposely guard them on a rock, in a nest or hidden in a cave. It’s amazing to watch the intense parental care of a tiny apisto or the gentle caring of a large cichlid as it tends to its fry.’”
Today’s aquariums, many with rounded edges, are designed to allow unimpeded views of your fish, Young says. She and her husband spend hours transfixed by the aquarium that’s built into a wall at their home.
“We have a 250-gallon reef aquarium with a 6-inch Italian frame,” Young says. “You can spend $10,000 on a beautiful piece of art and look at it occasionally, or you can spend the same amount on living art and get a lot more enjoyment out of it. Our aquarium defines ‘living art.’ ”