How to decorate an aquarium, in fantasy style featuring the tale of Tsar Sultan.

How to decorate an aquarium.

How to decorate an aquarium. As you can imagine there are lots of ways to decorate an aquarium. We have written an article about 25 different fish tank decorations you can use in your aquarium in this post. That post covers the types of things that you can use to decorate your aquarium. In this post we are going to dive into how to actually decorate an aquarium.

Steps involved in How to Decorate an Aquarium

Step One : Choose your substrate

Choose sand mostly for Goldfish, use a grow substrate for aquascape style tanks, where you choose to grow lot’s of plants. Something live fluval stratum is a good choice in that senerio. If you have tropical style fish tank, go for pebbles or sand, the same goes for Betta Fish.

Whichever substrate you choose, make sure it is safe for your kind of fish and if wanting to grow plants in it, make sure that the substrate is ok for growing plants.

Step 2: Choose your background

At fishtanks.store, we believe in keeping our tanks decorated as simply as possible, in order to concentrate on fish husbandry and water paremeters, especially for new fish keepers. So when it comes to how to decorate an aquarium for beginners, we suggest, choosing substrate, a background, like the stunning “Tale of Tsar Saltan” background series. That way, your tank looks stunning from day one. Stays looking stunning, while you focus on caring for your fish. Feeding them the correct amount the right number of times a day. Giving them a varied diet.

Our way of decorating your tank, frees up all your time for gravel or sand vacuuming each week while doing your weekly water changes.

The only decoration we really suggest for new fish keepers is a bubble stone for extra oxygen, and for Betta Fish, they like a hammock near the top to help them breath oxygen. For Cichlids, adding rocks is a simple addition. We just think, starting the hobby with silk plants if your wanting a few in the tank, sets you up for success, as will adding Anubis or Java Fern.

Advice on How to Decorate an Aquarium from someone with over 50 years of experience in the hobby.

Focus on your fish care, water paremeters, fish maintenance routines and in a few months, once all those things have become habits, then is the time to think about planted tanks and CO2 systems.

How to Decorate an Aquarium with a Premium Static Vinyl 4k HD Background

Whether you want to decorate your aquarium with an authentic style background, that goes with your fish natural habitat. Like our The Sea category backgrounds, or prefer a Pop Culture Style background like our Minecraft category backgrounds. Fish tank decoration has never been easier or more enjoyable.

The reason you bought a fish tank in the beginning was to enjoy the fish, so do that. Stop the stress and pressure that comes with biting off more than you probably want to chew in the beginning, and take our advice. You can thank me later.

Our New Range of Backgrounds For December Includes:

The Tale of Tsar Saltan, of His Son the Glorious and Mighty Bogatyr Prince Gvidon, and of the Beautiful Swan-Princess

Have you guys heard of The Tale of Tsar Saltan? If you haven’t your in for a treat.  

• In “The Tale of Tsar Saltan” (1831):
  Alexander Pushkin wrote a magical verse fairy tale where Prince Gvidon, sailing the ocean, encounters a “miracle whale”: translated to English he wrote:
• “An island on the sea there lies,
  Where stands a city with great towers,
  With golden-domed cathedral spires…
  All on the back of a great whale,
  That suffering beast, the Ryba-kit.”
• In Pushkin’s tale, the whale is cursed for eating ships without permission. Prince Gvidon helps free it by retrieving a precious ring from the sea, and in gratitude, the whale carries him across waters and even magically builds a city on its back.
• Pushkin’s Sources: He didn’t invent it from scratch. He actively collected Russian folk tales from his nanny, Arina Rodionovna, and from published folklore collections of his time. He took the folk image of the whale-island and wove it into a structured, poetic narrative — giving it personality, a curse, and a redemptive arc.

So This is the wonderful tale as told by Pushkin in 1831

Settle in — here is the full, wondrous tale of Prince Gvidon, from its treacherous beginning to its glorious end.

The Tale of Tsar Saltan, of His Son the Glorious and Mighty Bogatyr Prince Gvidon, and of the Beautiful Swan-Princess

Part 1: The Envy & The Barrel

In a certain tsardom, in a certain land, there lived a Tsar Saltan. He married a beautiful maiden named Militrisa. But her two elder sisters — one a cook, the other a weaver — were green with envy.

When Tsar Saltan went off to war, the Tsaritsa gave birth to a son, a splendid boy. She sent a swift messenger to bring the glad tidings to the Tsar. But the jealous sisters waylaid the messenger. They replaced the true letter with a false one, which read:

“Your wife has borne you neither son nor daughter, neither mouse nor frog, but a strange, unknown little creature.”

The Tsar, in his sorrow and anger, sent back a cruel decree:
“Wait for my return. I shall decide what is to be done.”

The sisters intercepted this letter too. They forged a new order:
“Secretly, without delay, place the Tsaritsa and her offspring in a barrel, tar it, and cast it into the sea.”

The courtiers, though heartsick, dared not disobey the Tsar’s supposed command. And so, the young mother and her babe were sealed inside a dark, oaken barrel and rolled into the grey, sighing waves.

Part 2: The Island & The Prince

For a day and a night, the barrel tossed upon the deep. Inside, the infant grew—not by the year, but by the hour. He spoke to his weeping mother:
“Do not weep, Mother. Every cloud has a silver lining.”

And he pushed with his little feet against the staves. Crack! The barrel burst open on the shore of a wild, forested island.

They were free, but hungry and alone. The youth—now a strong lad—went to seek food. As he walked, he heard a cry. A great Kite-Bird was attacking a White Swan. With a well-aimed shot from his bow (fashioned from a branch and a string from his shirt), he struck the kite. It fell into the sea.

The Swan swam to the shore, looked at the youth with wise, grateful eyes, and spoke in a human voice:
“You have saved a princess. I shall not forget this, brave youth.”
And she flew away.

When he returned to his mother, he found a miracle. Where there was wilderness, now stood a walled city with golden domes, ringing bells, and a throng of people who poured from the gates, bowed, and hailed him as Prince Gvidon, their rightful ruler. The Swan’s magic had prepared his kingdom.

Part 3: The Longing & The Fly

Though prince of a beautiful realm, Gvidon longed for his father. Ships from across the world would sail past his island to the famed Tsardom of Saltan. Each time a merchant vessel passed, Gvidon would invite the crew, feast them, and ask:
“What wonders have you seen in the world?”

They spoke of a magical squirrel that gnaws golden nuts and sings songs, of thirty-three sea-knights led by Chernomor from the deep, and of a princess of such beauty that one could walk around her and see the world in her eyes.

And Gvidon’s heart ached, for he knew the tsar they spoke of was his own father, living in splendor, unaware his true heir lived.

The Swan-Princess, seeing his sorrow, would transform him. Once, she turned him into a mosquito. He flew across the sea, stung his wicked aunt-the-cook on the eye, and heard his father’s sighs of regret for his lost family. Another time, she made him a bumblebee, and he stung the aunt-the-weaver on the nose. Each time, he returned with a bittersweet report: his father remembered, but did not know the truth.

Part 4: The Ryba-kit & The Debt

One day, the sea-road to Saltan’s kingdom grew blocked. A great Whale-Fish, a living island, lay across the passage, groaning in agony. Upon its back were villages, forests, and ploughed fields. The Whale was known as the Ryba-kit. The villages that lived on it’s back, knew nothing about it being a whale. They believed it was an island. They built their village on it’s back. They hamered their fence stakes into its skin. With each blow the whale felt the pain all the way through it’s huge bones.

Gvidon, from the shore, called out:
“Why do you block the way, great Whale? Why do you groan so?”

The Whale answered, its voice like a deep, submerged bell:
“I am punished, young Prince. For my greed—for swallowing ships without a thought—I am cursed to lie here, to bear the weight of the world upon my back. My only release is to give back what I took.”

Moved by its plight, Gvidon sought the Swan’s aid. She told him:
“Deep in the sea, in a sunken casket, lies a ring of power. Retrieve it.”

Gvidon did as she instructed, and when he gave the ring to the Whale, a great shudder went through the giant creature. It opened its mighty jaws and released, not wrecks, but the very ships it had swallowed—whole, sailing, and crewed by amazed mariners.

The Whale was free. With a grateful, earth-shaking sigh, it took its cargo of surprised villagers to the shore then it sank beneath the waves and swam away into the deep blue. The sea-road was open once more. The Ryba-kit would never swallow a ship again.

Part 5: The Princess & The Reunion

When next the merchants spoke of the unseen beauty in Saltan’s court, Gvidon’s longing peaked. To the Swan, he confessed his desire for such a bride. The Swan was silent for a long moment, then said:
“But what if that princess… were I?”

She spread her wings, shed her feathers, and there stood a maiden of such radiant beauty that the moon hid in shame and the stars brightened to see her. It was she—the one the merchants spoke of.

“Will you take me as your bride, Prince Gvidon?”

Overjoyed, he did. And now, with a beautiful queen by his side, he prepared his final journey home.

He invited the merchants to a final feast, but instead of transforming, he loaded their ships with gifts and a simple message for Tsar Saltan:
“Come. Visit my island. See wonders you cannot imagine.”

Part 6: The Triumph & The Truth

Tsar Saltan, intrigued, set sail with his court and his two now-blind-and-humiliated sisters-in-law.

He was led through Gvidon’s city, where he saw:

1. The Golden Squirrel, singing in a crystal house.

1. The Thirty-Three Sea-Knights, emerging from the foam.

Wow what an awesome site this is. Thanks Grok your a star and thanks Deep Seek, your write awesome image prompts.

1. The Beautiful Princess—his new daughter-in-law.

And then, finally, in a sun-drenched garden, he saw Tsaritsa Militrisa. Time stood still. Recognition dawned. Tears flowed.

The truth was unveiled—the treachery of the letters, the cruel barrel, the miraculous salvation.

Tsar Saltan embraced his wife and his magnificent son. The wicked sisters fell to their knees, begging forgiveness. In his joy, Saltan pardoned them all.

And so, the tale ends with a great feast that lasted nine days and nine nights. Prince Gvidon ruled wisely with his Swan-Princess, and Tsar Saltan, having found his heart’s desire, often sailed the blue sea to visit the island that was built on magic, bravery, and a whale’s repaid debt.

How to Decorate an Aquarium in a Fantasy Style

In Pushkin’s fairy tale, a golden squirrel sings in a house of crystal… ✨🏠
Now you can bring that glow into your fish tank.
Presenting Gvidon’s Kingdom: Crystal Cove — where light dances through crystal formations and golden trees whisper old magic.
Serene, luminous, and full of story.

#FairyTaleTank #CrystalCove #AquariumArt #EnchantedFishTank #Pushkin #MagicalAquascape #TankBackground

1.“Gvidon’s Kingdom: Whale’s View” Background

Immerse your aquarium in the mythical depths of Russian folklore with this ethereal underwater scene. Inspired by Pushkin’s Tale of Tsar Saltan, this design captures the legendary island-kingdom of Prince Gvidon from the perspective of the great Ryba-kit—the enchanted whale that once carried it on its back.

Sunlight filters through the aquamarine waters, illuminating ancient wooden towers and golden onion domes perched atop lush cliffs. Below the surface, the island’s base merges with textures of weathered stone and mythical sea skin, adorned with bioluminescent flora. Serene, haunting, and rich in storytelling detail, this background transforms your tank into a window to a hidden magical world—where every glance feels like a dive into legend.

Perfect for low-light or planted tanks, this design adds depth, mystery, and a touch of old-world fairy tale to any aquatic environment.

Key Features:

• Mythical seascape with layered depth
• Soft aquatic lighting & ethereal glow
• No animals or people — pure enchanted landscape
• Designed to complement both freshwater and marine setups
• Printed on high-quality, non-toxic aquarium-safe material

Before we wrap up our post on The Sultan Tzar and The Images From The Story Being Our Aquarium Decorations

I decided to let you read the first verse of the poem when the Ryba-kit (whale) was introduced to the story. A hauntingly beautiful tale and one that I will try and get Deep Seek to let me read in full. At the moment I have the first 3 parts, from when Ryba-kit entered. Below is the translation of verse one into English and below that is the verse written in Russian. Deep Seek actually recounted the tale to himself in Russian and then translated it for me to be able to read. Quite impressive.

Enjoy everyone. Look out for me on Facebook, better still please join my aquarium and fish tank decor and decoration group. I have some awesome ideas ready to go as soon as I can get enough people in there. So please click the link below, and I will see you in the group, oh and you won’t miss a verse of our story.

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