While stopping in at the local Walmart for a few items, I happened across this unusual aquarium from Aquaculture. While I normally bypass the pet section at this retail establishment, and try to avoid this company altogether, the tiny aquarium with the bright red handles caught my eye. The Parallel aquarium, as it is called, is marketed for freshwater aquarists, but the built-in handles seem like they would make the tanks perfect for someone looking to have a modular breeding system where tanks could be swapped out with ease, and here’s why.
Breeding fish pairs are often kept in separate aquariums to prevent fighting with other fish and to preserve the all important bonds between the breeding fish. And because so many hobbyists are short on room for all of their aquariums, the tanks are usually small, though the total system volume might be fairly large. The Parallel aquariums provide a small space ideal for breeding pairs, and the handles allow users to move the aquariums around if they choose to remove a tank full of fry or a pair from their system for whatever reason (infections are the first thing that come to mind).
The big drawback to the Parallel aquarium, besides being a little too small, is the handles are too flimsy. They are made from the same plastic material that is used in the trim, but they can’t support too much weight. In fact, I’m positive that the handles weren’t designed to act as handles at all, but are merely design features. Ideally, if these were in fact handles, they should be able to support the full weight of an aquarium and the 2.5 gallons of water volume it holds. Unfortunately, the Parallel can’t hold the weight and therefore must be drained (at least partially) in order to move without breaking the plastic handles. We love the idea of the handles, hence the reason we even brought up the Parallel aquariums, but we’d really like to see someone making something similar that can hold at least some weight.
