A glow-in-the-dark aquarium decoration can be a super cool and surreal option for your tank. Like clownfish, neon tetras, GloFish, and platinum angelfish, some fish glows under blacklight. So, having glowing decorations in a tank with these fish can look spectacular when you turn on GloFish lights or blacklights. Some of these decorations even glow in the dark without special lighting.
Small tanks decked out all in glow decorations can be great fun for a kid’s first tank, but I’ve even seen adults do classy built-in tanks glow style. Glow decor can even work great for people who like the look of a saltwater aquarium but don’t want to deal with the upkeep or expense.
There are glow decorations for every aesthetic. My favorite elements to add to glowing aquariums include glowing mushrooms, rocks, and plastic sea corals and anemones.
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Top 5 Glow in the Dark Aquarium Decorations to Choose from
The top 5 glow in the dark aquarium decorations I recommend will probably vary in appeal, but I think you’ll find at least something on this list that will suit your tastes.
Glowing Effect Artificial Mushroom
We’ve only discovered one aquatic mushroom, Psathyrella Aquatica, in real life. However, more could still be out there to discover. I like to imagine that they’re as colorful as coral, like these artificial glowing mushrooms.
In normal white light, these plastic aquarium mushrooms are bright neon. Under blue or purple LED lights, they have more of a glowing effect. The mushrooms stay securely on the bottom of your tank with the help of a small suction cup.
You can use them or add them to a forest or fairy scene. Your imagination is the only limit.
At 4.3 and 3.6 inches long, they’re small enough even for nano tanks.
Glowing Blue Rocks
Glowing rocks can make an excellent substrate for your tank. Not only are they pretty under a regular aquarium light, but they produce a dreamy glow when you turn off your aquarium tank at night.
You will need to expose them to light for 2-3 hours before they glow, and the longer their exposure to light, the brighter their glow.
Oubest sells packages that contain one, 100, 200, or 500 stones each. Getting a single stone is a good idea for a bowl aquarium. The single-stone option is a much larger rock at 1.8×1.2 inches. The larger packages contain jelly-bean-sized rocks. The company suggests not stacking any of the stones on top of each other. So, you need just enough to cover the bottom of your tank.
My favorite ones are the blue-colored rocks since they’re so serene. However, you can choose from the following options as well:
- Multi-colored neon rocks
- Neon green rocks
- Neon-colored starfish and shells
57 Glowing Plants
If you would like a freshwater tank that looks like a saltwater tank or have a saltwater tank and don’t want to deal with natural plants and corals, these glowing plants may be precisely what you need.
The package contains:
- 50 dark blue rocks that glow under blue, black, or purple light
- Feather coral (3.54 x 2.36 x 3.94 inches)
- Pink sucker coral (2.76 x 3.15 x 3.15 inches)
- Green anemone (19.69 inches)
- Lotus leaf rockery (3.15 x 3.94 inches)
- Orange, blue, and green jellyfish (2.17 x 2.17 x 6.3 inches)
The set looks fantastic in a tank with neon rocks and fish that glow under a blacklight. Use just a couple of the decorations or all of them, depending on your tank size. However, they produce quite an impressive effect if you’re able to combine them all.
GloFish Aquarium Gravel
My favorite substrate for glow aquariums is GlowFish aquarium gravel. While it has the GloFish branding, you don’t have to have GloFish to use it as the substrate in your glow aquarium.
The gravel appears brighter and more vibrant under GloFish LED lights. They also look nice under any blue-wavelength light, including halogen, LED, or fluorescent lights.
GloFish aquarium gravel comes in a variety of colors:
- Black mixed with pink, green, and blue neon
- Black and white
- Neon green
- Neon pink
- Pink, green, and blue mixed
- Frosted white
- Black
The black gravel doesn’t glow. However, you can use it for a dark background that allows your glowing fish and other glowing stones or decorations to really stand out.
When they made these packages, I think they had a fishbowl in mind. However, I’ve found that you’ll need 2-4 bags to fill the bottom of a 10-gallon tank (about 200 square inches), so order accordingly.
Glowing Coral Plant Decorations
Another set of glowing decorations that I like with a saltwater theme is this set of glowing plastic coral and anemone plant decorations.
- Two corals (4 x 2.4 x 1.8 inches and 7.8 x 3.5 x 2.3 inches)
- Luminous silicone leaves (3.1 x 3.1 inches)
- Anemone (19 x 3.9 x 3.9 inches)
What sets this collection apart is the 19-inch-tall anemone. However, you’ll need to measure your tank before ordering because most tanks under 50 gallons aren’t that tall, and even some over 50 gallons have more length than height.
I also find these decorations to look more subtle and realistic than some other plastic glow aquarium decorations. They look best under blue or purple light.
Video: My First Glow In The Dark Aquarium!
Summary
There are so many cool things to put in a fish tank. For example, adding glow-in-the-dark aquarium decorations to your tank can create a fantastic underwater seascape, especially if you have fish that look nice under glow lights.
My go-to when I’m creating a glowing aquarium are GloFish aquarium rocks. I especially like the black ones with neon green, pink, and blue rocks because they add an extra pop of color below.
For an incredible tank, consider combining glow rocks and decorations. Whatever you do, you’re sure to be happy with the results.
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