As requested in the newbie forum, my tank

Hi guys

Well there were quite a few requests after my intro. Thanks for the very friendly welcome! This is my one and only 3 foot tank, in the lounge and more interesting than the tv it sits next to.

Sorry, they are not the very best pics of all time, and it's only two for now, but I hope they convey the idea. I have tried to keep the file size smaller, but can post bigger pics if that is considered better. The first is from the front, the second is down the side and has pleco's cucumber in the foreground. The clown and coolie loaches enjoy that too, as do the mollies and the snails lol.

I would love to hear your comments, nothing too harsh though please, constructive is good!

 

verry nice
Youve got the perfect ballance beween green and swim space for the fish.
What is the red in the front right corner

 

Looks good

 

Glad you like it

Thanks Stormbringer

In a sense this tank is a bit of an experiment, to see what works and what does not, and I am rather happy with the way it has turned out. The fish certainly seem to like the space available to them, spending a lot of time swimming between and under the plants, so I think it is fairly well spaced.

When I got the coolie loaches I read that you should have "rounder" gravel, so that they don't hurt themselves moving over it. The red is gravel of much smaller grains, and they used to stay around that side because there are some little caves in the rock there, but since the plants have grown and I provided a chinese tea-cup as a home on the other side they seem to move all over. The red gravel provides a colour difference, not sure how wild I am about it though. The plants find it harder to grow there, although they are slowly colonising it.

Here's another pic more from that side so you can see it better.

 

I think it looks great. Thanks for posting the pics.

I agree, we often sit for ages looking at the tanks in the lounge rather than watching TV - it's SO much more interesting and a bonus is that we aren't watching a 'repeat'

 

Veegal, I have also yet to see my fish advertise anything with wings, yogurt to reduce bloating or cell phones! Uninterrupted programming 24/7

 

The tank looks good. lol My fiance always ask's me something he has missed on the tv and i cant answer coz i have been watching my fish. The best show in town

 

Dung - that gives me an idea - I am thinking of little "Fish Nook" banners that are attached to your fish, so as thay swim around you get these small adverts !!!!

 

I'd love to see that Gavin!

 

That is a nice looking setup, is it normal to have the gravel built up so high?

 

I have no idea, that's how much gravel they gave me when I bought the tank lol. A couple of things that might have made it neccessary:

- it originally came with undergravel filters
- I like plants, so they need something to grow in.

Dunno though, almost everything about this continues to be a learning experience for me

 

its personal choice and plant preference i suppose, its doesn't have any negative effect, other than harbouring A LOT of MTSnails i suppose

 

I must be really lucky then, cos I just read your Snail ID thread and found that I only have small ramhorns. Phew!

 

they do multiply quite a bit as well, i've spotted a few of them in my tiny tank, and seen their munched trails on some plants in it, but a keep em in the tiny tank only, the one in my main tank has vanished, so its either hiding or got eaten by cories/applesnail/something else

if you have to much, lure them out with blanched lettuce, next morning take out the leftovers with the lethargic snails still munching on it

 

They do eat the plants a little, if you look at the first pic you'll see some snail damage, but it's really not so bad that I worry about it. And yes, when there are too many I just whip them out on the cucumber they're attached to