Final Tank Setup

[Joshuakahan]

That is true, but the problem is is that you have to find expensive, highly realistic ones, and they don't provide any benefits other than hiding spaces and looks.

It depends what you like. These were all cheap plants. The trick is letting them look like crap for a bit until algae grows on them and then they begin to look more realistic. The light will also fade the color so they’re not so unnaturally bright over time.

 

[SilverArowanaBoi]

Well, I have some new news. Y'all may have noticed in the background of pics that I've taken recently that I still have the Royal Loriicarid. And while I've still have had it over the past couple of weeks, I haven't included it in posts since I first got it because I didn't think I was going to keep it. However, the fish changed my mind last night (via the way it came alive at night). So, with that, I'm going to keep him, and he is an official member of the pack. His name is Tezcacoatl (Aztec origin). Nickname is Tez.

Side note, once the archerfish is put in, and all the fish are fully grown, will the tank be overstocked? That is my greatest concern at this point.

 

[SilverArowanaBoi]

I've been meaning to do this for the fun of it, so here is a list of all the names of the fish I've named in the tank (which I think is everyone):

1. Red/White/Blue/etc. Discus: Mosaic

2. Yellow/Orange Discus: Sunburst

3. Striped Raphaels: Fat Man and Little Boy (you can guess which one is which)

4. Blue Phantom Pleco: Skipper (from the old Corsair character in Disney's Planes...that movie was my childhood lol)

5. Dwarf Acaras: Mademoiselle and Monsieur (the mustaches say it all)

6. Dwarf Gourami 1: Gardener (always tends to the plants)

7. Dwarf Gourami 2: Enkai (Japanese name meaning sea of flames)

8. Moonlight Gourami: Mochizuki (Japanese name meaning moonlight on a watermill), for short, Mochi.

9. Royal Loricariid: Tezcacoatl (Aztec origin), nickname, Tez.

10. Geophagus: Kanza (Native American name meaning hidden treasure (or wise).

11. Archerfish: Spitfire (name based on the WW2 British plane)

 

[SilverArowanaBoi]

Here is a small update and some pictures:




Update:

I cleaned the tank yesterday evening, and now everyone is happy again. I've been a little neglectful with the tank because I've been incredibly busy with school, but I finally got around to it, and everything looks 10 times better. I took the above pictures last night while the water was still clearing up, hence why it is cloudy.

I had to move my original dwarf gourami (Gardener) to the 10 gallon w/ the archerfish. Apparently, he is getting terribly harassed by his tankmates. I'm hoping the two get along in the 10-gallon tank and the gourami heals. Once he looks better, I'll move him back to the main tank.

Finally, I came up with a tank decor arrangement that I truly like with the decor that I have. As I've mentioned 100 times now, I do thoroughly intend to put live plants and new decor, but right now I don't have the funds for an overhaul like that, but it'll happen one day.

I'll be posting a few more pictures soon.

 

[AR1]

Those are some sick discus!

 

[SilverArowanaBoi]

Those are some sick discus!

Thank you!

 

[SilverArowanaBoi]

Feeding time:

 

[SilverArowanaBoi]

More Pictures:





These bois *sigh*

 

[SilverArowanaBoi]

Another Update:

Since I went picture happy on the last post, I'm not going to do too many this time haha. A couple of things have happened since my last post.

First, Gardener, my first dwarf Gourami, died. RIP. Basically, I screwed up and didn't catch the aggression against him in time, and he suffered for it. The lesson that I learned from this was that I need to look at the individual personalities of my fish rather than just assuming that all my fish will fit the stereotypes associated with them. Meaning, Gardener was very passive while his new partners were clearly much more feisty than him, and so they beat him up, and I just assumed he would fight back since dwarfs are known for a feistier nature, however, that was not the case with him. I don't intend to replace him, I will let my archerfish take that role.

Second, on a more positive note, I've basically overhauled the decor of my tank. I've completely redone it. As I mentioned in my 10 gallon tank thread, I bought a new piece of driftwood. It completely tannin stained my water so I decided to put it in the main tank, on top of that, I swapped rocks; lava stone is now in the 10 gallon while the maple leaf stone is in the main tank. Today I bought some more maple leaf stone and a crap ton of new plastic plants. I know, I've badmouthed plastic plants multiple times; however, I'm taking what I said back.

I then spent an hour redecorating the tank and for once, I'm actually slightly happy (lol) with the decor. Something about me is that when I have a project (such as decorating the fish tank), I always try to improve it, so I am never truly satisfied. This trait has not suited me well when it comes to choosing fish, but I'm working on taming it. Sometimes it is a good thing, and other times it is not so much. In the future, I plan on possibly adding some new rocks and maybe even some more driftwood. As for plants, I may or may not get more, I'll have to see what my family thinks.

Thank you for reading my little essay, and I will be posting pictures soon. For now, over and out.

 

[Ogertron3000]

I wouldnt mind seeing a picture of the new setup