Adjusted substrate for the heterospila

[Sinister-Kisses]

I posted not long ago that I'd moved the heterospila and juvenile marbled fenestratus from the 8ft, 135gal to the 6ft, 135gal and taken the opportunity to change the substrate. The 8ft tank had a mix of black and natural brown gravel which the fish looked fantastic over - coloured up just right, not too dark and not too light - but I hated the look of. Wanted to switch to a more natural sand, but after failing to find a dark natural colour I liked, I used Caribsea "Crystal River" which was really light and did exactly what I was afraid of - washed the fish right the hell out. So then I had to brain storm and search for a solution, preferably something I could add to the existing sand as I didn't want to have to haul it all out again. Finally decided on this mix - adding Marina natural beach pebble (larger stones) and Marina natural gravel (regular sized aquarium gravel) to the sand for a darker, but more natural look. Has only been a couple of days so the fish are PO'd and hiding from me - hence the empty looking tank lol - but it looks much better and already the colours on the fish are darkening up as they were before. I'm still getting used to it, but I think I'm happy with it at this point.

First photo is the before, with just the sand that washed them out, and then with the rock addition.

 

[tlindsey]

I posted not long ago that I'd moved the heterospila and juvenile marbled fenestratus from the 8ft, 135gal to the 6ft, 135gal and taken the opportunity to change the substrate. The 8ft tank had a mix of black and natural brown gravel which the fish looked fantastic over - coloured up just right, not too dark and not too light - but I hated the look of. Wanted to switch to a more natural sand, but after failing to find a dark natural colour I liked, I used Caribsea "Crystal River" which was really light and did exactly what I was afraid of - washed the fish right the hell out. So then I had to brain storm and search for a solution, preferably something I could add to the existing sand as I didn't want to have to haul it all out again. Finally decided on this mix - adding Marina natural beach pebble (larger stones) and Marina natural gravel (regular sized aquarium gravel) to the sand for a darker, but more natural look. Has only been a couple of days so the fish are PO'd and hiding from me - hence the empty looking tank lol - but it looks much better and already the colours on the fish are darkening up as they were before. I'm still getting used to it, but I think I'm happy with it at this point.

First photo is the before, with just the sand that washed them out, and then with the rock addition.

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That looks very nice.

 

[danotaylor]

Very clean and natural look! Nicely done
Now for some pics with the fish enjoying their newly rescaped environment

 

[Sinister-Kisses]

lol when they've stopped being such skittish little buggers, I'll see what I can do. Thanks!

 

[jjohnwm]

Huge improvement! A bed of uniformly fine, clean sand is okay, but IMHO a mixture of several grades and colours has an infinitely nicer, more natural look to it. And, of course, any background colour can look great...as long as it's black...

I did the same thing recently with a couple tanks, and in my case I keep the mixture stirred up so that there are spots with mostly sand visible interspersed with other areas that are largely gravel and pebbles on top. If you let it sit too long then all the fine stuff sifts into the interstices between the larger stuff and settles to the bottom leaving only gravel on top, and I'm not fond of that look. It also gets in the way of burrowers or sand-sifters, so I want a significant area of the bottom left clear for them.

 

[Lyrar2000]

I'm sure the fish will come out of hiding soon once they get used to the new setup.

use of Caribsea "Crystal River" sand combined with Marina natural beach pebble and gravel sounds like a thoughtful solution to achieve a natural yet visually appealing look.

 

[ken31cay]

I think it looks really good. You've inspired me to order some natural assorted colored river rocks to add into my 750gal setup.

 

[troublesum]

Not to be a party pooper i actually like it with just the sand, Also i think vacuum the gravel makes it a little bit more difficult

 

[Sinister-Kisses]

Not to be a party pooper i actually like it with just the sand, Also i think vacuum the gravel makes it a little bit more difficult

Not really at all.

The sand looked okay, but incredibly pale and washed out fish did not

 

[newworld]

The sand gravel combo I’ve seen in many Central American habitats way more than just sand..