Aquscaping with Monster Fish...need inspiration and advice

[Abyss]

Guys and girls, I'm really struggling with aquascaping my monster tank.

My tank is 108" x 27" x 28".

I've got quite a few big catfish (walking, giraffe, leopard plec), a big shoal of silver dollars, silver sharks and tinfoil barbs, a few severums and a Silver Arowana.

I'm finding it hard to achieve a balance between the tank looking attractive, meeting the needs of the fish (hiding places, retreats), and quite simply - the larger fish moving stuff around.

I have two massive pieces of bogwood either end of the tank at the moment, I don't like that at all. But, I know the fish like it as they can separate from each other and hide. I also have some large pipes, which again are great, but look awful. Some plastic plants as the silver dollars destroy everything else. And finally, I've got some reasonably large river cobbles. Which I did pile up a little...but the large giraffe catfish pushes them about with ease. The bubble curtain is constantly turned up as well by the fish. My substrate is play sand.

I need some inspiration and advice. Perhaps some photos of similar setups. Coming from a heavily scaped Malawi tank, it's a very different experience owning monsters!

 

[Aqua Nut]

Guys and girls, I'm really struggling with aquascaping my monster tank.

My tank is 108" x 27" x 28".

I've got quite a few big catfish (walking, giraffe, leopard plec), a big shoal of silver dollars, silver sharks and tinfoil barbs, a few severums and a Silver Arowana.

I'm finding it hard to achieve a balance between the tank looking attractive, meeting the needs of the fish (hiding places, retreats), and quite simply - the larger fish moving stuff around.

I have two massive pieces of bogwood either end of the tank at the moment, I don't like that at all. But, I know the fish like it as they can separate from each other and hide. I also have some large pipes, which again are great, but look awful. Some plastic plants as the silver dollars destroy everything else. And finally, I've got some reasonably large river cobbles. Which I did pile up a little...but the large giraffe catfish pushes them about with ease. The bubble curtain is constantly turned up as well by the fish. My substrate is play sand.

I need some inspiration and advice. Perhaps some photos of similar setups. Coming from a heavily scaped Malawi tank, it's a very different experience owning monsters!

Hey there i am working on a huge build right now for that exact thing. I want to go a lot more of a show style though. If you google nature aquaiums on google you will get a better idea of what i am thinking. I am building this tank for my large Rivulatus. (green terror) I highly suggest looking up the rule of thirds when trying to setup an aquascape as it will really give you a better idea on placement. One thing i noticed when planning a tank for bigger fish is to make sure you leave wide enough spaces for your fish to pass so they don't just ram through the plants. I can send you a few links if you are still looking for ideas or easy plants that might work.

 

[philipraposo1982]

Hey aquanaut, not to detail the thread but do you got any recent photo of your gt?

 

[Aqua Nut]

Hey aquanaut, not to detail the thread but do you got any recent photo of your gt?

Yeah for sure. He is about 7 inches now. He is getting moved out of here anyday to start our build

 

[Fat Homer]

I tend to try and find large pieces of wood that fit in the tank and create caves and hiding spots for the fish by interlocking the wood pieces as best i can to try and avoid the fish moving the deco around...

Then between gaps will place in different sized anubias plants or crypts...

 

[Experiment397]

I realize this has been quiet for weeks but just thought I'd add this. Tank has numerous polys, eels, catfish and other species that are supposedly "plant killers" I don't see why something like this would be difficult to do in a larger setup. As long as you have an ample mix of open swimming/laying space and dense hiding areas the fish shouldn't be tempted to rip up the plants while they are trying to hide or just swim around. Coming from a job where half my time was spent designing Vivariums I can't stand barren tanks of any kind anymore

 

[Fat Homer]

^ thats pretty much what my 200G looks like, and still requires putting plants back every now and then

 

[freak78]

I use pieces of driftwood that are heavy and if they get moved around they they fall in a certain direction. Or I use large rocks to kind of brace the wood in a specific way but make it look natural. My plants just have a weighted base to them which I can easily put back into place. It's a balance cause I still want open spaces for them to swim but still have something in there for cover.

 

[Aqua Nut]

Update on my Riv tank... I am adding him in here today but this is what i went for.

 

[philipraposo1982]

Sweet, room around the back to swim? What size tank is it?