Panorama picture

[connor]

Hi *@*,

I did some re-decorating in my loach community tank .. good enough reason to post a new picture.

I threw out the bamboo tubes .. pretty but they were rotting too much for my liking. These 40mm PVC tubes are definitely not pretty but more healthy I guess (tried to hide them a little). Added new wood to the right-hand side and built some nice new caves. Powerhead at the top right is also new, I now have 2x 1000 L/h and 1x 600 L/h flow from the powerheads alone in this 300 L / 79 gallons tank. Most of the wood is placed in such a way that both long sides are free for the fish to swim, also the current goes in a nice circular motion because of this. Plants are anubias barleti which are growing quite nicely, though the loaches try their best to massacre them.


(Shot taken without flash @ ISO 800, 1/34sec exposure time, hence the slight motion blurs)

Any comments are welcome.

-Connor

[Finnatic]

Hi,

You have a beautiful set up - except for the PVC pipes.

The drfit wood etcetera should provide plenty of hiding places for your CLs. Or, place some earthen pots here and there if you must have so many hiding places for them.

Just my humble suggestion.

[connor]

Thanks

I would throw out the PVC pipes in a blink if my loaches wouldn't love them so much. They always sleep in them and prefer them over all other caves, at least for the night. So I guess they stay in until I find some more beautifully coloured tubes that won't rot.

-Connor

[starsplitter7]

How about rolling the tubes in sand after putting aquarium sealing glue on the tubes? Then the tubes look like the sand.

[helen nightingale]

my first reaction was: Nice pipes! i think they are great. if they are good for for the fish, then thats most important

[Dirk_H.]

Hello,

It's nice, but the cichlid at the wrong place.

Best regards
Dirk

[chefkeith]

Pipes rule. If anything put more pipes in there.

[connor]

@ chefkeith

Couldn't agree more. Tubes and loaches are kind of made for another. Loaches were a horror of mine to net in before I added tubes. Now they're the easiest fish to catch.

@ starsplitter7
I had thought about doing that with my gravel but wasn't sure ...

I think I got accustomed to them now. They're not pretty, agreed, but watching the loaches using them kind of pays back for that.

@ Dirk_H.
I know there are some valid arguments that support your opinion. All I can say is .. I think the cichlid is happy in my tank. Personality-wise he's an amazing match for the loaches ('Jack' is very loachy himself). Zero aggression.

-Connor

[ctabone]

Absolutely beautiful tank.

Another tube suggestion would be to wedge them in between the wood and the gravel, sort of underneath everything (a strategy I used after redoing my tank).

Regardless, it looks quite stunning.

[Rubix]

Beautiful tank connor, beautiful Definitely keep the PVC. You can easily hide it with plants and moss.

[mistergreen]

Loaches definitely love the pipes.. Maybe put the pipes in the substrate or behind the woods... They like their privacy.

[capeldrae]

Great set-up Connor.
I would hide the pipes if it was my set-up, but it's not.

[bslindgren]

I would hide the pipes if it was my set-up, but it's not.

There's some good tips on how to do that in the loach book. Lovely setup either way, and the loaches probably couldn't care less about the aesthetics of the pipes.....

[palaeodave]

The pipes are no more unsightly than the powerheads we all have in our tanks. Their function is the most important thing but I don't think they're ugly enough to have much effect on such a lovely tank. Great work.

[starsplitter7]

I agree. You tank is beautiful, and your fish look so happy.

I only mentioned the sand on the pipes, because you said you thought they were not pretty. Personally the pipes don't bother me at all, and I think we should build our tanks for our fish.

I have pipes in my tanks too. Thy don't bother me at all, and they make my fish happy.

Beautiful Tank!