My 20 US gallon high tank + Loach pictures

[021414]

Hi Everyone,

I have finally gotten around to posting some pictures of my tank and some of my favorite loach pictures. Enjoy!


A frontal view of my tank (almost fully converted to real plants).


A frontal view of my tank with mostly fake plants. Note, the Black Skirt Tetra is now living in a friends tank with 4 other Black Skirt Tetras.


My CAE behaving for now.


Plangio oblonga playing slinky. Sorry for the scratched glass.


Pangio kuhlii and Pangio oblonga shoaling together (...I think).

[DainBramage1991]

That's a nice looking setup!

[Dojosmama]

Your loaches are beautiful.

Have you considered floating live plants, such as hornwort or anacharis (elodea) to add to those which are planted in the substrate? I really like the way your tank looked when you had the fakes in it, primarily because of the vivid green floater. It framed your visual scenery in a really nice way, and live floaters will do the same. They're really easy to maintain -- just let them float in the water at the surface, and trim them back a bit if they grow too profusely. Maybe a few more live plants will help fill out the open space. Looks a little sparce right now, but maybe when they grow bigger the scene will be fuller.

Java moss is also a nice floater, and since you have a prefilter sponge on your intake tube, there shouldn't be any problem with pieces of it going up into your filter.

Just a couple of suggestions -- the planted version looks a bit barren, right now, compared to the other.

-- Dojosmama

[redshark1]

THx for posting!

[021414]

Your loaches are beautiful.

Have you considered floating live plants, such as hornwort or anacharis (elodea) to add to those which are planted in the substrate? I really like the way your tank looked when you had the fakes in it, primarily because of the vivid green floater. It framed your visual scenery in a really nice way, and live floaters will do the same. They're really easy to maintain -- just let them float in the water at the surface, and trim them back a bit if they grow too profusely. Maybe a few more live plants will help fill out the open space. Looks a little sparce right now, but maybe when they grow bigger the scene will be fuller.

Java moss is also a nice floater, and since you have a prefilter sponge on your intake tube, there shouldn't be any problem with pieces of it going up into your filter.

Just a couple of suggestions -- the planted version looks a bit barren, right now, compared to the other.

-- Dojosmama

I completely agree. What I didn't like about the fake planted tank was that I felt the tiger barbs didn't have enough room to swim around, but I do want a similar effect perhaps with a less bushy look. Unfortunately, anacharis is a super invasive species here in the city of Merced, and although its widely available, I don't want to contribute to the local problem of it wiping out our natural aquatic plant life in our creeks. I will look into the Java moss and hornwort since those aren't invasive here. I will probably have to order them online since my LFS has such a limited selection of aquatic plants. I will have to order some plans online, probably through liveaquaria, but its kind of expensive in my opinion. Any other reliable sources for ordering aquatic plants in the US?

[Dojosmama]

Foster and Smith, and Pet Solutions both have printed catalogs as well as online. You can request one free, I believe. They sell aquatic plants, but you have to ask specifically for the aquarium catalog for F&S, because they also put out a separate one for ponds. Unless you'd like to try some pond plants in your tank ...

-- Dojosmama

[021414]

Foster and Smith, and Pet Solutions both have printed catalogs as well as online. You can request one free, I believe. They sell aquatic plants, but you have to ask specifically for the aquarium catalog for F&S, because they also put out a separate one for ponds. Unless you'd like to try some pond plants in your tank ...

-- Dojosmama

I have looked at Foster and Smith, but the shipping is kinda pricey in my opinion. I will look into Pet solutions though. Thanks!

[NancyD]

You can also get plants from other hobbyists depending on what you want. Check plant & fish forums or join a club. I'm in a plant club, SFBAAPS, & there are others in CA. I'm not sure where Merced is as far as driving distance but SVAS meets in San Jose (monthly) & BAAPS (locations change) could be worth checking out, clubs are fun.