PlanetCatfish.com

The tank is a RIO 300 (size 121x55x60, approx 67Gallons)

I combined 2 tanks to one big one because my Geophagus tapajos were not happy in my Trigon 190 and the 3 tanks I have take a lot of time to maintain properly so this saves me some time

Inhabitants:

3x Geophagus Tapajos
2x Uaru Fernandezyepezi
2x Mikrogeophagus Altispinosa
1x Apteronotus albifrons
6x L260
2x Ancistrus sp.
14x Corydoras Sterbai
8x Nannostomus Marginatus

very nice. i like those eartheaters especially!

Lovely new tank, Maarten! I've always been interested in Nannostomus species. What has your experience been with them?

I used to have them in my smallest tank (60l) but for some reason the water went bad and most of the fish died, except for the Nannostomus.. so I moved them to my L260 tank where I did not have any fish in the upper layer.. so with the merging of the tanks they moved along. They form a happy school between my floating plants I think I'm going to buy some more (they cost â?¬1,- a piece or so to get a group of 15-20

Do you have a website with more info? do they every breed in a tank?

Wow very nice tank. Lovely pl*co in the first picture. I alao love the way the driftwood is positioned. All in all a very nice gathering of fish, and an amazing tank.

like the sand substrate - very clean

Very nice tank I really like the sand, what kind is it/where did you get it? I'm getting ready to set up a 75gal instead of a 40-breeder, and am thinking of sand for the subsrate either black or something light like yours. It will also be planted with some driftwood, thanks and once again great looking tank!!

Don't know what sand Maarten used, but you can buy "Play sand", which is usually a blend of different sources of sand, which is soft, rounded (not sharp) and neutral pH. It's available from DIY places [I prefer Wickes in the UK, but I don't know what place is good in the US, Home Depot or maybe even Walmart would probably have it]. Only "drawback" is that you get to buy 25 kg (or 50 lbs or something) in a bag, and it costs about the same as two small (2.5kg/5lbs) bags at the fish-shop.

You need to wash it before you put it in the tank. Put about 2 inches thick in a builders bucket, fill with water, stir vigorously. Let it settle for a few seconds, pour off the water. Repeat until the water is clear once it settles, which will probably take about 5-6 rinses. Repeat until you have enough sand for your tank.

Note also that you shouldn't lay the sand very thick, 3/4" (0.75" = 2cm) max, because it is quite compact, and you can get problems with anaerob breakdown, which is when it breaks down with no air. Anaerob breakdown makes the water stink and the fish may get poisoned by the breakdown products. This is less of an issue if you have some really active diggers, like adult "large" cory's, earth eaters (like Maarten), Kuhli loaches, etc.

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Mats

Thanks for the reply Mats, yea I had thought about playsand just thought it might be a little to bright.

can you get black sand for the aquarium, because no one sells it near me. im thinking about playsand for my new tank, but i think i might just get really small gravel. i mean the minute stuff, oh wait, my otos wont enjoy that, i suppose with the addition of some large boulders, theyll like it

Very nice tank, and a very nice combination of fish too. So the Uarus leave the plants alone? The Geophagus, are they one male to two females? No fighting between the cichlids? We had Geophagus Tapajos at work, and at spawning they were quite aggressive (for a Geophagus).