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Hey all,
I just wanted to put up my 25 gallon Amazonian tank my some constructive criticism - I'm very pelased with it, but in my opinion perfection is a myth, so tips, comments etc. are welcome!

The substrat is a mixture of sand/fine gravel and a few smooth pebbles, and the tank decorated with some large pieces of drift wood and plants (Giant vallisneria, Onionplant, Anubias barteri, Cryptocorynes and Lizard's Tail - not all S.A. plants, I know...)
Water is treated with HS NegroCell, a natural black water/peat extract, and the plants are given a weekly dose of HS Liquid Plant Fertilizer.
Filtration is done by an Eheim Classic 2213 and a Ferplast Blumodular 01 internal filter (225 gallons/hour), and extra currents are provided by a small 150 gallons/hour powerhead.

Inhabitants are 3 baby Royal Pleco's (2,5-3,5") and 2 baby Pseudacanthicus leopardus (1,25-3") - I'm aware that each of them will become too big for the tank, but for now they are fine - and I have 50 and 80 gallon tanks standby.
Besides these fish, a number of Corydoras pygmaeus, Apistogramma cacatuoides and Silver Hatchetfish call this tank their home.

Anyways, here is the picture:


Taken 5 weeks ago ago


Taken last week


Like I said, comments, remarks, tips and suggestions are welcome

Nice Tank

thats one nice tank what kinda driftwood is that?

It seems very roomy for a 25, so your proportion of size of fish to tank must be good! At least, for now; as you said they will grow. Your Crinium looks good - very strappy. Do you cut the ends when they get too long?

thats one nice tank what kinda driftwood is that?

Yes, I'd like to know that, too. Did you collect it? I'm not sure I have a criticism. It's a bit artistic and open, but in a way it looks a lot like a stream bed, except for the Anubias. I can't see your lizard's tail. I have that, too. I collected it locally. It grew big leaves for a while and then developed smaller, submersed ones.
Deborah

Thanks for your replies, peeps

Zebra: I'm not sure what type of wood it is, but it was cheap considering the size (about 25 euro's for both large pieces) - it seems quite poreous, it's not hard but it also doesn't decay (it was very dry, and became waterlogged within 3 days). The Royal Pleco's seem to love it, as all three spend most of the day on that large piece on the left, very close to each other.

Deb: I know the Anubias isn't a Neotropical plant, but it was a last-ditch effort to have some leafy plants in the tank - I tried Swords before, but they were stripped of their leafs in no-time. Do you know an alternative for the Anubias that in your mind would match the jungle creek theme better?
The same leaf stripping happened to the Lizard's Tail as well btw., because of which all that is left are a few small new sprouts (the green leafs in the back of the tank, to the left of the Vallisneria in the tank center).
The leafs of the Crinum tend to become yellowish and slimy over time, so I cut those pieces off. But the remainder of the plant has a good color and the base of the leafs are firm, so I hope they will regrow again over time.

The reason the tank may appear roomy (at least I hope) is because I didn't use the traditional orientation of the decor towards the back (from front to back increasing in height). Instead, I used an imaginary line running from left to right in the tank's center to place the drift wood (with branches towards both the front and back tank wall), and draped the plants around that. That way, the more secretive fish don't have the chance to stay in the back portion of the tank too much, which I think will have a positive influence on their shyness. The 2 small L114 are out of sight (secretive little buggers they are), which means the fish can hide if the want to, yet the Royals stay out in the open even when I get close (which I see as a sign that they feel comfortable and at ease).
I'm glad to hear that you think it looks like a stream bed, because that's exactly what I had in mind when 'designing' this set-up.


Thanks again for your feedback: it's appreciated!

I think you've done a great job on the layout of the tank and I totally agree with your method of not stacking all the wood up the back. I've found that the more wood in the tank, the more you will see shy fish.

It really looks great ! Illustrative book material !

Tank looks great, very natural looking

do u have any special plant stuff to help thyem grow or keep them alive?

redzebra24 wrote:do u have any special plant stuff to help thyem grow or keep them alive?

I use NegroCell black water extract and liquid fertilizer (forgot the exact name of it), both made by HS Products. Other than that I keep the lights on for about 12 hours per day, no salt (not even a maintenance dosage), and 15-20% water changes/gravel vaccuuming 3-4 times per week. And on sunny days, direct sunlight reaches the tank in the early morning hours. Seems to work well (only problem is that the Vallisneria and Crinum tend to get yellow and mushy on the leaf ends - luckily the new growth keeps the total leaf length about the same).


Thanks for your compliments, guys