How to decorate a tank?

[Cali]

Hey Cali

Real plants to not take much work at all.Actually maybe a little less because you dont have to vaccum as much.You just need to get the proper lighting is all.My angel tank is all real plants and they love it they hide in the plants and swim through them all the time.Go for real if you can I think angels much prefer real plants

PM me if you wanna see my 55 gallon

Thank you, angel lover.

 

[LoveMyOscar]

 

[Tempestuousfury]

Oh yeah. Here:

“The type of gravel used in a catfish tank is more important than for other fish. While many aquarium residents are oriented toward the substrate, they rarely sport the delicate barbells that give ‘cats’ their popular name. You must use rounded small-grained gravel or sand. Avoid sharply edged or glass-based substrate that could erode or wear away barbells. Additionally, provide a fine-grained bottom so that food does not disappear between stones. Remember that many popular cats like to sift sand, so choose the grain size accordingly. The size of the gravel should permit catfish to engage in natural behavior.
“When we consider elements like gravel, we move into the area of decoration. A choice of décor is personal, but there are some helpful basic principles to consider. Fluorescent colors may be a popular style, but they do overpower the color of the fish. White gravel will usually cause aquarium fish to one down their colors, as the natural reflex is to blend in to avoid predation. A darker-colored substrate will do the opposite, generally bringing out the ornate markings on the flanks of many Corydoras and Loricariid species.”

Elson, Gary, and Lucanus, Oliver. Catfish.

Check out a book from your library on tank setups. You'll get lots of info on plants, and they tell you how to care for special plants, what lights you should have, and they categorize plants into categories so you know which ones are easy or hard to care for.

 

[Cali]

LMO and temp, thank you very much.... I'm going to have to print this page out and take it to the store with me.

Thanks so much, everyone!

 

[rsz]

my advice is have natural coloured gravel (so much nicer imo) and loads and loads of plants i am useless at keeping plants alive, but i haven't killed any in my fish tank . then it will look so brilliant . the fish will look more beautiful too, swimming in and out of the plants. i agree about tall plants, but you could get some shorter ones too, to make it look nice. also, driftwood looks lovely in a fish tank - i didnt mind not having some before, but now i do, i think its great

 

[Cali]

i am useless at keeping plants alive

Me too. I've killed so many ferns.....



I'm really nervous about the idea of live plants.

 

[Tempestuousfury]

Don't buy them until you do research. All my plants are dying right now.

If you do buy them, they need CO2 at night, they need plant fertilizer, they need the right amount and duration of light, and some should be placed in the tank in a manner that's different from the others. For example, swords shouldn't have their crowns buried under the gravel, and java moss and ferns should be held onto stone of the gravel with the help of rubber bands or weights.

 

[Cali]

they need CO2 at night, they need plant fertilizer, they need the right amount and duration of light, and some should be placed in the tank in a manner that's different from the others. For example, swords shouldn't have their crowns buried under the gravel, and java moss and ferns should be held onto stone of the gravel with the help of rubber bands or weights.

silk and platic plants for me, I see.

 

[Bol]

Cali,

I'd suggest not being overwhelmed by some of the plant info that you see, about how difficult it is.

With the proper research (preferably done beforehand ), and choosing the right plants for your conditions (what fish you have, and what lights you decide to go with, etc.), you can in fact successfully grow plants ...

without buying hundreds of dollars worth of substrate
without buying super-expensive lights
without injecting CO2 (which, by the way, plants use during the "day", not at "night")
without dosing with six fertilizers every day
without an hour of maintenance a day

It's just like many hobbies, in my opinion. You can have plants, or you can have PLANTS!, depending on how far you want to get into it. Here's an analogy: think about outdoor gardening.

Some people will completely landscape every inch of their yards, fertilize every specific plant regularly, water daily, mow the lawn every five days, do general maintenance a couple times a week, and keep every plant meticulously trimmed. Their yards generally look pretty impressive.

However, many people will mow their lawn three times a month, plant a few bushes, maybe a few flowers, maybe water them every once in a while, and clean up once in the spring, and once before winter. Their plants usually do pretty well and stay healthy, there's not a whole lot of work or expense involved, and their yards end up looking pretty attractive, and are a source of pleasure and pride.

Is either approach "wrong"? No, not in my opinion. As long as someone in the second group chooses the right plants (ones that don't require a lot of care, and are pretty hardy), and realize that their yards aren't going to look like Japanese gardens, then all is well.

Same with your aquarium. If you choose plants that meet your conditions (usually hardy, low-light plants for beginners) and keep your water clean (which of course you'd do anyway just for the sake of your fish), and keep your lights on for 10-12 hours per day, chances are you can get pretty good results, without a lot of problems.

Can you grow bunches of rotala with 15 watts of light over a 30 gallon tank? Doubtful.
Will your tank look like a Dutch tank, or an aquascaping contest winner? Nope.

But, chances are, you'll end up with some healthy, good-looking plants (maybe after one or two "oops"es) that will provide both aesthetic and chemical benefits for you and your fish.

Since it doesn't seem that anyone has mentioned it yet, I'd suggest browsing over at Plantgeeks. Partilularly, the Plant Profile section. **Caution: If you browse the forums there, you can find a lot of really good information and nice people, but keep in mind that quite a few people that post there are really seriously "into" plants. Try not to let that overwhelm you. The weekend gardener can still learn a lot from the Japanese garden landscpaer, even if they end up using methods for different results.

 

[wuvmybetta]

I've never had much luck with live plants, my loaches would really do a number on them.
The ONLY plant I've ever had luck with (no trouble,very easy to grow) is Thai Onion, I loved it! I have a 42 hex and the onion grew over 3 feet tall! it looked really neat laying across the surface and swaying in the filter. Sadly, I chopped the bulbs with the gravel vac and destroyed them

Here's a link to some, this is the seller I purchased mine from, I'd recommend 3 or 4 bulbs for a very full background


http/cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...&category=20757

 

[Tempestuousfury]

Sorry if my info seemed overwhelming. I shouldn't have posted it, but it's there, so oh well.

You could easily find plants that are easily grown and reproduced. I've got a java fern in my incandescent-light five gallon, and it's not only doing well, but it's reproducing! There are some very resilient plants that you could use; the ones you choose don't have to be hard to grow.

By the way, if you plan on adding fish to the tank taht will most likely have fry, you could also add java moss and other plants of that sort. They make the tank appear better, IMO, and they help use nitrates if there's a huge builup iof it and they prevent algae growth.

There are many tricks with pkant and fish keeping, and you don't have to follow any set rules. You can get a pretty good-looking tank without having to buy hi-maintanence plants. heck, if you start off with easily-cared-for [plants, then you can gradually move on to harder-to-grow and more beautiful plants.