Hillstream Aquarium - Your Opinions And How To Improve

[fishguy1223]

Hello, this is my first post on here. So hi! Here I'll be showing you my 60x30x30 cm hillstream biotope (so 15 gallons), and I'd like you to say how I could improve it. Right now I don't like it too much as it seems too messy in my opinion, and also too full and in your face (as in the rocks just seem to stick out and obstruct too much), I'm very ocd with this tank in particular and I havent ever done a scape that im more than 80% happy with. I've looked up other hillstream tanks and they all seem to look better than mine and I personally like how they look compared to mine a lot more. I just don't have the aquascaping skills necessary to actually create a scape I like. So yeah, how would you improve it (eg adding any plants and rock placements) to make it look more tidy and aesthetically pleasing.

Hillstream:http/imgur.com/SDz7X8U

Also here's a picture of my dwarf puffer tank which I'm far more proud of...
http/imgur.com/oZbpkyR

Thanks for helping

 

[jag51186]

Welcome to the forum!! I don't know much about the Hillstream biotope specifically, but I just compared yours to some I just googled. So, here's a couple thoughts for you...
 
1. I would clean up your tank walls, and try to fix the algae problem you are having. This will go a long way in the presentation overall.
 
2. I would rearrange your rocks such that they look more naturally placed. Some gaps between so that you can see the substrate would look nice. I would place the large rocks first, and once you find a pattern you like, place the small ones more sparingly around them to get a more natural feel. No offense, but they seem just kind of like a pile now. I would consider getting rid of the big sharply angled rock in the center as well, I tend to imagine hillstream rocks as smoothed from the water, so they should all have a similar texture.
 
3. I would add more live plants. This is going to be up to you mainly on researching what plants naturally occur in a hillstream biotope, but I generally don't think Anubias would...but that's just conjecture. If it were me, I would try to add something leafy that isn't rigid so it will flow in your filter outflow. This will give you movement, and should almost simulate the flow of a stream. Vallis would look nice, but again, I'm not sure if they occur in hillstreams (in fact, I don't think they do).
 
Overall, I think you have some nice stones to work with, just needs some tweaking! I look at lots of pictures for inspiration, and if you can get out and hike near an actual hillstream, it will really inspire you! I love your puffer tank!!
 
PS. Your light seems somewhat dim, this could just be from the picture though. But, if you consider live plants, the lighting is an important point...it also affects the overall look of the tank.

 

[fishguy1223]

Thankyou for that. That's exactly the advice I was looking for! Do you mind possibly doing a sketch of how you would do the rocks as I always seem to go a bit rock heavy when placing them in the tank, lol. As for the anubias it actually occurs (very rarely) in hillstream however I'm looking into getting a few java ferns and maybe some crypts, these would either go between the rocks or I'd place them along the back or in one if the corners of the tank.
The light is actually very bright to promote algae growth its just my phone has trouble focusing so when it does it makes the tank look very dark in places. Also thaknyou for the compliment on my puffer tank its probably the one I scaled the best. Shame that my dp, Peanut, currently has internal parasites . I'll be picking up some medication when I get plants tomorrow.

 

[jag51186]

So, I am not much of an artist, but I'll try to explain a little. I think if it were me I would take a less is more approach. So, maybe group three of your larger stones together on the right, then place just two others on the left spaced out a little. Then accent it with your smaller stones. This way, you can plant between them, or behind them. You could also do a couple groups of larger stones, one on the right and one on the left, then accent with smaller stones. All up to your preference. Just play with it...if you can I would almost empty the tank and just fiddle with the stones til you find something you really love.
 
Just to give an example, I was imagining something similar to this.
http/ripariumsupply.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/26-XII-12-tank-VI-m.jpg
 
Ignore the fact that it isn't actually an aquarium lol.
 
Also, as a caveat...I am by no means an aquascape expert, it just all comes down to what you like. I move my plants around all the time to find a better angle or grouping.

 

[fishguy1223]

OK so I did it, and I kind of followed what you said. I grouped my large stones on the right and put 2 medium stones and then I put smaller stones between the 2 whilst leaving a gap at the front. What do you think? http/imgur.com/3EFe8k1

Also my male stiphodon ornatus is quite.... (Please remove this if its not appropriate here) horny and he is trying to mate with everything in the tank. This involves a lot of chasing which might stress out the fish. By having the tank like this it is quite open so having a decent amount of plants that look good and break lines of site would be good. So, where would I place plants and do you think anything could be moved around so that lines of site are blocked? That was the good thing about the old scape; there were hiding spots etc.

Maybe I could look for a few more bigger rocks and create something like this: https/www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http/www.seriouslyfish.com/wp-content/uploads/imported/monthly_04_2007/post-3-1177285860.jpg&imgrefurl=http/www.seriouslyfish.com/forums/my-aquarium/hill-stream-tank/&h=336&w=600&tbnid=M6JFHZ1M5EUOtM:&docid=wzvjcA1Aqr6GtM&ei=XfR6VuRCg4losYGg2AE&tbm=isch&client=ms-android-oneplus&ved=0ahUKEwik5cCZ2vLJAhWDBBoKHbEACBsQMwhAKBowGg

 

[jag51186]

Man!! You did that fast! And I LOVE it, looks amazing now in my opinion!! Much better layout! I think if you planted some plants in between the rocks so they peek out of them, it would look very natural!

 

[fishguy1223]

Haha cheers man. As I said earlier im really ocd with this tank so if I get a good idea I'll do it ASAP lol.

The only thing I dislike is that on the left side there isn't much height, if that makes sense? To me it looks really bare, which I know is what it'd be like in a real hillstream bit its just me,again, being ocd .
For planting I was thinking maybe a java fern or 2 in the gap below the anubias between the grey rock and the anubias. As for the left side I'm not too sure what to do there....

As I write this the male goby is constantly chasing the females because he can now see them a lot more. Argh, I like this scape but I can't keep it like this if they're constantly getting harassed!

Now of I could do a tank like this, it would look natural AND provide hiding spots. http/www.loaches.com/articles/images/life-in-the-fast-lane-photographs/hillstream_loaches_tank.jpg
Now that would be awesome!

 

[nick1986]

looks much better!! but please clean the tank walls makes it look neglected!!!!!!!!

 

[fishguy1223]

OK so the chasing was getting way too out of hand. The fish were getting quite stressed and I was getting a bit upset by this as they usually aren't acting like this...so I had to change the scape. Whilst you could say it looks like a pile of rocks, I feel it seems to 'fit' together better. The rocks seem to naturally create caves and blockages of lines if sites. After about 20 minutes of the scape being like this the females seem a lot more relaxed, which is good. The cool thing is that in some parts of the hillstream rocks actually build up like this and the gobies and loaches living there use them as, you could say, a block if flats! (I saw that in a YouTube video lol)
I can however still plant it. By putting small plants in the gaps in the middle/left side it would look quite cool. I was thinking a few anubias Nana and Java ferns? Anyways please tell me what you think
http/imgur.com/pCpP8B7

http/imgur.com/HqD71Rp

Edit:
At one point it also looked like this: http/imgur.com/TVCFGw8
Not sure if I liked it with this 'bank' look more or not.

 

[NickAu]

Have you read this?
 
http/www.loaches.com/articles/hillstream-loaches-the-specialists-at-life-in-the-fast-lane

 

[fishguy1223]

Yeah I've read that. It told me about howto care for them but it didn't really inspire me to make a good scape

 

[fishguy1223]

Well the new scape doesn't look as nice as the previous one but I must say on a more ethical and natural way it is better. The fish are now digigng burrows and chasing has pretty much stopped and the females are out and about. Hopefully I'll pick up a bunch of algae tomorrow, most likely hair algae which will add to the hillstream feel. It will also look nice when it sways in the current when I get my power head. Potentially it could act as a food source if the gobies start eating it. Who knows....?