Mayan Ruins: Betta And Kuhli Loaches

[xoedusk]

Our plan is to house a betta and 3 or 4 kuhli loaches in a 10 gallon sand-substrate tank with slate coverings for the loaches. Going for a "Mayan Ruins" look.

We poked around in one of the sand primer pinned topics on these forums and went for silica (very bright, fine sand). At the store, some regular (natural, it's called on the bag) sand and silica accidently spilled on the floor and mixed. We really liked the effect -- a soft, fine mixture with a bit of dark here and there. So we bought 100 lbs of silica and 50 lbs of natural (this was the smallest they had at home depot!)

We did some math, or rather google.com did it for us, and we opted for 17 cups of silica and 4 cups of natural. Cleaning the silica was a breeze. A 5 gallon bucket from Petco really speeds things up; three rinsings only, though granted it wasn't crystal clear. The nautral sand was dirty! I think we washed it 10 or 15 times. The final rinsing wasn't perfectly clear either.

We added the silica first.

Here is a closeup of 1 of 2 Mayan statues (Petco), 2 of 4 slabs of slate (local non-chain pet store), and 1 of 2 cats, Lapka, who helps out with every fish-related project.

So in goes the natural sand. Made the water quite murky.

We blanched the slabs of slate for safety and threw them in the tank. This is by no means the final state of the decor.

All of the above took 24 hours. Will update with new pics and info often.

 

[SPLiSH]

Sounds like there are going to be some very happy fish in there!
Can't wait for more pics!

 

[xoedusk]

We're also doing ~200% water changes daily. The tank is really starting to clear up. Here is the slate with and without sand covering it up; just playing around, really. Though I think the kuhlis are going to have their own idea of how the sand should be distributed.

 

[Naughtygirlrlw]

It looks great!

 

[xoedusk]

Sweeeet! Will there be plants or is it going to be a full-scale "desert"? If you're planting, I'd suggest those that attaches to rocks (ie. moss, ferns & anubias). They're low maintenance, plus your loaches won't be able to dig them up

I think we're going planted. Thanks for the suggestion... we will definitely look into those plants. Didn't even consider the loaches uprooting plants!

 

[xoedusk]

Looking into Java Moss. They won't attach themselves to sand, right? Just the slate?

 

[Mor61e]

Looks good mate

 

[xoedusk]

We just picked up a couple pieces of "Kiwi Wood" from the local fish store. One has a neat hood built in for the loaches. Bought a good digital camera too (no more phone pictures), so I'll post some better pics later.

 

[xoedusk]

Here's a picture of a drawing. I drew the tank, my lovely drew the betta. It's supposed to be a "guide."

Picked up some "Kiwi Wood" today too. Great shapes.

Added a (fake) plant from our quarantine tank. Java moss coming later.

Did I mentioned we picked up some Kuhli's today too?

Here's a full tank shot of it today. Squiggle=Kuhli.

 

[2day]

Khuli loaches are such interesting fish! They look like an eel. I have four of them myself, and they love to hide in or under anything they can find. If you can't see them anywhere, they are probably burying themselves under the sand. Tank looks really good.

 

[xoedusk]

Applied some java moss to the slate. I think I did a horrible job. Used black sewing thread.

 

[DiscusKeeper403]

Looks good but IMO would look better if the fake plant was replaced by a real one of the same kind.

 

[xoedusk]

Naw, you did fine You just didn't have enough java moss. You could always re-thread when it has already multiplied

There is plenty of moss left. But most of the pictures I've seen of others attaching it have included a very thin layer of moss over the rock. Would it be best to really cover it? I'm hoping it will attach to the slate and fill itself out. Then cut the thread.

Looks good but IMO would look better if the fake plant was replaced by a real one of the same kind.

I agree. The fake plant is temporary. Looks so barren without it.

 

[lljdma06]

Oh, ok. Well I'm not sure how java moss grows (they always die on me ), but my christmas moss does bush out and cover the edges of the slate. But christmas and java moss are sorta different though --- java is stringy while christmas is bushy. Maybe add just a *few* more strands to the edge (on the slate on the second picture) for complete coverage? And you're right, just a thin layer would do

Still kill Java moss, FKNM?

This is a great start , Xoedusk. I really think the Brazilian pennywort I mentioned in your other thread is really going to be the plant you're looking for. Though you will clip it to prevent it from overunning the tank. It's super easy to do, though, just pinch it at a leaf node with your fingers. Simple, if you decide on it.

llj

 

[xoedusk]

I wasn't too happy with the layout of the moss on the slate. Re-did all three. Didn't skimp on the tieing down.

Here's all of the moss that I took off of the slate.