My Gourami Tank

[Ny82]

Well the platy are rehomed my friend also took one of my big male sunset guppies I think that's what type he was and the baby. He gave me 3 of his female guppies. I now have 3 males and 3 females.
It's actually really funny watching them the females are chasing the males around. I'm convinced these males are gay they back away into that jug lol. One female-who's quite transparent and has a very light blue tail with spots on it-has taken a shine to my electric blue/green male that's in the top photos, but he's having none of it haha! She's so cute following him around. I will put some pics up of the females shortly

ebays down on my pc what was it you have bought ps nice tank

There is guy selling 5 moss balls for £5.50. They look a decent size too. Pets at home sell 3 for £11.50!
I like the look of them as they are unusual - I really don't like the feel of them though, so spongy. I didn't know how to "plant" them so I just dropped them onto the gravel
The other link is to gorgeous pink clams. I've never seen them before don't worry I haven't bought them. I wouldn't know what to do with them and that's not fair.
Thankyou. The tanks getting there. I would love a bigger one but really no space. I love loads of greenery but they just grow superfast and it sometimes looks scraggly and overgrown. I am running out of places to put the clippings lol.

 

[Ny82]

Just a little update my moss came 2 days ago and I love it-but how do I stop it rolling about?
Here is a little pic

 

[Ny82]

Ok so just a little update. I bought a new tank from amazon last night, a nice big 60 litre I can't wait for it to be delivered. Due to the holidays I expect it to be here around the 6th of january or so.
I also needed something to help with the algae in the tank. I went to my local dobbies and the woman sold me a tiny little plec. Little did I know this is a bristlenose plec and can grow big he's very cute though,

Thanks

 

[Ny82]

I decided to add the bogwood which has been soaking.
It looks so nice

When my new tank comes, I have got some black gravel but i'm really, really tempted to go with sand. I will see what happens

 

[three-fingers]

Gotta say I much prefer it with the wood! Looking very natural

edit: Just to add, very glad you didn't but the clams, they dig in the substrate when happy and need to be fed using a syringe every day or two...so you would be constantly be ripping apart the tank to feed them!
It's a shame they are so widely sold as they are unsuitable for most aquariums - its hard to tell if they are healthy until they suddenly die and pollute the tank .

 

[Ny82]

Gotta say I much prefer it with the wood! Looking very natural

edit: Just to add, very glad you didn't but the clams, they dig in the substrate when happy and need to be fed using a syringe every day or two...so you would be constantly be ripping apart the tank to feed them!
It's a shame they are so widely sold as they are unsuitable for most aquariums - its hard to tell if they are healthy until they suddenly die and pollute the tank .

Thanks-how do I stop it rolling? It's resting against a few rocks! As for the clams they are very, very beautiful and my favourite colour is pink - but no it wouldn't be fair I wouldn't be able to look after it properly.

 

[IanL]

"I'd lose that jug though...
Maybe a small piece of bogwood in it's place? "


I said that on the 20th,and you were all "oh no,I like the jug..."

 

[Ny82]

I love that jug! but when I was reading up on plecs it said they need bogwood in their habitat so I got a huge bit and after it was soaked and I brushed the loose stuff off, I put it in and he stuck to it instantly. I haven't seen him for ages. I turned the tank lights out, and put one of the sinking algae wafers in the front and one in the back but he's still nowhere to be seen-the guppies however seem to love these wafers I should maybe have put them in when they are asleep.
Now lets talk sand! I really, really like sand in the tanks I have bought small black gravel for this new tank and I am thinking of sand it just looks so nice but what sand do I use and how do I syphon the sand? it will all get taken away in the hose

 

[IanL]

"Play sand" from Argos seems to be popular,£2.99 a bag!...but sand isn't that good for plants....

 

[Ny82]

oooh what if I have a layer of gravel at the back wall for the tall plants and little piles for the bushes and sand at the front? I'm getting all adventurous now lol

 

[IanL]

I think it's doable,but would think it'd mix over time.And i think it smells then....

 

[Ny82]

No that's not good.

 

[three-fingers]

"Play sand" from Argos seems to be popular,£2.99 a bag!...but sand isn't that good for plants....

Why do you say that? Sand is generally considered better for plants as it's finer for the roots to work though .

I use sand in all my tanks, catfish (and any fish that live/feed from the substrate) much prefer it as it's easier to sift through than gravel .

With the regards to the wood, bury it in the gravel a little? Silicone another piece of wood to it so it stands up? Just re-arrange how it sits? (guessing you tried that lol)

 

[Ny82]

"Play sand" from Argos seems to be popular,£2.99 a bag!...but sand isn't that good for plants....

Why do you say that? Sand is generally considered better for plants as it's finer for the roots to work though .

I use sand in all my tanks, catfish (and any fish that live/feed from the substrate) much prefer it as it's easier to sift through than gravel .

With the regards to the wood, bury it in the gravel a little? Silicone another piece of wood to it so it stands up? Just re-arrange how it sits? (guessing you tried that lol)

Oh god what a pain! I thought it would be heavy enough to just stand but it's resting against that wee treasure chest I had lol it's ok-nobody can see it the moss is a pain aswell rolling about the place!
I do really like sand but is it hard to clean I just think it will all get sucked up into the vac

 

[three-fingers]

Thats what I like best about sand, when plants grow their roots in it, and and any debris gets into the sand...it just becomes plants food! If you don't have a dense carpeting of plants or have a higher ratio of fishlants then you'll need to gently wave the gravel vac over the surface of the sand to remove any easily visible debris for a few seconds every week, but thats about it .

Not vacuumed the bottom of any of my planted tanks for years, since I set them up in fact, plants are awesome if your lazy like me lol .

Even people who don't have plants say sand is easier to clean because the bigger particles just sit on top of it rather than falling into relatively big gaps in the gravel to be hidden. They are easier to notice and remove leading to an overall 'cleaner' tank.