What Does My Tank Need?

[Sean W.]

hey i have had my tank set up for almost 4 years now, the chemistry is freakin perfect... clean it pretty regularly... i did a hard core cleaning the other day, took the hood off and scrapped off all the white stuff, took the filter completly apart and cleaned each part, new filter, and did a 70% water change, and it looked amazing. but it looks uncomplete...i think it needs something, like a cherry on top, i just cant put my finger on it... maybe you guys can help... i was thinking another plant between the wood and the plant on the left. the only plant that is real is the big one on the far right, and real wood.

anyway... what do you think would finish this tank off?

thanks

 

[RadaR]

Personally I would add some foreground plants such as sagittaria subulata, all along the front of the tank.
Also, I would put moss over the wood. Not java moss as it is quite boring. Try something like Willow moss or Weeping moss or Peacock moss.

 

[dave_oddballs]

well if thats your stocking in your signature you will need to remove the plec and the gold gourami.
after that, you want to add more plants/ornaments or fish?
i think the way it is set out is ok, looks neat and tidy, think if you filled it with any more plants or wood it might look cramped.
fish, in that picture it looks empty in the middle and especially the top. whats 10 gallon? 30 litres? if so maybe half beaks? the ornate half beak stays pretty small. maybe hatchet fish, marbled hatchet fish stay small so may be suitable.
what about a pair of apistogrammas for the centre piece fish? i had borelli that were quite a nice small fish.

 

[Sean W.]

yea its a 10 gallon.

 

[ChilliPepper]

yea its a 10 gallon.

You have quite a strange stocking if I may say so.

Khuli loaches are really only happy in a min. group of 5, they are very sociable little things, so one alone won't be happy and very shy.
The same probably goes for the other loaches, I'm not sure how big they get. Khulis are fine size wise, but need more of them.

Also, the gold gourami will get too big for your tank, and if your 'regular' pleco is a common pleco, then he will DEFINITELY outgrow your tank and/or be hideously stunted by keeping him in a 10 gallon. They really need at least a 5ft tank.

I think you should take all your fish back to the fish shop, grab four more khulis, then maybe go for a couple of Bolivian Rams or Apistogrammas as centre piece fish.

 

[Sean W.]

all my fish seem pretty happy....

 

[ChilliPepper]

all my fish seem pretty happy....

So, you will just ignore other more experienced fish keepers because you THINK your fish 'seem pretty happy'?

 

[Wills]

Kind of agree with whats been said your fish are a pretty bad mix for that size of tank, they might seem happy now but pretty soon it will go wrong.

 

[fishyfeet]

Kind of agree with whats been said your fish are a pretty bad mix for that size of tank, they might seem happy now but pretty soon it will go wrong.

I have to agree Sean, as they grow then the demand on the filter will be too much and nitrates will rise to high, you seriously need to up grade you tank. Look up the individual fish on google and read about their optimum growth sizes and the tank requirement they WILL need and save yourself a real disaster. Where abouts are you, maybe other members living locally can help you out, worth a try. di

 

[RadaR]

Kind of agree with whats been said your fish are a pretty bad mix for that size of tank, they might seem happy now but pretty soon it will go wrong.

I have to agree Sean, as they grow then the demand on the filter will be too much and nitrates will rise to high,

If the waste produced by the fish exceeded the efficiency of the filter then it would be ammonia and nitrite that could increase. Not nitrates, as these are being produced anyway in a healthy tank because in freshwater it's the last product that nitrifying bacteria can produce.
Size is more the problem here as is organic waste and other secretions

 

[Ferg1985]

You say it has been up and running for 4 years? So perhaps you're just bored of how it looks and want to play around with the look of it? I think it'd be a shame if you did, it looks nice and settled and the plants seem quite balanced in terms of positions and massing. Perhaps some small, foreground plant to the left of the tank that can give some coverage to the substrate but not completely overtake the foreground.

 

[Pibs]

I'm with Freg, it might be time to just rearrange the tank and a new stocking list would also help to change up things and make the tank more exciting. Im also a big fan of black backgrounds and think they make the fish and plants look better then blue does

 

[Mr Spoon]

I think a black background will transform the look of the tank and make the plants and fish stand out more, and change stock to match size of tank and it will be