Which Tank Setup?

D3m · Nov 4, 2008

Hi guys while ive been waiting for my tank to cycle ive been playing around with what I want inside it and to be honest ive spent money needlessly on things that are never gonna go in there, now I love Bogwood in tanks because of the whole real look they give but I started buying bogwood later than all the fake plants and ornaments so heres my predicament.
I want a community tank along the lines of
6 x Zebra Danios
15 x Neon Tetras
8 x Guppy
2 x Gourami's
8 x Panda Corys (Maybe more i think they will love the bogwood setup)

now take into consideration that I can add plants to the bogwood only tank, would those fish be happy in the bogwood only tank or should they defo have plants in there for hiding?

(To me this all felt a bit cluttered)

All opinions would be gratefully accepted, Thanks!

Biff0r · Nov 4, 2008

2nd for me mate, colour is good

stickyemu · Nov 4, 2008

looks grate with the plants in it i think. i would love my tank to look like that when i get it

AdAndrews · Nov 4, 2008

1st 1 , theres sumthin about it, its plain its simple and its gr8, just fill it with fishes, some fish like to have cover, but if you just kept it plain it would be nice to have bigger, colourful fish like cichlids

Robot_Rooster · Nov 4, 2008

the 2nd one the plants it make them have more stuff to do. the first is way too plain and there is hardly any cover which most fish want

also i like the sand where did you get it from if you dont mind the question?

Davo86 · Nov 4, 2008

what size is the tank?, from the pics it looks quite a nice size.
with the exception of the gouramis, all of your fish are going to be under 2 inches so in an open tank IMO it will look very bare.

I would be inclined to add a few amazon swords at the back along with some elodea, and then some java moss and fern for the front, all of these are very easy to keep and would require little maintenaince

agutt · Nov 4, 2008

my vote is for the second one...

waterdrop · Nov 4, 2008

I happen to like the first picture, but there's nothing wrong with using your plastic plants for a while as cover and fill, while you gradually learn about live plants, slowly acquire them and then eventually replace all the plastic ones. I thing the top one would look good with a single dense planted area (or two), but with some start open area too to retain that sand/wood/blue look that is so good in the top first one. Also, fish really like having a dense area, causes them to relax and actually be out more!

~~waterdrop~~

Schmill · Nov 4, 2008

I like the second one, but would be tempted to remove some of the more 'vivid' coloured plants as I think they might distract from the fish that will eventually hide within them

Davo86 said:
I would be inclined to add a few amazon swords at the back along with some elodea, and then some java moss and fern for the front, all of these are very easy to keep and would require little maintenaince

I was under the impression that Java Moss was NOT "little maintenance" unless you wanted it to take over your tank? This is what actually put ME off it, the fact that most places seem to say you need to prune and trim it each week.

paul_219 · Nov 4, 2008

The second is way much gr8. Its superb. Love the plants.

D3m · Nov 4, 2008

Thanks for the reply guys, I think I will keep the bogwood where it is and add some plants and see what that looks like, I will post on here with it once its done with a pic

and to Robot Roooster: I actually got the sand from Argos, it costs £2.50 for a 15kg bag so I got two for a £5 which was the perfect amount for 180 Litres.

drobbyb · Nov 4, 2008

I like them both. The second one has more color, but the simplicity of the arranged bogwood in the first picture has a great appeal. I'd say you pick the one that you like best. Apparently both are good.

blodhi74 · Nov 4, 2008

1st one with a few plants and moss.

saz326 · Nov 5, 2008

blodhi74 said:
1st one with a few plants and moss.

Agree!

The fake plants are pretty and would provide some hiding places, but the Gouramis especially would like some real plants. The reason for this is that if they were to start breeding, they make a bubble nest at the waters surface. They usually make the nest where plants touch the waters surface as this anchors the nest so it doesnt get blown about by the water movement. The also sometimes chew off small pieces of plant to put in the nest.

Yeah, start off with setup 1, with the plastic plants in easy to remove places, then slowly substitute with real plants as the tank matures. Some tall stuff like vallis would look good and hide things like filters.