I want my tank to be perfect....

[exactionfigure]

I want to make my tank perfect and have interesting fish and a great habitat and it to be really clean.

It just seems that there is always something with it, right now my PH is really really high (see other post) and I'm pretty sure that I’ll lose my remaining fish in the process of lowering it. (I’m doing it slow but they have been through alot already we’ll see what happens)

After seeing that picture of the unknown goby in the other thread it got me thinking, I really want to have fish that look like that - something natural. But really nice.

If you didn’t see the other post-Here is a picture of my tank:


I have it filled with really nice fake plants but I think it looks a little too man-made.
I really love the piece of drift wood that I have in there, it makes the tank.

Ideally I would like to have all live plants but I don't know where to start with that and I can't afford to buy a nice Powercompact light or c02 injector at the moment (maybe later but I just moved out and am going to school part time so things are tight right now.)

Are there any other plants that can live with out these things? If so are there enough different varieties to make an interesting tank out of?
Also if there are plants like that, does anyone have any links on how to care for them?
I’d like it to be really heavily planted and untamed.

What kinds of fish are there that can co-exist with things like swordtails and molly’s that look like that goby? – I have heard that Ram Cichlid can be a good fish for community tanks but I tried to buy one a while ago but it died. What else is there?

[SCFatz]

Everybody needs plants imo...in FW it is next level kind of fun.I have made a habit of planting tanks that have little light (see my sig).Just a fert tab and the right plant selection.

Post your tank/light specs in the planted forum and ask for suggestions...the guys and gals who are really into plants know their stuff.

You can grow em with what you have right now....but you must choose wisley to succeed (low light plants)....and enjoy.

[dingogirl66]

You can grow all kins of Java Ferns and Crypts...Go to Aquabotanic.com and you can find plants specifically for low lights and if you want you can buy them on Aquabid.com...I have had greta luck with plants on there.

[Jchillin]

JMO but that driftwood is being wasted if you do not plant your tank. As SCFatz suggested, come on over to the Planted tank forum, we can help you out. There are plenty of things you can do with low-light plants.

You will need to post your current tank specs (ie: lighting, tank size). In regard to Rams, my guess is you tried German Blue Rams without success? That is not uncommon in the hobby. GBR's are possibly the most difficult fish to keep alive. You could try Bolivian rams.

I didn't see your other thread...what's the story about your Ph?

*Edit* I found your other thread about the ph issue. Have you used the RO water as yet?

[exactionfigure]

My thoughts exactly, why waste such and awesome piece of driftwood

Yea they were german blue rams, what a beautiful and interesting fish.
I did put the RO water in (six gallons) and it didn't change the PH, I checked it that day i'm going to check it again today but I guess it will take time.

like I said I would like to convert my tank from what it is now to something alot better with live plants and more interesting fish

I will post over on the planted tank forum I have tons of questions

-Matt

[JRagg]

I swapped over to planted this time around. I've kept fish in normal gravel and plastic plant tanks before, but this time I decided to go planted. I've seen lots of planted tanks that I absolutely hate before, but after seeing some of the ones that these guys have put together I was hooked. It's a whole different side of freshwater. There are cheaper options for setting it up too. Just take your time and figure out exactly what you want to do before you start, otherwise, just like anything, you'll end up spending way more than you want to.

I hope you get your pH issues straight and get the planting started. Good luck.

[CaysE]

Is that real driftwood? It looks fake. If it's real it'll lower the pH naturally.

Also, I'm the one with the unknown goby, but it's leaning pretty close to being a Goo-Obo Gudgeon (or similar gudgeon), and from the pictures I have seen, they are very attractive fish and don't get very big. They could be between $15 and $50 to purchase though.



Mine is starting to look very close to the top left picture with the blue-rimmed pelvic fin, red lined cheeks, and reddish dorsal and tail fins.

heya ---


I am having decent success with the following plants in my low light situations:

Amazon sword, melon sword, anacharis, red moneywart, anubis varieties, water onions, lily bulbs, and water wisteria =)

YMMV though.

[exactionfigure]

Thanks i'll check those out, I'm going to get my PH thing set before I start actually buying plants and then make sure I have everything going ok with the plants before I buy more fish.

Yes the driftwood is real, it's some of the nicest I've seen.
I bought it a long time ago from (blackjungle.com) a Posion dart frog supply site, I was going to set up a poison dart frog tank but I never did it because you have to breed your own wingless fruitflies to feed them and that seemed really messy.

The Driftwood did lower my PH for a while and also turned my water yellowish but now it's all leeched out and the that's when the PH started rising.

[fish_4_all]

I don't want to make a bad impression but I do have a concern when you say you want the "Perfect Tank". I once had the idea of a perfect tank and was quickly frustrated with it as everything changed and ruined my idea of perfect. I just hope that what you mean is a tank that looks very good with live plants, or fake ones and is one you just want to sit and watch it as the fish change and develope thier own little quirks. A perfect planted tank is one that will change fairly readily unless you have really slow gorwing plants. Anubias, crypts, low light and swords with no CO2, and other slower growers. This will allow for very subtle changes that don't ruin the idea of perfect for the time being.

I just want to make sure that you won't get frustrated with your tank if it doesn't stay "Perfect" without some effort to keep it that way that you give it up. I gave up fish tanks for 8 years because of this and I wish I hadn't.

BTW, that is an awesome piece of Driftwood. Some moss might be just perfect for it. As well as an anubias half way up on both sides or maybe 2 on top on either side might look really cool!