Moving day!!!!

[hulkamaniac]

It's moving day for my fish. I bought a 75 gallon and I'm moving the fish from my 55 gallon into it. I currently have the 75 set up w/gravel and my big driftwood centerpiece in it. I'm off to the LFS to see if they have any good plants I can add in there while I've got the tank half dry. Then I'm going to catch my fish (via a DIY fish trap that works great) and haul them across the room to their new home. My goal is to make this one with no fake plants. (Although they're hard to tell from the real ones IMO.)

 

[joannde]

Sounds great ! Post pics when you're done decorating and they're in their new home

 

[hulkamaniac]

I wish I had a digital camera, but I don't. I did get a good idea on aquascaping though. I'm going to put my cave on one side of the tank surrounded by plants. Kind of like a forest. Then I'm putting my large driftwood centerpiece on the other side of the tank and going to try to get some java moss to cover it. I'm going to use an Amazon sword plant as the centerpiece and hopefully I can get it to grow pretty big. I just picked up some Anachris from the LFS and I plan on integrating it around the sides.

 

[tropicfishman]

defintly wanna see osme pics, so can you describe the fish trap by chance, I'd like ot make one lol

 

[hulkamaniac]

Basically it's a modified two liter pop bottle. I took the pop bottle, cut the top off and put the top back on inverted. Then I punched some holes for water circulation about halfway up the bottle (I wanted some water left at the bottom to transport the fish in when I pulled the trap out of the aquarium). You put food in the trap (in my case shrimp pellets) and the fish swim in, but have a hard time figuring out how to get back out.

I also discovered an upside-down catfish in my tank. I had no idea I still had any living in the tank. I haven't a clue as to where he's been hiding. This explains why I couldn't keep pygmy cories alive (cat picks them off) and why there are no snails in the tank.

 

[joannde]

Ingenious trap !

 

[hulkamaniac]

Ingenious trap !

I wish I could take credit for it, but I can't. It's something I read about on a web site somewhere. It's not all that different from the minnow traps that a lot of fishermen use.

Anyway, I got the 75 all set up and put my light on it. I've planted it so I have to put my compact flourescent light on it and it's black while the tank is oak. I really wish there was some way to switch the outside shells of the compact flourescent and the regular flourescent. If I get a canopy down the road (which I want) it really won't matter. The tank looks very impressive. I was insufferably pleased with myself.

I'm currently draining the 55 gallon (my python is going to take a year to drain it I'm afraid and I'll be moving it to another room and probably will set it up tomorrow or next week.