Tank too busy and congested?

[Anna94]

Is my tank too "busy" with colors and congested? How can I fix it so my fish pop more? Pics would be nice/appreciated. Side note: I just bought the background, so my mom will not allow me to replace it with a new one or paint the back of the tank, especially since she had to help me measure, cut, and tape the background to the tank. She would also have to help me paint the back of the tank and she works all day 7 days a week so she wouldn't even have time. I don't want or care for live plants as I don't have enough gravel to bury them in nor do I have the money to buy chemicals to keep them alive. Furthermore, it's already enough to keep the fish happy and healthy and alive without having to add live plants into the mix.

 

[flchamp89]

Foam poster boards and couple pieces velcro about 5 bucks.

 

[Potluck]

Natural plants, neutral substrate unless you have light fish then a darker substrate, a led light is amazing, Drift wood natural real plants help as well

 

[SherLar]

That's a colorful tank for sure. I like the way it looks, but I can see how fish would get lost in the decor. What do you have it stocked with?
You could either put a few larger, active fish in it which would draw the eye to the fish, or, as Potluck said, change your decor over to a more natural look.
You could also concentrate your plants to the ends and rear of the tank, leaving an open swimming area in the center foreground, which will make any fish occupying that area seem more prominent.

 

[Anna94]

This is how I rearranged the plants. What do you all think, does it look better? What do I about the extra plant, treasure chest, skull, scuba diver mask, and castle?

 

[flchamp89]

I think its better.

 

[SherLar]

I would think they'll be fine where they are. There's still plenty of open swimming area.

 

[Potluck]

The thing about those plastic plants is if they are not silk they are really rough on the fish, I had a fish cut himself on one i immediately took them out and went with silky, then I switched over to natural

 

[jessipanda]

Okay, first off, I love the rainbow look but I would see how the fish would be hard to find among all those colors! IF you really want your fish to pop though, you're going to want to switch at least most of those fake plants out for natural looking ones. The small fish you have are going to spend most of their time hiding or swimming among the plants. Plastic plants aren't really safe for them either, so I would second the suggestion of silk plants if you're against live plants.

Also, there are some live plants that don't need substrate to grow. Anubias would be a great addition to your tank. Easy to maintain and will help clean the water (just a little, but better than nothing!). It's slow growing, so you won't be trimming it often, I usually trim mine 2 times a year, and I just separate big ones into multiple small ones. You can use zipties to connect it to a piece of driftwood or super glue it to a rock. Anubias does great in low light and doesn't need anything added to the tank as long as you do water changes at least twice a month. Honestly, I do a 50% water change on my 55g every week, but I have several plants and don't add ferts so they get most of their nutrients from the fish waste, the substrate and the fresh water.

Either way, whether sticking with fake plants or switching to some live, you want them to look natural (typically shades of green) to help your fish stand out more. They just get lost is all the beautiful colors :/

Good luck!

 

[Potluck]

Don't use zip ties, use thin clear fishing line or cotton thread and lightly tie it to the drift wood by the rhizome, as anubias grow better when not rooted in the gravel and the roots are exposed to the water column, she has an led fixture so light won't be an issue in that tank, you could also do some swords just make sure you get true aquatic plants but with swords you will need root tabs and probably a liquid fert you add weekly, the tabs last a month - 2 months, Seachem flourish tabs, and Seachem flourish comprehensive liquid will be just fine for swords and we'll anubias grow in anything