rainbow way... - Aquascaping

bratyboy2 · 04-26-2008, 08:29 PM

okay so i just setup my new tank last night and love the look and the plan of it so much

everything that is on or in the tank is as follows
20-gallon high( its bigger then my other 20's so i dont know)
heater
hang-on back filter(might change it, it makes a sound)
6700k florecent tube 20 watts maybe more soon)
soil in 4 plastic pots for some of the plants with tons of pea gravel and some sand on the bottom right corner.
branch from local lake that was boiled.

flora:
crypt. wendtii green
crypt. balansae

fish:
none yet
ideas:
dwarf rainbow fish
bosemoni rainbows
yo yo loach
red tail shark

GlitcH · 04-27-2008, 02:22 AM

It definately has potential.
I like the transition between the two substrates.

bratyboy2 · 04-28-2008, 12:38 PM

thanks glitch. i have recently added some anubias and put swordtails in for cycling...i just dont know if i should take the balansae out and maybe put in somestem plants in there. im going to wait to see what i think in a couple of weeks so but im adding co2 diy tonight to pic up the growth.

i like the transition aswell thats one of my favorites.

any ideas anyone?

fishlover · 04-28-2008, 05:14 PM

In your place, I would keep the crypts, add different varieties of anubias (mainly nanas and nana petite), some bolbitis and a few stems as an accent, and it would look like a beautiful river edge, as these plants give the scape a wild feel.
Too much stems look more like a garden than a forest,( which is what I can envision for your tank due to the wood and sand area which would resemble a river near a forest.)
BUT of course that's just my un-experienced self talking.
Go for what you want!

fishlover · 04-28-2008, 05:18 PM

By the way aren't boeseman rainbows and red tail shark a bit too big for 20 gals?
They are active swimmers and red tails usually get agressive while rainbows love to be in big enough numbers (5 and up)
Why not go for dwarf rainbows and threadfin rainbows with a few otocinclus?

houseofcards · 04-28-2008, 05:41 PM

Yeah, I agree, lots of potential. You did a really nice job with the transition. I would definitely reconsider your fish choice as mentioned. Those big fish will really kill the look of the tank. Stick with a group of threadfins if you want rainbows and drop the red-tail shark. A dwarf pleco would love that wood.

black_lung · 04-28-2008, 06:18 PM

Has alot of potential, you have the look of an old growth forest next to a stream bed. Are you going to do anything in the way of foreground plants? I think crypt parva would look great personally

Shurik · 04-28-2008, 10:20 PM

I almost missed it!
Bratyboy2, this looks simply AWESOME!!! WOW!!! I love it.

Well, it is not there yet, but I totally love it already!

Great job!

JustOneMore21 · 04-29-2008, 07:44 AM

I would choose a different type of Rainbowfish. Look into the Pseudomugil genus. Threadfins would work as well, though you'd want a species tank for them.

All your fish choices get too large so you should rethink that. Dwarf Chain Loaches are a good choice for a loach. Otherwise, you should pick a small Corydoras species.

Yoyos will go crazy in a 20g. Same with the Rainbows....it doesn't provide enough swimming room.

bratyboy2 · 04-29-2008, 08:44 AM

okay wow thanks everyone for the responses!

i did an update pic of the tank and had added anubias already lol so fishlover hurray for thinking alike!

justonemore21,fishlover,and houseofcards~wow okay well the swords are in and kinda liking them in there so we will see if i even add any of the fish i was thinking of. but the red tail shark is in there and is just a baby still. i really have never had issues with the aggresivness so but we will watch him maybe i will change the fish.
if i plan to change the fish out im thinking of doing the dwarf neons with a mix of maybe the celebes or maybe doing another small fish like a rasbora or mabe a larger tetra like the red/blue cloumbians.

black_lungi like the way you desribed it. lol

. but yes i was looking through a plant book last night and was thinking of maybe doing that plant. mabe more towards the transition part in the rock. i mean i wouldn't need that much to start with.

i was also looking into maybe just maybe a moss to do ground cover affect in there or maybe added some small pieces of wood to make it look like tree roots.

Shurikthanks for the excitement behind this tank.i can just picture your face now

all in thant order....but yeah im going to let this tank sit for some time because im really liking it. so im getting myself doing my other tanks so i dont disrupt this one lol

here is the latest photo with the adding of anubias, its a bit clearer, and my betta that is just kinda in there for the time being.

thanks everyone keep coming with the ideas!