My feel for this tank is that there is not enough space for plants. Rather, the lacking feature is density. Anubias especially look best in thick dense groups which I'm sure you know are not the case in this tank. Bolbitis seems a bit large for the tank, and for a plant acting as both mid and background, is noticibly thin. Pomatageten is just a thin plant by nature. You can have it for years and never really make a bush out of it.
As a result, the planting looks thin, undeveloped, but cramped at the same time so it seems doubtful that they could develop much better. While "proportionate leaf size" should be a creative factor that can be played with by the aquascaper, the realistic limitation is that all plants have a certain amount of space they need to look their best, with larger plants needing more. I think this is a case where many plants (the bolbitis and anubias) just don't have this space.
To me the culprits seem to be:
--Too much space allocated to foreground with not enough thought to making space for plants.
--Plant species that are large for these dimensions.
I also have an 18g 60 cm, and I 'd say that I'd hesitate to to use plants like E. Stellata or L. Cuba just because those plants are so big for a tank of this size. Bolbitis should probably be considered even bigger than these plants.
Sorry for all this critical feedback on a tank I know you are really proud of . . . just trying to help, and you asked for feedback.
It looks like all the pieces really are here though. The rocks and sand are beautiful-- though I think you can make even more improvements with the rockwork. Good luck Dennis! It's really all there! Just keep playing with it. |