Isabella

Hello everyone,

Here are some pictures taken today of my 75 gallon tank. I have removed some plants already because they didn't grow too well (Hygrophila and Sagittaria mostly). Other plants, like Vallisnerias and Water Sprite are doing very well and have taken over the right side of my tank. The left side is pretty bare at this point as this is where most of the Hygrophila and large Sagittarias were. The front is bare as well as most short Sagittarias were removed. I will soon order more plants and fill out the tank. I don't want any bare spots in my tank whatsoever (I am a planted tank maniac.)

I know the pictures are not the best quality but it's so hard to photograph any fish. They're in constant motion. I'm afraid I won't be able to take any good pictures until I get a Nikon or Cannon camera with lenses.

Anyways, here is my planted tank with 2 Angelfish, 6 Cherry Barbs, 2 Harlequin Rasboras, and 2 Zebra Danios for now ... if you can see any of them (except for Angelfish and the close-up of Harlequin Rasboras). I'll get more fish soon (need algae eaters real bad as I'm starting to get some algae!).

sgould

Wow! Impressive plants!

Tom

Looks great. I see your harlequins haven't turned a bright red to show dominance. I also see you have two femalse that are fully grown. For the algae eaters, why not a couple of snails?
Tom

Isabella

I only have 2 Harlequins so far and I've never seen them red either in my tank or at any fish store. I have been seeing more blue than red hues in them. Only their tails are quite red. If they're supposed to show more color they'll probably do so in a larger group. They're schooling fish and only 2 is very little for them to display natural behaviors and colors. I am getting more of them soon (the same goes for Zebra Danios).

As for snails ... I don't know. I really want a good algae eater (or eaters) like the Siamese Flying Fox or a few Otos

Tom

They will show the leader of the pack by the one who has the most red in their body. They also have a common name of Red Rasbora since they turn a brilliant red. I had 5 before I went to the store today and I now have 11 of them and 11 B.neon tetras. They all seem to be doing fine and dandy. The tank will look really active if you get a large amount of the harlequins. I am including a pic of one of my Red Rasboras so you can see them when they show who is the leader.
Tom

Isabella

I love your Rasbora I know that there are more than one kind of Rasboras (three I think), and I think the red one you're talking about is not Harlequin Rasbora. There is some kind of Rasboras called False Rasboras because many people confuse them with the true Harlequin Rasbora. But, to be completely sure, I need to check my Freshwater Encyclopedia.

Tom

There are a bunch of rasboras, regular size and the microrasbora sp. But the regular harlequins are also known as the Red rasboras. There is a similar species but it has a different 'triangle' on it's tail, they are called porkchop rasboras.
Tom

Isabella

I give it up to you ... lol ... because I don't remember at this point what I have read. Need to check my books. Not saying I don't believe you ... you're probably right, only I always like to double check myself

Butterfly

Isabella I love your tank! And your angels are gorgeous as usual.
Carol

Tom

I don't take offence to be told I am wrong so I know for the future and am not giving people wrong info.
Tom

Isabella

Tom ... NOOOOOOOOOO !!! LOL I didn't say you were wrong. I apologize if I sounded like that! I'm sorry! All I said is that I completely forgot what I have read about Rasboras, and that you're most likely right Just because I am a moderator, doesn't mean know everything. There are many members on Fish Lore (besides the other moderators) who know much more than I do. Only 3 years ago ... I kept 2 Angelfish and 12 Neons in a 10 gallon tank ... I was a typical beginner no different than the majority of fish-keeping beginners ...

Thank you Carol. The same goes for all of your tanks as well as your beautiful Angels

Tom

I wasn't saying you were saying I was wrong, I was just agreeing with you on the fact that I like to look up things unless I think it is really know that it is true or not. And I agree with you on the fact that there are a lot more smarter people then us two.
Tom

Isabella

LOL ... of course

COBettaCouple

that is a beautiful planted tank! wow! i wish we could grow plants so well.. and i totally love that angel (with the orange)! if i could get a pair that looked like that, our 30g would be an angel tank.

Isabella

You can grow low-light plants under proper lighting and in a proper substrate ... or using some fertilizers ... But also keep in mind that fertilizers can cause algae, so you need to know the very fine balance of not overfertilizing your tank. And this is very hard. That's why we all have algae eaters ... lol

COBettaCouple

what type of Angel is that one that i like so much?

i think it also takes some skill to grow a planted aquarium like yours. it shows a LOT of work went into it.

atmmachine816

Looks good, what about a full tank shot? What type of camera do you have now, it seems to take nice photos. Like the cherry barbs, really are nice fish

How about bristlenose plecos for algae eaters with a few otos, work great for me

Tom since you brought it up, so if one rasbora is more red than the rest, that means he/she is the dominant one? I'm asking this because one of mine is much more red then the rest and I've always wondered why?

Guzalot

Nice! I love angels, they are fast becoming my favorite FW fish. Coupled with the live plants they make a gorgeous display.

Butterfly

Isabella are any of those angels the ones you raised?
carol

armadillo

That is one seriously biiiig tank.

agsansoo

Wow, great looking tank ! What is your equipment list ? (i.e. filter , lighting ... etc...)

Isabella

Tank - 48" long x 18" wide x 20" tall
Stand - 48" long x 18" wide
Glass Cover - 48" long x 18" wide
Filtration - Rena Filstar XP3 canister filter (but I'm having problems with it so I'll buy another filter later on)
Water Circulation - Eheim "aquaball" powerhead
Heating - 2 x 150W Visi-Therm Stealth submersible heaters
Substrate - 7 bags of Eco-Complete substrate (Carib-Sea) - which gives me a 3" depth of the substrate
Lighting - 48" compact fluorescent fixture (Coralife) - 2 x 65W, 6,700K bulbs (this gives me 1.73 WPG of light), + moonlights
Timer - Coralife "power center"

Carol, no. The 2 Angelfish that I have raised are in the 30 gallon tank. (I left myself 2 and the rest were given out.) I'll try to take some pictures of the babies for you (well, they're already adults, lol).

This is my male Angel. He is a pearly variety and a veiltail.

I won't be taking full shots until I fill the left side with more plants. It looks so ugly now that I don't want to take the left side's pictures, lol. The camera is a regular Sony digital one. As for the algae eaters ... I am really concerned about black brush algae (I have a lot of them in my 30 gallon tank) and I've heard that the Siamese Flying Fox is effective at getting rid of it. Do Otos and BNs eat black brush algae?

atmmachine816

I do not believe they eat black brush algae. You can try getting the flying foxes, I've looked at them but the don't sell them by me. They may or may not, depending how much other food is in the tank, I got amano shrimp once and they didn't touch my hair algae though their supposed to. If you getting the brush algae I would try to get rid of it for good and not get a algae eater. My algae eaters don't really eat much algae besides a little that might form on the glass, I elimnated the other sources of algae and just keep my algae eaters because I like them and instead feed them on my own. I'm thinking people at plantgeek might be able to help you if the foxes eat algae or not better than here, not sure if anybody has any here, though somebody may know

Callum The Cat

COBettaCouple

I think I'll show Stacy that beautiful Pearly Veiltail Angel (would that be the correct way to describe his type?) and see if she's still in favor of some of Dino's fancy guppies. it's too bad we couldn't put both in the tank. i'm thinking angels in this one and get another tank for the guppies.

oh.. and you can take a pic of the whole tank.. just use photoshop to make the whole thing look like you want it to.

Isabella

You know, not counting the black brush alage in my 30 gallon tank, my Golden Algae Eater is such an excellent algae eater. I know it has a bad reputation, but I have NEVER had any algae in my tank (except for the black brush alage he doesn't eat). He generally keeps my tank so clean. Such a pity he doesn't eat black brush algae. Does anyone know if Otos, Bristlenose Catfish, and the true Siamese Flying Foxes (Crossocheilus Siamensis) REALLY eat black brush alage? If not, I might as well get another GAE for my 75 gallon tank. I really want an algae eater that eats ALL algae and keeps the tank as clean as my GAE does. Atm, I'll probably ask the same question on Plant Geek. Thanks.

Yes I bought them when they were still babies and, very luckily for me, they turned out to be male and female when they grew up and had their own babies, lol

LOL ... I can't! It is simply very empty on the left side. It just doesn't match the right side at all. I promise I'll take the whole tank's picture when I've planted the left side. Below is the picture of the whole 75 gallon tank 2 weeks after the setup. Most the plants you see on the right side are gone (large Sagittarias and Hygrophilas mostly - they didn't grow too well). I also removed most short Sagittarias in the front - I'll be replacing them with Pygmy Chain Swords and maybe something else.

COBettaCouple

lol.. well you can use photoshop to clone the plants..

Isabella

LOL, then what's the point of posting such a picture? It won't be showing the real tank - you'll be seing a cloned right side of the tank.

atmmachine816

My guppies get along fine with my angels, depends on the tempermant of the angels. For me the angels are a pair so they keep busy with themselves, and the guppies go after each other.

Isabella I'm very happy with my bn pleco and otos. I always liked otos and I had some brown algae and my Bn pleco didn't eat it so I got some otos since they produce such little waste. Sorry I can't answer your question besides I'm happy with my bn pleco and otos for algae control, though I like variety, not all for one thing.

COBettaCouple

that would be what we'd ideally want to do - guppies and angels, but the guppies would breed and the angels would at the least eat the fry.. but i'd love to put glass cats or x-ray tetras in with a pair of angels, along with corys and otos.