Ideas to finish off tank?

I'm not too sure if I am happy with my tank or not. Do you have any ideas of what I could do differently? I am going to have panda butterfly goldfish in here, so all decorations have to be eye friendly.



Close up of the corner

 

I'm pretty sure the bamboo will die like that - I don't think there's enough exposed to the air.

 

A nice piece of driftwood would look good or like an asian temple would go well with the bamboo.

 

A majority of the leaves are above water level. I will take a pic of it

 

This is how it looks with the lid off



Do you think that driftwood would be dangerous for a telescope type goldfish?

 

yes, driftwood is very dangerous. Decor should be kept to a minimum, and everything must be smooth. They are prone to eye infections, for obvious reasons.

I don't know if that's enough for the bamboo. Hopefully someone else can chime in on the matter.

 

Don't use them.

 

Oh I don't know how I missed your post lol. Yes please chime in about the bamboo

 

I'm not really familiar with gold fish but you just gave me a great idea for the next time I find a tank sitting outside our condos that someone doesn't want lol. would be cool open with some tall bamboo a cool shrimp and some snails for my puffer.

 

I read that lucky bamboo acts as an awesome nitrate filter

 

Hey OSO, you are correct, Lucky bamboo is an excellent choice for keeping the nitrates in check. I have Lucky bamboo in all of my aquariums and they are HEALTHY!

Just a recommendation (coming from personal experience), keep the entire leaf exposed to the surface, from the stem to the leaf end. Just add a bit more gravel where the roots are to give them more height.
You'll find them growing happy and healthy in no time.

 

I will add more gravel underneath them. Only problem is that they already reach the top of the lid on my fish tank! I don't think I can take the lid off because godlfish like to jump right? Also if I did where would the light sit?

 

goldfish are not jumpers - especially not the telescopes

 

ooh okay, but what about the light? where would that go?

 

Little off topic sorry
Oso I just seen you are in Tempe me too. Do you know a good place to get some cool driftwood in the area. I was told Pet Inc but they closed

 

I would suggest some kind of paper back ground so you don't see the stuff behind it, and some smooth rocks. Unless you're into a natural looking tank an Asian temple would look cool (personally goldfish are the only fish I would do that with).

 

sweetsammI I haven't seen any neat driftwood in the petshops. I know petsmart sometimes has it but it is super expensive. Try ebay?

 

What i've done with mine is to cut out a rectangular piece from the lid at the back of the tank from where all the bamboo plants are coming out. I rely primarily on natural light for the plants, a good thing is that lucky bamboo is an indoor plant and thus doesn't require direct sunlight.

BTW with these plants in there, ive never had to experience an algae outburst.

 

The only problem is that my lid is made out of glass!

 

perhaps a different approach to lighting is needed. How big is the tank? Ahh, should have looked. 40 gallons - why not get the glass cut so that it's not the full length of the tank, so that the non bamboo part can remain covered. That's a very easy fix. You might need to get a shorter light.

 

Where do I go to get the glass cut?

 

any business that works with glass will be able to do it. Maybe some hardware stores could do it. Look in the yellow pages.

 

if you have good water flow try bamboo shrimp they are great in a nonaggressive tank and fun to watch too

 

The only shrimp that I have found in my lfs so far are ghost shrimp.