Recommendations and opinions on this tank and how to make it nicer?

[Shaunsvds]

Hi all, I just started aquascaping and this is my tankIMG_9958.jpg, I have two sparrow rasboras in it and two stem plants ( those you can find at C328 which are planted into wire gauze and sold) .I am thinking of adding more fish to it and some plants as well. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated. My gravel is H.E.L.P advanced soil and the tank is about 7 gallons. I am also not so sure if I should remove the stem plants from the wire gauze and plant it myself? Would it make any difference? Thank you!

[Urban Aquaria]

The stem plants can be left tied the the mesh, it helps to weight them down... though it also tends to create a rather blockish-looking layout.

For aquascaping, its better to untie the plants from the mesh and plant them individually on the soil substrate, that will create a more natural looking layout.

As for fishes, you can add more of those boraras species ones as they stay small and suit the tank size well. Try looking for the Boraras Brigittae (aka chili rasbora) which have a deep red coloration, those look very nice when kept in a group of 20-30 fishes.

[Shaunsvds]

The stem plants can be left tied the the mesh, it helps to weight them down... though it also tends to create a rather blockish-looking layout.

For aquascaping, its better to untie the plants from the mesh and plant them individually on the soil substrate, that will create a more natural looking layout.

As for fishes, you can add more of those boraras species ones as they stay small and suit the tank size well. Try looking for the Boraras Brigittae (aka chili rasbora) which have a deep red coloration, those look very nice when kept in a group of 20-30 fishes.

Thanks for the reply Urban Aquaria! Ok sure, I will untie the plants. The chilli rasboras look great! Will buy a few of them to put into the tank, thanks so much for your help! Cheers!

[happydanio123]

As most professional aquarist say: Beauty is in the eyes of the Viewer- if you think your tank looks perfect, then it is unquestionably so! As for the stem plants, it's OK to leave them in the mesh but I personally like to take it out and plant it myself. As a suggeston, if you would like your tank to be less sparce, why don't you get some big-leafed plants such as tiger lotus or Annubias?