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Slate is really nice when you stack them up properly. Why don't you cut out the plants all together? At least it'll be a natural "black and white" tank. Get lots of slate and just stack them around.
Silver tetras, emperor tetras will do well too.
I have a 15 gallon qt tank that I have finished raising some blue ram fry in and am now considering doing it up all black and white with a few pastel colors here and there......
Here's what I am going to start with....
Some white sand.....black background
My daughter has a pair of beautiful black fancy guppies with silky white fins and white faces....gorgeous !! (and I'm not a guppy enthusiast, but these fish have enspired my idea here) I am hoping they are a prolific pair and net me a good group of males as gorgeous as dad here. Here's a pic of him..which does not in any way do him justice, but best I have right now..his body is more black than this pic shows...
They are my starting fish for this theme tank. I am also planning on adding some panda cories as well.
I'm going to have to go with all fake plants as I don't know many live ones that are black and white..or pastel for that matter. I saw some very nice fake plants at a store in Daytona area...Mr Petman...but I didn't have room in the suitcase to bring any home.................oO(Drat!) ... So I'll have to do with what I can find around here. Was also thinking of some greyish blue colored rocks for caves and such....like perhaps slate. I would like some rocks with holes and stuff in it, but I don't think the texas holey rock comes in the color I would like....any ideas ?
Any ideas on lightly colored pastel fish..peachy colored or something...(natural coloring, none of those fake dyed fish)..that will look nice in this type of setup and will get along with guppies and panda cories ? Silvery colored fish will also look nice I think, against the black background. Any other thoughts or ideas are welcome as well ! When I get this all setup I'll share...
Slate is really nice when you stack them up properly. Why don't you cut out the plants all together? At least it'll be a natural "black and white" tank. Get lots of slate and just stack them around.
Silver tetras, emperor tetras will do well too.
If you don't mind having fake plants or funky objects in the tank, you can check out this book : Aquarium Design by Matthew Christian for inspiration.
koah fong
Juggler's tanks
In fact I have this book besides me right now.Originally Posted by juggler
If you don't mind having fake plants or funky objects in the tank, you can check out this book : Aquarium Design by Matthew Christian for inspiration.
I borrowed it from the local library. Too bad you are in a different country, else I would be able to pass it to you.There are many funky designs inside, including one that may suit what you are looking for with black guppies. The deco is using acrylic sheeting, in different shades of blue and glass pebbles. The author calls it "Morning Mist".
In case you need it, the ISBN no for this book: 981-245-038-6.
Cheers,
Joe
Lol...no, I don't mind having fake plants in a tank. I have a couple of planted aquariums that keep me pretty busy, so I don't mind making one up that I don't have to fuss over too much. My daughter has a tank that is all fake 'stuff' and that is the easiest tank I have to take care of...no issues, no algae no problem !
But I do have to have plants of some kind in the tank....I don't care for tanks without plants....they look too barren to me....I have seen some interesting black and white fake ones...just trying to find a variety of types may prove difficult. I do want a hint of other color besides just black and white...but just a hint...like the slate rocks and some type of pale colored fish...powder blues and fleshy peach colors I think....I don't know... I have to look around and think some more on it....
Thanks, I will check out that book...looks interesting....though I do want to use my own design...that's most of the fun of setting up an aquarium....but it is great fun to look at other's ideas and setups and I may find some good ones in there.
More thoughts and suggestions welcome !
Here's what I have so far....it needs work...I dont like the white plants..the black ones look much better....I need to fill in quite a bit so that the sand doesnt' show so much, it's very "bright"...lol...
I'm still looking for just the right sort of rock to put in here...that will help as far as filling it in more.
Anyway, here's some pics...
So far I have 3 panda corys and a pair of those pretty fancy guppies in this tank.....I'll be getting rid of that bag of gravel in a bit, it's full of good bacteria, just waiting for that good stuff to migrate into my sand
My latest update on the black and white tank...not much different, but I got rid of the bag of gravel and added a rocklike decoration...something I had laying around from one of my other tanks. The color of it matches the color scheme in this tank nicely...just wish it was a bit bigger....
It's been a while since I appreciated an "artificial" tank.
More of those rocks maybe?
Yeah, definitly more rocks. Just have to find some nice ones that are the right color.
And...lol on the artificial tank....I know what you mean. I guess if you're going to do a fake one, you may as well make it obvious....This one is very pleasing.
But DANG !! My female guppy had her babies last night...and I don't see any survivors !!I never bred guppies before and had been reading that you don't want to put her in the fry net too soon because she would stress out and have them too early. I was looking at her last night before I went to bed and wondered if I should put her in, (her gravid spot was dark and her vent looked "ripe").....but I didn't...(doh!)
Oh well, next time I'll know what to look for and be a bit quicker. I hear they have them every 6-8 weeks, so now I have to wait some more..I sure hope nothing happens to her, they didn't have any more in the store and he said he didn't get those in very often !!
This is the latest change in the B&W tank. I've added more rock/log stuff...I put them all together to try to make it look like one rock/log. I still need to get some more plants, and that fry box doesn't do anything for it, but I want to be ready to put the guppy in there before she drops her fry.
I think I need to put one of the white plants behind the right side of the log...it doesn't stand out very well at that end...
A close up of the rocks....
Ok...I think I'm finally satisfied with the setup here...
The female had her babies last night...I set up a 10 gallon growout tank for them with a seeded sponge filter and some water from the 15.... and a nylon bag of gravel I've had in one of my other tanks...for just such a need...lol...
The fry and the fry box are out of the 15 now so I did a good cleaning and rearranging of the furniture...this is what I came up with...
Here's a decent shot of the 3 guppies before I made the change...just to get an idea of how the colors of the fish fit with the theme...aaannnddd...just because it's a nice picture...
When the HB fry grow...I'll probably pick out another male and female to put in this tank..that will be 3 female guppies..(2 HBs and 1 gold)....and 2 HB males....plus the 2 panda cories. That shouldn't be too crowded for a 15..should it ? I'd like to put some more male HB in there, but then I'd have to add more females for the right male/female ratio......oh well....
somehow the scape reminds me of christmas and snow
lol....maybe I should get a little santa sleigh in there...eh ?
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