2ft cube discus tank composition- can we gather your feedback?

[inthemood]

Hello guys,

We've got this 2 ft cube tank that would feature some driftwood, balansae, cryptocoryne wendtii, and nana. But quite unsure about the driftwood composition after trying out various layouts... Could we suss out your feedback based on two layouts we have 'composed'? The first two pics belong to composition 1, and the other two belong to composition 2.

The tank members to be are... 1 turquoise discus, 1 brown discus, 2 SAEs, about 10 corydoras, 2 rummy noses, i.e. if I manage to move them in without any casualty from my old tank

Btw, the orange background would be gone once we stick over some black paper or bark backdrop...

Close-ups of the attachments, visit:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/inthemo...n/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/inthemo...n/photostream/

Thanks...

[BFG]

Corydoras are a no-no in a planted tank.

[vinz]

Errr... why why, BFG?

So far the only problem I've had with corydoras in planted tanks are the 'jungle paths' they leave in my APP foreground or similar plants.

Certain corydoras don't go with certain plants. So choose wisely.

[jacian]

I notice that the driftwood layout have quite a bit of sharp edges. You may want to take note that the discs may hurt themselve from these sharp edges.

[BFG]

It's in their nature to dig the substrate to look for food. Their constant substrate disturbing nature might cause some plants to be uprooted as the substrate around the plants root system get loosen up. Certain plants like the eriocoulon ( hope I got the correct spelling ) might not be able to stand up against the corydoras.

[MosFat]

The tip of the central piece is where the wood was sawed. Is there any way to get this un-natural edge into a more natural looking state? Will hacking at it with a hammer or a machete help? Is there a HOWTO doc somewhere in this forum on how to deal with driftwood? Thanks...

[inthemood]

Hey BFG, vinz & jacian,

Thanks for the tip...

For the corys, guess I am lucky that the Trilineatus & Similis cohabited well with glosso and tenellus- the Trilineatus actually 'expanded' their family and such a delight to watch ... would need to forgo some plants just to have them around!

For the discus sake, would rather go with composition 2... where there are less sharp edges, but overall look may look less dynamic? Would have to really take care not to scare them to bits.

[will5]

Corydoras are a no-no in a planted tank.

I don't mean to be rude but that is just not true. The are fine as long as you plan for them a head of time. Meaning that if you are going to use sand you should wait till plants like HEMIANTHUS CALLITRICHOIDES and other foreground plants have been given enough time to take root. After that they are fine in a planted tank.

I have Yo yo loaches in my planted tank with anyproblems of him digging up my plants.

Again I mean no harm in my reply.

I love that drifwood It looks great.

[inthemood]

Hi all,

Thanks for the comments so far. We've done up yet another layout after getting our hands on more pieces of driftwood.

Frontal Shot 16/03/08

Frontal shot, close-up 16/03/08

Side Shot 16/03/08

[Jungle-mania]

I think the 2 SAEs got to go, they are very bullish in their behaviour, not good for a 2 ft cube tank when you have 2 discus and 10 corys, both of which are rather peaceful.

[Jervis]

Hi in the mood... perhaps it will be easier to visualize the layout with a sand base... and perhaps cover the back with white paper (or something). Currently there are too many distractions surrounding your tank.

[inthemood]

Hello Jervis,

Good sugg- would be getting the base fert, pile up the sand & take it from there...


Hey Jungle-mania,

Both SAEs are rather familiar with planted tanks, they should be 'trained' by now heh... if not they would suffer like before ha