my humble 4 ft tank with aros

[agitato]

here's some pics of my humble tank...

http://www.arofanatics.com/members/a...2004newplants/

a little background:

the initial setup was no plants but with 1 inch high gravel, with the current inhabitants.
the conversion process was done by using tao huey containers, fill half with base fert, top up with gravel, then slowly arranged onto the tank bottom then finally another layer of gravel.

current flora list:
myriophyllum matogrossense var green - removed majority of this
blyxa japonica
tonina sp
glosso
e. tenellus
vallisneria 'corkscrew'
riccia
rotala indicas
rotala macranda
bacopa caroliniana
ludwigia inclinata var verticilata
ammania gracilis
eusteralis stellata
nymphaea lotus rubra
red tiger lotus - newest acquisition!

plus some crypts that are hidden and i forgot their names =)

fauna:
1 banjar red aro
1 pearl aro
2 Siamese tigers
7 Indo tigers
1 angelfish
2 bronze corydoras

lighting:
2 36W FL
4 36W PL
10 hrs

co2:
2 2l diy co2
1 2l co2 cylinder - 2 days old

current problems:
BBA - retreating after i got the co2 cylinder

lots of vacant spots, hopefully the plants grow to cover those areas
as well as hide my filters!

[agitato]

btw the badis badis is in a separate 2 ft tank...

[PeterGwee]

Too crowded...Imagine it as asking two large man to stay inside a small toilet. Yucks... Have a heart for critters you keep. Give them a big and spacious environment to move around or else don't keep them.

Regards
Peter Gwee

[Simon]

yes, i agree with peter on that.. looks like its too tight even for 1 arowana

[elmike]

Your background colour is too glaring...doesn't go along w your set up. A black one may blend better if you must stay w wall paper.

[robin]

Wah, 2 big guys in 1 small tank.
Maybe good idea to get a bigger tank?

Robin

[vinz]

Even a bare 4ft for one 1ft arowana, I feel is not enough space. When your plants grow bigger and taller, the 2 big fellas are going to have even less space. Your ST is going to be quite big too. Please re-consider the number of large fishes you have in there.

[budak]

In nature, large predatory species tend to require much larger territories (e.g. a 10 acre patch of jungle can support maybe 100 deer but only 1 tiger). Because solitary predators will regard each other as rivals (except during mating periods), putting them in close proximity, or worse crowding, only causes stress as dominant individuals will turn on weaker ones, until only the most aggressive specimens are left.

I really hope you can start planning to make your tank a less crowded environment for these demanding species. Your plantings scheme seems good, but the number of potentially large fishes is an imbalance both aesthetically and ecologically.

[agitato]

well i guess i'm getting flamed for having 2 aros in a 4ft tank

can't help it on that for the time being until i get a larger tank


btw the large tiger seen in the pic, is only one of the tigers in the tank!

the others are happily hiding amongst the plants (as they normally do in nature!)

but when feeding time comes, they all line up in the front eagerly.

as for the aros, they live peacefully with the minor squabbles which is quite normal for a comm aro tank.

[vinz]

Don't think of it as being flamed. Flaming includes name-calling and aggressive language. This is just neutral advice and pleads for the well-being of the fishes.

Here comes more... :P

You can help it actually. Just don't have that many fishes!

Be advised, high fish-loads (especially carnivorous fishes) don't go well with planted tanks. Not that it can't be done, just not easy. As it is, many beginners have problems with "normal" fish-load planted tanks.

[mrs budak]

Flamed? Who wants to be flamed? How can anybody be flamed here without mrs budak doing the job???

[juggler]

agitato: Don't be agitated. Your tank looks fine with me.

Considering you have 2 big fish inside, the plants are growing healthy. Hope you get a new tank soon so you can house more plants.

BTW - do you have other planted tanks or is this the only one you have? Since I notice you took the trouble to list down all the plant names.

[agitato]

can't bear to sell any fish =(((((

this is one of 2
i just started a moss n fern tank with some badis badis in it

[mrs budak]

Come come, let's be very gentle with you. Put it this way, if you squeeze the fish in an unhospitable environment, if the fish cannot tahan (tolerate) the environment, you don't want to sell also no use, the fish will still say bye bye to you.

So sometimes, things are not up to you. You may want some things to happen, but nature works in other ways. Eventually, most of the time, nature wins.