# Unhappy with my aquascaping :(



## vaypourus (May 20, 2008)

After looking at some other tanks, I have really decided that my current aquascaping is unacceptable.

Here is a pic of what it looks like this second (don't mind the clear water bottle traps...trying to catch some stubborn J. Ornatus!)










It is a 55 gallon that is planted with Java Ferns (wide, narrow, & Windelov varieties), Java Moss, Crypts (Red, Green, & Bronze) and Vallisneria. The rocks are jagged and are yellow sandstone, purple shale, white fossil limestone, granite, and some other limestone like rock.

The plants and rocks are unlike the natural habitat of Lake Tanganyika. While the fish seem to love it, the plants (other than the Crypts) have not filled in as much as I would like, probably due to the hard, high pH water.

I want my tank to look more like this:










Or this:










This would of course entail removing the 100+ pounds of rock currently in the tank, getting rid of the plants, finding new cobblestones and rocks, and arranging the tank all over again.

Can anybody add some pics of a more simplistic round cobblestone-like rock aquarium?

Thanks-


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## drungil14 (Jan 11, 2009)

Heres my tank with granite cobbles I got from a local landscaping company. It has a breeding pair of Julidochromis ornatus and about twenty of their fry. I like your tank a lot but I guess what ever you like.


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## vaypourus (May 20, 2008)

Thanks for the reply. I hope you didn't like it too much...it is all torn down! I like your tank a lot, and I will probably steal your idea of granite cobblestones.










I had to leave the one rock in there, because my BNs are spawning AGAIN. Additionally, I was finally able to net all of the J. ornatus and move them to my 40 gal breeder. It took me 40 minutes to catch 5 fish in a nearly empty tank. For being 1 inch juvies, they are incredibly intelligent and lightning fast.

I've removed all of the plants from the tank with the exception of the Vallisneria and the Crypts. I think I might leave the Crypts in the tank just because they are growing so well, but I have not decided with any certainty yet.


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## Fogelhund (Dec 3, 2002)

What type of fish are you keeping, and what are the numbers of each?


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## vaypourus (May 20, 2008)

The most current stock list is as follows:

(11) Cyprichromis Leptosoma Kerenge Island
(7) Altolamprologus Calvus White Chaitika (F1)
(5) Julidochromis Transcriptus Pemba
(2) Mating pair BN

I am definitely overloaded right now, but this is just temporary. All of the fish (except the BNs )are juvies, so I am waiting to see how things go as they age. I'd like to keep a small heirum of the julies and the calvus, but I may end up with just a pair or two of each.

I'm thinking about adding maybe 1 or 2 other fish down the road to spuce things up a bit.

I'm considering 1 or 2 from the following list:

(1) Neolamprologus sexfasciatus
(1) Tanganicodus irsacae
(1) Neolamprologus helianthus
*****maybe*****
(1) Neolamprologus leleupi

These are a real big maybe though, because I don't want problems in my tank, and I only have 55 gallons to work with.


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## triscuit (May 6, 2005)

Cobblestones are quite pretty, but don't provide the same depth of habitat that your flat rocks do. Round rocks take up more space and don't stack to make caves very well. Perhaps you can hide some large conch shells or manufactured caves to increase the habitat value of the round rocks.

I think your current stocking list looks great. :thumb: Once the altos and julies are breeding age, you'll likely need to remove some of them.


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## remm (Apr 6, 2009)

Regarding your stocking: I didn't want to be backed into a corner with breeding pairs killing each other. I decided to choose my favorite and try to get a pair out of them then add singles of a wide range. So far it has worked out pretty well. There is a definite societal order within the tank at the moment with my Tretocephalus being number one and me Juli Transcriptus pair being number 2. Aggression is very minimal with no injuries so far. Funny thing is I have 6 Paracyp juvies in with a 2 inch Tretocephalus and he treats them like theyre his own.

I really liked the aquascaping of your tank. If it was mine, I would have done away with the powerhead and changed the background. A natural looking background isnt hard to do. I'm working on a slate background.


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## vaypourus (May 20, 2008)

triscuit said:


> Cobblestones are quite pretty, but don't provide the same depth of habitat that your flat rocks do.


That was part of the problem actually. If you look in the first pic, you can see the shoal of Cyps and a couple of Calvus; the 11 julies in the tank were tucked back in the rocks so deep I hard saw more than 1-2 transcriptus or ornatus at a time. I know the cobbles will be more open, hopefully making the fish come out instead of hiding in a cave all the time.

I want to see the fish that cost me a small fortune (I'm unemployed, so it is a sizable amount of coin right now), if you know what I mean. I hated having people ask me "where are all the fish you bought?" and having to tell them "oh, they are in there, but you can't see them because they are hiding in the rocks"



remm said:


> If it was mine, I would have done away with the powerhead and changed the background.


I actually had to get the powerhead because of poor water circulation in the tank. I don't know if it was because of the way the rocks were piled, but I had a huge problem of black, stinking, anaerobic pockets of sand before the powerhead. I don't like the looks of it, but it does a good job of keeping everything aerated and definitely helps keep poo from building up on the sand.

I'm considering a background, but I'm worried about only having 12 1/2" of depth to work with. Additionally, I really don't want to move all my fish to my 40 gallon, drain the tank, clean it, build a background, apply the background, and then selectively catch the fish and replace them. That is a lot of work., but who knows. Can you share a pic/thread of your background?


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## remm (Apr 6, 2009)

vaypourus said:


> That is a lot of work., but who knows. Can you share a pic/thread of your background?


Sure I can. I'm starting on it today. My tank is already established so I am trying to do something that is removable and very thin also. I have about 300 pounds of grey slate in the yard and I have broken up quite a bit of it into small pieces about 2" x 2" up to 4" x 4". Each will be siliconed onto a sheet of acrylic. My only problem that I can foresee is that it will be sharp in some areas. The best way that I have found to reduce the sharpness is to tap the edges with a hammer until they are dull. It's going to be time-consuming like a puzzle but hopefully well worth the cost.

I am hoping to keep it under 1" thickness so I can just slide it right in behind my intakes. The HOB filters will hopefully be gone shortly.

2 Sheets of 18 x 24 .223 acrylic @ $20 ea
2 bottles GE Silicone I @ $5 ea
Free slate
$50 total.

My tank is listed on the site with the current setup updated as of last night with a new light. My favorite is the landscaping rock I got for 22 cents a pound at a nursery.


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## JWerner2 (Jul 7, 2008)

I dont have any problems with cobble/river rock!

I love it!

I like all three pics. The second almost looks like they are home made rocks though.

Heres a clip of my tank before I took it down. My Leleupis loved it and had more than enough space for hiding and caves to swim in. It created a network system! I believe its the other way around. You can stack flat rock easier but they are just that.... flat and no depth!






Here is my 20L. I set this up to hold the fish while I move my main tank to our new house and allow it to cycle.

http://img531.imageshack.us/my.php?image=vid002242290544tx4.flv

I honestly hate slate and other flat rocks and I think the caves made when using that look to man made and almost like Flintstone houses.

EDIT: Man, dont mind the pile of sand next to the intake on the 20L. I just noticed that! The Lelupis must have been busy this morning! :lol:


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## noddy (Nov 20, 2006)

vaypourus, for what it's worth, Your tank was by far the best looking tank in this thread.
But, it's what you like that counts.


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## 24Tropheus (Jun 21, 2006)

Agree. Rounded cobbles or rocks look best (and are arguably the most natural) but you can keep more in with say piles of plastic tubes making more territories. The flat rocks seems a pretty good compromise (lots of territories and looks OK) but there are advantages and disadvantages to all three aquascapes.


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## mpmitche (Apr 28, 2005)

vaypourus said:


>


I like this one, what is the plant that makes the "field" on the left?


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## vaypourus (May 20, 2008)

That is Vallisneria that has been mowed down by the Tropheus in that tank. If you do a google search for "tanganyika aquarium" you can find more info about it.


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## vaypourus (May 20, 2008)

***update***

After bringing up literally 300 pounds of rocks from the Genesee River gorge, I remodeled the tank with some quartz cobbles which are plentiful in this area. All of the plants have been removed except the Crypts, which are just really beautiful. I've left some shells for the calvus, and they are definitly chiling around the shells now that the Occies have been removed from the tank.

I much prefer the simplicity of the new setup.

Take a look:










The fish seem to like it, and I've noticed that the J. Trans Pembas now chill out together. They are growing at a faster rate than any of the other fish, although they seem to eat less than any other fish in the tank.










I'm still not 100% on the quartz yet. I have also located several green granite rocks with some gorgeous quartz marbling from a quarry that I may try. I'm returning to the quarry soon to attempt to find more.


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## dwarfpike (Jan 22, 2008)

I think it looks much better now!! Good job!! :thumb:

I would stick to the lighter colored stones, they just look better with Lake Tangs IMO. Like the pics from the lake itself. But of course, it is your tank. You can always take out the two on the far right and use the darker ones there to see which you like better.


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## drungil14 (Jan 11, 2009)

I like that setup a lot more than the old one.


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## vaypourus (May 20, 2008)

drungil14 said:


> I like that setup a lot more than the old one.


Thanks! So far I have gotten nothing but positive feedback on it. I'm considering adding just a few more cobbles in an attempt to provide a little more shelter without overdoing it.

I'll update this when I make some changes.


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## vaypourus (May 20, 2008)

***update***

I added some additional quartz rocks to the piles to create some more caves and hiding spots for the fish. What a difference in fish behavior! The julies immediately spread out (they were congregating at the left side of the tank before) and actually seem to come out more than they did before. I believe that the fact that there are more covered areas have given the fish some comfort with the surroundings. Additionally, I think I have two julies in the center rock pile that are forming a pair, as they have begun to flair their fins and swim around each other in tight circles.

Furthermore, the cyps are now spending more time mid tank instead of keeping close to the rock piles.

Here is an updated pic:


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## aussy612 (Jan 31, 2009)

i thought you tank looked stunning even before you redid it :lol:


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## BigFish77 (Feb 1, 2009)

I like both set-ups as well, but the second definitely looks more crisp and clean. Anytime I re-model and remove its like my tank is brand new again.


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