2.5 gallon nanoscape

[Church]

I've been planning a 2.5 gallon mini tank for a while now, but things never really progressed past the hardscape for me. I liked the way I placed the rocks, but I never could decide on a plant layout or anything, so I had left it empty until now...

...But today, the tank has been handed over to my girlfriend, and she has turned it into a work of art. This is her first tank, and I think she did a fantastic job with the already-existing hardscape. I hope everyone enjoys the following ongoing journal. I'm now handing the keyboard over to her...


Hey everybody. I'm so excited to finally get a chance to exercise my little aquascaping muscles, and to be able to share the experience with you all. Without further adieu, here is my first ever planted tank, Home Sweet Home...

This first shot is from across the room:




And now a close up from head-on:




An couple of angled shots:






A few close-ups:










Well, that's all for now. These were taken less than an hour after planting, so we'll see what happens as time goes by...

Let me know what you think!



Thanks!


-Duncable
(I'll have my own screen name soon enough!!)

[kittytango]

Nice, what kind of fish are those? I'm planing on doing a simalar tank, thats a mini bow right? only I plan on using a betta. Not sure If I want the 5 gallon or 2.5 though.
Can't wait to see more pictures!
Cute cat BTW.....

[nate_mcnasty]

i think you should get smaller fish for that tank

[Tex Gal]

The fish are black neon tetras. Nice job, girlfriend!

[kittytango]

I didn't know black neons had red on them....

[CobraGuppy]

I think its just their eyes.

I love black neon tetras! Very nice for your first scape.

[nate_mcnasty]

i think those fish are too big for that tank. i have a 4 gallon and wouldn't even put those in there. those fish need room so they can school.

[BiscuitSlayer]

Church -

Did you go with the stock lighting on the mini bow or did you upgrade it? Looks fairly intense.

[Church]

It's the stock fixture, but I replaced it with a 10w 6500k bulb from the pet section at Walmart. As far as the size of the fish goes, I agree. Those fish were already in there as a temporary holding cell, while I get my 45 gallon up and running. They were never intended to be in there permanently. It's just taking a little longer than I originally planned, that's all. I've talked to my girlfriend about what kinds of nano-fish she wants in here, and she's open to suggestions. She even mentioned about how it doesn't necessarily have to showpiece a school of fish-- she'd be willing to go with like a single dwarf puffer, or maybe even just a bigger school of ottos. Does anyone have any suggestions on what to keep in there?

Anyway, she is very proud of this first scape of hers. She wouldn't stop looking at it last night, and she finally admitted to me that she now understands why I stare endlessly at my tanks for hours on end! LOL. Looks like we have a new member in our club!

[@marko@]

Originally Posted by kittytango

I didn't know black neons had red on them....

only near the eyes.

but yeah, i would not keep them in a tank smaller then 5 gallons. check out my page: Nanofish by Suitability for Tank Size
the whole website im doing on nanofish is under construction, but that page is done.

[Church]

Thanks for the link. I already saved it many days ago, when you posted it in another thread, and I put it in my girlfriend's favorites, so she can look at it on her own time. Thanks for that resource, because it was wonderfully done!

[Church]

Can anyone tell us how big green fire tetras get? Those really caught her eye when we were in the LFS yesterday. But I think they might get pretty big... Another one that just came to mind is lampeye killies... do those stay small enough for a 2.5?

Right now, we are definitely interested in finding the right fish to put in there, because it looks like I'll be able to remove the black neons this weekend..

[nate_mcnasty]

this guy has some great nano fish and there pretty cheap
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/sw...-rainbows.html
i'm getting Boraras sp

[Church]

^ Great link! Thanks for that. So please, everyone, keep the nanofish suggestions coming! Once again, can anyone tell me if lampeye killies might stay small enough for this tank? What about ember tetras?

[@marko@]

the ember tetra i would crowd in less then 4 gallons, the the killi i would put in 5.

has she ever seen some of the nice shrimp? they would do great in there.