“It can’t be done,” they said! Well, they’ve never met someone as determined as ME! roud:
Sure, some people might tie plants to driftwood in their Eartheater tank. But I'm gonna do way better. I've got a plan.
The fish:
6 Eartheaters (5 Geophagus Altifrons, 1 Satanoperca Jurupari)
2 Delhezi Bichirs
8 Angelfish
1 Chocolate Pleco
1 Raphael Catfish
A few livebearers
1 German Blue Ram
1 extremely mean little Red Tail Black Shark. She rules the tank.
If the Bichirs decide to start causing problems, they’ll be sold. But I’ve had them for a long time and so far they get along just fine with everyone. The Pleco will be sold once he’s bigger. The Angels…Well, we’ll see how they all interact once a pair or more has formed. I have a feeling some will need to be sold. I had not originally planned on adding them to this tank, however(long story) their tank is being torn down and I did not want to sell them. So, to the big tank they went!
My stock is just going to be a “hope for the best” type situation, I’m prepared to change it up if need be. The Eartheaters and RTBS are NEVER going anywhere. The tank is designed around them.
The problem:
Eartheaters spend their time grabbing big mouthfuls of sand, and swimming around the tank sifting it through their gills in search of food. They especially love taking sand from the base of objects such as driftwood, rocks…plants…you can see how that would be a problem. Plant something in the substrate and it’ll be floating within a couple hours. Every. single. time.
Equipment:
Filtration is a huge fx5, and I do 50% water changes every week. This tank is low-tech. I’m not even sure what the lighting is, it’s just what came with the tank. The bulb on the right side needs to be replaced because it’s a 50/50 and makes that side of the tank look dark. I don’t know how that would affect plants, so I haven’t really put any on that side of the tank yet. Substrate is nothing special, just stuff from Petsmart.
This is my only “before” picture. When I moved 3 hours north, I took out all the white sand(it had washed out my fish, made them look very dull and colorless), and the tank was barebottom for a while until I could afford black sand. This picture is after I added a couple bags of sand, which is why the tank is cloudy. The black Pleco on the front glass is no longer in the tank.
Sure, some people might tie plants to driftwood in their Eartheater tank. But I'm gonna do way better. I've got a plan.
The fish:
6 Eartheaters (5 Geophagus Altifrons, 1 Satanoperca Jurupari)
2 Delhezi Bichirs
8 Angelfish
1 Chocolate Pleco
1 Raphael Catfish
A few livebearers
1 German Blue Ram
1 extremely mean little Red Tail Black Shark. She rules the tank.
If the Bichirs decide to start causing problems, they’ll be sold. But I’ve had them for a long time and so far they get along just fine with everyone. The Pleco will be sold once he’s bigger. The Angels…Well, we’ll see how they all interact once a pair or more has formed. I have a feeling some will need to be sold. I had not originally planned on adding them to this tank, however(long story) their tank is being torn down and I did not want to sell them. So, to the big tank they went!
My stock is just going to be a “hope for the best” type situation, I’m prepared to change it up if need be. The Eartheaters and RTBS are NEVER going anywhere. The tank is designed around them.
The problem:
Eartheaters spend their time grabbing big mouthfuls of sand, and swimming around the tank sifting it through their gills in search of food. They especially love taking sand from the base of objects such as driftwood, rocks…plants…you can see how that would be a problem. Plant something in the substrate and it’ll be floating within a couple hours. Every. single. time.
Equipment:
Filtration is a huge fx5, and I do 50% water changes every week. This tank is low-tech. I’m not even sure what the lighting is, it’s just what came with the tank. The bulb on the right side needs to be replaced because it’s a 50/50 and makes that side of the tank look dark. I don’t know how that would affect plants, so I haven’t really put any on that side of the tank yet. Substrate is nothing special, just stuff from Petsmart.
This is my only “before” picture. When I moved 3 hours north, I took out all the white sand(it had washed out my fish, made them look very dull and colorless), and the tank was barebottom for a while until I could afford black sand. This picture is after I added a couple bags of sand, which is why the tank is cloudy. The black Pleco on the front glass is no longer in the tank.