Roy's Tanks

[Seattle_Aquarist]

Hi All,

It is a quiet evening on Memorial Day weekend so I thought I would work on trying to improve some of my photo editing skills.

45 gal tall; Nymphoides sp. 'Taiwan'; C. wendtii Bronze; Melanotaenia lacustris (Turquoise Rainbowfish)

[jart]

Beautiful. Love the choice of fish, especially rainbows and SAE. What is the substrate?

I have had good success in the past with Nymphoides, but it would always get too tall for my liking. I never really figured out the trick to get it to stay nice and compact. I've never tried the green variety that you have, though.

Is that a java fern on the left?

[Seattle_Aquarist]

Hi jart,

Thanks for the great comments. When Karen Randall did one of her talks here in Seattle on aquascaping and what the judges for AGA look for in the AGA Aquascape Contest one of the principles she emphasized was using contrast to create drama. The more contrast, the greater the dramatic effect.

I tried to incorporate that suggestion in this aquascape by using three types of contrast; color, texture, and form. In this layout there is contrast between leaf colors (reddish vs lime green), leaf textures (smooth vs crinkled), leaf shapes (long vs roundish). You can't see it in the photos above but there is also contrast between the various plants and the stone hardscape.

The substrate is Soilmaster Select Charcoal which unfortunately has been discontinued. I have not tried it but I understand the aquariumplants.com substrate in the Amazon color is supposed to be very similar. Nymphoides sp. 'Taiwan' is a little different from other Nymphoides species, seldom do I have a leaf grow to the surface in my 24" tall tank and if I remove the taller leaves the lower leaves get adequate light and keep looking good. Yes, in the top photo the plant on the left is a java fern, Microsorum pteropus 'Trident'.