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My lovely Mini-Bow is the intended future home for a pair of betta imbellis. My plant order arrived today (sooner than I'd expected!) and I just finished throwing things together. The poor new betta girl wasn't terribly happy with me for mucking around in her tank. She was all like, "ExCUSE you, you steal me away from the store (thank you!), put me in here, medicate me for my fins, and THEN you keep putting your hands in here and moving things around!"

Anyway, here is my attempt at aquascaping. Do excuse the flash reflection. That huge egg-shaped rock is NOT part of the finished 'scaping, it's just holding down the driftwood until it decides to stop floating. The big driftwood piece reaches from one side of the tank to the other.

Because the intended occupants are Thai in origin, I tried to keep with SE Asian plants. There's two Crinum Thaianum, two crypt lutea and three crypt willisii. Also, duckweed, java moss and two tiny unidentified plants, and the two fake plants in the back. Goodness... that sounds like a lot of plants, doesn't it? I noticed that the imbellis in my LFS were very "hide in the plants" type fish. I want them to feel comfy.

Meh, the pictures don't show the 'scaping very well. I like the crinums and how they flow over the surface of the water. I think the design needs help, but I think it would definitely improve with the absence of that stupid big rock. To replace the rock when the wood finally sinks is a smaller amethyst crystal. Hey... it matches the tank.

Anyone want to comment or suggest improvements? *grins*

~Meow. Thus spoke the cat.~

COMMENT

That looks really good for a five gallon! my 5g is teal and not as good looking as yours.
im sure the bettas will love it!!!

Looks really good!!! CONGRATULATIONS!!!

That vall is wonderful!!! (i love valls)

Personally - I like the rock I'd keep it and add another rock or two to make a cave

That's just my two cents - other than that it looks awesome!!

I nice light or dark blue background will do wonders on that little bow baby..

Just go down to a craft store,get some suitable coloured card, and just park it up behind the tank, it'll go a long way to that *natural* look.

[span class="edited"][Edited by Curare 2004-07-15 02:04][/span]

Hehe... I totally agree with needing a background. I don't think my pale, pale purple walls do much for the tank, eh? (Yes, that's purple, not blown out white.)

I was hoping the driftwood would have sunk by now, which would make aquascaping much easier. I may keep the rock, but I hope it won't need to be pinning the wood down for much longer!

Now that the crinum is in the tank, I'm not liking the duckweed much. I may take it out, but I don't know where I'd put it. *shrugs* I really like the crinums and wish I had gotten more of those and less of the crypts. Ah well, hindsight is 20/20 and all.

And Falstaf likes my tank! *happiness*

~Meow. Thus spoke the cat.~

I was hoping the driftwood would have sunk by now, which would make aquascaping much easier.

Did you treat the driftwood to a warm/hot water soak prior to adding it to the tank? Soaking driftwood isn't just for removing tannins, it also opens the pores of the wood and allows it to absorb water faster, making it easier to sink it . If you didn't I'd suggest some hot (not boiling) water changing it as it cools for a few days. It should hopefully sink faster then.

^_^

Babelfish -

I did soak it for a bit in hot water, but not very long. I just wrapped it in java moss, so unless I take it all off to soak it... Meh... hopefully it will sink soon. If not, I'll have to figure something out.

I'll leave it for another day or so before invading the poor lil girl's tank again. ...by now she's got to be a bit peeved.

~Meow. Thus spoke the cat.~

A darker gravel would make that tank very dramtic and play with the purple theme. Especially once the crystal is added.

The darl crystal

sorry couldn't help it

Empty chairs at empty tables, the room silent, forlorn.

If it's only a little peice of driftwood, the best way to get it to sink and be free of bugs algae and disease, is to chuck it in a pot and boil it for about an hour or three.

Wait till you see the colour of the water tho

YEEECH!!

I should post some pics of my 2 gal

might give you some hints and stuff

[span class="edited"][Edited by Babelfish 2004-07-16 10:32][/span]