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Just found out my neighbor may give me a 20 gallon and stand. Im totally out of ideas for decor and themes.
I have a real driftwood w brown gravel with a mix of some white and all green plants.
I have a fake driftwood with green plants and white gravel in front with brown in back.
I will soon decorate one with a shipwreck. I dont know what color of gravel I will use but it will most likely be white and veryyyy light tanned, almost cream mix. Its two different types. Ill just have to see what color gravel looks best with the ship but itll need to be white, I think, to look like the ocean bottom.
Now this hasnt arrived yet so I could buy more shipwreck/treasure chest/skeleton type items and use for the 20 gallon theme. But then Ill still need an idea for the other tank (10gal)that was going to be a shipwreck theme.
I dont like colored gravel like blues, pink. I dont like colored plants like blue and pinks either. I pretty much like earth tones. I dont want them all to look alike. I thought about maybe coral but find it hard to find coral I like. Around here, we have NO good decor. Ill most likely have to order it off line.
So, anyone have any ideas? Pics welcome!

How about a black sand or gravel with white rocks? or try a locational tank like a lake or the amazon. YOu could do a tank designed around 1 or 2 fish and then some complementary schools to go with it. Those are just a few ideas.

"A noble spirit embiggens the smallest man" Simpsons

Are you wanting yo use real plant or plastic plants? What kind, if any, fish do you have in mind? I really like black gravel and natural rock gravel. I have really gotten away from the neon colored rocks as well. I tried using them as kind of an accent in my latest tank and I wish I had jsut left it all black now, or used a lot less, or something. Amano seems to be the theme lately everyone is has talked about it recently. Are there any types of fish that you do not want at all? Are there any types of fish that you love and have never tried before?
I hope maybe this will help you a little, maybe get you thinking abotu what you want.



Christina

Well, I dont want to livebearers unless I went with lyretail or sailfin mollies. Ive had a few tetras but have been looking at the smaller tetras like neon and rummy nose. I have 2 cherry barbs now so I thought about more of them and maybe other barbs. Blue Gouramis are pretty cheap here so I thought about them. As far as bottom feeders, Ill probably get cories. Not too picky about algea eaters so any kind will work there as long as they arent expensive. Im not going with any expensive fish. Too risky for a new tank even after it just finished cycling.
I like the swampy idea and the white rock too. On white gravel Id put white rock. What would you add to make a swampy look other than lots of Java moss. Never kept live plants so I dont know about that. I like lots of plants so I may just stick with plastic or mix the two.

Last edited by ladiejl at 31-Oct-2005 18:13

I am stocking my "Tetra Tank" right now. I currently have 6 Von Rio Tetras. They are so cute and not terrible expensive. I also have Cardinals, which are expensive, however Neons are an inexpensive alternative to Cardinals. I am deciding on what other type of tetra though. Maybe Rasboras or Black Neons, I haven't really decided yet. I am VERY satisfied with my choices so far though. I have live plants and I have an " Underwater Island" in my tank. It is a castle on a hillside. If I can talk my boss into lettign me use her camera for the night, I am going to post some pictures of it on here. I really like they smaller tetras for the most part because they look so cool in their little schools, and it makes the tank look much more interesting when there is lots of activity instead of a few bigger fish just kinda floating around in there. I don't suggest mollies unless you want just a few larger fish because they are jsut so active and need lots of room to swim around. As for the cories, I love cories so I say GO FOR IT! Just try to give them enough company they really are lots of fun to watch. You probabyl know most of what I am telling you so forgive me if I sound like a broken record or whatever. Maybe this will help this time though? *Crosses Fingers*



Christina

"I don't suggest mollies unless you want just a few larger fish because they are jsut so active and need lots of room to swim around. As for the cories, I love cories so I say GO FOR IT! Just try to give them enough company they really are lots of fun to watch."

Ok...That really helped. I like smaller fish to because that means more fish. And....I like to but fish. Id rather have 20 small ones than 5 big ones.

I definitely agree with you on that. I am glad my advice helped. I definitely like having more fish because like I said it just looks so much more interesting than just a few big ones, probably something to do with my ADD. For the people who like that, great for them, but I like all the activity from the smaller fish in schools. I can't wait till I can get my tank set up. It is going to be so much fun. I might remove the tv in the living room and just watch the fish instead. lol yea right... Well have fun and keep us posted on what you decide on.



Christina