First Aquarium! Any thoughts

[Killerbro511]

It Has 2 Platies a medium greeny sought of thing and a small orange one. i also have a small balloonMollythat sometimes nips and chases the Platies. its a 20l and it seems big enough. Any tips or tricks to help me improve my tank will be greatly appreciated

 

[Quin]

Personally, I don't think you could go wrong with more plants. Live, as they are beneficial to your tank and fun for your fish to play in. I would also keep the water level a little higher to give your fish more room to swim. Possibly more hardscape, though it's optional to what you personally want to see in a tank. I hear driftwood is popular with some fish owners, and it lends a nice natural look

Make sure you look into the care requirements of your fish before deciding on anything. I know in your last thread it's possible you may get new fish. Some fish require more room to hide, while others will demolish most live plants.

 

[Killerbro511]

Personally, I don't think you could go wrong with more plants. Live, as they are beneficial to your tank and fun for your fish to play in. I would also keep the water level a little higher to give your fish more room to swim. Possibly more hardscape, though it's optional to what you personally want to see in a tank. I hear driftwood is popular with some fish owners, and it lends a nice natural look

Make sure you look into the care requirements of your fish before deciding on anything. I know in your last thread it's possible you may get new fish. Some fish require more room to hide, while others will demolish most live plants.

do i need to get a special fertiliser or anything for the plants

 

[JuiceBox52]

do i need to get a special fertiliser or anything for the plants

Not if you get easy ones, floating plants, anarchis, hornwort are all good ones. I would really reccomend rehoming at least the molly tho. They need at least a 20gallon tank and yours is only 5g. It would be best to rehome all of them and get one suited for a 5 gallon. Or get a bigger tank

 

[Quin]

do i need to get a special fertiliser or anything for the plants

I'd recommend looking into it, since different plants also have different needs. I hear root tabs are better for plants that are root feeders, while liquid fertilizer can help others. I'm always going to recommend Anubias since they get big and leafy and I believe they're low maintenance.

 

[Fishmanic]

is that a plastic plant on the left. You should use mainly real plants as they help absorb nitrates and look great once they grow out. Hygrophila deformis is a fast growing substate plant . Also anubias nana is a nice plant to attach to rocks or driftwood (don't plant in the substrate as they will die.) It is a slow grower though so will take quite a while to fill out.

My first thought on seeing your tank was that you should enter it in our June 1st Tank of the Month contest. It doesn't matter if you are not at your final goal..you can always enter a later contest too. Just show us what you got in our TOTM contest. Next one starts on June 1st and is for tanks sized at 16 US gallons (61 litres) or smaller.

Meanwhile please vote in our present Tank of the Month contest by clicking the banner at the top of forum.

 

[Killerbro511]

is that a plastic plant on the left. You should use mainly real plants as they help absorb nitrates and look great once they grow out. Hygrophila deformis is a fast growing substate plant . Also anubias nana is a nice plant to attach to rocks or driftwood (don't plant in the substrate as they will die.) It is a slow grower though so will take quite a while to fill out.

My first thought on seeing your tank was that you should enter it in our June 1st Tank of the Month contest. It doesn't matter if you are not at your final goal..you can always enter a later contest too. Just show us what you got in our TOTM contest. Next one starts on June 1st and is for tanks sized at 16 US gallons (61 litres) or smaller.

Meanwhile please vote in our present Tank of the Month contest by clicking the banner at the top of forum.

no it is real. i think it is a Purple waffle and my tank won't get even close to winning that

 

[Fishmanic]

It's not whether you win or lose..it's that you participate! More entries make the contest more interesting... And after entering the first time, a few months later you can show off your progress!

 

[JuiceBox52]

no it is real. i think it is a Purple waffle and my tank won't get even close to winning that

I believe the purple waffle is a marsh plant and will rot underwater

 

[Killerbro511]

I believe the purple waffle is a marsh plant and will rot underwater

when i bought it it they had it underwater. Also will duckweed be any good

 

[Retired Viking]

Sorry, but you tank is what we refer to as a nano tank it would be like living in a closet for most fish. It is a great tank for a Betta and a snail or a group of shrimp, Most fish need room to swim to stay healthy. I would look into some live plants like water sprite and small nano fish, I have ember tetra which are tiny but they need room for their shoal of at least 6 fish so your tank is probably to small for them and they need soft water. Do you know what type of water do you have? soft or hard?

 

[Killerbro511]

Sorry, but you tank is what we refer to as a nano tank it would be like living in a closet for most fish. It is a great tank for a Betta and a snail or a group of shrimp, Most fish need room to swim to stay healthy. I would look into some live plants like water sprite and small nano fish, I have ember tetra which are tiny but they need room for their shoal of at least 6 fish so your tank is probably to small for them and they need soft water. Do you know what type of water do you have? soft or hard?

it is around 220gh ppm i dont have qa test kit but im likly gonna get one

 

[JuiceBox52]

it is around 220gh ppm i dont have qa test kit but im likly gonna get one

That means your water is hard so mollies and platies are good with your water. But definitely not good with tank size. You could have shrimp and snails though.

I know you really like your fish, and we arent trying to put you down, but the fish really do need a larger tank. Is there any way you could get a 20 gallon?

 

[Retired Viking]

Maybe a few fancy male guppies.

 

[Killerbro511]

That means your water is hard so mollies and platies are good with your water. But definitely not good with tank size. You could have shrimp and snails though.

I know you really like your fish, and we arent trying to put you down, but the fish really do need a larger tank. Is there any way you could get a 20 gallon?

likly not as i don't have much space in my room and im trying to spend as little as possible