Need Advice On Decorating My 29g Aquarium

[theking]

First of all I apologize if I am posting in the wrong place.


Ok so I have had this fish tank for a month now. 2x Blue Gourami male+female, 2x swordtails both females, 4x blue neon tetras and 1x black mystery snail. I have only had a few casualties, I have determined that my local petco keeps their fish in extremely filthy conditions, overcrowded fish tanks where you cant even see the water and there are many dead fish in their aquariums, therefore I will only buy fish from petsmart which is a few miles away from me. Other than that my water readings are all normal, 0 nitrite, 0 ammonia I am doing weekly water changes now of 40% or so.

I have become very friendly with both my gouramis, whenever I come next to the aquarium they always come up and even let me touch them.

I am here because I seek your advice in decorating my tank, you see I am no artist, I cant come up with anything that looks as good as the aquariums I see around the internet, and I just do not like the way my aquarium looks. here are some pictures to provide you with an idea

I have 3 live plants that bamboo you see in the middle and two plants on the left side which I honestly do not know the name of. As well as some driftwood I got from the store in the back.

What do you think, in your opinion I should put in? I know for sure I want to take out that chest and "castle".. the Chest starts losing its color, I saw it in the store and the one in the store has a lot more colors and no white spots compared to mine.
I want it to look very natural and I just don't know what to do. If you recommend any rocks please provide me a link where I can buy them in the USA I do not want to spend a lot.. I am looking for something in the range of $25

 

[Boothros]

I'm sure you will get lots of answers from people who know their plants (sadly I am just only learning about the weird and wonderful world of underwater plants which all seem to have only Latin names!) But I would say if you want your tank to look natural then you should be aiming for natural planting i.e LIVE plants. They always look better than artificial, can benefit the water quality and provide shelter for fish. Some plastic plants can potentially be harmful to small delicate fish (drag some live plant leaves over your hand and then drag a plastic plant over it and see which one scratches you the most.)You will have to remember that plants will need care as well as livestock and to keep them in tip top conditition may cost a little. The plants themselves are often not cheap but if well cared for can be very good value, if your conditions are right they can grow rampantly. I'm not a fan of castles or treasure chests really. Thats just a matter of taste I suppose but I don't see how having a minature underwater castle adds to the natural look that you are striving for. I would instead be looking for some nice wood to give a little architecture to the tank and would consider growing mosses from the wood. There are many sources of information on the net suggesting the techniques needed to achieve this sort of look but the most beautiful planted tanks don't happen overnight, they take many months of planning and planting. If this doesn't appeal, go onto Youtube and type in 'Aquascaping'. There are some wonderful examples to be found on there and whilst you might never get to quite that level, it is a wonderful source of inspiration which helps you realise that there is a lot more enjoyment to be had from a tank that just the fishkeeping. I hope someone can post some good links for you.

 

[Boothros]

Just to add, rocks and stones don't have to be brought from the aquatic store. In the UK we have rules about removing stones from the beach, I don't know if it would be the same in the US, but we can also buy all sorts of stone from garden centres here. The stability of the rock itself can have a bearing on your water quality. To test your rock, pour a little vinegar onto it. If it starts to fizz, then discard it, but if not, it should be fine for your tank. I'm a bit paranoid unless I know exactly where things come from and personally would boil the stones for a while just to make sure you wearn't introducing anything harmful.

 

[tanktop]

HI;
It looks to me like you have an Anubias on the left, they do not like being planted in the gravel they need to be tied to a rock or peace of wood.
Anubias are grate plants as they are easy to keep and don't need fancy lights and CO2, two other plants I have found very easy to keep are Cryptocoryne wendtii and Vallisneria. Should also be easy to find in your LFS

 

[Aquascaper]

I personally would boil the stones for a while just to make sure you wearn't introducing anything harmful.

Do NOT boil rocks, it is unnecessary and potentially dangerous as the rock could shatter and 'explode'.

You only have to disinfect the rock, either by pouring boiling water over it or by cleaning with a chlorine bleach then rinsing very well.

 

[theking]

what I am asking here is for someone with an artistic view point to tell me at what place in the aquarium to place my plants, where to move that driftwood and where to place rocks etc .. where I live, rocks found on the beach are very small that is why I am willing to purchase some online but I do not know from where

 

[Aquascaper]

Well three bits of advice....

Remove the lucky bamboo, it's not an aquatic plant and will eventually die and pollute your tank.

Search Google for the 'golden triangle' in relation to aquariums.

Don't use rock from beaches as they can have been subjected to all sorts of toxins and marine bacteria.

As for your aquascape, it's your tank so quite hard for someone else to 'tell' you where to put everything to make it look good, it may look good to them and not you - you're the one looking at it all the time.

 

[theking]

The problem is I cannot come up with anything that looks good in my point of view and was hoping for some guidance. Are you sure it isnt an aquatic plant? the pet store had it inside their fish tank when I bought it.. regardless though if it dies ill just throw it out

 

[mossonthemoon]

Lucky bamboo is a shrub that grows at the lower levels of the rainforest, and is definitely not an aquatic plant. It can grow in water, but not when it is fully submerged, and it needs to be in the shade. It will not live long at all in your fish tank, but if you take it out you can have a nice little house plant.

Try putting the shortest plants towards the front of your tank, and the tallest towards the back. Put like with like, as they would grow in nature, and have some patience for the plants to grow and fill in. If you can find high quality artificial plants that aren't scratchy, they may be okay while you wait for growth, but they are usually more expensive than live plants. Find a nice piece of wood, perhaps, that will fit in your tank and you like the shape of. The fastest and safest way to get wood for the tank is to buy it from someone selling especially for the aquarium. Just fiddle around a bit and see what happens. You can always post updated pictures for further advice. I did that.

 

[Aquascaper]

If it dies ill just throw it out

If you're looking to redo the tank anyway I would remove it now before it dies. Why take the chance of it polluting the tank and possibly killing the fish, it's not a matter of if it's when.

 

[theking]

I took it out...
now does anybody know where I can buy rock online? something not expensive.. I have looked at various aquariums and I think that a rock cave will look pretty good

 

[Aquascaper]

Buying rock online will incur big postage costs, better to check out DIY stores or builders merchants.

 

[Tizer]

I personally would boil the stones for a while just to make sure you wearn't introducing anything harmful.

Do NOT boil rocks, it is unnecessary and potentially dangerous as the rock could shatter and 'explode'.

You only have to disinfect the rock, either by pouring boiling water over it or by cleaning with a chlorine bleach then rinsing very well.

^^ yeah the air inside makes them go "pop" if you boil them

 

[Boothros]

I personally would boil the stones for a while just to make sure you wearn't introducing anything harmful.

Do NOT boil rocks, it is unnecessary and potentially dangerous as the rock could shatter and 'explode'.

You only have to disinfect the rock, either by pouring boiling water over it or by cleaning with a chlorine bleach then rinsing very well.

^^ yeah the air inside makes them go "pop" if you boil them

Sorry I probably made that sound a bit wrong. What I do is put stones into a bowl of boiling water and leave them there for half an hour or so. I've never had one explode before. I don't think I would trust myself to rinse bleach off sufficiently to risk using it. Anyway, back to the subject, theking can you not get rock or stone in your aquatic shop? If I was buying a natural product like that, I would rather see it in the flesh as it were first before I bought it.