I get it! Only one out of the four tanks in this house is one I'm happy to show off
This one I'm happy to show off, it's where I want it to be for the most part, apart from some plant maintenance! And hood not fitting so doesn't hide the waterline unless I tilt it forward.
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But the 12.5 gallon grow out/quarantine tank is built for function rather than aesthetics at the moment
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Have added a load of floating plant, more wood and more fake plants since this pic, oh, and a black bin bag for a temporary background just so I can get photos of the fry that are in there now. But you get the idea. Function, not looks for this tank.
My dad's horror tank. I've improved it a bit by adding a load more live plants, but the ugly background colour he painted onto the tank, the ugly strip he stuck along the top to hide the waterline, gravel etc, I can't do anything about since it isn't my tank. Nightmare stocking too. Really, the whole tank and stand just needs replacing. Not a tank I'm thrilled to show off!
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And my oto tank looked like this a month ago:
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But that long wood piece was new, since developed some horrible fungus stuff that grew back despite scrubbing it with salt, so is now soaking in a salt solution. Black beard and a horrible ugly brown algae have developed, and plants aren't looking great, so not happy to show it off anymore! Tanks change and evolve and go through different periods as plants grow or fail, or algae develops, or other problems (like my problem with my lovely tank needing daily changes for a fortnight meaning I didn't devote as much time to ridding this tank of algae) means they go through seasons where you're happy with it, and sometimes not.
So that oto tank not looking so good now.
Had to remove the fungus wood:
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And now this hideous algae I can't even identify has appeared. Tempted to throw that moneywort out, it's a magnet for algae, but never even seen this type before
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And I need to change extension cords so the internal filter isn't right at the front, so this tank is a state right now, what a difference a month can make! While my lovely tank went from practically bare to healthy jungle within a month. Constantly evolving!
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So no one is judging, I promise! We've all got things we're working on, and parts we're not so thrilled to show off