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Old 14-05-2003, 02:56 AM
Vincent
 
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Default 10gal. or smaller planted tank?

Actually, I have seen planted tank with a lot of angels, but for my
personal experience, I had difficulty keeping them together with other
tank mates. My oto likes to harass them by clinging on to their
scales...

My experience with serpae tetra is not too good either. They tend to
intomidate the neons and cardinals in my tank. I would go for
cardinals, neons, yamato shrimps, SAE and badis badis. They are
excellent tankmates.

cheers


Sherry Michael Weller wrote in message .. .
Hello!

I've found a lot of things people say about smaller tanks being
'difficult' a myth. I have two six gallon planted tanks. Nano and
microtanks are fun. www.aquabotanic.com has a Wet Thumbs micro tank
planted bulletin board you may be interested in. There are several 2.5
planted tanks.


Can it be possible to have a planted tank which is 10gals or less(2.5gal)?


Of course! IMO, I have found them to be rewarding and not all that hard.
I've traded my large tanks for small ones over the years.
Here is one of mine: http://www.psych.upenn.edu/~sherrym/fish.html

What kind of lighting and chemicals should I use to keep the plants healthy
and thriving?


It all depends on the kind of plants and your water conditions. Do you
want high light or a low light tank? Study up and see what plants
interest you. Smaller tanks usually need less light per gallon usually
because they are more shallow.

What about compatible fish for the planted tank?


Most killifish are excellent. I would avoid livebearers due to sudden
population increases. I've used lemon tetras, mini cories and cherry
barbs with great success. Angels would not work. You can also just have
some amano or glass shrimp.

If I don't find any ideal type of sand, what could be the alternatives?


I use pure Flourite.

What plants do you recommend that I should start with?


Depends on how much light you can get. Hard to kills like crypts,
anubias, java ferns and
inexpensive stem plants like hygro and coonstail. Start with a LOT of
plants to out compete algae. The only problem will be selecting small
plants, but it can be done!