On Tue, 25 Oct 2005 18:21:13 +0000, Elaine T wrote:

Looks like it's going to grow out beutifully. I'm amazed you didn't
have trouble with the vermiculite floating. I made the mistake of
trying to use soil with some vermiculite in my pond, and boy was it a
mess. I have 15 watts of CF over my 2 gallon hex and it works very
nicely for green plants - it's not quite enough for reds.

The trick is to mix the vermiculite with water and kneed it until all the
air is out of it. Once the soil layer is in, use a spray bottle to was
off any slop on the sides of the tank/driftwood/etc. Then drop an inch of
gravel in and plant it before you fill it. I planted with enough water
so I had no open water unless I tilted the tank a little bit, and I
periodically misted everything down.

I like your idea of sparkling gouramis. Other tiny
fish that come to
mind are Endler's livebearers, pygmy rasboras (Bororas maculata), or
pygmy cories (C. pygmaeus).

I thought about these (and Celebese Rainbows too) but a) livebearers?
Argh! Within a few months it will have .5 gallons of soil plants and
wood, .5 of water, and 1.5 of fry!

The cories are awesome(I used to have them in a 30G hex with sparkling
gouramis, featherfin rainbows, and dwarf puffers) but to me they are an
accent and not a main attraction).

Anyone that has not kept sparkling gouramis should, definitely. They are
one of my favorite small fish. I think I will be going with them, if for
no other reason than the fact that they are anabantoids and if something
contaminates the water they can survive breathing surface air for a bit
longer.

Thanks for the advice

~Empty