# Rhom and Planted Tank



## elTwitcho (Jun 22, 2004)

Hey all, here's the second set of shots I took this weekend (first is the red belly shots) of my rhom and the first full tank shot I've posted since finalizing the decorations. I'd like to add more plants but he still needs room to swim around so any new plants will have to wait until he moves to the 50 gallon. Mind that the plants are a little brown, some are still recovering from the lfs and this is my first planted tank so I'm still mastering the art of keeping them healthy. I added another light a little while ago which has helped tremendously as well so they should start looking up a bit. Anyhow, please click the thumbnail for the upsized version which is only slightly larger but much clearer.

Hope you guys enjoy the shots, they'll likely be my last shots of him in his current tank and I hope to have him moved mid-february to early march, I just need to find a bigger tank for the red bellies. Comments on the tank are appreciated, I'm torn as to if I want to keep using black gravel or go to something more natural with the next set up.


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## elTwitcho (Jun 22, 2004)

Oh right, almost forgot to point out. The right side of the tank is bare because that's his corner, I added plants around him but he's made it pretty clear that he wants that space open for him to hang out in. The val I did try and place in the back along the wall he tore into tiny little pieces so I've left it open for him and he's left the rest of the plants alone since.


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## rbp 4 135 (Mar 2, 2004)

dang those are some quality pics. As for the tank i also use black sand, i am quite happy in the way it looks. Although stuff, like crap, really stads out so matince is the key to keeping it looking good. also your aquascaping is much better than mine.

this upcoming potom should be intresting, seeing as we are competing








a little friendly competition


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## elTwitcho (Jun 22, 2004)

We'll see how it goes, good luck









As for the aquascaping, I find it's pretty easy with live plants, just put the big ones in back and it looks pretty decent IMO


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## compton ass steve (Nov 12, 2004)

what are those larger plants that are kind of twirly in there? there very cool and may be just what ive been looking for


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## FootClanSkates (Apr 25, 2004)

look like corkscrew val to me.


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## Davo (Jan 29, 2004)

Like the look. What size is that rhom?


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## Gordeez (Sep 21, 2003)

Good shots Twitch.
That second pic has some shallow DOF, Thats my fav pic.

Also, hows his attitude? Looks Mean!


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## janus (Oct 28, 2004)

Nice Rhom.


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## elTwitcho (Jun 22, 2004)

compton ass steve said:


> what are those larger plants that are kind of twirly in there? there very cool and may be just what ive been looking for
> [snapback]848941[/snapback]​


Corkscrew Vals, they grow pretty quickly and are pretty cheap, the only downside is that if part of a leaf dies the rest of the leaf dies very slowly over the course of a few weeks. It's been a bitch nursing that plant back to health from the lfs but the new leaves are very healthy and usually from the time a new leaf sprouts it's all the way to the surface within a week.



Davo said:


> Like the look. What size is that rhom?
> [snapback]848971[/snapback]​


He's still a little guy, maybe five inches or so.



Gordeez said:


> Good shots Twitch.
> That second pic has some shallow DOF, Thats my fav pic.
> 
> Also, hows his attitude? Looks Mean!
> ...


Yeah that was my favorite of the bunch as well, good ole 1.8 lense









His attitude is great, he spends most of his time in his open corner but not in a reclusive sense, he'll always watch me if I come in the room and he'll tend to swim up to the glass so he can peer down at me in my bed every so often just to check on where I am. Definately the most interactive fish I have, and very much on the aggressive side. I can't put my hands in the tank so food is taken out with a net and if I ever have to do any major work with the plants I put him in a bucket as he's shown he'll go for my hands if I put them in the tank.


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## jan (Apr 24, 2004)

Wow...this was love at first sight for me









Just kidding, but your rhom looks awesome and so does your tank


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## sasquach (Dec 6, 2004)

thats a nice rhom i likes its eyes there nice n bright


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## elTwitcho (Jun 22, 2004)

jan said:


> Wow...this was love at first sight for me
> 
> 
> 
> ...


You're telling me dude, I had no intention whatsoever to buy a rhom at any point in time before seeing this guy in the pet store. I barely would have even noticed him if I hadn't heard the thump of him smacking his head into the glass next to me. The fact that a piranha was acting like this in a pet store made me positive that the fish had so much personality I couldn't pass him by.

So you guys think I should stick with black gravel in the new setup? Still gonna go with the same plants and a tiny bit of driftwood, just didn't know if the black was working well or not


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## WorldBelow07 (Dec 16, 2004)

nice ass rhom :O


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## rchan11 (May 6, 2004)

Nice touch ET


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## rbp 4 135 (Mar 2, 2004)

i added some larger rounded river stones to my setup, i am happy with the way it turned out.


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## Red Eyes (Nov 25, 2003)

Sweet set-up







That black gravel really brings out the red of your rhoms eyes


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## elTwitcho (Jun 22, 2004)

Thanks guys. These two shots do a better job of showing his colors, the others are a little sketchy because I had to remove the blue hue cast by the shitty lights I have in there. This is a more accurate representation of his colors, but even these are slightly bluer than they should be.


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## compton ass steve (Nov 12, 2004)

as usual beautiful pictures, and keep the black gravel. where did you pick up those plants if you dont mind me asking?


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## elTwitcho (Jun 22, 2004)

They're all local fish store plants. The corkscrew vals are pretty common, as are the java fern and hygrophilia. The coffee leaf anubia is the first I'd seen of one, theres also a mystery plant growing in the middle and some mystery grass that is adapting quite well. Basically everything at the lfs is low light because it's easier to keep for them, and therefore almost any plant I find there will work in my tank, which is a real bonus


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## compton ass steve (Nov 12, 2004)

i cant find any tall plants to replace the fake ones that i like so much. but i like ALL of the plants in your tank so i was just wondering. thanks


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## MR.FREEZ (Jan 26, 2004)

he almost jumps off the screen in the third picture


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## yorkshire (Jul 27, 2004)

Top class pics Twitch, as always








your rhom looks badass, i like the black sand too


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## Judazzz (Jan 13, 2003)

Beautiful pictures, Twitch








I dig your set-up too - looks great!!!


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## SLANTED (Dec 7, 2003)

Twitch baby, that is one of the sweetest rhoms that I have seen( ignore burning jealousy, ignore burning jealousy)

congrats.


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## traumatic (Jan 29, 2003)

That is a bomb ass rhom, you lucked out getting him.

great looking tank and pics also. Top notch/Grade A


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## elTwitcho (Jun 22, 2004)

Thanks SLANTED, I am admittedly biased but I tend to agree







To top it off, he's got the personality of a cichlid, he's very interactive and will chase my finger or dart up to the tank glass if I get too close. My bed is next to the tank on my dresser and if I'm lying in bed I find that he swims up to the glass to look down and check that I'm still there every few minutes. I love my reds and my green terror and all, but this guy is definately my favorite. Everything about him is perfect.

Yorkie - Thanks alot. Your tank was actually my inspiration to go planted, I read all that sh*t about how complicated it was, and when I saw your tank and asked and got the reply of "basically I just buy stuff at the store and see if it works or not" and in response to CO2 you having surface agitation (though I know you went to a CO2 system later) I figured you made it sound easy enough I had to give it a shot. While the plants aren't quite as healthy as yours and the tank isn't quite so nicely set up, a planted tank is definately not as complicated as people make it out to be. I owe you a debt of gratitude on that one









Thanks for the input everyone, I think I just might stick with black on the next tank, it'll look pretty much just like this one, only much larger and hence more plants.


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## Bawb2u (May 27, 2004)

I guess I'll be the lone dissenting voice against black sand or gravel, I just don't think it looks natural and if you're using live plants, I assume you want a realistic look. I'm a big fan of flourite, it's great for plants and I like the way it looks. You know the rule though, your tank, your choice.


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## elTwitcho (Jun 22, 2004)

Actually the reason for plants is water quality, I want things to be tip top for my little guy and plants provide filtration you can't get otherwise. The motivation for the black if anything is just for contrast, both in pictures and in person. It comes out nice and makes the subject stand out as well as making the green of the plants look that much more vibrant.

Flourite definately is an (expensive) option I am considering, so I don't disagree at all with your assessment and still might not stick with the black, it's just that the whole thing had nothing to do with natural


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## PacmanXSA (Nov 15, 2004)

I believe the black sand will also help with the darker complexion of your rhom.

Any ideas as to what kind of rhom it is Mr. Twitcho? That browny color of your plants is just a lack of iron from what I understand, so you'll just need a little time. My live plants from the LFS were a little brown, but that is finally starting to go away now that my plants are really starting to grow out.

Overall, very nice sir.

Pac


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## P.Piraya (May 12, 2003)

what kind of rhom is he?great pics.


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## Fresh2salt (Jul 16, 2004)

thats a sweet setup. awesome fish.


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## P-Power (Jan 23, 2004)

What type of camera do you use... as those pics do look really nice


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## yorkshire (Jul 27, 2004)

elTwitcho said:


> Yorkie - Thanks alot. Your tank was actually my inspiration to go planted, I read all that sh*t about how complicated it was, and when I saw your tank and asked and got the reply of "basically I just buy stuff at the store and see if it works or not" and in response to CO2 you having surface agitation (though I know you went to a CO2 system later) I figured you made it sound easy enough I had to give it a shot. While the plants aren't quite as healthy as yours and the tank isn't quite so nicely set up, a planted tank is definately not as complicated as people make it out to be. I owe you a debt of gratitude on that one
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thanks for the compliments dude, all i do is buy plants from the lfs and if they grow, all well and good, if they die off i just dont buy the same plants again. Eventually you'll find plants that realy suit your lighting/water parameters and that will grow well in your particular setup








good luck with it Twitch, planted natural looking setups are the way to go imo, and you are off to a good start


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## elTwitcho (Jun 22, 2004)

PacmanXSA said:


> I believe the black sand will also help with the darker complexion of your rhom.
> 
> Any ideas as to what kind of rhom it is Mr. Twitcho? That browny color of your plants is just a lack of iron from what I understand, so you'll just need a little time. My live plants from the LFS were a little brown, but that is finally starting to go away now that my plants are really starting to grow out.
> 
> ...


eh the coloration issue is a tricky one with this guy. He's not actually a dark rhom at all depending on what lighting conditions you have him under, by daylight he looks like this

View attachment 44996


so it's anyone's guess what the hell his proper coloration is







My best guess is that the stupid blue shitty tank light (one light is an incandescent hood with those crappy screw in fluoro bulbs that give off a purple hue, the other is a proper fluoro strip with plant bulbs that looks MUCH nicer when he's in that back portion of the tank away from the blue) is making him look darker than he naturally is. Pretty soon he'll be under better lighting in a better tank, then he'll probably look more silvery/grayish.

As for the plants, maybe so. I'm going to give it time as they're starting to look better since I've added the plant bulb in a fluoro strip but the brown takes a long time to leave the vals I've noticed. The new leaves are green as can be.

All my plants from the lfs are picked up brown as hell, they do a shitty job looking after plants there and I think the only reason they have any at all is because people buy them before they have a chance to completely die.

My guess for rhom type is some kind of diamond rhom based on the coloration, but it's really just a guess which isn't worth much.



P-Power said:


> What type of camera do you use... as those pics do look really nice
> [snapback]851913[/snapback]​


Canon EOS 10D, thanks



yorkshire said:


> Thanks for the compliments dude, all i do is buy plants from the lfs and if they grow, all well and good, if they die off i just dont buy the same plants again. Eventually you'll find plants that realy suit your lighting/water parameters and that will grow well in your particular setup
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Yeah the trial and error method works pretty good as it prevents me from buying more fish by getting new plants, and I don't buy any over 10 bucks so I can experiment and find out what I like. Most of the plants are doing well, I love the little grass thing I have going as it's runner has already sprouted three new plants and hate the java ferns. I don't know why, they're just pissing me off.


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