# 10G " Boraras Dream"



## HoustonFishFanatic (Feb 26, 2007)

Hey friends wanted to share my new 10 gallon set up. The fish used in this layout is an unidentified Boraras species which look similar to boraras maculatus but has slightly different markings, hence the name. This layout was photographed at 180days past set up.





Thanks
Bhushan


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## inareverie85 (May 5, 2008)

Very nice! Those crypts are HUGE O_O


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## Ozymandias (Jul 12, 2008)

love the tank and love the Boraras


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## milalic (Aug 26, 2005)

Very nice setup!


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## MiKlo (Jun 20, 2008)

very nice tank. large crypt's you've got there.
love the boraras.


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## dooboogoo (Jul 1, 2007)

That's a sweet setup!


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## Tex Gal (Nov 1, 2007)

This is one of the nicest 10gs I have seen. Great job!!! Love the fish - same ones in my 10g!


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## sai_dee (Mar 20, 2008)

Gorgeous and where did you get that tank?


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## HoustonFishFanatic (Feb 26, 2007)

inareverie85, Ozymandias, Pedro, Miklo, Dooboogoo, Tex Gal and Sai_dee thanks a lot.
@Pedro these are the ones I got from you.
@ Sai_dee the tank is a regular 10G tank with the braces removed.

Bhushan


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## twilothunder (Sep 18, 2005)

Very nice. I can't imagine what those crypts will look like in another 180 days!


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## Ivanmx (Jun 4, 2008)

those crypt's looks amazing!!


beautiful tank!

cheers from mexico


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## HoustonFishFanatic (Feb 26, 2007)

Twilothunder and Ivanmx thanks a lot for the compliments.
Twilo, The crypts have been meticulously pruned and kept in check so that they don't overshadow the front too much. 
Thanks
Bhushan


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## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

Bushan,

This is the nicest 10 gallon tank I have every seen. Positively. Now I REALLY feel sorry that Pedro and I are not going to Houston today. If we did I'd want to see this tank in person.

Your tank is an wonderful example of how a small tank can be made to appear much bigger. The transition from dark to light when looking from left to right is beautiful. The details in the dark left side are just like some of Amano's tank have them - creating a feeling of a natural sight. The umbrella plant in the left draws the attention to that side of the tank. The focal points are designed with extreme precision! Until now I've known only one person that could conceive and bring up such a tank to this state - Luis. The four leaves between the riccia, the narrow leaf JF that sticks out, the height of the crypts... VERY impressive!

Bravo!

--Nikolay


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## HoustonFishFanatic (Feb 26, 2007)

niko said:


> Bushan,
> 
> This is the nicest 10 gallon tank I have every seen. Positively. Now I REALLY feel sorry that Pedro and I are not going to Houston today. If we did I'd want to see this tank in person.
> 
> ...


Thanks a lot Nikolay for all the encouragement and detailed evaluation of the layout. You are always welcome to come check it out. I am thinking of adding some more Boraras to get a better density for the future pics. Comparing my layout with Luis's is a big compliment for me . 
Just returned from presentation. It was great and we also had a small plant auction. Hope you can make it next time.

Bhushan


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## DevUK (Sep 10, 2007)

Gorgeous tank 

They look like Boraras Maculatus to me. I have nearly 30 of the little guys myself  Markings look the same. Also, the image on the Aquahobby website looks to have identicle markings


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## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

The boraras are definitely maculata and some other subspecies. Here are pictures of them, different sexes, sizes and so on. You can see how they differ. The pictures where taken in the same tank at the same time. Some of them do have markings that are very different from the maculata.

http://picasaweb.google.com/ddasega/Maculata

The Google image search shows Boraras with all sorts of markings as "maculata". I noticed that at times, especially early morning most of the Boraras in my tank color up very deep red. I thought it was a mating coloration but the fish are slow and sleepy. One reason for the coloration maybe the food that I feed them (from kensfish.com).

The best explanation that I found about the different markings was that there are local varieties of maculatas. The exporters list them only as "maculata" and you don't know what variety exactly they are.

--Nikolay


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## HoustonFishFanatic (Feb 26, 2007)

Thanks for the compliments Dev and Korasonek.
Nikolay , Thanks for the great explanation. I have also observed the markings and the color differ quiet a bit. Still trying to figure out what causes it.

Bhushan


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## flashback (Jun 21, 2008)

Wow, what can I say that previous posters have not said.


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## HoustonFishFanatic (Feb 26, 2007)

Thanks Flashback.

Bhushan


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## TNguyen (Mar 20, 2005)

Excellent job my friend. I know you got new plants from the auction. Is there another scape in the future?

Cheers!


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## HoustonFishFanatic (Feb 26, 2007)

Thanks a lot for the compliments my friend. I am still waiting for my Mini M setup to be delivered and my 60P is still waiting for the ADA Styled Stand to be completed. Hope I get around to painting it soon.

Bhushan


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## HoustonFishFanatic (Feb 26, 2007)

I brought this fish from LFS as Ottocinclus niger or Hisonotus leucofrenatus. They stay small and are as good with diatoms as regular Ottos. Beautiful fish in my opinion. Perfect for a nice planted tank. Any other fans of this fish out there?



Thanks 
Bhushan


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## oregon aqua (Jan 30, 2008)

I have three mixed in with my ottos and they really stand out when they get together! Great fish.


another fav is the zebra otto, a spectaculer fish!

great pic BTW!


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## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

I had these fish in 2002 and they are very, very nice. I'd say they are pretty hardy too. The color of mine was nice brown. They don't move a lot, but are not completely shy and inactive either.

Here is a picture of one of mine from back then. The flash makes it look blue or purple.
http://www.deepforestaquatics.com/aqua/visual/DSCN0422_net.html

You will love them. I wish I could find them again.

--Nikolay


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## HoustonFishFanatic (Feb 26, 2007)

oregon aqua said:


> I have three mixed in with my ottos and they really stand out when they get together! Great fish.
> 
> another fav is the zebra otto, a spectaculer fish!
> 
> great pic BTW!


Thanks Jeremy. The zebra ottos look great, but are just too expensive and too sensitive.



> I had these fish in 2002 and they are very, very nice. I'd say they are pretty hardy too. The color of mine was nice brown. They don't move a lot, but are not completely shy and inactive either.
> 
> Here is a picture of one of mine from back then. The flash makes it look blue or purple.
> http://www.deepforestaquatics.com/aq...N0422_net.html
> ...


Nikolay, I love these fishes but the LFS which carries them got sold out before i could get some more.
The picture on your website are great. I hope you get some of these soon.
Cheers
Bhushan


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## rountreesj (Aug 14, 2007)

I love your fauna, but I'm gonna be honest here and say that I dont like the choice of plants on the left. It overpowers the right side and reverses an otherwise very good illusion that the tank is bigger than it really is...I just think the crypts are too large for this layout...


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## Revernance (Aug 20, 2007)

HoustonFishFanatic said:


> inareverie85, Ozymandias, Pedro, Miklo, Dooboogoo, Tex Gal and Sai_dee thanks a lot.
> @Pedro these are the ones I got from you.
> @ Sai_dee the tank is a regular 10G tank with the braces removed.
> 
> Bhushan


What brand is the tank? Yours doesn't seem to have a lot of silicon. Either you removed it well, or the manufacturer didn't put a lot.


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## HoustonFishFanatic (Feb 26, 2007)

rountreesj said:


> I love your fauna, but I'm gonna be honest here and say that I dont like the choice of plants on the left. It overpowers the right side and reverses an otherwise very good illusion that the tank is bigger than it really is...I just think the crypts are too large for this layout...


Rountreesj, I appreciate your critic on the tank. The crypt was purposely added to the right side pretty close to the front glass to create a sense of depth for the tank of this size and also to create a point of interest on the right side just below the driftwood. The crypt provides the shaded portion which creates a dark mystic look in that corner. I know its against the traditional approach used in aquascaping , but I am also a die hard fan of crypts.:wink:



> What brand is the tank? Yours doesn't seem to have a lot of silicon. Either you removed it well, or the manufacturer didn't put a lot.


Revernance, Its a regular AGA 10G tank from Petco. I just cleaned off the extra silicone.

Thanks
Bhushan


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## HoustonFishFanatic (Feb 26, 2007)

The following will probably be the last pics for this tank's thread. I will be taking this tank down soon and starting a new project. 
A few days back before Ike stuck, while taking out some riccia out of the tank I found some small Celestial Pearl Danio babies. I could save just a couple as most of them were eaten by the Boraras and the CPD's as soon as they were exposed. Here is the picture of two males displaying:


Finally a close up picture of the Hisonotus.


Thanks
Bhushan


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## dooboogoo (Jul 1, 2007)

wow, really awesome pics of your cpds and hisonotus! Sad to hear you're tearing the tank down, but I bet you're next one will be just as, if not better, than this one!


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## HoustonFishFanatic (Feb 26, 2007)

dooboogoo said:


> wow, really awesome pics of your cpds and hisonotus! Sad to hear you're tearing the tank down, but I bet you're next one will be just as, if not better, than this one!


 Thanks for the compliments ! I hope I am able to do some thing better when I tear this down.
Thanks
Bhushan


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## HoustonFishFanatic (Feb 26, 2007)

Thanks Myedsul!

Bhushan


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