# My First post



## Philip C (Jan 1, 2007)

Happy new year all!
I found this web site today in search of changing up my tank. After reading through the forums, I figured my take is qualified as "EL Natural".

My short history, I've been playing with aquariums since a little child, having up to 5 at my peak. Currently I have a single 55g planted tank that consist of compost, kitty litter and a layer of sand with a single shop light on top (2 - 40watt bulbs). The tank has a single large mouth bass who won't let me prune plants without biting me. I've had this set up since 2002 and planted tanks for over 10 years.

Heres the thing, I'm ready for change. I want new plants and fish and looking for suggestions. 
Thanks
Philip
PS any one interested in a large mouth bass


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## Calavera (Dec 3, 2006)

That fish looks mean! 
Otherwise I have to say that your tank looks very original, in a good way. It's actually one of the most "natural" tanks I have seen 
Mby you want to try some different aquascaping?
What do you like? South american tetras or ciklids? Asian guramis etc?


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## Philip C (Jan 1, 2007)

You are right, he is way to mean. I have to distract him just to prune up a bit.

Thanks for the compliment.
I was just about to read the aquascaping forum, but I really have no clue to what this is. I'm guessing its the tank lay out? If thats the case, I've been working on that a bit, but needs much more work.

Far as fish go, I've had cichlids and perch and they tend to fight to much and eat my plants, so looking for some thing plant friendly. The problem with the bass is that he insist on being alone. I'm looking for something more soothing to watch with multiple fishing swimming around.

Philip


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## Skelley (Mar 4, 2006)

Welcome to APC! 
You look like you have a very healthy tank. As for fish, I think it all depends on what kind of person you are. Many people add fish to their tank to compliment the design and/or plants. Then there are people like me who like the plants but pick fish as pets. They are equally important to me. Instead of the cat lady, I am the fish lady. My fish are my babies


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## Philip C (Jan 1, 2007)

When you say that some fish compliment the design, guess this would suggest that some fish don't? I'm a bit lost, for example what fish would and would not compliment my tank? Maybe I just don't have the ablility to pick fish for my tank. I plan to leave half my tank the way it is and play with just one half for now.
Thanks
Philip


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## Skelley (Mar 4, 2006)

Well I haven't done too much reading on it myself yet, but I am sure there is plenty of reading to be done on the subject. For example if you have a tank with very low plants, you wouldn't want to have fish that stay at the surface of the water, leaving the middle of the tank empty...smaller fish make a small tank look larger...the colors in certain fish can compliment the colors of plants. Take a look at the AGA contest pictures. Some people will have only a school of rummynose. But it seems like when there are more than one kind of fish, they compliment each other. There is a lot of thought put into the type of fish that will go into these tanks. A couple of judges had even mentioned that the fish and plants were not from the same area of the world. 

Maybe someone can post a good link with some info for us. I would like to learn more. 

By the way I like your fish. He looks like a bad ass and I love fish with personality.


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## Calavera (Dec 3, 2006)

Well, I'm a bit like Skelley, I like the fish as pets, and not just as decoration 
Myself, I like the South American biotope, with Angel fish, tetras and dwarf cichlids. They are very calm fishes...
Here are some pictures on this type of fish:
http://www.zoopet.com/bilder/data/517/medium/1369.jpg
http://www.zoopet.com/bilder/data/535/medium/DSC_0054.JPG
http://www.zoopet.com/bilder/data/515/medium/2464324655apistogramma_cacatuoides_6840_1_.jpg

I must also say that I like ur fish...but I can understand that he can be a bit anoying sometimes


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## Philip C (Jan 1, 2007)

I did a short search on the photo contest but without good results. Would you mind helping me find the link?
Thanks
Philip


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## Skelley (Mar 4, 2006)

*Set aside some time to check these out!*

2006 AGA Aquascaping Contest

These tanks are really impressive. I spent hours one day going back and looking a each year's tanks. There are also a lot of good comments from the judges. It also gives you a good idea of what kind of perimeters other tanks are being kept at.


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## Philip C (Jan 1, 2007)

Thanks, I could spend all day looking at those photos. 
I had no clue there were so many in the hobby.
Philip


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## trenac (Jul 16, 2004)

Hello Phillip... Welcome to APC 

_Do you plan on doing a complete tear down of your tank?_

I'm forever changing my tank layouts so I know how change is important. But I do like the the use of Tiger lotus and sag together.

Your mean fish is looking very cute in the second pic!


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## bgodwin1987 (Dec 21, 2006)

I love your tank, its so simple yet so pretty, I love how the red water lilly stands oiut against the green. Keep up the nice work


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## Beasts (Apr 14, 2006)

Phillip,
Too bad you're not closer to us (NW Ohio), your bass would love our half acre pond. Maybe you know someone with a pond who is a bit closer!?
Beasts


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## Philip C (Jan 1, 2007)

Thanks for the nice compliments everyone.

Beasts,
I did catch it out of a local pond using a rod&reel and soft plastics. This bass is extra aggressive. But the guy at my LFS said that becasue the bass has been in my tank that he will die when I release him back to the wild. How do you believe about this?


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## Wilder (Jul 23, 2006)

Very nice tank! It somehow is made nicer for its simplicity. 

I have to wonder at the comment that the fish will die if released back to the very same pond he came from, considering that people release non-native tropical fish into local waterways only to have them not only survive, but breed, thrive, and crowd out the native fauna. I can't imagine that fellow will have a problem if he were to go "home" to his old pond.


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## Teeleton (Jun 8, 2006)

LOL. I had an image of Philip standing in front of his tank with a rod & reel trying to catch his bass for release back into the local pond.

Teeleton


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## Philip C (Jan 1, 2007)

Teeleton,
You may have a good point there, I don't know how I can get him out otherwise. I was thinking if I dropped the water level real low, then maybe I could grab him?


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## Philip C (Jan 1, 2007)

Here is a photo of Phase 2
Here I cleared out one section for I can work with several different plants to see what will grow well in my set up. The cool thing is my LFS traded my plants for the new ones 

PS, I forgot to clean the back glass for water stains, after looking at the photos I noticed they were there.


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## Calavera (Dec 3, 2006)

It might be that fish that need to hunt to survive don't survive well when released back after they have "forgotten" how to hunt for their own food.
I think it was this he meant...

Btw...what does LFS mean? Local fish seller?


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## Philip C (Jan 1, 2007)

LFS = Local Fish Store

I got it from here
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/new-to-aquarium-plants/3105-common-abbreviations-used-on-apc.html


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## Kelley (Aug 27, 2006)

LFS=local fish store.

This is a cool tank. Over at plantedtank.net, Scolley tried to keep a large-mothed bass for a time. If you want a LONG, but informative read, you can check out his old thread
scolley's 75g Big Clear Kahuna (56K warning) - The Planted Tank Forum

He ended up giving his bass to a friend with a pond.

Good luck with your tank's next incarnation!


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