Setting Up My Tank. Your Opinions, Please!

[Texasmom6]

Here's a photo of a waterless tank with three pieces of driftwood, two caves in each of the back corners, and some rocks which are "holding a spot" for a nicer group of rocks. :)

Pieces look smaller in the photo than they appear in real life. Tank is 37 gallons, 30" long.

Do you think this is a good setup to plant around? I intend to have a mixture of fake plants in the back, and real in the front. Already have the fake plants, so I'll use them for now.

The middle piece of driftwood is two pieces siliconed together to create a cave underneath. :)

[Austy16414]

The picture didn't attach

[Texasmom6]

The picture didn't attach

Now, it did. :)

[Austy16414]

Looks pretty awesome. Should be nice with a few taller plants behind the wood and some shorter ones buried under the front side

[Texasmom6]

Thanks! I have three hiding places, the two caves in the corners, and the one under the driftwood. I'm really hoping I can get a pair of GBR and maybe a pair of Bolivians in there, but I know I might be pushing my luck. We'll see. I'll need lots of cover, so it's going to be a work in progress for a while.

[barrettsline]

Looks like a nice start.

[Austy16414]

Stuff it up with plants, seems like you will be able to achieve plenty of breaks in line of sight with that setup. I've seen crazier things work

[mnemenoi]

+1 on Austin's comments. Pack as many plants as you can into the tank, the taller the better. Depending on your lighting try some Hydros, they don't need the high lighting some stems do. Anything to break up the line of sight will help in diffusing aggression and territory establishment in the Rams. I personally would recommend a trio of one or the other (1M/2f) and not mixing the two. Bolivians are far easier and dig on cooler temps and our hard water, GBR's like it much warmer 80+ and are really a soft water fish that has lots of issues adapting to hard water. Tp be honest its one I answer lots of questions about and even with devoted keepers often fail. A secondary option might be doing Kribs, Curviceps, Dicrossus, or apistos. They just all occupy the same stratum in the tank and will war for space. Mid shoaling tetra and an upper stratum pencilfish or hatchets should fill the tank out nicely. With no real predators you could even do some marbled hatchets.

[ptran]

.. to achieve plenty of breaks in line of sight with that setup..

What is break in line of sight bro?

[Austy16414]

What is break in line of sight bro?

A line of sight is the ability to see something without obstruction. A break in line of sight would be something obstructing (plants, rocks, wood). In the hobby, it's something useful when overstocking to reduce aggression

[ptran]

Gotcha.

[Texasmom6]

I'm thinking of using this, too

Stuff it up with plants, seems like you will be able to achieve plenty of breaks in line of sight with that setup. I've seen crazier things work

I think I will use this as a barrier behind the large piece of driftwood but to the left.

Well, that's the flat piece in the photo, anyway. And that's my gravel igloo at the top of the photo. I don't know if I'm going to use it (in which case I will use the same gravel for my top substrate for it to blend in), or if I'm going to use real coconut halves.

[troy tucker]

Every one here gives great tips. I tried to mix Rams ones. It didn't go well. Rams are Geo.s so they like the bottom of the tank. If you are going to have pleco's or cory's of some type. you may have prob.s. What ever you choose. It they be very happy in that tank. It is a great start. As for plants. I have tanks with live and fake and one with just live plants. I love the live plants. I even have some jungle Val. if you would like some. It grows so fast in my tank. I need to give some away.

[Texasmom6]

Every one here gives great tips. I tried to mix Rams ones. It didn't go well. Rams are Geo.s so they like the bottom of the tank. If you are going to have pleco's or cory's of some type. you may have prob.s. What ever you choose. It they be very happy in that tank. It is a great start. As for plants. I have tanks with live and fake and one with just live plants. I love the live plants. I even have some jungle Val. if you would like some. It grows so fast in my tank. I need to give some away.

Can you tell me what Geo.s means? I know that they are territorial especially when spawning, and that they tend to dwell on the bottom of the tank, but I am trying to learn the lingo around here. :)

[Austy16414]

Geo is just short for the genus Geophagus, a group of SA cichlids that are also known as "earth eaters" because they sift through sand for food