Comments on and suggestions for my tank

[murgus]

I am hoping to get some feedback on my 35 gal. tank and what I should/could add; I've attached a current picture.  

The fauna are:

 1 Turquoise Rainbow
 3 Boesemani Rainbows
 3 White Cloud Minnows
 2 Takashi Amano Shrimp (1m/1f)
 4 guppies
 1 CAE

And the flora are:

 2 Java Fern
 2 Java Moss
 1 Unknown Sword

I would like to add some bottom dwellers (loaches? or corys?) and something for the top?  Some kind of centrepiece fish?  Suggestions please :lol:

One thing to note: my pH is 8.2 :roll:

Thanks,
murgus

[NjOyRiD]

wow! ph is high! wanna be inniate with co2?! lots of plants, also your ph will go down...

[aidensmomma2000]

I like it Maybe some carpeting plants?

[zapisto]

pretty new setup
now you have to let it grow and live
and perhaps work on the ph

[murgus]

NjOyRiD: I am on well water that is hard and alkaline.  As this is my first real tank, I am trying not to fight my pH too much!  Perhaps CO2 down the road.

aidensmomma2000: Thanks  Do you have examples of "carpeting plants"?

zapisto: Yeah that is the plan - I just think I am missing a couple of fish...

Thanks to everyone - I appreciate you taking the time to have a look and make suggestions

Thanks,
murgus

[mseguin]

I would say add some rocks (nothing that will raise ur pH :-) ) or some driftwood, or more plants. It will add more dimension to ur tank.

[NjOyRiD]

yep, driftwood would look really nice!

[murgus]

mseguin & NjOyRiD:  Where do you see the driftwood going?  I have to admit that I do not see things well in my mind's eye - I have to rely on my wife for that!

Thanks,
murgus

[mseguin]

I would say a piece in front of the sword but behind the moss. That being said, there's really no wrong way to decorate a tank, its what u want to see.

[murgus]

I have a smallish piece of mopani I might try there - I am currently trying to leech the tanins out in a bucket as I do not want the stained tea look :lol:

Thanks,
murgus

[PaleoFishGirl]

If you're looking for some 'top dwellers,' silver hatchetfish are always a nice bet.  I'd wait until your tank matured a bit before adding more fish, though - maybe work on adding your rocks and wood, etc. first.  

Good looking setup so far!

[NjOyRiD]

you know what you should do, take a picture .well if you can

[Julie]

The mopani is awesome.  The java fern shouldn't be buried in the substrate; but perhaps attached to the mopani.  
I see male guppies but no females; so no population explosion.
Cories are nice and would add some interesting personality to the bottom.  What about a schooling fish, but not too many because your load is getting heavy.

Julie

[BigDaddy]

wow! ph is high! wanna be inniate with co2?! lots of plants, also your ph will go down...

njoy:

CO2 is for plant growth... not for controlling pH.  In most tanks, injecting CO2 will only drop it by a max of 0.4 pH, so it's still gonna be a high pH tank.

And murgus your right not to fight with you pH... work with it!  Trying to make your water something it is not will simply result in a lot of frustration and hassle.

[kennyman]

Vallisneria loves high ph water. It would give you some hight behind that piece of driftwood

[Toss]

That sword will grow out of the water in 3 months or so, just to warn you. Unless you can keep the root small. I would add flora or fauna that have a warmer colour (yellow, orange, red) to complement the plants and turquoise rainbow. The mopani will help a bit. Have fun

Enrico

[murgus]

Vallisneria loves high ph water. It would give you some hight behind that piece of driftwood

Thanks for pointing me towards Vallisneria - it looks perfect for that corner - does anyone know where I can find some?

Thanks,
murgus

[BigDaddy]

I'll be bringing some corkscrew val to the auction this month.

[blueturq]

Very nice tank!

A piece of driftwood would look very nice in there (as suggested before).

[murgus]

After a trip to rockgarden's plant shop - I have some more greenery! (and a couple of bronze corys :roll:)  A couple of vals, some pennywort and not sure what the floating on is...

Still looking for that perfect piece of driftwood..

Thanks,
murgus