I like your new set up (as well as the bottom one) better than the old. I'm big on minimalism with rocks - you don't need massive amounts of it to have effective territories.
New arrangement
So, I have had my tank on mostly autopilot for a while, and honestly, have been more interested in my saltwater tank that is about 8 months old. I have learned a few things in the saltwater setup and wanted to implement some stuff into my freshwater tank...
My main 55g tank is filled with Prob at least 100lbs or so of dense rocks. Heres an older pic, but u get the idea.
![]()
Now, everytime I need to catch a holding female, I have to tear down all these heavy rocks and make a scape thats similar, since once the rocks are out, its hard to remember where each one went, lol... So, I decided I was gonna pull the majority of the rocks out of the tank. I took all the heaviest rocks out and filled a 5 gallon bucket with them to the brim. Prob 70 or so pounds. I took the smaller rocks from the setup and put them in another bucket... I used to have texas holey rock in an older setup. One huge piece and many smaller ones. So, I decided to use these as they were much lighter in weight than the other rocks. I made 3 separate areas, left, middle and right to curb any male wanting to claim the entire area... I had enought holey rock for the left and right sides, and used my smaller rocks that I had in there for the middle. I'm not a huge fan of mixing rock, but in this case, I dont mind it so much.... I did this last night and the fish are all out, prob more than normal, with no abnormal aggression. The best part of this to me is that after taking out the huge rocks and putting in the new ones, I had to add over 5 gallons of water to fill the tank back up... To me, thats the best part. Theres 5 more gallons of WATER in the tank, so that means 5 more gallons to dilute nitrates and more swimming room for the fish...
plus, it'll be easier to catch holding females as well....
heres a pic of the new setup
![]()
and the 55g on the bottom of the dual stand...
![]()
My main 55g tank is filled with Prob at least 100lbs or so of dense rocks. Heres an older pic, but u get the idea.
Now, everytime I need to catch a holding female, I have to tear down all these heavy rocks and make a scape thats similar, since once the rocks are out, its hard to remember where each one went, lol... So, I decided I was gonna pull the majority of the rocks out of the tank. I took all the heaviest rocks out and filled a 5 gallon bucket with them to the brim. Prob 70 or so pounds. I took the smaller rocks from the setup and put them in another bucket... I used to have texas holey rock in an older setup. One huge piece and many smaller ones. So, I decided to use these as they were much lighter in weight than the other rocks. I made 3 separate areas, left, middle and right to curb any male wanting to claim the entire area... I had enought holey rock for the left and right sides, and used my smaller rocks that I had in there for the middle. I'm not a huge fan of mixing rock, but in this case, I dont mind it so much.... I did this last night and the fish are all out, prob more than normal, with no abnormal aggression. The best part of this to me is that after taking out the huge rocks and putting in the new ones, I had to add over 5 gallons of water to fill the tank back up... To me, thats the best part. Theres 5 more gallons of WATER in the tank, so that means 5 more gallons to dilute nitrates and more swimming room for the fish...
plus, it'll be easier to catch holding females as well....
heres a pic of the new setup
and the 55g on the bottom of the dual stand...
3
1 - 3 of 3 Posts
1 - 3 of 3 Posts
