Hi there Guys !

Well lets see , I have been keeping tropical fish practically all my adult life and before that I even kept fish I caught from the Royal Canal where I grew up. I have always been a fan of the planted tank in the past, with some success and even more failures. At the moment I have a Juwel Vision 180 where for the last three or four years I'v had two 6 inch Silver Dollars, two 5 inch green severums, one 4 inch clown loach, five black widow tetras, one silver fox and the most recent additions were thirteen small blushing green barbs. As happens the larger fish have outlived several introductions of various small shoal fish. But this last introduction of the barbs was , in hindsight, a mistake because the severums made a meal of all but the three remaining. As previously mentioned , I always fancied the planted tank so with all the advances in that area of our hobby I decided I would have another go at it. I purchased some plants online which were very healthy when I received them. Even now after some browsing by the sivler dollars are looking OK. I put JBL Aquabasis Plus under a layer of JBL Manado. The tank has some bogwood and stones for decoration. I put together the standard home made CO2 producer with an over flow bottle attached which pumps nearly but not quite a bubble per second through a diffuser.
After the introduction of the barbs I realised I think its time for a change. Maybe swap out all the large fish for a number of shoals of smaller fish to keep with the planted tank , so any input there would be welcome. As for what to do with the larger fish, I'm open to any suggestions short of giving them away.
If your still reading at this point I'll consider myself lucky as it was a lot to get down in one go. Thanks anyway and hello to the forum. PS I have attached some pics , hope the come through ok.

Looks great. Welcome along

Welcome Along mate,

I see you are living in Meath not far from you im in navan myself if you ever need a hand with anything please just say,

I love the planted tanks my self i had a 5 foot planted tank before i went marine and i loved it (Here is a link you mind get some tips from the lads)

www.irishfishkeepers.com/index.php/forum...seal-500-new-project

If you are planning on moving the big fish i would say that would be a good idea the silver dollers dont do well with plants

A nice pair off angels and a group off shoal fish something like neons or rummy nose tetras

Also a lot more plants would look very and a few bits off moss

Wish you all the best with it mate

Sean

Nice looking setup. Welcome on board, the only way we learn is by making mistakes,

That planted tank really was beautiful. That's what I'm gonna aim for. Be a few months before it does though. Your right though the dollars they are nibbling on the plants, have put some lettuce in to try and draw their attention away from the live one. And yes I really need a lot more plants !

Welcome along, nice tank