My four humble tanks ….

[Stefanie Rick]

I am always interested in pictures of paro tanks and set ups of other paro friends.
So I think it’s time to show my own tanks – only four up to now (and I think there’s not much more possible considering the expression on my husband’s face … :blink: )

40 x 25 x 25 cm, 25 liters, where my 4 unindentified girls live:

Same size, home of my pair of P. nagyi (catch a glimpse of the little male guarding his cave on the right):

30 x 30 x 30 cm, 27 liters, future home of the P. quindecim I am waiting for:

at daylight:

And – on the right, the water still turbid because only set up yesterday – the smallest tank, 25 x 25 x 25 cm, 16 liters, waiting for …. what?

[helene schoubye]

I think your tanks are really beatiful and pleasant to look at. Especially the first one with the unidentified females, – what a pity it turned out to be four female. I think you could add a few boraras now that it isnt going to be a tank with fry. Its gives a bit of life and the paros dont mind it – might bring them more out.

The tank for the quindecims, I wonder, do you not have a background ? I think the paros will not appreciate the fact that there is light coming from all sides. Is it standing in the window ?
I think I would put some dark, black paper on at least one, maybe three sides of the tank.

But I like your setups, think they are inspiring.

[Stefanie Rick]

[quote=”helene” post=2128]
The tank for the quindecims, I wonder, do you not have a background ? I think the paros will not appreciate the fact that there is light coming from all sides. Is it standing in the window ?
I think I would put some dark, black paper on at least one, maybe three sides of the tank.[/quote]

I know what you mean, but I think it’s a kind of wrong impression. First, the tank is situated directly beside another tank on the right, and I put a sheet of dark paper between the two panes. So it’s a reflection you see at the right side of the tank – it’s really dark there.
The back of the tank – from the perspective of the photographer – faces the window. The daylight picture seems to show bright light shining through, but it comes only through small “holes” in the plant curtain. There is Fontinalis hanging down (which will close the remaining gaps in vegetation quite fast), and on the right side – on the photo totally concealed by the wood – is a dense Cryptocoryne in a pot. So most of the “back” of the tank is hidden by a plant curtain – the photo does mainly show the gap ……….

[Teunis]

B) the beauty of chaos. it must be nice to see the fish swimming trough those tanks.

what is the brown stringy stuff on the bottom?

[Stefanie Rick]

[quote=”Teunis” post=2136]B)
what is the brown stringy stuff on the bottom?[/quote]

It’s dried peat moss, Sphagnum. I originally have it as a substrate for my orchids.

But I tried to use it as fibrous part of the ground cover in paro tanks – and up to now am pleased with it (but have no long-term experience by now!!) The fish like it very much, mixed with leaf litter it is a soft, cloudy ground cover providing many possibilities to dive through, hide, look for micro food. Seems to come close to their preferred surroundings.

I first soak it in boiling water for a short while, max. half an hour. If you put it in cold water it needs at least three days to soak and sink. It often contains conifer needles and stuff from the forest floor, so I soak it also to clean it from these parts.

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