Some of you may remember when we had four (yes, four) fish tanks operating at one time. Needless to say, that was a bit much. When we moved last spring we decided to cut it to two. We keep the large tank where it was before the move, right next to the dinner table and between two wine towers. The wine towers really frame the tank nicely. It could be better, but with such a small kitchen, we have to keep the trash cans between the wine towers and the tank… blah, blah, blah… you wanted to know that we’re sure.
We decided on an under the sea theme for Autumn’s room. So, we thought we’d give Autumn a fish tank of her own. We were going to take our skills to the next level and have live plants in the aquarium. Well, we did that, but its really hard to maintain a healthy tank with a baby that likes to sleep as much as Autumn does. Her tank had 13 Angel fish (left overs from a spawn we had a year ago) in it and several live plants. But, with a crowded tank and feedings slipping our minds as we go from sleeping baby to, “I gotta get to work!” to, “The baby’s crying/hungry/bored, all but two suffered the fate of the powerheads or the filter.
About two weeks ago we decided to put an end to the suffering and tear down the tank in Autumn’s room. It finally happened this past weekend. The two Darwinese angelfish were moved in with the rest of their family. Now there are nine Angels in a 50 gallon tank with all the plants being moved as well. Four of the youngsters growth has been stunted by the cramped space and lack of feedings, but we’ll see if they can still grow after a year of little care.
Look at the transformation of the 50 gallon tank from bare to beautiful below. There were no plants in this tank when the weekend started, now there are 20 plus more drift wood.
Those plants were not there at the start of this project.
Halfway through the transformation.
Just need to add a bit more soil and three more plants.
The finished product. Wait and watch...
We’ll see how the growth progresses. Hopefully having one tank will be a little easier to manage than two. We’re looking a getting a new light to help with the plant growth and light the aquarium evenly. We’ve also removed the top as it was covered in various algae blocking much of the light that was above the tank. The grass like plants at the front are not considered true aquatic grass, so that may die off in the short term.
