# Atlantis tank and naming ideas?



## Lost Eventide (Jun 30, 2012)

Figured I'd post up a thread to maybe get some ideas for this little theme project I'm doing. The 5g hex I'm taking up to my dorm with me is going to be Atlantis themed seeing I really love the Atlantis myths, and while I love doing projects on my own, I also love getting insight from others for ideas! I can't count how many times other people have pointed me to some great finds. Plus, seeing bettas are such lovely fish, I think one would look very pretty in such a surreal atmosphere.

So, first thing's first, the tank~

I have a Regent 5g hex aquarium to work with, which is literally the same thing as the Marineland Eclipse hex from what I understand, it's just the Walmart brand (yay secondhand stores!). I have a Hagen elite sponge filter running in it right now (only one I could find locally) as well as a Hydor Theo heater that's keeping it at a nice, toasty 80 degrees F. My substrate is pool filter sand.

Now the fun part! So far as far as decor goes, I have some Hornwort, Anacharis, and a little tiny Crypt Lutea in there. I also ordered the 



 (to be used without the bubbles), and the 



 for it to serve as the centerpiece. I figured it would play in with the whole "Atlantean crystals" thing really nicely, and make for a cool light to put on in the evening for an hour or two.

As far as additional decor, I was looking at the Petco Greek ruins like this single column, this three column, and this four column, depending on how big each of them are so I don't overcrowd the tank.

Has anyone seen any other Atlantean-like decor that they think would look nice in there so I have a couple more options? I did see the official "Atlantis set" that one company had with the backdrop and everything for a larger tank, but those pieces were horribly overpriced and I would like to avoid them. I do have a bit of a budget, otherwise I would have splurged on quite a few things as well as one of the bettas I was oogling on AquaBid.

Also, how do yins think a couple pretty blue gems would look half-buried in the sand? Overkill?

Now for the fish itself! I'm definitely not going to be naming him until I get him seeing I want to see his personality/colours, but I would love some ideas. The type I'm looking at is a lovely black orchid with bright blue accents as one of my pet stores stocks them all the time. I just love the black and blue colour combo. Of course, who's to say another little guy won't catch my fancy when I'm up there.

As for Atlantean-type names, these are my ideas so far:
 Atlantis or Atlas (Attie for short)
 Socrates (the student of Plato, the philosopher who first wrote down the Atlantis legend. My clown pleco is named Plato)
 Poseidon (Reigning god of Atlantis)
 Leviathan (Levi for short. Many movies/artwork/etc. tend to feature Atlantis guarded by a great ocean-dwelling beast)
 Abyss (because Atlantis sank into the depths of the Abyss)
 Rune (as in Atlantean runes, namely the bright, glowing blue ones that are commonly featured in artwork)

Anyone have anything else? Pictures will of course be posted once I get this baby going <3


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## Lost Eventide (Jun 30, 2012)

Had to update this seeing I just got the crystal light and put it in the tank! It looks awesome, especially when the room is dark. This tank is starting to come together a bit, though I'm looking forward to seeing what other Atlantean decor is available!

It changes all sorts of colours (it slowly fades into them), and once you shut it off it slowly fades out as well so the fish don't get startled, which is really cool. I had to take a picture of the blue though, of course!

With the lid off it casts a really pretty ripple effect on the wall too xD I was surprised at how well-made it seems to be. The crystal itself is really thick.


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## MyRainbowBettaFish (May 9, 2012)

*WOWZ is that beautiful!!!*

i like abyss!!


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## Lost Eventide (Jun 30, 2012)

Isn't it? I was so happy when the light turned out that well. I was worried it was not going to show up nicely at all, but I'm glad I bought this ornament now!

I'm favouring Socrates or Abyss myself xD I will have to see what the little guy's personality is like once I get him (which shouldn't be long now!)


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## MyRainbowBettaFish (May 9, 2012)

Lost Eventide said:


> Isn't it? I was so happy when the light turned out that well. I was worried it was not going to show up nicely at all, but I'm glad I bought this ornament now!
> 
> I'm favouring Socrates or Abyss myself xD I will have to see what the little guy's personality is like once I get him (which shouldn't be long now!)


Im excited for you!:-D


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## Lost Eventide (Jun 30, 2012)

So, I was hanging out with a friend, and seeing we really had no idea where to go I convinced him to stop at Petco xDDD I got some more decorations, woooo! I also got an anubias for my 29g seeing they had a tubed one that was in really nice shape.

I'm going to organize this a bit more tomorrow seeing I sort of just dropped the pieces in. I really got lucky with that four column piece. I wasn't sure if it was going to fit but it _just_ managed to get into the tank. I'm thinking that if I densely plant the back of the tank it'll give the betta a sheltered area to retreat behind those pillars seeing there weren't really any nice caves available. Plus the plants and the pillars will hide my heater and filter.

Does it look Atlantean yet? =D


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## MyRainbowBettaFish (May 9, 2012)

Lost Eventide said:


> So, I was hanging out with a friend, and seeing we really had no idea where to go I convinced him to stop at Petco xDDD I got some more decorations, woooo! I also got an anubias for my 29g seeing they had a tubed one that was in really nice shape.
> 
> I'm going to organize this a bit more tomorrow seeing I sort of just dropped the pieces in. I really got lucky with that four column piece. I wasn't sure if it was going to fit but it _just_ managed to get into the tank. I'm thinking that if I densely plant the back of the tank it'll give the betta a sheltered area to retreat behind those pillars seeing there weren't really any nice caves available. Plus the plants and the pillars will hide my heater and filter.
> 
> Does it look Atlantean yet? =D


It looks AMAZING!Great job!


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## quakersteph (Jun 7, 2012)

Lost Eventide said:


> I'm favouring Socrates or Abyss myself xD I will have to see what the little guy's personality is like once I get him (which shouldn't be long now!)


Personality plays such a BIG role in naming, doesn't it? Took me over a week to name ours, but he was so "lively" with his almost constant flaring that he reminded me of a dragon. Hence the name Draco, lol. Can't wait to see the pics, good luck and hope a good betta chooses you! Oh, tank is looking great by the way, my 5 gallon hex seems to be the perfect size, hope yours works well too. :-D


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## Lost Eventide (Jun 30, 2012)

MyRainbowBettaFish said:


> It looks AMAZING!Great job!


Thanks! =3



quakersteph said:


> Personality plays such a BIG role in naming, doesn't it? Took me over a week to name ours, but he was so "lively" with his almost constant flaring that he reminded me of a dragon. Hence the name Draco, lol. Can't wait to see the pics, good luck and hope a good betta chooses you! Oh, tank is looking great by the way, my 5 gallon hex seems to be the perfect size, hope yours works well too. :-D


Yeah, personality is a big determining factor, but I also like to try and keep with a "theme," which is why I like a big list of names in that theme to choose from =3 If you have enough names, you should have one that would fit most personality types, or you at least have some ideas to come up with a new one.

Though I also do spur-of-the-moment names as well xD Plato was a totally random name for my clown pleco, but it suits him for some reason.

Draco's an adorable name though <3 Kind of would remind me from the Draco from _Dragonheart_ as well. He was such a sweetheart, but he could be fierce when he had to be.

I'm glad to hear the hex works well for you! I hope it works just as well for me as well!


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## bettafishfinnatic (Mar 18, 2012)

i like aquaris lol abyss is really cool too... swweeeeet theme by the way


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## quakersteph (Jun 7, 2012)

Oh yeah, we definitely went through a TON of names before we narrowed it down. Figured with the upgrade and the new home and all he was probably stressed at seeing his reflection and the new people and pets around here. After the first 4-5 days though he mellowed out a little, but is still a spitfire, haha. I have taught him to "dance" for his treats and to greet and stuff, so now if he wants me to pay attention to him, he knows all he has to do is start dancing and it gets me every time.
I really like the theme thing too, and it sounds like you have a lot of options to choose from! You're tank looks so peaceful, like it's own little underwater world, and that is my favorite part of keeping an aquarium. I've kinda done the opposite though, started out with one set-up of decorations and as time has gone completely changed it around and replaced everything with the dragon theme because it just suited Draco better. He likes it better this way, and I find I just sit there staring for the longest time and don't even realize it, lol


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## Lost Eventide (Jun 30, 2012)

bettafishfinnatic said:


> i like aquaris lol abyss is really cool too... swweeeeet theme by the way


Aquaris is a cool name =3 I suppose you could even possible go with constellation names like Aquarius, Cancer, Pisces, ect. That might be a cool pattern. And thanks <3



quakersteph said:


> Oh yeah, we definitely went through a TON of names before we narrowed it down. Figured with the upgrade and the new home and all he was probably stressed at seeing his reflection and the new people and pets around here. After the first 4-5 days though he mellowed out a little, but is still a spitfire, haha. I have taught him to "dance" for his treats and to greet and stuff, so now if he wants me to pay attention to him, he knows all he has to do is start dancing and it gets me every time.
> I really like the theme thing too, and it sounds like you have a lot of options to choose from! You're tank looks so peaceful, like it's own little underwater world, and that is my favorite part of keeping an aquarium. I've kinda done the opposite though, started out with one set-up of decorations and as time has gone completely changed it around and replaced everything with the dragon theme because it just suited Draco better. He likes it better this way, and I find I just sit there staring for the longest time and don't even realize it, lol


Aw, that's so cute <3 I love it when bettas dance. Occasionally some of my tetras will dance for me, but I don't think their bodies are really made for doing so xDD Too streamlined or something, I dunno, but it sort of looks goofy and they give up real quick seeing they know I'll feed them anyway, haha. Instead they settle for nibbling on my hand whenever I stick it in the tank.

And yes <3 I love just setting in front of my 29g, especially since I put a bunch of plants in it. Unfortunately because of where it is I need to sit in the middle of the living room floor, and my mom always gets a bit irritated seeing she needs to walk around me to get to her shipment boxes and such.

A dragon theme sounds really cool though! Dragons are actually my favourite fantasy creatures, so if I wasn't so bent on Atlantis I may have gone that route. Though, then again, I'm not all that fond of many of the dragon decorations around here seeing they're too cartoony, so right now I have an Atlantis aquarium in my semi-dragon themed bedroom, but once I go up to the dorm I have more victorian-style decor so Atlantis fits a bit better -- at least on my side of the room xD I have no idea what decor my roommate is bringing.

Do you have any pics of your setup anywhere? I'd love to see them =3


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## Shadyr (Mar 27, 2012)

The light and crystal look amazing! Did you find your fish yet? I had to share a picture, cause what you described as your proper Atlantean fish sounds exactly like my daughter's betta, Indigo.


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## Lost Eventide (Jun 30, 2012)

Not yet! My nitrite readings are still a bit high in the aquarium, so I haven't been fish-hunting yet (well, technically I have seeing at Petco yesterday I _had_ to look at the bettas, but fortunately I didn't find one that I just had to bring home right that second xD). 

I've been purposely avoiding Pet Supplies Plus seeing they regularly have black orchids available and I want to avoid buying one until I'm cycled. I'm hoping that'll be soon though seeing I am now getting a small nitrate reading, and last week I was at zero.

Indigo is gorgeous though! <3 He definitely does look very Atlantean. I love the gradients on his fins especially with how they fade from bright blue to dark. It's very pretty!


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## CharStarr (Jul 3, 2012)

*Your tank is looking amazing, the pillars and your crystal just look so fantastic! I can't wait to see more pics, please keep us updated on this! I like the names Poseidon and Socrates personally. But I agree, it does depend on the fish's personality and what fits, from the moment I got Spyro yesterday I knew he was a strong, determined little guy not like Kudo who's very analytical and friendly. *


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## fleetfish (Jun 29, 2010)

Whenever I think of Atlantis I think of Plato . . . I'm a classic mythology geek though. Really lovely tank


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## Lost Eventide (Jun 30, 2012)

CharStarr said:


> *Your tank is looking amazing, the pillars and your crystal just look so fantastic! I can't wait to see more pics, please keep us updated on this! I like the names Poseidon and Socrates personally. But I agree, it does depend on the fish's personality and what fits, from the moment I got Spyro yesterday I knew he was a strong, determined little guy not like Kudo who's very analytical and friendly. *


Thanks! I'll be sure to =3 I put a few more cuttings of Hornwort in from my 29g (lol, it really is growing like a weed!) so maybe that'll help things cycle a bit faster. Though I'm finding out really quickly just how difficult it really is to work in a smaller tank as far as decorating it and such xD I have a pair of long forceps I use, but even with those I keep knocking over decorations or ripping up other plants, haha. Finally got the new stuff planted though.

I would like to use mostly Anacharis because it actually roots and I love the appearance, but I'm not sure how well the stem I have in there is doing. One branch of the stem is fully green and flourishing, but the other is semi-transparent. I'm wondering if the water's too warm seeing it's around 79-80, though it's doing great in my 29g where the temp's roughly 76-77.



fleetfish said:


> Whenever I think of Atlantis I think of Plato . . . I'm a classic mythology geek though. Really lovely tank


So do I! Unfortunately I already have one fish named Plato, and that's my clown pleco xD Can't have two fish with the same name, haha. That's why I thought Socrates seeing he was Plato's mentor (lol, oops, got that mixed up initially, it was Aristotle that was Plato's student. Too many names, especially seeing how Socrates is also a character in Plato's dialogues on top of that, gah).


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## Lost Eventide (Jun 30, 2012)

I decided I'm going to go and look at some bettas tomorrow =3 My intention was to wait until I was fully cycled, but after researching fish-in cycles, taking into account the size of the aquarium, and doing a couple water changes without a fish present, I determined I'd be able to manage daily water changes without any issue until it's cycled. It's considerably less work to do large water changes in a smaller tank than it is a larger one, that's for sure xD I really get a work out if I need to change anymore than 10% of my 29g seeing I use a 1g bucket to transport old water.

Plus I had to sort of weigh my situation. I'm going to be taking this tank to my dorm in the next month. It's a little over an hour's drive away, which isn't much travel time whatsoever when compared to a fish being shipped overseas and such, but all the same I want to make sure my boy is healthy and thriving before the move just to ensure he'll be okay. Getting him a week or two before I leave for college won't give me much time to perk him up and treat any issues should they arise, and I'm not sure if there is a pet supply store anywhere close to my campus (other than a Walmart), meaning I also need to make sure I have anything I could possibly need _before_ I leave. I'm not going to have a car of my own, and I'll feel terrible if I need to mooch a ride off a friend xD

I'll post pictures if I do come home with a boy tomorrow, but the store I'm going to buy from gets shipments in on Thursdays, so there's no guarantee I'll find one that really "strikes my fancy" so to speak. If not I'll probably go back on Friday to see what came in their new shipment.

I'm also going to see if I can track down an eyedropper or pipette tomorrow xD Trying to measure out Prime into the cap is really frustrating when you have a 5g jug you treat new water in and there's no way to measure easily for something under like 10g seeing there's no way to use "drops." I also should probably pick up a couple more buckets at the dollar store. I think my stepdad used all my other fish buckets for cleaning seeing they were on a shelf in the garage as I could only fit one under my 29g.


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## magnum (May 7, 2012)

All I can say is wow! I'm planning on doing a Greek theme for when I get my new fish :3 
Personally though, I like the name Socrates! It sounds very 'Atlantish (?) '. 

http://www.cichlids.com/uploads/tx_usercichlids/user_pics/3538/3538____file_01_p1050940.jpg

http://www.google.com.au/imgres?q=A...nw=92&start=0&ndsp=18&ved=1t:429,r:5,s:0,i:85




Just some idea's that I thought might look cool in your tank if you havn't already finished decorating! The second one would be great if your calling him Posiedion


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## Lost Eventide (Jun 30, 2012)

Oh wow! I really like your first link! I'm definitely going to have to keep that in mind if I carry this theme over to a larger tank because the multiple levels look so awesome <3 I might upgrade this 5g to a 10g in the future, but while I'm taking it back and forth to college a 5g is so much easier to manage, haha xD

And I was looking at that Poseidon decoration as well~ Unfortunately it was a bit too large for what I have to work with D= Plus it's meant for a 90 degree corner, which I do not have.

I'm bookmarking that first one though xD Woo inspiration! Thanks for the links!

And you can't go wrong with a Greek theme! The architecture is just awesome and it always looks so nice in aquariums.


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## magnum (May 7, 2012)

Hahah glad you liked them! I can't see the webpages behind the links, cause It's a school computer I'm on, so that's why I didn't know how large the figurine thing was. 

Yes, I've been looking for some Greek stuff! I'm wanting to do all there tanks a different theme, say one Greek, Roman, Egyptian and Medieval.


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## Lost Eventide (Jun 30, 2012)

Ah, yeah. School filters suck =< One of the reasons I love the college network seeing they don't block anything; they just monitor what you download and such so they can make sure you're not doing anything illegal xD

Petco has some pretty cool themed stuff if you have one available or you can ship stuff in. Most of their stuff is found on Amazon as well, but that's where I got my Greek columns. They also have a really cool Egyptian vase if you are looking for stuff for that theme =3 It would be perfect for a centerpiece depending on the tank size. I saw it in person and it would work really well in a 5g-10g aquarium provided it's rectangular and not a hex.


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## magnum (May 7, 2012)

Ohhh sounds good :3 I live in Australia and my parents arn't to keen on getting stuff shipped in but, I should be able to find a replica in one of the three LCPS around my house :3. 

My tank, well I'm not sure the Gallons/Litres, but it's one of those ones with a three divided


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## bettafishfinnatic (Mar 18, 2012)

hehe your welcome aquaris reminds me of aqua wich reminds me of atlantis lol


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## Lost Eventide (Jun 30, 2012)

Ah. Well I'm sure there are replicas out there.Those are usually the Petco brand, and often times it's another big company that makes them, just the store in question pays to have their name put on them xD

Not sure if something that vase sized would be good for a divided tank though. It may be a bit large for just one of the "compartments."

And that makes sense, bettafishfinatic xD Believe it or not I actually didn't catch the connection first time through, lol.


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## Lost Eventide (Jun 30, 2012)

*I got my baby!*

Originally I was going to get a black orchid, but my mom picked this little guy off the shelf and she brought my attention to him, and needless to say I was torn. However, this fella was really interactive and was dancing for me whenever I picked him up, so my heart melted <3

He's acclimating in his new home right now. He's a dragonscale, but I'm not sure what his tail-type is. I'm pretty sure he's a veiltail, but his fins are currently a bit split so I can't tell. He _might_ be a delta. The picture really doesn't do him justice though.

His fins do look a bit clamped, so I'm anxious to see what he looks like once he has his entire tank to swim in. I'm also curious to see if any colour changes occur, as he's quite bright as he is.

As far as names, I'm really considering either Aristotle or Socrates.


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