# New Fluval Flora planted tank



## Marlow (May 29, 2013)

Mirage finally gets some life to his tank =) Poor boy was living alone with almond leaves for the longest time @[email protected] 

The tank isn't new, nor is it the original kit, but I purchased fluval stratum for it again just out of ease of getting. I completely destroyed it the first time without realizing how expensive the stuff is, and so poor Bettaboy here was living in a crappy gravel tank with no plants *sigh* But he seems pretty happy now =) Hopefully it will take off and run well and not get murdered with algae like the first time.

Substrate ::
Fluval Stratum 
Small amount of blue gravel to hold filter down

Plants :: 
Blue Hygro 
Water Sprite Lace Leaf 
Moneywart
Chain Sword broad leaf x2
Dwarf baby tears 
Unknown Anubia 
Frogbit
Small amount of reg baby tears and cardamine lyrata as tests to see if they'll grow or not with such pathetic portions 

Livestock ::
Mirage the betta
1 Black Myst snail
1 Blue Myst snail 


































For some reason Mirage thought it was a brilliant idea to grab a few mouthfuls of baby tears then spit out. And then another. He isn't eating it, but biting is his way of discovering things. About how deep do you think is safe to plant it? I keep seeing roots everytime I look at it.


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## JennNP (Jul 2, 2013)

I don't have an answer to your question about the baby tears, but I just wanted to say your tank looks beautiful! I love the variety plants/leaves in the tank, it looks great!


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## Marlow (May 29, 2013)

Thanks! I really love how it looks so far, but I do hope it carpets at least partially x)


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

Lovely aquascaping. All the plants are pretty foolproof except the Dwarf Baby Tears. They tend to like C02 injections so you might try Seachem Excel to help them along. That's what I'm going to do if I try them again.


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## Marlow (May 29, 2013)

Cool, i'll get some =). Would CO2 tablets work aswell? I would need to order it and get it shipped, so I may as well get both at the same time if that would be beneficial.


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

Just the Excel is all you would need. Addding the tablets might be overkill.


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## gorillakev (Feb 21, 2013)

I've always struggled with hc, the best way I know of growing it is doing a dry start. That way the roots can grow in. I've tried high light no co2 with excel and I didn't have good results. More recently I tried medium light and pressurized co2 and that wasn't good enough either. Maybe I don't have the magic touch with HC, you'll probably have better luck though.

Nice tank btw.


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## Marlow (May 29, 2013)

Thanks ^^
I suppose I could just buy a mat of it (or something else) if it doesn't grow correctly :/ I was going to the first place, but it sold out before my order sadly. I'll give this a try anyway ^^


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## Marlow (May 29, 2013)

A little update on the tank- it's had a bunch of changes 


I never was able to get the CO2 booster, so as expected, my baby tears didn't survive long enough to combat the rate they were being eaten, so I scrapped the carpet idea. I bought a piece of drift wood for the bottom instead, and got a few more anubias, java fern and some type of massive sword. I also removed one mystery snail to another tank, as my female was getting harassed, and moved Mirage to a non-planted tank: apparently I had one of those rare, weird, plant eating bettas. He should be eating the NLS I give him, not my plants- I doubt that much veggies is healthy. Root tables, and finally, co2 are due to arrive on friday- But i'm not sure i'll even being using them on this tank.. I got some new inhabitants in here. Cherry shrimp. Woo! 

Sorry for the pictures, the water was cloudy from disrupting the stratum and I had to angle it so you wouldn't see the top of the tank, which is ugly from lack of being filled all the way. Egg-laying mysteries, you know 










I'm in love with shrimp, lol









I think they are both molting in these pictures.. Figures, they're awesomely red. I actually had them in a different tank for a while, but they look much better in this one. The other is decrepit.


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

That looks absolutely gorgeous!

If you are still interested in a carpet, a moss carpet could be lovely. This dude made an awesome moss carpet using slate: http://www.aquariumlife.com.au/show...untainscape-(Decommissioned-Final-Pics)/page3.


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## Marlow (May 29, 2013)

There is actually no room in this tank for a carpet anymore- the pictures make the space between plant and driftwood look larger than it actually is. It's only a teeny space, and once the anubias and the java fern take off, it should be even smaller (to the shrimps liking, I hope )

I'm definitely doing a moss carpet in my revamp 10g, though, and maybe a moss wall/background too. Java moss..I have a big jar of it I need to use up x) But maybe both would be way to much moss..? Who knows, I guess i'll see


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