Who Gives A Fish Forums

I think your Mum has a valid point about the rock sizes, they do seem quite uniform. Adding some variation in height or size could break up the monotony of the pile and create more visual interest. Consider introducing a break in the pile to create some depth and layers.

From my own experience with running tanks, I've always found the rule of thirds to be a useful guideline. Try to position the rock pile so it ends at either 1/3 or 2/3 along the tank, and aim for a similar proportion in terms of height. Avoid placing it halfway, as this often doesn't look quite right to the eye.

Got the egg crate in, so set the tank up today. Moved the 7 L144s to a 20l tub with tank water first. Then emptied the tank, decor and all, and put the egg crate and rocks in. After that, I washed the coflake sand and added it, followed by the water and the fish.

Here's how it looks now:



I'm thinking of adding some more rocks, maybe to stack up towards the top and around the pipes on the right.

I picked up the fish yesterday and they're settling in nicely. Got a good mix of species, including 7 acei, 4 ndumbi red tops, 4 labs, 4 Afra jalo reef, 4 mpanga, and 4 neon spot.

The neon spots seem to be running the show at the moment, but everyone's getting along. Here are some pics of the new additions:

Labs:




Ndumbi red top:




Jalo reef:




Mpanga:




Neon spot:




Full tank shot:




Apologies for the poor pic quality - they're just too fast.

cheers, Ben

Looks good, are the rocks just standing on their own?

I'm from around Hull, and I'm curious, where did you end up getting the fish from? Also, I'm being a bit cheeky, do you still have those corys going spare?

Yeah the rocks are just stacked on top of each other, biggest flattest ones on the bottom to keep it stable.

I got the fish from Tony, his website's www.tonysafricancichlids.co.uk, he's in Brid. His fish are top notch, never seen so many in one place. His website shows how stunning they are.

Nope, don't still have the corys, my brother took them off my hands.

Cheers, Ben