Hi there! I’m Sarah! My partner and I are just setting up our first shared aquarium! I haven’t kept fish in quite a few years, and there are so many new things to learn! Our setup is a 20gallon long planted tank for our work-from-home office. We’ve got a seachem tidal 55 filter (I know it’s a bit extra, picked it for the extra features from the smaller one… and I can already tell we will upgrade someday..) Our water seems to be slightly hard, so still figuring out how that impacts everything.
We just got the cycling going last week, and have only plants so far. Baby Tears, Ludwigia, valsinaria, Anubias, Java moss, and an unspecified “sword” from the local fish store. Just added Monte Carlo, hydrocotyl, Java fern windelov, and crypt parva from aquarium co-op! And root tabs and fertilizer which we forgot when we bought the first plants.. they’re already looking happier for it.
One of the sword plants is growing new red leaves which look amazing! Does anyone have thoughts on what specific type it might be?
As for critters we are planning on adding orange neocardinia, otocinclus when it’s ready and stable.. aaand everything else is still being decided!
I love the look of the pearlescent pink ramshorn snails I’ve seen on aquabid, we also like chestnut and magenta mystery snails, but aren’t sure about how a tank this size would be once they got to full size… Nerite snails are definitely being considered, particularly if we pick a fish that will eat the egg capsules.
Other fish I’m thinking about are kubotai rasboras, CPD’s, gold ring danios, green neon tetras, or fancy guppies. I’m enchanted by the look of the “alien” betta fish, but I’m not sure about keeping a hybrid fish that I haven’t found very much information on yet. If anyone has experience or information you can point me towards for any of these fish, that would be awesome! I’m particularly interested in what they all look like when not in “super prime breeding/photoshoot colors”.
Looking forward to chatting and learning with everyone!
Sarah ❤️