Thoughts on rock type and plant selection for new angelfish tank

[Matth22]

Got the tank for my office build today and leak tested/started soaking the Corbo catfish root I am using as part of the hardscape

It’s currently floating nicely but weighed down with a bit of dragon stone so I did the best I could to try a couple of different positions

Tank has some challenging dimensions (950 x 500 x 750), with the height lending itself well to angels. First time set up since I bought it in 2021 with the aim of putting it in an alcove in a house we no longer live in 😂. Couldn’t let it go to waste so have built it into a unit against a wall in my office and plan to run 100% RO to the back of the tank which has the kitchen behind it.

Looking for ideas on rock type and plant selection given it will be a softwater tank. Also whether it’s worth running co2 or keeping it low tech due to the depth? I have an ONF flat one + light which did suggest 750mm was the maximum depth. Would love to get some pops of red in there if I can!

If I run co2 I’ll either use an inline diffuser or reactor. I’ve got an aquael ultramax 2000 filter which I’ll probably use one of those dual duck bill outlets on to give me the best chance of pushing the co2 everywhere

 

[Matth22]

I’ve just ordered some Gobi rock. Got some sand that will match up nicely.

On to planting ideas, and plant selection is probably the area I’m least confident on.

I’ve got a big red tiger lotus in another tank I’d like to use some of (guessing that will be fine). Epiphytes will feature heavily.

Was thinking about hygrophila pinnatifida fixed to the back of the wood or in the substrate. Any thoughts on this?

I’ve also got some rotala macrandra, blood red and hra I could take some cuttings from.

I’d originally thought about vallisneria spiralis for height and have some I can use, but read it doesn’t do as well in soft water. Maybe some crypt balansae?

All in all I’m not sure and could quite easily end up with a random selection of plants, so if anyone has any ideas on a planting plan I’m all ears!

 

[Simon Cole]

I think I would opt for ferns. Possibly underplant with some attractive stems.
How about this for the wood:

• Bolbitis heteroclita "difformis"
• Pteridophyta sp. "Niah"
• Solenostoma sp. "Buce moss"

... and add some showcase rheophytes Bucephalandra etc. at a later date, when it is established. Bucephalandra var. "Brownie ghost 2011" is rare but has a purple colour that can really pop, and Bucephalandra varieties "AFP platinum" and "marble" might turn up in the UK at some point too, not to mention Bucephalandra Belindae which has narrow leaves. At worst you could add some Anubias pangolino or the white anubias varieties if the buces melt. These are rheophytes/lithophytes/saprophytes but not epiphytes (which grow on live plants). I think Hygrophila pinnatifida is more trouble than it's worth and the Pteridophyta above will give you the same leaf form.
I would look at Hydrocotyle Tripartita as a creeper heading up the wood, but I would underplant it with a red plant below the wood to the left; Alternanthera reineckii "Mini" springs to mind.
I'm not a big fan of most rotala, but Rotala ramosior var. Florida is now available in the UK but the leaves are rather fine. Anything could work, and with most stem plants it does not matter because they can be swapped out.
Valisnaria spp. is a sound classical choice for anglefish aquaria, but on the right-hand side; also check out Eleocharis montevidensis for an upright leaf form on the right hand side.
Perhaps other crypts like Cryptocoryne Albida var. "Red" and Cryptocoryne striolata, and there is now apparantly a pink version of C. balansae!
I quite like the look of Marsilea hirsuta and Ranunculus inundatus on the foreground and this would add some good texture. Let minature Cryptocoryne varieties (Parva etc.) pop up here and there in the foreground.
Tell us what colours you want. Do you want tropical pink, orange, red? browns? or a mix.

p.s. also some red root floaters Phyllanthus fluitans. And Piptospatha Ridleyi would look way more interesting than most crypts if placed below the wood.

 

[Matth22]

I think I would opt for ferns. Possibly underplant with some attractive stems.
How about this for the wood:

• Bolbitis heteroclita "difformis"
• Pteridophyta sp. "Niah"
• Solenostoma sp. "Buce moss"

... and add some showcase rheophytes Bucephalandra etc. at a later date, when it is established. Bucephalandra var. "Brownie ghost 2011" is rare but has a purple colour that can really pop, and Bucephalandra varieties "AFP platinum" and "marble" might turn up in the UK at some point too, not to mention Bucephalandra Belindae which has narrow leaves. At worst you could add some Anubias pangolino or the white anubias varieties if the buces melt. These are rheophytes/lithophytes/saprophytes but not epiphytes (which grow on live plants). I think Hygrophila pinnatifida is more trouble than it's worth and the Pteridophyta above will give you the same leaf form.
I would look at Hydrocotyle Tripartita as a creeper heading up the wood, but I would underplant it with a red plant below the wood to the left; Alternanthera reineckii "Mini" springs to mind.
I'm not a big fan of most rotala, but Rotala ramosior var. Florida is now available in the UK but the leaves are rather fine. Anything could work, and with most stem plants it does not matter because they can be swapped out.
Valisnaria sp. is a sound classical choice for anglefish aquaria, but on the right-hand side; also check out Eleocharis montevidensis for an upright leaf form on the right hand side.
Perhaps other crypts like Cryptocoryne Albida var. "Red" and Cryptocoryne striolata, and there is now apparantly a pink version of C. balansae!
I quite like the look of Marsilea hirsuta and Ranunculus inundatus on the foreground and this would add some good texture. Let minature Cryptocoryne varieties (Parva etc.) pop up here and there in the foreground.
Tell us what colours you want. Do you want tropical pink, orange, red? browns? or a mix.

p.s. also some red root floaters Phyllanthus fluitans. And Piptospatha Ridleyi would look way more interesting than most crypts if placed below the wood.

Awesome, thanks!

Defo liking the ferns idea. Will research your suggestions and report back 😁

 

[Matth22]

I think I would opt for ferns. Possibly underplant with some attractive stems.
How about this for the wood:

• Bolbitis heteroclita "difformis"
• Pteridophyta sp. "Niah"
• Solenostoma sp. "Buce moss"

... and add some showcase rheophytes Bucephalandra etc. at a later date, when it is established. Bucephalandra var. "Brownie ghost 2011" is rare but has a purple colour that can really pop, and Bucephalandra varieties "AFP platinum" and "marble" might turn up in the UK at some point too, not to mention Bucephalandra Belindae which has narrow leaves. At worst you could add some Anubias pangolino or the white anubias varieties if the buces melt. These are rheophytes/lithophytes/saprophytes but not epiphytes (which grow on live plants). I think Hygrophila pinnatifida is more trouble than it's worth and the Pteridophyta above will give you the same leaf form.
I would look at Hydrocotyle Tripartita as a creeper heading up the wood, but I would underplant it with a red plant below the wood to the left; Alternanthera reineckii "Mini" springs to mind.
I'm not a big fan of most rotala, but Rotala ramosior var. Florida is now available in the UK but the leaves are rather fine. Anything could work, and with most stem plants it does not matter because they can be swapped out.
Valisnaria spp. is a sound classical choice for anglefish aquaria, but on the right-hand side; also check out Eleocharis montevidensis for an upright leaf form on the right hand side.
Perhaps other crypts like Cryptocoryne Albida var. "Red" and Cryptocoryne striolata, and there is now apparantly a pink version of C. balansae!
I quite like the look of Marsilea hirsuta and Ranunculus inundatus on the foreground and this would add some good texture. Let minature Cryptocoryne varieties (Parva etc.) pop up here and there in the foreground.
Tell us what colours you want. Do you want tropical pink, orange, red? browns? or a mix.

p.s. also some red root floaters Phyllanthus fluitans. And Piptospatha Ridleyi would look way more interesting than most crypts if placed below the wood.

Do you have any recommendations of where to buy? Some of these I liked but couldn’t find a source to purchase from

I like the buce’s and have some I can pinch from another tank later down the line

Defo want to use some bolbitis and plenty of crypts - probably a mix of reds, greens and browns.

I also have some quite large schismatoglottis prietoil I could split a couple of bits off.

I like rotala Florida but read it prefers harder water?

Defo going to do some Eleocharis montevidensis on the right as suggested. Prefer the look of that over Val

Some great suggestions, but if you can share any links to source some of these that’d be awesome!

 

[Simon Cole]

No problem. I will give you a few alternatives for the meanwhile:

Have a look at Bolbitis heudelotii and Microsorum pteropus "Trident" or "Trident mini", but H. "difformis is on <Ebay> (shop there 😉)
Cameroon Moss Plagiochilaceae sp. might look nice but it is very geometric.
Fissidens sp. are also a very classical moss but it depends on the texture you want and how you want to balance the greens. I would skip all mosses and liverworts that could break-off or are not rubust.
Try some Eriocaulon cinereum on the foreground left-hand side. It likes soft water and will counterbalance the E. montevidensis on the right, and give a strinking contrast against the wood.
You might also be in the prime position to substitute R. ramosior with the soft water loving Rotala Wallichii. That has a nice pink hue. Perhaps try it on the left behind the wood.
I would then think about Lagenandra meeboldii “Red” on the right below the E. montevidensis so that again you are balancing colours across your tank. It is more of a pink plant, and I am pondering whether pink greens and browns would work better with anglefish. I suspect it would.

I would certainly pick up the Piptospatha Ridleyi (sold by K2Aqua) as a feature plant and keep an eye out for other aroids; your Schismatoglottis seems to cope well in your water. I might use other varigated plants like Anubias nana var. pinto because I think they would cool in an anglefish aquarium but with a lot of these well defined leaf shapes, they would have to present well against the backdrop of ferns. Still it might be a slightly less boring option. Also, have you considered the traditional <vase>? We rarely use ornaments in tanks these days, but it is a classical nod to the dutch-style planted aquarium and would look really cool on the right, plus it would give fish somewhere to spawn. You could have the A. pinto spilling out of it with it laying on it's side. That would look so cool.

 

[Matth22]

I impulsively bought plants online from aqua essentials last Thursday, because I decided I was going to plant the tank this weekend. I was able to get a good selection of crypts, Bolbitis, trident fern and some hydrocotyle tripartita, but everything stem wise I wanted was out of stock so I did a bit of a random LFS purchase and ended up with an echinodorus parviflora, some red cabomba (which I have no idea whether I have enough light for) and some hygrophila corymbosa siamensis.

Also moved some ludwigia palutrius mini super red over from another tank.

Figured I’d have a shot with what I’d bought and replace the stems if necessary and I’m reasonably happy with the outcome

Light is running at 75% currently with co2 cranked right up seeing as there is currently no livestock

Shame about the stone I needed to weigh down the root, despite gluing a reasonable amount of stones and gravel into the cavity running up the left hand side!

 

[Matth22]

Update on the tank! All growing in nicely. Been gradually moving stock over and had added some mature media to the filter

No real algae problems to speak of. Had a slight diatom bloom but that seems to have settled down. Bit of green dust on the wood and rock that is currently weighing it down so cranked the lights down a bit

Excuse the random piece of rotala in with the echinodorus parviflora 😂