Hi! I have this community tank with female betta, neon tetras, some otocinclus, and fire red shrimp. Initially I had all white sand (aqua soil underneath), and loved it, but got tired of sucking waste off the bottom of it every day. I was pretty obsessive about it and would sometimes do a cleanup with a turkey baster multiple times a day because I couldn’t stand the look of it against the white sand. To remedy this, I had the brilliant idea to add a cap of black sand over the white, leaving just the “pathway” you see here. Well, the pathway doesn’t stay clear which is now driving me crazy. AND I didn’t even consider the fact that when I do an actual vacuum, it’s going to be an absolute mess.
The shrimp have already done a number on it in the last few weeks (moving rocks/plants) and I have plans of moving them to their own tank, but I have a few females with eggs so im waiting until that runs its course before I make the move.
Is there anything I can do about this other than rescaping the whole thing? I just rescaped about a month ago and it’s still settling in and really don’t want to do it again.
All suggestions welcome & appreciated!
https://i.redd.it/lcpzhpf6l3kg1.jpeg
Posted by Lazy_Concept_9814
5 Comments
Nature is forgiving and not perfect. In nature not everything is confined within lines and boundaries. I learned to let go and not be a control freak about my tanks and came out as a better, calmer person. 😂
However, if the black on brown sand bothers you.. just top the whole thing with black sand / aquasoil. With fishes moving around it’s bound to move soil along too.
Else, I don’t know if this will work.. but put tiny pebbles on the boundary of the pathway and grass / plants on both sides of the pathway (Next to the pebbles). Imagine you’ve created a garden walkway of sorts.
Other than that I’d say… let it go. 😬
I think it looks incredible
Otos and shrimp will move things around. I think you might be more content if you had this tank be your showpiece tank with minimal fish like just the Betta or neons. Or you could move all the fish out and just have a planted tank.
We see lots of media of perfect pretty tanks but in reality this is a very dynamic hobby, even without animals in your tank. It’s going to move and grow and you’re going to have to get in there and take care of things a lot.
Looks great! In reality, the sand would not be all white in nature.
It looks great! How many gallons is it?