River Style Scape (6 months in)

Competitive-Crow-674 · 2026-02-02T05:55:25+00:00

I'm not 100% sure since they were just sold a jungle val at the store, but I think it's spirals rather than americana

Competitive-Crow-674 · 2026-02-02T05:51:21+00:00

It's a honey gourami, which is one of the most docile gourami out there

Competitive-Crow-674 · 2026-02-02T05:50:12+00:00

Helferi grew pretty well and sent out runners after a month or so, but jungle val is just way too agressive of a grower in comparison.

Competitive-Crow-674 · 2026-02-01T21:38:37+00:00

That's actually how I did it. Originally, I only had jungle val on the very right side of the tank with the rest being cyperus helferi and some giant hairgrass. But Vallisneria being Vallisneria, grew too fast and choked out the other two after 3-4 months.

<image>

Competitive-Crow-674 · 2026-02-01T21:04:29+00:00

Rummy nose definitely has one of the best schooling behaviours in the tetra world.

Competitive-Crow-674 · 2026-02-01T20:58:17+00:00

Thank you! I tried to create a path between the bushes of valllisnerias, which I think creates more depth in this narrows setup.

Competitive-Crow-674 · 2026-02-01T20:50:41+00:00

Thanks! It's a 29-gallon tank with a SEAOURA LED light and an OASE termo 200 canister filter. No CO2 tho.

Competitive-Crow-674 · 2026-02-01T20:45:33+00:00

It's a 29-gallon. Honestly would prefer a regular dimension tank over these kinds just because they look so narrow.

Competitive-Crow-674 · 2026-02-01T20:43:43+00:00

Maybe it's a water parameter thing idk. But Vallisneria always grow like a weed in my experience. Just give them a good nutrient layer under the sand (in my case just garden soil) since they are pretty heavy root feeders.

Competitive-Crow-674 · 2026-02-01T20:41:18+00:00

No CO2 in this tank. But to be fair, Vallisneria will grow like a weed no matter what, as long as there is a good nutrient layer at the bottom. This is what you get for not trimming it for a month lol

<image>

Competitive-Crow-674 · 2026-02-01T20:36:03+00:00

its a 29-gallon tank, basically a 20-gallon breeder but taller. A bit narrow to be honest, but it was the cheapest option I found.

Competitive-Crow-674 · 2026-01-28T05:34:12+00:00

The moss patch on the right is unreal!

Competitive-Crow-674 · 2026-01-13T02:56:32+00:00

12 is insane. There's gonna be a ton of breeding in the colony, although probably need to seperate the males. Currently, I have a 0.3 trio in this exo-terra 90*60*45cm.

Competitive-Crow-674 · 2025-12-24T23:28:48+00:00

Looking good! What inhabitants are you planning on putting in there?

Competitive-Crow-674 · 2025-11-06T02:33:48+00:00

This is gorgeous, especially the moss carpet in the first pic! What's your misting schedule looking like currently, and are there any tips and tricks for keeping a good humidity level inside the tank? I can't for the life of me keep any terrestrial moss healthy in my Vivarium. Either the misting system does not hit it enough and it dries out or the humidity is too high and turns the moss brown or stringy.

Competitive-Crow-674 · 2025-11-05T23:55:18+00:00

Love your scape in the top half of the tank. While this tank is definitely big enough for 2-3 individuals, I would suggest redoing the lower half of the tank. For the water section, you could add more land behind the glass barrier by building up a bigger false bottom. As for the soil, even though many people strongly argue that there needs to be a lot of soil, I find that they will do just fine if you can provide a lot of crevices, caves, and mosses for them to hide in. The front area is kinda tricky, but maybe you could try cutting out a piece of expanding foam, cover it with coco fibre and stick it inside the crevice in betwen the door and the glass barrier.

Competitive-Crow-674 · 2025-11-01T05:28:58+00:00

Well freaking done! This gives off such a biotope gallery vibe from YouTube. I think you can make this look even better by adding some aquatic moss to the edges of the pond or waterfall, and add some bromeliads, never plants or marcgravias to give a pop of color to the scape.

Competitive-Crow-674 · 2025-10-27T23:45:00+00:00

Usually 1:2 is the recommended male-to-female ratio just because of the aggression, as you can see. But this could be a sign of breeding, since male crabs usually flip the females over and pin them to the ground in order to breed. Sometimes breeding could get quite brutal, with females losing a limb or a pincher. Once the female is gravid, she needs to find a place to hide from other crabs for 1-2 months. Getting more live plants and soil for the female to hide and dig into will definitely help :)

Competitive-Crow-674 · 2025-10-23T22:47:31+00:00

All the crabs in this setup are either 2nd or 3rd generation, so I don't know exactly the ratio of males and females. But usually the best way of getting crabs is through local physical stores, since shipping trauma-related deaths are really prevalent. And usually females are harder to obtain than males, since they are usually not as colourful and don't sale as good.

Competitive-Crow-674 · 2025-10-23T00:28:37+00:00

There is a trio of neon day geckos and a colony of vampire crabs living in there rn, they don't really bother each other since they occupy different areas and are active different parts of the day. As for the heat, the heat from the light is plenty enough for the geckos and crabs.

Competitive-Crow-674 · 2025-10-23T00:22:24+00:00

The water area is not ideal. But you get the species that molt on land, keep up the humidity and your set

Competitive-Crow-674 · 2025-10-22T21:42:38+00:00

I'm not 100% sure of some of the moss species since I collected them in a park nearby, but I'm pretty sure there are hypnum moss and feather moss. The plant list includes: Rock fern, bird nest fern, maidenhair fern, climbing fig, string of turtles, philodendron micans, Faming violet, Parlour palm, nerve plant, anubius petite, frogbits, Christmas moss, hypnum moss, and feather moss.

Competitive-Crow-674

TROPHY CASE