0:00:01.7: Yo, what's going on Serpa Squad? Tanner here. You may be wondering why the 150-gallon cube aquarium is empty, why it's on this side of the room, and where am I? Well, I'm right here, and all those questions are more will be answered in just a moment. To better understand how we got to this point, we gotta go back to August, which is whenever I set up the 350-gallon paludarium. I haven't shown this tank or the 150-gallon cube since that time, and there's a good reason why. The fish that were once living in this tank are now living in this tank. That in itself was quite a process and happened very shortly after the 350 was set up. In fact, whenever I uploaded the last video on that tank, it was already housing those fish.
0:00:45.7: I was extremely excited to finally get these fish into the new setup. If you've been following this channel for a while now and pay close attention, you already knew this is coming because I've been talking about it for years now. Long-term, I'm probably not gonna keep this aquarium set up as it is. This is not a long-term tank. I'm not really too sure what I wanna do with it. All of the fish that are in this tank are gonna go in that tank. Once we get the 350 set up, we'll move all of the fish over into there and then I'll do something completely new with this setup.
0:01:15.4: You get the idea. I've been talking about it for years now and I finally made it happen. I'm curious to know what you think I should do with the tank though. I've been letting it sit idle and wrapping my brain around a few ideas that I think could be pretty cool, but I'm not set on anything. Keep in mind that since we can see it from the left, right and the front, it's best suited for some sort of peninsula setup. It measures 36 by 36 by 28. So again, it's 150 gallons and an overall really good footprint. I could literally do pretty much anything. I could set it up to be a planted tank, I could do some sort of vivarium, maybe a turtle, maybe a saltwater tank. I don't know, let me know what your thoughts are down in the comments.
0:01:52.4: That's not the main focus of this video though. What I actually wanna talk about is the 350. I added those fish from earlier, there's others that I've added since. I have more in quarantine and others that I'll get in the future as well, but I wanna take a current look at what's going on in there now.
[music]
0:02:48.7: Here's how it looks now. You saw some of what's living in here, but we'll take a closer look. First are the largest fish and who this tank was primarily built around: The royal spotted silver dollars. In saying that, a lot of decisions I made while building this tank probably make sense now. These fish are avid plant-eaters, which meant that I couldn't add any to the water feature. I wasn't about to get rid of my fish just because I wanted a planted tank, so I worked around it and made a jungle above the waterline. I also have a decent show of bronze corydoras. The four largest ones I've had for a few years now. I added six more that went through quarantine, and would like to add more as I find them. They help add life to the bottom of the tank as they bebop around, which I love. I didn't film it, but they bred right after going into this tank. I think the change in environment paired with a lot of thunderstorms triggered them to do their thing. There were eggs all over the front of the tank for a few consecutive days. Each time in between though, they were no doubt eaten by the other fish. I also have the lace catfish from the previous setup. Although they primarily come out at night, they can usually be seen hiding in plain sight. They swim against the underside of the driftwood and blend into dark spots. I personally think they're a beautiful fish that look perfect in this sort of setup.
0:04:15.3: I also have a rather sizeable bristlenose pleco. I'm not sure if I'll be able to capture footage of him, as I rarely ever see him. I honestly don't know where he hides, but it's always a treat when I catch a glimpse. The last set of fish from the previous aquarium are the pearl gourami. They're somewhat reclusive and tend to stick to themselves. That is, until food is dropped into the tank. All three are at least five years old so I'm not sure how much longer they'll be around, as they've already pretty much surpassed the average life expectancy. They're by far one of my favorite gourami, but once they pass, I'm not going to replace them. Last but not least, are the newest additions: A decent school of congo tetras. These have been a bucket list fish of mine ever since I was young. Being able to finally have them is awesome, and they're easily my favorite fish in the entire setup. When I got them a few months back, they were just over a half an inch long. They've all at least doubled since then, but they're still quite small. They add a lot of life to the setup, and act as a great dealer for their tank mates. The silver dollars were clearly more comfortable in this tank from day one, but as soon as I added the congos, they became even more relaxed. Overall, I'm really enjoying the stocking of this setup.
0:05:30.9: Initially, my goal was to keep a South American theme, but I quickly realized that's not what I wanted. Even still, I tried not to mix an excessive amount of different species, and some are kept out of necessity. The gourami, for example, in my opinion, don't really belong in this setup, but everything leaves them alone, so I don't mind letting them live out the remainder of their lives in this tank. Most of the other fish are around that age as well, but they're longer lived. Also, I don't really care about keeping fish that are exotic or expensive. If I like the fish, then that's why I keep it. With that, most of the fish in this tank are readily available within the hobby. I think I'm most excited to showcase the silver dollars in something nice. They exhibit very interesting social behaviors that are really fun to watch. Aside from an occasional scuffle between the lace catfish, everything lives very peacefully, and I think that's what I enjoy most. In my opinion, the dim lighting is more natural and easier on the fish. I know they do fine in evenly lit environments, but I have to imagine this is more akin to what they're used to. Plus, that's exactly how I wanted it to look. I wanted something different that functions well for the fish. The only thing I don't like about it is trying to film it, but I found a few workarounds.
0:06:45.1: To update you on the tank itself, it's doing quite well. Most of the plants have established and everything has really started to fill in. Most notably is probably the Swiss cheese vine. It's going wild and looks really awesome in this environment. That said, I'll definitely have to start maintaining it soon. Something else pretty cool is that the peace lily bloomed. I think the pop of white looks awesome, and I hope it's a common occurrence. The moss along the drip wall has also established really nicely. I can't wait to see how it looks the more it covers the wall. Overall, I can't be happier with how easy the tank is to maintain. I just do a weekly water change of about 30%, as well as drain the sump. I also make sure to periodically clean and replace the filter sock. Although it's really deep, I really have to clean out the bottom of the tank, even with all of the botanicals. The corys are constantly foraging for food, which throws things up, and the powerhead keeps things moving. I wasn't sure what to expect concerning evaporation, but that also isn't too bad. I lose roughly a half-gallon of water a day. I top off the water throughout the week to make sure the pumps don't run dry. Other than that, this tank is pretty much a sit back and enjoy type of thing, which is how I like it. Plus, it will only become easier to maintain the more the plants mature. They are a huge aspect to how I filter the tank and shouldn't be overlooked.
0:08:08.9: Although I enjoy all of the setups in the animal room, this by far is one of my favorites. I took a lot of time and care to set everything up, and it's exactly what I wanted. Most importantly, it's really enjoyable to watch, easy to care for, and a lot of fun. And there you have it, the 350 after being stocked with the fish. I thoroughly enjoy the selection that I went with, but I'm curious to know what you think. Do you like the fish that I went with and what else would you add to this setup? As I said, I do have a few more fish in quarantine that are gonna go in this setup. I'm not sure when I'm gonna add them though, 'cause they need to grow out. Overall, I'm really enjoying this setup, and I can't wait to see how it progresses in the future. It's definitely intended to be a long-term sort of thing, so expect it to be up for years to come.
0:08:54.5: As I said earlier in the video, this tank is really annoying to film. I know the clips I've shown definitely didn't do it justice, but I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless. The main issue that I encounter is whenever I have the exposure right down here in the water, it looks too blown out up here in the leaves, and vice versa. Whenever you see it in person, everything looks proper, but it's just, again, through the lens, things get lost in translation. Hopefully, as time goes on, I can find some workarounds with that. But another issue that I'm encountering is the sound from the stand. I gotta find a way to soundproof that. So if you guys have any suggestions on that, let me know. Anyway, that's all I have for you in this one, Serpa Squad. As always, I really hope you enjoyed the video. Let me know what else you think I should stock the 350 with and what do you wanna see me do with the 150. Until next time, take care and peace.
[music]
