Dimensions(cm): 54x30x33 Type: Steel frame & lid. Lighting: 2x15 W fluorescent. Filtration: Millennium 1000 + Penguin Bio-Wheel Mini.

Temperature: 26-32°C pH: 6.8 Hardness: 5 dH Population: ~55 cm of fish.

Plants:
Cabomba caroliniana, Egeria densa, Samolus parviflorus, Sagittaria subulata, Eleocharis acicularis, Nomaphila stricta, Hygrophila difformis, Microsorum pteropus, Ceratopteris cornuta, Anubias barteri var. nana, Althernanthera reinecki

Inhabitants:
6 Rummy-Nose Tetras (Hemigrammus rhodostomus)
2 Serpae Tetras (Hyphessobrycon callistus)
2 Black Tetras (Gymnocorymbus ternetzi)
2 Black Phantom Tetras (Megalamphodus megalopterus)
2 Buenos Aires Tetras (Hemigrammus caudovittatus)
2 Silver Tip Tetras (Hasemania nana)
2 Aspy Cats (Aspidoras pauciradiatus)
1 Spotted Catfish (Baryancistrus sp.)

Former Inhabitants:
6 Rams (Papiliochromis ramirezi, deceased)

This steel-framed tank is more than 20 years old. I had reactivated it in october'97 as a fry tank when my female Blue Dempsey laid eggs, but they didn't hatch so I decided to condition it for Amazon water and keep a few small, shy fish I've always wanted to (6 Wild Rams and 8 Rummy-Nose Tetras). The hardy Serpae Tetras were included to cycle it and as dither fish for the others. It worked well, the three species got teamed up and almost behaved as one for quite a while.

About 6 months later I decided to completely redo the aquascape, since there were too many unnecessary rocks in there and I wanted to put in more plants. It was the first aquascaping I did after reading Takashi Amano's books, and I incorporated some of his ideas into it, but still sticked to low-cost, low-tech setups. Unfortunately all the changes proved too much stress for the sensitive Rams and for 2 of the rummy-noses, and I lost them. After that I started adding a few couples of other tetra species, until by the end of '98 I had a really nice collection. This tank is right beside my bed and I enjoy watching it before sleep every night.