New tank setup... AGAIN but with Peppermints.

I change my tank arrangement SO much! I wasn't happy with the last as I thought it looked cramped, so when I got my breeding cavse today I changed it again.


I've gone from black gravel, to sand. From no wood, to mostly wood. From planted... to barely any plants. From a community tank.... to a breeding tank!

I change the ornaments A LOT and just want to settle with something now so my peppermints can settle in properly!

Heres my newest change, heres how my tank looked before...




It looked a mess and with the wood on the left taking up A LOT of ground space, I wasn't happy with it!
(those pictures were taken before I sold my big cats, so the plants are all over the place from them)
The slate ornament in the middle I made myself... but took it out as I thought it was taking up too much room.

And heres how I just changed it...


I hid the filter and rearranged the wood to gain more ground space! Theres also more of the wood the BN can actually get to.
The caves have been added and the coconut cave at the front I made myself! And I stuck some sea glass to it because I felt creative haha!




The reasons for my changes arent very clear in the pictures.... the wood is a lot bigger than it appears.

And heres my newest pictures of the peppermints...

Heres a male and a female hiding right under the wood! I never get to see them! (Oh and my mountain shrimp)


Any opinions or hints are appreciated!
Does anyone think theres anything else I could do with my new setup? Or even if you think it looks crap just tell me!

I am forever thinking my tank looks like a starters tank! But like artists, we are never happy with our own tanks haha!

Love the tank layout, although personally i'd have a plant or two in the bottom right corner

The Kribs will eat young fry, I have them in my tank so I have to remove the fry ASAP.

Is that a Platydoras(Humbug) catfish in the bottom left of one of the pictures. I had one for over twenty years in my main tank, but they can be very aggressive and inflict serious injurys when they want a cave or hiding place that's already occupied.

Thanks for the reply, yes its a humbug but he is up for sale at the minute for that reason!

He's getting a very big boy so if I don't sell him, my boyfriend is taking him back!

I also currently have 4 kribs, 2 are also up for sale as two are into spawning and so are bullying the others haha!

I have worried about the kribs doing that... so I will be keeping a very close eye on them and know I may either need to get a new tank for them, or sell them unfortunately.

As for the plants... I know what you mean! I put the sword on the left to hide the filter... I'm wanting some java fern for the tank or another large amazon sword so I will try putting that to the left thanks for the reply

Your Peppermints will probably a lot happier when he's gone.

As for the other question you've got posted " Add now or later " , I would wait until the Humbugs gone.

Ive had him with young bristlenose before... I also used to keep him in my community tank and he was never any bother :S He never shown any signs of aggresion or anything, even when there were 6+ synodontis cats in the tank

In fact hes sat next to a syno and peppermint right now and doesnt seem to be bothered haha, he used to share a cave ornament with two other syno's before I took it out, trust me it was a tight squeeze! But ive always seen him as the gentle giant of the tank..

He never comes out, hes either sticking out from under a piece of wood, or hiding.

Platydoras are nocturnal they usually hide away during the day. I only ever saw mine at feeding time.

Maybe it was just mine but she used to scrap all the time with the two Syno's, I altered the tank once and all hell broke lose while they fought for the best hiding places and the Syno's came off worse. None of them bothered the Cichlids in with them.

I have a young one now in with some of young BN's and there is no trouble but he's only 5cms and has a lot of growing to do. Hopefully he will be as peacefull when he 20cms.

I think fish do differ and a lot of the time, you have to go by how you know your fish more than what the internet says they SHOULD behave like
Mines always backed away from a scrap rather than joined in though... swam away from a cramped cave rather than tried to win it.

Maybe hes just lazy haha! We call him hoover because when he does actually come out to eat in the day time, he sucks up at least 8 pellets and swallows them straight down!
Hes not really very nocturnal anymore but I did read whilst they are young they are shy and tend to hide and they become more outgoing as adults.