45-Gallon Community Tank
The 45-gallon tropical community tank started back in 2015, and it’s the tank that originally got me into fishkeeping. I experimented with many different types of tropical community fish as I was learning about the hobby. I never had a clear goal with the identity of this tank - I just knew I wanted multiple species and also to be heavily planted. As I learned, I made upgrades to the tank. I changed the heating and lighting systems, filters, substrate, and added hardscape in addition to plants. The water quality in this tank is excellent, but for likely a number of different reasons, it has struggled with consistent plant growth. I plan to continue to work on and experiment with the plant growth issue.
The Inhabitants
The tank is features a pair of clown loaches. a 45-gallon tank is not considered ideal for clown loaches, but I didn’t know that back in 2016 when I bought them and they were so tiny! However, I provide plenty of hiding spots and maintain excellent water quality. I also have sand substrate which they love to lay on, and they frequently exhibit healthy clown loach behavior like foraging, laying down and relaxing, and swimming around and exploring the tank together. Other inhabitants include a Bristlenose pleco and upside-down catfish, who love to hide, a Siamese algae eater, and a large population of guppies. It’s a bit of an oddball group of fish because I got the pleco and catfish many years ago, but they all get along and thrive.
My plant stock includes anubias barteri, amazon swords, duckweed, dwarf water lettuce, and water wisteria. Plant growth has struggled over the last few years and I am working to solve that issue. Floaters are the exception; water wisteria has been growing huge, and dwarf water lettuce and duckweed take over the water surface if I don’t manage it.
Current State / Future Plans
Overall, the tank is in a healthy state and the main focus is on improving plant growth. I recently installed a canister filter to help circulation and reduce the amount of mulm and organics that have been coating plant leaves. I also reduced the floater population to improve light penetration.
For now, the fish stock won’t change because I don’t want to increase bioload right now. I am focused on making the clown loaches and other fish in the tank happy.