Background:

This 20 gallon aquarium was first set up in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in 1996. After moving to Richmond in 1997 I suffered a loss when all my fish died as a result of Richmond city water. The aquarium was moved several times before and city water has never been a problem. So with this move, I just went into the aquarium setup routine and the next thing I knew is that my fish were dying almost immediately. Before I was able to replace the volume with bottled water the fish were gone.

The pictures you see here are from a setup following this mishap.

Shortly after initial setup Sep 17,1998.

Plants arrive Sep 18, 1998. The gravel is exactly the same but the plants have changed the effect of the light so much that things look completely different.

 I am currently looking for a rock (or set of rocks) preferrably marble, to place in the gaping hole in the center (just below the filter spill).

Fish arrive Sep 24, 1998. Eight Tiger Barbs have "volunteered" to be the first guinnea pigs. Their survival rate will determine further additions. The first shot shows how small they currently are. The second is a close-up.

Barbs are just too fast for cameras. Here are a few showing off (blurs beneath the top right fish).

Plecos and rocks arrive Dec 21, 1998. The rocks are plain black slate stuck at different angles to provide shelter for the tiger and golden nugget.

As you can see the plants are having a hard time already. Below is a highly touched up picture of the golden nugget pleco just after he was introduced to the tank

The 7 Red Eye Tetras, Pleco, Tiger Barb and Loach were all donated to a friends tank in August of 2000 as part of my move out of Richmond.

The tank is now in its new incarnation.