Aquascape opinions wanted! (Pics!)

It's been about two months since I moved the infamous Platies That Started It All (my obsession with fish-keeping, that is ) into their new tank, and I'd like some feedback on the way I've set everything up. My mind changes everytime I look at the tank-- sometimes I think it looks lovely, other times, it's blah at best, and on some rare occasions it's all I can do to keep from tearing it down and redoing the whole thing. Apologies if things look messy in the tank, these were taken right before clean-up time, heh.

Here's more or less the whole tank-- it's a bit cropped, since it's hard to fit the whole thing into the frame while still keeping enough detail in the image (big freakin' picture!):


Here's a close up of the left side, showing my anubias on the drftwood, my crypt in the foreground, and an amazon sword in the back:

(By the way, should I be cutting off those leaves on the anubias and crypt that have those dark spots on them? I'm nervous about pruning too much and killing things, heh. )

And here's a close up of the right side, with the other sword in the back, and my wad of ambulia in front of the driftwood:


So whaddya think? :dive2:

The tank's a 10 gal.

Thanks for the compliments guys. ^_^ I kinda figured the swords would get too big for the tank eventually, but at the time I needed something big to fill in the back, and hey, they were cheap! lol. I bet my platies would love playing in that pennywort if I let it float around... I'll have to keep an eye out for it!

What else could I use as a background plant if I toss the swords? I could split up the ambulia and move it to the back at the sides, but I'd need something else that could withstand being directly in front of the filter output without getting blown all to bits (another reason why I liked having the swords where they are). I only have 15 watts over the tank at the moment, though I suppose I could upgrade a little more; but at what point would I have to consider implementing a CO2 system? That's a hassle I'd rather live without, to be honest...

Oh yeah, and are there any little-ish plants I could use around the driftwood that wouldn't need very bright light? I definitely think the tank needs something more around the bottom, there, especially if I move the ambulia.

I love Excel, I have a tiny bottle here that I bought to see what would happen, and it really makes everything so bright and vibrant-- that is, when I can remember to use it, heh!

Wow, good idea about the substrate! I think you're right, something a little darker may help the driftwood stand out a bit more... It'd still work if I mixed in regular aquarium pebble things instead of more fancy plant-ready substrate, right? That stuff's pricey for a starving student like me!

I kind of like the ambulia where it is, too. The critters seem to enjoy it as well, there's always someone playing in it. I like that it grows so quickly, it makes me feel like I'm doing something right, lol. I've taken a couple of cuttings and stuck them in the back at the left, so I guess I'll see what happens there. I hope I did it right, I just took a branchy thing and crammed it in the gravel very artlessly. >_>

I'm on my way up to the cottage for a couple of days, so I can't stick around to check aquarium stores for the plants you've recommended, but thanks for giving me a list, that's just what I needed. I'll go on a mission sometime next week and see what's available. I'm loving the idea of a narrow leafed java fern, which I'd never heard of, and I hope I can find some java moss somewhere, too-- I really like it, but for some reason it's only around once in a blue moon here.