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Tank updated shots

Still needs some stuff though. Big blank spots!

tank.jpg

The whole tank. Dunno if keeping this tank on a really low fishload was good or not...as IMO this pic looks a bit crowded! At the current fishload, everyone gets about 3.5 gallons of water...

left.jpg

The left side. You can see the narrow leaf java fern...the Hygrophila corymbosa var. augustifolia, and the java moss(foreground...tied to rocks) that Biggun110 so generously gave to me.
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Any suggestions would be great!
 
Wowee, that's a nice tank with lots of texture. Any chance you could add some colorful plants that would still go with the natural look? I'm a fish newbie myself, so I couldn't give you names, there's one cool-looking green plants that looks like it's missing everything but its veins, has lots of squarish holes in it.
 
Thanks wickedthistle! This tank is still in its infancy, and there are a few blank spots I would like to fill with plants. Still don't have the layout finalized


The plant I think you mentioned is probably the madagascar lace leaf. Sci name is aponogeton madagascarensis. Beautiful plant, but according to information online they are quite difficult to keep alive...need high light and cool water.


However, there are many other kinds of aponogetons. While none have the lacy effect as much as madagascarensis...I think that the ruffled edges on crispus and some other species quite attractive. If you have a moderate sized tank and want some apogonetons, these would be the best bet.


For colorful plants, Im thinkin of something for the back right corner. I may use Echinodorus x. 'ozelot' (ozelot sword) or perhaps a Red Tiger Lotus. A red melon sword could also work.

Its possible that in front of my driftwood I could put some cryptocryne. C. wendtii red would probably work in the background as it gets a bit larger than either bronze or green wendtii. I may use all three...unless I run out of room!
 
I've tried various plants (looks like I have a apondus crispus myself) in the tank. I'd be careful of the c.wendtii red, mine did not even last a week! I need to post an updated picture of my tank since it's changed so much, but here you can see the apondus, a weird alfalfa-looking thing that eventually got eaten, and green val, banana plants, and nice reddish purple lilies that pondboy sent me.
tank3.jpg
 
Wickedthistle: did you toss the wendtii out? Chances are, it was/is still alive. Crypts are well known for "melting" when moved. Some call if "crypt disease" others say its simply a mechanism to deal with stress, and in the wild, getting washed away during the rainy season. If you are patient, have a rich substrate, and don't fuss with them they will grow back.


Wickedthistle: What are the specs for this tank? If possible, I'd reccomend switching to a finer substrate like sand(with flourite, laterite, or perhaps Eco-complete for the plants). That will allow you to plant them into the bottom of the tank...and will allow them to spread.

As for the plants, do you happen to know what kind of lily that is? Aquarists typically use either dwarf lilies or Red Tiger Lotus in there tanks. Even these can get quite large. If there is good light, they can easily shade out the whole tank.

As for the plants you don't have ID's on, you could always take clearer pics and post them here or at...

www.aquaticplantcentral.com

www.aquahobby.com

or any of the other msg boards.


Thanks!
 
Oh, I make sure that plants are slimey and brown with no chance of recovery before I toss them.

Mine's a 15 gal tank. Since this picture I have added regular "tank gravel" from the store and taken out many of the large rocks. I also added two jars of sand for my darling corys to sleep in at night (though my guppy also does this for some reason).

I'm not sure what kind of lily it is, but it does stay small and is currently in dormancy. I'm not too worried about the ids, I sorta figured out what they were before and am sure they are good plants for my tank. I still have the occasional fish die off, so I'm waiting to get the hang of things before I introduce any new plants. For fish, I think I'll be adding a few more guppies next, and maybe a few tetras.

Thanks for the web links. They're great sites, I'm going to check them out later (after my @%@ thesis!)
 
Hi Nflytrap,

I vote for red tiger lotus. If you get CO2 there is a long leaf reddish hygro type plant that is great or stellata is spectacular. Both need CO2 to do well. Red Mellons are easier than Ozelots as Ozelots get too big and develop almost floating leaves the stems are so long. Red mellons need sunlight to get deep purple leaves.

Bobby
 
This tank doesn't receive much sunlight...just a little from a window next to it.

I have 2 really small N. stellata plants right now. Dunno if they are pretty enough to go there. May use either Red melon or Red tiger lotus(probably Red tiger lotus).
 
How would a large aponogeton do? Would A. ulvaceus fill this spot nicely?
 
  • #10
Hi Nflytrap,

Ulvaceus would be great. It is inexpensive, large and the leaves are gorgeous. They are easily damamged by nets as they are thin. You might try Rotala wallichi too. It can become gorgeous. Thanks for returning the boxes. How are the worms doing? I'm still waiting on word on the mollies. I'm glad you got 2 more females. With three, you should have alot soon. Hopefully, you'll have more fry soon. 3 of my adult females died last week. I think it was due to too rich a diet and they developed to many too large fry inside and then couldn't release them. This happens alot with livebearers and I feed alot as I am always growing fry. Bloodworms may be the main cause. Keep an eye on your feeding!

Bobby

Bobby
 
  • #11
The worms are doing great! One of your cultures has turned sour and I'm going to clean it out after gleaning a few more worms from it. The 2 I set up are going nicely. The worms are up the sides and a few on the ceiling. Hard to tell, but i tink the grindals are also reproducing. Still suually see only around 2-5 worms on the surface. I add crushed flakes...which seem to dissapear within a day...so I guess they may be eating them.

The daphnia didn't do anything...drat holding stuff at the post office!


Sorry about the females. I've been feeding them quite a bit(mainly Hikari micropellets). Today they didn't eat anything cause its Monday and that means no food...lol No bloodworms, but I'll cut back on the feeding regime a bit. The female you sent is looking plump!


I think it might be useful to trade females every once in a while if you stay in contact long enough(add some fresh genetic material). For example, you would prehit one of your females and send it. Then, I would get one of mind and send it to you. Thats thinking a bit far ahead though.


Thanks!
 
  • #12
Hi Nflytrap,

Glad the worms worked. We can try the daphnia again sometime. Trading in a few generations would be great. One reason I breed in colonies as opposed to using virgin females and selected males to make a fixed strain is that colonies preserve good genetic variety. You need at least 4-6 pairs and then all the sizes of fry growing up. Mine are sexing out now too and it looks like I will have a godd number of females. I have been breeding nezzies in a colony selecting for the largest size for 5 years now and probably 12 generations and the fish are bigger and prettier than when I started. Cyprinodonts are pretty good at maintaining genetic viability if given half a chance.

Bobby
 
  • #13
BTw, when do the little males start getting the spots on there dorsal fins? I think they think they already have them...acting up and all until the big male shows up.


Would it be possible to have the red tiger lotus in front and either giant vals or A. ulvaceus behind it? Thanks!
 
  • #14
What about spatterdock(N. lutea). I'm like a little kid in a candy store browsing all the online vendors. I will probably be ordering from aquariumplants.com and aquaticplantdepot.com


The others either I've heard bad stuff about them or they were just more expensive and so fell off the list. Would really like some pgymae though...only aquabotanic carries that.
 
  • #15
Hi Nflytrap,

The spots in the dorsal vary from male to male and seem to keep developing as they grow. The plain monties have better dorsal spotting -- really impressive. Spadderdock needs cool water, so I would skip it. The red lotus would do well in front. Look at Rehoboth Aquatics for lotus and if you order tell Toyin I sent you. He is a friend. If you join the AGA you can probably score some good plants in trade or purchase off their listserve discussion group.

Bobby
 
  • #16
I though I would post a pic of the 80 gallon my dad and I work on.

P6090093.jpg


I still want to get a CO2 injector so we can grow more plants.
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  • #17
Hi,

Gorgeous tank there. What are the fish in it?

Bobby
 
  • #18
I don't remember how many fish are in it but there are:
Congo tetras
cardinals tetras
rummynose tetras
bleeding heart tetras
black neons
marble hatchet
green corys
otos
red betta
i have feeling i'm missing something...
 
  • #19
[b said:
Quote[/b] (biggun110 @ June 16 2004,12:39)]Hi Nflytrap,

  The spots in the dorsal vary from male to male and seem to keep developing as they grow. The plain monties have better dorsal spotting -- really impressive. Spadderdock needs cool water, so I would skip it. The red lotus would do well in front. Look at Rehoboth Aquatics for lotus and if you order tell Toyin I sent you. He is a friend. If you join the AGA you can probably score some good plants in trade or purchase off their listserve discussion group.

Bobby
I agree with you on that(seeing the specimens helplessly stuck between to glass panes in the paper you sent...lol).


Whats the website's www?

Edit: Duh? rehoboaquatics.com
 
  • #20
IceDragon: Nice start! You open to any suggestions? If it was me, I would remove the amazon sword in the middle left and replace it with vals of some sort. A piece of driftwood would be great!(even better if you attached java ferns and moss to it).

Also, I think it needs a focal point. Its all so beautiful, i'm not sure what to look at....
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