FishProfiles.com Message Forums

So indulge me in a short story if you will...

As is custom for my wife and I, we go on vacation each year around the same time and drop off the little one at her parents' house. With my wife being a stay at home mom for the time being, she figured she would use the time to visit her family for a few weeks after our vacation and I would come home and get back to the routine. A few weeks later it was decided that I would pick her up at a campground at Lake Moomaw, VA. This campground happens to have a lakeside beach and after several hours of fun in the sun, it occoured to me that the water was a good 20' below normal and there was quite a bit of debris on the shore... including driftwood! After scouring the shoreline for about 30 minutes I came away with 4 really interesting pieces, one of which is big huge and fits perfectly inside my 55. They still need some cleaning, but they are very nice. I can't even imagine what I'd pay for pieces like these at retail.

All pics are taken in or in front of my 55 and there's a yard stick for further size reference. Enjoy!

Wow, very nice driftwoods ! You're so lucky, I never find ones like that when I go hunting around or in the store.

You have some left to work with, for future tanks, or accents in your yard or home garden.

You have the makings of a show tank there, cmon get planting. Chop chop ! Looking forward to the updates

The Amazon Nut...

wow I've never found such good looking wild caught driftwood either! Very jealous .

Just be sure to treat it well, if powerboats are allowed on that lake give it a very good scrubdown, I'd even think of using a clean untouched by chemicals wire brush.

^_^

Thanks guys. I do feel very lucky to have found that piece. Don't worry... It has been cleaned, and will likely be cleaned a few more times before sitting in a tank full of water for a month or more.

As for planting... it's going to take me some time yet to get this started. Being unemployed sucks and this will require more than just gas money. But fear not. It will happen, and it will be awesome.

I agree it WILL be awesome

It will work out even better you cannot get all the stuff at once. This will give to time to plan, research, change your plan again, and create your want list for items, plants, fish, and time to source those out. Online classifieds in your area may find you deals too.

Speaking of which, if there is any fish club in your area, go check it out ! Cheap to join and a great source for fishy items.

The Amazon Nut...

^ Agreed!
Do a google search for _____(your area) fish auction, or clubs. We've got auctions every few months that run for hours. Mostly it's the easy to breed fish, but they tend to have some driftwood and plants. Just waiting for the next one (november) so I can get some good driftwood. It's SO expensive here.

^_^

Already a member of of a few local groups. Good people and pretty generous. I just wish I could get around to the meetings more often.

I've actually managed to put 3 of the 4 pieces in the tank together. Admittedly its a bit crowded, but the lines they form flow quite nicely. At least to me (pics of that coming soon). I'm thinking I'd like to try a biotope setup. Likely South American or maybe Southeast Asian. I'd love to have blue rams, so an Orinoco Basin setup.

Gonna go do some research.

Either way it sounds like this tank is going to rock

The Amazon Nut...

Well, if you'd be willing to help me out I'd certainly appreciate it. I'd love to find some better websites for Orinoco research if you know any. Plants, other species, etc.

All the fish and fauna in South America are fascinating. Orinoco Basin I don't have specific knowledge other then going to google to search which you could also do. You'll also find

Off the top of my head fish-wise, checkerboard cichlids, a couple apistos, many tetra species, oscars and piranhas come to mind.

A thing to consider is avoiding buying wild caught fish. Many species are endangered. If we all did this, it would lower the demand, lower fishing & help preserve some species.

Domestic bred from a local breeder are the easiest to keep, raise and breed. No adjustment of ph is necessary unless the breeder raised them in lower ph. In that case though, they could be acclimated carefully.










The Amazon Nut...

Maybe I'll just do a South American setup. Lots more freedom and greater variety. Here are those pics of the 3 pieces. Pardon the glare. I need to get curtains on that window.









I'm thinking lots of narrow leaf type plants... vals in the rear corners, sagittaria in the foreground... various other stuff as befits the space.