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That's what I was looking for

nature's random disorder

Sounds like something you could call any settled tank, no matter how the plants are (mis)arranged .

Unfortunately I am sure there is an order in any disorder as well.

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

A double blossom on one of my Anubias Nana

How long did a take you to see your first flower?

My Scapes

The first one that was grown completely in my tank - about 5 to 6 weeks.

The first one over all - 3 seconds 2 of the 5 Anubias came with flowers already, but they are long gone (within a week). Also, Otos like to nibble at them.

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Nowher, not sure which way you go, "not that there's anything wrong with that"

Say WHAT???????

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Back in the saddle!

"Nowher, not sure which way you go, "not that there's anything wrong with that" "

Scaping-wise

My Scapes

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

[font color="#C00000"]I AM AT PEACE[/font]

At least for the moment ..

But if you think it has something to do with me being happy about the Aquascaping, you are wrong. But keep on reading and you will find out. Events of this evening step by step:

First off, the plants arrived today, but what a disappointment. Unlike usual when ordering from this provider, each specimen was really small. I did not get the Amano Pearl Grass (which was why they said it couldn’t be shipped on Friday, I knew that was wrong) instead I got a check for the pearl grass money and a free tiny Red Mellon Sword (nice).

So I decided I will plant these guys anyways, and what can I say, 4 hours and 4 beers later I was done (including water change). So sorry, I am a little tipsy right now .

Here is the moment of Zen: while doing the water change, the fish had less and less space to swim and eventually older fry joined up with the adults. Tetratech, you gotta get a large school. I had tears in my eyes, it is sooooooo pretty. You cannot really capture a moment like this on camera, but I tried.

The details of the changes will be following tomorrow, too drunk and too tired right now (had no dinner either).

Here is a shot of lots of fry with adults

LITTLE_FISH attached this image:

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Grrr,

Well, here it is

LITTLE_FISH attached this image:

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Here is the finished tank

LITTLE_FISH attached this image:

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Awwww, what an awesome photo of the Espei family reunion! Love it!

-P

So I guess you're going with the Amano look as NowherMan6 suggested, eih?

-P

Defintiely looking better. I'm still not crazy about the tall plant right next to the corkscrews, but that's me.

Now if I could only get my cardinals to act like your espei. Oh what a thanksgiving it would be.

Last edited by tetratech at 23-Nov-2005 04:52

My Scapes

You should try to make them change the rules on schooling fish around these parts: minimum 6 for the fishs' health, minimum 30 for stunning visual effect

Happy thanksgiving all, I probably won't get back on here before tomorrow!

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Back in the saddle!

upikabu, tetratech, and NowherMan,

Thanks for the input. Tetratech, I assume you mean the Rotala Macandra, right? It is a sensitive plant that requires loads of light to be beautiful (like mine ) and I am afraid if I move it too often I am going to kill it. In any way, I will refrain from any major change until the new plants have grown to a recognizable size. It will be an interesting period to see all these little plants jump up.

Am I going Amano? I don’t know, I actually think that I don’t have the knowledge and right plants to do that. Maybe I will create a style called “Poor Man’s Amano Tank” whereby poor is the equivalent of inexperienced .

Can anyone tell me more about the Red Melon Sword? This was the freebee they gave me because they didn’t sent the plants on Friday (as I said earlier, they told me that the Amano Pearl Grass has to grow some more, and then it wasn’t shipped anyways).

Yeah, the schooling is lovely. Most of the time they don’t school together yet, I think it is simply a question of speed as the grown-ups race from left to right and back and the little one are still to weak to follow. At least they have gained the confidence to hang with the big guys without worrying of being eaten.

Well, here are some pictures I took during yesterdays replanting.

First, the new plants in a 2G bucket, I hope one can see that they are tiny. In here are 3 Crypt Lucens, 3 Apon Crispus, 1 Ech Uruguayensis, and the freebee Red Melon Sword.

LITTLE_FISH attached this image:

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Here are the Narrow Leaf Ludwigia layed out for replanting

LITTLE_FISH attached this image:

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A shot of the right side of the tank, nothing has changed there.

LITTLE_FISH attached this image:

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Here is a picture of the left tank () where all the changes took place. The Ludwigia was removed and relocated to the right, a little more like a street. In the way back just in front of the Reactor, and invisible in the picture because of its size, is the Ech Uruguayensis. On the right of the filter intake (in the back) are the 3 Apon Crispus lined up (probably too close to each other). In front of them are the Crypt Lucens arranged, behind and between the 2 rocks on the left. The red melon sword is hidden behind the Crypt Albida (or Retrospiralis? ). All the way on the left are the Alternanthera reineckii "roseafolia” lined up, mostly obscured by the second Anubias Barteri that I moved over there. All Pennywort has been removed – This might actually bring the end of the Espei breeding season as almost no brad leaved plants are left.

LITTLE_FISH attached this image:

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Here is a closer shot of the middle section of the left tank. I think this one could make a nice small tank in itself as well. You can see the Anubias double blossom on the right.

LITTLE_FISH attached this image:

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Very nice, I think it's starting to look very pretty. When I first saw the bowl I thought you were starting to prepare for thanksgiving.

BTW - Have you stopped dosing excel, everything looks very clean and clear in the pics.


My Scapes

tetratech,

No – no turkey in the bucket

Yeah, I have stopped using Excel after only one week of dosing, about 11 days ago. Yesterday I noticed some algae on my plants again, not too a point that bothers me too much (but more than 4 strings). The one that hasn’t come back so far is the BBA, which was the one I was concerned with the most as it seemed to choke plants to death.

Maybe you have noticed that from the pictures, but I rearranged my Reactor and filter intake to be side by side, following your lead (and Megil’s excellent explanation of its benefits) with having the CO2 being sucked intot the filter first. I wonder if I will notice any difference.

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Nothing going on in my log in 2 days, that’s a record .

Well, there isn’t much to report anyways as no new drama has occurred and no good news either.

I would like to get your advice on a little scape change that I would like to perform tomorrow (if anyone even reads this thread until then). I would like to expand the Glosso area to the left and right as indicated by the red lines. The close-ups (left and right areas) show that the plant is already growing there anyways, but it cannot get enough light as it is shaded by the Dwarf Sag / Pygmy Chain Sword mix.

What do you think? Good or bad idea?

Ingo

Here is the whole area:

LITTLE_FISH attached this image:

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Just the left with Glosso

LITTLE_FISH attached this image:

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Just the right with Glosso

LITTLE_FISH attached this image:

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Ingo,

I am not quite sure which would look better, the tenellus
right now look very nice, but the glosso carpet look s small
an dartificial. I can understand why you would want to expand
the glosso carpet, I personally would only expand it towards
the left side of the tank (when you are facing it left) since
I think the right side tenellus looks very impressive overall
and is partly what made that side of the tank so nicely
balanced.

HTH,
Megil.

EDIt: spell and grammar check >.<

Last edited by Megil Tel'Zeke at 25-Nov-2005 14:24

Thanks Megil,

I haven't even thought about the possibility to extend only one side. That's where my symmetry thinking limits my imagination. But that is a good point.

One of the reasons why I want to extend the area is because the sags / swords are sprouting out all over and based on my experience with my smaller tank I know that in no time I would have a dense, 4 to 5 inches tall, foreground, all the way to the glass. I am not so sure if this would look all that great. Thinning these guys out is a full time job .

I guess I could give your suggestion a try, better to take out less and still have the ability to continue rather than more and later regretting it.

Thanks,

Ingo

Last edited by LITTLE_FISH at 25-Nov-2005 14:19

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Gang,

I performed my 50% water change today (weekly updates will follow tomorrow) and thought I share one picture with you. It is a close-up of my Xmas Moss about 30min after the change. The only thing that has changes from previous similar water changes is the fact that I added 50ml of Flourish Excel immediately after the refill. Last time I added Excel it seemed as if it has the opposite effect and actually reduced the plant bubbling. I don’t know why today was different .

Ingo

LITTLE_FISH attached this image:

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Weekly Tank update – Week 9

Time flies by when you are having fun, I cannot believe the tank is already up for this long.

Anyways, not too much has happened in the last week, I got a few new plants on Tuesday and spent 4 hour adding them to the tank. To do so, some plants had to go (Pennywort) and others had to be moved (Narrow Leaf Ludwigia) yet again. The new plants are tiny compared to the size they hopefully will reach some day (soon) and as such it looks like there is a wide open back on the left tank side.

I thinned out some of the Dwarf Sags and Pygmy Chain Swords on the left front of Rock Valley as I would like this area to fill with Glosso. After the 50% water change I added 50ml of Flourish Excel as some algae is making its return to the tank. That means that either my parameters are not fine tuned yet or that the replanting (and addition of 2 rocks) on Tuesday caused some imbalance (less likely). I am not planning on adding Excel every day and will keep an eye open to see if this one-time-dose has any effect.

Now on to the weekly tank pictures, this time week 0, 3, 6, and 9. After that I will add 5 detail shots, so overall there will be 9 photos to keep you entertained .

Initial Setup, week 0. I remember that I thought I had quite a large plant load .

LITTLE_FISH attached this image:

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Week 3. By then some plants were already being trimmed as they got too large and shaded others.

LITTLE_FISH attached this image:

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Week 6. The beginning of the major replanting that was to follow in the next 3 weeks.

LITTLE_FISH attached this image:

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Week 9 (this weekend). All background plants seem to be rather equally in height, except for hole right in front of the hardware. That’s where all the new plants are.

LITTLE_FISH attached this image:

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Some details. First the Rotala Macandra, which, although not nicely arranged (I know tetratech, I know ), has some very nice color to it.

LITTLE_FISH attached this image:

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Next the Rock Valley where the Gloss is getting very dense. Do I have to prune this plant? Never thought of that . I wish it would start to fill the area in the depth of the valley (where you can still see the bare gravel) but maybe there is not enough light for it, we will see.

LITTLE_FISH attached this image:

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Next a shot centered around the Crypt Retrospiralis. On the left you can make out the Apon Crispus in the way back and the Crypt Lucens in front of it. The Red Melon Sword is hidden behind the Retrospiralis, I guess I will have to replant it when it grows a little taller (I didn’t plan for that plant, it was a freebee). The Uruguayensis Sword is just off the picture to the left, too small anyways to be seen.
Also, you see some of the older fry hanging in the current with the big guys .

LITTLE_FISH attached this image:

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Here is a shot looking into the tank from the left. Sorry that the quality is not all that great, I don’t have a lot of space there to hold the camera. If you look carefully you can see a very small green plant on the left front, just behind the second Alternanthera reineckii stem. That’s the Uruguayensis Sword.

LITTLE_FISH attached this image:

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Last but not least, another close-up of my Glosso bubbling, I just cannot get enough of this. Also, there is a maybe 2 weeks old fry on the left.

LITTLE_FISH attached this image:

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

LF,
Nice pics, I really like the Rotala Macandra and your pics are conviencing me to maybe try and incorporate some into my setup. Where did you originally get yours?

I personally would extend the glossy left and right and let it kinda of slowly blend with the chain swords into the corners. That would bring the whole foreground together and than you could add little things here and there at different depths.




My Scapes

Thanks tetratech,

I know Amano uses the Rotala Macandra in quite a few setups to add some color to it. But he uses it mostly rather hidden in the back where only the upper parts are visible (maybe because the stems are not too pretty when planted densly).

I am with you on the Glosso spreading out, but I will take it slowly to avoid “empty” gravel areas in the front in the process. Getting the Swords and Sags out in the front is quite a challenge as they are interwoven with the Glosso chains. And the fact that the Sags have underground runners doesn’t help either. You think you are pulling out one plant and actually cause a chain reaction somewhere else and before you know it all Glosso is lose as well.

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

More pictures from the fry frontier.

Here are about 20 some in the tank corner.

LITTLE_FISH attached this image:

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And here a closer shot of a baker’s dozen in formation.

LITTLE_FISH attached this image:

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

all the plants look fantastic Little Fish. and as for the fry wow, they look amazing. I have always wanted to do that, get one type of fish and see it populate the tank. I have all the self control of ...... well I can't think of anything that actually has less self control then me. except maybe me in a shoe shop. (bought three pairs of boots yesterday still having shoppers guilt)

I just love your tank. think its brillant the way you have learnt so much about the hobby and can answer all my questions!

really good job. I can't believe you can hardly see the rocks at the valley bit.


GFG,*looks at her tanks *

Last edited by goldfishgeek at 27-Nov-2005 19:28

_______________________________________
Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one's definition of your life; define yourself.
Harvey S. Firestone

Nothing like a big school in open space. One of the reasons I'm in this hobby. I guess at this point there isn't too many predators (if any) for the fry. I have a few guppies and I never see any fry, I'm sure the pencilfish are picking them off very quickly as they weave through the plants.

BTW - Your using Seachem's equilium right, what is your KH out of the tap anyway?

My Scapes

tetratech,

Sometimes I seem to observe an adult Espei on the hunt. He/she stands still in the water, just behind a plant and seems to wait for something, then he/she darts forward in an attempt to catch something. I don’t know what it is that they are after, I only assume it must be the very small fry. I never have seen one being eaten though.

Yes, I am using Seachem Equilibrium, but to my knowledge it doesn’t influence the KH. It supposedly raises the GH (is untreated at about 2 dH, haven’t tested in a while) and also adds some traces that are not available in the Plantex mix. My KH from the tab is a maximum of 2 dH as well, sometimes I couldn’t even detect any hardness as the test tube color changed with the first drop . I haven’t tested that one either in about 5 weeks. After each 50% water change I add 2 tsp of Baking Soda to raise the KH to somewhere between 3 and 4.

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

GFG,

I completely forgot to thank you for the compliments.

And you give me way too much credit with regards to be able to answer all your questions. There are a lot of other folks here that know quite a bit more than I do.

3 pairs of boots? I didn’t know England had such long winters .

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Sometimes I seem to observe an adult Espei on the hunt.
That's probably a good thing, considering your babies will start to have babies soon. You could probably start suppling a few LFS with stock.

I asked about the equilibrum, because my tap is kh 3 and gh 5, so I guess I'm O.K.

My Scapes

I asked about the equilibrum, because my tap is kh 3 and gh 5, so I guess I'm O.K

Yeah, I didn't realize the importance of GH until I read an article on chuck gadd's site talking about how different nutrient deficienies show up in plant leaves. When I had anubias in my tank a lot of the leaves grew in cupped and crinkled and I didn't know why - it's a calcium deficiency.

My water is also very soft, LF. I wonder if we get our water from the same source, you're pretty close to me...? GH is also 2, kH 3. What's the pH of your water as it comes out if the tap (after sitting over night, of course)? Mine is over 7, which I find strange because it's so soft, I would think it'd be more acidic no?

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Back in the saddle!

Hey LF, that means you could send me a grounp of the Espei since they are not available around here. Then I could have them too! I have looked for them but can't find them anywhere! Only thing I can find are the Harlequin Raspboras...

I jsut love checking the updates on your tank. It is SO awesome!


Christina

tetratech – my knowledge of the importance of GH and KH is still very limited, all I know is that I should have some of each .

NowherMan6 – my ph is 7 from the tab. “after sitting over night” - - where would I have 60 gallons of water sitting over night ? No, mine goes from the tab straight into the tank, with the addition of Prime, of course.

dvmchrissy – Thanks for the compliments on the tank, it is a work in progress (that never finishes, I guess) . About the Rasbora – did you ask in the LFS if they have them once in a while or if they could order them for you? My LFS has them rarely (saw them twice in the last 9 months and I bought almost all of the second set). The store guy tells me that there is not a high demand on them and that would be why they don’t carry them that often. I somehow doubt that as they are much prettier than the “regular” Harlies (just my opinion, in case some people would think the opposite). I heard from other sources that they are actually much rarer that the normal Harlies and that would be the reason why you can’t find them in the stores that often. Shipping some your way? Well – lets wait and see, I currently have only about 100 .

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Thanks for the compliments on the tank, it is a work in progress (that never finishes, I guess)
That is so true. Even when your (anyone's) tank looks great you will still look at it one day and want to change it. That's why you need 10 tanks. Right now I have 2 actually there is 4 total in my house if you count my son's newt swamp and my other son's 1 gallon betta thing.

My Scapes

Even when your (anyone's) tank looks great you will still look at it one day and want to change it

Like me right now trying to adjust my current. It is either to little or too much, I can’t seem to find the right settings. Details can be read [link=Here]http://www.fishprofiles.com/files/forums/Planted%20Aquaria/66675.html?200511291119" style="COLOR: #ff6633[/link].

The particular problems with stronger current are:

Surface Agitation
Fish swimming in current all the time (no rest)
Plants being blown around too much. I just don’t like the look of leaning plants. I am at work so I cannot take a picture but look above at the Rock Valley and focus on the Corkscrew Vals. Right now, I have 2/3 of them leaning to the right and 1/3 to the left as the current cuts right in there (can’t be seen in picture above as it was taken before powerhead was added to right of tank).

When there are no problems with plants or fish, just create a new one, like mess with the water flow .

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

When there are no problems with plants or fish, just create a new one, like mess with the water flow
If no problems why are you messing with it, go scape your 29G.

No but really if the flow is too much too little, what if you did what I was doing. Vertical mount the spray bar and angle it so it hits the front glass, wouldn't that whip it around the tank (even without a bowfront) and not directly on the plants and the fry.



My Scapes

go scape your 29G

]:|

Well, I want that one to get settled first before I mess with it yet again .

I think your suggestion of the vertical – forward spraybar position on this kind of tank shape would not work. I would imagine that it creates a huge turbulence in the front left corner and that any further flow is sparse and unpredictable. But most of all it wouldn’t reach the right side, I think.

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Just get a big wave machine like they have in big saltwater tanks in public aquariums. That'll circa'late yer tank, no doubt about it

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Back in the saddle!

I would imagine that it creates a huge turbulence in the front left corner and that any further flow is sparse and unpredictable. But most of all it wouldn’t reach the right side, I think.

You could always get a 125g bowfront.



My Scapes

Really funny guys

I am so glad to have you as my plant buddies

Ingo

EDIT: NowherMan6 - you were entry 600

Last edited by LITTLE_FISH at 29-Nov-2005 14:22

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

EDIT: NowherMan6 - you were entry 600

Oh, that's right... had I known that I probably would have said something less stupid... ::roll eyes::

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Back in the saddle!

Gang,

I just placed an order for 2 new plants.

The one that I was really keen on was Cyperus helferi, I ordered 5. And I saw another plant that looked nice, so I ordered 5 of them too, called Potamogeton gayii. If you know anything about this plant, please share it with me.

All plants should arrive sometime next week, if tetratech or others don’t interfere with its delivery (see tetratech’s log for details).

This means that sometime next week there is going to be yet another replant – oh yeah .

Ingo

Last edited by LITTLE_FISH at 30-Nov-2005 09:14

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Gang,

I actually wanted to write about my thread algae problem that seems to come back (long long thin green single threads) but I changed my mind.

Instead I show you some pictures of my latest purchase. I went to the LFS and got 3 Pearl Gouramies, 2 females and 1 male. It took a while to explain to the sales guy how he can sex them (only the owner and I knew), but I will show you easily with the pictures how it can be done. They are still very young and the finnage is not as developed yet.

So, no more babble, here they are (let me know what you think):

First, the gang in the bag. They are currently in the 20G QT with my 5 platies (yes, I know my prettiest tank is also my QT ). The male is the one in the middle. His dorsal fin is longer and pointier that the female, which are rounded at the back.

LITTLE_FISH attached this image:

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Next they just have been released and make new friends (I hope).

LITTLE_FISH attached this image:

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Here they start to explore the tank, the male is in the middle again.

LITTLE_FISH attached this image:

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Last but not least a female behind some Xmas Moss. I hope I will get better shots soon .

LITTLE_FISH attached this image:

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Ingo I love pearls. Though I love sparklings better
. They will be a great addition to the tank, and will
definitely keep any future espei fry low in count .

Best of luck with them.

I hear you on the algae
*shakes fist at the staghorn algae that appeared in his 20G
this week. And also at the green hair algae that has decided to return eve so triumphantly*

Megil

Last edited by Megil Tel'Zeke at 30-Nov-2005 19:58

Nice fish! Thanks for the lesson. I need all the help I can get.

Edit: I must be doing something right because I am not having hardy any algae problems.

Last edited by Wingsdlc at 30-Nov-2005 20:14

55G Planted tank thread
19G Container Pond
[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/Wingsdlc/Ric

Great purchase ! Got a trio of Pearls myself. Absolutely great fish. They'll give you no problems , they are extremely peaceful, won't look twice at the other fish. They like company of other pearls so that's not a problems. You'll love them, they work great in a planted tank. They also bring a grace and an almost feline quality in the way they move. Perfect for a large planted tank. the males turn into complete stunners once they hit 3-4inches, but they do grow slowly.

Gayi is an absoloute weed, in every sense of the word. You can almost see it grow. It will try to take over so keep an eye on it.It spreads by runners so kinda sneaks up on you. Takes a while to get going, so don't move it about much. Had some before - thought it was going to strangle me in my sleep Very easy , doesn't need much of anything, pearls like there's no tomorrow.

But it's nice shape, one that you haven't had in your tank up to now so a nice addition.

Good job on the Helferi- dump the Corkscrew

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Some days you're the pigeon and some days you're the statue.

Remember that age and treachery will always triumph over youth and ability.

Padding the thread count there alittle. As I said you jersey folk are so competitive.

Anyway, 'Bout time you got more fish. As I said, I'm not a huge gourmai fan, but I certainly could see their grace. Yes they have grace.

Last edited by tetratech at 30-Nov-2005 21:18

My Scapes

Nice pearls LF, I got one myself to replace my apistos that recently passed. He's doing great with my 18 cardinals. Bensaf's right, he doesn't look twice at them.

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Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

Gang,

Thank you for the overall positive response to my latest acquisition.

Megil – yes, the Sparkling is a very nice Gourami as well, but too small for my 125G. The idea here is to add fish that are larger (and more or less peaceful) to the tank to accent the school of smaller fish. You know what I mean?

Wingsdlc – I guess you are doing something right. Which means I am doing something wrong (with regards to algae). I think someone ( Tom Barr? ) mentioned recently that Staghorn thrives on too much Iron, maybe that is my problem as I fertilize with “Plantex plus Iron”. Maybe I should switch to Tropica Master Grow for my micros.

Bensaf – thanks for the thumbs up on the fish. Hope you don’t think I am imitating your collection (first the very similar Espei to your Hengeli, now the Pearls, what’s next? ) . And thanks for the info on the Gayii, makes me wonder if I really would like to add them. If not, maybe I put them in the 20 or 29.

tetratech – Thanks for the acknowledgement that there are graceful Gouramies out there .

Matty – Thanks for seconding Bensaf’s observation on how peaceful these guys are. I wonder if they will go after the tiny fry though? I guess it wouldn’t matter as I have for sure enough older fry to fill the tank. That was actually one point of why I got them now, even if they eat all the babies they will not get in the big tank for another 4 weeks. And by then I should have a nice large school .

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

I'm jealous of your nice Pearls, Ingo! How big are they now? I saw some juvies last weekend but they're not as nice as yours. I just saw a gorgeous pic of a mature male with the red belly. I wish I had a tank big enough for them (kicking himself again for not getting a larger tank than the 3ft one 9 months ago ]:|).

-P

upikabu,

They are now maybe 2 to 2.5” long. I have been at the LFS about 1 week ago when I looked at them for the first time. Now, I cannot be 100% sure, but it seems to me that I got mine from the same stock as last week they didn’t look as colorful as they did yesterday. I assume they had to recover from the transport first.

Regarding their adult size and suitable tank size: Supposedly they rarely reach 5”, mostly are around 4” when fully grown. This would make 3’ tank rather suitable, given that it is not too crowded already .

“kicking himself again for not getting a larger tank than the 3ft one 9 months ago” – Yeah, when I started a looooong time ago (9 months ago ) I didn’t quite follow through on the idea “Get the largest tank you can afford and have space for” either, but I sure made up for that .

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

LF,

Maybe you are just over doing the ferts or just too much of one or the other. Right now I am not dumping anything in the tanke except Excel and DIY Co2. I also have Seachem as my Sub but that is it. I know for sure that I am not getting near the growth you are but things are growing and looking good. It also might be the plants that I have in there too. I don't know.......

55G Planted tank thread
19G Container Pond
[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/Wingsdlc/Ric

Everyone has plant problems now and then. Even the most experienced. There are just too many variables to account for, especially someone who has a lot of different plant species with different needs. Not everything is bliss in "Fields of Wisteria" either. My stem plants have slowed and their incredible growth, but the wisteria and hairgrass continue (but that's another thread).

What surprises me about LFs tank is that he has alot of plant mass. I would think the algae wouldn't be able to compete.

Last edited by tetratech at 01-Dec-2005 08:47

My Scapes

Well,

I just had an idea. Although it was discussed in another thread as well, I think it could also have to do with excess Phosphates. Tom Barr and Bensaf (means I must be wrong ) say that levels of 2 to 3 ppm should not cause any problems.

Since about 1 or 2 weeks I am adding Phosphates occasionally. Not the full dosage as recommended by EI, but enough to raise my ppm levels. I don’t know by how much and what the totals are though, haven’t measured in weeks, maybe I should just check on it again.

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Gang,

I just checked my mail and found out that my plants will arrive already tomorrow. I guess I will just float them for the night and start the replanting on Saturday. That will work out well as it is a water change day anyways .

Now, if I only knew what plant to put where .

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Well Ingo, you will want to plant the plants in such a manner
that your existing aquascape is enhanced, not detracted from.
Which isn't much advice, but helps narrows placement to an
extent in order to keep a nice horizon.

And I know sparklings are to small for the 125G, but i still
like them better

Megil.

Hey LF,

Not much to add, as your new plant selection is beyond anything I've heard of, so I can't offer any comments on that... though if Bensaf gives the thumbs-up I'll assume they're the greatest plants ever, add instant beauty to a tank and occasionally get up and vacuum the living room carpet for good measure.

The fish do look lovely though... did you explain how you were able to tell which are M/F or did I miss that?

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Back in the saddle!

ok ok Megil

Planting and replanting and replanting my tank shows how much I still have to learn. Keeping the horizon, messing with all existing plants over and over again, removing the horizon, heck – I even consider dismantling Rock Valley (too narrow).

On the other hand, that’s part of what I like about the tank, it is a work in progress, probably forever .

Ingo

EDIT: NowherMan6 - sorry, posted while you did. Yes, I did explain the m/f difference that is visible at that young age. It is the male's elogated dorsal fin that is more pointy at the end while the female's is shorter and rounded. Once they reach maturity you can also see that the MALE (upper case because for example rams are the other way around) have a nice pinkish belly area.

Last edited by LITTLE_FISH at 01-Dec-2005 12:08

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Oh well, lost one Gourami already, [link=Here]http://www.fishprofiles.com/files/forums/The%20Hospital/66757.html" style="COLOR: #ff6633[/link] is the Hospital entry.

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Convinced LF is creating problems just to drag me into posting again !

Here goes.

Staghorn.
Firstly , Tom Barr would never ever put any algae issue down to the excess of any nutrient. Ever. In fact I know he's run tanks with very high levels of FE without issues. Same with phosphate.
Never had Staghorn myself. But I've seen it in a lot of other tanks. Almost all those tanks had the same issue.Dosing of micro nutrients ("the bottle of plant food I bought at the LFS"but no dosing of macros. What happens is cases like this is that people then blame the micros for the algae rather then the lack of macros. Of such things are "Iron/micros cause algae" myths born. In almost all cases getting the macros up to good levels solved the problem - "What you add Nitrates AND Phosphates, are you nuts ?????"
Now looking at your own tank. I see the latest pics and I see intense pearling. Tells me 2 things. Your Co2 levels should be good and your plants are munching through nutrients like a starving man at a smorgasbord. Then you say things like "I add a bit of Phosphate now and then". I smell a shortage of Macro Nutrients !!!!
You know what my prescribtion would be right?!

The new plants. The Helferi should replace the Corkscrew. Period. Not too sure what I'd do with the Gayi in your case, if it was me it's the kind of plant I'd use at the back behind a pick piece of driftwood. It's a thin plant, not going to hold it's own, best as a highlight to show off a piece of hardscape or accent another plant. It's very pretty and I love the shape but it's needs something around it to shine.

Sorry about the Gourami. See my post in the other thread, might be of some help.

Now can I crawl back under my rock ?

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Some days you're the pigeon and some days you're the statue.

Remember that age and treachery will always triumph over youth and ability.

“Convinced LF is creating problems just to drag me into posting again !”

Darn, you got me

About the excess of nutrients causing algae – I will try to hunt down where the heck I was reading that just the other day. Problem is that I read too much and can’t allocate locations in my memory (old people like me run on only 64 Megabytes of memory ). Also, I will test Nitrates tonight. I seriously doubt that they would be low and if they aren’t my Potassium isn’t low either as I dose it in concentrations at least as high as the Nitrates. And Phosphates, I bet you that I have a value of at least 3ppm, if not more (haven’t measured).

Yup, I am with you on replacing the Vals with the Helferis, I just hope they are not too small to be seen. Some of my “misalignments” in my current layout come from plants that eventually will be tall but are very small now, for example the entire left back corner.

The Gayii? Well, I don’t know where to put it either . Just thought it looks nice in the pictures and thought it can’t harm to order a few bunches . I guess I am just a little nuts.

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

old people like me run on only 64 Megabytes of memory
Now I know where you get the money for your tank.

My Scapes

:%):%):%)

"64 Megabytes of memory"

That's my brain's capacity, not my laptop .

What does that have to do with money ?

Still haven't found out where I read the Staghorn - Iron relationship.

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

I might have missed this, how much Fe are you dosing?


My Scapes

Gee, if I would remember,

I used the Fertilator to calculate how much Plantex I would have to add to get 0.1ppm Iron. I Just used the same value for the Plantex Plus Iron that I am using, 0.5tsp every other day / 3 x a week.

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

I didn't see the plantex in the fertilator. I've been dosing 5ml of flourish 3/week which gives me .06 ppm per dose.

My Scapes

tetratech - I think they removed it.

Ok Gang,

The plants came. The Cyperus helferi are 5 plants (one of which has 2 leaves) that are rather small. While at the LFS (please read my Hospital Log for updates on the Pearls), I bought another 5 (a rare appearance at my LFS, but not in the best good shape) to have at least 10 plants to put behind rock valley. We might not see them for a while as they are probably too short to peak out above the rocks.

The Potamogeton gayii are a nice group of 5 bunches, but I have no idea if they are in a good condition or about to die. I added 2 pictures, maybe you can help me out if this is how they look. All plants are currently floating (the gayii with weights) in the tank, planting will be tomorrow.

Thanks,

Ingo

Here are the Gayii as a group

LITTLE_FISH attached this image:

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

And here is a close-up

LITTLE_FISH attached this image:

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And for good measure , a shot of 2 Espei in front of the Rotala Macandra. Can you tell which is the female?

LITTLE_FISH attached this image:

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Nice pearling on the ?macrandra?. I hope your other two pearls get better.

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Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

Thanks Matty, I appreciate your thoughts being with my Pearls .

Gang,

Well, another 6 hours spent on planting and water changes. Somehow I have not been too happy with the results; various plants had been repositioned quite a few times during this morning.

I planted the Gayii all the way on the left, but didn’t like it there, or for that matter – ANYWHERE. I threw it way, it was ugly .

Well, I will add 3 shots today and get into more details during tomorrows weekly update.

Thanks,

Ingo

Fist, Rock Valley as it never will be again

LITTLE_FISH attached this image:

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Here the whole tank before I started (note the Gayii in the front right and the Helferi floating)

LITTLE_FISH attached this image:

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The tank after, what do you think?

LITTLE_FISH attached this image:

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Rock Valley as it never will be again
nooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

Say it aint so.
Well I guess you have something in mind!

I think the tank definitely looks better with the add'l grasslike plants.

My Scapes

I finally figured out what's been on my mind every time I look at your tank. I knew it had something to do with rock valley, but it just clicked. You got it backwards. Instead of the glosso crawling up through the valley, it should just be gravel, like a little road. Here's my bad illustration, because I know how you like them .


mattyboombatty attached this image:

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Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

Ingo, it's Mike from Absolutely Fish. Just stopping in to say what's up! Tank looks amazing, I've got to say.

Hi Mike,

Welcome to FP

Glad you remembered the site name I gave you

And thanks a lot for the compliment on the tank. I hope we will see you here more than only once

Tetratech - Rock Valley will never be the same because the Corkscrew Vals are gone, that's it - the valley itself will stay (for now ).

Matty - I don't know, I thought I will actually have Glosso all the way to the back. Then it could be a river of Glosso flowing to the front and spreading out in a delta before it flows in the ocean (no, I am not on drugs )

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Rock Valley will never be the same because the Corkscrew Vals are gone, that's it - the valley itself will stay
Whew!

I thought I will actually have Glosso all the way to the back. Then it could be a river of Glosso flowing to the front and spreading out in a delta before it flows in the ocean (no, I am not on drugs


My Scapes

Plants aren't really my thing, but I'll poke in every once in a while. I really do like this site though.

tetratech - That was a good one, wasn't it

Mike, glad you like the site, too bad stingrays don't have fun in a planted tank . Enjoy the rest of the site, we'll stay in touch.

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

I'll get some pics of my tank on here in a few days. I'm doing a 120g as an xmas treat to myself. It's going to be nuts...120g main tank, 30g sump, 3 Leopoldi Rays, Korean Perch, Asian Arowana (very slim MAYBE!!!), M.Tigrinus, and some ST's.

Sorry for cluttering up your thread, but figure there's not much sense in starting my own. Just out of curiousity, did you do anything in particular to breed those Espei's? I'm going to sell my show guppys and start another breeding project soon.

Tainted Glory (Mike)

You have to shoot me the link to the thread where you will show your setup. I am looking forward to the pictures .

Ingo

EDIT: The Espei - yeah, that is an interesting thing - supposedly they are hard to breed (based on various profiles all over the web and books) but all I did was to add water, hardscape, and plants and they turned into rabbits . I have fry of all ages, from a few days after they were introduced to basically yesterday (or maybe today, yet again ).

Last edited by LITTLE_FISH at 04-Dec-2005 04:27

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Weekly Update – Week 10

Yet again another major replant happened this weekend, new Cyperus Helferi have replaced the Corkscrew Vals and a few plants found new homes in different locations. The Dwarf Sags / Pygmy Chain Sword section in the front has been thinned to give the Glosso room to grow to the left and right of Rock Valley.

The downer of this week was the death of a Pearl Gourami that I added to the QT a day earlier. I still have 1 male and 1 female left, hopefully they will pull though and then I will add them to this tank in about 3 to 4 weeks.

The pictures for this weekly update will only reflect the last 4 weeks as each one contains a major change to the scape. I will then add another series of close-ups and details of the tank, some of them came out pretty well – thanks for the tips NowherMan6, the Tamron has arrived .

Ingo

Week 7, The base week to identify all following changes

LITTLE_FISH attached this image:

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Week 8, 2 rocks added to the left, plants trimmed and moved

LITTLE_FISH attached this image:

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Week 9, new plants added to tank, loads of plants moved / removed on left tank side

LITTLE_FISH attached this image:

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Week 10, rock added to the right, plants moved / removed all over the tank. When you compare week 9 and this one you will see how the Apon on the left back (just to the right of the filter intake) has grown. I bet you that it will reach the surface in 2 to 3 weeks .

LITTLE_FISH attached this image:

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Now on to some tank details, I am sure I will try to capture more in the near future .

Here is the Rotala Macandra pearling after the water change

LITTLE_FISH attached this image:

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And here is the Xmas Moss doing the same

LITTLE_FISH attached this image:

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

How about another Oto shot? This one is holding on to the thinnest twig in the tank

LITTLE_FISH attached this image:

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

My remaining female Pearl (hoping that this picture will not be “in memory of” very soon)

LITTLE_FISH attached this image:

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My male Pearl (same hopes as with last picture)

LITTLE_FISH attached this image:

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Here a shot of the new right side. Some of you might not even know that I always had the Red Rubin Sword in the tank, it was mostly hidden in the right hand jungle. I moved it forward and more centered.

LITTLE_FISH attached this image:

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This picture is called “Retro-Espei” (I guess I am losing it )

LITTLE_FISH attached this image:

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For all the school fans, me included, may I introduce: THE SCHOOL

LITTLE_FISH attached this image:

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

And because it was so nice, here is another one

LITTLE_FISH attached this image:

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

LF,

All I have to say is holy Espei batman!! How many do you have now?? They look really good!

55G Planted tank thread
19G Container Pond
[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/Wingsdlc/Ric

Thanks Wingsdlc,

How many do I have? No idea

I counted the ones in the last picture, there are around 50 (including 10 adults). Overall I would guess there are around 80 to 100. The smaller ones tend to stay close to the bottom plants to dart away when adults and old fry come too close.

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

LF,

Great pics and great school. Looks like about 35 espei in the pic, so you must have between 50 and 500

What kind of parameters are you using for your pics?



My Scapes

tetratech,

Well, I don't really know yet what I am doing with the camera, I promise I will research and let you know.

The reason the pics are better than "usual" is because today is my BIRTHDAY and I got a Macro Lens 90mm F/2.8 .

Have to go and shovel snow now ]:|.

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Well HAPPY BIRTHDAY little_fish!

Looks like the Espei are doing a parade in your honor.
Hope you have a good one!







My Scapes

LF,

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

55G Planted tank thread
19G Container Pond
[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/Wingsdlc/Ric

Happy Birthday LF!

hope you enjoyed your day and your tanks!

GFG

_______________________________________
Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one's definition of your life; define yourself.
Harvey S. Firestone

Happy Birthday Ingo!

Nice pics of the rush hour traffic at the LF house.

-P

Happy Birthday

'Tis a grand age.Too old to die young and too young to die now.

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Some days you're the pigeon and some days you're the statue.

Remember that age and treachery will always triumph over youth and ability.

Well thank you everyone for the birthday wishes

It was a nice day, there is nothing better than getting a stiff back from shoveling wet snow (old age, I know).

There is nothing new to report on the tank. Currently the plants are growing nicely and any existing algae are not multiplying like mad (I think). The Pearls in the QT don’t show any signs of illness, nevertheless I ordered the medication from Seachem and it should arrive in 2 days.

Speaking about the Pearls – no signs of romance anymore, the male is actually becoming very territorial. He confined the female to one corner of the tank and rarely allows her to venture into other sections. He is not immediately aggressive when she approaches him, but at her first sign of being scared of him he chases her away. Hope that will change when his hormones kick in. Any idea if this is normal?

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Happy birthday LF, and congrats on the new lens .

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Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

The reason the pics are better than "usual" is because today is my BIRTHDAY and I got a Macro Lens 90mm F/2.8 .

Holy moly, just read this. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

...late ...

A fine choice of lens, by the way. ::ahem:: How's she been treating you? Looks like you've been shooting pretty wide open. Stop down to 4 or 5.6 and bump up your ISO to 800 or 1600 and watch what she can do

And nice school by the way. I'm sure the hugeness of the school has taken away some stocking options for you, but look at that, it's gotta be worth it, right?

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Back in the saddle!

Hey Little Fish. *wave*
Happy (belated) birthday.
I've been reading your thread since you started it, and it's very funny and informative. I know you probably told us what other fish you wanted in the tank somwhere along the way, but I'm really too lazy to go reread twenty-something pages to find it. So, what else is going in?
How much longer before the pearls go into the tank? After you're sure they're healthy and safe to add, are you going to wait until most of the fry are schooling, or are you going to let them fend for themselves? (Can't be too hard to hide in a tank with that many plants and hiding spots.)
The tank looks amazing. Keep posting pictures.

______________
Cake or death?

Well thanks again for the birthday wishes

NowherMan6 – on page 26 I even mention that you advised me on the lens . And a large school is way cool. Too bad they don’t behave like this yet all the time, but I am sure once the fry gets older it will happen.

bananacoladafuze – Thanks for your entry in my thread, I am always happy when someone new comes in and has something to say . Yeah, the Pearls will go in the big tank in about 3 to 4 weeks. If the fry can’t hide, tough luck . I cannot protect them forever as they would overpopulate the tank one time after another (if they haven’t done that already).

You know, I don’t even remember if I mentioned what other fish are supposed to go in the tank, I know I did a long time ago in another thread when I was in the decision phase. If I remember it right, then there were nice sized schools of Rummies (canceled) and Glow Lights (cancelled), Cories (cancelled), a school of Black Neon Tetras (cancelled), a smaller school of Rainbows (might still happen), Gouramies (are here ), and Rams (will hopefully come one day, I am scared as I killed 2).

Thanks again,

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club