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My problem with food that is frozen, or even still alive, is called "my wife" . I probably would have to buy my own freezer for it (which I have been thinking about, some small mini freezer).

Ingo

EDIT: how do you feed frozen food in the first place? Do you put it in the microwave to defrost?

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Wait - you've never fed frozen food?

Well I take out the amount I am going to use for feeding and put the rest back in the freezer, then defrost in some warm water. Once thawed I like to strain it out. Along with my own concerns, I've read an article in one of the more popular fish related magazines about how the juices contain nasty fish killing bacteria sometimes, even in the major brands of frozen foods. My other problem is the amount of nutrients in that liquid which obviously goes uneaten can lead to problems, especially in the SW tanks, but also in the FW planted setups. So after I strain and rinse with tap I either put it right into the tank or put it back into some water to feed intermittently.

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Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

Wait - you've never fed frozen food?

Shocking



My Scapes

Well, tetratech had at least something to say.

Sounds like a major hassle for some frozen worms there,

I will see for one more day if he eats or not.

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

It's no hassle whatsoever.

You take the frozen block of whatever then place it in a plastic cup. Run some warm water into the cup. Slosh the block around until it's all broken up. Drain out the water so that only the worms/ brine shrimp/ larvae or what have you remain. Suck them up in your aquarium designated turkey baster and feed to fish.

The water is a nutrient broth that only harms WQ. Frankly, there will be enough nutrient broth coming out the rear ends of our fish friends after they gobble up all those yummy frozen foods - no more is needed!

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Back in the saddle!

It's really not hard.

I take a cube out & while still frozen cut some off, as a whole cube is far too much. I put it in one of those little measuring cups that sometimes come with fish medicines. For brine shrimp & daphnia, I don't rinse these at all. I think you would probably wash away some goodness too by doing that. I do rinse blood worms in a net first, just because I don't like red liquid that comes out. Takes about 20 - 30secs to rinse away, so it's no biggie. Incidently, before you wash the red liquid out, this is what you can soak your dry foods in, to try to wean them back onto them. Anyhow, I then add some tank water to the little cup & wait until it is fully thawed & at room temp. If you use tank water, you don't need to drain it again, as the water is safe. Plus for the next step in feeding process, I need a little water in the mix.

You could just dump it in the tank, but I have less waste if I take up a small portion of the mixture in a child's medicine dropper & release the food in controlled amounts. Once they have eaten the 3 or so pieces, I squirt out some more. Takes longer, but I'm also interacting with them & I enjoy it really. They recognise the dropper & come running when they see it being lowered into the tank. They even yank food out of the dropper. They become used to my hand & don't run from it, especially when I have to lower the dropper deep in the tank to feed fry near the bottom. So I can put my hand right up close to mum & bubs & they aren't bothered at all.

About the freezer issue. I wrap each package tightly with gladwrap (I have 3 varieties) & then they all sit inside one tupperware container of just the right size. The container is labelled. If you packed it up this way, are you sure you couldn't put it safely in the freezer?

Cheers
TW

Well, tetratech had at least something to say.

Go to Matty's planted tank log for Round II of:


Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

VS

The Self Proclaimed King of Protist Destruction








My Scapes

In this corner we have.....

I like conversating...I hope nobody takes it the wrong way(especially the Protist Destructonator ) It's all in good fun right?

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Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

It's all in good fun right?
Of course. LF and I have had a few over the 8,000 or so posts we both share.

My Scapes

Actually,

I enjoy it once in a while when I am only on the sidelines of such discussions. Unsually I am right in there . And yes, of course it is all fun and games

Anyway, thanks all for the additional info on frozen food, I am sure it will come in handy. In the meantime, the male Apisto decided that he is ok with freeze dried blodworms. After having denied them once before, it was the third course that I served two evenings ago, after flakes and freeze dried tubifex (turned down, as usual). Last night he tried one flake first , but then went on to eat quite a load of bloodworms. I have to say, he is not the smartest entity in fish land. He expects the food to be exactly where I add it to the tank. If the current carries it away then he is not going after it. Lazy bum

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Wow,

I have quite a few pictures to post, so on with the show.

Weekly Tank Update - Week 22

Not much to report, except that I continued with the gradual replacement of some of the plants.

Here is the tank last week:

Attached Image:

Last Weekend

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And here is the tank today.

As you may notice, the hygro is gone by now and the middle section had been opened a little more.

Besides the hygro, additional bushels of micro swords have been removed.

Attached Image:

Today

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Here is a closeup of the corner to the short end that housed the hygro before the makeover. As you may see, the whole bottom area is pretty dark. When the plants were lower a female Cac used to hang out there once in a while, but with this growth she didn't do this anymore.

Attached Image:

Hygro

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And here is pretty much the full short end before the changes were applied. Again, all is pretty dark back there and not a fun place to be

Attached Image:

Old Short Side

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And here is the same area after the redo. Hygro and micro swords are gone and Bylxa has been put in its place. The plants have been created by separation of the one that I had in the middle of the tank (in the unplanted section).

Attached Image:

New Short Side

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Blyxa is a very graceful plant, I think. Here is one of the plants, the one that is in the corner of the short side. It even has bubbles tonight but I don't know if they are CO2 or O bubbles

Attached Image:

Blyxa

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As I mentioned bubbles, this is how the Bolitis looks every evening. Here again, I don't know if the plant collects the CO2 bubbles that are blown around the tank or if it actually creates oxygen. In either case, it looks nice.

Attached Image:

Bolbitis

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A plant that will need some trimming rather sooner than later is the Pearl Grass in the front of the tank. Now with the left side so low it seems odd that the right side is so high with all the tall Pearl Grass there. Maybe next weekend.

Attached Image:

Pearl Grass

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Here is the only real trouble spot in the tank, the area behind the open spot in the middle of the tank. This spot seems to be the toilet of the tank and it host quite a bit of hair algae.

This shot has been taken before the cleaning and trimming.

Attached Image:

Trouble Spot

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And here is the same spot after I removed most of the hair algae. It is hard to reach.

By now it served as meeting spot for snails to have an orgy . Or maybe they just play cho-cho train.

Attached Image:

Snails

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Here is a closer look into the open spot and the anubias that is behind it. That plant was previously not visible as it was blocked by a blyxa that I removed. This anubias was pretty much dead and lost all leaves, but now it has quite a few new ones.

Attached Image:

Anubias

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Here is another shot of the full front of the tank, in an angle to hopefully show you better the improved open section.

I guess the blyxa on the right of the open area could be thinned out as well.

Attached Image:

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And here is the tank from the back head on. As you may notice, I also added a few more blyxas to the left and did not only modify the right side.

I guess you will tell me that the blyxa is too lined up, right?

Attached Image:

Back View

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On to the fish.

Here is one of the two resident Cacs. They both seem to be doing ok, although there is always a chase going on when the bossy one comes close to the other one. Interestingly, the weaker one was the one the previous male selected for mating first.

Attached Image:

Female Cac

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And here is the new female hanging out in the QT. I don't know why, but she is mostly whitish and not any longer displays any yellow. She doesn't seem ill and eats well, so I don't really understand this. Even the females in the 40G are somewhat yellowish.

Attached Image:

Female Cac

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Check Out The Loads Of Pictures On The Previous Page

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Here she is again, this time checking out if I may be having some food in my hand

She is very cute though, right?


Attached Image:

Female Again

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Here is the male now, hanging out in the front left corner of the QT. He is most of the time somewhere between the plants and looks for some food. Oh, one reason why he may not have eaten in the first few days was maybe because he was full. I found some platy fry in the filter and none in the tank. I wonder where they went ?

Attached Image:

Male Cac

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And here he is checking out the girl.

Every day I am worried that he will not make it. This would be my worst mightmare, as I would end up with 3 females and no male. But so far so good.

Attached Image:

Check Her Out

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Last but not least, here is a shot of something I have no idea on what was going on

In any case, it is one of the females in the 40G hanging with her friends, the Otos.

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Strange Group

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I won't tell you that the blyxa looks too lined up anymore cause I think I know where you are going with it. It just needs some more time to fill in and it will look great. I like how this tank is evolving. It seems to be getting a bit simpler compared to right after you changed it, but not quite as simple as before you changed it from all the microswords.

I still think the one female looks a bit skinny, but as long as she's acting ok, she looks healthy otherwise.

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Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

Your male looks more colourful here, than the pic in the other log. I love the front on shot of your girl, and yes, she is very cute.

I got very excited when my blxya was 1st ready to separate into 2 plants (particularly as it shouldn't even grow in my low light) but that is probably all pretty "ho hum" & common place for you. Still, a 2nd plant for free is good. Blxya is hard to find & expensive here (I have seen it for $30 a plant in LFS).

I don't mind you blyxa lined up like that at all. In the front, I really like the opening too.

Interesting shot of the snail, plus the strange playmates in your final shot.

Cheers
TW

This tank is looking better, but there are a few things I would change.

The mound on the left with the Bolitis looks great, but the mound on the right looks alittle messy and not as defined. I still think in this type of setup you should have the two mounds very similiar and let the Bolitis be the dominant plant on both sides. Doesn't mean you can't have another species as support, but the same plant should dominate.

The Blyxa is too tall and distracts from the mounds. IMO the front foreground should be a low moss or other plant that will add some color but allow you to see the hardscape of the defined mounds.

My Scapes

I really hope the male makes it for you! It is a really nice fish.. as was your last one too!

You have done a really nice job with the Anubias and ferns in this tank. I love the feel of it.

How long did it take for your African fern to take off? Mine hasn't done anything in the week or two I have had it.

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

... cause I think I know where you are going with it

Well Matty, then you know more than I do . Maybe I have some vision for it in the back of my head, but I cannot pull it forward into my conscious thinking area

Yeah, I like where the tank is going as well, in particular because all can be done slowly and in simple processes. No major upset is needed to keep on going.

Robyn - You should commit a tank to grow out Blyxa only. At $30 you should be able to finance your whole hobby . Yeah, the male looks better here, that is because I post better pictures here than in the QT section .

Tetratech - complain, complain, complain . Now the nitpicking came full circle . Anyway, you are at least somewhat in sink with me. I completley agree that the right mound does not look defined. But I believe it has more to do with the tall Pearl Grass group and the plants on the right short side of the tank. Next weekend I will trim the Pearl grass there and then I will have a better idea on how defined the mound is.

I also don't know if I am into the idea of having two equal mounds, with regards to general structure (wood/rocks) and plants. Somehow I think it may make the tank a little more boring as in "when you have seen one mound then you have seen them all."

I don't think my Blyxa is all that tall . Actually, it never grew tall for me, even if I tried. Mosses on the substrate are too dangerous for me, too high of a chance to get gunk underneath and as such algae issues. Plus, let's not forget the spreading into undesired areas.

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Wings - didn't see your entry until right now, thanks for the friendly comments.

2 weeks seems to be nothing for Bolbitis, it took quite some time for that plant to finally settle. I don't think it is really taking off yet even now. After 2 weeks I had mostly dying old leaves and I trimmed them away, the new growth was much healthier. Also, keep in mind that Bolbitis likes current.

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Tetratech - complain, complain, complain

Don't worry you'll have a chance soon to rate my 72g revision. You better be nice

I also don't know if I am into the idea of having two equal mounds, with regards to general structure (wood/rocks) and plants.

Just for the record, I don't mean two "identical" mounds just ones that the main elements are the same but are flavored with different supporting plants.

I don't think my Blyxa is all that tall . Actually, it never grew tall for me, even if I tried.

I guess I'm still trying to get you to show us your hardscape . The original premise was mounds with those nice rocks. I don't think the height of the blyxa lends itself to that.

Moss on rocks

Moss on rocks is pretty easy to maintain. You pick up the rock trim and put it back. Am I missing something here?

My Scapes

You better be nice

I will try , but I am most certain that it will look pretty good anyway.

but are flavored with different supporting plants

The problem is that there is not much space for supporting plants. The only other plants besides ferns that I know would lean themselves to be anchored on wood/rock are anubias, and as such they would be the same

The original premise was mounds with those nice rocks. I don't think the height of the blyxa lends itself to that.

Agreed, but take another look at the picture on the previous page showing the new left short side after I removed the hygro. Can you see the rocks? Once the plant mass on top of the mounds has grown some more I will leave gaps in the surrounding territory to show off these rocks.

Moss on rocks is pretty easy to maintain. You pick up the rock trim and put it back. Am I missing something here?

Maybe that the rock would block the view onto the main groups as well, just as some of the Blyxa does. Or do you mean using moss on the existing rocks there? That would be impossible as these rocks hold the wood structures in place.

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Moss on rocks is pretty easy to maintain. You pick up the rock trim and put it back. Am I missing something here?

Remember LFs big christmas moss rocks from the 125, filled with gunk? Once bitten, twice shy...


I can certainly see where tetra is going with the bolbitus though. Especially in an apisto tank. Territories need not be just hardscape along the ground. Bolbitus is a big fern plant, and letting it grow larger from both ends into a canopy of sorts can help break up sight lines and create mid-water territories.

Remember, this is basically a species tank, being built for the apistos - it may be nice to add elements to it with them in mind and their needs and habitat. A denser look would be very good for them, it would allow them to hide when they want and show themselves when they want. I think the bolbitus can help with that. If you have Amanos first Nature Aquarium book, check out the tnak on pages 122-123 for inspiration.

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Back in the saddle!

Well OK,

I will check out that tank on the mentioned pages.

In order to stall you all on the Bolbitis issue: It still has some growing to do before I would even be able to attempt a re-settlement of parts of the plant

And it really grows slooooow. I know at some point it will just take off, but that has not happened yet.

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

And I'm sorry if that came off as pushy at all I didn't mean to tell you what to do with the tank or anything like that Just bouncing ideas etc...

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Back in the saddle!

Remember LFs big christmas moss rocks from the 125, filled with gunk? Once bitten, twice shy...

Well that was the old LF, now he's "leaner and meaner" in terms of feed and stocking. Speaking of Amano, LF what is your hesitation of adding amano/yamato shrimp to the mix. Moss and shrimp are just so good together. Not only to watch but for cleaning out the gunk. They do wonders in my 12g in which I have only 2 and 3 CRS. They also ate the monkey skull clean of any BBA tufts that were appearing. It was quite amazing. I also have about 8 in my 72g and watching them crawl along the riccia is really sweet.

My Scapes

Don't worry NowherMan6, I did not think you are pushy, I just ran out of arguments

Speaking of Amano, LF what is your hesitation of adding amano/yamato shrimp to the mix

That would be called Apistos

And that for two reasons:

a) maybe the Apistos will eat the shrimp, or at least their legs, or
b) the shrimp will eat the Apisto fry/eggs

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

And that for two reasons:

a) maybe the Apistos will eat the shrimp, or at least their legs, or
b) the shrimp will eat the Apisto fry/eggs

a)Amanos are quite large and I don't have a problem in my 72g with a bosemani, apisto and dwarf cichlids. Legless shrimp

b)That I'm not sure about, but as I said before sometimes fishkeeping and algae free planted aquaria don't mix, espeically breeding fish (flower pots)

My Scapes

If the apistos aren't afraid to shoo off another fish the same size as them when guarding eggs or fry, I can't see why they'd shy away from some shrimpy... err, shrimp.

I understand your uneasiness about them, but they really are great for nipping hair and thread algae in the bud.

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Back in the saddle!

I understand your uneasiness about them, but they really are great for nipping hair and thread algae in the bud

Nowher, to be honest I didn't know Amanos ate BBA, but I had several tufts on my monkey skull and they are all gone since putting the amanos in. Probably the less you feed and the limited supply of other algaes have forced them to eat the BBA?

My Scapes

Hi LF, I understand perfectly why you'd be concerned about the shrimp eating the eggs. I agree apisto would not be scared to shoo off shrimp or other fish, but the fry hunters are opportunist. At some point of time, the parents will leave the fry (even for a few seconds) for food. It only takes a second for a creature (fish or shrimp) to knock off a fry. Before you know it, over a period of two weeks - there may not be too many left.

Just my 2 cents.


Cheers
TW

Yeah,

Thanks all for the input, I will keep the Amanos in mind (actually more likely for the hair algae infested 29G).

Anyway, thought you may want to know that the Apistos in the QT are eating pretty well by now, they accept freeze dried foods of all kinds, like tubifex and bloodworms. They also eat some flakes.

The female, nevertheless, still looks pretty skinny.

This weekend they will have been 2 weeks in QT, do you think it would be time to move them "home"?

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Wait until the female beefs up a bit IMO. She might have a hard time with the other two.

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Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

Ok,

I don't have a lot of time, so on with the important things.

Weekly Tank Update - Week 23

Being very busy with stuff and the 29G this weekend, I didn't do much to this tank. Only some minor changes.

Here is the tank now:

Attached Image:

Tank Full Frontal

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Here is the tank in a Matty-Angle from the front, showing off some of the changes to the right side and the center. More to these details in additional photos.

Attached Image:

Angled

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Here is the tank in a Matty-Angle from the front, showing off some of the changes to the right side and the center. More to these details in additional photos.

Attached Image:

Angled

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Here is a closer look to the new right front section. A blyxa from the center has been split into 3 and one ended up here all the way to the right. In addition, my mini crypts from the 125G have replaced the Pearl Grass that used to be in this corner:

Attached Image:

New Right Front

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And here is the new, and most likely temporary, middel section of the tank.

Yes, that's HC

I got it as a present from one of my local plant guys and just placed it there to see if it even sticks.

Attached Image:

HC

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Here is a closer look at the HC after the water change. I would not have thought that such a tiny plant can pearl, but it does (at least right after the water change).

I will see how it goes and if it is working great then I will try to create a lawn with it. If not, no loss.

Attached Image:

HC Again

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And here is one of the two resident Apisto females. I followed Matty's advice and did not add the new pair yet, although I doubt that the new female will catch up with Matty's fat girls any time soon. Eventually I will need to add them though, probably next weekend.

That's it for this weekend, on to the 125G.

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Female Apisto

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

LF,
Tank is looking great. I think the HC will look nice in the middle if you can get it to fill out. I also think that some sort of moss rock or wood would look nice as a border around the Anubias.

http://www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auction.cgi?liveplants&1164128978
or Riccia or Pella.

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

I really like the look of the two mounds and the contrasting leaf shapes, but I'm gonna stick to my original statement from a 11/13:

The Blyxa is too tall and distracts from the mounds. IMO the front foreground should be a low moss or other plant that will add some color but allow you to see the hardscape of the defined mounds.

.

Which it looks like Wings has echoed the other day:

LF,
Tank is looking great. I think the HC will look nice in the middle if you can get it to fill out. I also think that some sort of moss rock or wood would look nice as a border around the Anubias.

For example the wisteria on the left front takes away from the mound defintion on the left.

Overall the tank looks great

My Scapes

Thanks guys

For example the wisteria on the left front takes away from the mound defintion on the left

- What did I say? Small changes slowly!!!

tetratech - the wisteria is only there as a filler until I have more of the permanent plants. Better an ugly filler than not enough plant mass, right? Not even the Pearl Grass on the back side will be there in some time, but not now.

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

hey ingo -

as always i am delighted and amazed by the growth and change in your tanks. mine is a far more settled tank!! i've just added four more ozelot swords, though, making nine, plus 14 amazon swords and about 8 tiger lotus - the bloody things won't stop sending off pups!! and in cacatuoide land, my beta female has just laid her eggs on the top of an ozelot sword leaf, and on the bottom of a leaf which drapes over the first!! it's right at the front of the tank, so i can see the whole process - but i don't think she's going to be able to defend them against the sturisoma panamense. i hadn't read of cacs laying on leaves, nor so high in the water column (about 8 inches). the alpha female has a brood of about ten babies, from about 30, (layed and hatched and protected in a film canister - hehehe!!)and the gamma female is just moping around looking grey and a little put out. my boy doesn't like her and her superiors just chase her around. poor thing. even in a six foot tank she can't find many places to call her own...

hope you and the fish are well,

justin

Justin,

Thanks for the input and I am glad to read that you have babies en masse.

But if I interpret your input right, with reference to my Apistos, then you basically say that I will see at least one female being "left out" and not so happy? Currently, the male in the QT seems to be getting along with the female just well, I hope he doesn't forget about this once they are in the real tank.

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

hi ingo,

as with all situations involving other living things, we have no real idea as to the outcomes or posibilities - there are too many variables, and we are only ever theorising, then reporting things as they come to be. your three females and your male all have hard-wiring which is going to make them entirely different to mine. i think if i had three boyfriends in my house i might have favourites from time to time too - and i'm pretty sure their status would change depending on an infinite variety of things.

just get your pair into the tank and see what happens. i for one can't wait to see what goes on!

regards,

justin

Love the current look, Ing; the bolbotis looks imposing .

I for one can't wait to see what goes on

Me neither Justin

I will add the fish on Sunday, if nothing bad happens in between. Both are eating well by now and seem to get along just fine, although I think the female may even be still too young to breed.

Cup - Thanks for stopping by and for the nice comments. The bolbitis is just beginning to show some nice and speedy growth, I can see various new leaves coming straight up. Actually (supposedly), at some point this may cause a problem as I have heard that once the plant is settled it reaaalllly takes off. As such it may require very frequent trimming in form of thinnning out.

Ingo

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Weekly Tank Update - Week 24

Nothing much has happened during this week with the tank, it just keeps on doing what it is doing best, growing slowly.

Before I get into the tank details of this weekend, here is a preview of what I want to do today, add the pair of Apistos.

If you think it is a bad idea, speak now

Attached Image:

Apisto Pair

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Here is a closer look at the female. She has grown a little, but one cannot label her as "fattened up" just yet. She may have a hard time in this tank, but I don't want to leave her behind in the QT either. Right now the male knows only her so I hope he takes a little care of her once he established the tank as his.

Attached Image:

Female Apisto

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And here is the male, screaming "get me outta here"

He for sure is ready for the main tank. He is not quite as handsome as the original was, but still pretty good. If he dies then I don't know what to do anymore, I cannot continue to buy new pairs and may have to make a special "male only" order at the LFS.

Attached Image:

Male Apisto

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On to the tank in itself:

Here is a comparison shot from 4 weeks ago, with some temp plants (hygro and pearl grass) still in place. Since then, small changes have been made every weekend:

Attached Image:

4 Weeks Ago

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And here is the tank now last night. It shows nicely how much the bolbitis has grown. I think it will reach the point where it really takes off very soon.

Also, based on tetratech's special request, the Wisteria on the left has been removed and some Blyxa was put in its place.

Attached Image:

Tank Last Night

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Here is a look at the tank from the left side, without Wisteria. BTW, I used the plant to fill in the left side of the 125G some more.

Before I forget, this tank, like the 125G requires weekly thinning out of the duck weed on the surface. That stuff currently grows like mad in my tanks.

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Left Side

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And here is the front again, in the classic Matty-Angle.

The Anubias seem to form a W in this shot, from the top of the left island, down to the foreground, then lining the open space, and back onto the top of the right island. That wasn't planned, but could have been

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Angled

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If you were wondering about the small specs next to the HC in the tank center, well - here is a closer look at them before I added them into the tank.

Yup, I finally broke down and payed some $$$ and got me 7 Amano Shrimpsters.

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Amano

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Here is one of them floating in the bag. I selected the 7 largest they had in the store and I would assume they are all adults. In length they are larger than my Otos in the tank.

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Amano I

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Here is the first shot I took after adding them to the tank. They immediately went to work and started eating away. I acclimated them for 2 hours and I am pretty sure they didn't need any longer. Or, at least that is what I hope for as I haven't checked on them today yet.

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Amano II

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Here is another one of the group, labeled "The White Ground Diggers" by my daughter. Even the wife came downstairs and looked at them for a while (and seemed rather pleased with them).

Anyone knows what the white speckles on his/her back are?

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Amano III

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Of course it did not take too long before the resident female Apistos became aware of the new entries to the tank. Here is one of them peaking through the leaves and checking out the situation, probably thinking "Can I eat them?"

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Apisto Looking Out

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PLEASE VIEW MORE PICTURES AND INFO ON THE LOWER HALF OF THE PREVIOUS PAGE FOR MORE ON THIS WEEKLY TANK UPDATE

And here is one of these "Close Encounters"

I observed quite a few of them, with the female Apisto looking at the shrimp, moving back and forth, and eventually coming so close that the shrimp makes a fast withdrawal. I guess that settles the hierachy


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Close Enough

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Here are a few more shrimp shots, sorry about that but I had never shrimp in my tanks so it makes me very excited and I could not stop myself from taking pictures. Actually, you can be glad that I am posting only a few of the over 200 I took this weekend.

Here is one observing a snail

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Amano IV

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And here is another shot, probably the clearest that I have gotten so far. But you be the judge, I am sure I boring you to death already with them, but hang in there, just a few more

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Amano V

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Here is one climbing around in my Anubias/Crypt/Bolbitis hill. He is more pinkish then some of the others. Does anyone know why that is? I assume it is caused by different stages of the molting process, but what would pinkish mean - pretty new in its current shell?

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Pink Amano

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Ok,

Last Shrimpster shot for now. Here is one climbing around one of the tallest pieces of wodd and muching away on the small algae that can be found on it. This shows me that these guys are not shying away from the light. Maybe he even enjoyed being up there as he most certainly spent about one hour up there:

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Last Amano For Today

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Now, I have shown you how the Apistos reacted to the shrimp, but you may wonder what the other cleaning crew, aka Otos, had to say about such an intrusion. Well, they became a little more active.

Here are 4 of them discussing what to do about this new animal type.

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4 Otos

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PERSONAL POST No. 6000

And here are the other two, on the opposite side of the tank. I believe they are "holding hands" although it is hard without hands to do so . That's why the fins touch. Just Cute


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2 Otos

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And eventually they all came together and formed a Union, called "The United Ground Crew" and decided to sing their newly composed union song (ok, maybe not all that funny).

Anyway, for real, they seem to have been very busy last night playing chase or something. For sure they were moving around more than usual and seemed to hang tighter as well.

That's it for now, let me know what you think,

Have fun,

Ingo

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All My Otos

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Hey LF, the tank is looking better every week. You'll definitely have to start pruning back that bolbitis soon. The angle from the left and the matty special were great shots.

Actually, you can be glad that I am posting only a few of the over 200 I took this weekend.

Dang. I bet that was a good time though. I enjoy shooting the shrimp in my tank, though the SW ones are a bit more difficult to get, as they like to hang out in under rocks and in holes when someone is around. I thought all the pics of shrimp were very clear, except that pink one, which I would guess is pink because of just having molted. I've never seen that with mine though*shrugs*. My SW shrimp are bright red right after they molt.

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Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

Thanks for the input and comments Matty,

I guess the color must have something to do with the molting. Just about 30 min ago I checked on the tank and tried to account for all shrimpsters. At best, I counted 5 out of 7 , one of which is hanging below a high piece of wood since pretty much midday. He/she is moving a little, but I don't see the feeding motion. It happens to be the largest, I believe. Either it is sick or getting ready to molt (or release babies as there is some undefined thing along the underside of the belly).

Then, to my shock, I found one tangled up in the plants, all bent out of shape. But, it wasn't all that bad as when I removed him it was only an empty shell. Molted!

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Shell

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I wouldn't get worried, I never see all mine at once either. Kinda like the otos. I'm sure they are doing fine. Nice molting BTW.

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Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

Kinda like the otos.

Just look two images further up, there are all my Otos

But I know what you mean, Matty. Actually, I was rather surprised having been able to count them during the first day. I actually assumed that they all would dissapear into the plants as soon as I released them.

Ingo

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Also, based on tetratech's special request, the Wisteria on the left has been removed

Oh yeah The tank looks much better especially the right side with the pearlgrass reduced. Now you could see the rock under/in front of the anubias. It would be great if you could get a rock to show on the left more separating the blyxa from the anubias. The constrast is much better with the rocks showing and it defines the mounds better.

I'm glad you added the shrimp. I'm not sure how many I have in the 72g probably around 6 or 7. I'd like to have more like 20. They definitely will put a dent in some of the algae. In my 12g there are 2 Amanos and 3 cherries and they completely cleaned off the big rock of bba and gda. It's really funny when they grab the algae or bottom feeder wafers and make a run for it.

My Scapes

Thanks tetratech for the input

I will take it slow until I am more certain that there would be enough healthy plant mass even if I remove one or the other Blyxa that is currently blocking the view.

I am also glad that I added the shrimp, they are eating machines.

I almost forgot, this is what else happened yesterday:

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Apisto On The Move

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As announced a few times, I moved the Apistos into the tank. Catching them in the QT wasn't all that hard. Here they are in the bag and you can see the alpha resident female already coming for an inspection:

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Oh Oh

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As soon as I released them from the bag into the tank, the alpha female was busy following the male. He seemed rather interested, although this picture does not quite reflect that notion:

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In the Tank

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This one is more representable of the situation within the first hour of release. A female, yellowing up for the occasion, somewhere around the male. I thought that they may lay eggs right then, but I believe that didn't happen.

Also, I don't think the male looks all that healthy, even my 6 year old daughter identified that he is rather "skinny" when compared to the last male.

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Follow Me

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I couldn't resist, I had to smuggle another Shrimp shot into this set. In this non-edited shot the shrimp looks almost like having a blue hue to it. We have seen them slightly pinkish, but blue is new to me.

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Shrimp

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Here you see the Beta female Apisto, in between yellowing for the guy and darkening as a defensive dress for the other females. She in particular is giving the new girl a hard time.

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Beta Female Apisto

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The male, on the other hand, is showing to any female that is close to him. Here he is with his original female, from now on Gamma.

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Showing

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And here he is with the Alpha female again, although you can only imagine that he is right behind her. But as you can see, there is no blackeing left in her lower body as she is all show.

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Show Off

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Another shot of male/female interaction, this time showing how bright yellow the females can get if they want to. Again, I think the male doesn't look his best though

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Another Showing

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The Gamma female sometimes makes me sad, she is being chased away by the Betta female quite often. She still has enough space in the tank to venture into, but in this shot she looks really sad

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I am sad

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Last but not least, another shrimp shot showing an Amano head on. He is sitting on a Bolbitis leaf and eats away on whatever stuff he may find there. Very nice!

Have fun,

Ingo

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Eat Away

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Congrates on the 6000 post LF! Some day way done the road I might catch you! A cammera might help the situation a little. That might happen this spring though.

The shrimp are quite nice. I really enjoy mine too. I found that mine tended to hang out with each other for the first month or so. Now they seem to have there own areas in the tank.



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

I always thought the W (or at lest the V section of the W) was planned. In any case, I like it - it leads you in.

Loved all the shrimp & apisto shots. So shrimp (amanos & cherry in particular) are good for algae. Maybe I should get some for my 2 smaller tanks - but my guarding female krib would not be happy. Justin, congratualtions on all your babies. Tell me, I know you live in Sydney. Have you seen any amanos or cherry shrimps around? I have only ever seen really large looking shrimps that I don't think would suit.

Ingo, are shrimps egg stealers - or do they like algae & other vege things best?

It is amazing how quickly the apisto girls can change dress. Your gamma female does look sad in that shot, but if the male shows off to both girls, then just watch her change looks if she has eggs to guard.

Cheers
TW

Robyn,

The V was on purpose, the W a coincidence,

I don't know if they are egg stealers/eaters, it was one of my concerns. But the gang thought that an energetic protecting mom should be able to chase them away and so far the shrimp wouldn't dare to challenge the Apistos in the tank.

In general, last night all inhabitants are still around and the male likes to display to all females, none of which seems to be protecting something, aka no eggs yet. The Alpha female is currently not so receptive to his showings and actually chases him away.

Ingo

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My head is spinning from all the pics and posts you and matty and tetra and TW and Wings have been putting up over the past few days. At least the forum is alive again

Anyway, very very nice LF, the tank does look better and congrats on picking up the shrimp. You'll want more, trust me. And I know I'm late on this, but I notice my Amamos are sometimes pink as well, and as you noticed, it has to do with molting. Keep those apistos well fed so they don't decide to have shrimp cocktail one day for an appetizer

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Back in the saddle!

I gotta say that those 2 females I sent you are looking VERY healthy. The yellows are unreal and they have nice full bellies. Great job, and nice pics LF. I sure hope they get along with the new pair.

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Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

I gotta say that those 2 females I sent you are looking VERY healthy

And that is mostly of flake food, can you believe it? Well, they probably eat small snails in the tank like mad, too. But they are for sure some big girls (relative to the male, the viejita is actually longer and bigger than they are).

NowherMan6 - "At least the forum is alive again" And it would be even more so if you would write more
Thanks for the compliments on tank and shrimpsters though.

Ingo

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I will surely do my best, but the past few weeks have been dreadful:

1.) In the 8 days before Thanksgiving I worked 4 all-nighters (22 hour days), plus late nights on the nights i was able to sleep

2.) Then thanksgiving with the family etc

Not too much time for posting... or doing water changes etc.

And what's going on with NJAGC? Changing websites?

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Back in the saddle!

Everyone is so busy. Wasn't the technology at all our workplaces supposed to make life easier for us all. Seems everyone (including me) is having to work extra long hours.

Cheers
TW

In the 8 days before Thanksgiving I worked 4 all-nighters

I don't envy you for this, but I am not too sorry either as I am still sitting in my office right now and I am nowhere (pun intended) near from going home Darn!!!

Yup, the site is being upgraded to a new forum software, be patient. I have seen it tonight as Jay was testing it and I was still here and he asked me to step through to find some errors (or not). But it will be worthwhile for you to find out when and where the next meeting is.

Ingo

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a quick note for robyn:

i just saw some very   (cherry? blood?) shrimp at slippery little suckers in randwick, but at $50 each i wasn't gonna be buying!! michella told me she expects the price to drop as more are imported, so maybe hold off a while... they were so cool looking!!! or if you think you can breed them, maybe it would be a lucrative purchase....

sorry to hijack, ingo! oh, i just bought a pair of apisto. agassizii - they're settling into my 40-litre cube nicely.

justin

how funny!!! i just got censored!!!! hehehehe!!! it was just the word s then an e then an x then a y....

The funniest thing is that there really is a shrimp in SW named the   shrimp. It does this little dance with it's tail raised up. Pretty  .

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Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

my my, a   shrimp. who would think of calling a shrimp  ?

justin

Wow,

What has my log become? A record of censored entries

Kind of funny that even a legitimate name of an aquarium animal would not be able to be mentioned here.

Ingo

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What has my log become? A record of censored entries

What do you expect from a log titled "40G Breeder"
Sounds very   to me.

My Scapes

hahaha

Thanks Justin for the shrimp update. I will wait to see if prices drop - otherwise, these shrimp won't be for me. Did you get your agassizii from SLS? Someone told me they weren't importing them anymore?

How are your shrimp doing LF?



Cheers
TW

How are your shrimp doing LF?

This, and more, will be revealed in:

Weekly Tank Updates - Week 25

For the same reason than the one for the 125G (work), I was not able to do the same fert schedule for this tank this week. The weekend maintenance has not seen much action, a little trimming on the back Pearl Grass was all that I did.

Here is the full tank:

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Full Tank - Main View

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And here is the tank from the same direction, just a little angled to reveal the open area a little better.

By now, it is getting very green in there.

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Angled Front View

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And here is the tank from the other side.

I will probably start soon with replacing this group of Pear Grass with some more Blyxa, although the Blyxa doesn't grow tall it for sure creates quite some side shoots.

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Back View

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Here is a closer look at the one small group of Pearl Grass that I still have in the front of the tank. Interestingly, at least for me, is the growth pattern of this group, with stems growing in all directions like the crown of a tree.

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Pearl Grass

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The 3 pieces of Java Fern (narrow leaf) that I purchased for this tank when I moved towards the current setup are becoming quite bushy. Unlike the NL Java Fern from the 125, these leaves seem way more compact. Maybe because they are closer to the light.

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NL Java Fern

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The HC that I have in the open is still there, but it is not doing to well. Besides the fact that a few pieces have been floating up, the rest looks like it barely can hang on. I doubt that it will make it in this tank, bummer.

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HC

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