55Gl Fw Planter Tank

[stanleo]

I bought 3 pearl gouramis today. 1 male and 2 females. They are quite active and still around 2 inches long. They ate well today and i keep seeing them pick at the brown algae. Does this species eat brown algae? Anyway, here is a pic of them. 
 

 

[Ninjouzata]

Pretty! Not sure on if they eat algae or not. Hope to see some more pics once they get settled in

 

[stanleo]

Some new pics

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[stanleo]

I got some mystery snails today, 10 of them. I think they are Ampulariidea but I am not sure. In any event, I am leaving an area above the water line for them. I needed a cleanup crew and with the angel, most shrimp aren't practical. So with these, the sets snails and the otos, I should be set. If I get the chance though, I am going to get some amanos.

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[Ninjouzata]

Love your angel, and a nice assortment of colors for the mystery snails. Nerites are better for clean up but mystery snails are prettier and more fun to watch IMO.
Be aware you may end up with lots of eggs. You can just scrape them off though.

 

[stanleo]

Totally agree that nerites are better but they didn't have any but they had these and I loved the colors. I might still get some nerites if I see them. Thanks or your comments. It's nice knowing someone is reading this Lol

I love that angel, he/she is so full of personality too! I don't know what the sex is but I would like to find out.

 

[Ninjouzata]

I believe you can't tell their gender until they actually breed, unless you vent them. I'm not sure what age/size this could/should be done at though. They have lots of personality, even if they can be meanies
I enjoy reading your journal! I was reading it from the beginning, well skimming, and then I finally sat down and read all of it so I could comment. ^^

 

[stanleo]

Well today was water change day. I changed 50% and siphoned almost all of the brown algae I could find. A really big patch of it that I could not get out last time was gone by itself. Dare I hope I have finally gotten ahead of this thing?
 
I did tests on the water before and after. 
 
Results before:
 
Ammonia 0ppm
Nitrite 0ppm
Nitrate 5mg/l (I have Sera brand Nitrate kit and its scale is mg/l and not ppm. Not sure how to convert it.)
PH 6.4
GH 8dgh
Phosphate 1ppm
 
Results after:
 
Ammonia 0ppm
Nitrite 0ppm
Nitrate 0mg/l
PH 7.4 !!!
GH 8dgh
Phosphate 0ppm
 
The change in PH definately has me concerned. I did the before test on the water that i siphoned out in the bucket so that might have something to do with. The fish are behaving normally. I may have to lower the amount of water I change because I know that a ph change that drastic is not good for the fish. I will test daily to monitor how this is lowering. 
 
I forgot to take a before pic but trust me, this looks tons better than it did before. 
 

 

[stanleo]

Have a couple of updates to report today. 
 
First I bought 3 bamboo shrimp that are just beautiful. Because these creatures need a current I have placed a small adjustable powerhead on the right side of the tank to wash over the rocks and driftwood over there so they have some place to feed. I have found them at different times over there feeding in the current. I got them from petco so i am sure they were starving. When I put them in they immediately starting the feeding behavior of picking at the substrate, a clear sign that they are starving. They are showing more natural behavior after being in the tank for a day. 
 
And some fantastic news. I believe adding the micronutrients and covering the two bulbs have done away with the nuisance algae, I have not noticed any new growth and the plants are shooting up new and healthy leaves all the time. I hope I am not jumping the gun by saying YIPEE!!!
 
I have also started my foreground planting project. I cut the top 6-8 inches of the moneywort (Bacopa monnieri) and cut those pieces done to 2 inch pieces and planted them in the foreground. I have been doing research and you can train this plant to be a carpeting plant by trimming the tops in the right light. They will start to spread over the surrounding area. I think it looks nice. 
 
Couple pics of the shrimp
 

 

 
Before pic of foreground planting 
 

 
Close up of the planting
 

 
Full tank after the planting
 

 
And this is just a good of the harlequins
 

 

[stanleo]

Oh and I had to change out my first CO2 canister today.

 

[Dandyman3]

Shrimpies! They grow quite big don't they bamboo ones?

 

[stanleo]

I love these guys! They seem to be dong well. I haven't noticed them picking at the substrate for food which should mean they are getting enough food from the current. I have also noticed that they seem to take turns in the current. I can tell. Because they are all a distinct shade of red and there are 2 females and one male. Males have thick from legs. Unfortunately the young need brackish water to survive so they may get berried but will not breed in freshwater.

Bamboo shrimp grow to about 3.5 inches for the males but smaller for the females and live for around five years.

I crushed algae wafers, shrimp pellets and fish flakes into a fine powder and mixed it with tank water and squirted some in the current to feed them. The fish REALLY liked it!

 

[Ninjouzata]

Bamboo shrimp are so nifty. Make sure you have a good fitting lid. Mine escaped The fish liked the food you crushed for them What'd the shrimp think of it?

 

[stanleo]

I think they liked it. They lick it of their fans right away. I lost a cory once because of a bad lid so I learned that lesson!

 

[stanleo]

I caught 2 of the bamboo shrimp in the current at the same time. It was nice to see that. I was getting worried that they wouldn't and one or two of them wouldn't get enough food. The other shrimp was in the back of the tank filtering near one of the filter intakes. I gave them a treat with the crushed up food I made for them. 
 

 
Here is a pic of the other one from yesterday. The two at the top are one male and one female and the pic at the bottom is the other female. See how different each of their colors are! When I got them. they were the same color. Nifty species. 
 

 
And this is just a close up of the angel I got today. 
 

 
I think it is a good sign of a healthy tank and fish that when ever I go to the tank or put my hand in, none of the fish scurry and hide. I think it means they are not stressed out and nervous.