60L Daisy's Ricefish Tank

[MattW]

After the design failures of my first attempt at a paludarium, I decided to return to the basics of a planted aquarium. The design was going to be a simple two-part aquascape. Heavily planted at the back with a retaining wall protecting the foreground. I originally had a scape planned using lava rock and spiderwood as the retaining wall. However, after finding some Scottish cobbles and older driftwood I had lying around I decided to go with them instead. The foreground consists of fine sand as a base layer with a fine gravel and pea pebble coating followed by the cobble wall (sounds like I'm presenting a dish at a fancy restaurant). I was unsure about the weight of the cobbles so I added an egg crate to disperse the weight evenly. All substrate was washed before being added as I've had issues with cloudy water previously (foreshadowing incoming). As for the background I went for the old faithful JBL Manado as the substrate included with Tetra Crypto as the plant food. The majority of the manado was from my old tank so beneficial bacteria was present instantly. I then filled up the tank and left it a day before planting.

Adding the plants only seemed to make things worse initially. I struggled with cloudy water for a few days even resorting to API Accu-clear at one point. At first, I assumed that disturbing the substrate from planting was the cause of the cloudiness. However, It may have been a beneficial bacteria die-off as the only inhabitants were some ramshorns who were being used as "guinea pigs" before adding any other stocking. All the plants were from established setups so a more than sufficient amount of BB was present for the small bioload of a few ramshorns. A few large water changes improved the clarity.

As for the plants here's the up-to-date list. Some have been removed and added since these pictures. Quite a bit of growing will also have to happen to see all the species

Flora ​

Alternanthera Reineckii
Anubias barteri var. nana
Anubias barteri caladiifolia
Bacopa Amplexicaulis
Bacopa Caroliniana
Bucephalandra biblis
Bucephalandra pygmea Bukit Kelam
Bolbitis heudelotii
Cryptocoryne nurii "Rose Maiden"
Hygrophila polysperma
Limnophila hippuridoides
Limnophila sessiliflora "Ambulia"
Ludwigia repens
Rotala rotundifolia H'ra
Rotala Nanjenshan
Schismatoglottis prietoi
Vallisneria spiralis Rubra

Fauna ​

5 x Oryzias woworae
1 x Zebra Nerite snail
+ Ramshorn Snail(s)

I let the tank sit for a couple of days before adding anything new. This now brings the tank up to its current state. I added in the 5 Daisys along with my aging zebra nerite snail today. After I added in the ricefish I added a whole 30ml bottle of API quick start to boost the BB colonies as a food source for the bacteria was now present. I've also added a cutting of a marble variety of Epipremnum to help with filtration. The filter sponge in the top left was also from an established tank which I'm leaving in for a week or two to help season the aquarium. It is also held into place by a trusty washing peg so hopefully, it will not come loose

As for what happens next I will monitor water quality with daily tests and do large WC's if needed. As for adding to the current stocking, there are a lot of choices to choose from which I've been looking at. I am currently considering adding to the ricefish numbers and just getting some low-grade neocaridina shrimp to see if I can finally get a colony going. I'll update in about a week or so

 

[WhistlingBadger]

That's a species I'd like to try. Nice looking setup so far.

 

[fishorama]

I like it! That's quite a few kinds of plants in there! Beware stem plants in a small tank, lol. I see lots of trimming in your future. With all those plants & few fish you shouldn't see much if any ammonia or nitrite...or nitrate either. It's almost like "silent cycling" & will be in a week or 2 when the plants take off.

 

[Jinx_]

I'm crying this is so beautiful

I WANT MORE TANKS RAAAHHHHH

 

[MattW]

That's a species I'd like to try. Nice looking setup so far.

They are a great fish to keep! I've not been very successful with breeding at the moment. If I were to intentionally breed them I think I'd have a load of babies right now. I've had one female with over 12 eggs attached at one point before.

I like it! That's quite a few kinds of plants in there! Beware stem plants in a small tank, lol. I see lots of trimming in your future. With all those plants & few fish you shouldn't see much if any ammonia or nitrite...or nitrate either. It's almost like "silent cycling" & will be in a week or 2 when the plants take off.

Thank you! Yep, I'm aware of how quickly stem plants can take over an aquarium You should see my 90L at the moment most stems are at the surface now. Yes, I'm hoping! Because of the smaller bioload any ammonia, nitrite, or nitrate levels should be low. I did put in a few root tabs for the stems so we'll see how well they do with that.

I'm crying this is so beautiful

I WANT MORE TANKS RAAAHHHHH

Thanks!! I do love the 60L cube aquariums which is what you have as well right? I really like your setup as well! I'm thinking of getting some shrimp to go in here. Managed to find an eBay seller selling some culls at £1 each which is the lowest price I've seen for shrimp atm. I'm trying to go for an overgrown look with the stems at the back so the fish have an area to retreat to if needed.

 

[Essjay]

I'm trying to go for an overgrown look with the stems at the back so the fish have an area to retreat to if needed.

Not to mention lots of plants to pull the eggs from a female as she swims through them and to give any fry somewhere to hide

 

[WhistlingBadger]

I always start my Walstad tanks with a ton of stem plants to serve as fast-growing ammonia sponges, then gradually eliminate them as they get leggy, I get tired of trimming, and the slower growers (I'm especially partial to crypts) start to take over.

 

[MattW]

Not to mention lots of plants to pull the eggs from a female as she swims through them and to give any fry somewhere to hide

Hadn't thought of that . I've been thinking of increasing the numbers. If I can't get any fry to survive I was thinking of adding 5 more daisy's. Would 10 be a decent group? My local Maidenhead seems to be the only place that I've recently been to that stocks them sadly.

I always start my Walstad tanks with a ton of stem plants to serve as fast-growing ammonia sponges, then gradually eliminate them as they get leggy, I get tired of trimming, and the slower growers (I'm especially partial to crypts) start to take over.

I wish I had added more quick growers when I started my 90L, could have shortened the length of time it took to add stocking. When it comes to Limnophila sessiliflora I don't "plant" it anymore. A simple lead plant weight is all I do now. Plus it allows me quick access to the bottom of the stems that I thin out every few weeks. I wish my crypts would spread more. The only one that seems to send runners for me is Parva and Undulatus

 

[Essjay]

If I can't get any fry to survive I was thinking of adding 5 more daisy's. Would 10 be a decent group?

Yes that would be good.

I was lucky, a local shop had them in when I bought them.

 

[MattW]

After a week of setup and monitoring water quality, I ran four days of liquid testing and observed no sudden increases in any water parameters. I added some neocaridina shrimp today from an eBay listing. Around 20 shrimp were added of varying sizes and colour. I did not want to go down the road of having "higher grade" neocaridina again after the problems I had with my 90L so I got culls instead for a lot cheaper price. On arrival, I had no DOA's and they were packaged very well with insulating plastic + bubble wrap and included moss in the bag they came in. I did around a 50-minute drip acclimation and even threw in an algae pellet to see it get swarmed instantly . They are settling in very well and have made use of all the hiding spots and caves in the cobble pile. A few shrimp at first were chased by the ricefish which I kind of expected since these fish have only ever been kept with Amano shrimp before so something new must = food? right??

I forgot to mention in my first post what equipment I am using so here it is (I have two filters running on this tank)

My internal filter is a DIY job. I simply superglued a canister filter inflow cover to the powerhead of one of my old Nicrew filters. I used a fluval edge pre-filter sponge as the main part of filtration which fits snugly onto the glued-on fitting. I then added a corase sponge which I made a hole in to reduce the outflow as my Ricefish don't prefer high flow. It does produce a decent amount of flow overall, which both shrimp and fish don't seem to mind, and is a great place for grazing for the shrimp.

My second filter is a simple sponge filter which I don't have running constantly. My schedule for this filter is as follows: 4am-4:30am 6am-6:30am 8am-9:30am 10:35am-11:50pm. I don’t run this filter constantly because it’s in a bedroom, and noise can be an issue. Its main advantages are oxygenating the water, especially in the hot months, and breaking up surface scum through agitation.

My heater is an AquaOne GH 50 which I've had for over 4 years now and still works perfectly fine. I do have a spare 25W heater if needed as well

A current picture of the tank

No plant die off yet thankfully. I did add some water lettuce just to help with excess nutrient problems if there is any that is . It's just a matter of time now for this tank to achieve the look I want. I will try to maintain weekly water changes where possible.

 

[Jinx_]

Little skrimps!

 

[MattW]

The tank appears to be doing well so far. The plants are healthy and growing rapidly. The Limnophila sessiliflora is almost at the water's surface, which is a positive sign. The Rotala and other stem plants are also showing new growth compared to when they were in the 90L. It seems that the ricefish have been spawning daily. I managed to rescue a single fry and egg. I've placed them in a heated plant storage container that I currently have set up. I've been feeding infusoria from a squeezed-out filter sponge. The shrimp have been doing better than expected. I've only had two deaths so far which is a lot better than what I had with my bloody marys in my 90L. The two deaths were some of the smallest shrimp I got so it's very difficult to tell whether it was a failed molt or something else. I’m considering transferring the last four RCS from my 90L to the 60L tank to give them a better chance to breed and possibly start a colony with the shrimp in this tank. I have also started to dose 5ml of API Leaf Zone now. I'm thinking 5ml every week or two should be enough but I will see with time.

 

[MattW]

Welp today is my tank maintenance day and I've just finished the 60L and moved onto the 90L when I spotted 5 RCS all ganged up at the front amongst the crypt parva in that tank. Long story short. All netted up, 1 hour of drip acclimation, and now they're in the 60L I also took one of the dead shrimp out and saw that it was a failed molt.. I really hope this doesn't become a common practice with these shrimp now.

 

[WhistlingBadger]

Welp today is my tank maintenance day and I've just finished the 60L and moved onto the 90L when I spotted 5 RCS all ganged up at the front amongst the crypt parva in that tank. Long story short. All netted up, 1 hour of drip acclimation, and now they're in the 60L I also took one of the dead shrimp out and saw that it was a failed molt.. I really hope this doesn't become a common practice with these shrimp now.
View attachment 353980

I bet they were just eating off the melted leaves that you often get with crypt in a newish tank. Personally I'd leave them be.

 

[MattW]

I bet they were just eating off the melted leaves that you often get with crypt in a newish tank. Personally I'd leave them be.

I am aware changes in the environment for shrimp can be stressful but I went from 20+ in the 90L to 5 within 5 months or so. It's obvious now that the 90L even after 9+ months since being set up wasn't an environment fit for neocaridina, unlike my amano's that are doing much better in that tank. I'd prefer to give them another chance in this 60L. Of course, there's a possibility my tap water in general could just not be suitable for them but with a new environment and tank, they may do better.
I am still learning about shrimp and their care, and I do welcome any advice or criticism .