Beginnings Of A Jungle

[NathanPrince]

Thanks very much, it's not so stunning now because my bn plecos have uprooted all my pogotstemon lol. Also got a bit of a melt here and there but it's picking up again now.

Very easily achieved though everything in there is undemanding and just a very basic dosing regime

Cheers

 

[NathanPrince]

Seems my plecos dont like pogostemon Came home from work yesterday to a tank full of floating Helferi, so I took out everything that was loose and set about finding a replacement today.
 
Heres what I went for:
 
Bit out of focus but its Staurogyne Repens, picked up a few pots from my local MA
 

 
FTS, really can see how much Pogostemon I took out too, cant see the rest staying much longer either its hanging by the very tip of its roots, trebled in size since I've had it though and has been reused in a new tank.. more on that later
 

 
Can also see how much the Red Root Floaters has spread too, seems to of all bunched up in one corner though so need to mess around with my spraybar again, want to lower it down an inch or two but cant find a suitable piece of pipe to do so
 
 
 
 
Anyways as I said earlier, the pogostemon, that got moved to this little guys new home, I reserved him last week from my LFS and picked him up today whilst doing my rounds
 

 
Hes an Amazon Puffer/Bumblebee Puffer. Great little character and apparently the most placid of puffers, still only got the one though and hes on his own for now until I can either find him some suitable tankmates or add him to another tank of mine.
 
His new home:
 

 
All the Pogo went into here along with a pot of staurogyne I had left over (got loads to get rid off too, think I got carried away!)
 

 

 

 
 
Lots done today but had fun doing it!
 
Cheers

 

[greenmumma141]

Eek! Love the new puffer, he's pretty cute! I'm always tempted when I see them in my lfs, they're so funny.  Sometimes the only way I can keep my cories and bns from uprooting plants is to start them in my 10g and wait for their roots to get nice and long, then I move them to my 60g. I've actually had pretty good success with this method. Silly bns....

 

[NathanPrince]

Yeah he's brilliant, need some nice tall plants for him to swim through and as a bit of a hide for him, seems quite shy at the moment and sticking to the back wall of the tank, readily taking bloodworms though so Aslong as he's eating for now I don't mind

I was thinking of doing that but the only problem with pogostemon is how delicate it is, even in the small tank there's bits of it coming off all over the place and the slightest touch of it and it breaks up and goes everywhere lol. Hoping the staurogyne carpets the front of the tank as it seems a lot more robust already even freshly cut and planted with no root systems at all


Cheers

 

[NathanPrince]

Today consisted of fishing out more floating pogostemon bits, atleast another golf ball sized clump. Only so long before I rip the lot out and get something else
 
Alternanthera Reineckii mini looks like a worthy replacement, just wondering if I could keep it that nice deep red colour... probably not
 
 
In more positive news, whilst trimming some dead Ozelot and Aponogeton (this just looks knackered tbh!) leaves out I saw how much my Fissidens is growing. LOOOOADS of nice healthy green looking tufts appearing all over my wood. Few weeks and I should have some nice green moss, not the dead brown crap hanging around everywhere lol
 
 
Cheers!

 

[Blondielovesfish]

Love the puffer! He is so cute!!!
 
Tank looks nice with the new plants!

 

[NathanPrince]

Thanks very much, hes spoilt though, needs to be fed by hand daily or he wont eat
 
Plants are settling in nicely and growing really well, will get a few updated pictures if I'm ever home before lights out!
 
 
Cheers