Daize's Planted Photo Journal - 64L 1Wpg Low Light

[daizeUK]

I'd like some advice about arrangement.
 
I was hoping I could keep both the rocks and the new wood, because I like the nice triangle shape they make in the foreground (blue line below).  I felt it gave the tank a nice sense of depth.
 
But I don't think the rocks and the wood jive well so close together.  The right side looks a bit cluttered and unnatural to me.
 
If I take the rocks out then I'm left with the red line.
 

 
What would work best aesthetically?

 

[daizeUK]

A small(ish) update.  There is a new crypt amicorum which I think looks really nice next to the beckettii with its longer, slimmer leaves.  Nothing much else has changed except that you can see the vallis and the limnophila are melting away.  The elodea totally melted as well, it's completely gone.  The crypt balansae is melting too, I had to remove most of the leaves which had turned brown.  So not very good news overall really

 

 
I've been asking around for help with the melting and the consensus is that my plants are running out of CO2 because they must be getting too much light from the window.  So as of today I'm starting to dose some EasyCarbo and I'll see how that goes.  I'll start with a very low dose and gradually increase it to the recommended maximum one week at a time.
 
I'm not happy with the tank's location at all.  Apart from the plants melting I'm also getting lots of reflections off the curved glass which makes it hard to see inside.  To combat this I'd have to increase the lighting inside the tank which in turn could lead to more CO2 problems!  I'm trying to be patient and try one thing at a time and not rush into buying any new equipment just yet!
 
The piece of wood I bought has been soaking for 3-4 weeks now and is about ready to go in the tank but I'm having a problem sourcing a big anubias to put on it!  All they sell in the LFS are the little anubias nanas.  I wanted to buy this anubias heterophylla from aquaessentials but they've been out of stock for several weeks now, they even knocked down the price but didn't bother to restock it which is just frustrating!  Now I'm reading that A. heterophylla is fussier than other types of anubias so maybe I should try to find a good ol' A. barteri from somewhere instead!
 
More fry!!!  I bought five fish and now have eleven.  4x two week old and 2x seven week old, all from my red wagtail.  Here's a picture of mother, child and baby for size comparison:
 

 
There's also two sunset platies who have been in the quarantine tank for two weeks and I will transfer them to the main tank this weekend.  I think that pretty much maxes out my stocking.

 

[daizeUK]

So... since adding liquid CO2 I am now watching my algae pearling!  That's not good, right?

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Pearling is considered good - algae pearling can't be good though.
 
 
What algae is it? 
 
 
 
 
Btw, adding liquid carbon its normal for certain plants (like elodea, vallis, etc.) to melt from use.  I've heard (never tried) that you can add 1/3 dose for a week, then 2/3 dose for a week, then the full dose after that and the plants somehow build up a tolerance to it and then explode with growth.  Adding it a little at a time, I suppose, allows the plant to adjust to the new carbon levels.

 

[daizeUK]

I heard the same thing too and thought I'd try it.  The vallis and elodea were melting anyway so I don't see it can hurt.  They certainly aren't growing without it!
 
The algae is just diatoms, it grows on the rock and wood.  Can you see in that last picture I posted, one half of the rock is brown and the other half is grey/green?  I poured boiling water over the grey half to see what would happen, it killed off all the diatoms and they haven't come back yet.  The other half is happily pearling away

 

[daizeUK]

I released Spicy and Snazy (my two sunset girls) into the main tank today.  They settled in amazingly quickly, I thought they would hide for hours but they seem really happy to be with other fish and they were socialising and exploring within minutes!  They hated the quarantine tank quite frankly, they have been hiding in a corner non-stop for two weeks so I'm really pleased to see them in a happier place at last.
 
Now that the quarantine tank is empty I have plans to turn it into a fry holding tank.  Currently it's equipped with plastic rocks and plants and old white gravel.  I want to empty it and re-scape with aquarium sand, bogwood and live plants to make a nice fry home.
 
Then I had a brief look in the empty tank and saw a flash of colour... yup there's a week-old fry in the QT tank!   Spicy must have given birth without me noticing!

 

[eaglesaquarium]

That's the way it goes with livebearers!  Congrats.  

 

[daizeUK]

I'm really pleased with how well Spicy &Snazy have settled in.  They came straight up to me this morning to be fed along with the other fish and seem completely at home.  Such a difference from them hiding in the QT tank.  Perhaps they are picking up signals that the other fish are relaxed and happy so it makes them feel secure.  It makes me feel like I've succeeded in my goal to make a happy environment for fish
 
Even more fry this morning... Clarabel's first brood.  These ones are special because they're the first fry to be conceived as well as born in the tank.
 
I'd better get moving with that fry tank

 

[eaglesaquarium]

I think the plants go a long way towards that as well.

 

[daizeUK]

Updated tank shot.

 
The wood is finally in (after an eternity soaking, no tannins left in this sucker)!  It's decorated with anubias heterophylla, microsorium mini and Taiwan moss.  There's a new Trident java fern on the wooden arch and a few chladophora moss balls.  I'm still tweaking things gradually (there's a newborn batch of fry in the tank who tend to get eaten when I move things, so I'm taking it slow)!
 
There's also an additional T8 bulb installed at the back of the tank.  It brightens things up considerably but currently giving the plants a yellowish cast as I borrowed a standard T8 from our kitchen lighting!  I've ordered a daylight bulb which should hopefully look better.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

I wouldn't worry too much about the fry getting eaten.  I counted 4 juveniles in that tank and if the new batches don't get eaten you'll soon be overrun!!!

 

[daizeUK]

Ha yes, there are currently at least 12 youngsters ranging from newborn to 2cm!  I'd feel guilty if they get eaten due to my interference though!
I like having fry in the tank, it's fun to watch them exploring all the nooks and crannies!

 

[eaglesaquarium]

I fully understand that.  Everyone likes fry.  The only trouble is, lots of fry becomes lots of fish. 

 

[snazy]

With platies I've noticed, that the more you have, the less newborn fry survive as they are fairly good at finding them and eating them when they are still small.  I'd know that a platy has given birth when the adults go around like dogs sniffing and hunting in the substrate and plants. So there's a limit to which the population will multiply but that can still be an overstocked tank, depending on the tank.

 

[daizeUK]

I've deliberately understocked my tank with adult platies so that there is adequate room for the youngsters.  When they get bigger I will select which ones I want to keep and donate or sell the rest.  My local LFS has a dedicated 'lucky dip' tank for unwanted platy offspring so I have no worries
 
I may get a second tank to accommodate the fry while they grow up.  I've been investigating cories and whether they would make good permanent residents and tankmates for the platy fry.  Still thinking it over and negotiating with the boss   I think he is gradually being won over, the other night he actually sat and watched the fish with me until lights out!