i can see em...it looks better, be good to see when you get the other plants in. BTW are you running an air pump in there? If so you may want to turn it off as the o2 bubbles will drive the valuable Co2 a lot quicker.
First Planted Tank; 46 Gallon Bow-Front
- Thread starter Channti
- Start date
No air pump;
Just 3 filters
AC 70
AC 20
AquaTech 10-20
No CO2 in the tank.
The new driftwood has darkened up in colour and is looking very similar to the original piece I have in colour. Not many tannins released from it, so I'm thinking it was presoaked at the store.
Plants still haven't arrived. and I'm expecting them to be in rough shape when they show up (we've had some awfully hot temperatures.) If they're not here by wednesday, I'm calling the company.
Anubias plants in stores here are CRAZY priced. I'm tempted to just find something else to fall in love with, as most sellers on Aquabid will only ship to USA, and the ones that ship to Canada, one is in Thailand, and the other is who I ordered off of online.
What other options do I have for foreground plants?
I've heard that my cabomba will probably die when I try to trim it (it's apparently hard to keep alive for more than a month in a low-tech system). I'm thinking if that happens, I'm just going to replace it with some more of the Hygro I've got on the left side, as it's really taken off. I've had to trim it down twice as the filter current was catching the upper leaves and destroying the stalks. The regular hygro has taken off in the tank. The Wisteria is finally starting to take roots and grow a little. The Giant Hygro is still struggling a lot. I think I'm going to try moving it to my 5 gallon Betta tank that I recently put some CFL's on and see how it fares in gravel instead of sand.
The fish are doing really well, although my neons are starting to look a little sad (I think the Serpaes are nipping at them). The ick is almost gone, I raised the tank temperature to 90 degrees, and have been continuing to treat daily with 25% water changes.
I've been looking at buying some root tabs; But all are listed as putting into gravel. Does it matter if it's gravel or sand you put them into?
Once my Nutrafin PlantGro is gone, I'm going to switch to the Flourish stuff.
Just 3 filters
AC 70
AC 20
AquaTech 10-20
No CO2 in the tank.
The new driftwood has darkened up in colour and is looking very similar to the original piece I have in colour. Not many tannins released from it, so I'm thinking it was presoaked at the store.
Plants still haven't arrived. and I'm expecting them to be in rough shape when they show up (we've had some awfully hot temperatures.) If they're not here by wednesday, I'm calling the company.
Anubias plants in stores here are CRAZY priced. I'm tempted to just find something else to fall in love with, as most sellers on Aquabid will only ship to USA, and the ones that ship to Canada, one is in Thailand, and the other is who I ordered off of online.
What other options do I have for foreground plants?
I've heard that my cabomba will probably die when I try to trim it (it's apparently hard to keep alive for more than a month in a low-tech system). I'm thinking if that happens, I'm just going to replace it with some more of the Hygro I've got on the left side, as it's really taken off. I've had to trim it down twice as the filter current was catching the upper leaves and destroying the stalks. The regular hygro has taken off in the tank. The Wisteria is finally starting to take roots and grow a little. The Giant Hygro is still struggling a lot. I think I'm going to try moving it to my 5 gallon Betta tank that I recently put some CFL's on and see how it fares in gravel instead of sand.
The fish are doing really well, although my neons are starting to look a little sad (I think the Serpaes are nipping at them). The ick is almost gone, I raised the tank temperature to 90 degrees, and have been continuing to treat daily with 25% water changes.
I've been looking at buying some root tabs; But all are listed as putting into gravel. Does it matter if it's gravel or sand you put them into?
Once my Nutrafin PlantGro is gone, I'm going to switch to the Flourish stuff.
Biulu
Fish Aficionado
- Joined
- Jan 27, 2007
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- 3,329
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My substrate (Flore depot from Sera) had root tabs in it and I put this substrate under sand, so I guess it should be ok.
THEY ARRIVED!
The java fern, anubias and Crypt I ordered arrived today. For what was supposed to be a 6 leave portion of Java fern, I ended up with more than double that! And for only $5.00 too!.
The crypts came stripped of leaves as a root that you plant, and I'm hoping they'll sprout. The roots seemed fairly healthy on them considering they spent almost 2 weeks in an uninsulated bag on their way to me.
The anubias Nana wasn't what I was expecting, it looked healthy, but only 2 leaves were attached. The same goes for the Anubias Barteri "eyes". The Anubias Barteri "eyes" arrived brown and gooey, completely dead-on-arrival. I've contacted the company for a re-ship on both anubias as they did not arrive in the condition they were advertised in. The company guarantees alive arrival and customer satisfaction, so I expect they'll reship me the anubias once they receive my email.
I'm shocked at the condition of the Java fern though... it was well worth the money I paid for the Java Fern and both anubias just for the Java fern alone. I'll definitely be ordering off of them again. I trimmed my first plants today. Had to cut down the Cabomba. It's taken off in the tank and was almost at the surface. My Giant Hygro, though appearing to be dying off, proved to have sprouted healthy roots when I moved it to put the Java fern into place. Hoping it'll start to recover and shoot some new leaves soon. The regular Hygro has taken off in the tank and I've filled out the left side of the tank with it. The Wisteria is FINALLY starting to grow some new leaves, and I'm hoping it'll continue at this rate.
I lost one of my neons on Monday, found him in the filter intake strainer. Looks like he died from being weakened by the ick and then picked on by the Serpae Tetras and other neons (his fins were a mess). A real shame, but there wasn't much I could do. The tank is looking Ick-Free, but I plan to treat for a couple more days just in case. The tank definitely needs a back ground.... The yellow of the wall behind it is making the tank look disgusting. I'm thinking a piece of blue bristol board will work for now until I work out something different.
Here's an updated picture of the tank; Excuse the icky-coloured water. That's a combination of tannins from the new wood and ick medication. The colour should be gone in a few days once I get some carbon running in my filters.
*The crypt bulbs are planted between the tiny piece of driftwood in the center and the front glass to ensure they get light. The java fern is between the two pieces of driftwood, Giant hygro moved in front of the right driftwood, tiny piece of anubias I could salvage is on the right side of the tank on top of the driftwood.
My cockatiel needs to go to the vet, so the amout of money for fish stuffs for the next week or so is going to be severely limited(unless my parents pay for it). The bird needs his wings clipped, beak looked at, and his nails trimmed (because he refuses to sand them down himself). He adores the fish tank (though the water scares him) because if it's green and got leaves, he assumes that it's "Silas food". (lol).
The java fern, anubias and Crypt I ordered arrived today. For what was supposed to be a 6 leave portion of Java fern, I ended up with more than double that! And for only $5.00 too!.
The crypts came stripped of leaves as a root that you plant, and I'm hoping they'll sprout. The roots seemed fairly healthy on them considering they spent almost 2 weeks in an uninsulated bag on their way to me.
The anubias Nana wasn't what I was expecting, it looked healthy, but only 2 leaves were attached. The same goes for the Anubias Barteri "eyes". The Anubias Barteri "eyes" arrived brown and gooey, completely dead-on-arrival. I've contacted the company for a re-ship on both anubias as they did not arrive in the condition they were advertised in. The company guarantees alive arrival and customer satisfaction, so I expect they'll reship me the anubias once they receive my email.
I'm shocked at the condition of the Java fern though... it was well worth the money I paid for the Java Fern and both anubias just for the Java fern alone. I'll definitely be ordering off of them again. I trimmed my first plants today. Had to cut down the Cabomba. It's taken off in the tank and was almost at the surface. My Giant Hygro, though appearing to be dying off, proved to have sprouted healthy roots when I moved it to put the Java fern into place. Hoping it'll start to recover and shoot some new leaves soon. The regular Hygro has taken off in the tank and I've filled out the left side of the tank with it. The Wisteria is FINALLY starting to grow some new leaves, and I'm hoping it'll continue at this rate.
I lost one of my neons on Monday, found him in the filter intake strainer. Looks like he died from being weakened by the ick and then picked on by the Serpae Tetras and other neons (his fins were a mess). A real shame, but there wasn't much I could do. The tank is looking Ick-Free, but I plan to treat for a couple more days just in case. The tank definitely needs a back ground.... The yellow of the wall behind it is making the tank look disgusting. I'm thinking a piece of blue bristol board will work for now until I work out something different.
Here's an updated picture of the tank; Excuse the icky-coloured water. That's a combination of tannins from the new wood and ick medication. The colour should be gone in a few days once I get some carbon running in my filters.
*The crypt bulbs are planted between the tiny piece of driftwood in the center and the front glass to ensure they get light. The java fern is between the two pieces of driftwood, Giant hygro moved in front of the right driftwood, tiny piece of anubias I could salvage is on the right side of the tank on top of the driftwood.
My cockatiel needs to go to the vet, so the amout of money for fish stuffs for the next week or so is going to be severely limited(unless my parents pay for it). The bird needs his wings clipped, beak looked at, and his nails trimmed (because he refuses to sand them down himself). He adores the fish tank (though the water scares him) because if it's green and got leaves, he assumes that it's "Silas food". (lol).
the java fern needs to be attatched to something as the rhizome will rot in the substrate.
They're just kind of "there" for now. I've gotta dig out the plant weights so that I can sit them in the driftwood. I was told if I weighted them down on top of the sand, they would root into my sand too over time. Not all of them are staying in that tank (because I was sent so many, I'm going to take some to my betta tank too).
I just needed them out of the bag that they arrived in.
I just needed them out of the bag that they arrived in.
the wood on the right would look good with the java attatched to it.
I'm going to have to crack out some fishing line; the plant weights aren't enough to hold the plant in place. The wood on the right was going to house my Anubias (which should be replaced by the company soon. I'm thinking all of the Java fern is going to move to my betta tank, I'm not sure that I like it in the 46 gallon..
Biulu
Fish Aficionado
- Joined
- Jan 27, 2007
- Messages
- 3,329
- Reaction score
- 2
I have used a black plastic waste bag for my background and am very satisfied with it. I cut it at the right size and attached it with tape to my tank. It is waterproof and I can change or remove it any moment I like.
I've got black backgrounds on my other tanks, and while they're great, I find them too dark. Maybe a blue "recycling" bag over a white piece of bristol board would work.. I'll get creative and work out something.....
Update:
The Java fern has all been removed from the tank; I didn't like the look of it in the 46 gallon. It's all been moved to my betta tank.
I emailed the company I got the plants from last night about the one dead and one damaged anubias yesterday around 3pm. Within 12 hours, I had a response to my email telling me that they were going to re-ship the anubias. I'm quite impressed with their customer service. Normally it's a fight to get any company to replace an unsatisfactory product; they had no problem whatsoever in replacing the plants. I'll definitely be ordering off of them again.
The Java fern has all been removed from the tank; I didn't like the look of it in the 46 gallon. It's all been moved to my betta tank.
I emailed the company I got the plants from last night about the one dead and one damaged anubias yesterday around 3pm. Within 12 hours, I had a response to my email telling me that they were going to re-ship the anubias. I'm quite impressed with their customer service. Normally it's a fight to get any company to replace an unsatisfactory product; they had no problem whatsoever in replacing the plants. I'll definitely be ordering off of them again.
Biulu
Fish Aficionado
- Joined
- Jan 27, 2007
- Messages
- 3,329
- Reaction score
- 2
Personally I find that they offset the green plants really nicely. Another advantage is that I have white pearl angels, and they look simply stunning against the black background! But I can see where you are coming from, and yes blue might be a good option...
Update:
New pix later this week (when I'm not half-exhausted). I've got a chest infection (apparently brought on by allergies), so I'm avoiding going out as much as possible (the humidity makes breathing difficult), so there'll be no new plants or fish for a week or so.
Noticed today that my corys are always hiding... totally out of character for the pandas. On closer inspection I noted some MASSIVE chunks missing from the dorsal fins of a few. I believe this is from the serpae tetras. The Oto's are also showing a couple small tears/rips in their fins. I'm planning to remove the 4 otos and 5 remaining corys and put them into my 10 gallon for the next couple months on Thursday most likely. Not the best solution for them, but it will work for 2 months until I get the 15 gallon future betta sorority set up at school.
Since the last update, I've gotten rid of the Ick entirely in the tank and the Anubias nana that was half-alive when it arrived has died (not enough healthy leaves on it... it's being replaced). Two neons died and a corydora died. I believe this was due to a nitrate spike (caused by a couple decaying Hygro stalks that I didn't notice hidden in the back of the tank behind the driftwood). The spike was corrected with a large water change and I've been monitoring Nitrates and Ammonia closely ever since. The dalmation molly passed away a few hours ago due to natural causes. Her growth was heavily stunted, and her body had been swelling slightly over the past few weeks. I assumed she was just bloated from eating too much (as she used to get greedy and do that before). She showed signs of weakness about an hour before she was dead.
I'm looking to add some Zebra Striata loaches to the tank to replace the corys. I'm thinking a school of six-eight? Will ask in the loach section regarding a school size for the tank size.
With the Oto's showing signs of being picked on, it'll also mean that I'm going to be in the market for a good algae-eating plec (but also a pretty plec!). I plan to post over on their board too to see what is suggested.
The tropica crypts that I ordered in (that came in the bulbs with no leaves) sprouted leaves within 24 hours, and are looking really healthy and showing lots of growth. They'll look gorgeous once they grow in. They're going to go between the two pieces of driftwood in front of the cabomba.
That about covers everything!
New pix later this week (when I'm not half-exhausted). I've got a chest infection (apparently brought on by allergies), so I'm avoiding going out as much as possible (the humidity makes breathing difficult), so there'll be no new plants or fish for a week or so.
Noticed today that my corys are always hiding... totally out of character for the pandas. On closer inspection I noted some MASSIVE chunks missing from the dorsal fins of a few. I believe this is from the serpae tetras. The Oto's are also showing a couple small tears/rips in their fins. I'm planning to remove the 4 otos and 5 remaining corys and put them into my 10 gallon for the next couple months on Thursday most likely. Not the best solution for them, but it will work for 2 months until I get the 15 gallon future betta sorority set up at school.
Since the last update, I've gotten rid of the Ick entirely in the tank and the Anubias nana that was half-alive when it arrived has died (not enough healthy leaves on it... it's being replaced). Two neons died and a corydora died. I believe this was due to a nitrate spike (caused by a couple decaying Hygro stalks that I didn't notice hidden in the back of the tank behind the driftwood). The spike was corrected with a large water change and I've been monitoring Nitrates and Ammonia closely ever since. The dalmation molly passed away a few hours ago due to natural causes. Her growth was heavily stunted, and her body had been swelling slightly over the past few weeks. I assumed she was just bloated from eating too much (as she used to get greedy and do that before). She showed signs of weakness about an hour before she was dead.
I'm looking to add some Zebra Striata loaches to the tank to replace the corys. I'm thinking a school of six-eight? Will ask in the loach section regarding a school size for the tank size.
With the Oto's showing signs of being picked on, it'll also mean that I'm going to be in the market for a good algae-eating plec (but also a pretty plec!). I plan to post over on their board too to see what is suggested.
The tropica crypts that I ordered in (that came in the bulbs with no leaves) sprouted leaves within 24 hours, and are looking really healthy and showing lots of growth. They'll look gorgeous once they grow in. They're going to go between the two pieces of driftwood in front of the cabomba.
That about covers everything!
So my Cabomba started dying off slowly over the past couple days. I was expecting it to.... Last night I lost my temper with it. Arms went into the tank, and 20 minutes later, any trace of Cabomba in the tank had been ripped out and thrown out. I've thrown in 3 silk plants and a plastic plant just to give the loaches and the neons some cover from the Serpaes until I can expand their school. They're fairly aggressive at the moment. I think the Wisteria is going to have to go too... It grows great, and then once it reaches about 10" tall or so, the stalk starts rotting.
The reshipment of Anubias arrived yesterday, dead. I called the company and they gave me a full refund on them. I'm going to order some more crypts from them instead and then just bite the bullet and pay 3x what they charged at a local store for some anubias.
The Tropica Crypts are about an inch tall, each with 3-5 leaves. Looking very healthy.
I've been looking at other plants that the company stocks (as anything that is shipped without leaves (like crypts) or things that ship flat (like java fern) ship fine), and the following caught my attention:
-Cryptocoryne balansae
-Cryptocoryne lucens
-Cryptocoryne spiralis
-echinodorus horemanii red
-echinodorus uruguayensis
-aponogeton capuronii
Planning to do a bit of research into the requirements of these plants (light and fertilization wise mainly) and probably end up making another order off the company in a week or two. If anyone has any info they can provide though, I'd greatly appreciate it.
I removed the otocinclus and the corys from the 46 gallon due to Serpaes nipping at them. After consulting the Loach forum here, I decided on yoyo loaches as they're supposed to be more "semi-aggressive" than the zebra striatas and therefore less likely to be picked on by my unusually aggressive serpaes. I added 3 yoyo loaches (and have another three I'm picking up next friday).
One of the yoyos has been nicknamed "G-Ray" after the Green Moray Eel. I saw one of these in an public aquarium down in Florida last year. It spent most of the day hiding in a rock, poking it's head out of the holes. G-Ray found a hole in the piece of driftwood on the right that apparently has a big enough hollow spot in it that he can fit his entire body in it. As I was feeding the fish (4 shrimp pellets and some flake yesterday), G-Ray poked his head out of the hole in the wood just far enough to grab a shrimp pellet, and then disappeared again!. He reminded me so much of the Green Moray Eel that I had to name him. The loaches are all about 2-2.5" long.
I'm planning to hit up the pet store on Thursday (fish day) to get another 5-6 serpae tetras to try to decrease the aggression in my group.
Stocking-Plan-In-Progress:
6 Angelfish (until 2 pair off, then rehome 4)
12-13 Serpae Tetras (already have 7)
6 yoyo loaches
1 pleco-as-of-yet-to-be-decided
The only thing I'm missing from my stocking is a top-dweller of some description. Originally I had thought about Hatchets, but have been told that they are incompatible with Angelfish. I was recommended killifish, but personally, I find them either ugly or very expensive. What else would work as a top-dweller in this tank?.
And now; The pix!
The loaches are surprisingly not shy. They're constantly out and swimming around, playing in the filter current, dashing between plant leaves, searching for new caves in the driftwood (they've found more holes in my driftwood than I thought existed!), etc. Last night after lights out, they were all over the tank, and this morning they've continued to be out despite lights being back on.
The reshipment of Anubias arrived yesterday, dead. I called the company and they gave me a full refund on them. I'm going to order some more crypts from them instead and then just bite the bullet and pay 3x what they charged at a local store for some anubias.
The Tropica Crypts are about an inch tall, each with 3-5 leaves. Looking very healthy.
I've been looking at other plants that the company stocks (as anything that is shipped without leaves (like crypts) or things that ship flat (like java fern) ship fine), and the following caught my attention:
-Cryptocoryne balansae
-Cryptocoryne lucens
-Cryptocoryne spiralis
-echinodorus horemanii red
-echinodorus uruguayensis
-aponogeton capuronii
Planning to do a bit of research into the requirements of these plants (light and fertilization wise mainly) and probably end up making another order off the company in a week or two. If anyone has any info they can provide though, I'd greatly appreciate it.
I removed the otocinclus and the corys from the 46 gallon due to Serpaes nipping at them. After consulting the Loach forum here, I decided on yoyo loaches as they're supposed to be more "semi-aggressive" than the zebra striatas and therefore less likely to be picked on by my unusually aggressive serpaes. I added 3 yoyo loaches (and have another three I'm picking up next friday).
One of the yoyos has been nicknamed "G-Ray" after the Green Moray Eel. I saw one of these in an public aquarium down in Florida last year. It spent most of the day hiding in a rock, poking it's head out of the holes. G-Ray found a hole in the piece of driftwood on the right that apparently has a big enough hollow spot in it that he can fit his entire body in it. As I was feeding the fish (4 shrimp pellets and some flake yesterday), G-Ray poked his head out of the hole in the wood just far enough to grab a shrimp pellet, and then disappeared again!. He reminded me so much of the Green Moray Eel that I had to name him. The loaches are all about 2-2.5" long.
I'm planning to hit up the pet store on Thursday (fish day) to get another 5-6 serpae tetras to try to decrease the aggression in my group.
Stocking-Plan-In-Progress:
6 Angelfish (until 2 pair off, then rehome 4)
12-13 Serpae Tetras (already have 7)
6 yoyo loaches
1 pleco-as-of-yet-to-be-decided
The only thing I'm missing from my stocking is a top-dweller of some description. Originally I had thought about Hatchets, but have been told that they are incompatible with Angelfish. I was recommended killifish, but personally, I find them either ugly or very expensive. What else would work as a top-dweller in this tank?.
And now; The pix!
The loaches are surprisingly not shy. They're constantly out and swimming around, playing in the filter current, dashing between plant leaves, searching for new caves in the driftwood (they've found more holes in my driftwood than I thought existed!), etc. Last night after lights out, they were all over the tank, and this morning they've continued to be out despite lights being back on.
So; we had an ick breakout.
The loaches contracted it. I expect it was from their slime coats being damaged in the bags on the way home, and then residual Ick from my last breakout.
I treated the tank, and now we're all clear of disease.
The tank stocking is now:
12 serpae tetras. I had 13, but I lost one the day after adding the new ones. These guys are a fair size and eat a ton. It's nice to see some true schooling behaviour in the tank, and the frenzy of feeding time. The serpaes have finally worked out their pecking order, the alpha male taking on the most striking and gorgeous colouring, with all other fish deferring to him. An few nipped fins can be seen throughout the school, but I'm expecting that this was just their squabbling over who would be alpha and the nips are starting to heal.
1 neon tetra. This lone little fella is left over from my 15 gallon stocking that originally stocked this tank. He's going to be moving to my 10 gallon tank this afternoon. I will not be adding any more neons in with him as he's much too large to accept the tiny little things the pet stores are selling as family. He's quite content on his own, even if it's not idea. I've named him Survivor Sid.
6 juvenille angel fish. These guys have bodies the size of quarters, a toonie max. They're tiny. All 6 are white, and gorgeous. Pictures to come. Bought them about 15 minutes ago, so they're floating in the tank in the bag at the moment. Once they pair off, I plan to sell the angels back to my LFS for store credit (and obviously they'll be larger then, and worth more than I paid for them!).
4 yoyo loaches. I'd like to add another two, but I can't find them at a decent price. I'm hitting another pet store on Monday a couple hours from home, hoping they'll have some more so I can grab another pair to complete my school. The ones I have are fattening up nicely.
As for feeding; we're getting:
-flake food
-algae tabs (Wardley)
-shrimp pellets (Aquarian)
-occasional blanched zuchinni/cucumber slices
I think I've destroyed my snail population. I haven't seen another shell or snail in about a week, and I've been looking. Unless the loaches are stockpiling them in the hollow driftwood that I can't get into, I think they're gone.
----------------------------------------------
I finally invested in a Python. Best money I've ever spent. Box arrived this morning; less than 1 day shipping from www.bigalsonline.ca. Great company to deal with!. Cracked it out this afternoon to test it out. Worked great, though the 50' was a little too long, and the 25' a little too short. I plan to cut the hose a little shorter if possible.
On monday I'm going to be looking for:
-the pleco (no idea on this... I'll see what they have in stock and take my laptop to research)
-the top dweller: 2 african butterflyfish. Going to attempt to get a male and female. Been reading on how to sex them. I think I can do it.
-loaches: 2 more yoyos of about the same size as the ones I have to complete my group
-plants: anubias nana, amazon sword to cover the background... i'm fine with having to chop it down to size, contortion or corckscrew vals, anything else that looks pretty.
------->Once i get the top dweller, the pleco, and the last couple loaches, the tank is done for fish stocking.<-----
The hygrophila polysperma is starting to irritate me in the tank. As is the Wisteria. Both are slowly being relocated to a second tank I've started planting (my 5 gallon). I'll find something I like in the tank eventually.
I'm thinking I'm going to place another order with Aquatic Magic for some more crypts and stuff if Monday proves to be too expensive for plants at the pet store. I know the stuff from Aquatic Magic was good, and it was really cheap too... it just takes a while to grow out.
I'll post some pictures of the new additions later tonight. The tank physically hasn't changed since the last update though as I haven't been able to get my hands on new plants.
The loaches contracted it. I expect it was from their slime coats being damaged in the bags on the way home, and then residual Ick from my last breakout.
I treated the tank, and now we're all clear of disease.
The tank stocking is now:
12 serpae tetras. I had 13, but I lost one the day after adding the new ones. These guys are a fair size and eat a ton. It's nice to see some true schooling behaviour in the tank, and the frenzy of feeding time. The serpaes have finally worked out their pecking order, the alpha male taking on the most striking and gorgeous colouring, with all other fish deferring to him. An few nipped fins can be seen throughout the school, but I'm expecting that this was just their squabbling over who would be alpha and the nips are starting to heal.
1 neon tetra. This lone little fella is left over from my 15 gallon stocking that originally stocked this tank. He's going to be moving to my 10 gallon tank this afternoon. I will not be adding any more neons in with him as he's much too large to accept the tiny little things the pet stores are selling as family. He's quite content on his own, even if it's not idea. I've named him Survivor Sid.
6 juvenille angel fish. These guys have bodies the size of quarters, a toonie max. They're tiny. All 6 are white, and gorgeous. Pictures to come. Bought them about 15 minutes ago, so they're floating in the tank in the bag at the moment. Once they pair off, I plan to sell the angels back to my LFS for store credit (and obviously they'll be larger then, and worth more than I paid for them!).
4 yoyo loaches. I'd like to add another two, but I can't find them at a decent price. I'm hitting another pet store on Monday a couple hours from home, hoping they'll have some more so I can grab another pair to complete my school. The ones I have are fattening up nicely.
As for feeding; we're getting:
-flake food
-algae tabs (Wardley)
-shrimp pellets (Aquarian)
-occasional blanched zuchinni/cucumber slices
I think I've destroyed my snail population. I haven't seen another shell or snail in about a week, and I've been looking. Unless the loaches are stockpiling them in the hollow driftwood that I can't get into, I think they're gone.
----------------------------------------------
I finally invested in a Python. Best money I've ever spent. Box arrived this morning; less than 1 day shipping from www.bigalsonline.ca. Great company to deal with!. Cracked it out this afternoon to test it out. Worked great, though the 50' was a little too long, and the 25' a little too short. I plan to cut the hose a little shorter if possible.
On monday I'm going to be looking for:
-the pleco (no idea on this... I'll see what they have in stock and take my laptop to research)
-the top dweller: 2 african butterflyfish. Going to attempt to get a male and female. Been reading on how to sex them. I think I can do it.
-loaches: 2 more yoyos of about the same size as the ones I have to complete my group
-plants: anubias nana, amazon sword to cover the background... i'm fine with having to chop it down to size, contortion or corckscrew vals, anything else that looks pretty.
------->Once i get the top dweller, the pleco, and the last couple loaches, the tank is done for fish stocking.<-----
The hygrophila polysperma is starting to irritate me in the tank. As is the Wisteria. Both are slowly being relocated to a second tank I've started planting (my 5 gallon). I'll find something I like in the tank eventually.
I'm thinking I'm going to place another order with Aquatic Magic for some more crypts and stuff if Monday proves to be too expensive for plants at the pet store. I know the stuff from Aquatic Magic was good, and it was really cheap too... it just takes a while to grow out.
I'll post some pictures of the new additions later tonight. The tank physically hasn't changed since the last update though as I haven't been able to get my hands on new plants.
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