Once Upon A Time At The Riverbank

[SuperColey1]

I've treated the tank with medicine, though I'm not sure how long the effects last in tanks. The worst I use is 1/2 dose of melefix or pimafix.

Melafix and Pimafix are natural. They don't require removing. the smell is a long effect . I made my own versions. Too expensive to buy the real thing. lol

AC

A quick update this month.

The Crypts are starting to grow well now. They don't look much bigger in the picture below but I can see there are more leaves. Mostly the larger Willisii and Undulata in the centre rear. The Undulata on the left is also bigger too.

The Fern in the right rear corner is not growing as fast as I expected it to and the little 'surprises' are still not visible yet

The Rasboras are great. I've been breeding Mosquito larvae in a bucket at the end of my garden and harvesting them weekly. The Rasboras go mental over them and go an intense almost red colour. I think they put their 'hunting' jackets on

This month will be a tester. I go to Portugal for 17 days on the 18th. :wave: TAP there and BA back this time. No more budget airlines :thumbup: After 4 years of misery with :silent:jet and :silent:baby I've decided they're not worth the hassle and they would've actually cost more too. :jawdrop

While I am away the CO2 will be off, no ferts will be added and the lights will be reduced to 2 series (0.44WPG.) shouldn't be a problem as this is a yearly occurrence. I am considering a condensation tray while I am away though as this tank loses a fair amount of water over a week. probably in the region of 6-8 litres!!! If I don't have something to remedy this I will come back to a tank that is about 2 inches lower than it normally is (below the lily pipe.) Not a problem to the fish or most of the plants but may mean the higher attached ferns and the tips of the rigid large fern would dry out.

Sorry about the dark pictures. I was playing about with ISO and EV and messed up here. lol

AC

 

[lljdma06]

Tank looks lovely, but can't you move the ferns that are too high, or did you glue them? Were you the one who was gluing ferns?

Good to know I picked the right medicines for my fish. I may try shrimps in the Dutch. The moss wall calls for it.

llj

 

[SuperColey1]

Llj - They are glued but easy to remove. I want them there though or the wood appears a little bare. I'm not one for mosses and such and I like Ferns so I will have to see how they go. lol

AC

 

[SuperColey1]

This post is entitled 'what a difference a day makes

I have been quite outspoken in the past r.e. black backgrounds and how clear /light backgrounds looked much better but when seeing Mark's (Saintly) latest photos I noticed that it looked amazing. To me the light was the thing that added the extra to it. From the pictures his lights looked to be giving the same appearance to the plants as mine so I thought I would try it out. Tell me what you think (Sorry I didn't wait for the fish to behave and the CO2 is still going and is half an hour after water change to boot )

No photoshop and no changes made. These are straight from the camera with EV @ -1.0, white balance on daylight fluorescent, no flash and timer on 2 seconds. After that I've just used MSPaint to put the black border on

Just to show you how I did the background to test. The black is a hairdressers 'poncho' that came with the clippers I use to do my 'crew cut' then it is pegged to the top of the tank and the wood lent against it to stop light shining through it. Finally teatowels are hung over the front to block the light from messing about with the camera

AC

 

[lljdma06]

I love irony.

llj

 

[SuperColey1]

Llj - I don't know what you mean (still haven't found a tongue in cheek emoticon)

I think the problem is (through no fault of anyone) that some scapes/plant combos suit different backgrounds.

My problem has always been either that:

1 - People have used black and it didn't suit the scape/plants used
2 - That the photos have made it look so dead and dull

What got me was that I saw Mark's (Saintly) latest scape and he is an excellent photographer. That allied with the lights looking pretty similar to mine made it all look totally different.

No fault of anyone else, just that most of us (including me) are not great photographers and lose a lot of the 'reality' from the scene. 2D if you like whereas someone who is good at both can capture the 3D rather than the 2D.

Definately opened my eyes and from now on I will have a much more open mind when deciding what background to use. Still don't like the gradient blue/white or solid blues though. The former looks too cheesy and the latter just doesn't do it for me.

I do like the different uses of lighting to achieve the look with clear backs though. I remember seeing a Felipe Oliveira scape where he used the lighting to portray a sunset sort of thing where it went from a purple/red at the top to yellows etc. Looked awesome. Similar to what Mark did with Autumn Blush.

AC

 

[Truck]

hi andy...the pics are looking good

how big have your rasboras espei grown?

i dont know whether to go for rasboras espei, or trigonostigma hengeli
i want the one which stays the smallest...ive heard that espei grows slightly better, i just wondered how big yours have grown

 

[SuperColey1]

They have grown but not much. I would say they are a similar size to your standard Neon or Cardinal

Hengali stay smaller I think but not so much colour. they just have a black nike swoosh with an orange border along the top.

AC

 

[lljdma06]

hi andy...the pics are looking good

how big have your rasboras espei grown?

i dont know whether to go for rasboras espei, or trigonostigma hengeli
i want the one which stays the smallest...ive heard that espei grows slightly better, i just wondered how big yours have grown

Sorry to hijack, Andy, but Truck, if you want a similar look but on a much smaller scale, I can suggest two options.

Boraras urophthalmoides
Boraras brigittae

Both exhibit similar behavior and color scheme to their trigonostigma cousins, including prime schooling when you're playing around with your tank, but come in a much, much smaller package, with both remaining under an inch in length.

Of the three main Trigonostigma species the hengeli remain the smallest. The heteromopha is the largest and the espei is in the middle. All three are fantastic fish and are almost the perfect fish for planted tanks. Small, attractive fish with not overly garish patterns, and very good schooling behavior. Good tank specimens do not look so far off from wild stock and they have interesting breeding habits as well. In older literature, you'll see them under the genus Rasbora, but have since been renamed Trigonostigma.

Back to the thread, I agree Andy, different backgrounds will suit different scapes. I am not a fan of very light backgrounds in certain circumstances, but you know why. I also agree on one other point, we really must go on a search for the tongue and cheek emoticon. The Rasberry is similar, but doesn't quite convey the same meaning.

llj

 

[Truck]

hi andy...the pics are looking good

how big have your rasboras espei grown?

i dont know whether to go for rasboras espei, or trigonostigma hengeli
i want the one which stays the smallest...ive heard that espei grows slightly better, i just wondered how big yours have grown

Sorry to hijack, Andy, but Truck, if you want a similar look but on a much smaller scale, I can suggest two options.

Boraras urophthalmoides
Boraras brigittae

Both exhibit similar behavior and color scheme to their trigonostigma cousins, including prime schooling when you're playing around with your tank, but come in a much, much smaller package, with both remaining under an inch in length.

Of the three main Trigonostigma species the hengeli remain the smallest. The heteromopha is the largest and the espei is in the middle. All three are fantastic fish and are almost the perfect fish for planted tanks. Small, attractive fish with not overly garish patterns, and very good schooling behavior. Good tank specimens do not look so far off from wild stock and they have interesting breeding habits as well. In older literature, you'll see them under the genus Rasbora, but have since been renamed Trigonostigma.

Back to the thread, I agree Andy, different backgrounds will suit different scapes. I am not a fan of very light backgrounds in certain circumstances, but you know why. I also agree on one other point, we really must go on a search for the tongue and cheek emoticon. The Rasberry is similar, but doesn't quite convey the same meaning.

llj

i do like the briggitte, i asked a few questions on them a few days back and people say they dont shoal very tightly

 

[lljdma06]

hi andy...the pics are looking good

how big have your rasboras espei grown?

i dont know whether to go for rasboras espei, or trigonostigma hengeli
i want the one which stays the smallest...ive heard that espei grows slightly better, i just wondered how big yours have grown

Sorry to hijack, Andy, but Truck, if you want a similar look but on a much smaller scale, I can suggest two options.

Boraras urophthalmoides
Boraras brigittae

Both exhibit similar behavior and color scheme to their trigonostigma cousins, including prime schooling when you're playing around with your tank, but come in a much, much smaller package, with both remaining under an inch in length.

Of the three main Trigonostigma species the hengeli remain the smallest. The heteromopha is the largest and the espei is in the middle. All three are fantastic fish and are almost the perfect fish for planted tanks. Small, attractive fish with not overly garish patterns, and very good schooling behavior. Good tank specimens do not look so far off from wild stock and they have interesting breeding habits as well. In older literature, you'll see them under the genus Rasbora, but have since been renamed Trigonostigma.

Back to the thread, I agree Andy, different backgrounds will suit different scapes. I am not a fan of very light backgrounds in certain circumstances, but you know why. I also agree on one other point, we really must go on a search for the tongue and cheek emoticon. The Rasberry is similar, but doesn't quite convey the same meaning.

llj

i do like the briggitte, i asked a few questions on them a few days back and people say they dont shoal very tightly

Most Boraras are more reclusive when kept with larger species. By themselves, they tend to shoal more and venture out. A great school size is at least 12 fish, more if you can manage it. Boraras merah, another species I've kept, I will admit, shoals better than the other two. Looks almost like brigittae. It's a fine line with rasboras. You make their environment too comfortable, most species won't shoal. Make the environment too uncomfortable, they won't come out at all. It's about finding a balance, IMO, and having the right numbers. Shoaling and schooling behavior is a defense mechanism. Predators find it much harder to single out a fish for prey, when they are in a tight, little traveling group. This is why they look so great when doing tank maintenance or when you are fiddling with your tank. To them, you are like a very giant predator.

 

[Truck]

hi andy...the pics are looking good

how big have your rasboras espei grown?

i dont know whether to go for rasboras espei, or trigonostigma hengeli
i want the one which stays the smallest...ive heard that espei grows slightly better, i just wondered how big yours have grown

Sorry to hijack, Andy, but Truck, if you want a similar look but on a much smaller scale, I can suggest two options.

Boraras urophthalmoides
Boraras brigittae

Both exhibit similar behavior and color scheme to their trigonostigma cousins, including prime schooling when you're playing around with your tank, but come in a much, much smaller package, with both remaining under an inch in length.

Of the three main Trigonostigma species the hengeli remain the smallest. The heteromopha is the largest and the espei is in the middle. All three are fantastic fish and are almost the perfect fish for planted tanks. Small, attractive fish with not overly garish patterns, and very good schooling behavior. Good tank specimens do not look so far off from wild stock and they have interesting breeding habits as well. In older literature, you'll see them under the genus Rasbora, but have since been renamed Trigonostigma.

Back to the thread, I agree Andy, different backgrounds will suit different scapes. I am not a fan of very light backgrounds in certain circumstances, but you know why. I also agree on one other point, we really must go on a search for the tongue and cheek emoticon. The Rasberry is similar, but doesn't quite convey the same meaning.

llj

i do like the briggitte, i asked a few questions on them a few days back and people say they dont shoal very tightly

Most Boraras are more reclusive when kept with larger species. By themselves, they tend to shoal more and venture out. A great school size is at least 12 fish, more if you can manage it. Boraras merah, another species I've kept, I will admit, shoals better than the other two. Looks almost like brigittae. It's a fine line with rasboras. You make their environment too comfortable, most species won't shoal. Make the environment too uncomfortable, they won't come out at all. It's about finding a balance, IMO, and having the right numbers. Shoaling and schooling behavior is a defense mechanism. Predators find it much harder to single out a fish for prey, when they are in a tight, little traveling group. This is why they look so great when doing tank maintenance or when you are fiddling with your tank. To them, you are like a very giant predator.

im going to go with hengeli...sorry for jacking your thread andy

 

[lljdma06]

im going to go with hengeli...sorry for jacking your thread andy

Hijack over. Andy has regained control.

 

[saintly]

im going to go with hengeli...sorry for jacking your thread andy

Hijack over. Andy has regained control.

not quite,Andy let me take an image or 2 of this tank. and it's a stunner!

just thought i'd share a couple of images from this setup with you all. Andy can do the rest.

now Andys got control...over to you mate!

 

[Geoff1991]

I love this tank...