Wise's Burton Dasset

[Verminator89]

Right, less talk and more pictures in this one. I'll let the pictures do the talking. They do say a picture is worth a thousand words right...


Left Side

Right Side

Already on the Downoi i've noticed pearling, with O2 bubbles shooting from the plants to the surface all over the tank, so i'm on the right track again.

Back Right

The stem plants that'll grow up and over the wood in the rear corner much like they did on the opposite side before i rescape it.

An Idea...

I once saw a picture on another forum from a guy who could never grow HC successfully. The only place he could grow it was on a piece of wood protruding from the water surface. Around this area it was damp enough for the HC to grow emmersed. So i thought i'd try something similar under water with mine. So this is my experiment to see how it grows - on wood.

Fingers Crossed!


The Inhabitants

Cherry Shrimp

Pond Snails, which i actually don't mind having there

Ofcourse there are also 12 or so Sunset Platy fry which have been dumped in here from birth and left to see how they do. They love attention and so there in alot of the pics


Ooh, i nearly forgot...my beloved diffuser spurting out CO2 all around my tank. Distribution is good so far. I'll see how it changes as the plants fill in. You'd be mistaken for thinking my water is full of particles floating around. Its not, thats the CO2 swirling around the tank!

Comments and critique welcome.

looks nice mate, it'll look even better when grown up. Nice wood positioning, really good. Remember to keep this one up to date lol.

Pity you couldn't get an external for it.

Yes this one will be updated fortnightly in the very least hopefully. I actually have a Fluval 205 which is normally running on this tank. That shi**y internal is only temporary untill i get the 205 back. Which is currently at the gf's helping kickstart a new filter running on my Rio 300 over hers Hoping to get an external heater also to attatch to the piping for the 205 in the future potentially.

 

[ian]

That HC idea is a good one, i glued some to a rock once and it grew really well. Much better than the substrate infact. The C02 will soon get rid of the GSA on the anubias leaves. Can't wait to see the HC get going. I'll have some of those shrimp off you as well when they breed

 

[Verminator89]

The GSA on the leaves i can cope with to an extent, its the BBA i hope the CO2 eradicates

The HC lawn is what i'm really hoping for. It started initially creeping quite quickly when i started the tank in October, so fingers crossed it takes off again this time...and actually continues untill i have a mat, not just a patch here and there

 

[lljdma06]

You can grow HC on wood and rocks. The root system is small enough that crevices in both are sufficient. It's also a stemplant, so the roots serve mainly as anchorage. I don't see any reason why it wouldn't work, especially if it's at a location where it'll get good nutrients and CO2.

 

[Verminator89]

Well where they are placed they are right in the swirling current from my tacky internal, so once the external is back on the go on here it'll be super cicrculated. Fert dosing is 30ml weekly after W/C, consisting of EI mixture. Also dose 5ml of Easylife Profito as macro. I'm confident of it taking hold and thriving

 

[Biulu]

I just discovered this new set-up and I love it! I know you don't call it iwagumi anymore, but this is the kind of 'landscape' scape that I like. Let us know how the p. helferi is doing; I have not been able to grow this plant unfortunately.

 

[Verminator89]

Will keep all plant growth updated. It's a week tommorow since the tank was planted, and there hasnt been much change as of yet. It's going to take a little longer for it to take off, probably due to the plants being 'dormant' and neglected for so long previously. There are some noticeable new leaves on the Echi Quadricostatus at the rear, and both the Wendtii's seem to have a new leaf sprouting from within. The HC has the odd fresh vibrant green leaf down inbetween the gravel, so given time this is going to spread up/over and around the tank. The one plantlet of Cryptocoryne Parva has the most notable growth, 4 new leaves fully formed already!

Well today i took a trip down to Northampton to visit the 2 Maidenhead Aquatic centres there. The first of the two i went to i met a lovely employee who i got talking to whilst she netted me some fish, whilst chatting we got onto the subject of fish forums and discovered were both members on here. So thank you Stang1 for a friendly and pleasant trip to your branch of MA. I went with the intention of getting 11 or so Harlequin Rasbora. However, once i got there i noticed these little yellow Gourami's in a tank. Never seen them before, but they were absolutely adoreable. Upon seeing them i remembered reading in Ianho's journal that he swapped his stocking and got some red or honey Gourami's. Well i fell in love with his, and once i set eyes on these little cuties i was sold. So i've brought home today 5 little Yellow Dwarf Honey Gourami's. Supposedly maximum size is 5cm, so they are perfect. I'll get pictures up once they have fully settled into their new home. They seem a little timid currently but are shoaling really well which is pleasing. Thanks again Angie

The previous residents have re-joined their mother in the 63G with my Jacks. Never seen platy fry stick together so tightly in a tank full of cichlids They're fine though.

 

[Verminator89]

Update for 1 weeks growth. Nothing major as of yet. Although the platy fry have been removed and i now have 5 DwarfHoney Yellow Gouramis 4 females and 1 male.


Week 2

Yellow Dwarf Honey Gouramis

I had another idea similar to that of my HC on the wood theory. I saw a stem of Downoi floating around that had come loose, and saw a small hole in the wood that was perfectly 'stem' shaped alongside that piece of HC i placed between the wood. So i snipped the bottom leaves of the Downoi stem and inserted it down the wooden hole. Hopefully it'll grow on the wood. Do you think?

Some pictures of it, with one of my female Gourami's investigating nearby...

I'm loving these Gourami's, thank-you Ianho for the inspiration Next update on week 3 (next wednesday)

 

[Carlovel1]

Beautiful Yellow Honey Gouramis James

 

[Biulu]

Great pictures of the honey gouramis! Lovely fish. I would love to have those, but they are only selling dwarfs here.... I notice that the difference between male and females is not as apparent as with the dwarfs. The females are much more coloured than you would expect them to be!

 

[Verminator89]

These are dwarfs also Biulu, so they may be available your side of the pond. They only grow to 5cm supposedly, which is fantastic. Once i get a group of oto's this tank will be set .

Yes the colouration threw me off. I asked for 4 females and 1 male and she netted 4 with the stripe. I assumed they were males How wrong i was, the males have orange tails, with females having the banding through the centre. They are beautifull, and they shoal so well. Very inquisitive, yet a little shy at the same time...

 

[Biulu]

Dwarf and honey gouramis are 2 different species. Dwarfs (colisa lalia) and honey (colisa chuna). Although both stay relatively small, there is a big difference in temperament. Dwarfs are much more agressive than honeys. I am surprised they shoal though.... NOrmally they establish territories.

 

[Carlovel1]

These are dwarfs also Biulu, so they may be available your side of the pond. They only grow to 5cm supposedly, which is fantastic. Once i get a group of oto's this tank will be set .

Yes the colouration threw me off. I asked for 4 females and 1 male and she netted 4 with the stripe. I assumed they were males How wrong i was, the males have orange tails, with females having the banding through the centre. They are beautifull, and they shoal so well. Very inquisitive, yet a little shy at the same time...

Nah mate, you have Honey Gouramis not Dwarfs
Not surprised they shoal though, they can be kept in groups unlike Dwarf Gouramis

 

[ian]

these are better than mine.

I can't find the natural coloured ones for love nor money. They are great little fish though, they do school really well. Mine are still schooling well. They look great in there James!

love this tank now! (loved it before)

BTW what camera are you using?

 

[Verminator89]

Ok, difference established. I have Yellow Honey Gourami's then, i assumed 'dwarf gourami' was a generalised term for a, well, small gourami These anabantoids are completely wasted on me heh. Well, they are splendid fish and i'm thoroughly enjoying them so far. Political correctness achieved, thank you.


@Ianho, the camera i use is a Nikon D-50 SLR. Nifty little camera. There is a macro lens with it, however i'm absolutely hopeless with it and can't get anything to focus, yet alone actually take a snap. So i just use the standard lens and get some pretty good shots. Ofcourse the ones i post are usually about 1% of the total i take in one session. Painstakingly sifting through them all to narrow it down to a few for on here


I'm glad you like it, i do too. Although something doesnt look quite right yet. I'm not going to jump in there yet though, going to let it fill out first before i make any brash decisions. I think the Anubias is to big for where it is, and needs to be worked into the wood more. Also the Wendtii "mi oya" in the middle is distracting me where it is, doesnt seem to 'fit' quite how i imagined it first. May swap out the stems for a grass that stays a certain height, as chopping and replanting stems is getting tedious