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Journal A nursery for my Carinotetraodon Travancoricus.

If your tap water is soft, I find H micrathemoides is much more forgiving than Rotala rotundifolia or Rotala ‘Green’ (which really prefers CO2 to thrive, though it can linger on) re light and nutrients
It won’t have the dense/broader leaf seen in high tech set ups (with CO2) - more a slender leaf with longer internode distance and more delicate stem

R Vietnam H’ra will still be quite pink even in low tech (and relatively low light)
 
Got a load of red ramshorn snails if youre interested, to add to the snail farm
Just pay postage, royal mail bit unreliable at the mo , even first class, bit if you want to give it a try let me know
Steve
 
@Steve Buce That would be awesome, I'll PM!



As for a minor update, doubling the dose has seen algae in the tank multiply, but the new growth in the Rotala is vibrant and it has shot up a few centimetres. Doubling every other day is certainly too much, so I will scale back slightly - double dose once a week, maintain a single daily dose after. Lights are getting reduced by 10% too back to 60%. I will start to explore different stems too, adding Pogostemon erectus most likely. I wouldn't mind doing a blackout soon too.

Also, I really would like a programmable light.
 
About 2 months, or 9 week update

23.jpg


I’ll bullet point the main changes

  • I removed a lot of the frogbit - added some more, and cut all of the older plants roots off.
  • I added some Cryptocoryne cosata which is these long green leaves highlighted below
  • There is more Cryptocoryne albida brown in the foreground
  • Added some Crytopcoryne lutea hobbit - this hasn’t done much.
  • Added Pogostemon erectus to trial.
  • Mulberry leaves added
  • More Alder cones and small branches added.

Labelled:

2 months-highlights.jpg



I can’t say what’s killing the BBA, but plant growth has shot up and the Cryptocorynes in the tank - especially the Usteriana - are putting out some serious growth. Rotala is at the surface. I have also carried out a major water change in the last week, which is effectively a 100% water change - I remove 10L to a bucket for the inhabitants, drain the tank, refill the tank, drain the tank again and then refill. Trying to hit the BGA hard, but BBA may have taken the brunt (and I’m not bothered by BBA at all, annoyingly).

IMG_2442.JPG

bba dying


The aquarium now has a stained look, but that’s fine - comes from the alder cones.

As for the female, she’s been rejecting frozen food.

All in all, looking OK. I don’t think I’ll be adding any more plants now, but I will be adding some root tabs to the front left and mid. Slowly replanting Rotala on the right too.
 
Female has put on some weight, but only eating live food. Snails aren't breeding fast enough. I went to my local stream took a jar of water to speed up a bucket outside - that worked well, so I do have some bugs on ready. I know the dangers of this.

I've ordered two more plants to try as Pogostemon erectus melted to nothing, and Hygrophila pinnatifida has all but gone.

The new plants on route are:
  • Lagenandra keralensis
  • Cryptocoryne x purpurea

I'm hoping they do alright, as I'm placing them throughout the front of the tank. Well, in front of the main body. It’s a low light tank in some parts, especially where they’ll be. I also have no idea how big these plants grow.

I'm at odds with the aquarium at the moment, it’s just not quite the jungle I want it to be, and there is far too much foreground, in the future I’d plant far more heavily and cover 90% of the tank - also, a reason why I bought the above. I can’t quite get away with moss yet as BGA is still about, but minor. But I think I may risk it in August and moss up some stones in a propagator and add them in September. I like how it looked with some moss in the tank.

There was a lot of waste in the tank today, I think one of the mulberry leaves got a bit too degraded and turned to mush. I wonder do those "leaves and sticks" tanks have all their mulm sucked away during water changes? Build up of it can't be great, even thought I know it's a food source.
 
Ime C.purpurea will get quite tall under lower light levels.
Usteriana is a bit of a beast,I'm finding it too much in a 180lt tank,the runners it throws out are unbelievable and they tend to disturb plants around them.
 
I have no doubt Usteriana will have to be cut back hard one day, but I think that day is still a few months away - growing well for me, but I know it's going to reach the top and throw some shade. Rotala will probably be at it's end when that happens.

Well, I can give C.purpurea a chance, if it grows huge I will just remove it I guess =/
 
It’s been a bit of a tricky month as work stress went up and maintenance slipped - that said, 40% WC’s each week are still happening but dosing dropped to almost zero. This tank deteriorates considerably if maintenance is not carried out.

Current state of affairs:

IMG_2523.JPG


Rotala isn’t a beautiful plant in this tank, at times some stems are beautiful and look how I think they should but that doesn’t spread across the tank. If anything, for me Rotala just looks a bit dirty. I don’t doubt this is my fault. That said, I soldier on with it, I mean, it is growing.

Apart from Rotala, everything else is looking good. Lagenandra keralensis has definitely rooted in, with one plant putting out a new leaf. Cryptocoryne x purpurea looks really nice too, sending out a runner yesterday. I took a few leaves off of c.usteriana as it got too covered in BBA, I only seem to get it by the inlet. One plant of c.albida brown has sent out a runner, which is the first time I’ve seen his plant do that. c.costata finished melting, put out new leaves. c.lutea is still in there, but seems a bit smaller than I expected. Cryptocoryne spiralis var. caudigera is growing. I wish more of these plans would send out some runners though.

A quick labelling of the 'highlights':

IMG_2523-edits.jpeg


Diatoms are still ever present, but I’m not trying to remove them as much now, just a simple wipe of glass when it gets too much. BGA is still present in the smallest doses, so I worry for the moss. I have to remove the filter once a month for a proper scrub, it just seems to be the perfect surface for algae.

The puffers are very settled now. Still only two, but confirmed m/f. Hence, my need for more moss. Their characters are certainly showing too. Neither bother the shrimp. which is good. They eat the babies though.

I will be stopping the syphoning of detritus from the tank now, and adding an air pump (though dissolved oxygen should still be very high by using a HOB filter) to create more food for the planned babies. The female (named Sharon) has plumped right up.

Still, I will be looking to dose 1ml of easy carbo and 1ml of tnc complete daily, as soon as I iron out a bug with a little diy project I’ve been threatening.

Tank isn't looking terrible, it'll get there. As lockdown has lifted here (Cambridge) we've had guests over and they've all been very interested with it, one person asking me if I had heard of "you should check out this Japanese guy,I forget his name, Amano something, yeah looks like his stuff - you'd like it" - that was a compliment, I don't think I let that show though.
 
Added Pogostemon stellatus 'Octopus' but I got 3 stems, so may take some time to notice. Added some moss tied to stones, I'll get a photo up soon. Added some of the moss on stones into the mass of plants - these areas seem to remain BGA free, possibly due to higher flow. I'm toying with getting a 'larger' filter, as the introduction of a spray bar would be nice, I think.

Hooking up an eheim 100 air pump, and effectively on a non-syphon strategy apart from when targeting BGA - which is 'fun'.
 
I felt a bit better about the Rotala yesterday. It's not growing perfectly, but it isn't looking like this either:

IMG_20200830_123833682.jpg
:)
 
Hey @Steve Buce snails would be excellent, I've posted some ada hooks to you btw.
 
I think it’s fair to say the 4th month has been ‘stability’ month. No mass algae outbreak, everything looks like it’s growing.

There has been some happenings; I added C.Petchii Pink (a wrong order) and added some moss tied to stones throughout the tank. Of course some trepidation as BGA infecting the moss would be a disaster. The moss looks like it’s remaining BGA free, and the tank as a whole does too. Rotala is still growing, and after a good cut back last week it’s coming back strongly.

The mid-foreground is still quite low, Lagenandra and the Crypts are all very low, however most are showing new leaves. They’re growing in slow. C.Lutea (not hobbit) has kind of grown up a bit, noticing that the plants I put in close to day one have probably grown 10mm since then. C.Lutea Hobbit is putting out new leaves, C.Albida ‘Brown’ has some runners now, so I’m happy with them. There’s quite a few other Crypts in the mid/foreground, Purpurea is doing something, Costata melted entirely and grew back new leaves - hidden now amongst the Rotala. C. Spiralis var. caudigera has not died, but just has not done too much. Maybe an inch of growth, I’d like that to at least get 30cm tall.

I added Pogostemon stellatus 'Octopus' - stated in a previous post - this seems to be growing outwards but not up, again, only a few stems but if it grows that would be fantastic.

As mentioned, I can’t see BGA, the moss looks good in place and overall the tank is looking relatively clean. Two 30L water changes a week, I dose 2ml of TNC complete on WC days and I will add 1ml of Easy carbo to the water column every other day. Diatoms are still strong, and green algae on the filter is becoming a nuisance.

There’s a thermometer as I gotta keep an eye on the temp, the male is now displaying.



Anyway, full tank shot:

4month.png


And an annotated one (pointing out the things from above):

4month annotated.png


Still trying to get the hang of this photographing of aquariums.
 
5 months, not too much has changed.

6months.png


A couple of shrimp passed; they’re fairly old shrimp who’ve been with me for some time, their shrimplets have certainly been food, which is okay but a shame. I've given the snail nursery an upgrade and moved the remaining shrimp there, I'll get a photo up.

The male puffer is chasing and displaying, so I think they've settled now. Feeding every day a mix of blood worms, banana worms and snails. I've got a cube on standby to move the eggs too as soon as I can confirm I can see 'em.

Rotala is more of a problem now than before, lower leaves rotting away, certainly had a negative effect on overall tank health (more often there would be dirt/mulm in corners and around plant bases. I’m now thinking about removing it, but it would be a very empty tank if I did.

I’d like to locate the following plants:

- Cryptocoryne sivadasanii
- Cryptocoryne retrospiralis
- Staurogyne Bihar

If you can help, that would be great. With them, Rotala would be out.

I’ve added a few more stones with moss, and they’ve settled in well. All of the older plants, especially the cryps have put out a new leaf or two. I cut back the right C. Undulata, I think the intake had given it a hard time resulting in algae, tears and a teeny bit of melting.

Brown algae is still at the front near substrate, some green algae on branches too. Not so fussed about either of them, no BGA that I can see apart from at the glass beneath the sand, lurking, waiting, craving sunlight.

I’m not trying to sound dejected, but very little has changed and it's not quite as bushy as I'd like.

The dirt in the right upper half is from me stirring sediment, like a numpty before the photo.


Some highlights:

IMG_2552.JPG


Thanks!
 
Lost the male puffer. Guttering as I'd conditioned the pair up these last couple of months, missed a spawn and now I'm a tad lost for the future of this tank. I'll call around all/most LFS today to see if anyone has any in.

He's not in the tank, and I can't see him behind any of the furniture. I don't think I would have syphoned him out (tube is deliberately narrow) so my only thought is he jumped, or died and over a long weekend was eaten by the shrimp (unlikely).

I've done a 90% wc, he's definetly not in the tank.
 
Managed to find somewhere with some in stock, about 40 miles away - so will have to go later in week, before thursday!
 
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