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Branch

Oh man that lil borelli 😩😍 WANT. Definitely need to keep them one day they are so so cute.

Thanks! I cant wait either :) the male is already out and about regularly and slowly colouring up, but it will take a few months before he is adult I think.
Cousins:
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Ever since they were moved into this tank the pygmies have really come into their own. They are all over the place, clearly comfortable. Much better than in my 55l, where I just didnt see them at all. Not sure what caused this change in behaviour, wether its more other fish or more open tank, presence of panda corys or something else...
I really noticed this too with my pygmies. When I had 10 in a 45L they schooled a rarely and mostly sat on the bottom doing nothing, and only ate when I wasn't around. When I added them to the 180L they immediately perked up and are just so much more outgoing and interesting, even more now I have around 25. They come out immediately when I add food and wiggle about the sand searching, swim all over the tank at all hours in current sized groups, schooling in a big group regularly which is mesmerising, often coming up for air which is also really interesting behaviour.

I sort of came to the conclusion that they aren't a fish for nano tanks despite their size. But in a bigger tank, just gorgeous fish.
 
So I removed the last elodea today as it was falling apart due to liquid carbo. I replaced it all with ludwigia cuttings that still need to grow a lot. The bacopa behind the wood is almost grown big enough to reach above it!
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Oh man that lil borelli 😩😍 WANT. Definitely need to keep them one day they are so so cute.


I really noticed this too with my pygmies. When I had 10 in a 45L they schooled a rarely and mostly sat on the bottom doing nothing, and only ate when I wasn't around. When I added them to the 180L they immediately perked up and are just so much more outgoing and interesting, even more now I have around 25. They come out immediately when I add food and wiggle about the sand searching, swim all over the tank at all hours in current sized groups, schooling in a big group regularly which is mesmerising, often coming up for air which is also really interesting behaviour.

I sort of came to the conclusion that they aren't a fish for nano tanks despite their size. But in a bigger tank, just gorgeous fish.
I think you are right about the pygmies not being nano fish. I think they feel better with bigger and more fish around, it makes them boisterous and very fun. I might add a few more sometime :) 3 or so, making them number 10 again...
 
I think you are right about the pygmies not being nano fish. I think they feel better with bigger and more fish around, it makes them boisterous and very fun. I might add a few more sometime :) 3 or so, making them number 10 again...
With a tank your size I think you could really easily keep 20, they are so small they don't have that much impact on bioload. If my tank was a 120cm I'd keep 40 tbh
 
Amazing looking tank, the plants look so nice and I love the different gravels and stones with your sand 😍
Thanks a lot!

Today during maintenance I took the jump, I replaced my bazooka diffuser with the aqua medic reactor and connected it to a small pump placed in my sumps return Chamber. The outlet of the reactor is positioned next to the inlet of the return pump. I'm hoping to make co2 more constant this way, because water level and return pump position had a large influence on how much of the co2 mist produced by the bazooka was sucked in. Now to dial it in, curious to see if this leads to better results and/or less co2 used.
 
Looking fabulous, I love the combo of ember tetras and tiger lotus!! Tiger lotus and grass >>>>>>>
 
Looking fabulous, I love the combo of ember tetras and tiger lotus!! Tiger lotus and grass >>>>>>>
Thanks! I love the reds in fish and plants combo too, most of my fish in this tank have red in them save a few.

Be sure to always check your live food for unwanted guests. I just found this guy in the micron sock in my sump. I think I know what took part of one of my pygmies tail off now! Into the pond with it tomorrow morning. It must have hitchhiked along with the (store bought) daphnia, cant think of any other way It could have gotten in. Damselfly larvae.
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The damaged pygmy didnt survive, damn damselfly larvae. Back to 9 now.
Still struggling to get co2 right with the new reactor. Seems a lot more efficient at getting co2 into the water, so i was able to turn it down quite a bit. This mucking about has caused some algae as i feared, but I was expecting bba but I got gda and gsa instead. I can brush those off thankfully.

Somehow a shrimp got into the co2 reactor. I'm sure it got out again as well since the water goes one way and the way out is safe, but how it got there... silly creatures.
Not much to report. New pics in a week or so.
 
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Lotus becoming nice and big.
Phantoms:
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Even large gourami and apistos dont make cherry shrimp hide:

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I added some pinnatifida on the wood:

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resting on a mossy bed by his lonesome:

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Sometimes the lights make the red an intense pink

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the birth of a little moss, no idea how but its cute:
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And here is what is happening in the sump:
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Leftover egeria is doing ok here with the liquid carb dosing not reaching it in high enough concentrations.
Shrimp love it here. They are a collection of cherries, rejects and leftover bees. Still some interesting variations are appearing.
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The white one looks interesting. And a nice red/white one, pic makes it look brown instead of red though.
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The spunge is raised a bit so shrimp can pass underneath and access both compartments. The real filter compartment is behind the planted one. It shouldnt have been reachable for the shrimp but they have colonised all compartments including the return. Its fine as most remain at the front and new shrimp production here is exceptionally high.
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My lotus leaves are getting holes, first It turns thin and papery like it was burned, then the spots decays and then it decays fully. I upped ferts but I'm not sure if this was the cause, anyone else have ideas? No signs of increased algae or other plants with issues atm. Dont think the lotus is sensitive to easycarbo nor do I think I put any near It.
Newly affected leaf:
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Older affected leaf:
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New unaffected leaf:
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