• You are viewing the forum as a Guest, please login (you can use your Facebook, Twitter, Google or Microsoft account to login) or register using this link: Log in or Sign Up

Mushikui Iwagumi

Steven Chong

Steven Chong

Member
Joined
20 Jun 2009
Messages
40
Location
Hawaii
Been a long time I posted... like... a LONG time... how's everyone?

So, this is an iwagumi layout I started about 2 weeks ago using Mushikui (Hakkai mountain's rocks), which I've slowly collected while living in Niigata Japan as an English teacher.

hakkai2day1n.jpg



Nothing randical, but I thought "when nothing's going right, go back to basics." Hopefully it works out. o_O

Specs:
60 x 45 x 45
Solar II light
Aquasoil Amazonia

Hardscape:
Mushikui stones


Flora:
Eleocharis vivipara
Vallisnaria nana (a little bit)
Eleocharis accicularis (I think-- dunno)
Hydrocotyle sp.
Glossostigma elatinoides
random pieces of moss that snuck in with the hydrocotyles

Fauna:
Green Cardinal Tetra
Spotted Blue Eye Rainbow Fish http://rainbowfish.angfaqld.org.au/Gertrud.htm

eyespotrainbows.jpg


Can you believe they were selling these rainbows at the Japanese equivalent of walmart? :confused:
 
Hi Steven,

Great to have you back. I'm going to straight out say I am a massive fan of your scapes.

It is awesome to have you here doing a journal.

Best Regards,
John
 
Thanks for the comments and greetings all, Tom and John :D It feels good to be posting about a tank George. :D

I added some more fish (of both species, as well as some SAE's and 2 pea puffers for my snails :mad: )

hakkai22.jpg


hakkai2ap1.jpg


hakkai2ap2.jpg


I think in the last pic you can really see what I'm going for in the fish selection-- with rainbows providing a nice highlight/movement up top without drawing too much attention, and the green neons bringing that ever-so-popular-because-it-just-works blue color to iwagumi.
 
I just noticed you put puffers in there. I actually had to look up the term pea puffer as its not one I'm used too.

How do you find them with other fish? All the experience and reports i've seen indicate they are far too aggressive for standard tank use. Will the snails keep them occupied?

Best Regards,
John
 
To be honest John, I don't really have experience with them in a community tank, and have always had my doubts about them... but after seeing them appear (without any obvious problems) in big display tanks in Hong Kong and Japanese stores, I decided I'd give them a shot-- be sure I'll be keeping an eye on them though. They're not such fast fish that they can easily escape a net in an iwagumi layout like this...

I also have a pretty healthy population of copepods, that I hope will keep them pre-occupied (without being completely exterminated...)
 
Steven Chong said:
To be honest John, I don't really have experience with them in a community tank, and have always had my doubts about them... but after seeing them appear (without any obvious problems) in big display tanks in Hong Kong and Japanese stores, I decided I'd give them a shot-- be sure I'll be keeping an eye on them though. They're not such fast fish that they can easily escape a net in an iwagumi layout like this...

I also have a pretty healthy population of copepods, that I hope will keep them pre-occupied (without being completely exterminated...)
Click to expand...

My personal experience with them resulted in a killing spree that ended up with 6 tetra, 1 cory and the other puffer in the tank all dead in the space of 7 days from my first visit to the last. We'd possibly managed to buy a homicidal maniac puffer and put him in a tank with no snails to take out the raaaaaaaaaaaaaage on, but is has put the fear on me ever sticking them in a tank with anything else again. :(

I can only hope you have a better time with them or have picked a better species then I did.

Best Regards,
John
 
Mark Evans said:
I'd sell my heart for that stone!
Click to expand...

The rock is called Mushikui ??? (bug eaten)

The name comes from the unique indentations found on the rock:

hakkaicloseup.jpg


It is a rock native exclusively to mount Hakkai in Niigata prefecture of Japan... you can't find it in bonsai stores... or almost any store... throughout Japan, and even inside the prefecture it is a rare site (definitely not something you will find at an LFs or even an ADA distributor store). I've gone out of my way to amass a small collection... (that I will have trouble taking with me back to the US, but I will somehow! lol)

morehakkai.jpg


hakkaiseki.jpg


Here's some pictures from "Mount Hakkai"

hakkaitrip5.jpg


hakkaitrip4.jpg


hakkaitrip7.jpg



I feel fortunate to have found had the opportunity to get my hands on this rock, and it really is pretty unique. However, it's not really good for anything but iwagumi... I can't see it doing well in a variety of layouts.
 
maybe it's just me but those feel like ordinary basalt rocks to me. Some have holes in it, other don't; Some have a very wrinkled texture, others have a smoother texture; Some are dark grey/black, others are redish... some have a vitrieous look... Some have incrustacions (e.g. olivina mineral), other have not....

Lots of variety and it all depends how far you are from the volcano or depth of the strata you look at.

Do not take me wrong. They are gorgeous. I just do not feel that they exclusive to Japan....

cheers,

GM
 
it could definitely be that similar stones could form in different area-- but if so, I have yet to see/hear about a source for a similar looking rock.
 
picture update (filling in quickly~!)

hakkai2endapril.jpg


hakkaiover1.jpg




I cut away a devoted area in front for the glosso, and trimmed everything (including the massive vivipara growth) after the photos.
 
How hard do you trim the Eleocharis down too?

Looking lovely as expected :)

Best Regards,
John
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top