Glumag o Clabar - new tank!

[Heagney]

so this is the story so far....life for my tank started off like any good glamour model..totally plastic!



My daughter had 2 orandas (orie and spotty) but they croacked it due to my ineffective treatment of ich....RIP guys



The tank kinda went to pot but I still had my amanos and 2 nerite snails so I stripped the tank and added a piece of wood to soak. Had been soaking in a bucket for ages but still leached into the tank!!



I read toms bucket o mid and thought I need to get this back in the game so...stripped the tank put in John Innes No3 and capped it with Argos play sand.



Last night I added all my plants and today (can't wait!! Although it's month end so have to work...damn you work) I will get my Fluval 206!!









I'll need to wait a few weeks before my shrimp and snails go back in plus the MTS's I bought and eventually get a few fish!!

 

[Heagney]

Couple of questions though....

1) where would you guys position the in and out flow bearing in mind the plant placement?
2) how do I position the out flow in the water? I want surface agitation for oxygen but I have floating plants and they will surely be blown all over the place??

The tank is a 63l with a lid and a measly 15w fluorescent single bulb

 

[Heagney]

Can I trim the Bolbitis by taking the tops off? Will this help it spread out more rather the growning up the way??

Plants are:

Bolbitis
Anubias Nana
Java fern
Camomba
Amazon sword
Alternanthera rosaefolia
Dwarf Hairgrass
Weeping miss

Thinking about taking the rock with moss out to be honest which would be a shame but just looks a bit crowded

 

[Heagney]

So got my fluval in, seems most fish I like don't like much flow..oops. Does seem pretty strong in my tank so turned it down.
Also I know I was warned against it but stuck my MTS's in yesterday and they're doing fine

 

[Heagney]

Any advice re the bolbitis guys??

Also do you think Rams will be ok with Celestial pearl Danios or strawberry rasbora?

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

Can I trim the Bolbitis by taking the tops off?

You can trim the leaves, but you will probably find the new leaves will be shorter. It isn't a quick grower low tech, and I've always just let it get on with it, and for a few years it was pretty inconspicuous. The plant that those bits came from now fills most of a 2' tank, and has grown in semi-circle, mainly because it isn't attached to any wood any more. It is quite shady tank, and I would expect in more light it will grow a bit more compactly.

Also do you think Rams will be ok with Celestial pearl Danios or strawberry rasbora?

Rams like warm, soft water, so the Rasbora would be a better fit. Unfortunately a lot of commercially produced Rams are horribly in bred and disease ridden.

cheers Darrel

 

[alto]

disease ridden.

I've never had rams infect a tank - instead they seem to be rather good at keeping themselves to themselves
Friend has a shop & new imports either seem to do just fine or high losses ... nothing easily identifiable, just rapid respiration, failure to thrive & then death over few days or weeks
(these are shipping through Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Taiwan)

Not sure about the level of inbreeding, but lots shipping with poor conformation or overly large & colorful (hormones etc) & even crossbred ...
- I've also seen "wild" shipments that are poor quality/conformation (suspect "pond" breeding rather than actual "wild caught") ... often see nicer gold & neon/electric blue color morphs than "wild type" blues

 

[alto]

Also do you think Rams will be ok with Celestial pearl Danios or strawberry rasbora?

I've mostly kept rams in groups rather than singles or a single pair, they focus on conspecifics rather than other species ... though I suppose their activity may be disturbing to some very retiring fishes

 

[JohnC]

re:Bolbitis you will probably find the leaves will go a little grotty as the newer growth suited to you parameters comes in. Snip them off at the rhizome. I find it always wants to slowly dump older leaves when changing water conditions and like Darrel says the low tech leaves will be smaller.

 

[Heagney]

I like the look of the Rams and the red line apisto so might get a small group of either

 

[Heagney]

I'll do that with the bolbitis then it's just quite tall at the moment and looks a little out of place

 

[alto]

I like the look of the Rams and the red line apisto so might get a small group of either

Tank is definitely not suited to a group of Apistogramma - I think by "red line", fish may be A hongsloi so you could likely do a pair or single male ... check out Apistogramma.com for information on successfully keeping apistos
I think tank is 60cm x 30 cm x 36cm, even with rams Mikrogeophagus you might end up with trio or single pair etc

 

[Heagney]

God damn you small tank!! Might just stick with the small danios or rasboras then. Can't have it all haha

 

[Heagney]

Looks better with the moss moved?

 

[alto]

You might jam some tiny bits of moss into wood crevices - I do like the open area that will (eventually) be surrounded by green growth

My suggestion would be to "sink" the stones & wood into the substrate ... but that is just a personal preference

Keep your eye out for a "pair" of rams in the shop that seem to have paired up - female/male are fairly easily discerned in blue & gold variants - these fish are better added to an established tank.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

You might jam some tiny bits of moss into wood crevices - I do like the open area that will (eventually) be surrounded by green growth

I think that is a good idea.

The plant that those bits came from now fills most of a 2' tank, and has grown in semi-circle, mainly because it isn't attached to any wood any more.

This is the original plant.

cheers Darrel

 

[Heagney]

I've got a little moss attached to a rock at the back, if it starts to take hold and multiply I'll move some onto the wood as well.
Wow Darrel!! How to put a man to shame haha my tank looks absolutely pitiful next to yours..very nice though it looks good and really thick

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

How to put a man to shame

Give it time. That is about 10 years of benign neglect.

It was a second hand tank and has second hand filters and second hand light unit.

cheers Darrel

 

[Heagney]

Pretty chuffed! My Amazon sword had a leaf in the middle that has really grown some since I planted!! 2 new bits emerging on the bolbitis and the dwarf hair grass seems to have extended!! Only been going since Thursday, long may it continue

 

[Heagney]

Everyone seems happy enough at the mo