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1300 litre chocolate lake

ldcgroomer said:
That is so relaxing to watch I think I'd be in there with a pile of chips n dips and never move again! Those are very lucky fish...

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Thanks lindy :D. I do spend a considerable amount of time sat infront of it. There's just so much going on inside such a big tank. Especially as the lights start to dim right down. It completely changes the look and feel of the tank.
Albeit I have to use my 9 year olds chair which is a tad uncomfortable and small.

I should have knocked down the chimney breast and had the tank top end of the room and I could have had a dining table back in. Ahhhh well.
James O said:
I see fish ;)

The way the CPDs play really adds that certain 'realism' of the wild. Totally stunning

This is making me think I shouldn't add big (congo tetra) fish for my tank so I can use my CPDs. Stick with several large groups of smaller fish. I CPDs soooo much. That oto doing his dance on the glass is really funny

Once again Alastair.....inspirational :)
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Ha ha yeah I think someone referred to the otto as a ballerina when she was doing that. I presume she as it looks very pregnant.

I wouldnt personally put big fish in my tank as I find even though its big, that smaller fish make the display appear even bigger
 
BigTom said:
Alastair that is immense. I totally hadn't appreciated the sense of scale it must have in the flesh until seeing a video. Awesome.
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Thanks Tom. Very kind of you mate.
Its hard for me to get a decent enough quick phone shot which shows the scale of the tank which is why ive been playing about with the dslr so hopefully have some good shots up soon.
Youll have to stop by for a brew when your next heading down to Cornwall. Always welcome to catch some zzz's overnight too.
 
Ohhh nearly forgot to do a little update.
The plants are still picking up with a new growth spurt and all looks very very healthy. It did seem to take a while to get going this one. Not sure why but then the substrate system is different in this.

Have finally got flow sorted with adjustable flow power heads so their is much more movement everywhere now.


Also ive got a few more inhabitants due in this Thursday consisting of 30 more licorice gourami (species currently unknown until I get them and can identify them) and another 15 Celestial pearl Danios.
All thats left then is to add in the remainder chocolate gouramis and it can be left to do its thing.

Ill actually be setting up another tank in my living room soon to create a true paro biotope with very very low ph etc and hopefully have a much higher survival rate of babies so a few of these will be going in their along with another species.

Hopefully will be uograding the lighting over the course of the next few weeks to get a bit more colour in.

Thanks for all the kind comments so far everyone :)
 
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Licquorice gouramis are not something previously on my radar - on looking on a Google I'm intrigued at how many species there are . The variety remind me of Apisto's particular Agassizi - do they hybridize or is there not enough around for this to be an issue ??


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RichardJW said:
Licquorice gouramis are not something previously on my radar - on looking on a Google I'm intrigued at how many species there are . The variety remind me of Apisto's particular Agassizi - do they hybridize or is there not enough around for this to be an issue ??
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There is a potential issue with hybridisation, yes. It is very unclear how many of the different populations and forms constitute separate species, and this is compounded by the fact that many exporters don't provide collection or even reliable species information and may ship individuals from different collection locations together. Ideally if planning to breed them then one should only really keep fish of known providence from a single location together, but this is very difficult if buying fish from the trade.

There's good infor over on the Parosphromenus Project - Species

And the comments at the bottom of the SF profile provide a very good demonstration of the uncertainties involved - Parosphromenus deissneri – Deissner’s Liquorice Gourami (Osphromenus deissneri) — Seriously Fish

There does seem to be growing interest in these fish in the UK at the moment. It would be excellent if people joined in with the PP and tried to make a concerted effort to distribute and maintain populations of these fish within the hobby as they are under massive threat from habitat destruction (admittedly along with many other species).
 
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Interesting stuff from the PP - find the descriptions of the 1st two a bit weird though - 27.7cm in the wild 4cm in Aquarium ??? Some fantastic looking fish - interested to see what Alistair gets !


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darren636 said:
Alastairs tank may be the last reserve for these fish.
Now mostly confined to ditches.
We truly are a plague on this planet.
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Couldn't have said it better myself Darren.
Im not keeping them purely to look at. My intention was to get some and let them breed as I have very soft water and that they did.
They are doing currently in my big tank in the moss covered clay cave tubes. Well one tube in particular.
 
Hi alastair, aren't the celestial pearl danios from Lake Inle, a hardwater lake? Are they just as happy in softer water?
Cheers
 
darren636 said:
no, danio erythromicron are from inle.
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Hi Darren, celestials are from near Inle as well, I'd be surprised if they weren't actually found in Inle as well to be honest. I remember seeing these in 2006 at Chatuchak Market in Bangkok, before they hit the fish world, and asked where they came from and was told Inle lake, but seeing as that is more well known than Hopong maybe that was wrong. 30km is not far for a fish to find its way into a different water system, and presumably water chemistry would be similar as they are found at the foot of the same hills, although on opposite sides.

Cheers
 
ourmanflint said:
Hi Darren, celestials are from near Inle as well, I'd be surprised if they weren't actually found in Inle as well to be honest. I remember seeing these in 2006 at Chatuchak Market in Bangkok, before they hit the fish world, and asked where they came from and was told Inle lake, but seeing as that is more well known than Hopong maybe that was wrong. 30km is not far for a fish to find its way into a different water system, and presumably water chemistry would be similar as they are found at the foot of the same hills, although on opposite sides.

Cheers
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indeed, they hybridise in the wild so there is overlap in populations. I've never heard of cpds In inle, but definitely erythromicron In the surrounding water ways .
 
ourmanflint said:
Hi alastair, aren't the celestial pearl danios from Lake Inle, a hardwater lake? Are they just as happy in softer water?
Cheers
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I believe both the cpd and erythromicron prefer soft water according to the danio site.
I read up on the cpds quite intensively as I do all my inhabitants and found that they prefer softer water. Maybe not near as soft and acidic as ive made my water go for my choccos and licorice but they're thriving non the less and super greedy.
They add a nice touch to the upper layer and havent seen thy shyness theyre supposed to have. :)
 
The tank's looking so huge Alastair :wideyed:. It must be such a treat to watch it in the flesh :). Just like Tom mentioned earlier, the sense of depth in your tank is just amazing. I love the way the chocholate gouramis move,...they are really cute to watch. I have never had the opportunity to see one in any of the LFSes in my area.
 
faizal said:
The tank's looking so huge Alastair :wideyed:. It must be such a treat to watch it in the flesh :). Just like Tom mentioned earlier, the sense of depth in your tank is just amazing. I love the way the chocholate gouramis move,...they are really cute to watch. I have never had the opportunity to see one in any of the LFSes in my area.
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Hiya Faizal hope your ok mate.
It certainly is a treat. I need to build some kind of breakfast bar so as to sit and watch it all evening.
Both chocolate gouramis and the licorice move so elegantly. The chocolates even more so as you cant really see their fins so they appear to glide. I can't wait to get another 100.
 
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