• 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

ADA 60-P planted tank 'Prairie' (month 5)

Re: ADA 60-P planted tank (new week 3 photos)

Did a little light pruning. NOt as much as I thought I would but some. Just a trim to neaten things up a bit. I'm feeling that less leafy plants might be better with more grass like instead.
What do you think?

The HC is coming along nicely and the glosso that came back to life is popping up all over the place. I'm really liking the combo of glosso, HC, pogo and blyxa. I think they work really well with the dragonstone.

Anyway, here is a FTS. bit of a quick one but shows some progress.

7132285517_56f348a798_c.jpg

Marvin the plec is still looking a little thin but I'm pretty sure he is eating. He certainly cleaned a big patch of glass overnight. Fingers crossed he was just settling in and I'm sure the brief nitrite increase didn't help.

Water is all good now too. I'm going to let it settle for a bit then move on to the next stage.
 
Re: ADA 60-P planted tank (new week 3 photos)

I think you have a nice balance of leaf types Rob :thumbup: Looking good.
 
Re: ADA 60-P planted tank (new week 3 photos)

Wow, thanks Mike.
It's all thanks to people like yourself helping out and posting inspirational scopes. I've benefited from a lot of other peoples experience.

It's going ok so far apart from a recent worry. My main issue now is the HC is looking a little yellow in places. I'm think it's caused by the lack of ferts over the last few days. I stopped the green bright while the nitrites were raised but have started again as of today.

Thanks again!
 
Re: ADA 60-P planted tank (new week 3 photos)

Cheers Chris. I'm happy overall. I'm not too keen on the plant to the right of centre behind the big stone. I can't remember what it's called but I don't think it fits. I think some more blyxa or maybe parvula might be better there.

It grows at a huge rate though! Just not sure about the colour or shape.
 
Re: ADA 60-P planted tank (new week 3 photos)

Ordered some superge as the glassware is just starting to get a bit grubby. Also ordered a spring brush to help with the cleaning.
Finally I've ordered a black background too. I've been meaning too for a while. I think it will really help bring out the best in my scape.
 
Re: ADA 60-P planted tank (new week 3 photos)

Tank is looking great. Just keep offering a good range to Marvin and I am sure he will fatten up. It took me a while to condition my Blue Phantom when I got him and only recently he seems to have put on his first noticable growth spurt. It's nice to see that you have taken time to get good advice and really put the time into caring for him and the tank.

Andy
 
Re: ADA 60-P planted tank (new week 3 photos)

Thanks Andy, that is encouraging to know. I'm still a little anxious about him not eating. I keep telling myself that he eats at night while I'm asleep and that I'm being daft. He's been given a mix wafer, cucumber, crushed snails and they all seem to go except the cucumber.
I guess the CPDs aren't touching any of that and the sakuras would take forever to eat a wafer...
 
Re: ADA 60-P planted tank (new week 3 photos)

I didn't see my Chocolate Zebra eat for around 2 months as it was only coming out late at night / early morning when I was sleeping. This was my first plec and the first time I saw her eat still ranks as one of my favorite memories of keeping tanks and fish. I got so excited I think the wife thought I was crazy.

Keep feeding, keep the tank stable and keep your fingers crossed is all you can do!

Andy
 
Re: ADA 60-P planted tank (new week 3 photos)

pariahrob said:
Thanks Andy, that is encouraging to know. I'm still a little anxious about him not eating. I keep telling myself that he eats at night while I'm asleep and that I'm being daft. He's been given a mix wafer, cucumber, crushed snails and they all seem to go except the cucumber.
I guess the CPDs aren't touching any of that and the sakuras would take forever to eat a wafer...
Click to expand...

I wouldn't bother with cucumber, even if he was more of a herbivore than a carnivore. Cucumber has minimal substance and nutritional value. Courgette is far far better ;) But if he is eating the other stuff then give him more of the meaty stuff Rob :thumbup: You could rig up red lights over the tank and watch nocturnal activity hehe.
 
Re: ADA 60-P planted tank (new week 3 photos)

pariahrob said:
Thanks Andy, that is encouraging to know. I'm still a little anxious about him not eating. I keep telling myself that he eats at night while I'm asleep and that I'm being daft. He's been given a mix wafer, cucumber, crushed snails and they all seem to go except the cucumber.
I guess the CPDs aren't touching any of that and the sakuras would take forever to eat a wafer...
Click to expand...


I'm sure we've said this before but marvin is a meat eater! while he'll eat cucumber at his size and him prefering meat and high protein foods the cucumber will always go last.

Get some frozen daphnia and bloodworm etc
 
Re: ADA 60-P planted tank (new week 3 photos)

hinch said:
pariahrob said:
Thanks Andy, that is encouraging to know. I'm still a little anxious about him not eating. I keep telling myself that he eats at night while I'm asleep and that I'm being daft. He's been given a mix wafer, cucumber, crushed snails and they all seem to go except the cucumber.
I guess the CPDs aren't touching any of that and the sakuras would take forever to eat a wafer...
Click to expand...


I'm sure we've said this before but marvin is a meat eater! while he'll eat cucumber at his size and him prefering meat and high protein foods the cucumber will always go last.

Get some frozen daphnia and bloodworm etc
Click to expand...

Hinch, as a thought do you think discus beefheart mix might suit him too ? Just trying to think of as many options as possible for Rob (and so he gets the message about MEAT :lol: ).

Rob... are you a vegetarian or something ? :shifty:
 
Re: ADA 60-P planted tank (new week 3 photos)

My mrs is. Maybe she's brainwashing me.

No, I've been crushing snails for him as well. Oddly I was cleaning yesterday and found a number of empty snail shells. I wonder if that might be anything to do with him? Would he kill them himself?

Daphnia and bloodworm are both easy to get. I discovered a specialist called Amazon Aquatics in my town last night. I'd never seen it before! If they don't have any I know the lfs I usually go to does.

Am I better off with live, frozen or what?

Less likely I know but are there any illnesses I should look out for that a less experienced keeper can identify? Just a thought.


I'm off to cook some lentils and tofu :lol:
 
Re: ADA 60-P planted tank (new week 3 photos)

Hope your Mrs ducks for cover after the lentils !!! They can be somewhat "explosive" :lol:

I have personally always been a bit wary of live foods due to possibility of parasites, but perhaps things have progressed since that opinion was formulated over a decade ago so I will let others with more current knowledge on that answer the question better. As far as the shells go, I am not sure either. But if you are certain the crushed ones you are putting out are going that could be a good sign. I think variety is important though for sure. Mine get about 6 different food type. All are nice and healthy, although sadly I was unable to keep Ottos successfully like many seem to be.
 
Re: ADA 60-P planted tank (new week 3 photos)

frozen are fine just chuck a cube in the tank and it'll get devoured. also those new era pellets I linked to a few pages ago plecs go nuts for just drop some in and watch them go mad (obviously if you only have the one plec and he's only small and you're using the big pellets put only one in !). You shouldn't need to crush the snails for him he should be able to clear them out themselves. they also like bits of fish fillet and prawn.

if he's a wild caught he could have worms/internal parasites easily treatable but I would try fattening him up on proper food before dosing the tank. keep an eye on his belly if its sunk in then he's not fed up right / has issues once he's settled in and eating a proper diet he should become nice and tubby if he starts eating and doesn't fatten up then dose the tank.
 
Re: ADA 60-P planted tank (new week 3 photos)

Hi all,
Oddly I was cleaning yesterday and found a number of empty snail shells. I wonder if that might be anything to do with him? Would he kill them himself?
Click to expand...
Yes I think, L201 is definitely recorded as eating snails.
I discovered a specialist called Amazon Aquatics in my town last night. I'd never seen it before!
Click to expand...
If you live in Warminster Wilts? that is Mike's shop and he is a top bloke, if you live in Leigh Lancs? I've never been in, but I believe that is a good shop as well.
I have personally always been a bit wary of live foods due to possibility of parasites, but perhaps things have progressed since that opinion was formulated over a decade ago so I will let others with more current knowledge on that answer the question better.
Click to expand...
I think they are pretty safe, I would however steer away from frozen bloodworm and live tubifex. If you use earth-worms you are definitely safe from any worries.
Hinch, as a thought do you think discus beefheart mix might suit him too
Click to expand...
Probably not, animal fats aren't readily digestible by fish, and personally I wouldn't recommend beef-heart as a food for any fish (including Discus). The fats issue is why people use heart rather than steak etc, heart is "smooth muscle", and doesn't contain any fat as long as the animal was healthy and the heart was very carefully trimmed, but it is still a very unnatural food and likely to cause water pollution etc.

There are plenty of fish and/or invertebrate based foods, including the pea/shrimp Loricariid/cichlid mix.
Details here: <http://www.cichlidae.com/section.php?id=72> and here, <http://www.plecoplanet.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1278>. The latter poster ("CUP"), is Hypancistrus guru Jon Tarn and he wrote
(for carnivorous fish .......You really just change the ratio of meat to vegetable. You don't want to cook the animal protein portion of the meal, as it makes it a stringy mess. Catfish fillets (usually some sort of ictalurid) would be my rec. It's mushy and has very little texture to it, so it is easy to mash up. That, an egg white or two, some flake food, a bit of spirulina extract, and tie it up with some gelatin. Makes for a good carnivore meal.

There are a few things I've changed in recent years, which have, imo, vastly improved this recipe:

I no longer use mashed peas. Instead, I use baby food (bananas, peas, and carrots). It's already preground, so you don't need to concern yourself with deshelling and crap like that, and there are many varieties of vegetables available.

I use farmed freshwater fish instead of shrimp, which is stringier, and an all around pain to deal with.

barley extract and spirulina powder are now used as well.

I always bind with gelatin now. If you use one pack of gelatin with 1.5x the concentration of water used in the recipe, i have found it keeps the mix solid while it softens in the water column, but is loose enough to dissolve into a thick mush once it hits the gravel for a minute or two. )
Click to expand...
cheers Darrel
 
Re: ADA 60-P planted tank (new week 3 photos)

frozen bloodworm is fine darrel at least I've never had any problems and the fishies love it the l14's grab a cube each and sit on it so nobody else can get any :)
 
Re: ADA 60-P planted tank (new week 3 photos)

hinch said:
frozen bloodworm is fine darrel at least I've never had any problems and the fishies love it the l14's grab a cube each and sit on it so nobody else can get any :)
Click to expand...

Ive never had issues with frozen bloodworm either. Darrel: Any particular reason you feel it should be avoided?
 
Re: ADA 60-P planted tank (new week 3 photos)

Yes, I live in Warminster. I went in and had a good hour chatting to Mike about my tank, my worries and my plans. He is, as you suggest, a top bloke and has given me plenty of food for thought.

I bought some blood worms from him. Frozen so I hope they are ok. I presume they are. He also suggested some wafer thin ham weighted down just before lights out tonight, so I'm going to give that a go too. Just simple ham, no honey or anything.

Mike is also a Sera dealer and I've heard lots of good feedback about their products.

Another interesting point he made is about our local water. His experience is that, while it does fluctuate, it is on the harder side. He sells RO water but he recommended taking rain water from a water butt as an alternative. He did say it's frowned upon but then I appreciate him not trying to make a quick buck.

All in all a good afternoon. We spent some time looking at info online and it seems Marvin is definitely an L120. I showed Mike a photo. In his opinion he looks thin but not too bad but he did say the stress on a wild caught fish being moved halfway round the world and then from shop to me might put him off his food for a bit.

While I am still concerned I am grateful that I have some more avenues to investigate. I'll see if he goes for ham or bloodworm tonight and tomorrow I'll do a partial change to RO water to reduce the hardness. Lets hope my twisted vallis doesn't ming too much!

If after a couple of hours he doesn't go for the ham I can easily remove it, however if he doesn't touch the bloodworms how do I remove them? Or are they safe to leave in? I imagine they're a bit big for the CPDs.

In other news I have a berried Sakura. I've been meaning to sort out a shrimp tank. Now I really should get on it. I was going to go for the easy route of a Fluval Ebi or an AquaSpace but the temptation to get a little cube garden and go all ADA is calling me! I'm sure a plastic bucket with moss and old tank water would be ok too but you know how it is!

Once again thanks to everybody for ideas and advise (and reminders that Marvin likes a good bit of meat!).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top