# Channelling my inner Filipe - Christmas Corys



## Sammy Islam (10 Jan 2020)

Hey guys and girls, I thought I would start a journal for a scape I will be setting up next week.

I've been in the hobby for 3/4 years and luckily have had a decent amount of luck with plants and fish in general and i've learnt a hell of a lot in those years mainly due to UKAPS and I thank you all for that, I've literally read 100s of threads even the crazy long ones

So basically I recently turned 30 and thought I would treat myself and invest in an "Aquascaper 900" set up now that I'm a lot more confident and experienced. I contacted Steven (@Siege) from aquarium gardens to get the ball rolling. Massive thanks to Steven and Dave as they answered a lot of the questions I had and gave me some valuable insight into things to consider. I took the plunge and ordered everything before Christmas and the tank will be delivered on monday (so excited), will be planted and flooded by the weekend.

So recently I've been really into Filipe Oliveira tanks, i really love the "controlled chaos" that some of his scapes evolve into. I watched his workshop video for green aqua on youtube and really like the "v" styled scape, so i decided that's what i want to replicate.

This is Filipe's scape for green aqua:














I popped into aquarium gardens on monday to pick out and finalise my hardscape. I had a play about for 2 hours in the scape box and was really happy with my final result, can't wait to put it together in the tank.
(Ignore the random rock on the right in some of the photos)























Really looking forward to getting everything set up and planted next week and will keep this updated in the hope everyone follows along and pitches in when things may not be going to plan (dreading algae ).

Thank you for reading and will update as things progress!


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## Onoma1 (10 Jan 2020)

David and Steven seem to be quiet unsung heroes, always ready to help but not receiving the recognition they so richly deserve.

I like the scape, however, it seems a mite aggressive for me, almost as if the right hand side is leaning into the left. I am not  however, an expert!


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## Paul27 (10 Jan 2020)

Both nice guys. Dont rush you at any point, could literally spend the whole day there. Best customer service I've ever received. Thing your layout looks good, what plants have you gone for?


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## Sammy Islam (10 Jan 2020)

Dave and Steven are really great guys! I've been to aquarium gardens quite a few times now as it's only a 50min drive. Every visit Dave or Steven have really taken the time out to talk through the scapes and answer any questions i've had. I highly highly recommend aquarium gardens if you haven't been there or used their services.

I agree the scape is pretty aggressive and bold, but i plan to plant very heavily as i have a decent amount of plants ordered and have loads in my current scape so i will use them too seeing as they are fairly healthy. Hopefully all the plants (there will be lots) will balance it out and make it look less aggressive and bold. I tried to replicate the Felipe workshop video as best i could with the vast array of hardscape available.
Heres the video if you're interested:
Hardscape


Planting


Will see how it looks once in the tank, will be interesting trying to get a decent slope either side. I'll probably use some substrate supports so help i guess, aswell as rocks. The left hand side is a little towards the front than the right, not sure if they need to be level or not, but i thought is would create more depth having them offset a little, also another reason is the glassware will be going in front of the right hand side.


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## Deano3 (10 Jan 2020)

Wow great choice sammy on the aquascaper 900 i really fancy a 900 at some point once i can consistently keep my plants alive and well, really looking forward to this and seeing what equipment and plant choices and fish choices you use, also looking forward to seeing some hardscape and layout ideas in the tank.

I think the 900 is a great size and handy as should only need 1 filter etc as wouldnt want to keep 2 running.

Will it be a high tech setup ?

I have ordered a lot of equipment from aquarium gardens however never been as live to far up north but they have always been super helpful and great all round. 

Keep us updated and best of luck.
Dean

Sent from my SM-G970F using Tapatalk


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## Sammy Islam (10 Jan 2020)

Thanks, it seems like the perfect sized all-round tank, especially with the 50cm depth just gives you so many posibillites. My current tank is a 125l and will be replaced by the AS900 once everything has settled so made sense to get something a little bigger.

It will definitely be high tech, with twinstar lighting, oase filtration and in tank co2 and EI dosing. Will update with everything once i set everything up and scape the tank.

I have a decent plant list, i want to plant as heavily as possible and will be using healthy established plants from my current scape too.
I have ordered:

FOREGROUND
Staurogyne Repens
anubias nana mini
anubias nana bonsai
buce  wavy green
pogostemon helferi

MIDGROUND
java fern tridant
crypt wenditti green
crypt wenditii brown
hygrophila pinnatafida

BACKGROUND
rotala orange juice
rotala rotundfolia
rotala sp green
rotala yao yoi
rotala h'ra

I'll probably use quite a few crypts from my running tank that are healthy and well established.

Crypt nevellii
Crypt beckettii
Crypt flamingo
Crypt legoroi
Crypt albida brown

I'm pretty sure of the hardscape layout it will be similar once set up but may change a little once i will be restricted by the glass. I imagine the rocks will be a little more spaced apart as it all initially seems a little harsh being so tight.


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## FishLifeLondon (11 Jan 2020)

I think it would look better with the left side moved forward, with a sharp cliff, as this would increase the depth and make the scape even more dynamic. I think it looks great anyway and the aggression is really dramatic.

I would prefer some plant with smaller texture than S.Repens in the foreground. Bolbitis on the sides would frame the scape nicely and MonteCarlo growing in between and weeping over the rocks would look cool. 

Good luck. I think it’s going to grow in great.


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## Sammy Islam (11 Jan 2020)

Thanks for the input! I will have a play about on monday and try perfect it. I'll have a couple of days to stare at it and make any final decisions before gluing and picking up my plants. 

So you think the rockwork should start at the same level rather than slightly offset? I'll give it a try! I would say its mainly offset to create depth as the left hand side would be the main focal point, also the glassware will be in in the front right hand side.

I do like the finer plant textured carpeting plant like Felipe has used but i think the two little banks either side would look awesome with the s repens acting as a frame. The middle will be a beachy/sandy area so i didn't want any carpet as im going to plants i've had decent success with to start off.

Thanks, will keep this updated!


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## FishLifeLondon (12 Jan 2020)

I think left side forward and right side set back a bit. If the two mounds can start in two different layers it would be great for the tanks depth.


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## Sammy Islam (13 Jan 2020)

Cool, it has been set out like that in the photo unless it doesn't seem like it. The left hand side mound is slightly in front of the right hand side mound so it creates more depth, but i will offset it a little more when i set out my initial scape tomorrow once i have the glass as barrier. Can't wait!


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## Sammy Islam (13 Jan 2020)

First update now the tank is here. Took half a day trying to level it on my own, it didn't help the fact that the cabinet is front heavy and nearly fell on me a few times  also the cabinet with "aqua frame" came already built which was a bonus. The only thing that freaked me out was that there is no top panel on the cabinet so the tank rests essentially on the frame/panels and has no support in the middle. 

I applied some frosted film to the back of the tank as I have weird coloured walls, but not sure if its its much of a difference depending on what angle you look at the tank. But was easy enough and can change to black later if I don't like it.

Got in a couple bags of soil and laid out my rocks. Still got a lot of positioning to do but im happy with what ive got so far. Any suggestions are most welcome as I really want to get this "right".

Sorry about the difference in colour of the photos, capturing photos with the twinstar is very hard so far.



















Thanks


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## Kezzab (13 Jan 2020)

It looks really nice. Could you get it higher at each side, so your big rock 'peaks' are past the halfway height of the tank? About another 3 inches maybe?
K


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## Sammy Islam (13 Jan 2020)

Thanks! I will definitely go a little higher, still got a 9l bag of soil to go in so i will try that before playing about with the manzanita.

Do you think i should raise it from mainly underneath? Or make the "mounds" bigger either side? That will also make the rocks turn in towards the centre making a deeper/steeper valley like the scape i created at aquarium gardens? Not sure if any of that makes sense 


Thanks


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## Kezzab (14 Jan 2020)

Either i think... Deeper and steeper sounds about right. But whatever you prefer


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## Sammy Islam (14 Jan 2020)

So i added more soil underneath and to the "mounds", it has got a little higher but i'll have another go today with the remaining soil. Still have to adjust the rocks alot but i'm really liking the right hand side. 

Couldn't resist chucking the manzanita in so i could sort out which bits i'm going to use on which side. Putting in the wood highlighted the fact that i need to improve my rock work, especially on the left hand side. The large piece of manzanita in the back will have to come towards the front but didnt want to snap it just yet  But pretty happy with the right hand side arrangement of both rocks and wood. Hopefully will have a couple branches sticking out from the waterline too 



 


 


 


 




Thanks


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## Sammy Islam (16 Jan 2020)

So i've finally sorted out the manzanita and glued it all down... Finger crossed it holds  i'm pretty happy with the layout and positioning of the wood considering it was dictated by how it all could be glued together.
I've also added in some substrate supports to help keep the slopes from flattening out..... Not sure of it will work but once the plants are grown in i won't be able to see them. 



 


 


 

Going to be planted and flooded tomorrow hopefully if everything goes to plan, can't wait!


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## Sammy Islam (18 Jan 2020)

Ahhh i've done it!! Took me about 9 hours but i'm really happy with the result!  filled it very slowly last night and it's pretty much clear already!

I think i ordered the perfect amount of plants, maybe a little too much but i want the best start possible. Didn't expect the crypts to be of such high quality, they split up into so many plants, so had a hard time in the end trying to cram them in. Massive thanks to @Aquarium Gardens for everything, the best customer service by a mile and really amazing quality hardscape and plants! 

@FishLifeLondon i took your advice and grabbed some monte carlo when i picked up my plants. So thanks!  probably planted them a bit too deep but didn't want anything floating 


 


 


 


 


 


 

End result


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## JEK (18 Jan 2020)

Great start! Looks really promising!


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## Kezzab (18 Jan 2020)

Good effort! That was a lot of plants!!


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## Deano3 (18 Jan 2020)

Thats a lot of plants but as said gives best start and less chance of algae,hardscape looks excellent,  great job and keep us updated.

Dean

Sent from my SM-G970F using Tapatalk


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## Sammy Islam (19 Jan 2020)

Thanks! I love it and can't wait to see it grow in! It was a lot of plants, maybe the perfect amount seeing as all areas are planted. I probably could have cut the list down by a couple pots but hopefully this will give me the best chance from day 1.

Big water change later and EI dosing starting tomorrow now i've mixed up a big batch of macro and micro solutions.


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## Sammy Islam (27 Jan 2020)

One week update... Things are growing in well, especially the rotala got some decent new submersed growth and it has doubled in size! Got minimal melting of the crypts so far, but have literally had a patch of monte carlo melt overnight which is not great, but other than that so far so good. Got the typical white wood fungus in places and have done 4x 80% water changes so far.

Co2 is looking good, even at substrate level seems to be lime green, verging yellow at lights on. Co2 comes on 3 hours before lights on and 1 hour before lights off and my tank seems to degass overnight. Lights increased to 60%, i might increase the light 10% every two weeks from now as my substrate is sloped up pretty high, so my plants are definitely getting more light/par than they would if i have a more "normal" level of substrate depth.

I'm really impressed with the oase biomaster 600 thermo, it's solid and is pretty heavy when filled up. It's pretty quiet with no weird noises which im happy about as i've always had trouble with cannisters, must just have bad luck. The flow is great, too strong in the main area of flow as its battering my rotala. The prefilter is genius, i have drilled extra holes and have the course foam, so far so good. Does have some trapped air every now and again but you wouldn't notice unless you tilt it every now and again.

DAY 8


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## Siege (27 Jan 2020)

Superb, sammy 

am I right in thinking there is some soil under the ADA small gravel stones?

if so would look good planting a little Cuba here and there in it. It’ll help ease the transition between the planted area and sand.

just a thought, but looking really good!

s.


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## Sammy Islam (27 Jan 2020)

Thanks! loving it right now can't wait to get some shrimp in there next week.

Unfortunately i don't think there is much soil at all under the gravel barrier but will have to experiment maybe with the monte carlo once it gets ahold. Hopefully that patch will recover but looks severe considering it was fine last night when i did a water change. 

Hesitant to add any easycarbo yet as i don't want to induce unessessary melting at this stage


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## Siege (27 Jan 2020)

You should be fine adding a bit of Cuba into the stones. The soil is right at the edge so nutrients will migrate. You’ll only need 1 of the 1-2 grow pots so cheap to experiment with what you think.

the Cuba will also give you some depth being slightly smaller than the Monte Carlo which is right at the front. 

see what you reckon


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## Sammy Islam (27 Jan 2020)

If thats the case then i shall pick up a pot or two of hc and mc next week depending on how much more melts  definitely would look good the barrier is a bit harsh at the moment.

Thanks


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## Sammy Islam (1 Feb 2020)

The tank has it's first inhabitants! Picked up two dozen red cherry shrimp from aquarium gardens and some more monte carlo to try replace the melted parts.

Well it was a massive PITA trying to bury monte carlo in a flooded tank, i really hope i don't have to do that again . I think i made a right pigs ear of it so hopefully it grows and doesn't float! 



 


 

Will update on plant health/growth soon.


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## Sammy Islam (3 Feb 2020)

Week two update....

Everything is going well so far, literally no spec of algae on the glass. Plants are settling in, still minimal crypt melt which is promising especially as there's quite a lot of new leaves! Melted monte carlo patches were replaced and hopefully it starts doing well. staurogyne repens has been growing really well but some bits have randomly melted, looks pretty cool like a demascus pattern. The rotala is going mad, some bits already at the top of the tank, and other bits starting to colour up a little! The hygrophila pinnatafida is looking really healthy, exciting to see it grow! One of the buce is melting not sure if it will survive or put out new growth yet. Also one of the java fern trident is melting/dying but thats thats probably my fault for wedging it in between the wood and maybe damaging the rhizome.

But really happy so far it's starting to take shape, lighting increased to 70%, will probably trim hard and replant tops after next weeks growth. Looking a little mg deficiant maybe with all the large water changes even though i add it back in every time, so will see how that develops over the next week or two.

DAY 15














 

 

 

 




 

Thanks for reading


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## Harry H (3 Feb 2020)

Looking beautiful, Felipe would be proud of inspiring that for sure!


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## Sammy Islam (4 Feb 2020)

Harry H said:


> Looking beautiful, Felipe would be proud of inspiring that for sure!



Thanks! I absolutely love it, can't wait to start adding my livestock next week.


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## Sammy Islam (9 Feb 2020)

Managed to catch some "asian rummy nose tetra" from my other tank to get things going!  Took out some bio media from my fluval 306 and into a free tray in my oase biomaster 600 to help seed the filter and prevent any ammonia spikes.  Will have to break down my old tank in 2 weeks to get the rest of my fish out. Sorry for the terrible photos, will have to dig my camera out soon now things are progressing.




Will have a 30 day update soon before it's first trim and replant as the rotala has gone pretty crazy!


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## Sammy Islam (14 Feb 2020)

The tank is still going strong, coming up to 30days now so will have an update after i carry out it's first real maintenance session this weekend. Can't wait to trim and replant! 

Most plants are doing well, one of my buce melted so i removed it. Weirdly two of my annubias also melted but they have some new growth so maybe some of it will survive. Java fern trident is doing worse on the left hand side i think maybe the flow is battering it as the java fern on the right hand side is doing much much better. 

Caught a decent shot of a berried female earlier so hopefully there will be some baby shrimp sooner or later


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## Sammy Islam (17 Feb 2020)

Well it's been a good first month, so far so good! Some of the rotala are starting to colour up so finally getting some contrast.

General plant health is great, crypts are growing loads of new leaves still with minimal melting, I chopped off a few old leaves now i've got new ones! Monte carlo is hanging on, haven't seen any more melting but its not growing as much as i hoped! But in the next month i should be good and hopefully will have a little carpet.
Hygrophilia pinnatafida is doing well, getting tall so will trim a couple stalks off next week. The S repens has perked up and is growing well. I am most pleased about the pogostemon helferi, it's my nemesis plant that i always fail with, but in this tank so far it's doing amazing and filling out. 

I added a little extra sand on top of the gravel to ease the barrier feeling, and the added HC is growing in the ease that even more!

No real algae yet, the glass has stayed pretty spotless, i still clean it every water change but haven't got a diatom bloom as of yet. Got a the tiniest hint of green on a couple rocks so will give them a scrub on the next water change. Going to clean my glassware in a couple days pretty nervous about it with my luck! 

All in all i'm really happy and love it even more. Only bummer is i was planning on moving my pair of rams across this weekend but the male just happed to get ill or something. Just my luck! 

DAY 30





 


After 1st trim & replant


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## cosmin_ruz (17 Feb 2020)

Nice evolution!


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## Paul27 (17 Feb 2020)

Looking Very Nice


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## Deano3 (17 Feb 2020)

Thats a lovely scape and glad all going well looks great.

Dean

Sent from my SM-G970F using Tapatalk


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## Sammy Islam (18 Feb 2020)

Thanks guys! Really pleased with the progress so far, can't wait for another month to pass, everything should grow even better now the transition period has passed! Finger crossed for the monte carlo, i really hope it starts taking over!


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## alto (22 Feb 2020)

Really well done 

I wonder if the MC is slow to get going re limited light? consider where the Twinstar positioned/intensity ... though as long as growth is steady, I’d be loathe to alter the lighting as everything else is going so well


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## Sammy Islam (22 Feb 2020)

Thanks so far so good, but i'm dreading it now i'm past the 1 month mark 
I think it definitely was low light, as my light is in the middle but it's biased towards the back for the rotala, so i think the hardscape has been shadowing the MC so hasn't grown to its full potential. I am at 80% at the moment 6h photoperiod, will probably increase to 90% next week. The light is at the maximum height the brackets allow so far. I plan on increasing intensity up 100% and if everything still goes well increase the photoperiod time up to 8h max over the next month or so.

Might have to get another pot of MC to fill in the patches that melted seeing as it isn't growing much. Got a tiny bit of melt from adjusting to easy carbo, only 3ml a day for the past week or so.


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## CooKieS (22 Feb 2020)

Very Nice start, always an good idea to use lots of plants at the beginning!

How many lumens Is that twinstar light? Seems a bit weak for the size of your tank. Would avoid algae problem but Mc and stems needs lot of light to Look best, so I Would push it to 100% as your plant mass Is good


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## Sammy Islam (22 Feb 2020)

CooKieS said:


> Very Nice start, always an good idea to use lots of plants at the beginning!
> 
> How many lumens Is that twinstar light? Seems a bit weak for the size of your tank. Would avoid algae problem but Mc and stems needs lot of light to Look best, so I Would push it to 100% as your plant mass Is good



Thanks i really love it! I plan on increasing the lighting tomorrow after my maintenance and water change. I held off last week as i did a major trim and didn't want to push my luck . I've realised the MC does need more light as the hardscape shadows it most where the patch is, so makes sense. I'll go grab some more MC and ramp up the light.

I have the twinstar 900SA, rated 5170lm and 65 watt, at maximum height that the adjustable brackets allow so about 13-14cm above the water. Running at 80% but will push that up tomorrow and lower the fixture in a week or two by an inch.


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## alto (22 Feb 2020)

Sammy Islam said:


> my light is in the middle but it's biased towards the back for the rotala, so i think the hardscape has been shadowing the MC


Move the light incrementally forward - there is more light at the back of the tank than the front (unless you have sunlight hitting the front of the tank) due to the applied tank films/backgrounds or a nearby wall 
(yes someone actually measured these light effects - maybe published at Advanced Aquarist??? I read it a while back when searching for something unrelated )

It would be nice if Twinstar offered a half-width version of their LED units (for half the price too ) so one could add this to the back on these wide tanks


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## Sammy Islam (22 Feb 2020)

alto said:


> Move the light incrementally forward - there is more light at the back of the tank than the front (unless you have sunlight hitting the front of the tank) due to the applied tank films/backgrounds or a nearby wall
> (yes someone actually measured these light effects - maybe published at Advanced Aquarist??? I read it a while back when searching for something unrelated )
> 
> It would be nice if Twinstar offered a half-width version of their LED units (for half the price too ) so one could add this to the back on these wide tanks



Yeah the backs definitely got more light as the backs full of hungry rotala and the front is mainly crypts but i have realised i've been shadowing the front too much. So you think i should edge it forward so it's sitting right in the middle? The tank gets no sunlight at all really.

At the moment it's sitting like this


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## alto (22 Feb 2020)

I’d move the light forward 2-4cm

With no ambient & lights turned off, try to see how light fall from the Twinstar changes as you move the unit forwards - from the photo, I suspect you have (more?) light hitting the wall behind the tank than light fall onto the front glass

Placing a dark paper on the front and back glass (extending several cm’s past the tank height) may make this easier to visualize


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## Sammy Islam (22 Feb 2020)

Thanks. Yeah you are right, i'll do that, i didn't realise i was shading the MC so much, no wonder it wasn't growing loads


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## alto (22 Feb 2020)

My tank gets a fair amount of sunlight (which can be significant even on cloudy days) so initially I hadn’t considered light might be a factor in your slow MC growth 
(I was thinking more in terms of issues with the tissue culture product)


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## Sammy Islam (22 Feb 2020)

Mine literally gets none! I wish i hadn't shaded the MC could have looked so much better 5 weeks in 

On a positive note, i caught some more ember tetras and noticed my first baby shrimp!!!


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## Sammy Islam (28 Feb 2020)

So after my first trim and replant i've run into some deficiencies, mainly FE and maybe NO3, but seeing as i re-planted most of the tips i increased my plant density i may have run low/out of nutrients. Is it possible to run out/low on NO3 if i have a lot of nitrate from tap water?

I first suspected something was up 7 days after trimming, my rotala had minimal new growth and everything was looking paler in general, also was suspecting FE as new leaves where even paler. So i had enough EI solution left to bump up my macro and micro dose by 30% for a week before i have to make a new batch.

A couple days after increasing ferts i had an explosion of new growth on the trimmed rotala which i assume was a lack in nitrogen, i won't really know about iron for another week or so but i would say it has helped a tiny bit as the white/pale growth has a tiny bit of a pink hue now, but i could be imagining it 

Will make up a stronger batch of EI soon as i think the rotala are sucking up the ferts. Will try:

Macro 3x a week
9ppm kno3
11ppm k
1.5ppm po4

10ppm mg (during water change)

Micro 3x a week
APF trace to target 0.2ppm FE
8% DTPA FE to target 0.3ppm FE (assuming the EDTA isn't working/available)


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## Sammy Islam (3 Mar 2020)

Went fish shopping this weekend, went over to "Hertfordshire fisheries" in St Albans for the first time as it was 5mins away from the "Maidenhead aquatics" i was planning on going to.

I was on the hunt for a male GBR for the female i already have and a group of honey gouramis depending on their size.

"Hertfordshire fisheries" was decent, didn't have a massive amount of fish like some other places but the tanks looked good and the majority of the fish looked healthy and happy.

Unfortunately they didn't have enough female golden honey gouramis to make a group, ideally wanted 2M 4F - they had 4M 3F.

So i decided to get two colour morps to make up the group, i ended up with 1M 2F of each - golden honey gourami and red robin honey gourami. The red ones are a little bigger than the golden and are a lot less shy. I'm really happy with my choice, they really complete the tank and give it a real community vibe.






Neither aquatics store had decent GBR, they both had very juvenille fish, about a 1/3 of the size of my female and was even harder to sex them being so small and not coloured up much. I gave it a miss as none of them were the right size to be compatible with my female.

I broke down my old tank and went and donated some fish to my actual LFS, species i didn't want to put into my new scape (pentazona barbs, cardinals and corys). Luckily, when i ask about GBR they told me they had a group just come out of quarantine, they looked amazing, very coloured up for a LFS tank and they were chunky and very active. I studied the group for a while before picking the most colourful male who was less dominant/aggressive compared to the other males. I'm so happy i found a male it was pretty much fate! 







I'm finally fully stocked, feels on the heavy side for a scape as everyone is so active! 
Only downside is now i have bigger fish my shrimp are hiding 

14 Asian rummynose tetra
14 Ember tetra
3 Golden honey gourami (1M 2F)
3 Red robin gourami (1M 2F)
2 German blue rams (1M 1F)
20+ cherry shrimp
4 amano shrimp (will add more later)


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## alto (3 Mar 2020)

The new GBR boy looks gorgeous (don’t know how you resisted getting more of these )



Sammy Islam said:


> red robin honey gourami. The red ones are a little bigger than the golden and are a lot less shy


Compare with the tank bred red form
Trichogaster labiosa

(I found a 2018 thread on another uk forum where several agreed the “red honey gourami” they purchased were most likely T labiosa instead, some noted the fish was more aggressive, so just watch your other honey gourami aren’t too intimidated)


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## Sammy Islam (4 Mar 2020)

alto said:


> The new GBR boy looks gorgeous (don’t know how you resisted getting more of these )
> 
> 
> Compare with the tank bred red form
> ...



They do seem to have different body shapes which only just clicked in my head when i messaged you. The golden honeys are a lot rounder and smaller, where as the red robins are more slender/elongated and bigger. The red male does seem more aggressive than the golden male but i put that down to size.

They are settling in well, so far so good! The goldens like to hang about in the rotala and the more shaded areas near hardscape, where as the red robins like swim about everywhere and are mainly at the front of the tank in the beach area. They do seem to interact and follow eachother and they all chill together when the lights are out, love how they each have a different spot to sleep in.
One thing i didn't anticipate is the rams fending off the gouramis for control over the beach area 

So glad i found an awesome male, just landed in my hands at the perfect time! Going to feed them up and monitor the poop! Hard to feed them certain foods as the tetras are savages, how are they so greedy?!


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## Sammy Islam (17 Mar 2020)

I haven't posted in a while so here's a little update.

After my first major trim and replant i had an iron deficiency, i think that's been corrected to a certain extent as my plants are more colourful and less pale, i wouldn't say I've fixed it as of yet but i am definitely getting there.

Unfortunately my male red robin gourami jumped out yesterday and i didn't notice in time, must have been only 10mins until i noticed. He's the only fish that would get startled easily anytime i appear out of no where. So i assume he was chilling near the surface skimmer eating stuff that's been caught and got spooked when i came in and jumped. 

Other than that, everyone is doing well and i've got a decent population of baby/infant shrimp so hopefully they grow big. Haven't seen my rams or gouramis go for any grown shrimp or babies, in fact my female ram actually sat on top of a big red cherry shrimp once 

Plant health in general is pretty good, still struggling with the Monte carlo which is a shame but i am determined. Rotala is growing well but a little pale, but new growth is looking better. Really happy with the pogostemon helferi, it's filling out really well and is a good indicator plant for iron deficiency, have read @Zeus. Journal a few times 

Minimal algae on plants apart from diatoms, minimal green algae on rocks and wood and i haven't seen any staghorn/BBA yet - i put this down to the oase filter, inside stays very clean when cleaning the prefilter weekly.


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## Sammy Islam (30 Mar 2020)

Found these lot hiding in the prefilter! There's always so many, they must crawl in from the top of the surface skimmer as i've seen baby shrimp that have got stuck and died in the bottom intake slats. 
Going to devise a guard out of some mesh, but the last time i tried, the surface skimmer wasn't happy with my addition.


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## Jayefc1 (31 Mar 2020)

Best to just let them be they always seem happier in my pre filter lol but its normally like 10_20 not.50_60 lol


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## Andrew T (31 Mar 2020)

That’s crazy ; so many shrimp  easier to feed them there than in tank !


----------



## Deano3 (31 Mar 2020)

That is a lot of shrimp in pre filter  thats amazing i thought 5-6 was a lot  tank looking great sammy.

Dean

Sent from my SM-G970F using Tapatalk


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## Sammy Islam (31 Mar 2020)

Jayefc1 said:


> Best to just let them be they always seem happier in my pre filter lol but its normally like 10_20 not.50_60 lol



That's probably the most that's been in there! Last week there was like 30 proper babies in there, this week it's nice to see that they are growing well. 



Andrew T said:


> That’s crazy ; so many shrimp  easier to feed them there than in tank !



Ooo that's a good idea, will try feeding them next week before they get put back into the tank! 



Deano3 said:


> That is a lot of shrimp in pre filter  thats amazing i thought 5-6 was a lot  tank looking great sammy.
> 
> Dean
> 
> Sent from my SM-G970F using Tapatalk



Thanks mate it's getting there, still trying to figure out some sort of deficiency most likely iron!

Was shocked to see that many in there to be honest! A couple of babies fell into the sink basin so had to figure a way of scooping them up - turkey baster and a spoon did the job


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## Sammy Islam (13 Apr 2020)

Been a couple of weeks so here's an update. Things are going fairly well, still battling an iron deficiency but now i have some EDDHA FE to try so hopefully will see some results in a week or two.

I feel like it's helped already as i've seen new growth from my MC which had basically stalled, growing very slowly with tiny leaves. Now i've seen new growth with bigger leaves so i'm optimistic. Still struggling with the MC on the left hand bank - the gouramis and rams keep pulling it out!

I induced some hair algae & staghorn by fiddling with the height of my light and co2.
NOTE TO SELF - DON'T FIDDLE! 

luckily it's mainly on the leaves closest to the water surface and the tank is due a major trim and maintenance session, so most of it can be dealt with, any remaining algae i'll spot dose out.


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## Sammy Islam (20 Apr 2020)

Finally did my big maintenance session, it's crazy how different the scape looks after a big trim! 

Hopefully the rotala will grow back better now that i have more iron available. I've been using EDDHA for about a week and a half and have seen some improvements so i'm hopeful it will look much more colourful this time round. The p.helferi is doing better so the EDDHA is working, just goto figure out the best dose currently at 0.2 ppm per week.

I can see a lot more shrimp now, they are everywhere! Since we've gone into quarantine, it seems like they have come out of quarantine! I use to only see a couple here and there, now i can see atleast 40 at any time. Maybe they are more confident now they have a proper colony or they are really hungry.


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## Jayefc1 (20 Apr 2020)

Its looking really nice and clean mate I like my tanks after a trim and clean feels diffrent some how


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## Sammy Islam (20 Apr 2020)

Jayefc1 said:


> Its looking really nice and clean mate I like my tanks after a trim and clean feels diffrent some how



Thanks mate! Yeah definitely feels different and is so rewarding. Need to clean up the beach area it's so messy, i always forget


----------



## Ady34 (21 Apr 2020)

Looking great 
Plants look in good health and your shrimp population is booming.....surprised those rams haven’t been ‘chucking them on the Barbie’
Shame about the gourami 
Anyway, scape is looking sharp and those stems should come back even better after the trim and hold the shape, look forward to seeing it in a few weeks.
Cheerio,


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## cbaum86 (21 Apr 2020)

Coming along so nicely and those plants are looking good and healthy. I really like the post-trim look, the branches hit the spot for me.

Can't believe how many shrimp you have, must be a happy home you've created!


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## Sammy Islam (21 Apr 2020)

Ady34 said:


> Looking great
> Plants look in good health and your shrimp population is booming.....surprised those rams haven’t been ‘chucking them on the Barbie’
> Shame about the gourami
> Anyway, scape is looking sharp and those stems should come back even better after the trim and hold the shape, look forward to seeing it in a few weeks.
> Cheerio,





cbaum86 said:


> Coming along so nicely and those plants are looking good and healthy. I really like the post-trim look, the branches hit the spot for me.
> 
> Can't believe how many shrimp you have, must be a happy home you've created!



Thanks guys! I'm really looking forward to the next couple of weeks. Been concentrating on trying to grow fairly healthy rotala before i begin to start shaping the background. I really like seeing more of the wood so from now on going to try keep the rotala trimmed, will also help with the h'ra as it gets shadowed easily by faster growers. 

I'm surprised at how well the shrimp are doing, there's got to be atleast 100 now. I think the mass of rotala is a perfect breeding ground and creates a lot of dark areas to chill out. I do feed with bacter AE and sometimes some shrimp king complete if i see a few of them chilling in the back corners together. 

My rams have been more interested in the shrimp, but don't seem to hunt them. They do try eat the smaller ones but only if they are close to them, but 99% of the time they fail. I have seen my male ram eat one small shrimp, but not sure if it was dead or not, but have to assume it was alive. But generally the rams are slow to react and the shrimp are too fast so seems to be working well so far.


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## Steve Buce (27 Apr 2020)

Really nice tank, those red nose fish are nice, did you get just males


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## Sammy Islam (27 Apr 2020)

Steve Buce said:


> Really nice tank, those red nose fish are nice, did you get just males



Thanks! I assume most, if not all are male now that everyone has properly coloured up. There could be a few females that are a lot paler and dull, but then again they could be less dominant males.


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## Sammy Islam (6 May 2020)

Quick update.....

The rotala is growing back well, definitely more colourful than before now that i have been dosing EDDHA FE for a month. Before the new growth was pale and white, now new growth is a lot more yellow. I definitely have enough EDDHA FE in the water as the pink tinge remains at the end of the week.

Seeing as my plants are still not achieving the right colouration i will be increasing my micros next time i make up a batch so MN is increased. I definitely have enough MG and have tried doubling up too with little effect, so i will also lower that a little to 6ppm and see if that helps.

Any input is much appreciated!


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## CooKieS (6 May 2020)

Adding more micros won’t help unfortunately.

‘you’ll need more light and low no3.

what rotala sp is that?

here’s some reading from a plant master ;
https://www.advancedplantedtank.com/blogs/freshwater-aquarium-plants-guide/how-to-grow-red-plants


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## Sammy Islam (6 May 2020)

CooKieS said:


> Adding more micros won’t help unfortunately.
> 
> ‘you’ll need more light and low no3.
> 
> ...



I'm pretty sure my rotala get plenty of light as my substrate is banked up very high at the back and sides, nearly reaches halfway up the tank at the highest point.

I am lowering my nitrate dosing, it's down to 10ppm per week in this months mix. Next month i plan to cut it out completely and rely on my tap water nitrates to see if it helps colouration. 

I'm not too concerned about the red and orange rotala at the moment as they have some colour, which is better than before. I'm concentrating more on the rotala sp green right in the middle, trying to use it as a indicator plant. It's is growing better and greener, but new growth is is still pale and yellow rather than white as before. 

Thanks.


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## Bon MotMot (6 May 2020)

Showing up late to this party. Gorgeous tank, Sammy!


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## Sammy Islam (7 May 2020)

Bon MotMot said:


> Showing up late to this party. Gorgeous tank, Sammy!



Thanks! Really happy with the progress so far


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## Sammy Islam (12 May 2020)

Quick pic at feeding time..... Really need to find my crappy DSLR but really can't be bothered to rummage around in the shed!


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## LondonDragon (31 May 2020)

Nice looking tank Sammy  featured on the UKAPS FB Page!!


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## Sammy Islam (31 May 2020)

Thanks, it's getting there!


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## GHNelson (1 Jun 2020)

Hi Sammy
Nice scape....check your local municipal water supplier for Nitrate levels!
I will be surprised if its not around 40ppm to 50ppm
hoggie


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## Sammy Islam (1 Jun 2020)

hogan53 said:


> Hi Sammy
> Nice scape....check your local municipal water supplier for Nitrate levels!
> I will be surprised if its not around 40ppm to 50ppm
> hoggie



Thanks i realised earlier that it was mainly a FE deficiency as i've been lowering my NO3 monthly, but can't go back and put in an edit because it was a stupid statement! 

I have also realised that adding a little extra PO4 has helped, i assume this would be because my EDTA FE dose is useless and none would be used by the plant so it would take out some of the phosphates and whatever else.


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## LondonDragon (11 Jul 2020)

Sammy Islam said:


> Thanks, it's getting there!


You even got a like by Filipe himself, awesome  hows the tank going?


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## Sammy Islam (12 Jul 2020)

LondonDragon said:


> You even got a like by Filipe himself, awesome  hows the tank going?



Really? That's awesome! Tanks ticking along nicely, will post an update soon, coming up to 6.5 month mark.

Starting to have problems with the S.repens but i think that may have been due to the temp fluctuations in the last month as i've changed nothing else.


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## alto (9 Sep 2020)

I’m quite sure this journal calls out for some updates


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## Sammy Islam (10 Sep 2020)

Hey everyone, hope all is well.

Sorry I haven't updated this journal in quite a while but I had a surge of work halfway through lockdown so just happy to keep busy. 

Don't worry i haven't failed and my tank isn't a algae mess! Still doing weekly maintenance sessions which i haven't missed and things are chugging along nicely and everything must be fairly balanced. The only thing i have failed with is my main monte-carlo carpet and my secondary carpet which i hoped would grow around the beach/gravel area. I have swapped this out for dwarf hair grass and it's doing alright. I have bought more monte-carlo to plant around the edge of the beach area but my shrimp literally uproot everything a couple hours after planting even when i completely cover it, so kind of gave up after a while 😂

All the plants are growing well, but i have a lot of trouble with my s.repens and nothing seems to sort it out. It either grows leggy, or has gsa/gda on it, sometimes seems pale and when trimming sometimes they completely melt which is annoying seeing as everything else is doing well.

Live stock are all good, i absolutely love the gouramis! So glad i bought them, they are so chilled out and add another dynamic to the tank. My rams are doing great, my male is a beast now and the tables have turned as hes now king of the tank.  They have also started hunting my shrimp, so I don't see many in the beach area anymore. But i know there is a massive colony left as i fed atleast 100 the other night when the fish were sleeping. 

All in all happy days, especially now everythings balanced i rarely have to think about it and can just enjoy it rather than panicking and worrying trying to figure out if something is wrong! 

I will update soon with some photos once i've planted the monte-carlo and had a little trim. Thanks for reading 👍


----------



## alto (10 Sep 2020)

Sammy Islam said:


> They have also started hunting my shrimp,


This is usually my experience as well 

Have you been planting TC MC, or tried the pot version as well (shouldn’t be as tender and tasty )

Which gourami do you have remaining?

Tank is looking grand


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## Sammy Islam (10 Sep 2020)

alto said:


> This is usually my experience as well
> 
> Have you been planting TC MC, or tried the pot version as well (shouldn’t be as tender and tasty )
> 
> ...



I've always tried the tropica 1-2 grow pots of MC, the problem is when i plant into the gravel the shrimp are all over the area i've disturbed. I don't think they are eating it just completely uprooting it even though it's covered in gravel so i gave up for a while. But i'm determined and got some new MC so will give it another try. 

I've got 2 left of each type of gourami, so one of each have jumped out and i haven't had any problems since. I'm thinking to buy some more asian rummy nose if i ever see them in the LFS again, they really bring the tank to life. Their behaviour is really cool and unique, i wasn't keen when i first set up the tank but now i love them, they use every inch of the tank compared to the other fish and are so active.


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## Deano3 (10 Sep 2020)

Tank looking great sammy and its great when tank seems to reach a ballance and just ticks along nicely thats exactly what my 45p is doing. Looks great still mate glad everything going well  

Sent from my SM-G970F using Tapatalk


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## Sammy Islam (11 Sep 2020)

Deano3 said:


> Tank looking great sammy and its great when tank seems to reach a ballance and just ticks along nicely thats exactly what my 45p is doing. Looks great still mate glad everything going well
> 
> Sent from my SM-G970F using Tapatalk



Thanks Dean I'm happy that's it's pretty old and not covered in algae! I've finally figured out how often i need to trim the rotala too, as they all grow at different speeds it's hard to keep it all under control as the H'ra easily gets shadowed leading to poor growth.

Can't wait to give the MC another go in the gravel and stop the shrimp from uprooting it! 😂


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## SRP3006 (11 Sep 2020)

Really like this tank, one of the reasons I looked into getting a 900 TBH. Followed the journal throughout. 
Do the Asian rummy nose bother your shrimp? And do they 'shoal'?


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## Sammy Islam (12 Sep 2020)

SRP3006 said:


> Really like this tank, one of the reasons I looked into getting a 900 TBH. Followed the journal throughout.
> Do the Asian rummy nose bother your shrimp? And do they 'shoal'?



Thanks that's cool to hear! The asian rummy nose don't really bother the shrimp, i've seen them try nibble on a shrimp, but to be honest i think their mouths are too small in general and the shrimp do well not to get eaten. The rams are the only fish that bother the shrimp, the gouramis don't hunt or eat them at all. 

The asian rummy nose don't shoal in the classic sense like the others. But if you have enough of them they usually split into two groups and really energetically chase eachother all over the tank in two separate streams. It's pretty cool and entertaining, especially as that's literally all they do all day, it's like they live in their own world and don't care about being in a tank. 😀


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## Sammy Islam (17 Sep 2020)

Random update....

I saw the worm (earthworm Jim) again late last night, 3rd time ever. He has made it over to the other side of the tank which is interesting, must be keeping the soil aerated 🤣

Saw him just under my hairgrass carpet up against the front glass and he has grown a lot, he's pretty long. I wanted to take it out considering i could reach him, but got scared (i hate snake like things 🤮) and aborted the mission. I was using my phone flash light and the colours on the worm were amazing, almost rainbow or pearlescent like which was cool. It also moved quite fast which was another surprise 🤣

Here's a couple of snaps of my male ram, he's a beast now.


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## alto (17 Sep 2020)

Sammy Islam said:


> The asian rummy nose don't shoal in the classic sense like the others. But if you have enough of them they usually split into two groups and really energetically chase eachother all over the tank in two separate streams. It's pretty cool and entertaining, especially as that's literally all they do all day, it's like they live in their own world and don't care about being in a tank. 😀


This is such an apt description of these fish!


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## Sammy Islam (18 Sep 2020)

alto said:


> This is such an apt description of these fish!


They are very cool, hope I can find some more. Wasn't keen on their behaviour when i first got them as all the other fish are quite slow moving in comparison and it upset the calm nature of the aquarium. But after a while i grew to love them as they are so unique and actually use every inch of the tank.


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## alto (18 Sep 2020)

How many do you have now?


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## Sammy Islam (18 Sep 2020)

alto said:


> How many do you have now?



I should still have 14, haven't found any jumpers or seen any weak/ill ones so I assume I still have them all. It's pretty hard to count them to be fair as they are either flying about the tank or in amongst the plants so rarely get the chance to count them all at once.


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## dw1305 (18 Sep 2020)

Hi all,





Sammy Islam said:


> I saw the worm (earthworm Jim) again late last night, 3rd time ever





Sammy Islam said:


> I was using my phone flash light and the colours on the worm were amazing, almost rainbow or pearlescent


_Lumbricus rubellus_ has <"that look"> and is lively, but <"I don't know about"> _Eiseniella tetraedra _or _Dendrodrilus rubidus, _or quite how flooding tolerant _L. rubellus_ is_._

cheers Darrel


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## Sammy Islam (18 Sep 2020)

dw1305 said:


> Hi all,
> _Lumbricus rubellus_ has <"that look"> and is lively, but <"I don't know about"> _Eiseniella tetraedra _or _Dendrodrilus rubidus, _or quite how flooding tolerant _L. rubellus_ is_._
> 
> cheers Darrel



Im pretty freaked out now 🤣


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## alto (28 Sep 2020)

Just came across this stunning S resplendens photo in GF’s old journal  


[*IWAGUMI] Project Scree - New plants and lights*
https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/iwagumi-project-scree-new-plants-and-lights.12095/


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## Sammy Islam (28 Sep 2020)

alto said:


> Just came across this stunning S resplendens photo in GF’s old journal
> 
> 
> [*IWAGUMI] Project Scree - New plants and lights*
> https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/iwagumi-project-scree-new-plants-and-lights.12095/



I'll try take some decent photos of them but they don't stay still for very long  really need to find my DSLR camera as i hate using my phone and my tanks got to a point where i need to start taking proper photos.


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## Sammy Islam (1 Nov 2020)

Quick update...

Things are going really well, i think the scape is nearly 10 months old! I'm finally getting close to the scape i had envisioned. I think i will be there in a month or so, really looking forward to it. 

Since the last update I have properly sorted out the beach area, and have planted MC in the gravel, this time it's looking promising. I have also been daily dosing EI for a month or so after reading that recent thread that popped up and i think it has helped - i was strarting to struggle with the pinnatafida and now its growing really well. 

I am still struggling with the S.repens, it is growing a little better but i always have problems with gsa or gda on the leaves, and sometimes its grows stunted and leggy. I have increased PO4 and CO2 but hasn't really helped so i'm going to put it down to being my new nemesis plant 🤣



















Will update in a month or so, fingers crossed the MC finally takes and i end up with a "secondary carpet" 🤣


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## Jayefc1 (1 Nov 2020)

Wow Sammy it has really taken shape looks good


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## Kezzab (1 Nov 2020)

Looking good.


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## SRP3006 (1 Nov 2020)

Looks great, taken shape really nicely.


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## LondonDragon (1 Nov 2020)

Stunning, love this tank  great job


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## Sammy Islam (1 Nov 2020)

Jayefc1 said:


> Wow Sammy it has really taken shape looks good





Kezzab said:


> Looking good.





SRP3006 said:


> Looks great, taken shape really nicely.





LondonDragon said:


> Stunning, love this tank  great job



Thanks guys! Finally coming together, really happy with it at the moment! Really hoping the MC grows this time! I'll leave you with another photo of my beast! 😉🤣


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## Tim Harrison (1 Nov 2020)

Sammy Islam said:


> Quick update...
> 
> Things are going really well, i think the scape is nearly 10 months old! I'm finally getting close to the scape i had envisioned. I think i will be there in a month or so, really looking forward to it.
> 
> ...


Looking really good 👍


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## Deano3 (1 Nov 2020)

Looks excellent mate, i always struggled with s repens and also monte carlo aswel  but seems to be coming together really well looks super healthy. 

Sent from my SM-G970F using Tapatalk


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## Sammy Islam (1 Nov 2020)

Tim Harrison said:


> Looking really good 👍


Thanks Tim 👍



Deano3 said:


> Looks excellent mate, i always struggled with s repens and also monte carlo aswel  but seems to be coming together really well looks super healthy.
> 
> Sent from my SM-G970F using Tapatalk


Cheers, I am determined to succeed in growing MC in my gravel edge. I think i've tried 6 times now, but this time seems to be growing! Fingers crossed 🤞


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## rebel (2 Nov 2020)

Any FTS lately?


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## Sammy Islam (2 Nov 2020)

rebel said:


> Any FTS lately?


Yup end of the previous page 👍


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## Ady34 (6 Nov 2020)

Looks great and can really see and feel the inspiration in the tank, great job


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## Sammy Islam (6 Nov 2020)

Ady34 said:


> Looks great and can really see and feel the inspiration in the tank, great job


Thanks Ady, I'm really loving it! 😀


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## Sammy Islam (9 Nov 2020)

Really plased with how the p.helferi is doing! This use to be my nemesis plant, but it has bounced back and looking crinkley 😀 now i have to figure out the s.repens, but I've tried most things already so a little stumped.


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## Karmicnull (10 Nov 2020)

Fabulous tank - really inspiring and love the GBR too!


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## Sammy Islam (11 Nov 2020)

Karmicnull said:


> Fabulous tank - really inspiring and love the GBR too!


Thanks! Love my GBR too, i was looking at my old post when i got him and it's crazy how much he's grown and coloured up.

I'm glad it's going well and i plan to keep the scape for a long time so will see how it does on a long term basis.


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## Sammy Islam (30 Nov 2020)

I've been looking through my old photos recently and can't believe how much everything has grown 🤯. It's kind of funny (in a weird way) looking back on the early photos, especially looking at the little trident ferns. They are probably 25x bigger now, i don't think i've ever trimmed them 😀. The H.pinnatifida has gone crazy, it's actually holding my hardscape together now 🤣. I kind of hate that you can't see much of the rocks anymore, something i hadn't considered. 🤔


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## Vijay_06 (30 Nov 2020)

Looks amazing! 

How do you keep Detritus and Mulm from accumulating under all that thick/bushy plant growth? Also, do you clean the rocks and wood frequently?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Sammy Islam (1 Dec 2020)

Vijay_06 said:


> Looks amazing!
> 
> How do you keep Detritus and Mulm from accumulating under all that thick/bushy plant growth? Also, do you clean the rocks and wood frequently?
> 
> ...


I rarely clean the rocks and wood anymore, mainly because i can barely see any rock. The wood is pretty flexible so i tend not to clean often, if i get bba on the wood luckily nearly all the wood can be exposed during a water change and i can drip some easy carbo om the effected areas.

On the detritus front i'm quite aggressive, i put my hands through the trident ferns to get any detritus in to the water column and try rip out old leaves from underneath. I wave my hands aggressively everywhere and try get the trapped crap out from the tight spaces. Then i do big water changes, probably 85% once a week.


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## Steve Buce (1 Dec 2020)

Love how this has grown in, really nice looking tank


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## Sammy Islam (1 Dec 2020)

Steve Buce said:


> Love how this has grown in, really nice looking tank


Thanks it's going well. Think it's probably coming up to 11months now. 😀


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## maj74 (1 Dec 2020)

Sammy Islam said:


> I've been looking through my old photos recently and can't believe how much everything has grown 🤯. It's kind of funny (in a weird way) looking back on the early photos, especially looking at the little trident ferns. They are probably 25x bigger now, i don't think i've ever trimmed them 😀. The H.pinnatifida has gone crazy, it's actually holding my hardscape together now 🤣. I kind of hate that you can't see much of the rocks anymore, something i hadn't considered. 🤔
> 
> View attachment 157184
> View attachment 157185


I love the last photo, with the gladiatorial Ram prowling around his very own Collosseum.... 'Are you not entertained?' I hear him cry!


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## Sammy Islam (1 Dec 2020)

maj74 said:


> I love the last photo, with the gladiatorial Ram prowling around his very own Collosseum.... 'Are you not entertained?' I hear him cry!


Haha! He is the boss now!


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## Sammy Islam (8 Dec 2020)

Quick update..... 

Thing are still going well, still trying to figure out the weird daily rotala colour change. I have increased FE and MG as they are more likely to be the reason than macros (i hope). 

I have also decreased CO2 (wish me luck 🤣) as i have noticed my male ram has started hiding for the 1st half of the photoperiod, and my "red robin" gourami have looked sluggish and breathing really slowly. 

Just trimmed and replanted half the rotala on sunday as i had been trimming for shape recently and got to the point where they needed to be trimmed short. 










I have been considering getting a group of small corys, i miss keeping them and would really love like 6 or 8 maybe julii?. But i've always talked myself out of it because i feel like the sand area isn't big enough, even though they swim about everywhere in general. What do you think? Yes or no? 🤔🤔🤔


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## dw1305 (8 Dec 2020)

Hi all,


Sammy Islam said:


> would really love like 6 or 8 maybe julii?.


_<"Corydoras panda? "> _Do well in hard water and are not too big.

cheers Darrel


----------



## Sammy Islam (8 Dec 2020)

dw1305 said:


> Hi all,
> 
> _<"Corydoras panda? "> _Do well in hard water and not too big.
> 
> cheers Darrel


I was considering pandas too. I use to own julii in my old tank and they stayed fairly small. Are pandas smaller? How many could i get?


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## Hufsa (8 Dec 2020)

Just need to jump in to interject, what youre referring to as julii corys are actually Corydoras trilineatus 99,9% of the time. They are very commonly incorrectly labeled C. julii, but the true Corydoras julii is very rare in the trade. Just had to get it off my chest 😅


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## Sammy Islam (8 Dec 2020)

Hufsa said:


> Just need to jump in to interject, what youre referring to as julii corys are actually Corydoras trilineatus 99,9% of the time. They are very commonly incorrectly labeled C. julii, but the true Corydoras julii is very rare in the trade. Just had to get it off my chest 😅


Thanks, i have just been reading about that! 👍


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## dw1305 (9 Dec 2020)

Hi all, 


Sammy Islam said:


> Are pandas smaller?


Yes, they are a bit smaller than <"_Corydoras trilineatus">. _You need at least five, but after that it would depend on the bottom area of the tank. 

You may be able to find hobbiest bred ones cheaply, they are about the only locally bred  Corydoras you ever see in the shops here, I assume because the tap water is really hard and doesn't allow most of the other species to breed successfully. 

cheers Darrel


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## dw1305 (9 Dec 2020)

Hi all,


Hufsa said:


> julii corys are actually Corydoras trilineatus 99,9% of the time


I've never seen a true <"_C. julii">,_ but I have seen various by-catch , <"long-nosed"> & <"C number _Corydoras_"> mixed in with the "_C. julii"_ in shops.

cheers Darrel


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## Sammy Islam (9 Dec 2020)

dw1305 said:


> Hi all,
> 
> Yes, they are a bit smaller than <"_Corydoras trilineatus">. _You need at least five, but after that it would depend on the bottom area of the tank.
> 
> ...


Thanks Darrel, i'll have a look in my LFS for some pandas, probably will try get 6.


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## SRP3006 (9 Dec 2020)

I've got 6 pandas in my 900, great fish with character, always active, love a cooler water tank too, breed readily also. I do have a sand/beach area in mine however they spend most of their time in amongst the plants.


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## Sammy Islam (9 Dec 2020)

SRP3006 said:


> I've got 6 pandas in my 900, great fish with character, always active, love a cooler water tank too, breed readily also. I do have a sand/beach area in mine however they spend most of their time in amongst the plants.


Thanks. I'm quite excited, i haven't visted a LFS in so long. 😉


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## SRP3006 (9 Dec 2020)

Sammy Islam said:


> Thanks. I'm quite excited, i haven't visted a LFS in so long.


I was told they can be quite fragile after being transported, took me quite some time to find decent stock and stock that had been in the shop for more than 2 weeks. Watch for the odd jump after introducing them, they aren't jumpers as such but the new tank and their desire to gulp air sometimes gets them in trouble.


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## Sammy Islam (23 Dec 2020)

SRP3006 said:


> I was told they can be quite fragile after being transported, took me quite some time to find decent stock and stock that had been in the shop for more than 2 weeks. Watch for the odd jump after introducing them, they aren't jumpers as such but the new tank and their desire to gulp air sometimes gets them in trouble.


Thanks, to be fair i think most of the LFS stock will be older due to the pandemic and slow business, so hopefully they will have some healthy ones. Would be cool to get some really small pandas and grow them out and hope for some breeding action.


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## Room101 (24 Dec 2020)

Hi all. I've just read through the journal. Great scape. Thanks for sharing. 
Regards.


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## Sammy Islam (24 Dec 2020)

Room101 said:


> Hi all. I've just read through the journal. Great scape. Thanks for sharing.
> Regards.


Thanks for reading! 👍


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## Sammy Islam (25 Dec 2020)

So i went to my LFS yesterday as i was running low on dechlorinator and frozen foods. Was also hoping to find 7 small panda corys (they usually do buy 6 get 1 free). They didn't have any pandas, and the other corys were quite big. But then i spotted a group of 7 small bandit corys, they were labeled as "corydoras metae" so hopefully they are "true" and maybe someone can identify @dw1305. Couldn't resist, they were the perfect size and a group of 7. Had the lights and co2 off yesterday to help them out, so grabbed a quick couple photos of them just now.

I haven't seen all 7 yet, so keeping an eye out to make sure they are good, I have definitely seen 6. They are pretty small probably 2cm and my beach area is pretty big for them so i'm happy. They love sitting on the big crypt leaves, also their face markings match my rams 😉

Also happy to report my male ram and gourami are more active now. The ram seems to be out a lot more over the last couple of days.

Merry Christmas! 😉


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## Conort2 (25 Dec 2020)

I’d say they’re corydoras melini rather than Metae. Not that it makes much difference care for both species is identical. You may get lucky and get them to spawn. I used to keep Metae and fry would turn up all the time without me doing anything special.

cheers

Conor


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## Sammy Islam (25 Dec 2020)

Conort2 said:


> I’d say they’re corydoras melini rather than Metae. Not that it makes much difference care for both species is identical. You may get lucky and get them to spawn. I used to keep Metae and fry would turn up all the time without me doing anything special.
> 
> cheers
> 
> Conor


That's what i was thinking after looking at the photos and comparing fish profile photos. But as they were labelled specifically as "corydoras metae" i thought maybe they were, rather than if they were called "bandit corydoras" or "corydoras melini".

I think there is a couple females which are bigger. Hopefully they do spawn, as i do very big water changes weekly with cooler water in general. 😉


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## mort (26 Dec 2020)

They are great little corydoras and as Conor says they are melini not metae. You can tell the difference in the black stripe down the back. In metae it covers the top of the ridge so you get on complete black line but in melini it splits so you get a white base colour on the ridge. 
I used to keep a group of metae when I was a kid and they were amazing little fish. They get a chubby profile as they are a higher bodied cory  and I think melini have the same characteristic body profile when they fill out.


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## dw1305 (26 Dec 2020)

Hi all, 


Conort2 said:


> I’d say they’re corydoras melini rather than Metae.


Same for me, due to the shape of the dorsal / caudal black stripe and the peppering of dots on the flanks.

<"Nice fish"> and a good find.

cheers Darrel


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## Sammy Islam (26 Dec 2020)

mort said:


> They are great little corydoras and as Conor says they are melini not metae. You can tell the difference in the black stripe down the back. In metae it covers the top of the ridge so you get on complete black line but in melini it splits so you get a white base colour on the ridge.
> I used to keep a group of metae when I was a kid and they were amazing little fish. They get a chubby profile as they are a higher bodied cory  and I think melini have the same characteristic body profile when they fill out.





dw1305 said:


> Hi all,
> 
> Same for me, due to the shape of the dorsal / caudal black stripe and the peppering of dots on the flanks.
> 
> ...


Thanks, after taking the photos it was clear comparing them. They are really cool, so glad i have some corys again to grow out. Can't wait to see all 7 to confirm they are good.


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## Conort2 (26 Dec 2020)

I’d recommend some freeze dried blackworm cubes to get them into good condition and flatten them up. They go mad if you stick a cube on the glass next to the substrate. They’re quite expensive but a little goes a long way with them.

cheers

Conor


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## Sammy Islam (26 Dec 2020)

Conort2 said:


> I’d recommend some freeze dried blackworm cubes to get them into good condition and flatten them up. They go mad if you stick a cube on the glass next to the substrate. They’re quite expensive but a little goes a long way with them.
> 
> cheers
> 
> Conor


Will try get some, the LFS was running low on frozen foods etc. I've got some frozen mini bloodworms and mosquito larvae left. I tend to feed things that make the least amount of waste or that can remain in my beach area when the filter goes back on.


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## Sammy Islam (30 Dec 2020)

Quick update, i have only just seen the 7th cory. For the past week i have been really keeping an eye out for the 7th one, but weirdly only 6 were out together or could that be seen everytime. I have been feeding a really tiny amount of food at night as that's they are most active, even then only 6 came out each time. I even messaged the guy that works at the LFS asking if he definitely gave me 7 🤣

But yeah, just put a tiny bit of food in just now and watched patiently for about 25mins, and i counted 7 luckily, thats because the 7th one doesnt seem to come out to the sand area like the others. Also i would say it's the biggest one so probably a she as two smaller ones were following her i assume they are male. She seems to be inside the bigger crypts in the middle of the tank where its pretty dark because of the big leaves, she must have been chilling around there the whole time.

What are the signs of breeding? I would assume any eggs they lay would be best in the dark "crypt cave" maybe on the underside of leaves? @dw1305

Really glad i have seen all 7 now as i was really confused and frustrated to why i could only see 6 out and about.🙈


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## dw1305 (30 Dec 2020)

Hi all, 


Sammy Islam said:


> I would assume any eggs they lay would be best in the dark "crypt cave" maybe on the underside of leaves?


It depends  little bit on the species, some lay batches of eggs on the glass, but they often lay their eggs singly on plants. If you go to <"PlanetCatfish"> or <"ScotCat"> it has breeding reports for the different species.

cheers Darrel


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## Karmicnull (30 Dec 2020)

Hi @Sammy Islam my six pandas do exactly the same thing.  They only ever let me see four of them at once. Occasionally they'll vanish behind a rock, do a switcheroo and a different four will appear.  I had to rope my son in to look at the tank from a different angle at the same time, and then we caught them doing it!  I think it's some sort of Clark Kent thing...
Cheers,
Simon


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## alto (30 Dec 2020)

Another excellent Friday Photospread from Sumer Tiwari









						Friday Photospread: Care and Breeding of Corydoras melini - AMAZONAS Magazine
					

Sumer Tiwari describes his experience with Corydoras melini, from acquisition to spawning and rearing the fry. Bloodworms were the main diet for adults and juveniles.




					www.reef2rainforest.com
				




And his awesome FB page 

Streamlined Sparkles


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## Sammy Islam (30 Dec 2020)

Karmicnull said:


> Hi @Sammy Islam my six pandas do exactly the same thing.  They only ever let me see four of them at once. Occasionally they'll vanish behind a rock, do a switcheroo and a different four will appear.  I had to rope my son in to look at the tank from a different angle at the same time, and then we caught them doing it!  I think it's some sort of Clark Kent thing...
> Cheers,
> Simon


It is really random how only 6 come out to the front. But they have only been in a weeo so hopefully they will feel more comfortable in the weeks to come. But i'm really happy that i have seen all 7, hopefully they learn to come out more at feeding time during the photoperiod. 


alto said:


> Another excellent Friday Photospread from Sumer Tiwari
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thanks Alto, that's really helpful. Now i know what their eggs look like, i assumed they would be smaller 🤔


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## dw1305 (30 Dec 2020)

Hi all,


Sammy Islam said:


> Now i know what their eggs look like, i assumed they would be smaller


Those are large eggs for a relatively small _Corydoras_ sp.

cheers Darrel


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## Sammy Islam (30 Dec 2020)

dw1305 said:


> Hi all,
> 
> Those are large eggs for a relatively small _Corydoras_ sp.
> 
> cheers Darrel


Hopefully i see some egg action at some point. I will keep an eye out in the areas with the most flow, as the crypt area probably has the least amount of flow.


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## Sammy Islam (31 Dec 2020)

I have seen all 7 a few times now they are becoming more confident and come out at feeding time. They go crazy for fluval bug bites and mini blood worms. If i ever see them in the LFS again i will probably grab a few more littles ones to make it up to 11 or 12.


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## Sammy Islam (11 Jan 2021)

Quick update....

The tank/scape is nearly a year old next week. Things are ticking along pretty well. Been doing extra water changes since i turned down my CO2, got a tiny bit of BBA on my annubias but spot dosing it will sort that that. Got a little bit of BBA in my gravel area so cleaned that up and swapped it out for new gravel.

Something really random happened too, my female ram seemed to have a bit of gravel stuck in her mouth and she was struggling to get it out as she was thrashing about. I didn't know what to do so i tired blowing it out her mouth with a turkey baster which didn't help. I decided to put the tweezers in and tried to get close, she actually let me get it out her mouth. She stayed completely still 3 times for about 20secs at a time and i was luckily able to gently knock it out her mouth. Was a very cool experience, i'm convinced she let me help.

I also saw the worm (earthworm jim) the other night, he is flipping huuge now, probably 15cm. Pretty freaked out by it and would love to get it out but i can't seem to get myself to pull him out with tweezers. 🤣 I guess he will have to stay in there until i completely rescape. 🤮


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## Sammy Islam (13 Jan 2021)

Really love having corys again, they are so cool, love how they gobble up bloodworms like noodles! 🤣They are a lot more confident and they have definitely grown since i got them. They have coloured up too, when i got them they were more grey, now they are more brown if anything.

I have a few questions...
1) they are very active all day and night, do they ever "sleep"?
2) when feeding them with say bloodworms, why do they eat specific worms at a time rather than gourge on a bigger pile? Like they will dig around the sand area and don't eat every worm/bit of food they come in contact with and seem very "picky" when selecting each "bite".


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## CooKieS (14 Jan 2021)

Sammy Islam said:


> Something really random happened too, my female ram seemed to have a bit of gravel stuck in her mouth and she was struggling to get it out as she was thrashing about. I didn't know what to do so i tired blowing it out her mouth with a turkey baster which didn't help. I decided to put the tweezers in and tried to get close, she actually let me get it out her mouth. She stayed completely still 3 times for about 20secs at a time and i was luckily able to gently knock it out her mouth. Was a very cool experience, i'm convinced she let me help



that’s fantastic ! 😮


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## mort (14 Jan 2021)

I've always loved cories to. They pick certain worms to eat because they have relatively small mouths and suck them up like spaghetti. They probably only eat the ones that smell right fish as they taste/detect them with their barbels. 

They are mostly active in dimmer light but when used to our tanks are happy to come out during the day as we feed them. Most fish will move around during the whole day but cories have a quite sedentary lifestyle for a fair part of the day it's just split into much smaller rests than we do.


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## Sammy Islam (14 Jan 2021)

mort said:


> I've always loved cories to. They pick certain worms to eat because they have relatively small mouths and suck them up like spaghetti. They probably only eat the ones that smell right fish as they taste/detect them with their barbels.
> 
> They are mostly active in dimmer light but when used to our tanks are happy to come out during the day as we feed them. Most fish will move around during the whole day but cories have a quite sedentary lifestyle for a fair part of the day it's just split into much smaller rests than we do.


Ah ok that makes more sense if they smell out the bits they want and that will fit in their mouths, they are very selective. Can they see the food with their eyes?


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## dw1305 (14 Jan 2021)

Hi all, 


Sammy Islam said:


> ....... and they have definitely grown since i got them. They have coloured up too, when i got them they were more grey, now they are more brown if anything.


I'd be pleased with them, they look really good. 


mort said:


> They pick certain worms to eat because they have relatively small mouths and suck them up like spaghetti. They probably only eat the ones that smell right fish as they taste/detect them with their barbels.





Sammy Islam said:


> Can they see the food with their eyes?


I've noticed this as well particlularly when I feed Micro worms. The fish become active as the cloud of Micro worms approaches them, they definitely aren't seeing them, so some olfactory stimulus must tell them that a snack is arriving.

cheers Darrel


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## mort (14 Jan 2021)

They can use their eyes but prodominantely the whiskers/barbels as the food could be hidden under their chin (it's a bit like my dog, her blindsight is right under her nose). They use their barbels to detect food in the upper layers of the sand so they can eat even when it's pitch black.


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## Sammy Islam (14 Jan 2021)

dw1305 said:


> Hi all,
> 
> I'd be pleased with them, they look really good.
> 
> ...


I love them, so happy i found some small ones. They look so good when they are all out together, they really complete the tank for me.


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## Sammy Islam (9 Feb 2021)

Quick update....

Everything is going really well at the moment, i've been doing "experiments" aka fiddling, especially with lockdown blah blah gives me something to do and observe.

I have been dosing half micros for 6 or 7 weeks now with APF micro, just to see if it helped with pinholes in my h.pinnatafida as a few articles/posts concluded with it may be sensetive to heavy metals. To be honest it hasn't made a difference to the h.pinnatifida, but i feel like it has improved the growth of my s.repens, p.helferi, anubias and buces. The buce and anubias are definitely growing faster with multiple leaves at a time rather just one. But it's all anecdotal still but i'm going to carry on for now.

I've increased my CO2 again slowly over the last week as my male ram seems good and isn't hiding anymore. I've also raised my lights (twinstar 900SA) a few CM which i should have done ages ago as it has given me much better spread, i guess i was too fixated on it being at the height of the fixed bracket version. Hopefully this will help my h.pinnatifida as they sit under the lights.

Will have an update with some photos soon, the scape is nearly 13 months old and going strong, so happy days really.

I'll leave you with a cory gobbling up some bloodworms. 😀


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## Sammy Islam (4 Mar 2021)

Little update....

Everything is going really well at the moment, really just plodding along nicely. Been increasing my CO2 over the last month slowly and my male ram seems fine, if anything he's doing even better. Fed them some bloodworms earlier and my male ram was just so colourful, never seen his nose so red/orange, must be in breeding mode. My male sunset gourami has definitely got his breeding colours showing, he's really active at the moment and still BFFs with my male ram, they definitely have a unique relationship and definitely are "friends". 

Still experimenting with ferts, this month's mix contains no NO3 and extra PO4. I suspect my tapwater provides enough, with 80% WC i assume it will bring in around 20ppm NO3. So if i don't become deficiant, i can confidently assume that my tapwater supplies enough or my plants are not using the supplied amount. If my plants are not using 20ppm NO3, they probably are not using 30ppm K, so next month i will drop down to 20ppm k and observe. The reason behind that will also be to see if my rotala grows any better with less K like some others have observed. 

H.pinnatifida seems to be growing better again now i have increased my CO2 makes me happy. I even have some contenders for some ermersed growth on both sides, will see how that goes, pretty excited. 😀


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## Sammy Islam (12 Mar 2021)

Little update....

It's happened, h.pinnitifida has started breaching the surface! 😀 I'm really enjoying the tank right now. My CO2 and flow is much better and i have noticed a big difference since the last update. The rotala have gone crazy, they are growing so quickly, feels like an inch a day. The H.pinnitifida is growing very well, i've got less melting of older leaves, it must be a proper CO2 hog especially as they are directly under the light. 

All fish and shrimp are doing well. The corys have grown loads since i got them and they seem to be proper enjoying themselves. Since lockdown i can't resist feeding everyday, i tell myself they are having a day off but as soon as i see them i can't help myself! 🤣 I have also been feeding my shrimp once a week at night with nettle sticks and shrimp king complete, gives me a chance to check up on their numbers and health. Never seen so many berried shrimp in my life, i assume i must have hundreds by now.


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## CooKieS (12 Mar 2021)

Fantastic, your big male ram doesn’t eat the shrimps?


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## Sammy Islam (13 Mar 2021)

CooKieS said:


> Fantastic, your big male ram doesn’t eat the shrimps?



Yeah my male and female rams do eat quite a few shrimp, they are much better at hunting now. I think the reason they don't eat too many is because they do most on their hunting in the dwarf hairgrass. I don't have a massive carpet so i guess it limits the amount of shrimp that hide in there and that can be hunted. In open areas the shrimp are much faster and easily get away.


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