# Sandy Nook . . .



## Wookii (23 Jun 2021)

So it's time for a rescape after the last scape, Kinabalu grew out to the point of being beyond recognition with the original scape.

My own personal interest in scapes has leaned heavily towards Biotope/Habitat style scapes over the last 6 months, however I still have one foot firmly on 'Nature Aquarium' ground. On the one had I like the more natural look with a sandy bed, structural leaf litter, shadowy low level lighting, more muted planting and the like. On the other I can't quite let go of the lush stems, and vibrant colours of the bright Nature aquarium style. If anything, therefore this new scape is something of a confusion of styles reflecting that inner turmoil!

In the end this scape involves a bit of experimentation for me, a chance to try out some new techniques - sand with enriched substrate, leaf litter, minimal hardscaping, whilst still having a last play with bright light and bunches of background stems.

*HARDSCAPE:*

Hardscape design first; two things I have learned from my last two scapes is a) I always use too much hardscape, b) no matter how much hardscape I use, I can barely see any of it it after 3-4 months!

With this hardscape I wanted to try and use up the bare minimum of front to rear in tank real estate, as I only have 40cm to play with (I could really do with the 60cm width sized tank in all honesty), and wanted as much open area at the front and possible. Whenever I try and I also wanted a way to reliably separate a front sand substrate, from a rear soil substrate, with a decent difference in height. Attempting such construction with rocks is tricky, and always takes up much more width area than I wanted.

In the end I went with perspex - not a typical hardscape choice, but stick with me here . . .

So I cut a strip of 6mm clear perspex, and using a paint stripper heat gun, proceeded to shape it into a curvature that I wanted to for the rear of the sandy area.









I then assembled some random bit of wood against it to form the basic structure and shape I wanted to achieve. I wasn't too concerned about the detailed aesthetics, because a) wood tends to looks much more similar when its wet, and b) my earlier comment that most of it won't be visible in due course.

I had to account for my proposed depth of sand, where I planned to put any large plants (like my big chuck of Trident fern), and where I wanted to add a few lumps of lava rock for attaching epiphytes. once I'd settled on the positins, I then drilled the perspex, and screwed the pieces of wood to it with stainless steel screws, before finally cutting the top edge of the perspex to shape:



















This achieved the main objective of minimising the front to rear depth used by the hardscape. I know the wood looks a bit random here, but hang in there, it'll make more sense later.

Once made, I soaked the whole assembled structure in a tub for about 6 weeks to water log it, and ensure it sank. Then it was time to assemble the tank proper:

Wood/perspex pre-fab washed and in:





Then bags of crushed lava rock and soil were added to the rear. For this I used mostly the old stuff from the last scape to try and kick start the tank maturation, and then capped it off with 10-15mm of new Tropica Soil Powder.

To the front I created a nutrient rich base layer using a mixture of Eheim peat granules, a couple of handfuls of old bacteria rich aquasoil, a couple of handfuls of new soil, and some Bonasai Kanuma soil, with a sprinkling of a little Osmocote graules and some strategically placed Seachem root tabs. I secured this mixture in place as best I could with a layer of fine plastic mesh before adding a decent layer of silver sand combined with a sprinkling of ADA La Plata to vary the texture. The perspex did the anticipated job, and managed to keep the soil and sand separate:

I left this to run on a dark start basis for a few days to clear the initial ammonia release from the new soil. Then drained it again and added a few bits of lava rock ready for planting.








I also added a small piece of Hygrolon, and whipped it in place with some DOOA Terra tape, to wick water up for a tiny bit of emergent growth on the piece of wood above the water level. I had wanted a little more than this exposed, but this is how it worked out.





Those with keen eyes, and a distaste for obviously made made items in the aquaria, will undoubtedly have spotted that the perspex is still visible. However the huge amount of plants I had left over from my previous scape ensured I could cover all visible areas - and so, onto planting . . .


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## Wookii (23 Jun 2021)

*PLANTING:*

So because this scape isn't really sure what it wants to be, I have two distinct areas to plant. A habitat style foreground, and a soil background, with a divider of sorts in between.

I wanted the foreground to be minimal maintenance so I don't have to mess with it too much, so I have gone mainly with dwarf crypts - Parva, Albida Brown/Red and Lutea Hobbit, a couple of pieces of Blyxa Japonica, and a couple of pieces of Littorella Uniflora that I fancied trying.

The rest are largely epiphytes; several varieties of Buce and dwarf Anubias (Pangolino, Petite/Bonzai) on the wood and rock, along with some Coral moss and Cameroon moss.

At the 'divider' section I have added Mini Christmas Moss whipped onto the top of the tallest piece of wood, including above the emergent bit, and also planted some plants that should eventually become taller and add some colour (not currently visible), including a Tiger Lotus bulb to try out, and an Echinodorus Aflame in-vitro plantlet, and finally wedged in a decent clump of Trident fern tied to a rock. Behind the tallest piece of wood I've added a Crypt Spiralis Red Tiger (courtesy of @Roland), and a Crinum Calamistratum, to soften the wood and add more height.

For the background I wanted typical lush and bushy stems, so I have used my existing Rotala Orange Juice and Rotala Macrandra on the left, Limnophila Aromatica Mini on the right, and Potomageton Gayi along the rear glass. Here I've used another small acrylic divider along the length of the tank to try and keep the P Gayi from invading the other stems as it did in my last tank. Time will tell if this is sufficient to contain it.

Finally I added a load of botanicals to the open sand areas, including some various small seed pods, alder cones and twigs, and small oak and Indian almond leaves. The jury is still out for me as to whether I like the look or not, as the plain areas of sand looked nice before hand, and the foreground now looks very 'busy', but its an easy change if I decide to remove some of them.

There is quite a bit of tannin tint to the water, which isn't an issue to me, but makes photographing tricky, particularly under the Vivid's RGB lights, but anyway, here are some basic phone pics:


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## Gill (23 Jun 2021)

Love it.
The use of the perspex is genius idea.


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## Wookii (23 Jun 2021)

Gill said:


> Love it.
> The use of the perspex is genius idea.



Thanks Gill - yes, the perspex construction worked really well, and was dead simple to implement, and just made everything else that followed so much easier. Having done it both way ways, I'll be definitely be using the perspex again in the future.


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## mort (23 Jun 2021)

Loving the concept and the execution. You have done exactly as I did when I thought about my last scape. I wanted and was determined to have a large sand area, which looked really good when I'd finished but as I normally do, I began to clutter it with excess crypts and extras that I think it looked much better without. It's stayed in the flux at the moment until I get around to removing, rather than adding stuff. 
For me with your nice botanical I think you could perhaps consider them like hardscape and cut back on them a little, leaving them in strategic areas but opening the sand a little more. It looks great as it is but I think open, negative space, could improve things further.

What are you planning on stocking it with? I wanted the open area because I'm either going the cory route or apisto's, with other fish the open sand isn't as big an issue.


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## Wookii (23 Jun 2021)

mort said:


> Loving the concept and the execution. You have done exactly as I did when I thought about my last scape. I wanted and was determined to have a large sand area, which looked really good when I'd finished but as I normally do, I began to clutter it with excess crypts and extras that I think it looked much better without. It's stayed in the flux at the moment until I get around to removing, rather than adding stuff.
> For me with your nice botanical I think you could perhaps consider them like hardscape and cut back on them a little, leaving them in strategic areas but opening the sand a little more. It looks great as it is but I think open, negative space, could improve things further.
> 
> What are you planning on stocking it with? I wanted the open area because I'm either going the cory route or apisto's, with other fish the open sand isn't as big an issue.



I'm glad it's not just me that is cursed with the "I've got it, so I've got to use it" way of thinking. I was determined to use use every spare plant I had so there is not much growing in room. I could really have done with upscaling to a 600 x 600 tank with the same plant mass, but SWMBO would not permit it! I think you are right though, the sand did look better more open - luckily that is an easy change.

Stock will be my existing fish, which are currently holidaying in a holding tank - Embers, Kubotai, Chilli's and a bunch of Habrosus Cory's - the sand was very much with them in mind. They are tiny ofcourse, so I don't think the botanicals will make much difference to them - and I think they will appreciate the more extensive sand areas compare to the tiny bit they had in the last scape - it's more the impact on the human viewing experience. 

I may remove the botanicals and take another shot, for comparison, and see what people think.


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## Roland (23 Jun 2021)

This is a great passion for the hobby and a very nice aquarium


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## SRP3006 (23 Jun 2021)

Very impressive @Wookii, very nicely done. What back-light are you running on that? Looks very good.
Making me itch for a rescape, maybe when the days get shorter 😊


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## Wookii (24 Jun 2021)

Roland said:


> This is a great passion for the hobby and a very nice aquarium



Thanks Roland - that C. Spiralis Tiger is beautiful by the way, my crappy phone pictures don't do it justice - I'm praying it doesn't melt on me.


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## Wookii (24 Jun 2021)

SRP3006 said:


> Very impressive @Wookii, very nicely done. What back-light are you running on that? Looks very good.
> Making me itch for a rescape, maybe when the days get shorter 😊



Thanks Sam.

The backlight is the Lightground one, I got it from Horizon: The LightGround Back Light 60x36

It seems to work okay, my only complaint would be the film that comes with it. It has a strange effect on my tank where you can see light coming through it from the front of the tank, but it seems to block light when viewed from the side, its a strange effect - I'll have to try and photograph it to show you.


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## Roland (24 Jun 2021)

Wookii,spiralis is a strong plant will be ok mate


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## shangman (24 Jun 2021)

I just love the creativity of using perspex as a technique for hardscaping. Genius!!!


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## Wookii (24 Jun 2021)

shangman said:


> I just love the creativity of using perspex as a technique for hardscaping. Genius!!!



Thanks Rosie. As I mentioned above, it worked really well. It meant the wood is really secure, there’s no risk of it being knocked over, or coming loose like it did in my last scape, and no messing about with cig filters and superglue this time around.

Plus it means you have the potential to do some interesting things like have the wood leaning forward and defying gravity, like I did with the central piece, to create some shadow. That would not been very easy to achieve without loads of additional supporting rocks at the base and rear.


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## Ian61 (25 Jun 2021)

Really interesting. Wholeheartedly agree with your comments re adding lots of hardscape only for it to disappear amongst the plants and at the same time significantly decrease the water volume and in effect the tank size. The Perspex is a great solution. 
Personally I’m not a fan of the botanicals as the cones in particular appear out of proportion to the other vegetation. To my mind their place would be the forest floor surrounded by much larger vegetation....but that may well just be me over-thinking things. 
Anyway, great aquarium and really useful tips.

Thanks, Ian


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## Wookii (25 Jun 2021)

Ian61 said:


> Really interesting. Wholeheartedly agree with your comments re adding lots of hardscape only for it to disappear amongst the plants and at the same time significantly decrease the water volume and in effect the tank size. The Perspex is a great solution.
> Personally I’m not a fan of the botanicals as the cones in particular appear out of proportion to the other vegetation. To my mind their place would be the forest floor surrounded by much larger vegetation....but that may well just be me over-thinking things.
> Anyway, great aquarium and really useful tips.
> 
> Thanks, Ian



Thanks Ian.

Yes, I think you're probably right, the botanicals mess with the scale, as it's a relatively small tank, with largely dwarf plants on the foreground. They have also, unintentionally, filled the little valley ways I created to draw the eye into the central area, so I'm going to pull most of it out this afternoon, and take another image to compare.


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## shangman (25 Jun 2021)

Wookii said:


> Thanks Rosie. As I mentioned above, it worked really well. It meant the wood is really secure, there’s no risk of it being knocked over, or coming loose like it did in my last scape, and no messing about with cig filters and superglue this time around.
> 
> Plus it means you have the potential to do some interesting things like have the wood leaning forward and defying gravity, like I did with the central piece, to create some shadow. That would not been very easy to achieve without loads of additional supporting rocks at the base and rear.


Yes I love how secure and solid it looks, while still getting a "light" effect. The defying gravity side of hardscape seems super hard but looks amazing, so it's great to have another tool in the arsenal to achieve anything.

 Just had a a very hard day putting my new hardscape together, I should've waited a few days to see this haha! I personally found that only screwing the wood together worked to hold things up - glue and filters and balancing lava rocks just doesn't do it, so it's just so useful to be able to screw the wood to something almost invisible. You could also screw a smaller bit of perspex to wood and use it to slot inbetween rocks or down into soil to secure it without needing to try to balance rocks and things so much. The wood I used this time is so large that perspex would've still been really hard to use, but next timje I'll def think of it amongst the hardscape materials to get a more fabulously extreme look.

I like the botanicals but cones do seem to be the hardest type to get to look right in a tank, I've never worked out how to get them to look natural like leaves do.


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## ScareCrow (25 Jun 2021)

Personally I like the look of the botanicals but I'm not a scaper by any means.
It looks like you have alder cones from the Italian Alder _Alnus cordata. _The Common Alder _Alnus glutinosa _has cones that are about half the size if not smaller. So that might help your sense of scale.


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## Kogre (25 Jun 2021)

This looks stunning.  I love the different textures across the tank, it's like there is something of interest going on almost everywhere.  Good job @Wookii I'm looking forward to seeing how this develops over time.

I think if ever I rescape I'll be following suit regarding the hardscape.


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## Wookii (25 Jun 2021)

ScareCrow said:


> Personally I like the look of the botanicals but I'm not a scaper by any means.
> It looks like you have alder cones from the Italian Alder _Alnus cordata. _The Common Alder _Alnus glutinosa _has cones that are about half the size if not smaller. So that might help your sense of scale.



Thanks, yeah I’ll have to seek out a Glutinosa come the autumn, I only managed to find two trees locally this past winter, and both were Cordata’s.

I really like botanicals too, but I think the issue I’m coming up against is the one in my first post, of this scape not really knowing what it wants to be.

I think if the scape was predominantly a habitat scape with wood and twigs, and minimal background planting, a floor covered in botanicals looks right at home. Like this:





But as you add any significant amounts of planting, particularly small plants, then the concept starts to fall apart a bit.


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## Wookii (25 Jun 2021)

Kogre said:


> This looks stunning.  I love the different textures across the tank, it's like there is something of interest going on almost everywhere.  Good job @Wookii I'm looking forward to seeing how this develops over time.
> 
> I think if ever I rescape I'll be following suit regarding the hardscape.



Thanks mate. Yeah, I think the look of it will change a fair bit once the stems have grown in at the back, and I’m looking forward to seeing how the Lotus and E. Aflame turn out adding some colour in the middle.


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## Wookii (25 Jun 2021)

OK, so I’ve pulled out most of the botanicals, just left a couple of small leaves and couple of the smallest cones:









Hopefully the little pathways through are a little more evident now - I can’t wait to see the Cory’s exploring it.


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## SRP3006 (25 Jun 2021)

I prefer that if I'm honest, I really like the whole scape. Much better scale, the cories will love all that space.


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## Wookii (25 Jun 2021)

SRP3006 said:


> I prefer that if I'm honest, I really like the whole scape. Much better scale, the cories will love all that space.



Thanks Sam. By the way, this is the weird effect from the backing film - if viewed from the front it’s bright, by viewed from the side, it kind of blocks the light:


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## mort (26 Jun 2021)

I like the open areas in the new scape and think it looks better less crowded but I'm not sure if you have to many plants. For my tank I envisaged something very similar to what you have achieved but I did want more sand area. So I think I'm really talking about my own tank at the moment where I have added more plants than I need at the cost of being able to fill little areas with botanicals for interest. I'll admit I just like plants to much to not cram them in and wish I had a little self control to keep planting less dense, leaving space for other interesting aspects.


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## Wookii (26 Jun 2021)

mort said:


> I like the open areas in the new scape and think it looks better less crowded but I'm not sure if you have to many plants. For my tank I envisaged something very similar to what you have achieved but I did want more sand area. So I think I'm really talking about my own tank at the moment where I have added more plants than I need at the cost of being able to fill little areas with botanicals for interest. I'll admit I just like plants to much to not cram them in and wish I had a little self control to keep planting less dense, leaving space for other interesting aspects.



Yeah, I probably do have too many plants for sufficient open area, but like I said above it’s a bit of a transitionary tank for me, between styles, so I’m happy with it for now on that basis. 

If I had done away with the stems at the rear, and pushed the whole hardscape back, it would have doubled the open area at the front. Or better still, if I had an Aquascaper style tank that was 60cm front to back, rather than 40cm, that would again have given me an additional 20cm at the front.

I do have the same affliction as you though, I have no self control, and just want to keep adding more plants! I wish I was one of those people with the mental fortitude to just add three different species and leave it at that.


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## Cait1 (26 Jun 2021)

I actually really liked the botanicals, but I think the blue background doesn’t work with that look. I prefer no background with tannin stained water, and then you get that glowing amber look to the water. Either way though, stunning scape, and the perspex idea is ingenious.


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## Simmo (26 Jun 2021)

Great scape, admire your use of perspex and great planting. I like the botanicals but then I like botanicals in tanks 😂


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## Wookii (26 Jun 2021)

Cait1 said:


> I actually really liked the botanicals, but I think the blue background doesn’t work with that look. I prefer no background with tannin stained water, and then you get that glowing amber look to the water. Either way though, stunning scape, and the perspex idea is ingenious.



No, you’re probably right, it’s pretty much black background all the way on habitat style tanks for that dark shadowy look.


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## Wookii (26 Jun 2021)

Simmo said:


> Great scape, admire your use of perspex and great planting. I like the botanicals but then I like botanicals in tanks 😂



Thanks - I like them too, but for this scape it’s possibly a case of less is more.


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## Wookii (2 Aug 2021)

Time for an update.

I hit a wall with the stems at the back - they were just growing so damn fast, I was having to trim and replant one or the other at what seemed like almost weekly, and despite my best efforts with a divider at the rear of the tank to separate the P Gayi, it was still running wild in a matter of days. So . . . . I've ripped them all out!   They're all gone - no more stems in this tank.

Instead I've replaced them with some Echinodorus and Cryptocoryne species. The new plant list for the rear of the tank is:

Echinodorus Aflame (had these from the start as invitro and moved them to the back, they are starting to push out some nice deep purple leaves)
Echinodorus Ozelot Red
Echinodorus Purpurea
Cryptocoryne Amicorum
Cryptocoryne Costata
Cryptocoryne Spiralis
Cryptocoryne x-Willisii
Cryptocoryne Undulatus Red
Cryptocoryne Wendtii Affinis Red
Microsorum Pteropus Narrow Leaf

Some of these were invitro plants, which I've not had success with in the past, but happily they all seem to be doing well - I've not had melt on _any_ of them. Ironically the only crypt that melted on me was the Beckettii that I already owned, and was transferred from the rescape.

Other than the Echindorus and Narrow Leaf fern, most of the crypts are very small currently, and have a lot of growing to do so the rear is a little bare.

I've also added in a load of floaters; mainly dwarf lettuce and red root floaters, which has improved the fish behaviour no end. That has reduced the light on the majority of the tank by a fair amount, so I have also reduced the CO2 too since most of the plants are now slow growers.

Here are a couple of FTS where I've been messing with the DOF on my new camera:


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## Wookii (2 Aug 2021)

I also upgraded my 12 year old DSLR, an aging Canon 450D recently. I've never been able to get very good images of my tanks with it - mainly due to my own ineptitude in setting it up I think - and mainly use it for product and site photography at work, which doesn't happen very often these days, so it hasn't been used in years. Seeing @CooKieS amazing shots inspired me to upgrade to a mirrorless camera, so I got a new Canon M6.

I still need a lot more practice, and a new tripod mount, but this camera is soooooo much easier to use and get decent images. Here are a few quick (read "minimum effort") sample shots (the focus isn't great on some of them due to the lack of tripod mount):

These are new shrimp which were added to the tank a few weeks ago - Black Panda Caridina:





One of my plumper (presumably female ) Embers:





An Oto relaxing on a partially eaten oak leaf:






Some of my very cute Cory Habrosus:





. . . . and of course I have to include some of my favourite Chilli's (which are very difficult to photograph!):









Hopefully I'm not overloading browsers here - if people experience loading issues, let me know!


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## MichaelJ (2 Aug 2021)

@Wookii  Great pictures! what lens did you use for those closeups?

Tank look amazing... I love that background.

Cheers,
Michael


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## Aqua360 (2 Aug 2021)

Fantastic realisation of the concept!


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## CooKieS (2 Aug 2021)

Wookii said:


> I also upgraded my 12 year old DSLR, an aging Canon 450D recently. I've never been able to get very good images of my tanks with it - mainly due to my own ineptitude in setting it up I think - and mainly use it for product and site photography at work, which doesn't happen very often these days, so it hasn't been used in years. Seeing @CooKieS amazing shots inspired me to upgrade to a mirrorless camera, so I got a new Canon M6.
> 
> I still need a lot more practice, and a new tripod mount, but this camera is soooooo much easier to use and get decent images. Here are a few quick (read "minimum effort") sample shots (the focus isn't great on some of them due to the lack of tripod mount):
> 
> ...


Fantastic shots man! really worth the upgrade from smartphone right?


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## Wookii (2 Aug 2021)

MichaelJ said:


> @Wookii  Great pictures! what lens did you use for those closeups?
> 
> Tank look amazing... I love that background.
> 
> ...



Thanks Michael, the close up’s were with my old Canon EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro USM using the Canon adapter for the M6.

Yes the background is quite effective. I have that at around 50% brightness, and I’ve also applied two lots of the gradient film in order to make the blue a bit darker.


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## Wookii (2 Aug 2021)

Aqua360 said:


> Fantastic realisation of the concept!



Thanks mate 👍🏻


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## Wookii (2 Aug 2021)

CooKieS said:


> Fantastic shots man! really worth the upgrade from smartphone right?



Thanks mate, yeah, definitely an improvement over the phone, and a massive improvement over my 450D, which I just couldn’t seem to get a decent shot out of when photographing the tank. As I say, the above shots were just just an initial test with the camera for about an hour - I’m sure I can get mush more out of it with time.

The mirrorless unit is significantly smaller the the old DSLR also, and the fairly decent kit lens is tiny too, so I’ll be much more likely to take this out and about with the family.


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## Wookii (2 Sep 2021)

I suspect I'm overdue an update to this journal - the Crypts and Echinodorus have grown in well - in fact the latter have got massive and probably need some hacking back. 

The tank survived a two week holiday absence fortunately, other than a massive explosion of the surface plants, despite thinning them to almost nothing before going away.

That said, I have had some losses sadly. Firstly all of my Black Pandas have vanished. I can only assume they have all died. It could be because of the surface plants covering most of the tank whilst I was away, reducing the CO2 off-gasing, increasing the water column levels - the drop checker was a bit lighter than usual when I came home (though not to a point of concern) - I can't think of any other reason? I'm gutted though, as they were lovely shrimp, and not cheap!

Also over the past couple of months I've also lost all but one of my Kubotai. I've not found a single corpse, and they have not jumped. None of them showed any health issues, all have been happily eating and interacting, as the last remaining one continues to do. Also all my other fish are doing great including my Chilli's which are growing, plumping up and colouring up beautifully on the regular live food, so its a bit of a mystery. All fish have been treated for worms and parasites too, though as I say I've seen no flicking or any other behaviour that might suggest a health issue.

Long and short though I'm looking for a different species of fish to take their place. I've started a thread here: (Fish suggestions please . . .) but if anyone here has any fish suggestions, please let me know. As I posted in that thread, I'm considering some Honey Gourami or Threadfin Rainbows initially, but having kept neither species before, I want to be sure of compatibility and appropriateness for my tank?


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## Wolf6 (2 Sep 2021)

Wookii said:


> I suspect I'm overdue an update to this journal - the Crypts and Echinodorus have grown in well - in fact the latter have got massive and probably need some hacking back.
> 
> The tank survived a two week holiday absence fortunately, other than a massive explosion of the surface plants, despite thinning them to almost nothing before going away.
> 
> ...


My kubotai also died after 1-1.5 years, I believe they are just not very long lived. Never saw health issues, just vanishing after a while. I replaced them after I had 3 out of the original 10 left, buying 10 new ones (13 in total). Shortly after 3 more disappeared, and the (presumably) new fish would go on to live between 9 months and 1.5 years and vanish again. 

Lovely tank though  looking forward to more pics!


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## Wookii (4 Sep 2021)

Wolf6 said:


> My kubotai also died after 1-1.5 years, I believe they are just not very long lived. Never saw health issues, just vanishing after a while. I replaced them after I had 3 out of the original 10 left, buying 10 new ones (13 in total). Shortly after 3 more disappeared, and the (presumably) new fish would go on to live between 9 months and 1.5 years and vanish again.
> 
> Lovely tank though  looking forward to more pics!



Thanks mate. Glad it’s not just me having issues with their longevity. They didn’t particularly get any larger whilst I had them, so they must have been fully grown too.


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## Wookii (4 Sep 2021)

New inhabitants acquired from the local MA yesterday - beautiful looking fish.





I’ll try and get some shots of them in the tank later this evening.

Had to have a bit of a trim after two weeks away -  these Echinodorus Ozelot Red leaves grow big!


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## Wookii (5 Sep 2021)

The Chocolate Gourami are settling in very well. I have to say they are a very unusual fish. Most of the fish I have had in the past always appear to be driven almost exclusively by base instinct - food, that’s all they’re mainly interested in. With these Gourami, you can clearly see, as they wiggle their eyes to look at you, there is something more going on behind them they even press their noses to the glass to look out, and then prompt Lou turn their back on me if I try and put a camera in front of my face!

They explore the tank with intelligent purpose, but with such smooth grace it’s captivating! they appear to particularly like grazing amongst the moss, which perhaps doesn’t bode well for any newly hatched shrimplets.

Anyway, excuse the following photo-bomb, I’m hope it’s not too much of a browser-crasher, but it had to be done:





























Oh, and I also had to stump up for some more shrimp. Some, hopefully hardier, CBS this time to replace the lost Taiwan Bees.





Edit: OK, presumably the photos are too big, I’ll have to try resizing tomorrow


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## Wookii (6 Sep 2021)

There - photo-bomb fixed.


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## Garuf (6 Sep 2021)

They’re a fish if I ever get around to going RO that’s high on my list. I seem to only move to places with liquid rock. 🙄
Great photos too.


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## Wookii (6 Sep 2021)

Garuf said:


> They’re a fish if I ever get around to going RO that’s high on my list. I seem to only move to places with liquid rock. 🙄
> Great photos too.



Thanks mate, I swear my Chilli's are flourishing better with the much softer water too, their colouration and survival rate seems a lot better than it was in my hard tap water.


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## Garuf (6 Sep 2021)

Yeah, chillis come from swaps with negligible hardness, that they’re tough enough to survive rock is always surprise to me.


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## Wookii (12 Oct 2021)

Was just feeding the fish tonight when I spotted this little fella. Now, I’m in my mid-forties, so hopefully the senility hasn’t quite set in yet, but I’m sure I haven’t added a Chilli this small to the tank. So either it’s shrunk in the wash, or it’s been born in the tank . . .


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## Wookii (15 Oct 2021)

This keeps getting better. Came home from work this afternoon and just spotted another little’un . . . a perfect miniature little Cory this time, smaller than most of the shrimp. Excuse the soft image quality, I just managed to grab a shot before he disappeared into the undergrowth - I’ve no idea how many might be in there!


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## Kogre (15 Oct 2021)

This is awesome! Is it the first time you've bread Cory's? What type are they?


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## Wookii (15 Oct 2021)

Kogre said:


> This is awesome! Is it the first time you've bread Cory's? What type are they?



Yeah, these two are the first baby fish I’ve ever had in a tank, so it’s quite exciting mate. I’ve not intentionally bred any of them, they’ve done it all by themselves. That said the tank is very soft water, and I intentionally add tannins and humic/fulvic acids, plus I feed lots of live food, so I guess conditions are suitable for them to breed.

The Cory’s are Habrosus (Salt and Pepper Cory’s).


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## Karmicnull (15 Oct 2021)

Welcome to the accidental Cory breeders club! My suspicion is that membership is pretty large.


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## mort (16 Oct 2021)

When my cories have bred on their own I don't normally see more than a few babies at a time but they do add to the population quickly once they get going.


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## shangman (16 Oct 2021)

Wookii said:


> This keeps getting better. Came home from work this afternoon and just spotted another little’un . . . a perfect miniature little Cory this time, smaller than most of the shrimp. Excuse the soft image quality, I just managed to grab a shot before he disappeared into the undergrowth - I’ve no idea how many might be in there!
> 
> View attachment 175570
> 
> View attachment 175571


Absolutely stunning, and my favourite kind of corydoras! 😍😍😍 Congratulations!


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## Wookii (16 Oct 2021)

Finally managed to obtain some Aeschynomene Fluitans after discussing it in another thread. Thanks to @shangman for the heads up on Wildwoods - World of Water (Enfield). They had both the Aeschynomene Fluitans I wanted and also some of the Nymphaea micrantha "Gefleckt" (Tri-Coloured Lotus) that Rosie has showcased in her tank with its amazing pink and yellow spotted colouration.

Can definitely recommend Wildwoods, my order arrived in less than 24 hours, well packaged in a polystyrene box, and though I ordered two of each, they actually sent me three of each:









This is the Aeschynomene Fluitans unceremoniously dumped in the top of the tank:









Planted a lotus bulb at the front of the tank to get it going, but already showing amazing colouration. It’s tiny at the minute, but from small beginnings . . .


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## Tim Lee (17 Oct 2021)

Could I ask is the Aeschynomene Fluitans like the sensitive plant i.e closes up when disturbed?
My 7 year old son is intrigued by the prospect!


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## Wookii (19 Oct 2021)

Tim Lee said:


> Could I ask is the Aeschynomene Fluitans like the sensitive plant i.e closes up when disturbed?
> My 7 year old son is intrigued by the prospect!



Hi Tim, yes, the leaves react to touch. They don’t close up fully, but the leaf blades do visibly move when touched. They also close up fully when the lights go out.


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## Tim Lee (19 Oct 2021)

Going to contact WoW to see if can grab a couple.


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## Wookii (6 Nov 2021)

The Aeschynomene Fluitans is putting in some serious growth now, and has produced quite a few nice yellow flowers!









I trimmed some off to see if I could propagate it, and it threw off a side shoot quite willingly:









I’ve even tried a cutting of completely bare leaf-less root:





After around a week, I can see some buds starting to come through already, so it looks like it can be propagated from a small section of root:


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## shangman (6 Nov 2021)

Well well well .... You'll be supplying all of us soon! 😀


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## Wookii (6 Nov 2021)

shangman said:


> Well well well .... You'll be supplying all of us soon! 😀



More than happy to send a cutting to anyone that wants it, now I know how rapidly it grows 👍🏻


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## Robbie X (6 Nov 2021)

Wookii said:


> More than happy to send a cutting to anyone that wants it, now I know how rapidly it grows 👍🏻


I would love a cutting Wookii, that is if you have any left?
How actively are the Chocolate Gourami hunting the shrimp?
Every time I see these fish in the store I have to restrain myself from buying one as I thought they would happily eat an adult cherry shrimp?
Really love how the tank has evolved btw 👍


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## Wookii (6 Nov 2021)

Robbie X said:


> I would love a cutting Wookii, that is if you have any left?
> How actively are the Chocolate Gourami hunting the shrimp?
> Every time I see these fish in the store I have to restrain myself from buying one as I thought they would happily eat an adult cherry shrimp?
> Really love how the tank has evolved btw 👍



Thanks mate. Yeah, I can send you a cutting, no problem.

The Gourami don’t go near the adult or juvenile shrimp at all, as far as I’ve seen. But they do spend their time grazing around the moss and plants, and occasionally pecking at it. I suspect they’re feeding on any micro organisms they can find living in there like ostracods, baby scuds and the like it I have no doubt if they get chance at any baby/newly hatched shrimp, they’ll eat them - it’s the whole mouth size rule.

I can definitely recommend you get some if you fancy them, but don’t get just one - they’ve very gregarious, and I’d consider 5/6 the minimum - if I had a bigger tank I’d probably up that to 10-12. They do occasionally squabble though, and chase one another off, particularly at feeing times, so I’d recommend a tank with plenty of space, and broken sight lines.

I’d also recommend plenty of floating plant cover, I’ve unfortunately had two jump now, both immediately after I’d heavily thinned the floating plants out. It’s part of the reason I got the Aeschynomene Fluitans as I can use it to for a nice natural barrier around the edges of the tank. I also thin the floaters out less heavily now, and just have to do it more frequently.


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## Robbie X (6 Nov 2021)

Wookii said:


> Thanks mate. Yeah, I can send you a cutting, no problem.
> 
> The Gourami don’t go near the adult or juvenile shrimp at all, as far as I’ve seen. But they do spend their time grazing around the moss and plants, and occasionally pecking at it. I suspect they’re feeding on any micro organisms they can find living in there like ostracods, baby scuds and the like it I have no doubt if they get chance at any baby/newly hatched shrimp, they’ll eat them - it’s the whole mouth size rule.
> 
> ...


Many thanks mate.
I have just cut right back on my floating plants as the where complete cutting out the light on the left hand side and hindering the growth of all plants in that area.
Its not permanent though. As soon as this side of the tank matures I’ll allow the surface plants to spread again as I really love them 😻
Ill hold of on these fish for now but I’m going to add them to my fish list 👍🏻


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## ScareCrow (10 Nov 2021)

Wookii said:


> More than happy to send a cutting to anyone that wants it, now I know how rapidly it grows 👍🏻


If or when you have cuttings, please can I have one. Happy to pay/swap for something. I've tried to get seeds for this a couple of times but they always seem to be out of stock.


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## Wookii (10 Nov 2021)

ScareCrow said:


> If or when you have cuttings, please can I have one. Happy to pay/swap for something. I've tried to get seeds for this a couple of times but they always seem to be out of stock.



No worries mate, drop me PM.


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## Tim Lee (10 Nov 2021)

Would it be possible to request a cutting as well please if you have any left?


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## Tim Lee (10 Nov 2021)

Sorry should have said of course will pay.
Thanks


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## dw1305 (11 Nov 2021)

Hi all,


Wookii said:


> The Aeschynomene Fluitans is putting in some serious growth now, and has produced quite a few nice yellow flowers!


Your floating plants are looking super healthy.

cheers Darrel


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## Wookii (11 Nov 2021)

dw1305 said:


> Hi all,
> 
> Your floating plants are looking super healthy.
> 
> cheers Darrel



Thanks Darrel. I suspect it’s because they slurp up the EI ferts like they’re going out of fashion! I actually have to add more KNO3 than standard EI, as the growth rate of the floaters bottoms out the Nitrate.

I can tell because the red root floaters actually start to go red when nitrate limited (I always thought it was related to light exposure, but I can induce it in other tanks simply by stopping KNO3 dosing), so they’re a good indicator.


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## Wookii (11 Nov 2021)

Tim Lee said:


> Would it be possible to request a cutting as well please if you have any left?



Yes, sure Tim. Drop me a PM.


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## shangman (18 Dec 2021)

How's this tank going? Love the chocolates, shrimps and plants !!


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## Wookii (18 Dec 2021)

shangman said:


> How's this tank going? Love the chocolates, shrimps and plants !!



It’s turned into a bit of a jungle (well a lot of one!) I need to get around to taking some more photos - hopefully over the Christmas break.

The Chocolates are doing great, they’ve plumped up a lot, and their colours are really striking. One fish even has a blue iridescence to its tail fin, which I didn’t expect - I’ll try and get a picture of it when I get the camera out.


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## shangman (18 Dec 2021)

Wookii said:


> It’s turned into a bit of a jungle (well a lot of one!) I need to get around to taking some more photos - hopefully over the Christmas break.
> 
> The Chocolates are doing great, they’ve plumped up a lot, and their colours are really striking. One fish even has a blue iridescence to its tail fin, which I didn’t expect - I’ll try and get a picture of it when I get the camera out.


Looking forward to those pics, love the sound of a jungle tank with healthy happy chocolates!


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## Wookii (22 Feb 2022)

shangman said:


> Looking forward to those pics, love the sound of a jungle tank with healthy happy chocolates!



Sorry Rosie, never got around to taking those photos with having COVID over Christmas. The tank is a bit of a mess now, I had an auto doser issue, that resulted in a massive spontaneous melt of half of my crypts, everything else is overgrown, and what little space is available is being used as temporary housing for spare plants. The tank is just waiting for tear down now really for when we move house at the end of next month.

Despite that, the fish seem to be doing great - so much so that I had a little bit of a shock tonight.

I was looking in the tank, as you do, and I noticed a little ‘bug’ in amongst the floating plants. A tiny little thing, about 3mm long.

At first I couldn’t work out for the life of me what it was, being so tiny - my first thought was some sort of insect larvae - but it was clearly black and white banded.

Then I started wondering if some of the remaining Crystal Black Shrimp in the tank had finally bred, but this ‘bug’ was clearly swimming.

My eyesight must be on its way out - no longer the 2020 vision of old - so I caught it in a pipette, stuck it in a glass of tank water, and strapped the macro lens on my phone, and to my surprise, a perfect miniature . . .














My Chocolates appear to have had babies! I’ve now caught two of them, and moved them into my shrimp tank which has lots of microscopic infusoria type bugs that they can hopefully feed on.



Fingers crossed they make it! I’m on the hunt for more of them now!


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## Wolf6 (22 Feb 2022)

That is so adorable


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## shangman (22 Feb 2022)

What an amazing discovery! 😍 Congratulations


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## Wookii (22 Feb 2022)

I don’t know how many there are in there - I just spotted two more at the end of the tank, there could be a load more in the murky depths. 

I tried to catch them with the sneaky pipette again, and unfortunately appeared to have the speed and dexterity of a sloth on sedatives, so they escaped into the jungle!

I hope they’re almost at the size where they’re verging on being too big to be eaten.


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## Wookii (22 Feb 2022)

What is really funny now, in retrospect, is about two weeks ago one of the Chocolates had stopped eating.

I was quite worried it was on its way out, it even refused Grindal worms dropping right in front of it, one even fell right on its nose the poor thing.

Now I understand why - I should have re-read the Seriously Fish info:



> Brooding females tend to take refuge in a quiet area of the and eat very little, if at all. The eggs are retained in the mouth for 7 – 20 days before 10-40 fully-formed, free swimming juveniles are released.


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## ScareCrow (23 Feb 2022)

I was on the fence about getting these but they are beautiful, so added to the list. Well done @Wookii.


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## shangman (23 Feb 2022)

Wookii said:


> I can definitely recommend you get some if you fancy them, but don’t get just one - they’ve very gregarious, and I’d consider 5/6 the minimum - if I had a bigger tank I’d probably up that to 10-12.


Love that this is coming true! They can clearly sense a bigger tank in sight and are busy populating it for you


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## Wookii (23 Feb 2022)

ScareCrow said:


> I was on the fence about getting these but they are beautiful, so added to the list. Well done @Wookii.



Thanks mate - I can whole heartedly recommend them.


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## Wookii (23 Feb 2022)

shangman said:


> Love that this is coming true! They can clearly sense a bigger tank in sight and are busy populating it for you



It seems that way, I just wish they'd waited a couple of months! 😂 The five of them do fit fine in my 60cm/100L, but they do get a bit feisty with each other, especially at feeding times, so I can't wait to see them cruising around a 150cm/400L with all the extra space available!


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## plantnoobdude (23 Feb 2022)

Wookii said:


> It seems that way, I just wish they'd waited a couple of months! 😂 The five of them do fit fine in my 60cm/100L, but they do get a bit feisty with each other, especially at feeding times, so I can't wait to see them cruising around a 150cm/400L with all the extra space available!


would they be fine in a 45l? footprint is 50x30cm. seriously fish, says minimum 60x30. so I think it should be fine. also how many? 1,2,3,5?


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## Wookii (23 Feb 2022)

plantnoobdude said:


> would they be fine in a 45l? footprint is 50x30cm. seriously fish, says minimum 60x30. so I think it should be fine. also how many? 1,2,3,5?



I would say you're pushing it a bit to be fair at that size. Maybe if it was a 45cm cube, but definitely not a 45 litre.

You could get away with a 60 x 30 (60 litre +), and perhaps a 45 cube, but you need to create plenty of broken lines of site - sometimes they like to group together, sometimes they seem to hate the sight of one another, so you need space for individuals to get away - its more a behavioural thing than a fish size thing that you need to account for - they're not large fish, nor are they fast swimmers (unless they're being chased off) - their movement is very slow, calculated and seemingly intelligent - but they need space from one another. They'd be great in a biotope tank with loads of wood to resemble tree rots, leaf litter and black water - but I like plants too much to go full biotope!

I originally had six, but lost one so ended up with 5. They seem to have been fine in that number, and its enough to diffuse aggression. Ideally I'd have liked 8 but I think that would have been too many for my 60 x 40 x 40 tank.


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## Wookii (23 Feb 2022)

Managed to catch another 7 this evening and transferred to the shrimp tank, dunking a glass under the floaters, like a child pond dipping, has proved much more efficient - I hope I’m doing the right thing moving them over?

Is there any fry food I should be adding for them - I’d need off the shelf stuff if anyone can recommend anything, as I’ve no time to culture infusoria?

At what stage should I be attempting to give them BBS, how big do they need to be?


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## plantnoobdude (23 Feb 2022)

Wookii said:


> I would say you're pushing it a bit to be fair at that size. Maybe if it was a 45cm cube, but definitely not a 45 litre.
> 
> You could get away with a 60 x 30 (60 litre +), and perhaps a 45 cube, but you need to create plenty of broken lines of site - sometimes they like to group together, sometimes they seem to hate the sight of one another, so you need space for individuals to get away - its more a behavioural thing than a fish size thing that you need to account for - they're not large fish, nor are they fast swimmers (unless they're being chased off) - their movement is very slow, calculated and seemingly intelligent - but they need space from one another. They'd be great in a biotope tank with loads of wood to resemble tree rots, leaf litter and black water - but I like plants too much to go full biotope!
> 
> I originally had six, but lost one so ended up with 5. They seem to have been fine in that number, and its enough to diffuse aggression. Ideally I'd have liked 8 but I think that would have been too many for my 60 x 40 x 40 tank.


yeah, I think I'll go for honey gouramis because they seem a bit more peaceful.


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## DTM61 (23 Feb 2022)

Wookii said:


> Managed to catch another 7 this evening and transferred to the shrimp tank, dunking a glass under the floaters, like a child pond dipping, has proved much more efficient - I hope I’m doing the right thing moving them over?
> 
> Is there any fry food I should be adding for them - I’d need off the shelf stuff if anyone can recommend anything, as I’ve no time to culture infusoria?
> 
> At what stage should I be attempting to give them BBS, how big do they need to be?


Congratulations! 

They're not the same but I've raised a few honey gourami in a bucket. Why are you taking them out of that tank though? They've done the hard part now, they look a decent size, should be fine in there? 

I just fed mine crushed up bugbites. I don't like training them to be fussy 👍


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## DTM61 (23 Feb 2022)

DTM61 said:


> Congratulations!
> 
> They're not the same but I've raised a few honey gourami in a bucket. Why are you taking them out of that tank though? They've done the hard part now, they look a decent size, should be fine in there?
> 
> I just fed mine crushed up bugbites. I don't like training them to be fussy 👍


I should say the only reason I took mine out is because they were new fry and were getting sucked into the filter and dad was having to save every single one - I'd have left them otherwise. Well done! I'm really tempted by chocos, they seem like my kind of fish.


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## Wookii (23 Feb 2022)

DTM61 said:


> Why are you taking them out of that tank though? They've done the hard part now, they look a decent size, should be fine in there?



To stop them getting eaten really, and enable me to target feed them. I’ve never raised any fry before, and wasn’t planning on these ones. so I’ve no real clue what I’m doing to be honest.


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## Wookii (1 Mar 2022)

Well the 7 odd Chocolate fry are doing well so far in the shrimp tank. They’re all now happily eating BBS, and actually actively hunting them rather than sitting there waiting for the shrimp to come to them which they did to start with. The growth speed is quite considerable, they must be around 50% bigger already.


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## plantnoobdude (5 Mar 2022)

there hasn't been a full tank shot in a while @Wookii ! I'm dying to see what it looks like.


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## Wookii (6 Mar 2022)

plantnoobdude said:


> there hasn't been a full tank shot in a while @Wookii ! I'm dying to see what it looks like.



I’ll try and take one tonight mate - though given the massive crypt melt I had, the fact I’ve got several plants stuffed in for temporary storage, and all the soil that has migrated up through the sand that I can’t be bothered to vacuum out yet, it’s looking far from its best! 😅


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## Garuf (6 Mar 2022)

Those are the best ones that remind us we’re all just mortals.


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## Wookii (6 Mar 2022)

plantnoobdude said:


> there hasn't been a full tank shot in a while @Wookii ! I'm dying to see what it looks like.


As promised . . . .


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## plantnoobdude (6 Mar 2022)

gorgeous!


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## plantnoobdude (6 Mar 2022)

also, forgot to ask, how is the aeschynomene fluitans to grow? I've got some in the mail that should be coming soon. looking back your tank has influenced my tank A LOT. gouramis, phyllanthus fluitans, aeschynomene fluitans....I've even got ember tetras lol. after all, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery


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## Wookii (6 Mar 2022)

plantnoobdude said:


> gorgeous!





plantnoobdude said:


> also, forgot to ask, how is the aeschynomene fluitans to grow? I've got some in the mail that should be coming soon. looking back your tank has influenced my tank A LOT. gouramis, phyllanthus fluitans, aeschynomene fluitans....I've even got ember tetras lol. after all, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery



Very kind of you to say mate!

Aeschynomene Fluitans has proven pretty easy to grow. It willingly throws out new shoots from cuttings. The only things to watch out for a) it can sometimes sink a little below the surface, and once the leaves submerge they will die off. It grows best with the main stem on the surface, and b) it doesn’t like being handled too much; a few times when I’ve handled it too much moving it in and out of the tank during maintenance, and it throws a tantrum and drops its leaves.


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## mort (7 Mar 2022)

No wonder the gourami have spawned. Its the perfect tank for them.


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## DeepMetropolis (21 Mar 2022)

What a nice tank you have, the idea of using perspex as a barrier is really inventive. Really cool that you have gourami fry as they are pretty hard to keep ive experienced. What is your water change regime ?


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## Wookii (21 Mar 2022)

DeepMetropolis said:


> What a nice tank you have, the idea of using perspex as a barrier is really inventive. Really cool that you have gourami fry as they are pretty hard to keep ive experienced. What is your water change regime ?



Thanks for the kind words! I have my tank on fully automated water changes, so change around 20% a day. I could probably reduce that to 10% a day, as I no longer have many fast growing plants, other than the floaters.

The fry are doing really well now, and some are pushing 10mm long. It's difficult to get a count on them, but I think I have about 11 in the shrimp tank now, and a possible unknown number in the main tank.

It’s difficult to get a decent photo with my phone, but they are starting to look like perfect miniatures of their parents:


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## DeepMetropolis (21 Mar 2022)

Wookii said:


> Thanks for the kind words! I have my tank on fully automated water changes, so change around 20% a day. I could probably reduce that to 10% a day, as I no longer have many fast growing plants, other than the floaters.


Ah okay I need auto water changes too..  Chocolate gourami are my wife's favourite fish, try'ed  Sphaerichthys selatanensis and vaillanti, but both species didn't last really long. Kept them in our bedroom tank were water changes are quite a chore so it was easier to do big ones instead of a lot of small ones..


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## Wookii (21 Mar 2022)

DeepMetropolis said:


> Ah okay I need auto water changes too..  Chocolate gourami are my wife's favourite fish, try'ed  Sphaerichthys selatanensis and vaillanti, but both species didn't last really long. Kept them in our bedroom tank were water changes are quite a chore so it was easier to do big ones instead of a lot of small ones..



I've quite fancied Samurai (Vaillanti) Gourmai for a while, simply for their unique colouration (Particularly the females) - not sure how well they'd mix with my Chocolates though, and they're not widely available in the UK (though the guys at my local Maidenhead Aquatics did tell me they get them in occasionally).

I'm a long way from being an expert, but being a blackwater fish, I think they do best is soft acidic water. They are an easy fish to stress, so I think a high planting density and lots of floating and structural cover is essential too. Their colour changes visually within seconds if they get stressed, going from deep dark brown stripes, to almost a  very light tan colour. That said, twice I have also seen individual fish pulse their colouration from dark to light and back to dark over a period of 10-15 seconds, when schmoozing up to another fish (presumably of the opposite sex) - I've not been able to 100% identify which is male and which is female, but in both cases looked it looked like the female was doing the 'pulsing' to the male she was pursuing.

I have found they are also active hunters, and regularly stalk through the plants and moss, occasionally darting at something they've spotted. That's no doubt been a detriment to many a baby Neocaridina, but I also have scuds (Hyalella azteca) in my tank, and I suspect the Gourami's are chiefly responsible for keeping their population in check by hunting their offspring. So it's always worth considering adding those as an extra food source, and to promote natural behaviour.

Finally I also feed lots of live food, which I think helps promote robust health in most of the fish I keep.


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## dw1305 (22 Mar 2022)

Hi all,


Wookii said:


> Finally I also feed lots of live food, which I think helps promote robust health in most of the fish I keep.


I'm pretty sure it helps as well. I've always fed my fish as <"much live food as I could find">, the only real downside is that I think that my <"shrimp issues"> were partially because the fish are used to eating <"_things that wriggle">_.

If any-one is interested in <"Mike Hellweg's book">, a few weeks ago <"it was $1000">,  it is now available for a bargain £211 in the UK.

cheers Darrel


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## Wookii (25 Mar 2022)

Clearing out the loft in preparation for the house move next week, and found these - 20 year old ADA Aquajournals - completely forgot I had them!


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## Garuf (25 Mar 2022)

Finds like that are what make you feel old, book 5 is the first aquascape media I ever bought as a then current issue.


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## Wookii (25 Mar 2022)

Garuf said:


> Finds like that are what make you feel old, book 5 is the first aquascape media I ever bought as a then current issue.


 Crikey, weren’t they a quarterly publication too? That would make your copy the best part of 30 years old!


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## Garuf (25 Mar 2022)

I meant book 5 of yours. But yes in the other instance you’d be right, and you had to get them via Germany for the longest while.


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## mort (25 Mar 2022)

Could be worse, I went through our loft last autumn to add more insulation and came across a rolf harris stylophone. No one had any idea where it came from, or would admit to it, but our local knicknack shop eagerly bought it as amazingly they are popular (money was donated to east anglia's children's hospices, which we thought was right).


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## KirstyF (25 Mar 2022)

mort said:


> Could be worse, I went through our loft last autumn to add more insulation and came across a rolf harris stylophone. No one had any idea where it came from, or would admit to it, but our local knicknack shop eagerly bought it as amazingly they are popular (money was donated to east anglia's children's hospices, which we thought was right).


Wow! Pull up a sandbag…..I remember having one of those as a kid. It was my favourite toy for a very long time …..pretty sure my very patient mother deeply regretted buying it for me. 😂😂


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## Wookii (25 Mar 2022)

mort said:


> Could be worse, I went through our loft last autumn to add more insulation and came across a rolf harris stylophone. No one had any idea where it came from, or would admit to it, but our local knicknack shop eagerly bought it as amazingly they are popular (money was donated to east anglia's children's hospices, which we thought was right).



Wow, surprising - I’d have through their popularity would have taken something of a hit in recent years!


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## Garuf (25 Mar 2022)

Wookii said:


> Wow, surprising - I’d have through their popularity would have taken something of a hit in recent years!


Yeah I know, is there even any shops that _aren’t _a charity shop… or little Tesco these days?


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## mort (25 Mar 2022)

Wookii said:


> Wow, surprising - I’d have through their popularity would have taken something of a hit in recent years!



We were going to chuck it but my dad mentioned it when he sold some old toys, more as a joke than anything, and the chap said he could easily sell it so we thought we'd let him have it and give the money to a kid's charity rather than bin it as previously planned.


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## Wookii (25 Mar 2022)

Garuf said:


> Yeah I know, is there even any shops that _aren’t _a charity shop… or little Tesco these days?



I meant Rolf Harris branded items 😆


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## Garuf (25 Mar 2022)

Oh yeah the shine has rather gone of those too… what with one thing and another.


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## Wookii (31 Mar 2022)

Fry are getting big now, it won’t be long until I’ll have to cherry pick some to move back to the main tank - some of them have lovely markings, despite their young age, and they all seem to have iridescent blue eyes!





They have already learnt to come to this corner of the tank first thing in the morning, and last thing at night for feeding and respond to my tapping on the tank rim with the little pipette. They’re smart fish!

Unfortunately it looks like this wasn’t a one off for the parents, as two days ago I spotted another 8 or so new fry. To make matters worse, at least two of the adults have stopped eating, and are showing the classic bulging throat, so it looks like even more fry are on the way!

Should anyone want to collect any baby Choco’s from me, to grow on for their own tank, let me know as I now have way too many. As long as they’re going in a nice heavily planted tank, they’re free of charge!


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## The Miniaturist (31 Mar 2022)

Wow, your own Chocolate farm! ☺️
They're beauties, I've got the heavily planted tank but unfortunately the current residents mean there's no room!


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