# CmLaracy's 90P ADA



## Chris Laracy (1 Jun 2019)

***COLOR CORRECTED PHOTOS IN UPDATES***

Hello! It's been a while (~10 years) since I've done one of these, upgraded from a 75P (all my previous journals using that tank are are on the plantedtank.net which is where I used to post) and a hand made cabinet, to a 90P and an ADA cabinet, because I'm a big boy now, ha. It's very obviously Iwagumi, I used seiryu stone (30kg+) and HC 'Cuba' exclusively; I'm not going to lie it's my favorite plant. Still using a MH pendant with a 150w ADA 'Green' that's brand new and still needs some time for the green to die down and settle/burn in a little bit. Ask away about other equipment.

Here's some set-up progression pictures. I used hand cut pieces of corrugated plastic board as substrate supports/dams to help the rocks keep the dramatic slope that allows you to see HC 'Cuba' in the background.

Here it is now after some time to clear, filled today.






Okay now we can rewind to the beginning.

The cardboard divider for the river, which was meticulously bent at nearly every corrugation (took hours I'm a nut).





This rock was the right shape but too large so I had it against the glass and propped up with smaller stones, the dirt did a good job eating it up and making it look smaller, and it also helped hold the slope.





Adding powersand advanced





Corrugated plastic supports peaking out before adding powdered AS





River getting filled in





Details coming along





The riverbed detail took many hours and lots of smashing of seiryu stone





Preliminary hardscape, things change from here a little





Planting this took at least 8 hours; I went through about a dozen of these trays and 32 cups.









Densely planting as it is the only bio-load





Filled with a bag with paper towels for wicking to further slow the fill water









Directly after filling




Cleared up a bit with in line CO2 diffusion on so there's bubbles adding to the fog





Off angle with the light in view. That's my tank for now, cheers!





The entire set up from start to finish was a two day job, but day two was 26 continuous, unbroken, mentally and physically exhausting hours. Thanks for looking!


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## alto (1 Jun 2019)

Fantastic job 

Now just don’t add any Amano shrimp until the HC has grown in (if ever - the Amanos that is, they’ll look too big in this scape anyway )


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## Chris Laracy (1 Jun 2019)

Amano's were always my go to clean up crew with some otto's but I fear the same thing with the scale of this scape. Using small green neons as my fish. Not sure what to do about the algae crew... are there any new shrimp that clean like Amano's but are smaller?

And I learned my lesson about shrimp and HC a while ago, not until it's well rooted.


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## alto (2 Jun 2019)

All shrimp are decent algae crew - just need to take into account the substantial size difference between a single adult Amano and the smaller shrimp species

Tiger shrimp are one of my favorites but less available now it seems
Various Neocaridina, Caridina - just choose an active, healthy group 

For BBA, the long nose shrimps (typically list as Caridina gracilirostris but various species may ship) but some report difficulty maintaining these in freshwater aquariums 
I’m not convinced it’s an issue of freshwater, but rather inadequate/unsuitable diet, shipping damage/stress, environmental stress etc, though there are undoubtedly some species which are more particular about water parameters 

If you’re not adverse to snails, pick up a mixed crew of Nerites, choose the smaller horned species as they seem much less prone to the (very difficult to remove) white-eggs-everywhere syndrome
Clithon corona are observed clearing out immature BBA (pretty much no one wants to eat the mature, stuff, bitter? BBA)
“Black helmet” (Nerite) snails seem to prefer cleaning rock/ glass more than plant stems (this may be more a function of their shell/body shape)

I’d not add any of the various SAE species as most will explore HC (for consumption? destruction?) and they grow too large and should really be kept as a shoal rather than a couple of individuals 

I often add shrimp within a few days as they will then tidy up any melting leaves (before I even notice the melt) but some  worry about soil moving ...


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## alto (2 Jun 2019)

Chris Laracy said:


> Using small green neons as my fish


Assuming you mean Microdevario kubotai - there are at least 2 species shipping as such, one is significantly smaller 


Also
https://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/microdevario-nanus/


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## Duplicareus (2 Jun 2019)

You are certainly meticulous


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## Chris Laracy (2 Jun 2019)

alto said:


> Assuming you mean Microdevario kubotai - there are at least 2 species shipping as such, one is significantly smaller
> 
> 
> Also
> https://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/microdevario-nanus/



Actually I just meant regular green neon tetras (neons without the red and smaller), but those are a cool option. I want something small that schools well and doesn’t contrast off green so much. I must admit I don’t know my fish.


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## Lauris (2 Jun 2019)

nice 
I like how the rock placement works together almost centered path. Often compositions alike are very static,but you have nailed the dynamics.


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## alto (2 Jun 2019)

One is green neon (tetra)
Other is green neon (rasbora or micro rasbora)
It was the “small” that led me down the latter path 

I find green neon tetras are tricker to keep - they can be quite the hidden fish (not possible I suppose in an Iwagumi) only visible & active when no one is anywhere near the tank 

Previously I’ve only seen wild caught P simulans (stunning in large shoals in blackwater tanks)
Recently there is a tank bred green neon (tetra) _P innesi (green)_ which looks to be some cross of P innesi/simulans


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## Looneeyy (2 Jun 2019)

I really enjoyed reading this, I can’t wait for all the growth! I’m not a massive fan of Iwagumi but I like how it’s split through the centre making it into more of a river bed/valley, my eye is drawn straight down the centre which I kinda like! very nice mate


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## Chris Laracy (2 Jun 2019)

Thanks everyone, that’s what I was going for with the river ending before the back; I wanted a nice river through the middle but I didn’t want to break the HC down the middle.


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## Chris Laracy (9 Jun 2019)

Finally got some shots with a proper white balance, my iPhone XS Max washes the photos out in blue quite badly. I messed up the back left corner when my water change vacuum burped water because I decided I wanted to do a water change drunk, not hung over in the morning ha! (celebrating engagement, don't drink and scape people). Managed to fix the slope and add some more soil, replant everything and some more extras I had in the fridge, the area is recovering nicely and everything is beginning to spread. 

So I've never had a tank start so easily, and I think I came up with a new technique for starting a planted tank without getting diatoms etc. Instead of a 50% WC every day for the first week, I did 50% WC in the AM before the light, AND PM after the light (8 hour photoperiod, will move it up to 10 eventually). I also put a carbon pad in my filter along with the purigen; soon it will be spent/exhausted and will just act as biological media - its only absorbing things in the beginning when you need it to, especially with how much AS I used (not the first time I've had success with charcoal in filter during cycle).  Here ya go:

With the cabinet in view:





FTS





Color and white balance corrected cabinet interior shot:





Cheers!


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## Chris Laracy (12 Jun 2019)

Filling in insanely fast... not even at the 2 week mark, ammonia on decline, nitrites through the roof.


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## alto (13 Jun 2019)

Looking amazing


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## Chris Laracy (20 Jun 2019)

Here are pictures from day 20, not even 3 weeks in. I'm speechless from the growth. And no it's 100% not Monte Carlo, unless I no longer know what my favorite plant looks like and 2 seperate plant culture dealers both messed up and sent me monte? No way. It's super tiny, and 100% HC, but it's growing like monte. Please excuse the bits of orange bacter in the sand that still haven't dissolved lol.

it's looking like the HC from the back will start to drape over the two main rocks. I did not intend this, I won't claim credit, but god damn is it going to look good having HC flowing down over the rocks from the back.

















Ordering Green Neons for a small schooling fish and some blue contrast. Any recommendations on school size? originally I was thinking large, like 60, but I'm thinking too large a school might det5ract from the simplicity. Someone who knows fish better than I do please chime in, I'm not a fish guy.

Thank you!


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## alto (20 Jun 2019)

You might also consider

Sundadanio species 

axelrodi

margarition - green and gold iridescent, with black anal fin (males), females are very similar but lack the anal fin color
You can see the iridescence in these photos though the fish are not as (green) coloured as they can be 

red - aqualog photo short, these fish are slightly longer than the blue and green forms but still very slender, they seem to be much less frequently available on Farm Lists, they are stunning in planted aquaria, again strong iridescence underlies the red color

All the Sundadanio look stunning in just ambient light, as they still “shine” 

As you may’ve guessed I’d source a mixed group of all 3, aiming to add ~ 20 of each variant  

For P simulans, make sure imported fish are actually simulans and not the P innesi ‘green’ (slightly larger, different swim pattern, lesser color impact) - I’d do a shoal of at least 40, and up to 60, depending on source (will they be quarantined etc before purchase or will you get a ‘bag lot’ price (in which case, you may observe more losses but also significantly lower cost, depending on shop)

Are you considering other livestock as well?
A shoal of Pygmy Corydoras looks stunning in an Iwagumi
Just Aquascaping “Next”



(can you tell I’m bored of all the neon cardinal scapes  ... even when George Farmer requested “Asian fish” suggestions, a surprising number of comments still proclaimed Neons! Cardinals!  )


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## alto (20 Jun 2019)

Forgot to say, start trimming that HC!


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## Jayefc1 (20 Jun 2019)

Yeah that he needs a trim or its gunna lift 

Cheers 
Jay


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## Chris Laracy (22 Jun 2019)

Tank got its first haircut today at day 21.  Came out well, going to need to hit it aggressively again soon to keep it flat. It was planted so densely it was in it's own way and could not spread along the ground. So while it may be puffy the roots are still extremely vital. Many repetitive trimmings probably each week will be needed to get it flat like I want it.

After a 7 hour photoperiod post trim (down from 8 for the day) the HC really became much tighter and closer to the dirt. I'll let it root further for a week and then take it down even farther. It's not well rooted enough to take it any farther than this, any time I try the sprig starts to exit the aquasoil.

I ended up with more than a softball worth of HC trimmings!





Here it is about an hour post trim, took 55 minutes of bending over it was not fun.





Fish are being ordered on Sunday - 60 green neons, as I can't afford those other cool green fish at like $20 a fish...


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## alto (22 Jun 2019)

Chris Laracy said:


> those other cool green fish at like $20 a fish...



crazy, at my lfs they’re priced only slightly higher than (wild caught) green neons (which I believe are actually higher individual cost on Farm Lists, but ship better)


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## Chris Laracy (22 Jun 2019)

I found a place with green neons on clearance for 2.88 a piece, best deal I’m gonna get!


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## Jayefc1 (22 Jun 2019)

Yellow rasbora are green and would look cool in there looks really peaceful and tranquil really nice 
Cheers 
Jay


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## nayr88 (26 Jun 2019)

very very nice, oits not very often at all i get the feeling to create an iwagumi but this has really got me thinking  I know id end up with many more plant types, adding a little red here, a stem there...oh and a little moss blah blah and boom.....ive ruined it haha.


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## Chris Laracy (26 Jun 2019)

nayr88 said:


> very very nice, oits not very often at all i get the feeling to create an iwagumi but this has really got me thinking  I know id end up with many more plant types, adding a little red here, a stem there...oh and a little moss blah blah and boom.....ive ruined it haha.


hahaha! thanks man

I'm trimming almost a golfball worth out each day, can't keep up with nitrates and phosphates either despite 40L+ of brand new aquasoil... blown away by these tissue cultures. They have changed the game.

60 green neons ordered and 20 green Neocaridina, on their way. Here's the FTS (trimmed again since taking this shot last night)






Thanks! Decided to get a little contrast with some green neons, as they're a nice deep blue and small enough to not throw off the scale. Also they school which is important to me.

I'm trimming almost a golfball worth out each day, can't keep up with nitrates and phosphates either despite 40l+ of brand new aquasoil... blown away by these tissue cultures. They have changed the game.


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## alto (27 Jun 2019)

I don’t recall what your water parameters are - I suggest requesting information from the green neon & shrimp suppliers

Then check TDS of water they arrive in

(Recently received a transshipment of fish, shrimp etc and I’m guessing someone added salt to the shipping water (or holding tanks) ... Chocolate gouramis were in 450TDS, several shrimp and other fish were equally high TDS - unexpected as this did not conform to the parameters forwarded by the sale team (& previous shipments from supplier))


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## alto (27 Jun 2019)

You’ll need to dump some more pathway stones atop the rampantly growing  HC


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## Chris Laracy (27 Jun 2019)

I keep my water very soft. There will be an extensive, many hour drip acclimation. I shoot for 4dGH and 1dKH but it’s tough with this much seiryu stone constantly dissolving. Lots of water changes.


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## Chris Laracy (27 Jun 2019)

Everything arrived healthy, final shoot coming within the week, fastest scape I've ever made.


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## Chris Laracy (27 Jun 2019)

Pearl Valley (still trimming bits every day):













60 green neons and 20 green jade shrimp arrived a few weeks ago, 0 losses! Drip acclimation is the best. Both are loving the soft water, GH at 4, cant get my KH below 3... darn seiryu stones are forcing me to do a 50% WC every other day to keep the hardness in check. And it's mostly calcium, so I'm dosing small amount of magnesium at water changes.


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## Chris Laracy (12 Jul 2019)

60 green neons and 20 green jade shrimp all healthy and well, 100% survival! Final photo shoot coming up within the week.


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## Chris Laracy (12 Jul 2019)

alto said:


> You’ll need to dump some more pathway stones atop the rampantly growing  HC



already had to numerous times, and it's way worse now (photos are from a week or two ago) It's still eating them up despite my best efforts to trim. I honestly have to give the whole tank a light trim every other day to keep light getting down to the roots. The stones were there first and foremost for creating a barrier, I've never done sand and was so scared of any mixing. The aesthetics were a close second but as a result, I'm fine if they eat up the stones as long as it means the sand stays perfect.


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## RainstormZA (22 Jul 2019)

Impressive!  I really love the simple look of carpeted tanks.


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## alto (22 Jul 2019)

Decidedly in need of an update


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## Jayefc1 (22 Jul 2019)

Very much so let's see it with live,stock please


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## Harry H (22 Jul 2019)

Come on then! How many of us need to ask?


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## alto (22 Jul 2019)

Jayefc1 said:


> Very much so let's see it with live,stock please


I’m keen to see the green Neo’s (as there’s so much variation in what ships)


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## Jayefc1 (22 Jul 2019)

Me too not sure why there called green they never are lol


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## rebel (23 Jul 2019)

Very much an early ADA iwagumi inspired! Very meticulously done. 

With this sort of scape, fish may not be comfortable due to lack of cover and very bright light. 

Maybe consider some floaters (remove for photos) or at least some dithers like endler males.


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## Hendre (23 Jul 2019)

Lovely growth!


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## Chris Laracy (24 Jul 2019)

We did the “final photoshoot” with livestock, we just have to edit the shots in post due to exposure and color balance etc. My fiancé does this for a living and we will be doing it tonight, updates are coming! 

As of right now it’s very overgrown, as my arthritis has limited my ability to constantly trim the carpet.


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## Chris Laracy (24 Jul 2019)

We did the “final photoshoot” with livestock, we just have to edit the shots in post due to exposure and color balance etc. My fiancé does this for a living and we will be doing it tonight, updates are coming! 

As of right now it’s very overgrown, as my arthritis has limited my ability to constantly trim the carpet.


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## Chris Laracy (24 Jul 2019)

alto said:


> I’m keen to see the green Neo’s (as there’s so much variation in what ships)



They're pink, with a faint blue stripe. No red at all, just fleshy pink and a bit of blue. They are hyper vital and eat ravenously every two hours if I feed them that often They school when someone is in the room but wander when there's nothing threatening (very skittish). We'll see how the final shots from the DSLR came out tonight once we have corrected everything (we are not photographers, my fiancé is an art director for an advertising firm).


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## alto (24 Jul 2019)

Chris Laracy said:


> As of right now it’s very overgrown, as my arthritis has limited my ability to constantly trim the carpet.


Welcome to the club 

Pushing down the HC to compact it is recommended- I’ll try to find the video (unless you’ve seen it?)

Do you have the ADA curved scissors - they definitely make trimming easier (though some people find those spring scissors more comfortable, depending ... )


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## Chris Laracy (24 Jul 2019)

Thanks, but 19 was a little early to get autoimmune arthritis, especially as a collegiate athlete. 26 now.

I do indeed have the curved ADA scissors, been considering the waves.

I do make sure to keep the roots healthy via compression and keeping it thin enough for the MH to pierce to the roots.


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## alto (24 Jul 2019)

Chris Laracy said:


> They're pink, with a faint blue stripe.


Quite funny 
unless you paid a fortune for green Neo’s


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## Chris Laracy (24 Jul 2019)

alto said:


> Quite funny
> unless you paid a fortune for green Neo’s



They’re still pretty and school quite tightly, and at $2.88 a fish, shipped, with 100% survival rate I really can’t complain.


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## Chris Laracy (24 Jul 2019)

One great thing about these green neons, is as long as the light is on and the plants are photosynthesizing, I cannot put too much CO2 into the tank (10+bps). Drop checker so yellow it’s almost white, no problem. My regulator was leaking one night at one bubble per second and I woke to them at the surface.  It seems as though as long as they are getting oxygen, they are nearly immune to CO2 and the decline in pH. Keep my KH at 1 so my ph dips below 5 sometimes.

It has been rough on the shrimp, but they have not been doing their job cleaning and breeding/colonizing, and I don’t want an algae crew ruining the clean look of this tank so I have sort of replaced the algae crew with ultra high CO2 and elbow grease. Seems almost impossible to get any algae besides mild GDA with CO2 over 40ppm’s.

I always delay putting fish in the tank because I love running my CO2 so high. Definitely found my new favorite fish.


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## alto (24 Jul 2019)

you were talking fish
I was talking shrimp (green Neocaridinas)

I did wonder at them hanging out together and then scattering 


Shame about the shrimp losses (likely not heathy/stable before shipping)

Hopefully you’ll have some fish photos (got a zoom lens )


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## Chris Laracy (25 Jul 2019)

alto said:


> you were talking fish
> I was talking shrimp (green Neocaridinas)
> 
> I did wonder at them hanging out together and then scattering
> ...



I wish I had a lens besides the stock but I’m just not a photographer. Yeah the green jelly neo’s were $4 a piece and came very healthy (only bought 20 expecting them to colonize like RCS), I’m just blasting way to much CO2 for them to thrive. The CO2 is doing 100x the algae control of the dozen or so shrimp left so whatever. They only come out during water changes, I have no idea how many are left.

3 came pregnant too! So I found a great source, 100% survival... I just started adding excel to really clean up the scape... and that plus the high CO2 did in some of the weaker ones, I take responsibility for all of the deaths. I think my green neons have been hard at work eating the babies as well... but I’m not sure how they could get to them through and inch+ of tight HC. I feed them 3-4x a day to keep them away from the shrimp but who knows!

All I know is this scape doesn’t need an algae crew because of how high these fish let me run my CO2.  Everything else I just manually remove once every two weeks and it’s clean as a whistle.

Right now my CO2 is almost 50ppm and the neons are playing, males chasing males for female attention... it doesn’t phase them as long as something is also oxygenating the water (the carpet).

And yes my fiancé tried to get fish shots but all I heard was “they’re moving too fast!” So we shall see tonight when we upload them into photoshop for post.


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## Chris Laracy (25 Jul 2019)

Here ya go guys! Full sized JPEG in all its glory. Still some light and color balancing to do but almost there.


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## Chris Laracy (25 Jul 2019)

The scape is done! Still some light and color balancing to do on this photo but we're almost there. I'll have a final photo within a few days, along with some close up shots!


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## Chris Laracy (26 Jul 2019)

Here it is a bit brighter, close up shots coming tomorrow.


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## Bon MotMot (26 Jul 2019)

Nice growing, Chris! Where did you get your fish from?


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## Chris Laracy (26 Jul 2019)

Bon MotMot said:


> Nice growing, Chris! Where did you get your fish from?



Thanks! Arizona Aquatic Gardens, and I’m in NY! 60 super healthy fish shipped cross country during the summer. A+ vendor.


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## CooKieS (26 Jul 2019)

Superb iwagumi.

So relaxing to Watch...would love to scape one again.


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## alto (26 Jul 2019)

Though someone did pack “gold neon” tetras (a color morph of Paracheirodon innesi) rather than “green neon” tetras Paracheirodon simulans 
(fish value is likely similar)


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## Chris Laracy (27 Jul 2019)

CooKieS said:


> Superb iwagumi.
> 
> So relaxing to Watch...would love to scape one again.



Thank you! People don't seem to appreciate Iwagumi like they used to, it seems it has fallen out of style.


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## Chris Laracy (27 Jul 2019)

alto said:


> Though someone did pack “gold neon” tetras (a color morph of Paracheirodon innesi) rather than “green neon” tetras Paracheirodon simulans
> (fish value is likely similar)



Oh well, their lack of color actually helps the scape in retrospect because it keeps it minimalist and doesn't detract from the Iwagumi. I'm quite pleased with these fish, they're extremely vital.


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## alto (27 Jul 2019)

I’ve tried to order them several times but they don’t arrive 
I love the blue eye with faint blue stripe


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## alto (27 Jul 2019)

Glass Aqua has a gorgeous Iwagumi (as well) that underwent a (conservative) rescape a few months ago - they’ve used Monte Carlo which is decidedly more forgiving of less regular maintenance


(Jurijs mit JS did a Monte Carlo Challenge after doing a Lazy Dry Start )


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## Tim Harrison (27 Jul 2019)

Chris Laracy said:


> Thank you! People don't seem to appreciate Iwagumi like they used to, it seems it has fallen out of style.


Nice Iwagumi...I think that the style has changed a little over the years especially recently; it's perhaps more acceptable to include taller plants as well and for it to still be considered Iwagumi. This can add greater interest, give the fish a more natural environment and potentially fill out the negative space above. Personally, I've never been a big fan of the traditional style if only because I don't consider it to be very fish friendly, in that the lack of cover can be very stressful for critters. Below is a nice example with taller plants. By definition it's still an Iwagumi since rocks provide the backbone of the scape and still play a leading role.







I also think that Iwagumi, traditional or otherwise, look better in shallow tanks, or those with a wider aspect ratio, it's easier to fill the tank so there is less negative space above. I'd also like to see yours without the sandy path and fully grown over, I think that'd look good too, and perhaps a little more natural.


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## Steve Buce (27 Jul 2019)

Great looking tank, really like the rockwork layout


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## Chris Laracy (27 Jul 2019)

Thanks for the input everyone! I was planning on filling that vertical space more but the stone I planned on having more upright wouldn't safely stay up, so I laid it on it's side - the main stone on the left. I used substrate dams to get the sloping over 12" in the back to try and fill the negative space as much as possible with a less vertically oriented rock scape. Had to make this change on the fly after months of planning.

Here's some close-ups:


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