# 450L Vision adventure



## awtong (18 Apr 2012)

I have been admiring a lot of journals on here for sometime and so I stop hijacking threads I thought I would start one to contain my pictures and musings!

So here comes the last 10 months of turning from fish keeper to low tech planted tank keeper.

Tank specs:

Juwel Vision 450l with 2 x 54w T5's with reflectors
Fluval Fx5 with a 300w and a 200w heaters
Sand substrate with root tabs under the plants
No CO2 enrichment and up until this week no water column ferts.
I dosed a small amount of TNC complete liquid ferts for the 1st time this week.














This started out with all the bits from my 180l and my 125l Rio's.

More pics to follow


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## awtong (18 Apr 2012)

Didn't really want to post a monster 1st post.

This is the tank the day after setting up once it had cleared a bit.





I am not sure when this was but probably a few weeks after set up ..... maybe?!.  Aplogies for the awful picture   





The left hand side





The centre





And the right hand side





And finally the most up to date pic I have





The plants have grown in quite a lot since this last pic so I will get some up to date ones to post soon along with pics of some of the inhabitants


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## Ady34 (18 Apr 2012)

Nice, and big too..... lovely to see a shoal of congo tetras, theyre beautiful fish. Will be good to see some up to date photos to see how things have progressed.
Not quite sure how your tank has two left sides though?! 
Cheerio,
Ady.


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## awtong (18 Apr 2012)

Thanks for that Ady   post has been edited 

I will try and get some more pics soon although my photography skills are shocking!

There are 20 Congo's in there 7 males and 13 females.  The males are getting large and they spar a lot.

There are also 7 plecs hiding in amongst the plants, that's why I have so much wood so they can have a territory each


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## sWozzAres (18 Apr 2012)

I like Denisonii barbs - what is their behaviour like in your 450l? I got 3 in a 350l but they are very jumpy, dart about alot and occasionally jump out of the tank into the light reflectors! They don't see much movement outside the tank for the majority of the day so I was wondering if this is due them no being used to people moving past or if it's natural behaviour.


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## awtong (18 Apr 2012)

I have 3 and all are a good size.  They do dart about chasing each other and the Congo's sometimes.  They never jump bad enough to hit my reflectors though and sometimes the cabinet gets hit by my Staffie playing with his toys!

They can get a little jumpy if I get to close during tank maintanence when I have my arm in the tank.

Maybe it is because I grew them on from babies and they have moved up from a Rio 125l to a Rio 180l and finally into this tank.  Maybe they like it as I have quite a few fish and they feel more secure.  How many other fish do you have in the tank?


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## sWozzAres (18 Apr 2012)

They are nearly 10 years old and used to live in a 180l with 3 Clown Loaches, but they outgrew that tank a few years ago. They have only been in the 350l a couple of months - on their own. Maybe this is the problem. I spend a couple of grand getting them more space and they spend most of the time swimming in circles in one corner (see picture link). They do venture out and chase each other etc but not as much as I had hoped. They aren't as active as they were when they were younger. If it's dark outside the tank there isn't a problem, they will swim up to the glass and investigate whatever is going on, but it's when its dark inside the tank and light outside, even when they are "asleep" - someone walks passed and they freak out - as you know they can swim very fast and one flip of their caudal fin and they can fly out of the tank! I have learnt to be cautious around them but I had one hit the lights a few years ago and he had to be put down due to what looked like a burn mark, eventually making him lose buoyancy and a few days ago another go startled and hit the reflectors making him lose scales and have a large hole in his head!! Fingers crossed he seems ok now.

I wasn't sure about putting my loaches in the same tank again but I think your onto something, since the loaches are very active and shoal with the barbs, maybe this will improve their behaviour. I've also thought about reducing planting to give them yet more space.

Cheers.

Picture: http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/809/imag0237x.jpg/


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## awtong (19 Apr 2012)

Mine sound positively calm compaired with yours!

Another couple of ideas came to me that may help.  I have cover on the surface from the leaves of the long Vallis maybe this helps them feel secure?  Do you have any floating plants or leaves providing cover?

Mine also love to shoal with my two Siamese algae eaters so there are 5 fish that often swim together.  Maybe this larger number helps them also, plus I get the added bonus of them munching any algae that appears   

Hopefully this offers you a few ideas to help with them as they are such beautiful fish.


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## awtong (19 Apr 2012)

Just looked at the pic.  Maybe my 20 Congo tetra sitting in mid to upper water in a shoal help them feel safer?

That is a gorgeous tank you have there congrats!


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## sWozzAres (19 Apr 2012)

Thanks awtong, I think that comparing our tanks has made me realize that they are probably suffering from boredom resulting in surprise whenever something significant suddenly changes in their environment. More fish is the answer   

Have you had any algae issues in your tank? It's look pristine clean


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## awtong (19 Apr 2012)

Thanks for the compliment.  I have not had any algae apart from a few green spots on the glass and a couple of green spots on the central Anubias    :silent: I just remove this from the glass every two weeks when I do my 25% water change with an old credit card! The other 3 Anubias are fine so I think that one is central under the 2 x T5's and a bit higher in the water so may be getting a little too much light.  I might get some floaters and see if that helps.  

I also have the two Siamese Algae Eaters so they will munch anything that might appear.

So now you have an excuse to buy more fish for the sanity of your other fish


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## danmullan (19 Apr 2012)

sWozzAres said:
			
		

> Have you had any algae issues in your tank? It's look pristine clean



I was going to ask about this too, your sand looks completely spotless. Love the scape aswell, those bits of wood you have are really nice shapes and positioned well.



			
				sWozzAres said:
			
		

> Thanks awtong, I think that comparing our tanks has made me realize that they are probably suffering from boredom resulting in surprise whenever something significant suddenly changes in their environment. More fish is the answer



Your tank looks great. Is that a Lelaeopsis carpet? I had a small group of rainbows on their own in a tank and they were incredibly jumpy and seemed to swim in just one corner of the tank, I thought they would gradually become more confident but after 2 months they hadn't changed. I added some mid-upper level swimmers though and they began to act like normal pretty much the second the new fish came out of the net. 
I agree with awtong, congos would look really good, or maybe 20-30 dwarf neon rainbows?

Cheers
Dan


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## awtong (19 Apr 2012)

Thanks for the kind words.  The tank gets 25% water change every 2 weeks and I open the Fx5 every month for maintanence.  I will have to get some newer pics as a few bits have changed since the last pics were taken.  This is the problem with starting a journal 10 months in! 

The carpet is actually Cryptocoryne Parva.  It grows by runners so I am trying to carpet it but it grows very very slow in such a low energy set up.  Lovely looking little plant though.  

Congo's can look a bit dull when young but once they mature and get the extended fins they look lovely.  I took a long time and selected the fish very carefully.  They are hard on the females when trying to breed which is why I keep them at a 2-1 ratio.  The males will shoot up and down the tank sparring with each other which is entertaining.


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## awtong (19 Apr 2012)

I do like the Congo's here is one of the males with a group of females.


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## sWozzAres (19 Apr 2012)

Wow! They look amazing. What other aspects of their behaviour have you noticed? Do they chase each other about, swim fast, are they nervy or inquisitive, greedy, passive or aggressive, do they try to eat or destroy plants etc? What sort of things were you looking for when you selected them?


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## awtong (19 Apr 2012)

I have seen both males and females sparring with each other swimming up and down the tank length shaking fins towards each other.  The males do it much more than the females.  I have seen spawning behaviour when males chase ripe females and then quiver next to each other as they are egg scatterers.  No eggs ever survive cause in a tank like this it causes a feeding frenzy and the denisonii's love to get involved with that.

When buying them the best coloured males I have in my tank have showed the orange band at a young age probably around 2 - 2.5cm.  Then the blues greens coloured up later.  The inferior male I have didn't show this and his colour is not as good now he is maturing.

In LFS bare holding tanks they look washed out but the better males will still have good hints of colour.  Nicely elongated fins and tail at a young age means they should get even more impressive when more mature.

Keep females at 2 -1 ratio with males.  This is hard as the females don't have the nice colour or long fins.  This does however spread out breeding attention and makes the colours in the males even stronger.  They stay mostly in the upper and mid levels of the water.

I have never seen them ever touch my plants.  They are a bit nervous at times but they will shoal for safety.  They are passive with all the other fish I have.  They are very greedy if i open the tank to add food I have to be careful not to get tank water splashed in my face!  If I put sinking pellets in for the plecs one of them will pick a piece off the substrate and then all the others will chase them to try and get the food from them.  If I put my fingers in to remove a bit of floating plant and they haven't been fed they will nibble your finger tips.


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## sWozzAres (19 Apr 2012)

do you know how big they get as adults?


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## awtong (19 Apr 2012)

Males 8cm and females 6cm.  I bought my males at about 3 - 4cm and they are now 5 - 6cm and I have had them about 6 months.  They seem to be quite quick growers.


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## stu_ (19 Apr 2012)

That 2nd shot is lovely.Good work


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## awtong (19 Apr 2012)

More inhabitants  

My largest L134



Another one



My blue phantom



The chocolate zebra 



And my wild Scalare angels




Updated tank pics to follow


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## Alastair (19 Apr 2012)

Tanks looking great mate. I really like it. It's nice to see another 450 and think your choice of tank mates are brill.


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## awtong (19 Apr 2012)

Thanks Alistair but that pic is before your very nice plants went in.  Looks better with them!


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## awtong (19 Apr 2012)

Ok here are the updated pics.  I am not good at it but I think they show the main features.

A couple of full tank shots







The left side



The middle



The right side



Courgette time!


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## pariahrob (19 Apr 2012)

Lovely tank! I'm going to have to make sure my mrs doesn't see the phantom. I just know she'll want one. Not in my 60-P!


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## Ian Holdich (19 Apr 2012)

will look even better when grown in...It's good to see a school of Congos as well.


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## somethingfishy (19 Apr 2012)

Wow im so glad you have started your journal have been wondering for a while what your set up was like.

It looks really good and its even better reading a journal where someone knows and cares so much about his fish.
Everything looks so healthy and clean, haha definately gonna have a big clean before i post some new pics this weekend. Guess like me you are looking forward to your moss turning up. Can you easily remove the wood from your tank? Mines way to big i had to remove the support bar to get the wood in then reattach. Not looking forward to trying to thread the moss on  Hopefully get a pic of my c.zebra this weekend too.

Im subscribed


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## awtong (20 Apr 2012)

pariahrob said:
			
		

> Lovely tank! I'm going to have to make sure my mrs doesn't see the phantom. I just know she'll want one. Not in my 60-P!



He is a lovely fish and has been growing quite a bit recently.  Yeh not for the 60p he should evetually reach up to 20cm!  He doesn't come cheap though!  I used to also have a green phantom but lost him during the tank move which was sad.  The other half still wants another one!


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## awtong (20 Apr 2012)

ianho said:
			
		

> will look even better when grown in...It's good to see a school of Congos as well.



Thanks Ian.  Only a few more tweaks on planting and to add the moss coming from Basil and then I have to sit back and wait for it to grow.

Congo's are lovely but don't help to scale the tank.  I think that is probably why they are less popular in larger planted tanks.


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## awtong (20 Apr 2012)

somethingfishy said:
			
		

> Wow im so glad you have started your journal have been wondering for a while what your set up was like.
> 
> It looks really good and its even better reading a journal where someone knows and cares so much about his fish.
> Everything looks so healthy and clean, haha definately gonna have a big clean before i post some new pics this weekend. Guess like me you are looking forward to your moss turning up. Can you easily remove the wood from your tank? Mines way to big i had to remove the support bar to get the wood in then reattach. Not looking forward to trying to thread the moss on  Hopefully get a pic of my c.zebra this weekend too.
> ...



Yeh I had been a bit lazy in not starting my Journal.  Fish is where I started out when I was very young 25+ years ago, the plants just make them look even better.  My wood mostly comes out ok only the bigger piece is tricky, it's getting it back in the position I want that is hard work.  I also get evils from the plecs who aren't happy when I take away their house!  I get the wife to help with moss tying she is much better at it than me. 

Can't wait to see your zebra.  I added the other pic of mine to this thread so you can see the side profile.  Can I tempt you with a Blue Phantom


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## LondonDragon (20 Apr 2012)

Great looking tank, nice choice of fish too for a tank that size


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## Gill (20 Apr 2012)

Lovely Tank, and the Shoal of Congo's looks great. 
I have to ask, how are you finding the Gold CAE with your angels. As they are known to be slime coat eaters and angels are a favorite of theirs.


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## awtong (20 Apr 2012)

He only got put into the tank as I broke down my other two tanks and had nowhere else to put him at the time.  My wife has a passionate dislike for him as well.  Now I can't catch the little bugger.  I would try and trap him but knowing my luck one of the plecs would get stuck or something.  To be honest though he has grown up with angels in a variety of tanks from when he was very young and he doesn't seem to bother them at all.  For a gold CAE he also has a very calm personality compared with some I have seen.


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## awtong (20 Apr 2012)

awtong said:
			
		

> somethingfishy said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



You know you are going to develop a really bad plec habit now.  You have taken your first few steps now!


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## somethingfishy (20 Apr 2012)

I definately have the plec bug  hopefully easerthegeaser will bring his camera round tomorrow to take some pics of my new two, just wish they were as active as the two bristlenose plecs.

After seeing how pristine your tank is i need to have a good couple hours of maintenance before i take the pics   

Would love a blue phantom, and i cant stop looking at Lnumbers but my tank is fully stocked and i dont think it would be fair to add any more


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## awtong (20 Apr 2012)

The bristlenose's will always be more active hunting for algae and aufwuchs / biofilm.  The Zebra's don't really do this they wait for the tabs and veg to eat mainly but damn they are pretty and fun to watch.


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## awtong (20 Apr 2012)

LondonDragon said:
			
		

> Great looking tank, nice choice of fish too for a tank that size



Thanks for the comment.


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## awtong (21 Apr 2012)

Ok so I have been doing some more tweaking with my planting today.  

I have moved the little green Crypt Amicorum from behind the little branch in the centre.  This is the before shot. 





And I have replaced it with some more Crypt Bullosa that I had already.  I think the texture and colour fits in better.
This is the after shot.





I had a little space over on the left hand side next to another crypt Amicorum.  The before shot.





And after.





I have also added some willow moss that my wife helped me tie to the wood that I received from Basil today.  At the moment all the fish are pulling the crap out of the moss so who knows if it will take.  Also behind the Amicorum I have seperated out some Crypt Becketti petchi plantlets these have gone down the front right hand side to grow out replacing the hydrocotyle that didn't take.


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## awtong (1 May 2012)

Tank is still plodding along, sometimes I dream about injecting the "gas" to make it grow quicker!

Anyway I am after some opinion.  I want to get some height from behind the larger piece of wood on the left hand side of the tank.  I want to add a plant to the right of the giant Vallis to appear from behind this wood and it needs to be a low tech option.  2nd pic up from this post shows the area I mean.  I was thinking of a larger Apongeton like Boivinianus (I grew this low tech once before and it worked well) or perhaps a Nymphaea lotus type plant.  Any opinions on which would be best or any other options appreciated.  Although they could look great Echinodorus are not an option as last time I tried 2 Ozelot's my plecs turned them into cheese plants!

Thanks,  Andy


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## awtong (2 May 2012)

I have put some more thought and research into this and I think the Nymphaea leaves while growing would also get munched by the Plec gang.  I have a few Balansae plants at the back that I am waiting to grow higher to mix in with the Vallis.  I am swaying towards the Apongeton unless anyone has anything else to consider?


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## awtong (5 May 2012)

I am now trying out Aqua Essentials for the first time after ordering 2 Apongeton Boivinianus bulbs.  When these arrive I will have a bit of a move round and post a new pic.

I was also going to add some more Crypt Balansae but Aqua Essentials didn't have any in stock


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## somethingfishy (7 May 2012)

hope the tanks going well,

how are you getting on with your moss? mine seems to be doing nothing ... if anything i think its going downhill?


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## awtong (8 May 2012)

Yeah the moss hasn't done much of anything yet but in my tank nothing happens quickly.  I am just attempting to keep it clean at the moment.  

Got bigger worries at the moment one of my baby L134's has a bump on his nose that looks like an infection.  I am still weighing up what to do at the moment if I try and remove it to treat it I will probably have to take the whole tank apart, but I don't really want to dose the main tank at the moment.  It didn't look any worse this morning so I might just monitor for a couple of days and see what happens.  The disappointing thing is this weekend I located two L200's and was considering buying one.  Going to have to wait and see what happens to this little fella first.

Hope your tank is going well.


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## somethingfishy (8 May 2012)

Thats really bad news mate... i quite often wish that i had a spare tank for situations like this.
what are the common names of the L134 and L200's

My tank like yours is ticking over slowly, I have had a really big clear out and i think it looks better for it. Will try to get some pics up soon ... haha but when there is so little change it seems like a waste of time


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## awtong (8 May 2012)

I do have some Apongeton on order with AE so I will have to take some pics when they arrive as they will help to fill out the back section.

L134's are generally known as Leopard Frog plecs.  L200's are Known as Green Phantoms.  There are two types of fish under the Green Phantom name one is Hemiancistrus Subviridis which is the one I found recently (I used to have a lovely example but lost it when I set up the 450l, and the wife would love another one) and the other one is Baryancistrus Demantoides.  They have the same green colouring with yellow spots but physically look different especially around the head.  I think as they had similar colouring and markings importers gave them the same L number.    alert


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## Ady34 (8 May 2012)

somethingfishy said:
			
		

> but when there is so little change it seems like a waste of time


Never a waste of time mate, even if nothing changes it gives you reference for the future so you can see exactly what your tank was looking like on a given date. Then if anything improved or heaven forbid declined, you would maybe able to pinpoint it to change in ferts, light, water etc. Plus we all like photos   
Cheerio,
Ady.


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## Ady34 (8 May 2012)

awtong said:
			
		

> one of my baby L134's has a bump on his nose that looks like an infection.


Sorry to hear that mate, hopefully hes fit and strong and will fight it off himself!


			
				awtong said:
			
		

> L134's are generally known as Leopard Frog plecs.


Think i may have seen these in one of my lfs last weekend. Are they a brown background colouration with gold/yellow stripes with pointed ends to the caudal fin? If its these then they are very nice looking.
Ady.


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## awtong (9 May 2012)

Ady34 said:
			
		

> awtong said:
> 
> 
> 
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Yeah I am hoping he will fight it off naturally.  I am keeping a very close eye on him.  I have to lure him out with food to look at him.  He came out and ate last night which is a good sign that it isn't in his sucker mouth yet.  It looked like it was slightly better so I have my fingers crossed.

Colouration is yellow and brown but pattern is variable depending on age and other factors.  Caudial fin isn't too pointy.  If it was quite expensive then it may have been one.  Prices have really gone up in the last few months.  All mine have quite different patterns I have attached one below.


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## awtong (11 May 2012)

The Apongeton's have arrived today and have gone in behind the large piece of wood.  The leaves are broader and a little shorter than the one I had previously.  I will have to wait it out and see how they do.  I was also very impressed with AE.  Nice plants, good value and excellent service.  Pics to follow soon.

The plec still has a swelling on its nose but it hasn't got any worse and he is still eating so I am still playing the waiting game.

Andy


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## awtong (13 May 2012)

Water change and maintanence completed today.

Took a couple of quick snaps of the recent changes.  These two show the new Apongeton behind the wood.  I can't wait until it grows taller and starts helping to fill out the back and give it a more jungle type feel.









I also found some more little Crypt Parva plants so I have started a new section of my carpet.


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## awtong (17 May 2012)

Went to the LFS yesterday to buy some more Crypt parva to fill out the carpet.  When I got home I realised I had bought something else.  I believe it is Lilaeopsis brasiliensis.  





So I have carefully portioned it and planted it up and I guess I will see how it goes in my low tech tank.  I know others have had success with it in low tech tanks but I think they had nutritious substrates.  I am hoping a few root tabs spread about and my minimal water column ferts will be enough for it to thrive so I have a mixed carpet.

A few more pics

A new full tank shot





And a couple of end on shots with a slightly odd perspective


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## awtong (22 May 2012)

Keep forgetting to mention but last week I added another juvenile Chocolate Zebra to this tank.  Found a real bargain while out during my hols last week.  I put it in over a week ago but only spotted it yesterday for the 1st time since putting it in due to all the plants and hardscaping.  My other plecs are a fair bit bigger so hopefully it will come out a bit more once settled.  At least now I know where it likes to hide so should be able to find it a bit easier from now on.

I will add a pic when it becomes possible.  Could take a few weeks though   

Andy


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## Timms2011 (22 May 2012)

Hiya awtong, looking forward to seeing some more pics and as much as i like plecs and would like to keep one, don't they get like really big? 

Thanks,


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## awtong (23 May 2012)

It depends which ones you buy.  You can get many plecs that stay very small e.g bulldog plecs get 6 - 8cm.  I have 2 chocolate zebra's that get to around 10cm, 5 x Leopard frog's that get to about 12cm and 1 blue phantom that gets to about 18cm.  The blue phantom was bought as a very small baby so will take quite a while to get to 18cm.

There is a lot of plec's that get very big its just down to careful research.

Andy


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## awtong (6 Jun 2012)

Quick update on the tank at present it is going fine.  A few spots of GSA on some anubias and at the moment the Lilaposis is a little pale in places so we will see if this is just transition.  The moss from Basil hasn't done much yet so fingers crossed it starts growing.  The two apongeton I added have settled in and one of them has sent out 2 new leaves that are nearly reacing the water surface in only a few weeks.

A couple of pics.  1st one is what a believe to be a red ramshorn that came in on the moss from Basil.  Apparently my loaches didn't eat him.





And an iphone pic of the new C. zebra





Andy


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## somethingfishy (6 Jun 2012)

That c.zebra is awesome and now i am even more jealous of you  

Seriously great looking plec ... and great that he (maybe he) is showing so much character already. Need to get myself to Bury I think because I really do love these plecs.

Have to be honest i really like the red ramshorns snails easerthegeaser has some in his tank and i think they are a nice addition.

dave


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## awtong (7 Jun 2012)

When we went over Bury they had 2 x Green phantoms (L200), 1 x mega clown plec a golden pekoltia which was a lovely looking fish and what the wife and I believed to be the C. Zebra.  The reason I say that is because it wasn't listed and the owner sold it to me for £20 so I was stoaked.  I actually went to get an L200 but ended up with this little one instead.

We went back the week later and they had sold every one except the golden pekoltia.  You really have to search the tanks as they aren't always listed and you may get a bargain.  It helps that I have been visiting that shop since I was super young and have known the owner all that time.

Andy


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## somethingfishy (10 Jun 2012)

Is it Bury huntingdon or Bury st edmunds? I am itching to go have a look


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## awtong (10 Jun 2012)

The place is Ornamental fish farm, Tut Hill, Fornham All Saints.  Fornham is on the outskirts of Bury st Edmunds.  Plecs seem to come and go so you could phone ahead but we just went over to take a browse and came home with that little stunner.  It has grown in confidence again and now ventures all the way to the middle of the tank.  This is where my most dominant Leopard frog lives and the little bugger sits just outside her little cave staring at her


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## Alastair (10 Jun 2012)

Tanks looking great mate.skimg me wish I still had mine  


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## awtong (10 Jun 2012)

Thanks mate, they are great tanks but your puddle is a whole different look with the shallow depth and different details.  I should get a new full tank shot showing the Apongeton growth I can't wait till it fills out properly.  I bought a new camera on Friday that should arrive tomorrow so I will test it out and try and get some good detailed photo's.  Might get a full tank shot I am properly proud of as I haven't managed that yet.  My wife can get better pics with her iphone than we could from our compact.


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## Alastair (10 Jun 2012)

awtong said:
			
		

> Thanks mate, they are great tanks but your puddle is a whole different look with the shallow depth and different details.  I should get a new full tank shot showing the Apongeton growth I can't wait till it fills out properly.  I bought a new camera on Friday that should arrive tomorrow so I will test it out and try and get some good detailed photo's.  Might get a full tank shot I am properly proud of as I haven't managed that yet.  My wife can get better pics with her iphone than we could from our compact.



Funny how this hobby has us ending up purchasing other equipment. Tanks, filters , plants, fish etc etc then we get the bug to go buying posh cameras too. Damn you ukaps!!!!! 

I think the visions look better with a slight side on photo 


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## greenink (10 Jun 2012)

Ramshorns eat BBA. Can't say fairer than that.


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## Alastair (10 Jun 2012)

awtong said:
			
		

> Thanks mate, they are great tanks but your puddle is a whole different look with the shallow depth and different details.  I should get a new full tank shot showing the Apongeton growth I can't wait till it fills out properly.  I bought a new camera on Friday that should arrive tomorrow so I will test it out and try and get some good detailed photo's.  Might get a full tank shot I am properly proud of as I haven't managed that yet.  My wife can get better pics with her iphone than we could from our compact.



Ha ha cheers mate. I'm enjoying the non co2 low tech method this time aroundIt's different. 

Funny how this hobby has us ending up purchasing other equipment. Tanks, filters , plants, fish etc etc then we get the bug to go buying posh cameras too. Damn you ukaps!!!!! 

I think the visions look better with a slight side on photo 


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## awtong (16 Jun 2012)

I have added 2 cryptocoryne diversen today in front of the filter inlet.  I have also decided to move a couple of Anubias and replace them with some crypts to help the area in front of the wood flow better.  Pic below shows the Anubias and they are attached to a piece of slate.  






Livestock wise the gold CAE has been re-homed to the mother in laws tank.  Added 3 more young female Congo's and 5 yellow tail Congo's.  These are very young so will take time to colour up but it will be worth it. 

I have been trying out the new camera.  I went with a Nikon bridge as a DSLR would be super wasted on me but my compact just wasn't doing what I wanted.  Thought I would share some of the pics of inhabitants.

Yellow tail Congo's



Congo's



Plec's



Denisonii barb



And my 3 wild scalare all together



And finally a full tank shot on the angle




Andy


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## Polyester (16 Jun 2012)

Nice tank and really like your Congo tetras!
Just finished setting up my new tank and thinking what fish to buy in 2 weeks, they are on the top 5 list now


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## awtong (17 Jun 2012)

Thanks Polyester.

How big is your new tank have you got a journal up yet?

Congo's need a lot of space they are really active and the males love to spar with each other.  Congo's often get over looked in LFS stock tanks as they are young and don't have much colour or the long fin and tail extensions.  They are also big fish so don't help with the scale of delicate aquascapes so aren't used as often.  I have been bringing these ones on  for nearly a year.  Good quality food and they grow and colour up nicely.

This pic shows my shoal in all its glory




Andy


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## Iain Sutherland (17 Jun 2012)

love congos, still trying to convince somethingfishy to purchase some for his jungle.  Those wild angels look lovely too Andy.


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## Ian Holdich (17 Jun 2012)

the Congos are ace! Would love to see them shoaling up and down...got a video function on that new camera?


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## tim (17 Jun 2012)

love those scalare angels just make me wnt a bigger tank stuning fish


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## Polyester (17 Jun 2012)

My tank is a 180 l Rio, about to prepare info to start a journal.

What tank size would you recommend as a minimum for Congo´s?


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## awtong (17 Jun 2012)

easerthegeezer said:
			
		

> love congos, still trying to convince somethingfishy to purchase some for his jungle.  Those wild angels look lovely too Andy.



Thanks easer those were from Scotsdales.  Get somethingfishy to have a look at the yellow tail congo's at Maidenhead Cambridge.  They aren't as deep bodied but when mature get a nice blue flash and a lovely yellow tail.  They are a little more subtle.



			
				ianho said:
			
		

> the Congos are ace! Would love to see them shoaling up and down...got a video function on that new camera?



Thanks Ian I got this pic as the wife walked past the tank as I was testing out the camera that's why I have Congo's and Denosonii's all together.  It's a Nikon bridge P510 coolpix with HD video feature.  I will try out the vid function and post the results.  I don't have a tripod yet but I will see what I can do.  I have never made a tank video before.



			
				tim said:
			
		

> love those scalare angels just make me wnt a bigger tank stuning fish



Thanks Tim the Scalare were from waterzoo in Peterborough and were a christmas gift from the wife but they weren't cheap I had to get her some expensive shoes to offset it   .  I got them November last year.  I have one which is becoming the dominant male and is growing on nicely.  He is starting to show pairing behaviour with the smallest one so we will see what happens.

Andy


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## awtong (17 Jun 2012)

So after my 2nd visit to one of my LFS this weekend I returned with another 2x crypt diversen, 2 x crypt bullosa, 2 x crypt Legroi, and 1 x good size pot of crypt petchi that I split into two to carry out my rescape ideas.

I moved out from the back my Crypt wendtii tropica and my crypt undulata and replaced them with the two diversen.  The slate with anubias was removed and I couldn't believe how much crap was under it.  One bullosa went to the left hand side to replace the wendtii tropica and then other new crypts and the tropica and undulata i already had replaced the anubias slate. 

Here is the pic of the lefthand side

Before



After (pic is still a bit murky from the disturbance)




I also got rid of the Willow moss from Basil that just wasn't working out.  This is the 2nd time I have failed with moss.  Could it be that my tank is too hot at 27C for moss to flourish in a low tech set up?  Any ideas welcome.  I replaced this with a cutting from my anubias.  This can then climb up and over the wood on the left hand side.  The rest of the anubias will go to my brother's goldfish tank.

Just got to be patient with the slow crypt growth now and hopefully won't get too much melt.  I chose crypts from the holding tank that had already started to get immersed leaves to try and help them along.  Overall I am happy with the work.

Any feedback appreciated.

Andy


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## james3200 (18 Jun 2012)

awtong said:
			
		

> Thanks Polyester.
> 
> How big is your new tank have you got a journal up yet?
> 
> ...



liking your congo tetras


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## awtong (18 Jun 2012)

[/quote]liking your congo tetras[/quote]

Thanks for the compliment.

I am loving the start of your new set up.  When you eventually get your Altum's I will be green with envy!

Andy


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## awtong (7 Jul 2012)

Quick update on this.  The tank is still the same for now with a good amount of growth on the Apongeton, but I am collecting some bits for a major re-scape.  More details to be released soon.

I have taken a couple of short videos that I hope to get time to attempt to edit and upload if my internet connection doesn't crap out again.

Andy


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## pariahrob (7 Jul 2012)

Looking forward to seeing the video. Tank looks great as it is but seeing everything move will really show it off.

What's in store for the re-scape? Any hints?


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## awtong (8 Jul 2012)

Yep I have some of the wood from the same seller that you got yours for your new project, plus I have more on the way!

can't wait!


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## awtong (6 Aug 2012)

Been a while since I put up an update.  The tank is pretty much the same apart from the addition of some red root floaters from Big Tom.

Current view of the tank from my sofa




A couple of fish pics








Really like these yellow tail congo's and they are now colouring up lovely




It is almost certain in a short time I will be moving house so 450l headache to follow!  The new house does have a perfect position for the tank so that's a bonus.  Once the move is sorted a new plan will happen using this!





Andy


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## Lindy (6 Aug 2012)

Re your ? about willow moss. I found it wouldn't grow in my puffer tank@27temp but was happy in the cooler shrimp tank. Java moss does fine in the hot tank tho(both of mine are low tech)


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## awtong (7 Aug 2012)

Thanks that is interesting to know.  I have now tried twice to grow moss and failed both times.  Maybe Java would be an option to try in the future.

Andy


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## darren636 (7 Aug 2012)

nice wood!


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## awtong (7 Aug 2012)

Andy


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## somethingfishy (7 Aug 2012)

Absolutely loving that wood!!!

Hopefully i will have a box heading my way soon 
Im now running a moss stroke shrimp tank in my shed
so if you wanna try some moss in your new tank setup let me know


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## awtong (7 Aug 2012)

Cheers for the offer I might take you up on that at some point.

Did you order a box from Tom Barr (Plantbrain)?

I got this from Eboeagles and Tom.  I also have some rooty burl bits to make plec caves.

Andy


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## somethingfishy (7 Aug 2012)

Yeah im in the process of putting together an order with Tom ..

problem is i dont really know what i want and i think he would prefer a
more detailed request


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