# Maidenhair Bank



## NanoJames (3 Mar 2013)

Hopefully these photos will work! First time uploader.....
This is my 20 liter shrimp and guppy nano. The plants are: Staurogyne Repens, Anubias Barteri var. Nana, Riccia Fluitans, Java Moss, Rotala Rotundifolia, Eleocharis Parvula and (sigh) some duckweed!  I am using the Tropica co2 system 60 and the tank has been running about 2 months now. Any constuctive criticism is welcome! 
http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/7974/dscf1861r.jpg
http://img831.imageshack.us/img831/8694/dscf1860v.jpg
http://img838.imageshack.us/img838/7146/dscf1862j.jpg
http://img818.imageshack.us/img818/1236/dscf1863x.jpg


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## jack-rythm (3 Mar 2013)

Real shame about the size of the photos because it is looking very nice indeed

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## NanoJames (3 Mar 2013)

Thanks, I'll try and figure out how to get better photos!


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## NanoJames (3 Mar 2013)




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## jack-rythm (3 Mar 2013)

Nice one Mate, the repens looks great  

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## NanoJames (3 Mar 2013)

It worked!!!   Here's a couple more.....


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## tim (3 Mar 2013)

Nice tank mate, which shrimp are you keeping


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## NanoJames (3 Mar 2013)

Thanks man. I think the Stauro is my favourite plant at the moment.


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## NanoJames (3 Mar 2013)

tim said:


> Nice tank mate, which shrimp are you keeping


 
 Cheers, I've got some "Super red cherry shrimp" (see my profile picture) and I think some normal wild Neocaridinia I got 6 of them for free from my LFS so I can't complain!


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## tim (3 Mar 2013)

Nice mate I love freebies


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## NanoJames (3 Mar 2013)

tim said:


> Nice mate I love freebies


 
Hahaha, whenever your in a bad mood, just visit an LFS and get some freebies! Always brightens up your day!


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## Bradleyh91 (5 Mar 2013)

What miss are you using? Lowly tank


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## NanoJames (6 Mar 2013)

Bradleyh91 said:


> What miss are you using? Lowly tank


 Thanks mate.  What do you mean by "miss"? or was it a mistake?!


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## Bradleyh91 (6 Mar 2013)

Sorry mate was half asleep lol I meant moss lol and lovely*


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## NanoJames (6 Mar 2013)

Haha, no bother!  The bright green "moss" plant is Riccia Fluitans. I don't know if it's actually classed as moss or not, but oh well... The other darker green one is just plain old Java moss. Both seem to do very well in a tank with moderate light and CO2. You can also float Riccia but I chose to tie it to the wood. I think it was Takashi Amano that started the tying of Riccia Fluitans thing.
Cheers


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## NanoJames (6 Mar 2013)

This is some floating Riccia Flutans(left) and some Java moss on wood(right).


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## Bradleyh91 (6 Mar 2013)

Looks really great may have to invest in some for my latest venture


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## NanoJames (6 Mar 2013)

> Looks really great may have to invest in some for my latest venture


Cheers man. You should get some. One thing to bear in mind is that the Riccia doesn't develop roots so you have to keep it tied down. You also have to trim it regularly if you havee CO2 but that could be a good thing as you will get lots of Riccia fairly quickly. I'm pretty sure mine must have roughly trebled in amount since I got it about 2 months ago!


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## NanoJames (26 Apr 2013)

Hi guys. 
I had this one moved to a journal as I think it's my favourite tank at the moment. I'll add photos at some point, but will be quite busy over the weekend.
Cheers


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## NanoJames (27 Apr 2013)

OK folks
Here is a bit of an update. As you will possibly know, this tank has been running for about 5 months now. I am really pleased with how it has come on and the plant growth has been fantastic! However, I have stopped dosing CO2 as sometimes it was a bit too fantastic! I have pretty much dialled this tank back to a low tech now and I think my shrimp are enjoying that. I had a few deaths of a new batch I had, I don't know if it had anything to do with the ferts/CO2 but I cut out the possibility anyway. Here is a few photos for an update. I'll do a more substantial update tomorrow but I had a pipe band competition today which involved me getting up at 7:00 AM! Here is some update photos.
This was the tank at about 3 months:





And here it is now:






Quite a change! Here are a few more:








Is this BBA? It formed on my DIY prefilter without me even noticing and I just saw it today as I was taking the shrimp macro.





That's it for the moment! As I said, I will add more photos and info tomorrow but I think that's plenty for just now!
Cheers


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## NanoJames (28 Apr 2013)

BABY SHRIMP!!!! I was just checking on the tank before lights out and saw it whizzing across the tank. It then rested on my bogwood for enough time to let me get a look at it. Unfortunately, it wasn't close enough to get a picture. I know I said I would do a big update today but I haven't got round to it yet. Tomorrow! Hopefully there is more than just one, but I'm happy with the one I've got! I'm surprised my greedy guppies didn't get it but with the amount of plants in there it could probably hide!
Cheers


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## CalebWM (29 Apr 2013)

Is the tropica CO2 system you're using the disposable one?


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## NanoJames (29 Apr 2013)

newbie0 said:


> Is the tropica CO2 system you're using the disposable one?


 It is! It's the Tropica System 60 I think. I have kind of stopped using it now because my plants were growing a little bit too quickly for my liking! It's a really good wee kit though and I found that even with under dosing just slightly it lasted a lot longer on this tank than what it said it should have on the box!


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## NanoJames (29 Apr 2013)

OK guys, here is the update that I said about. I don't really have much to say about it at the moment but I'll put up some pics! I think I might move some stuff around in this tank but I would appreciate your input. I wouldn't be doing anything anytime soon so have time to think about it!





















Cheers


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## CalebWM (30 Apr 2013)

what moss is on the wood?


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## NanoJames (30 Apr 2013)

newbie0 said:


> what moss is on the wood?


 If you mean the emersed bit then that is a mix of Java Moss and Riccia Fluitans. I didn't actually intend for it to grow there but it just crept up the wood and stays moist with the wood. I think it looks quite nice! Under the water it is the same mix. That is mainly Riccia, the bright green plant, but there is also a little bit of Java Moss.


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## Deano3 (30 Apr 2013)

lovely pics and lovely tank looks awesome 

Dean


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## aliclarke86 (1 May 2013)

Wow. This is really looking amazing it has an almost "fantasy" like look to it with the light pouring through and illuminating the tank in a really beatifull way. The moss on the hard scape looks like a walkway out of the under water world 

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## NanoJames (1 May 2013)

aliclarke86 said:


> Wow. This is really looking amazing it has an almost "fantasy" like look to it with the light pouring through and illuminating the tank in a really beatifull way. The moss on the hard scape looks like a walkway out of the under water world


 I quite like that take on my tank! I wasn't really sure what to do with it at the start as I was new to planted tanks so just let it grow. I think it turned out OK!



Deano3 said:


> lovely pics and lovely tank looks awesome


 Cheers Dean! I might see if there's anything else I can snap tonight. I love photos!


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## NanoJames (1 May 2013)

OK folks here's another couple of photos! Still up for suggestions on whether or not to rescape. I added a photo of a potential place where I could split the piece of wood if I fancied.






And, just for fun, a macro of an orange shrimp climbing a moss tree!


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## NanoJames (10 May 2013)

Not much to report on this one. I'm definitely thinking about a rescape with some plants that might grow a little slower but will have to make some plans. I'll probably be doing lots more trimming this weekend!


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## NanoJames (13 May 2013)

Hi guys
Do you remember the baby shrimp I told you about? It made an appearance again last night, no longer a baby! It's more of a juvenile size now.


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## aliclarke86 (28 May 2013)

are you gonna show how this is looking now before you do your rescape mate?


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## NanoJames (28 May 2013)

aliclarke86 said:


> are you gonna show how this is looking now before you do your rescape mate?


 Hello
Yes I'll probably do a bumper post with lots of piccies before I do anything with this one! Although I like how the tank is, I never see my shrimp! I think I'll cut the wood in half and might be selling off lots of Stauro and Riccia and possibly some Rotala. I'll be doing plenty of progress reports too and probably plenty of photos during the rescape.
Cheers


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## NanoJames (15 Jun 2013)

Hi everyone
I've recently been seeing about 5 young shrimp each day now and some of my own bred shrimp have reached adulthood! In an attempt to get better breeding and see the shrimp more often I have put my guppies in a different tank and got from my LFS 6 Boraras Urophthalmoides. I couldn't resist at 6 for £5! They are settling in great and have been exploring the tank for ages. Speaking of the tank, it's been a wee bit neglected again and plants are beginning to take over again. The middle of my Staurogyne carpet is in a bit of a state at the moment because I am selling lots of it on this forum if you haven't seen already. When I was at my LFS today I also picked some Dennerle Nano Crusta-Fit to try out. I asked the owner of the shop if it was any good and he said I should find out for myself and he gave me 50% off! I've got to report back to him... I'll be getting some photos up of the new arrivals some point tonight! Oh, I also picked up three more cherries for this tank!
Cheers


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## Michael W (15 Jun 2013)

Its great to see you having success with you cherries. My cherries have started breeding again, I usually let them have a "rest" during the winter my lowering feeding and its great to see some more babies now. 

Just something to look out for right now is your shrimp's health. I have read a lot about bacteria blooms as the weather gets warmer and I believe I've experienced this before. It can be fixed with  genchem beta - g and water changes, its just something to look our for around this time of the year.


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## NanoJames (15 Jun 2013)

Michael W said:


> Its great to see you having success with you cherries. My cherries have started breeding again, I usually let them have a "rest" during the winter my lowering feeding and its great to see some more babies now. Just something to look out for right now is your shrimp's health. I have read a lot about bacteria blooms as the weather gets warmer and I believe I've experienced this before. It can be fixed with genchem beta - g and water changes, its just something to look our for around this time of the year.


 Thanks for the heads up Michael. Do you reckon that Almond leaf would keep the bacteria at bay? I'll have a look at the Genchem stuff you recommend too.
Cheers


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## Michael W (15 Jun 2013)

I don't see why almond leaves won't help in preventing as they do help with anti fungal and bacterial infection. Alder cones are also quite good in that aspect.


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## NanoJames (15 Jun 2013)

Damn, these things are quick!














Cheers


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## NanoJames (22 Jun 2013)

We all love livestock pictures, so here are some for you! Excuse the rubbish photography... The rasboras are doing great and have bulked up nicely. Now, how to breed them....  In some of these pictures you will see my first berried RCS. I'm quite pleased with that considering I only put two males in a week ago! the first photo is an "arty" one I took of a plant growing completely out of the tank. If anyone could provide an ID that would be great.


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## NanoJames (20 Jul 2013)

Hi all
This tank is exactly where I want it at the moment, not too much work! I have been taking out a lot of plants which has cut back maintenance time tremendously. Another change is that I now have joined the fancy LED revolution and got a TMC MicroLED 200 for my recent birthday! This tank also gained more fish: 5 more Boraras Urophthalmoides (did have six but lost one ) and 5 Galaxy Rasbora. All fish are settled in great and I see the male Galaxy Rasboras sparring every day, which is fascinating to watch! Their colour goes so intense and you think they are about to rip each other apart and then... they just swim away! Anyway, enough text let's get some pictures!




















































My new light also has a night mode in which only two of the sixteen LEDs are on. It looks like this:







Thanks for looking!


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## Ryan Thang To (21 Jul 2013)

tank look very cool. is it hard to get them plants growing out of the surface?


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## Ady34 (21 Jul 2013)

Hi James,
tank looks great, and you can tell that you are enjoying it as much as the fish are 
Do you keep the water so low to prevent jumpers, or do you like the emergent growth?
Cheerio,
Ady.


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## NanoJames (29 Jul 2013)

Ady34 said:


> Hi James, tank looks great, and you can tell that you are enjoying it as much as the fish are Do you keep the water so low to prevent jumpers, or do you like the emergent growth? Cheerio, Ady.


 Thanks very much Ady! It's nice having a tank in my room so I can do what I like without complaints from the parents... It's been topped back up now but when water level was low it was because we were having a bit of a heatwave up here in Scotland, with the heater set at 24 degrees and the temperature of the tank at 29 degrees eek: ) I thought I'd better be careful of any jumpers as shrimp don't really enjoy fluctuating water conditions. I moved the heater down 2 degrees which helped but everything is back to normal now!



legytt said:


> tank look very cool. is it hard to get them plants growing out of the surface?


 
Thanks very much mate! It's not hard at all and it's mostly down to not cutting them in time and they started growing out of the tank. I thought it looked quite nice so just left it!


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## NanoJames (29 Jul 2013)

Hi everyone
I was getting a little bored of the way the tank was when I was seeing it every day so I have done a rescape and also moved the tank to a different location in my room. The rescape isn't finished yet and I'm still going to restart my Staurogyne carpet as it's getting quite dense! I need your opinions though, dragon stone or seiryu stone? I splashed out and bought some of each at my LFS yesterday but can't decide which one would look nicer in my tank. Please give me some advice as I kjnow there are many hardscape gurus on here!








And here is the tank in-situ:





Cheers


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## NanoJames (16 Oct 2013)

I've not updated this one for a while! It's grown in now after the rescape and is doing very well. I'm hoping to take some shrimp to my LFS possibly in return for 2-3 sparkling gourami if they can get them in. The LED is still sufficient too, I would recommend it to anyone with this sized tank.





The Java Moss is growing well too. This started off as a few trimmings tied onto a driftwood stick! It now goes just about the whole length of the tank:




Cheers


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## steveno (17 Oct 2013)

Nice looking tank, I'm about start my own shrimp only, consider doing a dsm with moss and hc... Looking to keep low tech as well...


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## NanoJames (17 Oct 2013)

steveno said:


> Nice looking tank, I'm about start my own shrimp only, consider doing a dsm with moss and hc... Looking to keep low tech as well...


 Thanks Steve! Nice one, it's brilliant when they start to breed. I think I'm on my 3rd generation at the moment in this tank! What type of shrimp are you planning? What size tank is it? I really like low tech, so easy to keep! My advice would be to pack it with plants! That's what I did and I haven't had to do a water change in about 2 months because I just top up to make up for evaporation.
Cheers


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## Ben22 (20 Oct 2013)

This is a gorgeous nano set up. I'd love mine to look like this! You thought of changing your tank for something bigger and if so what would you go for if you've thought about it anyway. Watching the thread either way


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## aliclarke86 (20 Oct 2013)

Oops


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## NanoJames (20 Oct 2013)

aliclarke86 said:


> Oops


 What's up Ali?!


motionless said:


> This is a gorgeous nano set up. I'd love mine to look like this! You thought of changing your tank for something bigger and if so what would you go for if you've thought about it anyway. Watching the thread either way


 Thanks very much motionless! Very kind of you to say that. It would be nice to change to a slightly bigger tank at Christmas but I will see how the tank is going at that point. I think I would only upgrade to a 30 litre to keep electricity costs down! I would love either one of these as an upgrade: ADA Do!aqua Cube Glass - buy Aqua Design Amano Aquariums | The Green Machine or Dennerle Nano Cube 30 L - Aquaristic  The pressure is on to keep updating this journal then!


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## Tropical Tank (20 Oct 2013)

Looks nice, my only beef is the fish, far too many for a 20l I would of just stuck with shrimp.


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## NanoJames (20 Oct 2013)

Tropical Tank said:


> Looks nice, my only beef is the fish, far too many for a 20l I would of just stuck with shrimp.


 Thanks! Fair enough mate, however, bare in mind the fish are about 2cm a time. And there is about 10 plants to every fish in there!
My Nitrate test kit doesn't see a problem!


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## aliclarke86 (20 Oct 2013)

NanoJames said:


> What's up Ali?!



Replied in wrong thread mate

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## NanoJames (20 Oct 2013)

aliclarke86 said:


> Replied in wrong thread mate


 That explains it then! Haha


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## NanoJames (23 Oct 2013)

Hi everyone
I took delivery of some nice Hydrocotyle Tripartita from a member on here today and got it in the tank. Hopefully it will find the light and the leaves will start posing for photos! I'm also thinking about getting some nicer shrimp with Christmas money (I know I'm a bit early!) I was thinking maybe some CRS and thought these were about the right price range for me: Crysta Red - Grade S-S+ - Aquarium shrimps plants aquascaping London I've got time to think about it though! Anyway, a few pictures:


 





And a few shrimp shots:



 









This last shot made me laugh. You'll see two mother shrimp who look like they're chatting! "These eggs are getting bloody heavy! How are yours?"






Cheers


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## Michael W (23 Oct 2013)

I really do like the jungle effect, keep it up!


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## NanoJames (23 Oct 2013)

Thanks Michael! It certainly makes a change from the super-high-tech tanks on here. I like it as I don't need to be so religious with water changes and maintenance as the plants soak up most waste matter.
Cheers


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## Bufo Bill (23 Oct 2013)

Thar she blows! I love a good nano, and this one's a Hot Patootie. Liking the Riccia very much. 
All the best from Bill.


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## NanoJames (24 Oct 2013)

Bufo Bill said:


> Thar she blows! I love a good nano, and this one's a Hot Patootie. Liking the Riccia very much. All the best from Bill.


 Haha, thanks very much Bill! Next time I do a trimming of the Riccia I'll give you a shout. 90 pence postage and I'll send some your way!
Cheers


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## Bufo Bill (28 Oct 2013)

NanoJames said:


> Haha, thanks very much Bill! Next time I do a trimming of the Riccia I'll give you a shout. 90 pence postage and I'll send some your way!
> Cheers


That's a deal, buddy! Yay!
All the best from Bill.


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## NanoJames (28 Oct 2013)

Bufo Bill said:


> That's a deal, buddy! Yay! All the best from Bill.


No bother mate! I'll give you a message when there's enough to send out.


Anubias has probably tripled in size since it first went in the tank, all thanks to these:


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## NanoJames (6 Nov 2013)

Here's a few more pictures. I added a Maidenhair fern which seems to be doing well and has inspired me to change the name of this journal!




The shrimps are obviously enjoying the oak leaves!









Cheers


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## aliclarke86 (6 Nov 2013)

No pics of the fern?

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## tim (6 Nov 2013)

Lovely example of a successful low tech tank James, you have some lucky well looked after inhabitants there mate, well done


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## NanoJames (6 Nov 2013)

tim said:


> Lovely example of a successful low tech tank James, you have some lucky well looked after inhabitants there mate, well done


 Thanks very much for the kind words Tim. I just need to get those rasboras breeding now...
Sorry lads, ImageShack said the picture had been removed! Hopefully this one should work. It's just planted with multi-purpose compost in a bottle which has had the bottom cut off.


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## aliclarke86 (7 Nov 2013)

Looking good bud. I'm very interested in getting my fern in a tank setup, it becomes troublesome with the amount of watering it needs!! 

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## NanoJames (7 Nov 2013)

aliclarke86 said:


> Looking good bud. I'm very interested in getting my fern in a tank setup, it becomes troublesome with the amount of watering it needs!!


 Thanks very much Ali. I would definitely recommend one, it gives a new view of the scape. It's not too expensive either, a pot (2X the size of my portion) was £4 from my local Dobbies. Yes you do need to be careful to keep the roots moist all of the time!
Cheers


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## NanoJames (5 Jan 2014)

Well, this one's due an update! The tank is in a bit of a state at the moment because I've taken clippings from it for my new tank. Livestock changes are really the only ones I can report on. I took some of the Phoenix Rasboras back to my LFS as they were always hiding and I fancied a livestock change. In return I got 3 Sparkling Gouramis which, although shrimp-destroying machines, are a really nice addition to the tank. I'm also holding 4 Pygmy cories, added yesterday, for a few weeks until my new tank is ready. Anyway, some update pictures!













The gouramies certainly were not camera shy!




Cheers!


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## NanoJames (5 Jan 2014)

Well, this one's due an update! The tank is in a bit of a state at the moment because I've taken clippings from it for my new tank. Livestock changes are really the only ones I can report on. I took some of the Phoenix Rasboras back to my LFS as they were always hiding and I fancied a livestock change. In return I got 3 Sparkling Gouramis which, although shrimp-destroying machines, are a really nice addition to the tank. I'm also holding 4 Pygmy cories, added yesterday, for a few weeks until my new tank is ready. Anyway, some update pictures!













The gouramies certainly were not camera shy!




Cheers!


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