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Tidy Jungle II, III and IV

The tanks looking great @Courtneybst the scape looks like it's really coming out at you if you know what i mean?!

Looks like we nearly have the same fish stock too, apart from i have cherry barbs in mine. I'm picking up some of the beautiful Apistos from @shangman on sunday, that picture looks amazing, so much colour! I'm really excited now haha! Have you had any issues with them and the Rummynose? I have a shoal of 15 but some are still quite small, I'm hoping there is safety in numbers!

Cheers
Thanks James! I can't wait for the Cryptocoryne on the left to get taller to match the vallisneria. It does have that 'jumping out at you' effect, especially sitting right in front of it.

You won't be disappointed! So beautiful and inquisitive. I've not had any problems with them and the Rummynose together, they literally don't pay each other any attention. Even my Amano shrimp are seemingly safe, they certainly don't feel threatened. But one thing I'll say is that all fish are different and their behaviour can change. But judging how mine are I think you'll be fine, they've got the same Dad after all. 😂
 
Well now you have the co2 up and running it'll soon get there!

Ok that's good to know, I also have some Amanos but the females won't be intimidated that's for sure...they're huge! The males maybe but hopefully it'll be all good. There's plenty of hiding spaces and cover for them anyway.
What have you been feeding them on?
 
It's looking wonderful! And I must say, you take really amazing photographs of the fish, it's so nice to see them growing up and looking so majestic!
 
Got to cleaning the tank yesterday since diatoms on the glass are in full swing! Nicer problems to have though...

Had 3rd wave of wood fungus but I haven't noticed any new growth in a week so hopefully it has run its course.

I finally gave up on my super hot pink Tiger Lotus getting any bigger because it's just getting shaded out and probably restricted CO2/flow. So I'm growing it as an epiphyte on the side of the Manzanita and it isn't dying lol. In fact the roots have attached to the wood! I put the narrow leaf Java Fern in its place as it was hidden under the bigger Lotus. It was really thriving and looks so lush compared to how it arrived in the post. Hopefully it'll continue to. I think in the new spot it fills the gap much better. Just wish my Trident fern would be as lush. Any tips for the Tridents?

Still waiting for the Cryptocoryne Balansae to grow in but it's getting taller for sure.

I also semi regret getting an LED fixture on my nano tank because now I can't stand the colour rendition of the Juwel. It's so... yellow and washed out 😭😩 I'm weighing up my options for lighting upgrades, what do people think about either of these;

  • 2 x Chihiros Vivid II (Yikes)
  • 1 x Chihiros WRGB II 120cm

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So I've finally made some changes I've wanted to make for a while.

The Echinodorus Parviflora and Vallisneria are gone! Whilst I love them, the Echinodorus was dead set on growing out of the tank and burning itself. I trimmed the leaves but it was starting to look like a celery root haha. I love the vallisneria for its elegant drapes and hiding spots for the they inhabitants BUT it was really blocking a lot of light and so it had to go. (By the way if anyone is local and wants some you can have it, easily 3-4ft long leaves).

The rest of the plants seem to have taken a huge sigh of relief because they're ALL now pearling like crazy! It's like that family member who stayed with you a bit too long and finally decided to leave.

I've split the Lindernia Rotundifolia into two so it's on both sides. I've also added 2 more Red Tiger Lotus and loads of Nympoides Taiwan. My aim is to have a cool mix of luminous green from the nympoides and hot pink from the lotus since they have similar leaves. I think the contrast could be great.

Now just time to wait and see! I may have to adjust my flow again when it all grows in because I don't want the leaves billowing over but I'll cross that bridge...

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Lovely looking scape.
I think the lotus and nymphoides will fill the space left by the evicted plants nicely.
Cheerio,
 
Lovely looking scape.
I think the lotus and nymphoides will fill the space left by the evicted plants nicely.
Cheerio,
Thanks mate! I appreciate that.

I'll have to upload a more recent photo as it's growing in really nice. The nymphoides is a bit slower than I was expecting but it's getting taller and taller.
 
Monthly update (where is the time going?!)

It's been a month since I reworked the background plants and added Nymphoides. It's just now starting to take off but it's being hindered by something munching it. At first I thought it was melting but it's without a doubt being eaten. The Amano shrimp and Siamese Algae Eater are my prime suspects. It's also getting a bit shaded out by some of the lotus leaves. I'm not sure why I have so many, I might take some out and leave just the one.

The plants seem to be growing well for the most part. Some of the Hydrocotyle Leucocephala does melt away old leaves and I'm not really sure why. I love the look of it and the repetition but I'm considering something else if I can find something similar. Any ideas what could be causing that melt or what to replace it with?

Since we're in a bit of a heatwave the apistogrammas have been getting some breeding action on! The female found the tiniest hole possible right at the front of the tank and laid a cluster of pink eggs. I think my cool water change disrupted her but it was only her first time. I also added a Gold Ring Hillstream Loach who seems really cool, it never really comes down for food so I assume it's getting enough food from the algae on the glass/rest of the scape.

My next plan of action to is to upgrade the filters as I think it's slightly underfiltered at the moment. Once that's done I was thinking to add some Cherry Barbs.
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Looking great with the height and colour from the lily.

The melt may be due to the temp increase, this will have an impact on co2 dissolving so could be a small co2 deficiency. I’m experiencing a similar thing currently and that’s what I put it down to. Either that or increased plant mass in my case.

May be worth supplementing the shrimp diet with some shrimp food accasionally. Again I am experiencing a similar thing with hydrocotle and suspect the amano shrimp.

Cheerio,
Ady.
 
Looking great with the height and colour from the lily.

The melt may be due to the temp increase, this will have an impact on co2 dissolving so could be a small co2 deficiency. I’m experiencing a similar thing currently and that’s what I put it down to. Either that or increased plant mass in my case.

May be worth supplementing the shrimp diet with some shrimp food accasionally. Again I am experiencing a similar thing with hydrocotle and suspect the amano shrimp.

Cheerio,
Ady.
Thanks Ady!

Yeah the lily has really become the star of the show. The melting has actually been going on from the start back in February but I suspect a CO2 issue as well, maybe more on the distribution side of things. The filters and the powerheads need upgrading so hopefully that will resolve the issue.

That's a good point about the food, I started feeding repashy Soilent Green and I did notice the day after that there was no additional damage so maybe they're just running out of food!

Thanks for the kind words and help. 😄
 
My tiny MTS all get stuck in the intake pipe slots and have to be saved daily!! I love them tbh

Lovely photos as always @Courtneybst, especially the apistos 😍👀 The Tiger lotus looks FAB
 
Ah don’t let them fool you - you’ll go out for the day, come back and there’ll be 5,000 of them! 😆
Hahaha yeah I'm not surprised, since I've only ever seen one at a time I figured the population can't be too out of control so we can stay friends. The only 'pest' snail that I remove on sight are pond snails. I spotted one the other day and don't know how the hell it got there.
My tiny MTS all get stuck in the intake pipe slots and have to be saved daily!! I love them tbh

Lovely photos as always @Courtneybst, especially the apistos 😍👀 The Tiger lotus looks FAB
Thank you @shangman ! I try my best haha.
 
Some excellent photo's of what appears to be a tank coming on beautifully. The fish look in great health.

I had the same with ramshorns and pond snails. I find their population explodes when I overfeed the tank so I've been reigning it in.
 
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