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From Borneo with love

Hi everybody!

Sorry for being lazy and very slow at updating the journal. It doesn't mean that I do nothing on the tank, it's just that when I finish cleaning the tank, it's usually quite late and time to sleep :)
I have changed a few things: I got rid of the Limnophila rugosa as the leaves were just too big for the scale of the tank.
The Hygrophila polysperma is on the way out as the leaves are too long, it grows too fast, and as I mentioned, I am lazy :)
I also had to plant the Asplenium cf. normal in the water as it didn't look too happy in the dry air of the living room :)
I had some problem with some brown algae in the dead space between the DW and the glass behind the Rotala waliichi.
I got rid of the spray bar, fitted a violet pipe on the front left, and the outflow is now in the right back corner and will disappear behind the Crypt balansea once it will take over.
I also reduced the light level, added some pine cones and leaves in the filter. I am very happy with colour of the water :)

The first fish went in three weeks ago and the rest a week after. They look great and they have coloured up a lot. The only issue is: I believe the last group I bought was wrongly advertised as Chilli rasboras. I am pretty sure that they are Boraras merah... I am waiting to hear from the shop... one of the sponsor :)
Anyway, they look good too, just not as red as the Brigittae.

Here are some pictures, not too close, so you guys can't see the dirt on the moss :rolleyes:

IMG_4604.JPG


IMG_4605.JPG


Boraras brigittae:
IMG_4610.JPG


Boraras merah:
IMG_4606.JPG


Any suggestions welcome, especially for emersed plants :)


Cheers,
Manu
 
Tank looks great Manu :).I really like the merah with the brigittae.Had both myself years ago.
Can only think of Bucephalandras or crypts,at the moment,for emersed plants.
 
Tank looks great Manu :).I really like the merah with the brigittae.Had both myself years ago.
Can only think of Bucephalandras or crypts,at the moment,for emersed plants.
Thanks a lot Neil, and thanks for the link to this shop, first time I have heard of it, and it's a French website :)
I'll check with them which of the ferns would do well emersed and at low humidity...
They've also got the moss I was looking for!!! :)

Hope you're Wabi-Kusa are doing well!

Cheers,
Manu

Sent from my D5803 using Tapatalk
 
Lovely scape Manu...and love those micro boraras. Seriously considering them for my scape as well.
Hi Tim, thank you :)
The boraras are great little fish! I love the way they hover in the water, and they use all the depth, going for food at the bottom but also right at the surface in the shallow area above the DW. I am sure you know, they really don't like too much light and too much flow... Since I changed to the violet pipe, they seem much more relax, and I've got some floaters to give them some cover until the balansae reaches the surface.
I prefer the brigittae but the merah start to colour up and look great too. Reducing the light has helped a lot too make them feel better. Hopefully the Rotala walichii will still be growing :)

I'm following your journal with lots of interest :)

Cheers,
Manu
 
Realy nice scape Manu. Very realistic jungle look. :clap: Those boraras are indeed very lovely tiny fish and a perfect choise for this setup.
I thought long about it but few weeks ago i got me also 20 b. maculatus and 10 b. urophthalmoides and it's realy a great sight when they hudlle up and start schooling around.. Recently i added Hygroryza aristata, this grows like crazy and develops a very dense rootsystem almost touching the bottom and i see them realy liking this forest of roots, gives a very natural display seeing them fanaticaly foraging between these roots..

Regarding the emersed wood part.. :) It's going to be tough to grow anything like a tropical bog plant up there with some size to it.. The most succedfull would be finding some terrestrial mosses and maybe a fern like some terrestrial Microsorum sp. using the moss as anchor and moist provider. And it still is Borneo style, some Microsorums sometimes regularl in the trade are. Microsorum steerei, Microsorum pustulatum, Microsorum diversifolium, Microsorum mussifolium, M. sp 1A of which i suspect is in fact the Microsorium species Philippines 'Variegata' # 1, but i'm not sure, but this one resambles the java fern the most. Sometimes they are offered at the strangest places where you wouldn't expect them to find, like between the plants outlet at some supermarket, walmart or Ikea and then they go out of stock for considerable time or search terrarium plant channels.. It's rather strange.. :) Anyway most terrestrial ferns in the regular trade if not almost all like wet feet are epiphytic and don't mind a bit dryer air.. :)

maybe that new Dennerle fern Crepidomanes cf. malabaricum (also asian origin) might do very good as devider from waterline growing up to and over the terrestrial moss. :)

http://www.araflora.com/plantfinder?description=1&model=1&keyword=fern&old_keyword=Search...
 
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Is crepidomanes not Indian?

As far as i know, i have no idea, could be, if first findings are reported in India. Plants do not realy respect borders the way we do and travel around where ever birds go and grow where ever the invironment is suitable. It's a matter of being and looking at the right time at the right place to find it i guess. Like blyxa grows everywhere across south east asia and beyond, also in India as many others do. :) IMHO poeple are more fanatic to determine biotope than plants are.. :rolleyes:
 
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