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A Chocolate Puddle -

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Re: A Chocolate Puddle Now with Chocolates

your tank is beautiful
 
Re: A Chocolate Puddle Now with Chocolates

I am loving shallow tanks, this one is stunning, always a fan of the emerged areas, looks awesome 🙂 congrats
 
Re: A Chocolate Puddle Now with Chocolates

looks great mate! im glad you got the emmersed leaf on the Echinodorus, i know u were waiting for that!
and great to see you've got your chocco's in there! they look great 🙂 hope i can pay you a visit again soon!
 
Re: A Chocolate Puddle Now with Chocolates

All coming together nicely now Alastair.
The chocolate gouramis look absolutely perfectly suited to this set up and its nice to see them in appropriate surroundings.
Cant wait for the crypts to fill in, its only going to get better :thumbup:
Great tank.
Cheerio,
Ady.
 
Re: A Chocolate Puddle Now with Chocolates

Amazing Alastair - can't wait for it to fill in.

Totally jealous!
 
Re: A Chocolate Puddle Now with Chocolates

ianho said:
looks really good mate, really good!

have you have any chocolate jumpers yet?
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Thanks mate, great to hear that from you, and nope, no jumpers at all. they seem very calm and chilled in this compared to my high tech, and colours are much richer.
 
Re: A Chocolate Puddle Now with Chocolates

LondonDragon said:
I am loving shallow tanks, this one is stunning, always a fan of the emerged areas, looks awesome 🙂 congrats
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Thanks Paulo, thats given me some fantastic reassurance that its coming along and especially from yourself 😀 #

George Farmer said:
Gorgeous - and will only get better. Kudos!
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Wow Speechless, coming from the man himself thanks George. That means alot thank you.

HarryRobinson said:
This looks absolutely brilliant! Looks like a right old piece of nature right there in your living area. Would look a million dollars with a carpet of UG/sagittara :thumbup:
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Thanks Harry, i wish it was in my living room and not in my dining room, im getting a numb back side from sitting at the dining table staring all the time.

and thanks to everyone else whos commented on it so far too. Such big words of encouragement, i just hope i dont spoil it now ha ha :lol:
 
Re: A Chocolate Puddle Now with Chocolates

Hi Alastair,
I am REALLY keen to try some chocos. You told me before that I need kH <4 and gH <6. I am close, but my gH is 8 (on a scale of 1 to 15). Is there any easy way to reduce the gH ? Would you say my parameters are "close enough" to consider trying ? My pH is 6.5 and below. Temp is 25.5
 
A Chocolate Puddle Now with Chocolates

Antipofish said:
Hi Alastair,
I am REALLY keen to try some chocos. You told me before that I need kH <4 and gH <6. I am close, but my gH is 8 (on a scale of 1 to 15). Is there any easy way to reduce the gH ? Would you say my parameters are "close enough" to consider trying ? My pH is 6.5 and below. Temp is 25.5
Click to expand...

It's just that they thrive in very soft acidic water, if kept in parameters above what they're used to then they won't flourish as well. Captive bread choccos are more tolerable of slightly higher gh so you you should be ok with what your tank is at currently. You could try to maybe mix in some ro water on your water change day that may help being down your gh slightly. I also have my water at 26c
Can be picky with food sometimes too. They love live Daphnia or frozen. Took me a bit to get them used to trying flake and even now they turn there noses up at it sometimes.


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Re: A Chocolate Puddle Now with Chocolates

Sir, your tank is exquisite. Truly a beauty to the eye, the Chocolates are gorgeous too and lovely to stare at and watch I am sure. Great job. What is the emergent tall bog plant on the right end? It works well with the scape. Strong work all around!
 
Re: A Chocolate Puddle Now with Chocolates

Alastair said:
Antipofish said:
Hi Alastair,
I am REALLY keen to try some chocos. You told me before that I need kH <4 and gH <6. I am close, but my gH is 8 (on a scale of 1 to 15). Is there any easy way to reduce the gH ? Would you say my parameters are "close enough" to consider trying ? My pH is 6.5 and below. Temp is 25.5
Click to expand...

It's just that they thrive in very soft acidic water, if kept in parameters above what they're used to then they won't flourish as well. Captive bread choccos are more tolerable of slightly higher gh so you you should be ok with what your tank is at currently. You could try to maybe mix in some ro water on your water change day that may help being down your gh slightly. I also have my water at 26c
Can be picky with food sometimes too. They love live Daphnia or frozen. Took me a bit to get them used to trying flake and even now they turn there noses up at it sometimes.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

OK Alastair, thanks mate, sounds good to me. My only concern about adding RO water is that the general hardness present in my tap water would just make that of the RO spring back up. It will probably be a case of suck it and see, but I appreciate the suggestion. Thanks for the tip about the daphnia. :thumbup:
 
Re: A Chocolate Puddle Now with Chocolates

WabiKasuH20Fall said:
Sir, your tank is exquisite. Truly a beauty to the eye, the Chocolates are gorgeous too and lovely to stare at and watch I am sure. Great job. What is the emergent tall bog plant on the right end? It works well with the scape. Strong work all around!
Click to expand...


:thumbup: Why thanks you Wabi, thats really nice to hear. Ive been keeping a keen eye on your journal too. The Chocolates are amazing to watch especially as they love the very calm current.
The tall plant is cyperus alternifloius, its a rapid grower once it starts and gets quite tall, mines about 80cm in height now but you can get a mini variety.

just a quick one, will post up some more pics this week, but ive got what appear to be a paired up pair of choccos, the male shewing the others away if they get too close and he is showing some lovely intense reds, would be nice if they breed which given the stats of this tank i hope they will. Also the emmersed echondorous leaves are looking gorgeous, and putting out a new leaf each week now. I may be looking to swap out the tall riparium plants for something a little shorter but cant think on what to get yet. Any ideas?? :?:
 
A Chocolate Puddle Now with Chocolates

Just a couple of pics taken last night before lights off. Growth seems pretty good so far, hardly any algae at all, if any.

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Just need to pop in some more crypts to cover most of the substrate.
Although the tennelus has taken off and sending runners all over, and is going a lovely copper/red colour which I only got in my high tech tank.
The rotala on the left has gone a really nice orange colour too, not sure why as the same plant behind the wood is green with pink/red tips.

Plans in the pipe line for a MUCH bigger Puddle too soon 🙂




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Re: A Chocolate Puddle Now with Chocolates

sexy, very...! kind of blows the high light - red plants theory out the window. Bloody rotala looks way better than mine 🙁

does that mean you'll be selling this puddle or in addition?

Very impressed mate. Its seeing tanks like these that make me want more tanks and drain my my bank account... must buy an ATI :lol:
Keep it coming though mate.
 
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