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Congo Swamp Monster (750l biotope)

zozo said:
Found this video and had to think of this Africa scape.. The guy is growing a rather big Anubias frazeri emersed above his tank.
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I love this! I have 3 Anubias heterophylla that I am hoping will grow emersed. One at the top of the pile of Anubias on the large piece of wood, one on a rock on the far right and one in the very shallow section on the far left. The latter has suffered a lot from the lack of humidity but hopefully will throw some new leaves up from the rhizome. Any tips on how to encourage the Anubias to throw up emersed leaves? I assume they have a different morphotype that can stand lower humidity than the submerged leaves and that at some point they will expand above the waterline...
 
tam said:
You're sure you aren't short of macros if you have a low stock and started with RO?
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I think I am. My algae problems have largely abated, at least in most bits of the tank, and so I've started dosing macros, trace and liquid carbon more consistently and upped the light levels a bit. Hopefully this won't lead to a massive resurgence in algae but to faster growth in my plants. Overall it is going quite well, with the notable exception of the right hand quarter where the original large Eleocharis and the Cyperus alternifolia are not doing great and both the Ludwigia and Marsilea have also failed to thrive. Hopefully higher nutrient levels will help with them. I've replanted with some Myriophyllum and some Bacopa that I hope will do better.
 
gltjc said:
I love this! I have 3 Anubias heterophylla that I am hoping will grow emersed. One at the top of the pile of Anubias on the large piece of wood, one on a rock on the far right and one in the very shallow section on the far left. The latter has suffered a lot from the lack of humidity but hopefully will throw some new leaves up from the rhizome. Any tips on how to encourage the Anubias to throw up emersed leaves? I assume they have a different morphotype that can stand lower humidity than the submerged leaves and that at some point they will expand above the waterline...
Click to expand...

As the guy in the video explains, it needs to go through a transition to addapt to lower humidity. Than if you want a plant with some body to it, than first grow it in controlled high humid condition e.g in a closed container. Than put is with it's roots into a well fertilized dirt soil, don't dig in the rhizome. Grow the plant to it's required size in it's prefered humid condition under enough light will be fastest. Once it has the size you prefer, than very slowly transition the plant back to getting used to lower humidity. Once you have done that, than it's time take 'm out flush all the dirt from its roots and tie or glue it into the aquarium with it's leaves emersed.

All this you have to do very gradualy and slowly, it might take a year or more to grow an anubias big enough and going through the transiton cycle.

Starting from scratch with a little anubias from the LFS very close to the surface will take even much longer. It first has to go through a lot of stress to transition and then it needs to grow big in a moderately fertilized water column. I've tried and 2,5 years into the process it's still far from where i like it to be. Firstly growing them bigger and healthy under perfect prefered conditions in a seperate container and slowlly transition the big plant will be much more succesfull.

Some LFS also sell (previous) big mother plants, nurseries use several mother plants to take cuttings from and grow on. And they can't realy keep damaging a mother indefinitely, if they do, at one point health deteriorates, mutations start to form etc. So mother plants need to be refreshed over an X periode of time. SO nurseries grow a population of bigger mothers and sell the babies. Also these so to speak worn out mother plants finaly end up in some LFS. Search for the LFS selling these plants, you pay a bit more but you get a big one. 🙂

Here is a German web shop selling Mother plants for example.. No idea where to look for this in the UK. Depends if there are aquarium plant nurseries in the UK. But in any case this Gemran webshop also ships to UK..
https://www.wasserflora.de/p/mutterpflanze-der-woche-anubias-speerblatt-t302wf-a15483.htm?wgruppe=26

https://www.wasserflora.de/p/mutter...bias-hastifolia-t10098st-a1506.htm?wgruppe=26

https://www.wasserflora.de/aquarienpflanzen/mutterpflanzen-w26
 
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Thanks, as ever, zozo.

So the Anubias leaves gradually 'harden' to lower humidity rather than different leaves emerge.. I will have to put a couple of A. heterphylla or hastifolia in a spare small cube in the garage for a year or so!
 
gltjc said:
Thanks, as ever, zozo.

So the Anubias leaves gradually 'harden' to lower humidity rather than different leaves emerge.. I will have to put a couple of A. heterphylla or hastifolia in a spare small cube in the garage for a year or so!
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Yes that's the fastest route to go.. As said above i tried it 2,5 years ago with a larger Anubias, don't know it's true identity. But i planted it 10mm bellow the surface. It took a year to grow 3 emersed leaf that all died with in a week. Now after 2,5 years it has 5 emersed leaves but all have brown tips again. Still they don't realy get the chance to grow to full potential size they completely dry out before they do. I guess at one point it will finaly adapt, but i have no idea how much longer it will take. It's a low tech tank with moderate fertilization and low light. In such a condition you might expect Anubiua to grow 3 or 4 leaves a year. I'm monitoring the air humidity permanently 3 cm above the tank, now during the winter in a heated house it's averagely between 33% and 45%. There is to much ventilation and the livingroom is to big to get it any higher. But you don't realy want it any higher because than your walls and windows would be dripping wett.

So bottom line it would take a small cutting from a big anubias many years to grow to it's full potential. You realy need to give it a helping hand in a controlled invironment to grow some body and than slowly transition it to lower humidity. Or buy a big one and start immediately with the transitioning.
Which likely also is a gamble how this particular var. Anubias will take it. Some plant spp. just are about impossible to grow in low humidity, or it might take a few generations of trail and error or a crossbreed. I've tried a few absolutely non aquatic Nepentes spp. i wanted the small ones and i never succeeded to grow one bellow 70% humidity. And because they are so expensive i gave up on the idea, constantly killing €25 + shipping.. And the more hardy crossbreeds (cultivars) are to big for the plan i had.. This to give you an example that it can be extremely difficult even with tropical non aquatic plants growing up in the trees. Rather expect faillure, to beging with, don't get frustrated. Adapt your plans and expectations to what's possible..

Succes!.. :thumbup:
 
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The tank is now doing well and I’m starting to be happy with it. Most of the submerged plants are growing well. The emersed ones other than the Setaria and the maidenhair fern have passed away. Will have another go with some shower caddies behind the wood and on the right hand side in the next month or two.

I had some BGA problems for a few weeks that I thought at one point was going to become disastrous, but I bought an aquamedic dosing pump to make sure my fert and liquid carbon dosing was consistent and it has largely cleared up. Only major changes to the planting are adding a bunch of Bacopa and Hydrocotyle on the right hand side where the Ludwigia and Marsilea never really got established and explosive growth of Ceratophyllum demersum.

Here is a new full tank shot.. will take some more over the weekend.

Xlw1apG.jpg
 
The fish are doing well. I am long overdue sharing some pictures!

Currently the tank houses:

8 Enteromius fasciolatus
9 Phenacogrammus sp ‘red makoua’
4 Phenacogrammus aurantiacus
2? Microsynodontis sp
4 Microctenopoma ansorgii
5 Otocinclus vittatus

BpESrGi.jpg
One of the Microctenopoma under the large bog wood. 3 of them share this large space, somewhat frostily, and the 4th lives on the left hand side amongst some Anubias roots. I want to add some more wood on the right some time to give them some more options.

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Two shots of a pair of aurantiacus. Male in front. I love these and two more pairs of these are high up my shopping list.. not the easiest to find though.

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Most of the group of barbs. They are rather shyer than I expected and don’t move
far off the bottom of the tank. Hopefully the better growth on the right will encourage them out a bit more.

lWcOmRO.jpg
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Some of the ‘red makoua’. The group cover the full length of the tank pretty well and are very active. Surprisingly, and unlike the first couple of months in the tank they no longer shoal much with the aurantiacus.

There is still masses of space for more fish without it feeling at all crowded and i’m back in the market for fish no the plants are getting established. Other than finding more aurantiacus, I’m on the look out for a couple of pairs of cichlids and a group of killifish. Work and non-fish life is probably too busy to hatch killie eggs in the next few months, so I am hoping to pick up some Chromaphyosemion at some point from a store. I’m considering Pelvicachromis subocellatus or Pseudocrenilabrus nicholsi - the latter are v tempting as they should be more outgoing. There is still a little devil on my shoulder that keeps whispering ‘Hemichromis’ in my ear, but I must continue to resist. I fear that if I come across a pair of wild ‘moanda’ or ‘bangui’ at any point my resistance will crumble!

As ever suggestions (particularly stocking ideas) and comments much appreciated...
 
Some pics of the tank today.

9dtFwBP.jpg
Full tank shot. Now looking quite well grown in, and the algae problems have more or less disappeared - took a lot longer than I expected, I suspect because the failure of most of the emersed plants I had growing from the substrate added a bunch of nutrients that the submerged and floating plants couldn’t cope with when they were small. Still really need to find a better way of photographing the monster!

ZmyqiLF.jpg
Klhcigl.jpg
The left shallow bit from below and above the waterline. The palm grass and maidenhair fern are both growing well, as is some Hydrocotyle under the palm grass. This is the area I’m most disatisfied with as I want much more greenery at the front of the tank but struggling to get cuttings to grow in the shade. Suspect I need to plant a couple of larger plants in the front and obsessively mist them for a while. Any suggestions v welcome!

7Q2p4mR.jpg
gVbycxX.jpg
BbKGM0h.jpg
Top view and the two sides of the ‘lily pond’. I’m putting in some more leaf litter, twigs and general detritus, but I think this bit may be fully planted! A couple of large Cryptocoryne would look great in front of the right most Nymphaea in the first pic and at the back right of the central gap, but I don’t want to go so far afield and I can’t find anything similar from central Africa.

O9z7mrb.jpg
TjU4j1t.jpg
L8jtONq.jpg
The large bogwood area. This area is getting close. Need to continue to cut and replant the Ammania senegalensis to make it denser, particularly on the left hand side and add a few more cuttings of Floscopa further to the back on the right. The Anubias ‘congensis arrow’ on the bogwood is suddenly struggling a bit. Not sure why. I’ve stopped dosing ‘leaf zone’ now that I have the dosing pump providing regular ‘Neutro+’ and liquid carbon. Wonder if that could be doing it? Will also add a suction shower caddy

MaUk9Yj.jpg
The right hand side. Also needs a lot of work. There is a lot of Myriophyllum behind the Bacopa that seems to be growing OK and will make this part look much better when it gets above the Bacopa. I need to move the surface skimmer from the back wall to the right hand wall so that is it hidden. To do so I need to move a large boulder that is largely under the substrate and the large and v healthy Anubias hastifolia on top of it about 4 inches forward and replant a bunch of plants in front of it. This is not getting up my priority list v quickly. I then want to add a lot more of there red Ammania senegalensis in the front right and a bit more Floscopa at the back. I am hoping these will grow emersed before too long. I also want to add some new emersed plants at the back in shower caddies. May add a decent sized chunk of bogwood in the middle of this section (towards the left of this picture).
 
Some pics of the tank today.

9dtFwBP.jpg
Full tank shot. Now looking quite well grown in, and the algae problems have more or less disappeared - took a lot longer than I expected, I suspect because the failure of most of the emersed plants I had growing from the substrate added a bunch of nutrients that the submerged and floating plants couldn’t cope with when they were small. Still really need to find a better way of photographing the monster!

ZmyqiLF.jpg
Klhcigl.jpg
The left shallow bit from below and above the waterline. The palm grass and maidenhair fern are both growing well, as is some Hydrocotyle under the palm grass. This is the area I’m most disatisfied with as I want much more greenery at the front of the tank but struggling to get cuttings to grow in the shade. Suspect I need to plant a couple of larger plants in the front and obsessively mist them for a while. Any suggestions v welcome!

7Q2p4mR.jpg
gVbycxX.jpg
BbKGM0h.jpg
Top view and the two sides of the ‘lily pond’. I’m putting in some more leaf litter, twigs and general detritus, but I think this bit may be fully planted! A couple of large Cryptocoryne would look great in front of the right most Nymphaea in the first pic and at the back right of the central gap, but I don’t want to go so far afield and I can’t find anything similar from central Africa.

O9z7mrb.jpg
TjU4j1t.jpg
L8jtONq.jpg
The large bogwood area. This area is getting close. Need to continue to cut and replant the Ammania senegalensis to make it denser, particularly on the left hand side and add a few more cuttings of Floscopa further to the back on the right. The Anubias ‘congensis arrow’ on the bogwood is suddenly struggling a bit. Not sure why. I’ve stopped dosing ‘leaf zone’ now that I have the dosing pump providing regular ‘Neutro+’ and liquid carbon. Wonder if that could be doing it? Will also add a suction shower caddy

MaUk9Yj.jpg
The right hand side. Also needs a lot of work. There is a lot of Myriophyllum behind the Bacopa that seems to be growing OK and will make this part look much better when it gets above the Bacopa. I need to move the surface skimmer from the back wall to the right hand wall so that is it hidden. To do so I need to move a large boulder that is largely under the substrate and the large and v healthy Anubias hastifolia on top of it about 4 inches forward and replant a bunch of plants in front of it. This is not getting up my priority list v quickly. I then want to add a lot more of there red Ammania senegalensis in the front right and a bit more Floscopa at the back. I am hoping these will grow emersed before too long. I also want to add some new emersed plants at the back in shower caddies. May add a decent sized chunk of bogwood in the middle of this section (towards the left of this picture).
 
The lilies are doing realy nice. 🙂 Very natural looking tank. This only can get beter in time..
 
gltjc said:
Great. Abacus have some aurantiacus and some more ‘red makoua’ in stock so will likely grab some more in the next week or so. I’m also tempted by a pair of Enigmatochronis lucanusi
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Apologies if you know this already... That's a great shop to buy fish from, the fish are always properly quarantined and in fantastic health. (I'm lucky to live very close by, so have the same water supply which makes acclimating easier.)
 
Love this scape.
Have you thought abour having a nice large group of Armoured/Vampire shrimp in here. Think they would look great sitting amongst the wood and plants sifting for food.
Also A suggestion for the Banked area. Have you thought about putting in the Clear acrylic pipes, so that fish have a few cave areas to explore. Or even using a few Pint Glasses close the front of the back. I am sure you will find that the Ansorgi will happily make it their territory. And would add an interesting dimension to that part of the scape.

Also a few butterlyfish to catch any flies that may fall into the water. You could watch them hunt for mealworms and crickets.
 
zozo said:
The lilies are doing realy nice. 🙂 Very natural looking tank. This only can get beter in time..
Click to expand...

Thanks zozo. I think ‘natural’ is the polite word for ‘scruffy’, but that is what I am going for!
 
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