"Dutch something or the other" 120 Gal

[Ady34]

They really never bothered the shrimp. I've kept them for years, these small Botia did not bother the CRS's either.

That's good to know thanks Tom. Just need to remortgage the house to get a nice group of them now

 

[plantbrain]

Ah forget owning the house, just move back in with mom and pops

 

[plantbrain]

UG is starting to finally fill it and lay flatter. Many people kept pestering me with questions as to why it looked yellow etc.
I stated once it fills in dense, it's top greener leaves will flop over as it becomes a denser and denser mat.

Most never even get their UG this dense. And it's not yet done.
I do not trim it down to get it to stay short like this, it does this on its own. I'll trim errant runners, but that's about it and very very minor.

Other plants are coming along well enough. Be another month or two perhaps before it's in full bloom.
I'll add some more Fissidens to the branches here and there as it grows out also, some of the plants in the Rear Left corner need to grow in more.
I may also tie some Mini pellia to a few branches in the rear.

 

[Ady34]

Looks nice Tom, very vibrant, and with the ug filled in its looking 'lush' again too.

Could you tell me what species the plant is that forms the left most band running from front to back between the ug?

The Botias are lost in that tank, really puts into perspective how big it is , i can spot them in the top 2 pics in the right front corner.
Cheers,
Ady.

 

[paulsouthuk]

Just wanted to say how lovely the tank looks. I wish it was in my lounge! How much pruning do you do it looks very manicured. I'm one envious bloke!!!!

 

[plantbrain]

Looks nice Tom, very vibrant, and with the ug filled in its looking 'lush' again too.

Could you tell me what species the plant is that forms the left most band running from front to back between the ug?

The Botias are lost in that tank, really puts into perspective how big it is , i can spot them in the top 2 pics in the right front corner.
Cheers,
Ady.

That would be an USA native Ludwigia sphaerocarpa. It was brought into the hobby by Cavan and a few friends in the GWAPA group here on the East Coast. Very nice plant. I'll be sending some to Tropica and to an UK friend who's shipped me some plants. So it should hopefully appear in the UK sometime. sort like L perunesis/granulosus but different leaf shape and color, it's easier to grow actually than perunesis(at least for me).

I have been trying to promote this plants.

The Botias are tiny, they will get 3-4x larger over the next few months/years.
One of the best all around fish for the FW aquarist.

Most of my tanks appear "small", till you see them in person. I set my tanks up for the people that live around them, no one else.

 

[plantbrain]

Just wanted to say how lovely the tank looks. I wish it was in my lounge! How much pruning do you do it looks very manicured. I'm one envious bloke!!!!

Well, I sell the cuttings, so pruning = $
I farm aquatic plants and they make good $ since I keep the more pricier hard to find species.
I add more than folks ask for when buying and they come to them in really vigorous shape.
So I can charge a fair price for them.

So pruning is not a chore I do not get an allowance for

I trim some rows and patches here and there, but many stay in the same stop, maybe topping the tips and planting those to thickening the group up more. So I really only trim maybe once every 2 months for many, and then might spend maybe 10-15 min carefully trimming any decay or poor plant parts off with scissors or fingers. I have a few day window to do this before things get ratty, which is plenty of time actually. I also do a large water changes 1-2x a week, so while the tank drains/refills, I clean the filter, trim and net shrimp out of the overflow box.

Tonina sells for about 40$ for 6 stems, tornado, maybe 45$ for 6 stems. Most sell those plants like 10-15$ per stem or ebay I see 20-40$ per stem. UG? A small 5cm x5cm rug? 40$ Will be sold in a couple of hours max. Red pantanal? 4-6$ per stem, I sell 6 nice size ones for about 30$. Starougyne from my 180? 25$ for 20+ plants. Belem hair grass(the same clone that Tropica sells now), 35$ for a 5cmx 25cm sod. So 200$ on a weak no growth month, maybe 500-600$ on a good month. Certainly enough to fund the electic build and supplies. Screw competitions, I make more than the prize money every years, and year after year.

Only took me 35 years of losing money to learn how to make money in this hobby
But this tank and the others have all paid for themselves a few times over now.

So spending a lot of $ on a special plant species, or a really nice light, CO2 dual stage regulator etc, all worth while for me. I'll make enough back to pay for it. My time is free, but it's therapeutic also.

 

[Mike Singh]

Hi Tom
What is a "CO2 dual stage regulator"

Mike

 

[plantbrain]

Hi Tom
What is a "CO2 dual stage regulator"

Mike

This might be too much Information(TMI):

http://www.barrreport.com/showthread.ph ... Regulators

 

[Ady34]

Looks nice Tom, very vibrant, and with the ug filled in its looking 'lush' again too.

Could you tell me what species the plant is that forms the left most band running from front to back between the ug?

The Botias are lost in that tank, really puts into perspective how big it is , i can spot them in the top 2 pics in the right front corner.
Cheers,
Ady.

That would be an USA native Ludwigia sphaerocarpa. It was brought into the hobby by Cavan and a few friends in the GWAPA group here on the East Coast. Very nice plant. I'll be sending some to Tropica and to an UK friend who's shipped me some plants. So it should hopefully appear in the UK sometime. sort like L perunesis/granulosus but different leaf shape and color, it's easier to grow actually than perunesis(at least for me).

I have been trying to promote this plants.

The Botias are tiny, they will get 3-4x larger over the next few months/years.
One of the best all around fish for the FW aquarist.

Most of my tanks appear "small", till you see them in person. I set my tanks up for the people that live around them, no one else.

Thanks for the info Tom
Hopefully we'll see it soon in the uk as it looks very nice.
Ady.

 

[plantbrain]

Ady34,

They have been running 20 pounds per stem is would seem.

 

[Ady34]

Ady34,

They have been running 20 pounds per stem is would seem.

for me.....
8) for you, as you have lots of it!

Hopefully, like your eleocharis sp. mini, it will make it into the mainstream at affordable prices for the hobbyist.

 

[plantbrain]

Some have had trouble growing it, but I am not one of those people. I also am able to scape nicely with the plant, and nice pretty pic in a decent scape sells the plant better than all the talk in the world.
Price should come down.

I must have about 300-400 pounds worth by your market rates.
I'll be shipping some to the UK this week(maybe 10 or so).

 

[jojouk]

Amazing

 

[plantbrain]

If someone can send me 6-10 cups of the Elatine hydropiper, some A reineckii mini, I'll send you 10 stems of the Ludwigia sphaerocarpa
Express mail each way, even trade.

 

[plantbrain]

I plan on removing some of the UG where the downoi are now and expanding this to break the continuous line of UG in the front.
I want a wide path that tends to narrow some towards the back of the Downoi. I've not tried the Red macrandra in the left side before.
We will see how it does in the higher current.





The Ludwigia tornado looks nice from above and contrast well once it's dense enough.

Top view. You can see the new Rotala macrandra I added in the lower left side, very mauve colored, this is typical in very high light tanks. it's a freaky color.
Most seek/expect a more red blood or red cherry color generally.

Side view, shows some recently UG replanting.

Shows a close up on the UG and some other species.

FTS:

 

[sanj]

Love the UG, its a plant I have not really tried yet... apart from the half dead thing that came through the post.

 

[plantbrain]

UG does not ship well.

 

[Nathaniel Whiteside]

Its absolutely stunning in your tank though Tom. That Ludwiga 'Tornado' is amazing aswell

 

[andyh]

Top knotch as always Tom, really like your uniform planting style, Its defo your signature style in my opinion.

The plant health is amazing!