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Jungle aquascape

Hi all,

The male is a smart fish, did you get them locally? I really miss not having any dwarf cichlids.

Despite their name they are a colour form of Apistogramma macmasteri .

cheers Darrel
Cheers, Darrel. Didnt know that. Yeah, he's a handsome chap and cichlids have a bit more personality than your average tetra. I picked them up at Maidenhead Bristol. They had a load of them. The female I've got is pretty small, so hoping she'll grow and they pair up. He's already showing a bit of interest at times.

Can I put other non aggressive cichlids in? Quite like the electric blue rams. Love the blue acaras, but they might be a bit big for what I'm going for.
 
Fert update

So, I have been using @Happi's Solufeed combo since January when I set up my tank and I thought I'd report back three months on. Overall, it seems to be working pretty well for me and the vast majority of my plants are looking pretty healthy and are growing well. I have been using salvinia, but it was almost doubling weekly (or thereabouts) and I'm getting bored of netting it out and it clogging up the skimmer, so I'm trying to get it all now. I think I still have a few minor deficiencies, mainly noticeable in the anubias - it is growing well, but the leaves look kinda pale, unless that is just what new leaves look like. I have also noticed that the nymphaea leaves were tending to rot off at the stem, although this seems to have improved somewhat. My lace plant is growing, albeit very slowly - I removed the leaves it came with as they looked battered, but the new ones are taking their time. The swords are growing a little too well (one is flowering), as is the Sagittaria natans - I have to pull this out in clumps as it is trying to take over! The Lysimachia has done nothing, though. It is sat at the back behind the bogwood and has barely grown at all - probably a lack of flow issue or lower light, or both.

My mix is as follows and totals a 500ml solution:

31.54g Solufeed 2:1:4
5.72g Solufeed Sodium Free TEC
3.81g Fe DTPA
10ml white vinegar


I must admit, I do get a bit lost in all the maths, but I am dosing 10ml daily - I think this puts me at EI dosing levels. Right? I dose first thing in the morning, several hours before lights-up. I know it's not ideal, but I have no other option due to my work.

I do a 50% water change weekly.

My stocking levels are probably towards the higher end. Since my last update, I have added twelve Rummynose tetra and four Bronze Corydorus.

I do have a small amount of algae - some green spot (I assume) on the leaves of some plants, and a tiny amount of filamentous algae on the tip of one or two sag strands.

Some photos below to try and show some close ups of the plants from the top. I'll be trimming up a few things tomorrow, so excuse the long stems!

Happy to receive any feedback re the fert regime, although I am content to keep going with it at the moment, though.

The only other point to note is that I get small crystalline pieces in he solution that seem to float around. Doesn't bother me, assuming it is not a product of some reaction that changes what I'm putting in.

In other news:

I had to dispatch a Cardinal with dropsy today, been getting steadily worse so saw no other option.

I have also lost a Nerite snail, which I think was feeding off some decaying leaf attached to the inlet and they got sucked in and lost his foot. There were actually two stuck in it when I found them, but one has seemingly made a recovery (although I am certain they lost part of themselves. The other one hasn't moved for days, but has like a hard door to the hole in his shell. I assume there is no way he is taking time to recover? He was well and truly wedge and looked dead when I removed him. I have also cleared some space in front of the inlet now to hopefully avoid further issues.

Lastly, a black neon leaped to his death last week. So, not a good week for me fish/critter-wise, but a bit of learning here and there.

Cheers

Mark
 

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Plants are certainly looking nice and healthy, I would imagine any minor problems you're experiencing are possibly due to flow/distribution/light/CO2 (not all of them).
You're in very good hands regarding the Fertz.
Cheers!
 
Fert update

So, I have been using @Happi's Solufeed combo since January when I set up my tank and I thought I'd report back three months on. Overall, it seems to be working pretty well for me and the vast majority of my plants are looking pretty healthy and are growing well. I have been using salvinia, but it was almost doubling weekly (or thereabouts) and I'm getting bored of netting it out and it clogging up the skimmer, so I'm trying to get it all now. I think I still have a few minor deficiencies, mainly noticeable in the anubias - it is growing well, but the leaves look kinda pale, unless that is just what new leaves look like. I have also noticed that the nymphaea leaves were tending to rot off at the stem, although this seems to have improved somewhat. My lace plant is growing, albeit very slowly - I removed the leaves it came with as they looked battered, but the new ones are taking their time. The swords are growing a little too well (one is flowering), as is the Sagittaria natans - I have to pull this out in clumps as it is trying to take over! The Lysimachia has done nothing, though. It is sat at the back behind the bogwood and has barely grown at all - probably a lack of flow issue or lower light, or both.

My mix is as follows and totals a 500ml solution:

31.54g Solufeed 2:1:4
5.72g Solufeed Sodium Free TEC
3.81g Fe DTPA
10ml white vinegar


I must admit, I do get a bit lost in all the maths, but I am dosing 10ml daily - I think this puts me at EI dosing levels. Right? I dose first thing in the morning, several hours before lights-up. I know it's not ideal, but I have no other option due to my work.

I do a 50% water change weekly.

My stocking levels are probably towards the higher end. Since my last update, I have added twelve Rummynose tetra and four Bronze Corydorus.

I do have a small amount of algae - some green spot (I assume) on the leaves of some plants, and a tiny amount of filamentous algae on the tip of one or two sag strands.

Some photos below to try and show some close ups of the plants from the top. I'll be trimming up a few things tomorrow, so excuse the long stems!

Happy to receive any feedback re the fert regime, although I am content to keep going with it at the moment, though.

The only other point to note is that I get small crystalline pieces in he solution that seem to float around. Doesn't bother me, assuming it is not a product of some reaction that changes what I'm putting in.

In other news:

I had to dispatch a Cardinal with dropsy today, been getting steadily worse so saw no other option.

I have also lost a Nerite snail, which I think was feeding off some decaying leaf attached to the inlet and they got sucked in and lost his foot. There were actually two stuck in it when I found them, but one has seemingly made a recovery (although I am certain they lost part of themselves. The other one hasn't moved for days, but has like a hard door to the hole in his shell. I assume there is no way he is taking time to recover? He was well and truly wedge and looked dead when I removed him. I have also cleared some space in front of the inlet now to hopefully avoid further issues.

Lastly, a black neon leaped to his death last week. So, not a good week for me fish/critter-wise, but a bit of learning here and there.

Cheers

Mark
Thank you for sharing the updates. have you also looked into #46 ? it will be beneficial to add Mn EDTA since you are already Modifying the standalone version. the standalone version is great by itself and might not require any changes or modification, but in some cases it might be necessary to modify it to fit your aquarium, kind of like how people add DTPA Fe , Fe Gluconate etc. to CSM+B and some add additional Zn to CSM+B.

in your case or people with hard water, I would encourage you to play around with the Fe and Mn while using different salts. see Fe Experiment and @Hufsa Thread
 
Plants are certainly looking nice and healthy, I would imagine any minor problems you're experiencing are possibly due to flow/distribution/light/CO2 (not all of them).
You're in very good hands regarding the Fertz.
Cheers!
Agreed, I would double check co2 and flow. Since some of the plants look a bit stunted. I think a good hack back might be warranted aswell
 
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Thank you for sharing the updates. have you also looked into #46 ?
Yes, I have seen this, thanks @Happi. I am nearly at the end of my current bottle, so will likely give this a go and see what difference it makes.

Agreed, I would double check co2 and flow. Since some of the plants look a bit stunted. I think a good hack back might be warranted aswell
Plants are certainly looking nice and healthy, I would imagine any minor problems you're experiencing are possibly due to flow/distribution/light/CO2 (not all of them).
You're in very good hands regarding the Fertz.
Cheers!
Yeah, I am planning a trim today. My CO2 has been constant for months now and I get the 1pH drop - my main concern is whether this reaches everywhere in the tank. Longer term, I will probably look into a reactor. On a side note, the water in the drop checker keeps vanishing - could this be a clue to something?

My flow is probably my main issue. I got an Oase skimmer, which fires downwards and creates some movement, but there is not a lot of movement at substrate level and behind the hardscape. I didn't really want a massive powerhead in there, but is this my only option? The lily pipe tends to fire towards the surface and creates decent flow, albeit under the surface.

What do people recommend?

My photoperiod is currently 1230 to 1930hrs with 30mins ramp either end. It is a WRGB 2 Pro set at 48/38/48/38. Obviously this a fraction of the intensity it can output, but seeing as I was getting a bit of spot algae it seemed a bad idea to increase it.

Any views on the lighting?

Thanks all!

Mark
 
I didn't really want a massive powerhead in there, but is this my only option?
Any views on the lighting?

Morning,
I use the AI Nero 3, to me it is less obtrusive than most powerheads/wavemakers and is capable of moving a vast amount water without creating a jetstream. I have mine set at 10% while the CO2 is on and just 1% while it is off (both on constant flow) but my tank is only 90cm 230l. As always though, there is more than one way to skin a cat.
With regards to the light I would leave it as is at the moment (especially until you solved your problem), you're already getting good growth and I think upping it at this moment in time is likely only going to create a problem and not solve one.
Once again, just my 2 cents.
Cheers!
 
Thanks, @bazz . I'll give that powerhead a look. That was my view with the lights too, so that's good. Lots of people buy the Chihiros and run it at half power - bit like buying a Ferrari to do the shopping! 😅 Not sure I'd ever need to much higher. I'd rather my plants grow steadily than have to trim them every three days!
 
Hi all

Just a few updates:

1. I've got some green spot algae on some older plant leaves. It doesn't seem to affect the hardscape, but is present on my plants. Not hugely fussed as it's remained pretty constant, but if there is an easy way to get rid I'm all ears! Is this a Phosphate issue? If so, how would I remedy it please?

2. Most plants are looking healthy. My Sagittaria is a little too healthy and I'm constantly removing the runners. Probably going to lift them out and move to the back right as they tend to block a good chunk of tank. My Nymphaea has finally kicked into life after lots of leaves rotting at the stems. Now, I have some good sized pads reaching the surface.

3. Other than a couple of jumpers and one to dropsy, my livestock seems healthy. But, my female Apistogramma has seemingly gone AWOL and I've not seen her for four or five days. Could this be she's holding a cave round the back with eggs? She seems a little small for it.

4. My Alternanthera is not looking the best. Quite a few leaves looking ragged and not really growing particularly well. Any ideas?

5. I'm planning to replace the big sword on the right and the sag, so any suggestions for attractive midground plants. Ideally 20cm tall at most and darker green/brown?

Cheers, all.

Mark
 

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But, my female Apistogramma has seemingly gone AWOL and I've not seen her for four or five days. Could this be she's holding a cave round the back with eggs? She seems a little small for it.
Lovely looking tank.

More than likely this is what has happened, with any luck she will appear in a few days bright yellow with a little ball of fry. Good luck!
 
Lovely looking tank.

More than likely this is what has happened, with any luck she will appear in a few days bright yellow with a little ball of fry. Good luck!
Thanks, @Conort2. Fingers crossed. Not sure any fry would last long, unfortunately. The Columbians are jet-propelled feeding machines!
 
Thanks, @Conort2. Fingers crossed. Not sure any fry would last long, unfortunately. The Columbians are jet-propelled feeding machines!
You’ll be surprised, female apistogramma can be savages when it comes to defending their fry. I had a female apistogramma lineata who managed to raise a small but decent amount of fry in my 400l community tank which is full of big tetras and catfish.
 
Hope everyone's having a great weekend!

I took the decision to reconfigure the plants yesterday. It was starting to get a bit congested and I realised I'd made a mistake putting the Sagittaria and Amazon Swords near the front - they were taking over and blocking the view a fair but. So, I have moved the Sagittaria to the back right, replacing the Hygrophila that wasn't really bringing me joy. I also removed the massive Amazon Sword - Sunrise/Sunset, I forget which. And thinned a load of stuff out.

My Nymphaea taken off, which is great as I cam now see it.

My Lace plant has done nothing for months. I have moved it to see if it was positioning, but any tips would be great. Any tips?
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Pretty certain the female Apistogramma has gone. Haven't seen her for a long time. Not sure what happened there. She had a scale missing for a while, but seemed fine. Then she just vanished. 🤷‍♂️ Will be replacing her soon hopefully.
 

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