Shallow tank with a tasty stand

[S.G.A]

Hi all.

I recently found some empty crates of ‘Orval’ in my garage. It’s a nice bitter beer we like to drink here in Belgium.

Anyways, as I was stacking them up I couldn’t help but notice how sturdy they were and how much I liked the look of them. I found myself an old shallow tank, 60x30x20cm (36l), and started brainstorming a scape.

The tank is placed on a wooden board which I attached to the crates with some screws. The whole thing is more than sturdy enough for this small tank so no worries there.

The tank serves as a divider so i went with a triangular composition with a peace lily (Spathiphyllum) on the side touching the wall. I then sloped my aquasoil towards the opposite side and placed some boulders.
The plants I used are:
-Eleocharis parvula
-Elodea densa
-Lileaopsis novae-zelandae
-Cryptocoryne wendtii tropica
-Ludwigia palustris ‘super red’
-monte carlo
-Lobelia mini

The light im running is a twinstar 45b which I suspended from the ceiling. The tank gets CO2 injection. Im running a small internal filter purely for circulation so that the CO2 gets evenly distributed throughout the whole tank.

Im planning on letting this cycle for a month or two before adding inhabits. Im still debating a couple choices.
-Danio margaritatus
-Pseudomugil luminatus
-Danionella translucida
-Hyphessobrycon amandae
-Boraras brigittae
-Sundadanio axelrodi
Of course only one of these species. I do not intend to combine as there is simply not enough room.

I’m open to feedback, and I would really like your insights as to what inhabitants to keep.

 

[S.G.A]

Because of the smaller size, I think I might be better of with just shrimp and then a trio of sparkling gourami/pair of scarlet badis. It’s going to be difficult to find an actual pair of that last one, virtually no females anywhere. I am in contact with a breeder who might have some in the next couple of months.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

I think I might be better of with just shrimp and then a trio of sparkling gourami

I'm not sure <"they are compatible with shrimp">.

pair of scarlet badis. It’s going to be difficult to find an actual pair of that last one, virtually no females anywhere.

A long running problem unfortunately <"Scarlet badis female?">.

cheers Darrel

 

[S.G.A]

Hi all,

I'm not sure <"they are compatible with shrimp">.

A long running problem unfortunately <"Scarlet badis female?">.

cheers Darrel

They will probably pick off any shrimplets they can find. There are enough places to hide so that some will survive. The breeder could possibly supply me with 2 or 3 females. If they breed I could pioneer the spread of females in my area which would be very rewarding.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

They will probably pick off any shrimplets they can find.

If I ever find any Dario dario, D. tigris or D. hysginon etc. I'm going to feed them a largely crustacean based diet, mainly using Daphnia and <"Crangonyx pseudogracilis">.

If they breed I could pioneer the spread of females in my area which would be very rewarding

@rdk1402 is in <"the Netherlands">. We've had a few members (@MirandaB, @louis_last & @Wookii) find females and have successful breeding, but I don't know who has them now.

cheers Darrel

 

[S.G.A]

Im located in Belgium and haven’t been able to find any. There are shops that swear they have them but they’re just submissive males that haven’t colored up. I can feed them daphnia, live and frozen bloodworms, springtails and microworms.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

There are shops that swear they have them but they’re just submissive males that haven’t colored up.

I think we <"may have all been there"> as well.

cheers Darrel

 

[louis_last]

Im located in Belgium and haven’t been able to find any. There are shops that swear they have them but they’re just submissive males that haven’t colored up. I can feed them daphnia, live and frozen bloodworms, springtails and microworms.

Oh man I feeel your pain. I lost track of how many cross country trips I made to shops that swore they had female scarlet badis. I finally saw one in a shop in Hamburg and it was pretty useful to know what to actually look for. After that I eventually found one among a batch of males in a shop back in the UK. The good news is once you find one they are very, very easy to breed and it's possible to train the babies to accept certain dried foods. I only have one remaining female now, the rest I swapped. I kept her because she was the largest and most robust of them all, next year I might breed them again.
The hunt for female badis is truly a global one, I had a guy who was willing to pay for them to be shipped to Canada!

 

[louis_last]

And you wont regret getting some sundanio for this tank either. I also keep these and they are much more interesting than I imagined. Once they are mature the dominant males actually make an audible vocalisation during their mating performances.
I think there are several species/subspecies available and you never really know which you're getting. My males turn almost jet black when they are performing their mating dance and chirp like birds. I had read that these were a very shy and timid fish too but that hasn't been my experience, they seem to much prefer open water to hiding among plants and they are actually quite aggressive and can bully other nano fish like Boraras.