# My ever-evolving tank (picture heavy)



## Amandas tank

I am finally closer to creating just what I have been envisioning for my tank.  (edit: The tank measures 48" x 17.75" x 24".) It's been in the works for a year! It started with a 30 gallon tank complete with dying plants and sick fish found on craigslist for $30. Of course at the time, I knew nothing about fish and had no idea they were not healthy. 
Anyway, it has been quite the journey thus far, and I have learned that fish keeping is not as easy as 1-2-3._ No_, you can't just drop fish in the tank and throw in some food here and there, topping off the tank as the water evaporates. _No_, you don't just put _all_ the fish that you liked at the fish store in the tank without running into huge complications because not all fish are compatible! _No_, you can't cheap out with desk lights or anything similar and expect to have living plants and there is not a species of fish you should buy to replace _you_ cleaning your tank! 

Anyway, I am the proud owner of some driftwood! YEAH! So, I have begun the process that will bring my vision to life! Here is what is happening:

I rinsed my dishwasher 4 times in a row then added the driftwood and on the highest setting, let it rinse in the dishwasher 4 times. It's been soaking in a tub since. No tannins! Just needs to sink. I've cleaned all my rocks collected locally this past summer and am now testing them to be sure they are aquarium safe. I have gotten my water chemistry stable, although it is noted the KH needs to be a little higher; working on that. I have posted in the WTB/RAOK thread a list of plants I need for my tank. I am still researching potential inhabitants to replace the Denison Barbs I have, which are currently 5" long. No rush there.

Tonight I added black Echo Complete to just under half of the tank and in 3-4 days I will be doing the same to the middle, then the other half. After that driftwood and rocks 

Here's a couple pics. 
Before:








After:








It is a looooong way from finished and the water is a bit cloudy from the 1/2 tank change. None of the plants and wood are in their place. It's just temporary until I get the substrate finished.

I am sooooo excited!

*Update: 11/17/12 All the old substrate has been removed, some plants added as well as some Manzanita, rocks, and Mopani dw. Not finished, but close *


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## RedseaReefer

Looks good! I actually plan on doing overhaul of my substrate soon to replace the regular gravel in there currently. Except.. Mine is stocked with fish.. Lol

But good work and best of luck.


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## Sethjohnson30

Those Roselines are going to need a larger tank at Least 4 ft I keep mine in a 72g and I plan on upgrading to 125g+ 6ft tank in the next year or so as they grow. I would recommend a school of a smaller fish like cardinal tetra,rummy nose tetra or harlequin rasboras. These fish seem to school the tightest you could easily keep 20 of them in your tank. The angels are going to outgrow the tank as well. 


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## Amandas tank

RedseaReefer said:


> Looks good! I actually plan on doing overhaul of my substrate soon to replace the regular gravel in there currently. Except.. Mine is stocked with fish.. Lol
> 
> But good work and best of luck.


Hey thanks! Good luck to you when you start!


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## Amandas tank

Sethjohnson30 said:


> Those Roselines are going to need a larger tank at Least 4 ft I keep mine in a 72g and I plan on upgrading to 125g+ 6ft tank in the next year or so as they grow. I would recommend a school of a smaller fish like cardinal tetra,rummy nose tetra or harlequin rasboras. These fish seem to school the tightest you could easily keep 20 of them in your tank. The angels are going to outgrow the tank as well.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Thank you for your recommendation :smile: The tank is 4 ft. The dimensions are 48" x 17.75" x 24", but I keep the water line at 21". The tank was sold to me as a 100 gallon, but of course, the tank is only good for between 77 and 80 gallons because of the length and width measurements, being that the height doesn't count for much.
I have been planning to exchange the Roselines for something else because I don't like them much. They are a nice looking fish, but not a good match for our home. As far as I know the tank could potentially have a school of 6 Angelfish without risk of being over stocked, but I do not want my tank "full". I prefer to keep it understocked so everyone has "happy swimming" room. I have been concidering Harlequins, but haven't made up my mind yet. Rummynose are soooo cute, but a no-go because my grown Angel snacks on them. He/She ate my last school nearly completely before I removed a few to take back to the LFS.

I am in no rush to stock the tank with anymore inhabitants until the rescape is complete. I plan to take the Roselines back to the LFS soon, if they will agree to give me credit instead of exchanging the fish for something else right away. I appreciate your suggestion about good schoolers.

Good luck with your 125 gallon! Your Roselines will love it since they will be able to swim further down the tank. What other fish do you keep with your Roselines? I have always thought Roselines look incredible in a tank with Rummynose and/or Odessa Barbs. Quite stunning display.

Thanks again!


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## Amandas tank

Heres my wood. I am just thrilled to have it! The Angelfish and my sweet "Gwen" the Betta will loooove the wood. I made sure to find a piece tall enough to offer hieght for the Angels to swim through when they cruise the top section of the tank.








I thought I'd add a couple more of "the crew" hanging out on the "new" side of the tank. They all seem to prefer this side to the old Ha Ha. So cute. Oh, and the floating plants have always been there, it just got a little denser after uprooting a few more. The cluster of floating plants will be planted when the hardscape is set in place. I hope to find some floating plants to replace them.


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## Amandas tank

*Next morning after everything settled*

Just turned the lights on. Everything has cleared up. Check it out.








It's going to drive me crazy waiting to do the rest of the substrate! HaHa!


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## etgregoire

This is a good idea for changing out your substrate. I might have to try this. Are you testing your water parameters while you do this? I've heard that a large disturbance in the substrate of an established tank can cause an ammonia spike, or a mini-cycle... Just something to think about?


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## Sethjohnson30

Amandas tank said:


> Thank you for your recommendation :smile: The tank is 4 ft. The dimensions are 48" x 17.75" x 24", but I keep the water line at 21". The tank was sold to me as a 100 gallon, but of course, the tank is only good for between 77 and 80 gallons because of the length and width measurements, being that the height doesn't count for much.
> I have been planning to exchange the Roselines for something else because I don't like them much. They are a nice looking fish, but not a good match for our home. As far as I know the tank could potentially have a school of 6 Angelfish without risk of being over stocked, but I do not want my tank "full". I prefer to keep it understocked so everyone has "happy swimming" room. I have been concidering Harlequins, but haven't made up my mind yet. Rummynose are soooo cute, but a no-go because my grown Angel snacks on them. He/She ate my last school nearly completely before I removed a few to take back to the LFS.
> 
> I am in no rush to stock the tank with anymore inhabitants until the rescape is complete. I plan to take the Roselines back to the LFS soon, if they will agree to give me credit instead of exchanging the fish for something else right away. I appreciate your suggestion about good schoolers.
> 
> Good luck with your 125 gallon! Your Roselines will love it since they will be able to swim further down the tank. What other fish do you keep with your Roselines? I have always thought Roselines look incredible in a tank with Rummynose and/or Odessa Barbs. Quite stunning display.
> 
> Thanks again!


Lol I thought it was still the 30g I misread. 

I keep cardinals, Bn pleco's , Amanos, and ottos 


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## Amandas tank

etgregoire said:


> This is a good idea for changing out your substrate. I might have to try this. Are you testing your water parameters while you do this? I've heard that a large disturbance in the substrate of an established tank can cause an ammonia spike, or a mini-cycle... Just something to think about?


Yes :smile:, I am keeping track of the parameters and all is good! That's great! I have read the same thing myself about the mini-cycle/amonia spike, so I am being careful, taking it slow and breaking it up into three parts. I am due for a PWC tomorrow and will wait to do the next step until the day before the next PWC, so rather than 3 days, I've just decided (since reading your post  ) to wait for 6 days before I do the next section; simply because I don't need to rush it risking hurting my fish.
Breaking it into parts, I think it's important to be careful not to disturb the substrate on the other side of the tank, if that makes sense; wordings a little off. I also chose to keep the rocks and wood that had already been in the tank inside and so I just relocated it inside the tank.


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## Amandas tank

Ah, I see LOL! I thought it was my horrible tank pictures. To me, the tank looks so small in my photos. I don't get it. 

Your tank sounds great. I love Amanos. I wanted some, but unfortunately my Angels will eat them. 
I have been interested in Albino Long Finned BN plecos for quite sometime, but I'm worried about the spikes they have. In an event that I had to remove them from the tank, I would hate to have them get stuck in the net. My spotted sailfin got hooked in the net and it was awful! Trying to cut the net off of her was really risky. She'd get still, I'd start carefully cutting, then suddenly she'd thrash scaring me half to death. I never want to go through that again. So, the next pleco I've been thinking about is the Butterfly Pleco. This one isn't so spiky as far as I know. Not as cute as the BN though. 



Sethjohnson30 said:


> Lol I thought it was still the 30g I misread.
> 
> I keep cardinals, Bn pleco's , Amanos, and ottos
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Sethjohnson30

I just one a raok of 10 baby Bn plecos I could send you one or two for the cost of shipping once they arrive if you like. 

They may have to sit in quarantine for a week or two it may be stressfull to unpack and ship back out right away. 


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## Amandas tank

Sethjohnson30 said:


> I just one a raok of 10 baby Bn plecos I could send you one or two for the cost of shipping once they arrive if you like.
> 
> They may have to sit in quarantine for a week or two it may be stressfull to unpack and ship back out right away.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Oh wow! Congratulations! 10 BN! Thats awesome. Thanks a million for your offer! Extremely kind of you! I would loooove to have them  But, first, I am still unsure about the spikes. Have you ever had trouble with them getting caught in nets? Also, the weather just turned and its 38 degrees, windy, snowy and the planes haven't been shipping the last week. 
I trully appreciate your generousity. Thank you sooooooooo much.


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## Sethjohnson30

I've never had one get coughs but I always pull whatever ornament(dw,rock etc) out of the tank and hold a Rubbermaid full of water for them to drop into(which they will once out of the water) and that way no worries about them getting fought in nets. I could throw some heat packs in for small extra charge(I will have to pick some up not sure what they cost)



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## Sethjohnson30

You can also talk to acro he had 60 to give away in the raok and only 20 were claimed i think. He knows a lot more about bn's than I do and would probably give you some if you ask. The only downside is he doesn't take PayPal I had to send a money order for shipping. 


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## Amandas tank

Okay, thanks. I will contact Acro and see what he's done. The plastic container is a good idea for when we are re-homing it in a few years and need to take all the water out of the tank 

The heat packs could work. I am going to talk to a friend of mine who has shipments of fish come into town and see what he does to ensure live fish arrivals. I'll get back to you on that tomorrow.

Thanks again


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## stevenjohn21

This tank reminds me of mine with your random selection of fish ha ha


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## Amandas tank

stevenjohn21 said:


> This tank reminds me of mine with your random selection of fish ha ha


 What fish do you have? I know my tank is all over the place isn't it! River fish with fish that thrive in an Amazon Biotope; but it was by accident. The Betta was free off craigslist. The large Angelfish was a "rescue" sort-to-speak and then the little Angelfish was a "gift" for the big one Ha Ha because I thought s/he was lonely. The Denison Barbs were planned and were in the tank before the Angels moved in. I wanted to have the Denisons with Kuhli loaches, rummynose and Odessa Barbs, but after I got the Angels, I have changed my mind about having a high-speed tank because I realize I enjoy the relaxed, easy going ways of the Betta and Angels. So! There you have it HaHaHaHa!


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## stevenjohn21

Same fish with the exception of the loaches you have. They are from when i 1st started the hobby and went for "they look neat" attitude.


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## Amandas tank

stevenjohn21 said:


> Same fish with the exception of the loaches you have. They are from when i 1st started the hobby and went for "they look neat" attitude.


Ah okay. When we first got our tank a year ago, it was pre-stocked with single tetra specimens, common pleco, mollies, goldfish and platys. Then my husband added what he "liked" from the LFS. A zebra talipia, 2 Firemouth Ciclids and 2 Kuhli Loaches. I started researching and did a major fish swap! After that, my husband hates fish. He thinks it's stupid that I care if the fish are comatible and said qoute: "Survival of the fittest". Yeah, sure that's how it is in nature. The fish we had in our tank would never see each other in nature!
Anyway...What fish do you have now?


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## Sethjohnson30

Amandas tank said:


> Ah okay. When we first got our tank a year ago, it was pre-stocked with single tetra specimens, common pleco, mollies, goldfish and platys. Then my husband added what he "liked" from the LFS. A zebra talipia, 2 Firemouth Ciclids and 2 Kuhli Loaches. I started researching and did a major fish swap! After that, my husband hates fish. He thinks it's stupid that I care if the fish are comatible and said qoute: "Survival of the fittest". Yeah, sure that's how it is in nature. The fish we had in our tank would never see each other in nature!
> Anyway...What fish do you have now?


I had the " survival of the fittest attitude when my gf brought home my first tank,didn't cycle it and dumped a huge variety of poorly chosen "pretty fish" in it. I believe my exact words were: "take it back when I'm done watching the fish kill eachother". My outlook has changed quite a bit since then. She now threaten to make my (9) tanks "disappear" while I'm at work. She hates them. She has also gotten much better with her impulse buying and random pet adopting problem since then.

Just introduce your husband to the equipment side of things. Men like building stuff and making things more powerful. Have him look into fx5's and and building co2 regulators. He will probably enjoy it more if he feels he can contribute. I wish binford made aquarium equipment  


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## Sethjohnson30

I wish binford made aquarium equipment  


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk[/QUOTE]

I think I'm gonna make this my sig 


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## Amandas tank

Hi Seth.  I contacted Acro like you recommended. Nice guy! I am not worried about catching a BN anymore thanks to the two of you. Acro removes an object the BN is inside of, covering one end so it doesn't get out. I have a pre-meditated plan :hihi: I will use a cylinder of some sort with a cap on one side for feeding so the BN is comfortable with it, then if the BN needs caught, it'll already go inside with ease when s/he goes inside cover one end and lift! Walla! BN caught with no torn fins. Sounds easy enough. Thank you for removing that fear! I can stop worrying and have BN!!! Yeah!!!


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## Amandas tank

Update: I did a 24% PWC last night. Since adding the Eo-Complete Planted Substrate, (and removing the natural gravel) my pH rose 1 degree. It has held steady since even through the water change. This tells me regardless of how spotlessly clean I try to keep my tank, I had some build-up in the gravel. I am meticulous about gravel cleaning, but obviously not getting it all! Curious to see if the pH raises another degree when the other half is done. It is reading at 6.6 now.

It was torture last night refraining from changing out more substrate! I am anxious to get the substrate finished. But, have another week ahead of me before it's done. Time sure creeps by when your waiting LOL!


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## Amandas tank

Since things are at a stand still for the next 3 days, thought I'd share a collage displaying some of the elements that will be creating my scape.


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## Amandas tank

I put together in order, old pics to show the changes the tank has undergone. I couldn't find the pics from the original tank when we first brought it home after finding it on craigslist. The first 9 pictures show the 30 gallon tank and the last 5 are of the "100 gallon" I bought off craigslist. (I found out shortly after bringing it home is was infact _not_ 100 gallons! Grrrrrrr.)







When we first got the tank, I immediately started adding plants but most of them died. I didn't give up, but got fake plants to add "planted appeal" while I slowly added more live plants. I hated the plastic plants and was thrilled when I finally found some plants that could survive my beginner ways. As soon as I felt I had enough plants to keep my fish secure feeling, I removed all the plastic buggers!
 Hope you enjoyed looking at my ever-evolving tank collage! :icon_mrgr

Below are a few pics of the process from 30 gallon to 100 gallon. It was stressful and I moved as fast as possible to ensure all my fish would be okay. It worked out beautifully with no problems at all!


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## Sethjohnson30

Wow looks like you've been busy over the past year! 


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## Amandas tank

Sethjohnson30 said:


> I had the " survival of the fittest attitude when my gf brought home my first tank,didn't cycle it and dumped a huge variety of poorly chosen "pretty fish" in it. I believe my exact words were: "take it back when I'm done watching the fish kill eachother". My outlook has changed quite a bit since then. She now threaten to make my (9) tanks "disappear" while I'm at work. She hates them. She has also gotten much better with her impulse buying and random pet adopting problem since then.
> 
> Just introduce your husband to the equipment side of things. Men like building stuff and making things more powerful. Have him look into fx5's and and building co2 regulators. He will probably enjoy it more if he feels he can contribute. I wish binford made aquarium equipment
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Good idea. I tried to get him involved using the "honey I need your help" route. Did not work! Last week I asked him to put a shelf under the tank for the canister filter. He did it and seemed to be happy until the filter didn't fit!!! He measured, but didn't realize the top has to come off while the filter without moving the filter. Ugh. So, he is even more uninterested.

I will encourage him to check out fx5's and building Co2 regulators. He might really like that. I hope I can get him involved. It would be fun to work together on the tank.


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## Amandas tank

Sethjohnson30 said:


> I wish binford made aquarium equipment
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I think I'm gonna make this my sig 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk[/QUOTE]
LOL! Sounds like a great sig!!!! Do it


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## Amandas tank

Sethjohnson30 said:


> Wow looks like you've been busy over the past year!
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Yeah Ha Ha Ha! I love being in my tank. I absolutely love scaping and wish I had more tanks to scape. Once this one is complete witht he dw, rocks and plants, I plan to leave it alone except for maintenance.


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## Amandas tank

Well, I managed to leave things be until it was time to change out more substrate. What a hard task HaHa! Last night I removed more natural gravel and added more Eco-Complete Planted Substrate. I really love the look of this stuff, and the Mylasian Trumpet snails are crazy for it! They seem to be all "packing their bags" and moving from the "gravel side of town" to "re-modeled side of town" LOL! The fish like the new side better too. Weird...but cool cuz I like it too! Now that we are all in aggreement 

Anyway, the water is showing no change, _yet_. pH is still holding at 6.6  Have to wait and see. I thought it would since the pH raised 1 degree when I added the ECP-substrate a week ago. No biggie either way.

Here's a picture!


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## Amandas tank

Not the best pictures, but here they are anyway!


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## Amandas tank

My little Angelfish is beginning to color differently. S/he is bluish silver during the day and come early evening until bedtime s/he glows with some impressive pinkish/orange hues with bold stripes. Love it!


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## Amandas tank

Goodie, Goodie, Goodie! *Plants. Are. Enroute!* PWC today. 

I am very excited about what's to come! I had to make a change concerning my XL canister filter (never used) because when I set it up yesterday, even though it fits in my stand, the design of the stand will make maintenance a huge pain in the keester and I am aiming for "smooth, enjoyable times" with my tank. Not equipment battles LOL! Also, the 3 bags of substrate will not be enough. So, I ordered 3 more bags of Eco-Complete and 2 Medium Canisters. Should be here around the same day as the plants!!! 

Depending on the order on which things arrive, I may have to modify the current plan of action. We'll see.

Here's what I'm hoping for; Eco-Complete order arrives. Remove the fish and get aggressive with the substrate finishing it in time for the plants to arrive! Add the hardscape and hopefully the plants will arrive same day or following day. I have sketched up a couple prospective scapes to assist in aligning everything. Since I do already have fish, I want to get my scape right the first time. A minor adjustment here and there is fine. I just hope I can do this and be happy with the layout!


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## hhk12

gorgerous anglefish. i love the kio anglefish.


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## Amandas tank

hhk12 said:


> gorgerous anglefish. i love the kio anglefish.


Thank you very much  The Koi angel is such a sweet heart. S/he is about 8 years old. S/he lived in a building where my husband works in a crammed, mix n' match community, 55 gallon, unplanted, bare tank for all those years with a single Red Rainbowfish and a constant supply of Koi fish, common goldfish, random tetras, Rainbow Shark, common plecos, corydoras (these fish would always die and be replaced over the years) and a few other species! Then the tank broke, and now S/he lives in my tank with an angel buddy, betta and schooling fish. Much better


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## Amandas tank

*Can this thread be moved to the Tank Journal Forum?*

It would be a better fit I think. Since I was re-scaping I thought to put it in the Aquascaping forum, but since have seen it becoming more of a Tank Journal.

Thank you!


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## Learner

good luck with the tank! looks good so far and your planning seems to be stellar! Not easy getting ahold of plants up here in AK. I have some rotala indica and various others that I can easily send you if you need some more. There are a few of us up here with planted tanks, we gotta stick together.


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## Amandas tank

Learner said:


> good luck with the tank! looks good so far and your planning seems to be stellar! Not easy getting ahold of plants up here in AK. I have some rotala indica and various others that I can easily send you if you need some more. There are a few of us up here with planted tanks, we gotta stick together.


Hello fellow Alaskan!  Thank you for your offer. Very nice of you. My package hasn't arrived yet. I am hopeful when it does arrive nothing will have frozen being that the temps have dropped to the 20's. It has been interesting trying to get plants over the past year. We are so limited on what is sold at the LFS and then there is Petco. Blah. Their plants are stuffed in little tubes and look like they are decaying. It's too bad.

There are a lot of fabulous people here at TPT. I have found some to be above and beyond kind! What a great bunch of people. I am glad to be a part of this group.


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## Matt1977

I love Koi Angels....Yours look big and healthy!
Your plans for your tank sound good, I can't want to see it flourish! 
Take your time and lots of contemplation... Remember, you're doing the aquascaping to what you like, because, you'll be the looking at it most


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## Amandas tank

Matt1977 said:


> I love Koi Angels....Yours look big and healthy!
> Your plans for your tank sound good, I can't want to see it flourish!
> Take your time and lots of contemplation... Remember, you're doing the aquascaping to what you like, because, you'll be the looking at it most


Thank you Matt  I have been working on this tank plan for a year+ already. It will be weird when it's finished and I don't have anything left to move around. I will have to learn how to just sit back and enjoy it HaHa! That will be the real challenge :icon_roll

I got the Koi from a tank that had busted and s/he needed a home asap. Just found out from another member that it's dorsal fin is bent due to cramped living situations over a long period of time. They are so right! This poor Angel spent 8 years in an extremely crowded 55 gallon with uncompatible fish.

S/he looks really good now and it's fins are healed (no more tears) and has filled out a lot. Used to be very thin. I love this Angel. So sweet.


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## AUvet14

Amandas tank said:


> It will be weird when it's finished and I don't have anything left to move around. I will have to learn how to just sit back and enjoy it HaHa! That will be the real challenge :icon_roll


You'll never be done changing.  I'm always making subtle changes to my tank and i've had it going on 2 years now. That's part of the fun of it.

Pretty angels  I kinda want some angels but my tank isn't big enough, plus, I think I've fallen in love with my school of rasboras and all my shrimp. lol.


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## Amandas tank

AUvet14 said:


> You'll never be done changing.  I'm always making subtle changes to my tank and i've had it going on 2 years now. That's part of the fun of it.
> 
> Pretty angels  I kinda want some angels but my tank isn't big enough, plus, I think I've fallen in love with my school of rasboras and all my shrimp. lol.


 
True, true. I really do enjoy changing things. One reason I haven't concidered Discus. Very impressive fish, but from all that I have learned about them through reading, they need a very low maintenance tank with plants that don't require too much pruning to keep hands in to a minimum and without constant changes to thrive. We would be a terrible match because I always have my hands in my tank 

Thank you for the Angel compliment. I adore them. I wanted some shrimpies but have to wait a looong time before I even attempt it with my Angels. Rivercats successfully keeps Angels with Shrimp, but the tank is full of plants. I will get there one of these days :icon_roll


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## Sethjohnson30

It never ends. I had my tank scapes And all grown in then I got bored,and lazy. I ended up with tons of bga now I'm back to square one rescaling lol


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## Amandas tank

Sethjohnson30 said:


> It never ends. I had my tank scapes And all grown in then I got bored,and lazy. I ended up with tons of bga now I'm back to square one rescaling lol


Oh no! Don't tell me that HaHa!


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## Learner

Amandas tank said:


> Hello fellow Alaskan!  Thank you for your offer. Very nice of you. My package hasn't arrived yet. I am hopeful when it does arrive nothing will have frozen being that the temps have dropped to the 20's. It has been interesting trying to get plants over the past year. We are so limited on what is sold at the LFS and then there is Petco. Blah. Their plants are stuffed in little tubes and look like they are decaying. It's too bad.
> 
> There are a lot of fabulous people here at TPT. I have found some to be above and beyond kind! What a great bunch of people. I am glad to be a part of this group.


I agree! I cant even imagine where I would be in this hobby without these guys. Probably not even in the hobby to be honest! Good luck with the order. Mine just came in today, 1 week in the mail and they were the most foul smelling, melted waste I have ever seen. Amongst the wreckage were three tiny jungle val sprigs that I am going to try and work with. I am so frustrated! Not the senders fault I'm sure, just hard being up here when it comes to aquarium plants. Anyways, if you have good luck and your plants survive, please let me know how you did it. I am $40 in the hole with 2-3 dying jungle vals to show for it. 

Best Fishes

JD


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## Amandas tank

Learner said:


> I agree! I cant even imagine where I would be in this hobby without these guys. Probably not even in the hobby to be honest! Good luck with the order. Mine just came in today, 1 week in the mail and they were the most foul smelling, melted waste I have ever seen. Amongst the wreckage were three tiny jungle val sprigs that I am going to try and work with. I am so frustrated! Not the senders fault I'm sure, just hard being up here when it comes to aquarium plants. Anyways, if you have good luck and your plants survive, please let me know how you did it. I am $40 in the hole with 2-3 dying jungle vals to show for it.
> 
> Best Fishes
> 
> JD


Ah no! That's a bummer! I am sorry. Mine probably will be in the same shape. They will have been in the package for 1 week tomorrow. Found out today they have been processed and are sitting here in the PO. Will have to wait till tomorrow to get them. Mine were apparently here on Saturday, but just hadn't been processed yet. No one works at the PO on Sunday, and this morning at 7am they were marked as here on the tracking site. Ugh! If only they would have processed the mail when it arrived Saturday I would have live plants!


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## AUvet14

Amandas tank said:


> Ah no! That's a bummer! I am sorry. Mine probably will be in the same shape. They will have been in the package for 1 week tomorrow. Found out today they have been processed and are sitting here in the PO. Will have to wait till tomorrow to get them. Mine were apparently here on Saturday, but just hadn't been processed yet. No one works at the PO on Sunday, and this morning at 7am they were marked as here on the tracking site. Ugh! If only they would have processed the mail when it arrived Saturday I would have live plants!


That's super frustrating! Hope you are at least about to save some of them.


----------



## Amandas tank

AUvet14 said:


> That's super frustrating! Hope you are at least about to save some of them.


I tell ya it really is! I hope I will be lucky and there will be a lot of survivors!


----------



## Amandas tank

Okay. Plants are here in my house! Finally!!! They are currently soaking per directions from the sender.

Here are some pics. I grouped them by color and health...those that are melted pretty bad are in a bucket for the time being and the others are seperated by color because I only have limited buckets and thought they all need to get unpacked ASAP.

Here they are 










and...








and...oh..the leaves to the plant above were melted at the base of them stems and fell off. At least there are two left.
















and...








in the "red leaf" box, the plant on the bottom right is pretty soft and smells terrible, so I am not certain if it is okay or not.

and here's the plants that are not doing so well after the 7 days of being in a box.


----------



## Sethjohnson30

They look horrible


----------



## OVT

Please see comments below pictures



Amandas tank said:


> Okay. Plants are here in my house! Finally!!! They are currently soaking per directions from the sender.
> 
> Here are some pics. I grouped them by color and health...those that are melted pretty bad are in a bucket for the time being and the others are seperated by color because I only have limited buckets and thought they all need to get unpacked ASAP.
> 
> Here they are
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Brazilian Pennyworth (green middle left) - let them float on top of the tank. Some leaves will melt, but it should survive.
> E. tenellus (my weird plant) center, 'spikey' plants: separate the plants, cut the roots with sharp scissors, leaving about 1", remove some outside leaves and plant.
> Water Sprite (top with long roots): take the 2 largest ones and put the roots on substrate and put a stone on top to keep the plants down. Let the others float. Check tomorrow for branches that look translucent and pinch them off at the roots. I give them 75% chance of survival.*
> 
> 
> 
> and...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> and...oh..the leaves to the plant above were melted at the base of them stems and fell off. At least there are two left.
> 
> *Hygro (palnts with larger leaves): separate the plants and plant as is: make hole in substrate, insert stem, cover with substrate.
> HC (small leaved plants): plant as is: just shove the bottoms into the substrate so that they do not float up: leaves on the stems will melt, new leaves should grow from the stem's tops.
> *
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Water Sprite: roots on substrate, stone on top
> 
> and...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> in the "red leaf" box, the plant on the bottom right is pretty soft and smells terrible, so I am not certain if it is okay or not.
> 
> *Red tiger lotus: (large laves): pinch off the largest leaves at the roots: leave odd number of laves (3-5), cut the roots, leaving about 1.5" and plant.
> 
> Ludwidgia repens x acurata (long and short plants on top): starting from the bottom find part of the stem that feels firm, cut the stem above that right under the leaves, remove 2-4 sets of leaves above that and plant. This plant will drop a lot of leaves, just give it time.
> 
> Limnophilia aromatica (bottom right): please take a separate picture, they might be ok.*
> 
> *Trash everything else below this picture.*
> 
> *There should be more plants that I do not see on the pictures.*
> 
> *There are 2 melted plants in the pictures below: Rotala roundifolia and Limnophila sessiliflora*
> 
> and here's the plants that are not doing so well after the 7 days of being in a box.


----------



## Amandas tank

Sethjohnson30 said:


> They look horrible


Some do, but I am thrilled that a lot of them survived the failure of USPS!!! Goes to show the sender really has awesome plants! Very healthy to pull through 7 days in a dark box without water lost in the post office. Amazing!
I am so happy right now!!!!


----------



## Amandas tank

Thanks OVT! I will be back when I finish following your lovely instructions  You rock!!!!


----------



## OVT

Couple of more:

The plant in the last 2 pictures (Limnophila sessiliflora): find 2-3 plants whose tops look the best, cut the stems leaving 2-3 set of leaves, let them float.

*Important*: Increase your water surface aeration by either turning filters' outlets more toward the surface or by adding an air stone/wand/power head. Plants consume o2 at night, the process of decay uses up even more o2. The last thing I want is to suffocate your fish.


----------



## Amandas tank

OVT said:


> Couple of more:
> 
> The plant in the last 2 pictures (Limnophila sessiliflora): find 2-3 plants whose tops look the best, cut the stems leaving 2-3 set of leaves, let them float.
> 
> *Important*: Increase your water surface aeration by either turning filters' outlets more toward the surface or by adding an air stone/wand/power head. Plants consume o2 at night, the process of decay uses up even more o2. The last thing I want is to suffocate your fish.


Thanks! I did not know that! :icon_eek: I ran over to the LFS and grabbed a pump and some tubing with a large airstone. Will take some of the water out to allow for the HOB's to waterfall ontop the surface. Also, I will aline the penguin powerhead at the water line.

Still working! Took better pictures of the individual species grouped together. 
Will be sharing them momentarily


----------



## AUvet14

Sounds like you've got a busy evening  Nurse those plants back to health. It makes you feel great when they pull through


----------



## Sethjohnson30

So when do we get pics???


----------



## Amandas tank

more plant pics:








and...








AND...








AND...








AND...OVT, I trimmed these below as you described. Does it look right?


----------



## Amandas tank

Do these look okay? The leaves are so tiny, I have tried to remove melted ones, but it seems they all are melted. ?? Help me with this group please.


----------



## Sethjohnson30

Stick em' in and see if they grow. I've been lucky enough to bring some plants back that I couldn't even identify. My Madagascar lace is growing out of a rotten bulb that hot smashed when I was scraping. You never know, some plants put up a good fight.


----------



## AUvet14

The limnophila aromatica looks okay. Mine has shed a lot of the old leaves, but I have a good bit of new healthy growth. I like the assortment of plants you have.  can't wait to see what you do with it all.

Sent from my HTC One S


----------



## Amandas tank

AUvet14 said:


> Sounds like you've got a busy evening  Nurse those plants back to health. It makes you feel great when they pull through


Ya ain't a kiddin'! I'm done for now though. The fish go to bed at 10pm. So, I have more work to do tomorrow  It's loads of fun!


----------



## Amandas tank

Alrighty...they are floating limnophila aromatica are floating now


----------



## OVT

Amandas tank said:


> Do these look okay? The leaves are so tiny, I have tried to remove melted ones, but it seems they all are melted. ?? Help me with this group please.


I don't think you can do much else with these. I'd introduce them to your trash can 

These are HM (regular baby tears) and I think you have a healthy bunch in another picture.


----------



## OVT

Amandas tank said:


> more plant pics:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> and...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> AND...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> AND...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> AND...OVT, I trimmed these below as you described. Does it look right?


These guys all look ok for now. Remember, I put the same plants in multiple separate bags just in case this happens.

Do plant lotus as soon as you can.

The guys in the 1st and 3rd pictures are S. repens - your foreground plants. The tops look healthy and green enough. Remove the bottom damaged leaves. If you look at each plant, you will see that most of the roots are growing on one side - that's the side you want to plant, a bit at a diagonal angle. Some of them will keep floating up, you can put a little bit of substrate on the leaves to keep them down.

Looks like the plant rescue is well underway  GJ, Amanda.

Am I the only one crazy enough to ship plants to Alaska in the middle of November? :icon_eek: They all come from pretty healthy stock and I fed them extra humburgers before I sen them to you. So, the'd better recover...or...else...:icon_evil


----------



## Amandas tank

OVT said:


> I don't think you can do much else with these. I'd introduce them to your trash can
> 
> These are HM (regular baby tears) and I think you have a healthy bunch in another picture.


This is the best bunch  I put them in the tank a bit ago to let them float. I mistook them for a plant you said to float I think...oops.


----------



## Amandas tank

OVT said:


> These guys all look ok for now. Remember, I put the same plants in multiple separate bags just in case this happens.
> 
> Do plant lotus as soon as you can.
> 
> The guys in the 1st and 3rd pictures are S. repens - your foreground plants. The tops look healthy and green enough. Remove the bottom damaged leaves. If you look at each plant, you will see that most of the roots are growing on one side - that's the side you want to plant, a bit at a diagonal angle. Some of them will keep floating up, you can put a little bit of substrate on the leaves to keep them down.
> 
> Looks like the plant rescue is well underway  GJ, Amanda.
> 
> Am I the only one crazy enough to ship plants to Alaska in the middle of November? :icon_eek: They all come from pretty healthy stock and I fed them extra humburgers before I sen them to you. So, the'd better recover...or...else...:icon_evil


HaHa! Things would have been fine if the Postal Service would have processed the package as scheduled...and since they didn't and let it sit, closed for the Holiday didn't help. :icon_roll
The extra hamburgers must have given them the edge they needed to survive a week a box! Thank you!!!!

I couldn't have gotten where I am in this rescue without your amazing directions! So, GJ to you 

Thank you for sending these to me. I have plants now! (For the time being...if they all pull through; fingers and toes crossed!)

Oh...and Lotus has been planted for 3 hours I believe. Man did time fly!


----------



## OVT

I was referring to the plants on top of this picture - they seem ok, at least from what I can see.

A week in a sub-zero - still pretty amazing anything lived.

I did give them an edge. Here is a little 'trick' that might be useful to others in the future: I layer a larger biomass around the more 'important' plants, sort of like a sandwich, with the biomass closest to the outside of the box. (all plants in separate sealed bags). If the outside plants begin to rot in transit, they produce a tiny bit of heat that just might shield the plants that are closer to the middle of the box. If you have ever seen a bale of hay in the winter you should have seen the heat raising up as vapor. At least, that's the idea.


----------



## Amandas tank

The tank looks like a huge mess because it is!!! But, here are some pics anyway showing where I've gotten with the plants tonight.

Before adding my OVT plants!









Where I've gotten so far tonight addng OVT plants:









Don't mind the soup ladel...I needed something to spoon up the substrate to transfer to the area for the ste plants 

A side view:









and the extra oxygen!


----------



## Sethjohnson30

Progress is looking good!


----------



## OVT

roud:

The 3rd picture looks especially good to me, including the plants. And once they fill out .. watch out 

It's easier to see the progress if you take pictures once in a while. Then you can look back and say WOW, did I started with THAT!?!


----------



## Amandas tank

Sethjohnson30 said:


> Progress is looking good!


Thanks! I can't believe it's actually happening! It's been about 2 years of wishing I could get some plants in my tank! 



OVT said:


> roud:
> 
> The 3rd picture looks especially good to me, including the plants. And once they fill out .. watch out
> 
> Thank you! It's easier to see the progress if you take pictures once in a while. Then you can look back and say WOW, did I started with THAT!?!


It will be great fun to look back and see the changes. I am thoroughly enjoying this! I love the side view (third picture) and imagine it to be pretty cool once filled in  There's a Kuhli loach in the stems already!


----------



## Amandas tank

OVT said:


> I was referring to the plants on top of this picture - they seem ok, at least from what I can see.
> 
> A week in a sub-zero - still pretty amazing anything lived.
> 
> I did give them an edge. Here is a little 'trick' that might be useful to others in the future: I layer a larger biomass around the more 'important' plants, sort of like a sandwich, with the biomass closest to the outside of the box. (all plants in separate sealed bags). If the outside plants begin to rot in transit, they produce a tiny bit of heat that just might shield the plants that are closer to the middle of the box. If you have ever seen a bale of hay in the winter you should have seen the heat raising up as vapor. At least, that's the idea.


Oh okay. These look okay in the water from a distance. They are the same as the picture I asked for help with, except it's close up and out of the water. They are floating. Tomorrow I will plant them. How tall do these get? So I can decide on location


----------



## Amandas tank

I love this species below. 









So...all this time I though I had a red tiger lotus, but now I know I was mistaken. What is this red plant below?


----------



## OVT

Dwarf Lily (Nymphaea stellata)

Dwarf Baby Tears (HM) can grow to the top of your tank and more. Most people use it as a foreground plant and that requires some rigorous pruning. You can also trim it into a nice, dense bush of any height you like.


----------



## AUvet14

I use HM for a dense bush in the corner of my foreground. It would also work great for a midground bush somewhere. I trim it about every couple weeks.


----------



## Amandas tank

OVT said:


> Dwarf Lily (Nymphaea stellata)
> 
> Dwarf Baby Tears (HM) can grow to the top of your tank and more. Most people use it as a foreground plant and that requires some rigorous pruning. You can also trim it into a nice, dense bush of any height you like.


Thank you for ID'ing my plant. I love this thing. It grows and splits really fast! It's awesome 

Hmmm....that would be fun to be able to trim the HM into a nice dense bush. I would love that!


----------



## Amandas tank

AUvet14 said:


> I use HM for a dense bush in the corner of my foreground. It would also work great for a midground bush somewhere. I trim it about every couple weeks.


Looks nice there in the corner. Would love to see a full tank shot


----------



## orchidman

L m


----------



## Amandas tank

orchidman said:


> L m


I looked up L m in the abbreviations index and it's not listed. It's probably simple, but I have no idea what it means. :redface:


----------



## orchidman

orchidman said:


> L m





Amandas tank said:


> I looked up L m in the abbreviations index and it's not listed. It's probably simple, but I have no idea what it means. :redface:


its super simple  i was sitting there harmlessly reading the forums on my ipod touch, via tapalk. and out of nowhere my 6 year old brother attacked me, amidst the wrestling we must have accidentally send that. :flick::flick: sorry

the tank looks nice though!


----------



## Amandas tank

orchidman said:


> its super simple  i was sitting there harmlessly reading the forums on my ipod touch, via tapalk. and out of nowhere my 6 year old brother attacked me, amidst the wrestling we must have accidentally send that. :flick::flick: sorry
> 
> the tank looks nice though!


HaHa! That's funny. I'm sitting over hear wracking my brain to unravel the L m mistery.


----------



## AUvet14

Amandas tank said:


> Looks nice there in the corner. Would love to see a full tank shot


Click on the link in my signature below to see full tank shots.  "Rusty's 30 High Tech"


----------



## Amandas tank

AUvet14 said:


> Click on the link in my signature below to see full tank shots.  "Rusty's 30 High Tech"


Duh...good grief I still have a lot of learning to do here at TPT when it comes to using the links and tools available. Beautiful Tank! Your Harlequins look subperb complimenting your use of reds and orangey-yellow plants. Very nice. I have been trying to deside between Harlequins and Diamond Tetras for my tank. Time will tell. I don't plan on making a final decision until my plants fill in a bit so I can get a real good feel for the colors and heights paired with the hardscape layout. Once that is playing out I will probably know exactly what fish to add to get the best effect. I am aiming for Dramatic yet Calming.


----------



## AUvet14

Amandas tank said:


> Duh...good grief I still have a lot of learning to do here at TPT when it comes to using the links and tools available. Beautiful Tank! Your Harlequins look subperb complimenting your use of reds and orangey-yellow plants. Very nice. I have been trying to deside between Harlequins and Diamond Tetras for my tank. Time will tell. I don't plan on making a final decision until my plants fill in a bit so I can get a real good feel for the colors and heights paired with the hardscape layout. Once that is playing out I will probably know exactly what fish to add to get the best effect. I am aiming for Dramatic yet Calming.


Don't feel too bad. It took me forever to figure out that I could actually post a link as my signature. Lol.

Harlequins are great. I love them. Rummynose tetras are supposed to make a good schooling fish for planted aquariums as well. Might think about those too. It takes a lot of learning about how each individual plant behaves in your aquarium so you can get a better idea of where you want to put each one, then you can arrange them to suit your eye.  Once you've gotten that far, you can play around with trimming, which is the stage I'm at. After that comes figuring out when to trim and how much to trim on each plant so that everything is the proper height and fullness at the same time to create the look that you want.  That's the next step I'm trying to make right now. A lot of it is learning how to grow and maintain healthy plants. After that, it's fun just to experiment .

What kind of light are you running? Are you running CO2 or anything, or do you plan to? Just curious.


----------



## orchidman

Amandas tank said:


> HaHa! That's funny. I'm sitting over hear wracking my brain to unravel the L m mistery.


hmmm i bet L M means something, i just dont know either, lol! Looks Massive? Loche-ness Monster? Loveit Man?


----------



## AUvet14

orchidman said:


> hmmm i bet L M means something, i just dont know either, lol! Looks Massive? Loche-ness Monster? Loveit Man?


Listeria monocytogenes.  Sorry, I'm a dork. Oh the things you find amusing as a vet student. Lol.


----------



## orchidman

Litttle Monocotylodons


----------



## Amandas tank

AUvet14 said:


> Don't feel too bad. It took me forever to figure out that I could actually post a link as my signature. Lol.
> 
> Harlequins are great. I love them. Rummynose tetras are supposed to make a good schooling fish for planted aquariums as well. Might think about those too.
> 
> What kind of light are you running? Are you running CO2 or anything, or do you plan to? Just curious.


I have had Rummynose, but my Mature Angel gobbled most of them up a short time after being added to the tank! It was in poor condition appearing to be underfed, so maybe it was just soooo hungry it couldn't help but eat them! I'm scared to try them again though. 

I am running too low of light at the time. OVT suggested adding another T5 6500K or greater, so I will be doing this as soon as my LFS gets the right ones in. Right now I have 2 T8 pink plant bulbs and 1 T5 6500K. I don't add Co2 and don't plan to. I like having it low-tech, non co2


----------



## Amandas tank

orchidman said:


> hmmm i bet L M means something, i just dont know either, lol! Looks Massive? Loche-ness Monster? Loveit Man?





AUvet14 said:


> Listeria monocytogenes.  Sorry, I'm a dork. Oh the things you find amusing as a vet student. Lol.





orchidman said:


> Litttle Monocotylodons


LOLOLOLOLOL!!! You all are silly  I had to do a search after you all posted these ideas...I gotcha! L m means "loud mouth"!!!! 

Check it out:
http://www.internetslang.com/LM-meaning-definition.asp

*Have fun!*


----------



## orchidman

Amandas tank said:


> HaHa! That's funny. I'm sitting over hear wracking my brain to unravel the L m mistery.





Amandas tank said:


> LOLOLOLOLOL!!! You all are silly  I had to do a search after you all posted these ideas...I gotcha! L m means "loud mouth"!!!!
> 
> Check it out:
> http://www.internetslang.com/LM-meaning-definition.asp
> 
> *Have fun!*


there ya go, guess your tank is apparently sooo Loud Mouth! what means when its directed a tank, im not so sure..


----------



## Amandas tank

orchidman said:


> there ya go, guess your tank is apparently sooo Loud Mouth! what means when its directed a tank, im not so sure..


HaHa! That's right...it's sooooo Loud Mouth! This could mean awesome  (except mine is an awesome mess right now :redface


----------



## orchidman

roud: roud:


----------



## AUvet14

Idk how you do your maintenance, but when I do a bunch of moving around and stir up a lot of fine particles or I get a new plant that sheds a bunch of leaves, I usually try to do a 50% water change the next day, trying to suck up as many of the dead/dying leaves that have detached. I also will clean the filter pads in my canister if it's been a couple weeks since they were rinsed, that way it cleans things up a bit and you don't have as many of those decaying leaves fouling up your water  But I would take OVT's advice over mine if he suggests anything different, as he seems to have quite a bit more experience than I do.


----------



## OVT

Amandas tank said:


> I am running too low of light at the time. OVT suggested adding another T5 6500K or greater, so I will be doing this as soon as my LFS gets the right ones in. Right now I have 2 T8 pink plant bulbs and 1 T5 6500K. I don't add Co2 and don't plan to. I like having it low-tech, non co2


I recommended replacing your actinic light bulb with a 6,700K bulb. !0,000K if you really must have that bluish tint


----------



## Amandas tank

OVT said:


> I recommended replacing your actinic light bulb with a 6,700K bulb. !0,000K if you really must have that bluish tint


Oh yes...I should have been more clear about that...BTW! It's done  I now have 2 T8 Aqua-Ero plant bulbs (no idea K rating...except they are pink) and now 2 T5 6500K (they didn't have anything higher than this). No more Actinic.


----------



## Amandas tank

AUvet14 said:


> Idk how you do your maintenance, but when I do a bunch of moving around and stir up a lot of fine particles or I get a new plant that sheds a bunch of leaves, I usually try to do a 50% water change the next day, trying to suck up as many of the dead/dying leaves that have detached. I also will clean the filter pads in my canister if it's been a couple weeks since they were rinsed, that way it cleans things up a bit and you don't have as many of those decaying leaves fouling up your water  But I would take OVT's advice over mine if he suggests anything different, as he seems to have quite a bit more experience than I do.


Thanks for your advise  Will be changing out water every three days (sooner if it needs it) And the filter pads...good idea. I hadn't thought about them.


----------



## Amandas tank

Today I finally got those Puntius Denisonii out of the tank! Those suckers are fast and intelligent! They learn fast and act accordingly to avoid being netted. Good grief I was frustrated after 15 minutes! They are gone 

I brought home 4 tiny Kuhli Loach. That's all they had. I want a total of 8, possibly 10. The kids were beaming from ear to ear. They love these fish!

I also picked up a huge piece of Mopani DW and rinsed it several times in the dishwasher and now it's soaking in a bucket. Will repeat the dishwasher and soaking until the leaching is minimal. This method really speeds the process up 10 fold  My husband would kill me if he knew his sweet wife put the wood in the dishwasher LOL! Tomorrow he's off and will have to see it done :flick:

I replaced a T5 Actinicbulb with a T5 HO 6500k bulb. My Angel is still blue! Yeaha!!! 

I did some shifting of the manzanita and planted the rest of the stems and other plants. Tank looks horrendous right now because I have all the Anubias floating waiting for their place on the mopani dw. 

Unfortunately at lights on this morning, I found the Tiger Lotus melted at the base of the stems where the main stem connects  The leaves were floating. I left as is by some chance it will spring new growth up from the roots. Fingers crossed everyone! Most the E.T. plants have melted overnight too. 

Here's some pics showing the tank as is tonight, and the plants, Kuhlis and Mopani 

The Manzanitas re-arranged









Terrible pic, but shows the "slope" for some stem plants at the base of the Manzanita









Some melting...









A lot of melting 









He's still blue without Actinics! Also have some algae beginning on the wall; noticed bottom above the substrate on the right side.









The whole disaster scene LOL! The airstone kicked up a couple plants I had planted..oh well  Re-plant tomorrow.









The Kuhli's 









The Mopani! This is an awesome piece IMO. Can't wait to get it in the tank!


----------



## OVT

Water changes are almost never a bad idea (well, there are some exceptions, bacterial bloom being one example). If the plants shed leaves, most of them will be floating on the surface - I just scoop them up. I do try to avoid large water changes and cleaning the filter at the same time (trying to preserve the bacterial colony) but I don't think that really matters that much, especially in a well established, planted tank. Having more then one filter on the tank takes that concern away


----------



## Amandas tank

OVT said:


> Water changes are almost never a bad idea (well, there are some exceptions, bacterial bloom being one example). If the plants shed leaves, most of them will be floating on the surface - I just scoop them up. I do try to avoid large water changes and cleaning the filter at the same time (trying to preserve the bacterial colony) but I don't think that really matters that much, especially in a well established, planted tank. Having more then one filter on the tank takes that concern away


I try to keep my water changes at 35% or less...usually less. It's understocked anyway, so no worries about fish waste building up. But now, with all the plants..water changes every 3 days is a good idea right?


----------



## LyzzaRyzz

I enjoy this thread so much! Great tank! Sorry about the melting! Hopefully they'll bounce back!


----------



## OVT

Amandas tank said:


> But now, with all the plants..water changes every 3 days is a good idea right?


Beats me. I guess it depends on the cost of water in AK 

I really would not go all crazy about this. In the end, there are so many variables and we still know so little about closed aquatic environment, that's what's 'good' and what's 'best' is above my guessing abilities. I personally would just go with your 'normal' maintenance routine.

With plants I follow 'dump and forget' OVT's theory. If you really, really want the plant to survive, dump it in the corner and forget about it for a week. If it wants to live, it will.

I'm learning this from my doctors: I am more likely to die/suffer from the cure then from the original affliction....


----------



## Amandas tank

LyzzaRyzz said:


> I enjoy this thread so much! Great tank! Sorry about the melting! Hopefully they'll bounce back!


Thank you  I am counting on them bouncing back  "They can do it!!!!":biggrin:


----------



## Amandas tank

OVT said:


> Beats me. I guess it depends on the cost of water in AK
> 
> I really would not go all crazy about this. In the end, there are so many variables and we still know so little about closed aquatic environment, that's what's 'good' and what's 'best' is above my guessing abilities. I personally would just go with your 'normal' maintenance routine.
> 
> With plants I follow 'dump and forget' OVT's theory. If you really, really want the plant to survive, dump it in the corner and forget about it for a week. If it wants to live, it will.
> 
> I'm learning this from my doctors: I am more likely to die/suffer from the cure then from the original affliction....


Okay! "Dump and Forget". Sounds easy enough! 
I will stick to the regular routine. Once a week 25% wc. 

So...I almost am thinking I might not want much more plants except for some live HM  Every stem of the HM disinegrated unfortunately. So for sure some more of those as well as more of the red-tipped leaf plant...I forgot the species again! Sorry :redface:


----------



## OVT

Oh, o...O I forgot to mention...
In addition to all of my talents, I can also predict the future. YES!

So, <closes eyes> <scratches chin> <checks the weather> ... <deep trance>

YES!

*I can see new plants in your near future!*

<has a heart attack>

:icon_evil


----------



## Amandas tank

So tonight was a long one. Added 40 more pounds of Eco-Complete, Adorned the Mopani DW with all those Anubias species I've had floating around my tank for months now. I am not sure if I like it yet...will have to wait and see if my vision comes to life once all the other plants begin to fill in. Planted some more stuff. Some of the plants pop up and have to be re-planted. I have found myself doing this much more than I'd like.

Here is what I am aiming for...the dark green on the Mopani sits just infront of thick Red and some Tiger Lotus hanging over. Then the "grass" is kept in control infront of the Mopani. There is 2 entrance/exits on the bottom left of the Mopani and they lead to a tuneel that extends the length of the dw. Very cool for the Kuhli's for the time being. 

On the right side I have red plants behind the Manzanita trunk and some along the side wall (just as is on the other side...only it's a different speices of reddish plant) with 2 brownish-red lily plants at the base of the trunk (front side). I hope for the same effect on this side with the "grass" as on the left. I also added two smaller pieces of Manzanita at the base of the Large one to give more depth. (At least that's what I tried to do) 

Both sides are sloped steeply and have rocks at the base to hold everything in place. I found a descent Amazon Sword at Petco today and placed it to the left of the Manzanita trunk with Tall "grass" behind it and random Anachris. I have a couple crypts I have yet to find a spot for. I also placed to small pieces of dw (from my old 30 gallon tank) that has Anubias attached to it placed at the foot of the slope with the Manzanita. 

It looks as though when things fill in, I may not want anymore different species of plants. I am thinking I really want the HM though to create a "bush" infront of the Anachris at the far back foot of the Mopani wood. Then I would like for the ground cover to fill in all the open space. I also have some beautiful lake rocks I collected a few years ago in Montana that I plan to toss in around the foreground.

I like what I see so far. I still have some work to do, but it's coming along faster than expected 

Here it is tonight. With all the bubbles going full bore, it is hard to see everything, but it's there, trust me!


----------



## Sethjohnson30

This thing just keeps gettin better and better. I can't wait to see how it looks when the water clears


----------



## Amandas tank

OVT said:


> Oh, o...O I forgot to mention...
> In addition to all of my talents, I can also predict the future. YES!
> 
> So, <closes eyes> <scratches chin> <checks the weather> ... <deep trance>
> 
> YES!
> 
> *I can see new plants in your near future!*
> 
> <has a heart attack>
> 
> :icon_evil


Ha Ha! You are a fortune teller too???? Wild! You aren't a kidden' in addition to all of your talents! Planted Tank specialist, Abundant knowledge of species of fish and aquatic plants and more also including great qualities such as kind and generous, thoughtful and conciderate, trustworthy...oops...I'm getting carried away!:biggrin: 

New plants? In my near future? You have me thinking now HaHa! 

now what's this heart attack? I don't like that part.


----------



## Amandas tank

Sethjohnson30 said:


> This thing just keeps gettin better and better. I can't wait to see how it looks when the water clears


Thank you! I am happy you like it. It's nice when others like something ya put so much effort into


----------



## OVT

Wow... that's quiet a difference. Me like it. Apparently, you do have some secret talents.


----------



## AUvet14

I like what you're doing with it. I'm not too experienced with a low tech setup. Lol. I'm not patient enough for the slower growing species. I tend to lean towards the stem plants right now.  But it's neat to see what others can do without the need for CO2 and heavy fert dosing.


----------



## Amandas tank

OVT said:


> Wow... that's quiet a difference. Me like it. Apparently, you do have some secret talents.


Thank you  It's hard for me to believe that it's finally coming around. I tell ya I have been working on my tank for 2 years and finally it is becoming the scape I have been trying to get since. Money is the biggest reason it has taken so dang long. Being that I don't have much of it really makes creating what I wanted for this tank a huge challenge! 

Thank so to you and your plants, it is looking much better! 



AUvet14 said:


> I like what you're doing with it. I'm not too experienced with a low tech setup. Lol. I'm not patient enough for the slower growing species. I tend to lean towards the stem plants right now.  But it's neat to see what others can do without the need for CO2 and heavy fert dosing.


I'm not too experienced either  Thanks to OVT I have some color other than green in the tank! Yippee!!! I have been collecting Anubias species for 2 years now and they have grown quite a lot since I first got them. They seem to grow faster than I would expect from reading baout them. Most of them were very small with only 2-3 leaves and now each of them have 6+ leaves often around 8-10. They have been the only plant that has stuck with me through my newbie skills. I've managed to kill Java Fern, Java Moss, Lemon Swords and Ruffle plants (can't recall the real name) along this journey. Actually, I have noted that when I had no luck curing the Denison Barbs ICH with heat/salt and with no other choice than to use Super Ich Cure, all the above plants died 2 weeks after using the product. From what I've read, this medicin blocks the plants from getting the nutrients they need...why the Anubia made it is a mystery. But, glad they did. They look nice on the mopani dw

I expect things to grow nicely with the new substrate. And I'm excited to have fast growing stems!


----------



## Amandas tank

Here are some am pictures without the air stone causing the place to be filled with bubbles! You can actually see things  Still not the best pics, but hey. It's something right!





































I am proud of this cave  (below)









I had thought all my Kuhli Loaches had died. After the major part of the rescape, three big ones showed up! I have 4 small ones I added a couple nights ago, but only see the one. Hopefully the others are still alive. This little one here is the biggest out of the four...perfect betta food...or Angel food :icon_eek:









I love my Malaysian Trumpet Snails









Little Angel checking out the new layout  S/he loves the Amazon Sword it seems.









Starting at top right looking down to the left, notice Betta, Blue Angel and Koi Angel. They are always together. It's so cool 










Below is a shot after I turned on the T5 lamps. I don't know if I like this much. I prefer the pinkish hue. But, maybe once the bubbles aren't going everywhere from the Penguin and the bubble wall, this light won't be so blinding. What do you think?


----------



## Learner

I think it looks great!! all that hard work has paid off in a big way, congrats. Your plants look no worse for the wear at all, you nursed them very well. Keep us posted!


----------



## Amandas tank

My canister filters arrived yesterday. I was too tired to mess with them. Today is the day...I hope. I have worn myself out the last few days  And...I think I've got the flu to-boot!


----------



## Amandas tank

Learner said:


> I think it looks great!! all that hard work has paid off in a big way, congrats. Your plants look no worse for the wear at all, you nursed them very well. Keep us posted!


Thank you  My road to healthy plants is not over yet! They've just been added and I have to endure the adaptation stage...it is amazing that they look as good as they do concidering what they've been though. All credit is due to OVT for shipping me healthy plants with the extra omph he gave them a few days prior


----------



## akdylpickles

Nice tank!  

What part of Alaska are you at?


----------



## Amandas tank

akdylpickles said:


> Nice tank!
> 
> What part of Alaska are you at?


Thanks! I am in Southeast. You?


----------



## akdylpickles

Anchorage!


----------



## Amandas tank

Oh okay! I am in Juneau. I'd prefer to be in Anchorage though  Juneau is so cut off from the rest of the world.


----------



## RWaters

I like your tank alot. There's something dark and mysterious about it, and that blue angel is awesome.


----------



## akdylpickles

Oh nice! Do you have many fish stores down there?


----------



## Amandas tank

RWaters said:


> I like your tank alot. There's something dark and mysterious about it, and that blue angel is awesome.


Oh wow thank you! I love your comment  That's just what I was aiming for!


----------



## Amandas tank

akdylpickles said:


> Oh nice! Do you have many fish stores down there?


Nope! We have one family owned LFS and Petco that just opened a few months ago.


----------



## discusplantedtanklover

Wow, very nice planted tank,good job.


----------



## akdylpickles

Does the lfs have good variety?


----------



## Amandas tank

discusplantedtanklover said:


> Wow, very nice planted tank,good job.


Thank you. I appreciate your post. It is an added bonus to hear others liking my tank.


----------



## Amandas tank

akdylpickles said:


> Does the lfs have good variety?


The LFS does get in some prety nice fish. The variety changes through the seasons, but they obtain quite nice fish from a supplier in Seattle. In the winter they get a ton of Tetras, live bearers, corydoras, loaches, dwarf Cichlids (except for Apistogramma), all species of pleco and fish like Oscars and Striped Headstanders. Then in the spring and summer months they get the same plus pencilfish, rasboras, African Cichlids, butterfly fish, rainbows, black ghost knife and more. They have only one salt water tank, so not much selection for salties.


----------



## Amandas tank

We tried the plant thing again...this time the USPS let us down again but less so. They missed delivery by 2 extra days instead of 4! So the plants look much _much_ better! Because I have quite a few, I decided to start with those that fared on the lesser side then the others.

Hmmmm....:confused1: for some reason I am not able to paste any pics right now. I don't know why...but will try again in an hour.


----------



## Amandas tank

Okay... I can't paste from Picas Web Albums tonight for some reason, but now the Attachments are working so here ya go!

The full tank shot was taken after all the plants were added. I tossed in the Montana Lake rocks...and um...I will be removing them. I don't like it. I thought they'd be neat when the ground covers filled in among them...but I don't see myself being able to wait for that to happen. So...they will be gone tomorrow...wait, tomorrows Thanksgiving so they will be gone in a couple days.

The last picture is of Java Fern but I am not sure what the little black dots are on the underside of the leaves and was wondering if anyone could tell me. They are not like snail eggs as far as I can tell. Maybe they are just a part of the plants makeup? I haven't had Java Fern in awhile and don't recall what the leaves were like.

There are a few stems of another beautiful plant that I forgot to snap pics of before I added them to the tank. They are beautiful! With awesome purple tips. I love them. I love them all!!!!

"Thank you you two (and you know who you are) for the plants! I am tickled pink with all these great plants in my tank! It's awesome!!!!!"

Happy Thanksgiving to every one!


----------



## Sethjohnson30

I like the rock you should give it some time it may grow on you


----------



## Amandas tank

Sethjohnson30 said:


> I like the rock you should give it some time it may grow on you


Thanks Seth. I'll try


----------



## OVT

Hey, the plants don't look too shabby. Phew 

The tank has come a long way. Part of the fun is to try different combinations until it hits you -> "Yeah, that's my baby". My free advise is to keep the Turkey out of the tank -> he'll eat all the plants.

The dark spots on the Java Fern is its normal make-up. It must be a female plant.


----------



## Amandas tank

OVT said:


> Hey, the plants don't look too shabby. Phew
> 
> The tank has come a long way. Part of the fun is to try different combinations until it hits you -> "Yeah, that's my baby". My free advise is to keep the Turkey out of the tank -> he'll eat all the plants.
> 
> The dark spots on the Java Fern is its normal make-up. It must be a female plant.


 
Okay...that is what I was thinking because of the pattern. Perfect! Now I just need to find a spot for it to call home  Where oh where....

The tank has made a complete makeover in a short amount of time. I think the Kuhli loaches love it. Hopefully that's why they have been playing like toddlers all day swimming this way and that. One of them was even swimming about when I was decorating with the Montana Lake rocks LOL! One of the larger ones that had been in hiding is stuffed full of green eggs. Ugh...I don't want youngsters! No way! She is huge though! Poor thing can't even swim right...oh do I feel her pain. LOL! Been there done that stuffed turkey gut


----------



## Amandas tank

Oh OVT, I don't know if I mentioned to you I found a descent Amazon Sword at Petco. Have a nice Crypt Wendettii in there too. That thing has been growing fast. I just took it out of the pot yesterday and planted it. See what it does now!

I moved things around a bit to open up the center a bit more for the Diamond Tetras. The Mopani cave is now home to 7 happy Kuhli Loaches.  Things in my tank are looking good. I am happy


----------



## Amandas tank

Here is what things look like today. Thought I'd get busy with the pictures 










I love the pink hue the plant lights cast into the tank (side view)









The Kuhli Loaches are out all the time since I added all the plants and the black substrate. It's great! They seem to prefer the reddish plants and the reddish rocks. Interesting 









Another view of the side. Had to share since the 3 best buddies were together again...the Mature Angel moved away before the pic took though.










Okay...it's a side view day today I guess. I like this pic because it really shows the effect fro the pink plant lights on the back side









Another front view after the T5 lights are turned on









And here are some close ups of the plants, caves and rocks


----------



## Sethjohnson30

Wow it's a jungle in there! I bet your fish love it. I really like that blue angel you should try to breed it I've never seen another one like it.


----------



## Amandas tank

It really is! I love it! The fish do seem to be extremely pleased with their new and improved home. The Kuhli Loaches are never in hiding and the new babies that were so soooo teeny tiny now are 3 times the size they were only a week ago or so! One of the Kuhlis is packed full of green eggs. That worries me a bit :icon_eek: I don't want my tank to be full of hard to catch Kuhlis! Not in all those plants! 

I had thought about that with the Blue Angel for the same reason as you said. But, I have permission for only one tank and I have 25 Diamond Tetras coming now, so no chance for Angel babies.


----------



## Sethjohnson30

Only 1 tank!! I would be bored out of my mind....although 1 tank is 10x easier to keep track of. Just hide a 40b in the basement lol.


----------



## AUvet14

Hygrophila difformis










Limnophila aquatica (top) , Myriophyllum mattogrossense (bottom)










(Top to bottom), Limnophila aquatica, myriophyllum mattogrossense, hygrophilla difformis 'variegated', cardamine lyrata

 Hope that helps.

I really like how it's looking!


----------



## GreenBliss

Beautiful tank and I love those rocks.


----------



## Amandas tank

Sethjohnson30 said:


> Only 1 tank!! I would be bored out of my mind....although 1 tank is 10x easier to keep track of. Just hide a 40b in the basement lol.


Ha Ha! I know right? I put up a good fight to put a gorgeous 180 gallon (craigslist specieal!) in the Garage or in the Foyer, but I didn't want a mad husband so I gave up once he started seeming really irritated.:redface:

It has been interesting trying to choose fish because there are so many that I'd love to have. Far as scapes go, since I do only have one tank, I had to combine a lot of elements that would have been otherwise put into seperate scapes. It's been a challenge putting my favorite elements into one design but has been fun. 

If I could have as many tanks as I wanted I would have at least 4 more. A couple 180 gallon tanks, a 220 gallon and a bedside Fluval Edge would be great! Would be ":icon_roll" far as water changes though. Right now I enjoy them. Don't know that I would feel the same way after changing all those big tanks! I do it the ole bucket lugging way.


----------



## Amandas tank

AUvet14 said:


> Hygrophila difformis
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Limnophila aquatica (top) , Myriophyllum mattogrossense (bottom)
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> (Top to bottom), Limnophila aquatica, myriophyllum mattogrossense, hygrophilla difformis 'variegated', cardamine lyrata
> 
> Hope that helps.
> 
> I really like how it's looking!


Thank you for these plants! They are doing great  My favorite is the Limnophila aquatica. What a beautiful plant the way it flutters in the current. I pushed the stems into the substrate. I hope that was the right way to plant this species. :icon_eek:

I'm glad you like how it's coming along. I am excited to see what it looks like once all these plants root themselves and fill in. :icon_bigg I think it's going to be beautiful.


----------



## Sethjohnson30

I definetly do not miss the old bucket lugging thing. I forgot whats its called... A cobra or python, but that thing is great I hook it up to my sink and it has a 50ft hose that reaches all my tanks. It suck the water out and then you flip it around and it put the water back in.... Best 35 bucks I ever spent!


----------



## Amandas tank

GreenBliss said:


> Beautiful tank and I love those rocks.


Thank you! I collected the rocks in Montana a couple years ago or so. They are from a lake I grew up on. It's so beautiful with the clear water and all the colorful rocks. Now I have a little piece of home away from home


----------



## Amandas tank

Sethjohnson30 said:


> I definetly do not miss the old bucket lugging thing. I forgot whats its called... A cobra or python, but that thing is great I hook it up to my sink and it has a 50ft hose that reaches all my tanks. It suck the water out and then you flip it around and it put the water back in.... Best 35 bucks I ever spent!


What do you do about the water conditioner since the water comes straight from the sink? And what about temperature? Those are the two aspects that have kept me from trying to find another way of doing it. With the buckets I have control over the temperature and put the water conditioner in the bucket before adding the water to the tank.


----------



## Sethjohnson30

I use a thermometer at the tap to set the temp and I add the water conditioner in 2 doses while it's filling up. I've been doing it this way for two years without a problem. I got rid of my brackish tank because I had to mix 6 buckets of water every week. My fw tanks took 10 minutes to change while my brackish tank took an hour or more every time. Although I was still able to drain the tank with the siphon.


----------



## OVT

And I've been looking for Limnophila aquatica high and low, and even posted a WTB for it couple of months ago. Sooo... look where it appears...

So, now the question is: how do I get my little sticky hands on some stems?!? Do I now have to beg Amanda for her trimmings or try to strong-arm Sethjohnson30 into a trade?!?! You both are now on my radar 

Tank is getting along. I would remove the air stone in a day or so, don't see much need for it now. Use it again for several days when you introduce your Diamonds.

I'm still hauling buckets during my WCs: builds characters, big biceps, but kills my back. If I ever get to build another house, I'll have to remember to plumb it right: who needs a sink in the kitchen? I need a water-line and a drain in EVERY room


----------



## OVT

o..O and those pictures of pink hue remind me what the water looks like when sharks go in for the kill... :icon_eek:


----------



## Sethjohnson30

OVT said:


> And I've been looking for Limnophila aquatica high and low, and even posted a WTB for it couple of months ago. Sooo... look where it appears...
> 
> So, now the question is: how do I get my little sticky hands on some stems?!? Do I now have to beg Amanda for her trimmings or try to strong-arm Sethjohnson30 into a trade?!?! You both are now on my radar
> 
> Tank is getting along. I would remove the air stone in a day or so, don't see much need for it now. Use it again for several days when you introduce your Diamonds.
> 
> I'm still hauling buckets during my WCs: builds characters, big biceps, but kills my back. If I ever get to build another house, I'll have to remember to plumb it right: who needs a sink in the kitchen? I need a water-line and a drain in EVERY room


Wait....who said I had it??? I have lymphnophilla aromatica? Not sure of that's the same thing. But once it grows in I am down for a trade.








This is what I have


----------



## OVT

*Limnophila aquatica*?!? I thought Amanda got it from you?


----------



## Sethjohnson30

Nope not me


----------



## GMYukonon24s

Nice setup!


----------



## AUvet14

OVT said:


> *Limnophila aquatica*?!? I thought Amanda got it from you?


She got it from me  I should have more to trim in a couple weeks. I can let you know when it's ready


----------



## Amandas tank

Sethjohnson30 said:


> I use a thermometer at the tap to set the temp and I add the water conditioner in 2 doses while it's filling up. I've been doing it this way for two years without a problem. I got rid of my brackish tank because I had to mix 6 buckets of water every week. My fw tanks took 10 minutes to change while my brackish tank took an hour or more every time. Although I was still able to drain the tank with the siphon.


 
I will have to see what I can find here. No more shopping online with the credit card.:redface: My husband hates seeing me lugging buckets, so I think he would be all for me buying something to elleviate the buckets. He's afraid I'm going to hurt myself. I'm sure it is scary to see me do it because I am only 5'4 and the top of the tank on the stand is right below my chin so I have to lift the 5 gallon bucket and balance the neck on the edge of the tank to take some of the weight off (I fill it 1/2 an inch below the top of the bucket). Then I stand there pouring ever so carefully and slowly so I don't disturb the plants or substrate.


----------



## Amandas tank

OVT said:


> And I've been looking for Limnophila aquatica high and low, and even posted a WTB for it couple of months ago. Sooo... look where it appears...
> 
> So, now the question is: how do I get my little sticky hands on some stems?!? Do I now have to beg Amanda for her trimmings or try to strong-arm Sethjohnson30 into a trade?!?! You both are now on my radar
> 
> Tank is getting along. I would remove the air stone in a day or so, don't see much need for it now. Use it again for several days when you introduce your Diamonds.
> 
> I'm still hauling buckets during my WCs: builds characters, big biceps, but kills my back. If I ever get to build another house, I'll have to remember to plumb it right: who needs a sink in the kitchen? I need a water-line and a drain in EVERY room





OVT said:


> o..O and those pictures of pink hue remind me what the water looks like when sharks go in for the kill... :icon_eek:


Really??? I will have to give you some when it gets going! I would be honored! I got it from AuVet14 though not Seth. But of course you should try Auvet14 first. He will have some long before me. 

It'll be weird not dropping the airstone into the tank everynight. I am lucky to have my tank just around the corner from the bathroom where I dump the water, and a few steps away from the garage where I fill the buckets. It used to hurt my back, but now I've mastered keeping my core tight when I lift so theres no back strain. Took a bit to get it down, but I've got it!

Arrrrr sharks! So manly then the pink hue is HaHa!


----------



## Amandas tank

GMYukonon24s said:


> Nice setup!


Thank you :smile:


----------



## Amandas tank

AUvet14 said:


> She got it from me  I should have more to trim in a couple weeks. I can let you know when it's ready


Yeppers! I got it from this guy!  Very nice, healthy, stems! Thank you Auvet!


----------



## Amandas tank

You Turkey OVT! Now I see the pink in a new light...ew. It does look like sharks just finished feeding. Nasty. :icon_roll From the front side you can't see any pink though.


----------



## OVT

:angel:


----------



## Amandas tank

Where's the angel with the horns at LOL!:hihi:


----------



## Gold Finger

Lm. (Lovely microcosm)

I really appreciate this tank. If I weren't attached to messy fish and limited by the bare bottom and need for waste control, I would like to think my tank would look a lot more like yours. Someone said yours has a mysterious quality and it does. It interests me in a way that styles like the old dutch or modern 'scaped tanks just dont. I think you and I have a similar aesthetic, though I have yet to manifest it very well at all. I don't want to create a pretty picture I want to capture a detailed piece of life... something not contrived but majical. A small world... and you have done so nicely.


----------



## Amandas tank

Gold Finger said:


> Lm. (Lovely microcosm)
> 
> I really appreciate this tank. If I weren't attached to messy fish and limited by the bare bottom and need for waste control, I would like to think my tank would look a lot more like yours. Someone said yours has a mysterious quality and it does. It interests me in a way that styles like the old dutch or modern 'scaped tanks just dont. I think you and I have a similar aesthetic, though I have yet to manifest it very well at all. I don't want to create a pretty picture I want to capture a detailed piece of life... something not contrived but majical. A small world... and you have done so nicely.


Wow thank you. I really like your detailed appreciation for my tank.  Just as you said. I capture a detailed piece of life. Couldn't be described any better than that. I wanted something that could make my fish happy and provide "adventure" and a "playground" while looking appealing to me.

Ya know just a minute ago I went to feed my fish, and I only could see the Kuhli Loaches! The other fish were completely invisible. That says to me I did it just right. I wanted my fish to be seen when they want to and retire from sight when it suits them. I have a full grown Angel in the tank and could not find it! Suddenly the Betta and 2 Angels appeared which seemed like "out-of-nowhere". Really cool. The flip side is that the illusive Kuhli Loach clan has become an extraverted group of show offs since adding the Lake Rocks. They are always out now and swim diagonally across the front of the tank throughout the day! Now that's really cool!

So, again, I thank you for your comment.  This tank is my baby. I am very pleased with it and its great to hear others enjoy it for the very reason I do.


----------



## callisto9

OK, I finally just read through all your thread! Amazing tank! I like how methodical you are with everything (ie: the pics of the plants). And your angels are beautiful. One fish I wish I could keep (but tank is too small). Love your setup and look forward to seeing what you do with it next!


----------



## Amandas tank

callisto9 said:


> OK, I finally just read through all your thread! Amazing tank! I like how methodical you are with everything (ie: the pics of the plants). And your angels are beautiful. One fish I wish I could keep (but tank is too small). Love your setup and look forward to seeing what you do with it next!


Thank you! I'm glad you like it  I really enjoy my Angelfish. They are so much like me Betta being that they are very sociable with humans. When ever anyone goes up to the tank the Angels (and the Betta) will swim up to the glass facing it head on. I feed them by hand. Something I had to do because I used to have Puntius Denisonii in the tank; they ate lightning fast, too fast for the Angels. They are great fish! If you ever get a large enough tank you should get some!


----------



## callisto9

My gourami is kinda like that - always comes up to the front of the tank when I approach. 

Wow, I must've glossed over the part where you said your tank was four feet long! Wish I had room for something like that.


----------



## Amandas tank

callisto9 said:


> My gourami is kinda like that - always comes up to the front of the tank when I approach.
> 
> Wow, I must've glossed over the part where you said your tank was four feet long! Wish I had room for something like that.


That's cool! I just asked you about that in a thread of yours. I thought Gouramis were like Bettas in that respect. Even the ones at the pet store seem interested in people for more than just food.

My husband doesn't hink we have room for it :icon_roll. He liked the 30 gallon much better. I found an awesome 6' tank on craigslist complete with everything you need for a tank including Co2 setup for only $300 and they would deliver it! He would not budge on that one. I sure tried though! Still wish I had it. Man what I could have done with a tank that size. :icon_eek:


----------



## callisto9

I could put a tank downstairs, but with no water supply down there... LOL 

I've noticed that when people are getting out of the hobby, aquarium stuff goes CHEAP!


----------



## Amandas tank

Think about the toned legs you'd get out of the deal! A fish tank in the basement without a water supply = hauling buckets of water upstairs to dumb the old tank water and hauling new water back downstairs. I used to haul buckets up/down stairs actually when we had a fish tank in my son's room _upstairs_.

It does seem that when people want out, they want out quick! So, they sell stuff cheap. After one month went by without getting the tank from the guy, he called me and asked if he could just drop it off for free. He couldn't sell the thing!


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## callisto9

No way! I hate doing water changes in my 20G tank! There's no way I'm going to put a tank in the basement! :flick:

Yes, there are some real deals to be had on Craigslist. Wish I'd looked harder before I bought all my stuff new.


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## Amandas tank

callisto9 said:


> No way! I hate doing water changes in my 20G tank! There's no way I'm going to put a tank in the basement! :flick:
> 
> Yes, there are some real deals to be had on Craigslist. Wish I'd looked harder before I bought all my stuff new.


 
LOL! Looking at your Cat Avatar and reading this goes together perfectly! :hihi:


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## callisto9

I love that cat. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_S5cXbXe-4


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## chad320

Fantastic! I love the jungle look and the Alaskan granite! I cant wait to see this all fill in and the anubias attach jungle roots to the wood. Awesome work Amanda!


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## Amandas tank

callisto9 said:


> I love that cat. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_S5cXbXe-4


That is the oddest thing I've ever seen a cat do! Is it your cat?


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## Amandas tank

chad320 said:


> Fantastic! I love the jungle look and the Alaskan granite! I cant wait to see this all fill in and the anubias attach jungle roots to the wood. Awesome work Amanda!


 
Thank you Chad  I am looking forward to the plants establishing themselves too. It'll be nice to cut the fishing line once the Anubias attaches itself. One day I want to add a Cockatoo Appistrogramma pair and hope they will choose the Mopani cave I created for them. However, they may just choose something else to take up residence in.


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## Fishies_in_Philly

wow, long read for such a short amount of time. LOL tank looks great Amanda  i'm not normally a fan of jungle style tanks, but i do like this one. 

i may have a python lying around. i don't use them, created my own drain/fill setup. if i have it, it's your's, just cover the shipping. it should fit in a medium box. it won't have the tubing though, but you can get that cheap at home depot or lowes.

last thing, i will be sending a shipment of plants up to Learner after your sprinig breaks, if you remind me at that time and you need anything, let me know and i'll send some up to you as well. and just an fyi, i don't just build frog tanks


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## Amandas tank

Fishies_in_Philly said:


> wow, long read for such a short amount of time. LOL tank looks great Amanda  i'm not normally a fan of jungle style tanks, but i do like this one.
> 
> i may have a python lying around. i don't use them, created my own drain/fill setup. if i have it, it's your's, just cover the shipping. it should fit in a medium box. it won't have the tubing though, but you can get that cheap at home depot or lowes.
> 
> last thing, i will be sending a shipment of plants up to Learner after your sprinig breaks, if you remind me at that time and you need anything, let me know and i'll send some up to you as well. and just an fyi, i don't just build frog tanks


It did turn into a jungle LOL! Wasn't the intension, but is how it unfolded and I love it. What makes me love it more than anything else is the fish. They have shown 100% approval of the new swet up! It's great. I love the fact that all the fish in the tank can dissapear from sight at any moment. Now that's cool IMO. 

That is a very kind offer! I'll have to concider that! We've got a Home Depot here so I will have to take a look at what tubing varieties they offer. I don't mind the water changes with the buckets though. It does keep me in shape  How big is a python; I'm sure it doesn't weigh much right?

I will keep you in mind when spring arrives  Thank you for your offer. I think I probably am pretty much set with plants, but time will tell  Who knows what will happen over this long winter. Spring is so far off.

So do tell...if you don't just do frog tanks, what else do you have? Do you have a Planted "fish tank" thread hiding somewhere? BTW...I do love your frog tanks  Frogs are so dang cute! I wanted to have some aquatic frogs, but thankfully did my research and found they would not fair well in my tank because it is far too deep.

Anyway! I'm proud you like my jungle especially that you don't typically like jungles. :biggrin:


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## Fishies_in_Philly

you have the key right there, as long as the fish are happy, and you like the look of the tank, then it's perfect 

i do have a planted tank "or two" around the house. i had about 7 going in my fishroom for a while (as more were being set up), but a slight misjudgment with some pesticide on my wife's part wiped out my shrimp population and the tanks they were in. here's one of my current tanks, a 75 planted. please forgive the pic, it got a massive hack job done to it yesterday:









what you don't see is the stands of ludwigia sp. 'red', pantanal and pogostemon stellatus growing up in the background, here :









i will look for that python in the next few days. it is not heavy at all, i think it costs about $11 to ship a med flat rate box. tubing isn't all that much. but look into it, and let me know. 

and come springtime, you're gonna want new plants, we all do when the weather breaks....LOL

show hubby all the vivariums and paludariums out on the web and tell him he can build something like that with a 6 ft tank, that should get his interest......LOL


----------



## Amandas tank

Ahhhh so you do have more than frog tanks! You have a pretty nice habitat there! What fish are enjoying this great scape? I think I see White Cloud Mountain Minnows, but not sure if they could be the other species that is similar...gosh why can't I recall the name? Seems to happen to me often when I'm posting I forget the correct names of both fish and plants. :icon_roll

Too bad about the pesticide mistake. Ouch. My husband was spraying Lysol right above the tank the other day in grate quantity and I freaked out :redface: He thinks I'm crazy and the fish would be just fine even if the Lysol was sprayed directly into the tank. I don't think so. My Betta gulps air at the surface and the 2 Angels copy her (thinking she's getting food I guess)

Good idea with the vivariums and paludariums , but he's just not into pets. Really. His favorite line is "Seems too much like work to me". He doesn't like the dog or cats either. He just tolerates them because he loves me and I love them. _sigh._ 

Things would be easier if he had the same passion for maintaining an aquarium as I do. But, then we would be _really_ broke I spose cuz he loves to shop and I love to collect for my tank LOL!


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## Fishies_in_Philly

good eye. yup, those are white clouds i had saved from an older build. and there's a gourami of some sort in there. he was my son's and just got too big for his planted tank. (told you i had one or two around...lol) and a few bn plecos.
and you are right, the chemicals in lysol would surely have killed everything in the tank, if it had been sprayed directly into the tank. but then again, it would kill you if you inhaled them directly too, that's some deadly stuff in there....LOL

my bed bully is the same. she wanted a planted tank, bugged me for one for a while. she chose the fish, against my judgement. a school of angels (7), a school of neons (6) a small group of von rio tetras (6) and a guppy or two. well, after the angels grew, they were beating up everyone else in the tank and i was finally told to find them a new home. after singing "i told you so" around the house for about an hour, i agreed. now the tank has been relegated to me. i do all the scaping and all the maintenance. it's her tank, i just do all the work, and she gets all the credit.....LOL


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## OVT

IMHO, there is *never* enough plants.
If you do not agree, then I will take all your 'extras' with a smile - would hate to compete with you on SnS...

PS: you seem to change your avatars more ofthen then I change my socks. The question is: should I change my Avatar or my socks first?

PSS: let me try to call my wife a "bed bully"... ouchy ... let the fun begin 

:confused1:


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## Fishies_in_Philly

OVT said:


> IMHO, there is *never* enough plants.


++++!1 on that one!!!



OVT said:


> The question is: should I change my Avatar or my socks first?
> 
> :confused1:


the avatar, always go for the avatar first!!LOL


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## Amandas tank

HaHA! Sounds kinda similar to my story being that the fish came to the house because someone else wanted them. See, I haven't divulged the full story behind my love for water keeping (I saw that and had to use it...pretty cool) 

See, when I was a kid my Mom had a tank. She had a Bala Shark and Neon Tetras. (strange combo I know) She had the Shark for 7 years before the house-sitter killed it by feeding it some wafers that were a product that was intended to be dissolved before adding to the tank. I don't know what she said it was for anymore.

Anyway...I never wanted fish *ever*! Watching my Mom suck on the end of a tube and getting fish crap water in her mouth before it would get the flow going during water changes grossed me out enough to never even look into fish keeping and the possibility of easier ways of doing things.

My 2nd child wanted fish for his birthday. I refused, but my Husband went with it anyway and I swore I would not have any part in it. I made myself quite clear. But, I couldn't keep myself from looking at the tank and I started noticing things were not looking right (it was just an assumption because I knew nothing about fish) I began researching on line, and one thing led to another and then I started doing water changes (wow! The tank actually needed more than just a top off every now and then? My husband said that's all that was needed...the tank at his work has had fish for 15+ years and they never do water changes, only top offs) I felt so bad for the poor fish once I started learning more. There was quite the mess of species in the tank. Very uncompatible species!

Anyway...my son lost interest in having his own tank, and so it became "mine". Then the inhabitants changed and so on. My husband lost what bit of interest he did have (my fault learning about compatiblity) Here I am. Addicted to my Aquarium and reading about everyone else's!


----------



## Fishies_in_Philly

well, we're glad to have you and your lovely tank  but wait until you start getting into pressurized co2, THAT'S when you're gonna hate the hobby most, until you get the hang of it, then it's the best thing in the world again.....LOL


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## Amandas tank

OVT said:


> IMHO, there is *never* enough plants.
> If you do not agree, then I will take all your 'extras' with a smile - would hate to compete with you on SnS...
> 
> PS: you seem to change your avatars more ofthen then I change my socks. The question is: should I change my Avatar or my socks first?
> 
> PSS: let me try to call my wife a "bed bully"... ouchy ... let the fun begin
> 
> :confused1:


Bed bully! HaHA! I am clutching to the edge every night hoping I won't be kicked off! Too funny :hihi: It must be the "non-fish keepers" that are the bed bullies then. 

What does SnS stand for? Thought I'd ask before I take a trip to the abbreviation guide.
My husband wasn't too happy about _my_ pic being up. When he saw it the other day I was shocked by his reaction. :icon_eek: So, the dog it is!

And oh crap...now I'm busted! LOL! I am still on TPT and not making dinner and taking plant pictures OVT!


----------



## Fishies_in_Philly

OVT said:


> PSS: let me try to call my wife a "bed bully"... ouchy ... let the fun begin
> 
> :confused1:


i have lots of pet names for her. my fav being Satan. she even gets a kick out of it because i have her set on my phone's speed dial as "666 send".

after 21 years of marriage, she's just given up on me....LOL


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## Amandas tank

Okay...so I just spent quite a bit posting pics...almost finished, and my daughter comes over and POOF. Pictures wiped out. :icon_roll

Sorry OVT. I will have to get them up later. I need to get on the PWC 

I will be back!!!!!!!!!!! wah ha ha ha!


----------



## driftwoodhunter

wow Amanda, we have so much in common, and we are at opposite ends of the country! lol 
I had Dobes growing up (none now though), I got into tanks because my father had tons when I was a kid, and I'm 5' 4" - haha. I get the whole "balancing the bucket" thing.

I absolutely love what you said about the fish being able to hide when they want to - nothing bugs me more than tanks where the fish are forced to be front & center, with no recourse for when they are stressed. I'm learning more & more with each tank (thanks to all the great tanks I get to see here) about how to set up the hardscape and plants so the fish have quiet areas away from sight, yet not so hard to reach that I can't clean there or (Heaven forbid) net out dead fish. Hey, they get old too!
I also think that since your hubby brought in your first tank, he should relent on the 6' tank. With your skills you would create a dynamite tank.

Have those Diamond Tetras arrived yet???


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## Amandas tank

Fishies_in_Philly said:


> i have lots of pet names for her. my fav being Satan. she even gets a kick out of it because i have her set on my phone's speed dial as "666 send".
> 
> after 21 years of marriage, she's just given up on me....LOL


21 years of marriage. That's beautiful Bill


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## Amandas tank

Okay...not done with the pwc, but wanted to get at least one or two up for you OVT!

not a plant...but a big ole fatty Kuhli. Notice the stems though!









FTS with 2 T8's and 2 T5's on









FTS with only the T8's on









my favorite stems are on the right! Love them and I think they are looking great! The purple tips are fading under my low-lights and lack of Co2, but I still like them!









My 2nd Favorite plant in the tank!!!









a shot showing the height of these babies. Love them! And so do the Kuhlis! Notice the one leaf left on the big Tiger Lotus you sent me OVT  I hope it pulls through!









I love these stems too that I got from Auvet14, Awesomely beautiful plants! This is the first stem to pop up, but it's 500th stem plant that I've had to re-plant. The Kuhli Loaches and MT snails don't help much. Imagine if I had a pleco!!!! :icon_eek:









Notice the rosette trying to become a floater 









These are looking good for the most part I think. Still some melting but it has improved a lot since last week! 









This big ole mess needs to be replanted after the mid water change. Darn wanna-be floaters!









My Angel fish is saying "Look, here's some more eye-sores! Put em in the ground!" LOL!









I had to share my two Angels. My Blue-dude isn't looking so blue tonight. Hope s/he's alright :confused1:









Appears that one leaf is beginning to melt on the third Tiger Lotus you sent OVT. But overall, I think this one is going to make it!









I don't know what I'm going to do with this mess :icon_roll


















Going to move this somewhere the Kuhli loaches can enjoy it 


















Gotta figure out a better spot for this Sword too :icon_roll









Behold! More rogue stems!









These Kuhlis are everywhere! I love it 









My favorite stems again! A few need to be poked back in. The Kuhlis play and climb these plants a lot making them bounce up.









If there ever was a fish I'd wanna give a kiss to it'd be this one LOL! I love those pouty lips!!!









one more :flick: My fav fish with my fave plant!









It was murder planting behind the dang Manzanita! Hence why there is only one stem back there. The other 8 floated up and I put them elsewhere. Hoping this single stem will stay put and fill in the entire corner. 


















Gwen the Betta is sooooo vogue! 









dundundundun...silhouette Angels 











Okay! I got carried away! I gotta get back to that tank!!!


----------



## OVT

My professional opinion: you need more plants.
:angel:
My other professional opinion: the plants look much better in your tank then they would outside.

My other professional opinion: looking good.


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## AUvet14

What are you using to plant your stems? Long tweezers help a lot. Are the loaches kicking up the plants or is it just difficult for you to get them down into the substrate?


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## AUvet14

Fishies_in_Philly said:


> well, we're glad to have you and your lovely tank  but wait until you start getting into pressurized co2, THAT'S when you're gonna hate the hobby most, until you get the hang of it, then it's the best thing in the world again.....LOL


Haha! So true! I went from no CO2 to DIY yeast and sugar, then basic paintball pressurized setup, now have a 5lb with atomized diffuser and I swear, sometimes I hate it (usually when I have problems) but when it gets fine tuned and CO2 levels consistent, it's like the greatest thing ever and I wonder what I ever did without it  

Sent from my HTC One S


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## Amandas tank

OVT said:


> My professional opinion: you need more plants.
> :angel:
> My other professional opinion: the plants look much better in your tank then they would outside.
> 
> My other professional opinion: looking good.


I do? Noooooo don't tell me that LOL! I know I do...just won't admit it. :icon_eek:



AUvet14 said:


> What are you using to plant your stems? Long tweezers help a lot. Are the loaches kicking up the plants or is it just difficult for you to get them down into the substrate?


I tried the tweezers...failed big time! So, I use a finger to push it in and them another finger to bury it as I carefully remove the first finger.  It works. Those silly hyper Kuhli Loach zoom through the plants making them pop back up. Especially at bed time! Little brats!



AUvet14 said:


> Haha! So true! I went from no CO2 to DIY yeast and sugar, then basic paintball pressurized setup, now have a 5lb with atomized diffuser and I swear, sometimes I hate it (usually when I have problems) but when it gets fine tuned and CO2 levels consistent, it's like the greatest thing ever and I wonder what I ever did without it
> 
> Sent from my HTC One S


No Co2 for me. It's hard enough foe me to get the lighting right already! Adding Co2 the equation = higher light = dosing more stuff = me having a melt down :redface: I love my low-techer


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## Amandas tank

driftwoodhunter said:


> wow Amanda, we have so much in common, and we are at opposite ends of the country! lol
> I had Dobes growing up (none now though), I got into tanks because my father had tons when I was a kid, and I'm 5' 4" - haha. I get the whole "balancing the bucket" thing.
> 
> I absolutely love what you said about the fish being able to hide when they want to - nothing bugs me more than tanks where the fish are forced to be front & center, with no recourse for when they are stressed. I'm learning more & more with each tank (thanks to all the great tanks I get to see here) about how to set up the hardscape and plants so the fish have quiet areas away from sight, yet not so hard to reach that I can't clean there or (Heaven forbid) net out dead fish. Hey, they get old too!
> I also think that since your hubby brought in your first tank, he should relent on the 6' tank. With your skills you would create a dynamite tank.
> 
> Have those Diamond Tetras arrived yet???


That is crazy wild that you and I are so similar. I notice our personalities are the same too. Long lost twin?  My Dad raised pitties and rotties when I was a kid. I had a pitbul for 7 years. He was great. One goofy dog! My Dober-Boy is about to turn 5. Thank God :icon_roll I'm hoping he will settle down some. Good grief he's like can of redbull and the energizer bunny rolled into one! I remember when I used to be that way! Ha! His name is Patroney-Baloney-Phoney-Dobie LOL! Aren't I awful? All my pets have goofy year long names...kids too! JK

I agree. I keep my tank for my enjoyment of course, but my fish are in that thing 24/7 for there entire life! So I must take their preference first and foremost! The 8 year old Angel trully deserves this scape. Poor thing spent 8 long years in terrible conditions with aggressive co-fish. His bent body is proof of those years behind him. I hope for him (or her?) to live out a few more years happily in this tank. Finally enjoying the "road less traveled" swimming about peacefully. I hope the Diamonds don't take this zen from him/her. I wasn't going to get them but my family really wanted a schooling fish. 

I will have a 6 footer when we move down south. We already talked about it. I hope to have an art studio and I can have a few fish tanks in there.  Woman Cave!! :flick:

oh almost forgot...no Diamonds yet. They are going to call me when they get here thankfully so I don't have to keep going in to check.


----------



## OVT

Diamonds are forever. Um, what was it I was going to say? Oh yes,
you need more plants.


----------



## driftwoodhunter

OVT said:


> Diamonds are forever. Um, what was it I was going to say? Oh yes,
> you need more plants.


:hihi::hihi::hihi:

oh jeez - you folks have kept me way up past my bedtime! I just saw how late it is!


----------



## Amandas tank

Okay. Water change done. Stems replanted. Things moved around a bit.

FTS









Little-Blue got color!



















Stems re-planted...









Stems re-planted (and I moved the rest of the L. Aquatica (please I hope I got that right:redface over here and moved the E. Tenellus elsewhere. (whoo hoo! I think I'm finally learning my plants  )









Thought I'd try the Brazillian Pennywort along the substrate on this side instead of the E. Tenellus.









The little Tiger Lotus that could!









A nice Java Fern tied to a rock with some Java moss. This is especially for my lovely Kuhli Loaches. 









The E. Tenellus is now on the right side of the tank. 









I like the MT snails...I think. They do love to breed!









OVT the Water Sprite looks pretty good hu? I decided to attach it to the Manzanita so it can float without getting thrown around by the HOB's. This isalso for the Kuhli Loaches. Gwen the Betta has been having fun miandering through it though!


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## Amandas tank

OVT said:


> Diamonds are forever. Um, what was it I was going to say? Oh yes,
> you need more plants.


You are an enabler!!! Just like Driftwoodhunter! Where do you people come from? LOL! I love you guys! Darn enablers anyway :icon_roll



driftwoodhunter said:


> :hihi::hihi::hihi:
> 
> oh jeez - you folks have kept me way up past my bedtime! I just saw how late it is!


Ahhh, can't hang with the big girls and boys no more? Go to bed then I say! Go to bed! Ha Ha!

You should be getting your beauty sleep darlin'! We'll see you tomorrow bright and early


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## driftwoodhunter

haha - it's 3:22am here! NOW it's off to bed...

the tank is looking great! I know your fish are happy ; )


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## Amandas tank

Here's a couple more just cuz I like them


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## Amandas tank

Can anyone tell me what these little critters are? They are new to me. My Angelfish was eating them. I hope they are fine what ever they are. (I posted a few pics hoping someone can make them out. I couldn't zoom in any closer)




























And some on the glass only because I was doing a water change and they came off the leaf.


----------



## Amandas tank

driftwoodhunter said:


> haha - it's 3:22am here! NOW it's off to bed...
> 
> the tank is looking great! I know your fish are happy ; )


Okay yeah! It's almost bright and early as we speak! Get to bed! It's only 11:30pm here. Goodnight! And thank you for staying up with me  It's good to have happy fish! They gone to bed 2 hours ago!!!


----------



## Fishies_in_Philly

Looks great amanda  btw, get thee to petco, go to the reptile section and get yourself some feeding tongs. They cost about $6 or so and they are great for planting. You can get those stems down deep. I have had 10 kuhli's in my 125 before i rebuilt it and they couldn't move the plants once they were deep. Oh, and i always hated eco complete for planting. Nothing stays down, always a fight.


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## AUvet14

Those little critters look like little snails. As far as I know, it shouldn't hurt the angels if they are eating them. Not sure about kuhli loaches, but yoyo and clown loaches eat them too, so perhaps they'll have a tasty treat . Bettas will eat them too I think.

PS. Y'all (yes, I'm from Alabama where we use words like "y'all") stay up way too late. Lol. Apparently no one else on here has 8am classes they have to show up to :tongue:. Lol


----------



## Amandas tank

Fishies_in_Philly said:


> Looks great amanda  btw, get thee to petco, go to the reptile section and get yourself some feeding tongs. They cost about $6 or so and they are great for planting. You can get those stems down deep. I have had 10 kuhli's in my 125 before i rebuilt it and they couldn't move the plants once they were deep. Oh, and i always hated eco complete for planting. Nothing stays down, always a fight.


Thank you Bill. Every time I move something it gets a little better IMO. Thanks for the tip! I will definetely get some. Being here though I bet they'll be $10-12. Everything is so much higher here :icon_roll Either way it sounds like it is a good tool to have around!

The eco-complete is definetely light. Makes it easy to plant them and even easier for the stems to "float" away. Once the roots get going will I still have issues do you think since I am using EC?



AUvet14 said:


> Those little critters look like little snails. As far as I know, it shouldn't hurt the angels if they are eating them. Not sure about kuhli loaches, but yoyo and clown loaches eat them too, so perhaps they'll have a tasty treat . Bettas will eat them too I think.
> 
> PS. Y'all (yes, I'm from Alabama where we use words like "y'all") stay up way too late. Lol. Apparently no one else on here has 8am classes they have to show up to :tongue:. Lol


I thought they were snails at first but getting a closer look they are definetely not. They look like little mites honestly. Gross. Kuhlis don't seem to eat snails. I wanted a couple yoy loaches to keep snail numbers down, and they look really cool too! But, I read they are known fin nippers. Too bad. They would have added to the tank with their beautiful patterns. My Miss Betta refuses snails, even if I crush them. She is all about brine shrimp and blood worms. Spoiled brat  My Blue Angel "hunts" snail eggs and pecks them till nothings left. Such a good Angel! S/he actually turns completely on it's side and sloats through the plant leaves to get to the best snail eggs. First time I saw this I thought s/he was dead LOL!

We do stay up too late! I must agree! I was sooooo sluggish this morning at 6am.


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## Fishies_in_Philly

Once the roots settle in, you'll be ok. I swear, the first time i used ecocomplete, i thought it was gonna float.....lol i found the key is getting the stems down as deep as you can, and these help:
http://www.petco.com/product/106226...ding-Tongs.aspx?Ntt=tongs&OneResultRedirect=1

The bugs may be gnats or mites, too tough to tell with that pic. Kuhli's won't eat snails. If you want to keep your snail population down, just feed a bit less. If they have no food, they won't last very long. The babies i mean. Although i don't mind snails. They keep stuff clean  and if i have too many, well, that's why they make nets and garbage cans.....lol


----------



## Amandas tank

Fishies_in_Philly said:


> Once the roots settle in, you'll be ok. I swear, the first time i used ecocomplete, i thought it was gonna float.....lol i found the key is getting the stems down as deep as you can, and these help:
> http://www.petco.com/product/106226...ding-Tongs.aspx?Ntt=tongs&OneResultRedirect=1
> 
> The bugs may be gnats or mites, too tough to tell with that pic. Kuhli's won't eat snails. If you want to keep your snail population down, just feed a bit less. If they have no food, they won't last very long. The babies i mean. Although i don't mind snails. They keep stuff clean  and if i have too many, well, that's why they make nets and garbage cans.....lol


I think I completetly irradicated my Ramshorns during the rescape. I haven't seen a one since the last bag of EC. Time will tell though in that Jungle! I am happy not to see them anymore. I am very careful with feeding because I don't like a mess in the tank. I put some of the ramshorns in the QT tank because I just can't throw them out. Taken hundreds to the LFS. They are always happy to take them. Those in the QT don't get fed often...and for a time not enough while I was trying to balance things with them. They still produced rapidly and the snails were dying and eating eachother. So, I upped the food and they still breed about the same, but no more deaths at least so no more snails eating snails. I just have to make a snail drop off every 3-4 weeks. 

I like the MT snails, but man do they reproduce! Wowza!!! I never knew how many I had until the black substrate was added and taking a peek into the tank after lights out. The substrate truned from black to tan!!!!! This summer I will have plenty to share with TPT folks  

They look like mites. Are they a problem?


----------



## AUvet14

I kept a few yoyos for a while back when I had a pond snail population explosion. I couldn't tell that they made a dent in the population much but I didn't notice any fin nipping. I have found that assassin snails work extremely well for controlling the snail population but I can't seem to keep many alive for very long with the levels of CO2 I run now  It takes quite a few assassins though to effectively control the pest population. I used 12 in my 30 gallon.


----------



## Amandas tank

AUvet14 said:


> I kept a few yoyos for a while back when I had a pond snail population explosion. I couldn't tell that they made a dent in the population much but I didn't notice any fin nipping. I have found that assassin snails work extremely well for controlling the snail population but I can't seem to keep many alive for very long with the levels of CO2 I run now  It takes quite a few assassins though to effectively control the pest population. I used 12 in my 30 gallon.


Assassins are really pretty. I read that others had horrible experiences with them exploding in numbers too. And then once all the food source (other snails) were gone, the Assassins die and when all is said and done, the substrate is littered with snail shells. 

I guess the best option for me is to just continue collecting them by hand. :icon_roll Oh well. At least they aren't gross.

I would try the Yoy loach for its beauty, but man I would hate to try and catch them in my jungle of a tank if they did start nipping. I would say that was one positive of the old scape (nearly empty). I could experiement with fish and easily net them if they became a problem. Those days are long gone. No regrets! I love my plants!!!


----------



## AUvet14

Amandas tank said:


> Assissins are really pretty. I read that others had horrible experiences with them exploding in numbers too. And then once all the food source (other snails) were gone, the Assins die and when all is said and done, the substrate is littered with snail shells.
> 
> I guess the best option for me is to just continue collecting them by hand. :icon_roll Oh well. At least they aren't gross.
> 
> I would try the Yoy loach for its beauty, but man I would hate to try and catch them in my jungle of a tank if they did start nipping. I would say that was one positive of the old scape (nearly empty). I could experiement with fish and easily net them if they became a problem. Those days are long gone. No regrets! I love my plants!!!


I have a friend that has assassins that are breeding. I wouldn't call it exploding in numbers though. Assassins are a non-hermaphroditic snail, so it does require a male and a female to breed, plus I think they take longer to mature. I think they're really pretty too. I just wish I could keep a crew of 5 or 6 of them alive in my high CO2 environment. I have tiny ramshorns (not on purpose). I feed sparingly and squash any that I see on the glass. Sometimes I'll collect them by hand if I have the time. I've managed to keep them under control so far but I would like to get rid of them all together so I didn't have to worry about them at all.


----------



## OVT

I have Botia kubotai and Golden Dojos in my snail-control tank. They are hilarious fish to watch and they co-exist peacefully with the rest of the fish. They are very sociable, you need at least 3 B. kubotai. 2 Golden Dojos will do fine. What snails?

B. kubotai hide a lot, while Dojo are all over the tank. I bet the kids will love them. You can get them at PetSmart.


----------



## Amandas tank

AUvet14 said:


> I have a friend that has assassins that are breeding. I wouldn't call it exploding in numbers though. Assassins are a non-hermaphroditic snail, so it does require a male and a female to breed, plus I think they take longer to mature. I think they're really pretty too. I just wish I could keep a crew of 5 or 6 of them alive in my high CO2 environment. I have tiny ramshorns (not on purpose). I feed sparingly and squash any that I see on the glass. Sometimes I'll collect them by hand if I have the time. I've managed to keep them under control so far but I would like to get rid of them all together so I didn't have to worry about them at all.


Of course the Co2 only affects the snails you _want_ to keep. The ramshorns love cucumber. Peel the skin off and slice length wise. You don't have to wait long and it'll be covered! Then carefully scoop it out. Walla! That many less ramshorns 



OVT said:


> I have Botia kubotai and Golden Dojos in my snail-control tank. They are hilarious fish to watch and they co-exist peacefully with the rest of the fish. They are very sociable, you need at least 3 B. kubotai. 2 Golden Dojos will do fine. What snails?
> 
> B. kubotai hide a lot, while Dojo are all over the tank. I bet the kids will love them. You can get them at PetSmart.


Hmmm...going to look them up now. Be back uno momento!


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## Amandas tank

I'm back! Love the Botia kubotai. Too bad they are illuanksive. I had looked into the dojo loach awhile back and read other folks had no luck with them eating snails. You must? My eldest daughter loves these loaches and she would be quite happy to see some in the tank. Thanks OVT! You always know just what to suggest somehow!


----------



## AUvet14

Amandas tank said:


> Of course the Co2 only affects the snails you _want_ to keep. The ramshorns love cucumber. Peel the skin off and slice length wise. You don't have to wait long and it'll be covered! Then carefully scoop it out. Walla! That many less ramshorns


I'll have to try that. Do you use anything to make the cucumber sink or does it sink on it's own?


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## Sethjohnson30

I leave my skins on the cucumber my nerites love it. I sharpened a small branch of my manzanita and stick it on there


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## Amandas tank

AUvet14 said:


> I'll have to try that. Do you use anything to make the cucumber sink or does it sink on it's own?


I just put it in and the nerites climb the sides to get to it, then once there are a ton, it sinks to the bottom. I thought about putting a stone on one end, but just don't ever feel like sticking my arm all the way to the pit in the water. 



Sethjohnson30 said:


> I leave my skins on the cucumber my nerites love it. I sharpened a small branch of my manzanita and stick it on there


I just always peeled the skin because of the chance of pesticides I missed in the rinsing. Probably a bit ridiculous I guess. Wouldn't be muah otherwise


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## Sethjohnson30

I'm not worried about the pesticides I boil it first


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## Amandas tank

Ahhhh, okay that works .


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## Fishies_in_Philly

i wouldn't think that boiling it will neutralize a pesticide. if anything, i would imagine the chemical would leech off in the boiling water which makes you, in essence, boiling them in their own poison. boiling only kills living organisms


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## Amandas tank

Fishies_in_Philly said:


> i wouldn't think that boiling it will neutralize a pesticide. if anything, i would imagine the chemical would leech off in the boiling water which makes you, in essence, boiling them in their own poison. boiling only kills living organisms


Hm. that's a point too. I prefer to just peel them


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## Meganne

love what you've done to this tank, great wood!

did someone mention dobies?


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## Amandas tank

Thank you Meggan  Do you have a dobie too????


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## Amandas tank

Got some more pics...still not the best quality, but until I get a camera (or learn to take better pics with my phone) this is all I have to offer 










A little 1-gallon bowl betta in a much better world 









4' of tank and they're clustered in a corner :icon_roll









Off into the deep dark woods 

















I love "My-Blue"









Look! It's a snail :icon_eek:









And the Angel returns from the dark forest! (I love that they can vanish )


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## Fizgig777

Your calico (?) Angel is beautiful! Nice tanks =)


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## Amandas tank

Thank you. I appreciate your compliment. I love the sound of Calico Angel!  But it's Koi Angel. S/he is 8 years old.


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## oliver77

I've read through the pages, and I must say your tank grows a lot from the beginning.
Getting better every pages. I like how u crazy-slope the substrate at the back. Not so much of a fan of those water sprites at the surface though. But what a jungle! I'm sure your fishes are happy in there. Do u dose CO2 & ferts?


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## Amandas tank

Thank you very much! I love the slope...it's awesome watching the Kuhli Loaches zip up and down it! Thank you for your honesty  The little Blue Angel and the Betta love the floating water sprite. The Angel lays flat and shimmies through it. It's so cool to watch. The Betta rests in it, and I use it to coral her food so she doesn't have to compete with the Angels and the filter flow. I do not inject Co2 and only use Leaf Zone once a week. These plants are all so new (except the Anubias, Crypt and Lillies) that I'm waiting to see how they will do under the lighting conditions I have at the moment. I hope I don't loose the reds and purples. Only time will tell.


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## Chaoslord

Your have nice looking angles.I was debating angles in my column but decided I had to much flow for them and went with bottom middle top specific species. 
8 years for an angle! What is their life expectancy?


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## Fizgig777

I thought the term was Koi, but I could get past the fact that Koi are a diff't type of fish altogether... Still doesn't seem to compute in my head that "koi" could be a descriptor for a calico colored fish =) Can you imagine calling a calico cat a koi? Kinda funny


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## james1542

Wow that blue angel is stunning. I had no idea they could be that blue. It looks like it will get bigger yet too. Nice work on the tank-you've got a nice jungle going! Of all the plants you have which one is your favorite so far?


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## Amandas tank

Thank you  I never expected Little-Blue to get so blue. When I got him/her, s/he was silver with the teeniest hint of blue shimmer here and there. S/he has a lot of growing to do. Still just a little 'ole juvenile. The older it gets the bluer it gets. And it also has some pinkish/purple under it's belley. So beautiful.

Limnophilia aromatica is my favorite with Ludwidgia repens x acurata andLimnophila aquatica following close behind. I am really liking the Staurogyne repens too. Once everything adjusts and melting ceases filling in with new growth, I may change my mind :tongue:


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## AUvet14

Amandas tank said:


> Thank you  I never expected Little-Blue to get so blue. When I got him/her, s/he was silver with the teeniest hint of blue shimmer here and there. S/he has a lot of growing to do. Still just a little 'ole juvenile. The older it gets the bluer it gets. And it also has some pinkish/purple under it's belley. So beautiful.
> 
> Limnophilia aromatica is my favorite with Ludwidgia repens x acurata andLimnophila aquatica following close behind. I am really liking the Staurogyne repens too. Once everything adjusts and melting ceases filling in with new growth, I may change my mind :tongue:


I definitely like my limnophilas.  Too bad your l. aromatica is losing its reddish color. It's so pretty when it adjusts and gets color. Is that myriophyllum mattogrossense growing for you? I really like it once it gets healthy.


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## Amandas tank

Not yet...it has melted away quite a bit and there is only about 1.5" left of the stem. It looks like it is holding now though so hopefully it will begin to come back.


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## james1542

I've been playing around with some L. aromatica that I got from the LFS. It is a very cool plant, I have it in 2 different tanks, and it definitely has different growth forms. High light+ no CO2 and it has awesome short leaves, high light + CO2, and the leaves are about twice as long and more than twice as wide!

Getting the red color can be tricky, I'm not even sure what does it but it seems more light and more ferts help.


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## Fishies_in_Philly

Aromatica is an awesome plant. The color is a protective measure against high lighting. The higher your lighting is, the more color you'll get out of it. It also like nitrogen and iron to bring out the color even more.


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## Amandas tank

Chaoslord said:


> Your have nice looking angles.I was debating angles in my column but decided I had to much flow for them and went with bottom middle top specific species.
> 8 years for an angle! What is their life expectancy?


Hey, I'm sorry I missed your post yesterday. Weird. But I found it! 
Anyway...Thank you  15 years from what I've found online. It's amazing this one has lived as long as she has concidering where she spent those years before coming to me. I really enjoy them. They are beautiful and just interact with me much like my betta does. Great fish.


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## Amandas tank

Fizgig777 said:


> I thought the term was Koi, but I could get past the fact that Koi are a diff't type of fish altogether... Still doesn't seem to compute in my head that "koi" could be a descriptor for a calico colored fish =) Can you imagine calling a calico cat a koi? Kinda funny


Yeah...I agree with you. Actually, it took me a very long time to get used to the sound of it. I liked Scalare better but Koi was accurate for the pattern. Koi could be a cute call name for a calico cat! I will have to remember that if I ever have a calico kitty in my life.


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## bluestems

Amandas tank said:


> Got some more pics...still not the best quality, but until I get a camera (or learn to take better pics with my phone) this is all I have to offer


That is the look of two very appreciative fish :smile: Your tank is looking so good! 

I like it too when fish can vanish and reappear inside the vegetation/decor. It makes everything seem so much more interesting and full of life.


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## OVT

Fishies_in_Philly said:


> ...The color is a protective measure against high lighting. ...


In general, I agree with the above statement. The peculiar thing about Aromatica is that the color is on the underside of the leaves, not on top. It might be one confused plant: using sunblock cream under the skin, not on. It is possible to get the color on the top part of the leaf, but it does require an insane amount of light.

Here is a fun read, with many oppinions, as usual 

One way to enjoy Aromatica in a lower-light tank is to keep it cut short, say ~16" - you will get greenish/yellow 'stars" that look awesome to me, without having to climb on top of your tank. With a bit more light, the top color slowly changes to camel brown.









http://www.aquascapingworld.com/plantpedia/full_view_plant.php?item_id=69


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## Amandas tank

So, I stopped by the LFS to see if they got more kuhli loaches in, and saw two beautiful Altum Angelfish. I thought about it for a day, and decided to give it a shot. They have bent fins, but are still beautiful. No need to quarentine them...I really don't want to get into the reasons why, but will say I am very careful with my fish and use the QT when it is neccessary. This time it wasn't.
When they first went in it was looking good. but, as expected, as time passed the harmoney was quicly ending.

Anyway...I decided that one of them is going back...maybe both. I gave it a shot, in the off chance it would work, but my current fish are very important to me and their happiness will always come first. One of the two does not like anyone in the tank...even the kuhli loaches. S/he grabbed a kuhli today and shook the crap out of it then let it go. Maybe s/he thought it was food, but I think it was more territory than anything because this particular Angel has claimed a spot and won't let the others near it. The other new Angel is fine with the rest of the group. But the aggressor corals her into his territory (I do believe the aggressor is a male and the other a female) Gwen the betta rules the roost still though. And, she protects her Koi and Little blue from the aggressor. Darndest thing I ever saw. 

Anyway...chances are high that when one is removed another will turn into the agressor. I'm going return the "male" tomorrow and give it 3-5 days and see what happens.

Enough jabbering. Here's some pictures:





























The aggressor is cleaning the wood









The one on the right being held in this area






















































The one that's leaving tomorrow...









The one I'm going to try a few more days...









Had to share this one...look at that cute face 













































Another of the one I'm going to try









And look at what happened to my plants from the aggresser chasing everybody! :icon_roll There all floating again!!!


----------



## Amandas tank

bluestems said:


> That is the look of two very appreciative fish :smile: Your tank is looking so good!
> 
> I like it too when fish can vanish and reappear inside the vegetation/decor. It makes everything seem so much more interesting and full of life.


They are so cute. It really does make things interesting, for them too I am sure.


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## Amandas tank

OVT said:


> In general, I agree with the above statement. The peculiar thing about Aromatica is that the color is on the underside of the leaves, not on top. It might be one confused plant: using sunblock cream under the skin, not on. It is possible to get the color on the top part of the leaf, but it does require an insane amount of light.
> 
> Here is a fun read, with many oppinions, as usual
> 
> One way to enjoy Aromatica in a lower-light tank is to keep it cut short, say ~16" - you will get greenish/yellow 'stars" that look awesome to me, without having to climb on top of your tank. With a bit more light, the top color slowly changes to camel brown.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> http://www.aquascapingworld.com/plantpedia/full_view_plant.php?item_id=69


Thank you for the 16" tip OVT.  And thanks for sharing that great picture too. I love this plant. It is my favorite so far. I want to have a ton of it because the Kuhli Loaches race through it constantly and then they swim mid stem and rest inside the leaves. Very cool indeed.

I enjoy those kind of reads!!! Thank you


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## Amandas tank

That _was_ a good read OVT! Interesting how it does from tank to tank. I need to remember it is quite common for it to melt if it is shaded. Good to know with gthe floating plants I have.


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## Fizgig777

Beautiful Angels -- even if one doesn't behave like an angel


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## Amandas tank

Thank you  I was told that an odd number would be better. Three might not be the best odd number though leaving one as "the odd man out"...5 probably would be safer for the lesser of the group. Got some thinking to do...

Angels....hahahahahahaha! Must have been the fancy fins that got them that name


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## jshaffer740

Great! I love the use of the stones and rock work. Really awesome.


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## Amandas tank

Thank you Jason  Like you, I like all the styles in the Auscaping world. Having only one tank, I am limited so I combined many elements...it's tough to get it just right...and honestly, it looks nothing like I intended, but I am happy with the results regardless.


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## Sethjohnson30

From what I've read Altums are not the same as regulular angels, they need water parameters similar to a discus


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## Amandas tank

Yeah..I've read the same. But these guys were bred here locally...they are related to my Little Blue Angel. They have been grown in the same parameters as my current tank  Thank you though Seth!


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## OVT

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=199034


----------



## Amandas tank

That is a beautiful Philippine Blue Angel OVT. The reason I said my Little Blue Angel is related to the two Altums is because that is what the breeder claims. Seems that they have a same parent...obviously not both parents though  So, they have been inbreeding Altums and Philippine Blues.


Anyway...things are looking much better. The aggressor is now back at the LFS taking on another Koi Angel a bit bigger than himself...through the bag he's floating in!!! Wow what a scrapper LOL! The remaining three angels are getting along perfectly. Swimming together in a group and picking the substrate together. It's promising...so far. Anything could happen. 

Thanks to having 4 Angels in my tank at once, I was able to get a good distinction between the size and shape of the breeding tubes. The angel I have been assuming is a male has a very pointy and much thinner tube than the other two larger angels in the tank...which have thick and rounded tubes. The Little Blue is too small to see the tube. 

So now, fingers are crossed that Little Blue will end up being a female too. Three females will be much better especially since I'm mixing strains and don't want to have a breeding pair in my community tank.

The status of the Diamond Tetras is questionable. Seems they have not been able to get any. _sigh_. In time.


----------



## Fishies_in_Philly

ya know, i was going to ask how big the angels were. that kinda sounded a bit like cichlid mating behavior. i love the look and elegance of angels, but hate their temperament. besides, i don't keep fish that might eat my shrimpies


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## Amandas tank

Oh for sure sexual maturity had something to do with it. The cleaning of the driftwood and the claim on the territory, I definetely believe the intent was to commence breeding...only thing is the female was more interested in Little Blue. She was following Little Blue and then when the "male" interested in her would chase Little Blue and coral her back to his turf to start cleaning the wood again. Everytime he was busy cleaning, she'd sneak away to be with Blue LOL!


----------



## Amandas tank

Did some reading about wild caught Altums and tank bred Altums (because I do not know a lot about them outside their basic needs) I found that the Altums are very difficult to breed in captivity...so I am guessing the breeder is working with hybrid Altums which explain the bent fins and black lines of the one I kept. The other that I returned had brown lines which is more true to the wild Altums and his dorsal fin was much straighter than the other. (I got this from reading...no first hand experience) No difference to me though. I think the fish I have a beautiful.


----------



## Fishies_in_Philly

Amandas tank said:


> Oh for sure sexual maturity had something to do with it. The cleaning of the driftwood and the claim on the territory, I definetely believe the intent was to commence breeding...only thing is the female was more interested in Little Blue. She was following Little Blue and then when the "male" interested in her would chase Little Blue and coral her back to his turf to start cleaning the wood again. Everytime he was busy cleaning, she'd sneak away to be with Blue LOL!


that B-word!!LOL


----------



## Fishies_in_Philly

Amandas tank said:


> Did some reading about wild caught Altums and tank bred Altums (because I do not know a lot about them outside their basic needs) I found that the Altums are very difficult to breed in captivity...so I am guessing the breeder is working with hybrid Altums which explain the bent fins and black lines of the one I kept. The other that I returned had brown lines which is more true to the wild Altums and his dorsal fin was much straighter than the other. (I got this from reading...no first hand experience) No difference to me though. I think the fish I have a beautiful.


yes, they are


----------



## Amandas tank

Fishies_in_Philly said:


> that B-word!!LOL


HaHa! Now I wish I would have taken some video of the behavior. It was very interesting to watch. Too late now since he's gone. 



Fishies_in_Philly said:


> yes, they are


Thank you


----------



## driftwoodhunter

Y'know, I was just thinking...I think you don't QT because you said your lfs does QT their fish. But if they have a revolving door policy where fish can be returned anytime (didn't you say you once returned fish you had 6 months?) don't you worry that fish you buy may have been returned from someone else, and the fish may have been exposed to something when at another person's house? Other folks may be mixing fish from different sources - not always from your lfs...just a thought. It would make me nervous!


----------



## Fishies_in_Philly

one would think that if they care enough about their product to quarantine it from outside suppliers, that they also would quarantine any "returns". or at least you would like to think that is the case.


----------



## driftwoodhunter

Amandas tank said:


> The aggressor is now back at the LFS taking on another Koi Angel a bit bigger than himself...through the bag he's floating in!!!


This made me think that the fish might be going back into a sales tank - unless the QT tanks are visible to customers?

Oh well...


----------



## Amandas tank

driftwoodhunter said:


> Y'know, I was just thinking...I think you don't QT because you said your lfs does QT their fish. But if they have a revolving door policy where fish can be returned anytime (didn't you say you once returned fish you had 6 months?) don't you worry that fish you buy may have been returned from someone else, and the fish may have been exposed to something when at another person's house? Other folks may be mixing fish from different sources - not always from your lfs...just a thought. It would make me nervous!


They are very careful and very trustworthy. I am not worried at all. The fish they get in they have different tanks for certain fish from unfamiliar tanks and fish for familiar tanks. The LFS owner takes care of many of our tanks when we take vacations (awesome  ) and he knows his familiar customers quite well as well as their practices. But thank you dear for your concern  



Fishies_in_Philly said:


> one would think that if they care enough about their product to quarantine it from outside suppliers, that they also would quarantine any "returns". or at least you would like to think that is the case.


They do  They have stack of 12 tanks just for this purpose. As well as a few others for fish that are obvious sick with something. They also have more tanks in the back room in case they need them. Great FS!



driftwoodhunter said:


> This made me think that the fish might be going back into a sales tank - unless the QT tanks are visible to customers?
> 
> Oh well...


Yes, the 12 stack is. The other bigger ones are not lighted so viewing is not something people do...it's pretty much invisible without the lights on.
And of course, those in back are closed off the general public.


----------



## OVT

Amanda, in case you have missed a link in my previous post:
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=199034 ---> :icon_twis


----------



## Amandas tank

Lol I didn't miss it. You must have missed my response post? :hihi: Are you saying that 2 new Angels are Philipine Blues? The breeder is a nice woman...but maybe she is playing everyone up here for fools saying her Angels are Altums? She and her Husband claim to have collected the starting pair on a trip _from_ the wild. They collected several and when they paired off they selected a couple pairs to begin their program. 

Oh well..._shrug_. I still love my cute little blue and her new buddy the said Altum (of course that is not the case...perhaps a hybrid...perhaps a Philipine Blue? just not very blue...)

They can be called "Amandas MuttAngels" :biggrin:


----------



## Amandas tank

Wait...did I misunderstand why you posted the link? :redface: Are you attempting to be an enabler OVT? LOL!


----------



## ua hua

Amandas tank said:


> Did some reading about wild caught Altums and tank bred Altums (because I do not know a lot about them outside their basic needs) I found that the Altums are very difficult to breed in captivity...so I am guessing the breeder is working with hybrid Altums which explain the bent fins and black lines of the one I kept. The other that I returned had brown lines which is more true to the wild Altums and his dorsal fin was much straighter than the other. (I got this from reading...no first hand experience) No difference to me though. I think the fish I have a beautiful.


While those are some nice looking angelfish you have there they are not Altums. They are actually Pterophyllum scalare. Altum angels are a very sensitive fish as most of them are wild caught and the survival rate is very low. Altums have a very distinct look and once you see one the difference is very noticeable. My dad used to breed several different varieties of angels in the late 70's and 80's, so I have seen almost every variety of angelfish out there. Anyone looking into keeping Altums needs to understand that these are not fish for beginners and raising them to adulthood takes a lot of work and near perfect tank conditions. I have seen several people on this forum attempt to keep these fish only to watch them meet an untimely demise. The altum hybrids are a Pterophyllum scalare x Pterophyllum altum cross. The dorsal fin is almost identical to that of P. altum and there is other morphological features such as the head and mouth formation, which is the easiest way to tell if you have a altum hybrid.


----------



## Amandas tank

ua hua said:


> While those are some nice looking angelfish you have there they are not Altums. They are actually Pterophyllum scalare. Altum angels are a very sensitive fish as most of them are wild caught and the survival rate is very low. Altums have a very distinct look and once you see one the difference is very noticeable. My dad used to breed several different varieties of angels in the late 70's and 80's, so I have seen almost every variety of angelfish out there. Anyone looking into keeping Altums needs to understand that these are not fish for beginners and raising them to adulthood takes a lot of work and near perfect tank conditions. I have seen several people on this forum attempt to keep these fish only to watch them meet an untimely demise. The altum hybrids are a Pterophyllum scalare x Pterophyllum altum cross. The dorsal fin is almost identical to that of P. altum and there is other morphological features such as the head and mouth formation, which is the easiest way to tell if you have a altum hybrid.


Thank you  That is fine with me they are just Scalares. I wasn't hoping for Altums, it's just what the breeder claims them to be. But I really don't care. Well, I guess I do because I don't want to have them die on me! I just saw them at the LFS and he gets his fish from this breeder. He only knows what she tells him and then it is a ripple effect going on down the line. Anyway..these two Angels came from a close friend of his that had bought them from the breeder. The owner of the 2 Angels was moving out of Alaska so they had to give the fish up. That is how I ended up with them.

When I saw them, I didn't care what kind of fish they were...just that they were beautiful Angels...so I tried them.  I only have one of the two newbies now and things are going great. The three are swimming together along with the betta as if the third Angel had been a part of the group since the beginning. Now that the Male is gone, I again have a peaceful tank :biggrin: Fingers crossed that no one decides they need to take on the Aggresser role. Only time will tell.

Thanks again! I appreciate your comment and knowledge.


----------



## Amandas tank

A quick update...the Angels are doing great and the Betta aproves 








Above the 3 Angels following the Queen Betta. :icon_roll



























I love this one  Betta is not flaring...those are her fins fluttering as the two of them look at eachother as if having a conversation.


Anyway...that's it. I am not feeling too well so I won't be on for a time.


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## Fizgig777

Nice new shots =)


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## OVT

Amandas tank said:


> Are you attempting to be an enabler OVT? LOL!


Nah, I like 'provocateur' better


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## driftwoodhunter

ooh, I love that word. I'm going to use it at work to confuse my coworkers - lol


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## Amandas tank

Fizgig777 said:


> Nice new shots =)


Thank you  



OVT said:


> Nah, I like 'provocateur' better


LOL! Okay then...provocateur 



driftwoodhunter said:


> ooh, I love that word. I'm going to use it at work to confuse my coworkers - lol


HaHa! Have fun...


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## Amandas tank

I would not be on here today if it weren't for the fact I recieved a box of plants today. I'm not feeling well at all, but the plants are here and need to be taken care of, so I thought it would be rude not to post the status for the senders sake. Thank you O 

So, these plants arrived _4 days_ past the expected arrival date.  Dealing with an etremely rude head manager at the post office while very sick...making multiple trips back and forth to the post office. Trying to get someone to look into why it's not in my hands...and finally I get my package. Smashed, partially opened and soaking wet!!!!

























Doesn't look good does it!? Expecting the worst...I take the package home and lay down to rest for a minute. I really am very sick. Ugh....:icon_redf

Sooooo...to be continued.


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## Amandas tank

I can not believe the condition of these marvelous plants! Wow!!!! :icon_eek: Amazing that they look so good! OVT, you do an incredible job with your plants! That is all there is to it! You definetely have a nack for growing super plants!!!!

Thank you 

Here they are:

























































































2nd batch


















3rd times a charm for this beauty! It made it without melting 





































I am still in disbelief they look this good! Post Office may have failed me, but the incredible under water green thumb OVT certainly did not! Your amazing OVT! Thank you thank you thank you!!!  Thank you!


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## Amandas tank

Okay...most everything is planted. Here are some pics before I call it a night.


































































T5's turned off...man does the tank get dark. I do think I need better lighting!









That's it...ta ta! I'm off to get well.


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## OVT

Get well first ...  but thank you so much for posting the pictures.

Interesting: 7 days from CA to AK, in sub-zero and couple of plants don't look too happy to me, but the rest...

I did use a bit of black magic: the girls at PetSmart let me use their O2 (? whatever gas they add to a bag with fish). I added just a tiny bit of it to individual bags but as much as I could keep inside to the bigger bags. Or maybe having the girls help me out after hours did the trick. Never underestimate the power of the feminine touch  Having friends in the right places does not hurt either


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## james1542

Cool new plants- they look good even for such a journey. The post office can be a nightmare-I once had a kordon breather bag break and water was leaking out of the box, they wouldn't deliver it and made me come in and open it in front of them. Then they scolded me for packing them poorly, even though these fish were packaged by the aquabid seller who sent them! I just got some S. repens as well recently-it could easily become my new favorite plant.
-Get well soon!


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## Fishies_in_Philly

Looks fantastic amanda!! Ovt, gorgeous plants! Kudos . That reminds me, i gotta go pick up some pennywort for another project,.......lol


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## tomfromstlouis

What a plant haul and what a beautiful tank! The tank looks terrific Amanda. Hope you feel better soon.


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