# 2.5 gallon lilly vase



## Kehy (Feb 5, 2012)

Alright, I figure the pictures say this better than words, so here we go. (Warning: 90% pictures)

















































That last pic shows the scratched up lamp I picked up for $4. A lil paint later, and I could probably buy it for $12, LOL. 

Plants:
-Dwarf Lilly bulb
-Crypt Wendii 'bronze'
-Anubias Nana
-Willow Hygro
-oh, and I guess that bit of duckweed counts too

Fauna:
-nothing yet, considering cherry shrimp and a Scarlet Badis

Filtration:
-Might pop my betta tank filter in there to kick start the cycle (Edit: popped it in, but didn't take pics of it. Water's swirling nicely)

Lighting:
-A desk lamp, 40 watts, Full Spectrum


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## Kehy (Feb 5, 2012)

Alright, here's the final shot of the tank tonight, with the light. As I said, too powerful, and it makes me wonder how long that pretty white gravel will stay white..hmm...Still, it was the only bulb in the right size/shape, so I guess it'll have to work somehow.


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## aweeby (Oct 1, 2011)

With that lily, you'll be overgrown in no time. Get ready for the MTS onset. :biggrin:


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## Kehy (Feb 5, 2012)

aweeby said:


> With that lily, you'll be overgrown in no time. Get ready for the MTS onset. :biggrin:


lol oh don't worry...I've already got it! Lol, just with mini/nano tanks though, I cant' have anything over 5 gallons, and so I have one 1.5 gallon, the 2.5 vase, a .33 bowl, and a .25 jar...oh, and a leeeettle tiny bottle too small for me to measure...it's got a baby crypt in there. XD


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## aweeby (Oct 1, 2011)

Hunt around craigslist and find yourself an old 15g to play around in. your plants need space! 
If it's the parents stopping you, I have a piece of advice: I hid mine in the garage until it was too late for them to get rid of it. :biggrin: (few have the heart to flush live fish) 

if it's a landlord, living constraints, spouse or RA, sorry, can't help you. good luck with this btw! Looks like this is going to be a pretty decent home for it for a few months or so.


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## EnigmaticGuppy92 (Jan 31, 2012)

looking nice but more space needed


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## Kehy (Feb 5, 2012)

Lol well hopefully the landlord will let me set up a container pond in my backyard, so eventually the lilly will get more space. And when I move one, I've already got two more that might need to be put in there. 

Now if I could get it to bloom, that'd be amazing....


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## moosenart (Feb 18, 2012)

aweeby said:


> Hunt around craigslist and find yourself an old 15g to play around in. your plants need space!
> If it's the parents stopping you, I have a piece of advice: I hid mine in the garage until it was too late for them to get rid of it. :biggrin: (few have the heart to flush live fish)
> 
> if it's a landlord, living constraints, spouse or RA, sorry, can't help you. good luck with this btw! Looks like this is going to be a pretty decent home for it for a few months or so.


My parents are 'anal' about tanks... 2 20L for geckos, 10g OEBT in our spare bedroom, and hopefully a new moss tank!


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## Kehy (Feb 5, 2012)

Well, the mother dearest is coming over to visit, and she doesn't quite understand the concept of waiting till its safe to add livestock to a tank...I think I'll add 2-3 ghost shrimp for a little active life for her. I hope they make it through cycling, if not, I won't really be disappointed either...ghosties and cherries don't mix well. 

Also, I ordered some Excel and Flourish, but I've never used them before, and I'm a bit wary of using them in such small tanks, but I've got some BBA taking hold in my smaller tank, and there was a 2 for 1 deal going on. Will using them with the high light lead to a massive algae outbreak? (more massive than just the dirt and high light alone?)


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## Kehy (Feb 5, 2012)

Alright, things are looking good so far. Found out that mother dearest is _not_ coming over, she threw out her back and it's a 3 hour drive over mountains...not fun for her! But that means I hopefully will not be getting ghost shrimp...better for the shrimp, and better for my impulse control, lol

Anyways, I added diy co2, currently getting 1bpm after being set up for just 3 hours...yay. Diffusing it with an airstone, but I can see I'm getting bubbles all the way to the bottom, and the plants seem to already be loving it...I think even my anubias is bubbling! 

One question though, can you gas out a bowl with no critters in it? It's gonna be a lot of co2, especially with the lights off, and I don't want stuff dying on me. (aside from the mandatory crypt melt, of course)

Anyways, a pic of it in the morning light:








A closer look at the bottom...and the wee baby crypt by the rock








Sorry for the blurriness, the airstone actually does a fairly good job at diffusing the co2









One more question actually, any thoughts on the scaping? It's my first time doing any serious planning into plant layout. I'm thinking about maybe adding some more stems of some sort, if I get money, but that might have to wait.


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## EnigmaticGuppy92 (Jan 31, 2012)

the more c02 the better really if there are no fauna and i would add maybe vallis to the back


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## GMYukonon24s (May 3, 2009)

That's a nice vase. I think stems in there would look good.


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## Koi Kameon (Apr 25, 2010)

*dwarf water lily from wallyworld*

I just asked you about this on another thread--Do you mean those litttle packets for about 3 bucks that are "hybrid aponogeten" and then they call the other pack "dwarf lily" and it's also a aponogeten, not a N. stellata or anything like that? Bc I am really liking the the look of this "dwarf lily." You can always prune away to keep it in that bowl...


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## Kehy (Feb 5, 2012)

Koi Kameon said:


> I just asked you about this on another thread--Do you mean those litttle packets for about 3 bucks that are "hybrid aponogeten" and then they call the other pack "dwarf lily" and it's also a aponogeten, not a N. stellata or anything like that? Bc I am really liking the the look of this "dwarf lily." You can always prune away to keep it in that bowl...


Yeah, it came from one of those pack. There were two bulbs in there, an onion plant and the lilly, in the aponogeten pack. Only the lilly sprouted, which is probably fine, considering how big onion plants get. I don't think they have another pack with just lillies though, that could get expensive. For instance, yes, it is a N. Stellata, and when I was looking through water lilly catalogs for more information, I found the plants themselves and tubers for sale for $15-25! No one was selling the bulbs themselves though. 

I'm just glad that for some reason mine are apparently stunted. I have 2 more plants aside from the bulb still in my 1.5 gallon tank! Very small ones though that aren't taking over just yet. I have some crypts in that tank too, so I'm not as worried if they do.


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## Koi Kameon (Apr 25, 2010)

*Strange. They do have "dwarf Lily" packs there*

now for about 3 bucks. They then go on to call them a hybrid of Aponogeton ion the back...You can, if ever needed, get N. stellata from several places online now. sweetaquatics.com have them for a buck! Have never ordered from them and they aren't open for 1202 yet. I got mine for 3 bucks plus a piece from two different places--aquariumplants.com and freshwateraquariumplants.com, both in upper Midwest. Although one threw in an extra and the other threw in a total of three. The one I planted is a month old and still has that short 3-5 inch stacked look to it. It doesn't trail at all. I was under the impression that usually it just stacks at the bottom and then sends flat oval pads to the top--at least that's what people told me after numerous forum hunts...One guy on here describing the N. stellata in the plant section claims they can and he has kept them in betta bowls. 

I may just have to get a pack at wallyworld and see what shows up. Thanks.


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## Kehy (Feb 5, 2012)

I can see keeping them in bowls, under some conditions they stay small and bushy, quite nice little plants. Under low light, I believe they stay small and bushy. Mine didn't start going wild until I upgraded the light. And even if they do start getting tall, if you want they small, it's easy enough to trim them down. It does take awhile for them to put out their first lilly pad though...I believe it was in the range of 3-6 months for the first pads from my original lilly.

I can also see keeping them in ponds, which is what I'm planning for one of my other lillies if I get the ok from the landlord. I don't think I'd be getting more though, I've got the one bulb that keeps giving me baby plants!


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## Koi Kameon (Apr 25, 2010)

*Now it's really an Aponogeton Ulvaceus*

Was just at Walmart and, yeah they describe it as a dwarf lily, complete with pads later, but it also says it is the hybrid Aponogeton Ulvaceus, which accord. to the pics on here looks like really wavy Aponogeton, NOT even close to a dwarf lily. 

So, back to the real lily, yours is gorgeous. I also have a green one in my slightly brackish crab tank and am looking forward to a couple of pads--thanks for the heads up when--and I was told they do daughter plants like crazy and this seems to be your experience? That's great! (Until you have nowhere else to put them.) It seems a bit of a crap shoot to get the green variety (if really a variety) and I love it. One of the real dwarf lily sellers send me a "green" one which was actually the bronze-like one. Just dropped the other bulb from them in the tank today so no idea what that will be. And thanks for the heads up on the lighting effect! I too, am thinking of putting out a tub of them this summer--so pretty psyched about a dollar a bulb from sweet aquatics (if and when they open). Or maybe I won't need to if this one is putting the little ones out by Mayish...


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## Kehy (Feb 5, 2012)

Yeah, with those packs, you never know what you're going to get! 

Lol, just take a look at all the water lillies those pond people have come up with...soooooo many different types! Apparently though, a couple of the lillies we aquarium people get don't like to bloom, unfortunately. Greens are nice too, I actually wish I had more green stuff in my vase. I didn't get a daughter plant until the bulb was a year old, though, and then all of a sudden I had 2 daughters, another 1-3 attached to the bulb, and there's no sign of it slowing down any time soon!


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## Kehy (Feb 5, 2012)

Also, I'm going to be stopping by my LPS, see if they have anything green and alive in their tanks...didn't look good last time.


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## Koi Kameon (Apr 25, 2010)

*something that stays short?*

to cover up just a bit of the gravel maybe? because I really like it as is and that would be my only suggestion if any.

where did you buy that 25 dollar vase anyway, bc it is a really nice looking vase. admitting it looks better than the target one.


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## Kehy (Feb 5, 2012)

Thanks, I got it at a Fred Meyers, which is a grocerie store chain here. But I found out today that my LPS is having a sale on10 gallon tanks... Only $20, gah. I'm planning on having/ breeding shrimp in there too, could've used that extra room 

I'm not quite sure what I'm looking for for the bowl. There's an awful lot of free substrate, but it looks so clean right now... Also, LPS got in a new shipment of plant including some really small grassy plant, not sure if it's microsword or hairgrass though. But it's so rare for stuff like that to come in here... And there's only one pot of it...but there's also some little tiny strange plant they got in that I've never seen before... Not sure if it's a true aquatic, but it looks funky!


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## Koi Kameon (Apr 25, 2010)

*Taken a look at Micranthemum umbrosum?*

I plan on trying it even thoug it does best in high light. I want it sparse.:icon_smil. I just don't have the substrate for the grasses.


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## Kehy (Feb 5, 2012)

Yeah same here, may try growing a bit emersed though. I have some crypts in my windowsill that are tiny, but growing like crazy. lol pretty funny how people freak out about plant requirements, but the best way I've found to grow plants is just with dirt and water. On land, in the water, either way, plants want what's good for them. I don't do anything special to them, they do the growing on their own


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## Kehy (Feb 5, 2012)

Lol, obligatory crypt pics now
These guys started so small, I didn't think they'd live, but now they're getting almost too big for the "pot". Trying to avoid having the bigger ones crowd out the lil guys

















Also, I thought this was cool. The lilly bubbles like crazy


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## Kehy (Feb 5, 2012)

Got some new plants today! Something I think is parrot's feather, but I can't really tell, Ludwigia peruensis (red plant), and what I assume is dwarf hairgrass. And since I don't really feel like talking much...pics time! 








sorry for the blurry!








hoping this stuff makes it
















And this is what I did with the extras. They're all sitting in pots that are sitting in water


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## Kehy (Feb 5, 2012)

Decided to go with Blue Pearl shrimp as the main fauna of the tank...for now. I was going to go with blue rilis, but I don't really feel like paying $70 for 10 shrimp, and the blue pearls almost look like them anyways.

Question is, how many shrimp? 

As of right now, there's no filter on the tank, but that can be changed fairly quickly, although I haven't found any that look like they would suit the tank, aside from the one I had on there. Unfortunately for the future shrimp, my betta wanted his filter back. Hopefully it was in there long enough to jump start the cycle. 
Still, going to be doing weekly WC and making sure the plants are growing well to help keep the water clean.


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## Kehy (Feb 5, 2012)

Started dosing liquid ferts this week, first time using them. I was a little worried about figuring out the dosage, since it's such a small lil bowl, but a some basic math ended up being rather useful. lol, who would'a thunk it, math, useful?

So far the mix of excel and flourish seems to be going over well with the plants. The hygro, crypts, even the anubias is bubbling! What's better, I'm finally seeing some bubbles from the Ludwigia I planted earlier. It doesn't seem as red as it did before, but since it doesn't appear to be dying, I'm calling it good. I also got a mystery plant that I can't figure out. Some sort of frilly stem plant who's survival is questionable. It's alive in 2/3 tanks I put it in, but it's actually got bubbles in the vase. 

I know it's not the best pic, but can someone ID this?









I don't know how much work I'll be able to get done on the tank next week, it's finals, and then spring break. Hope everything can make it through about 10 days without light...I hope. It's that or leaving the light on for 10 days straight. Also, I know there's ammonia producing stuff in the vase now, but I'm not getting a solid ammonia reading, 0 nitrites, and 0 for nitrates. Sound like a silent cycle?


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## Koi Kameon (Apr 25, 2010)

*when you get them, let me know how it goes...*



Kehy said:


> Decided to go with Blue Pearl shrimp as the main fauna of the tank...for now. I was going to go with blue rilis, but I don't really feel like paying $70 for 10 shrimp, and the blue pearls almost look like them anyways.
> 
> Question is, how many shrimp?
> 
> ...


Also considering same shrimp.

And maybe get a timer for your light?


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## Kehy (Feb 5, 2012)

Koi Kameon said:


> Also considering same shrimp.
> 
> And maybe get a timer for your light?


Yeah, I'm kicking myself for not getting a timer when I was picking up stuff for this. Might get one when I'm in town tomorrow...I don't think any of the plants want to go a week without light while I'm on a week long break :biggrin:


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## Kehy (Feb 5, 2012)

It's been a week, and wow, whatever that mystery plant is, it's growing fast! It's grown 1.5" already. Why was I worried about it again? It's even growing well in a lower light, lower ferts tank. I think I have a new favorite plant. Not to mention it looks cool.

I added some extra gravel to the bowl, so I could actually keep the lilly from floating for once. Once it gets rooted into the dirt, there's not chance it would float away, but until then, it's been hovering about 3" from the bottom. I also noticed the lilly pads are never really breaking the surface of the water...always right under it. I'm guessing that has something to do with the light being so close to the water.

The ferts have been going over really well, everyone that I've noticed growing at all, is growing like crazy. The anubias and crypts are, well, growing like anubias and crypts. I'm watching the anubias like a hawk though, just in case it starts getting burned from the light...I did that to it before, went from 10 leaves to 4. Now there's 5 leaves. I just don't have good luck with that stuff, lol. 

My new favorite plant:








Almost entirely buried the lilly bulb. I'm hoping those pond people knew what they were talking about when they said I could go this deep with it. 








The ludwigia seems happy


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## Bunfoo (Jan 14, 2012)

I think the grassy potted plant might also be microsword? I got two pots recently, one grown submersed and one grown emmersed and the emmersed one looks very similar to DHG


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## wicca27 (May 3, 2009)

your mystery plant is parrots feather and i think it like to float or mine did any way. as long as you keep up on water changes in the vase all i would do for the shrimp is add an air stone. that will give some movement and keep the water cooler and have good air exchange so they get more fresh air and it does not go stagnant. i would pick the bulb of the lily up out of the gravel just a tad mine i keep 1/4 above substrate and that helps it sprout roots then i just remove the plant when the roots grow into the substrate and start another plant on the bulb


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## Kehy (Feb 5, 2012)

wicca27 said:


> your mystery plant is parrots feather and i think it like to float or mine did any way. as long as you keep up on water changes in the vase all i would do for the shrimp is add an air stone. that will give some movement and keep the water cooler and have good air exchange so they get more fresh air and it does not go stagnant. i would pick the bulb of the lily up out of the gravel just a tad mine i keep 1/4 above substrate and that helps it sprout roots then i just remove the plant when the roots grow into the substrate and start another plant on the bulb


Yeah, I thought the plant was parrots feather too, but it's a lot smaller, but I'm sure it's in the same family. I have a stem of it floating in one of my other bowls (well actually it's a small mason jar), so I'll see what happens with that. So far it hasn't been to terrible getting it to stay down.

The lilly is actually a lot more shallow than it was suggested, the pond people said a full inch or three of gravel! ...also, no dirt, but screw that. I might do that if I stick the lilly in a pond though. I don't really need more lillies at the moment though...I have 2 separate plants and then there's at least 2 more on the bulb, and I had to remove the bulb because it was getting too big. I just don't have the room for 'em, lol gotta love only having nano tanks.


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## Koi Kameon (Apr 25, 2010)

*Ask Newman about # of shrimp...*

If you scroll thru the nano forum, there's a Newman's 1 gallon bowl. He seems to have a very successful bowl that he keeps one of the red varieties in. He may be able to give you an idea on how many shrimp to put in.


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## Kehy (Feb 5, 2012)

Koi Kameon said:


> If you scroll thru the nano forum, there's a Newman's 1 gallon bowl. He seems to have a very successful bowl that he keeps one of the red varieties in. He may be able to give you an idea on how many shrimp to put in.


Yeah I'm figuring starting with 5 pearls, see how that gets me, and maybe wait a month or two, see how that works out, maybe get 5 more or so. Lol, if things get too crowded, I'm sure my betta would love an expensive snack. lol


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## Koi Kameon (Apr 25, 2010)

that seems like a nice conservative start. how much do they sell for out there? if they breed, what are doing with the extras? how many nanos full of shrimp can you get around your landlord with?:icon_wink oh, wait the betta gets them.


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## Kehy (Feb 5, 2012)

Lol I could always start up a 1 gallon vase I have, maybe learn to grow moss instead of algae. haha. Crypt jungle sounds pretty good too really. lol I'm guessing I can have as many tanks as my roommate allows (my brother). I'm on good terms with the landlord, he's letting me put in a container pond in the backyard! Of course, I might put more aquarium plants in the pond than actual pond plants, but hey, more growing room 

I've heard anywhere from $1.50-3.50 for blue pearls, so if they decide to breed, I will have NO objections.


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## Koi Kameon (Apr 25, 2010)

why thinking of going into the blue pearl shrimp business? :red_mouth

Glad you got permission for the tub garden. I'm still thinking of putting one in with N. stellata bulbs as long as I don't overextend myself on all these new aquarium projects. Will need to buy new bulbs as lost all but the one green that was growing so well to white fungus from using fert. tabs before there were enough roots in another tank...still working on that mess (see other threads of mine if interested on that). My plants for my lowly target vase (yours has such good bone structure i'm still jealous) come in on wed. finally. got tired of waiting for sweetaquatics.com to open for the season and am getting them from a place in NYC that had everything i wanted and then some!


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## Kehy (Feb 5, 2012)

Well, quick update before my actual update hopefully tomorrow. 

Been on spring break for a week, but forgot to get a timer for the lights before I left, grrr. I know everything except for the ludwigia will probably be just fine, but I hear that the pretty red stuff is really picky about the light. Also, I'm going to be ordering 10 blue pearls tomorrow or monday...hopefully. I was going to start with less, but then I thought about shipping, and how it wouldn't make sense to just get 5. 10 should do me, and if I get worried about putting all my eggs in one basket, well I can always just put a couple in my other tanks as well.

Also should be getting some new plants in soon.

Some sad news though, I have a 1.5 gallon, (very first tank in college, the first pic in the thread is a pic of it) with a boy who used to be the prettiest red crowntail betta I'd ever seen. For a couple weeks before I left, he hadn't been doing too well, and was almost unrecognizable, with a rotting tail, losing scales, not eating, and being an older fish who'd been used for breeding. I tried everything I could for him before I left, but couldn't take him with me. As much as I don't want to be a pessimist...if I don't sound like myself tomorrow, that's why. I don't know for certain if he'll still be there, but I'm hoping for the best. I won't be getting another betta though, not for awhile. My Renoir...you can't follow a fish like that. When he goes, I'll be rescaping his tank to look like a Renoir painting in his memory. 

Anyone else have a fish like that? One that just stands out from all the others you've ever had?


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## Kehy (Feb 5, 2012)

Well back from vacation, and the worst of what I wasn't looking forward to in my last post happened. So now I have an empty and rescaped 1.5 gallon awaiting new residents. I don't want another betta, but any ideas?

Anyways, on to what ya'll came for.
The vase seemed to do ok over break, even though the ludwigia and the mystery plant (myiro?) took a hit. The crypts grew a TON...for crypts. They've got weird algae-ish stuff on them. It acts somewhat like BBA, but seems less destructive. The ludwigia is in poor shape, but definitely better than the stuff in the former betta tank. Good ferts and high lights should have it back in shape in no time. The myiro survived as well, again, much better than the betta tank where the stems just melted. Only the lower leaves are dropping in the vase. It's also turning red and pearling like crazy. Red...I wanted a _green_ plant though!

Did a major trim on the lilly, since I spent the break reading up on water gardens, and especially lillies. The vase looks a little weird without the pads bringing attention to the top of the vase, but at the rate the myiro is growing, I don't need to worry too much about that. 

Also, I got 10 blue pearls ordered today, they should be shipped next week, the shipper has finals this week, and I understand his pain. 
















What is this stuff, and how do I get rid of it?


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## Koi Kameon (Apr 25, 2010)

*Renoir, plant, shrimp*

Mixing condolences with other business feels weird, but--so sorry about Renoir. That sucks.

I think your green plant is some kind of Myrio now that it's bigger, but I think you decided on that already. 

Why did the pond books lead you to trim back the lily?

Good luck with the pearls.


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## Kehy (Feb 5, 2012)

The books said it would make it start growing more. Since that's also the advice I got from a pond plant forum, I guess it's a good idea, lol.

Sigh... I want my shrimp...


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## Kehy (Feb 5, 2012)

Got new plants and cleaned/trimmed a bit more. pic spam time








tiger val?
















trimmed the ludwigia








these silly guys bent over while I was planting the val








The crypts are really starting to kick into high gear...no idea why








And finally, the val and cuuute little val runner. bad placement, I know, I'm hoping when the baby grows in, it'll look less weird

















Lol and now to hijack my own thread...my other tanks, including the brand-new "most boring bowl in the world"


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## Psionic (Dec 22, 2011)

Now I want to make a small plant bowl lol. 


-Val


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## Kehy (Feb 5, 2012)

(Warning: Pic spam)

SO I've had a bit of a change of plants. I decided not to put the shrimp in the vase, I've come to see how it doesn't have nearly enough of a foot print or climbing room. Instead I'll be putting them in the 1.5, which I just added a nice piece of driftwood to.

Oh, and I got some friends (the voices in my head made me do it, I'm sorry!) Sorry if they look strange, the shape of the vase _really_ distorts sizes. They're just 4 small male feeder guppies. I feel bad about putting them in a tank with so little swimming room, but they seem happy...and this has got to be a better fate than getting eaten. 

With an diy inch ruler

























































http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRwW6D9Ya2c&feature=youtube_gdata


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## Koi Kameon (Apr 25, 2010)

Now that you're branching out into guppy territory...don't forget to post pics of shrimp--are they all blue or the blue ones with red markings that you ordered?

Oh, and did you mean the book said the lily would grow faster horizontally (bushier)?


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## Kehy (Feb 5, 2012)

Haven't gotten the shrimp yet...the guy hasn't even sent them I believe...he's got a finals week to deal with, so I'm rather understanding about that, lol


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## Kehy (Feb 5, 2012)

As for the lilly...I think it was just growth in general. I can't actually tell if the lilly is growing or not though, it's decided to be horizontal for awhile, lol


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## Overgrowth (Feb 19, 2012)

I never knew other people besides me actually wanted feeder guppies as pets! lol! Are you still going to get RCS and scarlet badis? I have a regular badis badis in my tank and he gets along with endlers which are pretty much the same size as the feeders, and scarlets are smaller than badis badis, so you shouldn't have a problem.

P.S.: In the cup I see 5 feeder guppies? by 4 males do you mean the 4 + 1 female?


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## Kehy (Feb 5, 2012)

Overgrowth said:


> I never knew other people besides me actually wanted feeder guppies as pets! lol! Are you still going to get RCS and scarlet badis? I have a regular badis badis in my tank and he gets along with endlers which are pretty much the same size as the feeders, and scarlets are smaller than badis badis, so you shouldn't have a problem.
> 
> P.S.: In the cup I see 5 feeder guppies? by 4 males do you mean the 4 + 1 female?


Lol yeah, I love how pretty the feeders gups get when they color up properly. I like wild colors way more than fancies. The problem is, they usually come in pretty rough shape. I lost one of the gups during acclimation, he had almost no tail and was missing a fin entirely. The rest look like they have ammonia damage..not surprising given that they were in a 10 gallon with 100+ other guppies and a 6" crawfish.

I decided for the vase, there wasn't enough of a footprint for the shrimp to be comfortable, so I'm just going to have them in my 1.5 gallon that has a much larger area available to them. I also decided to not get a badis, as pretty as they are..I just don't know enough about them, and I want something that's fairly forgiving and hardy. And if I had the gups, badis, and shrimp all in one 2.5 gallon vase, that would be very overstocked...I think it's too small for the gups anyways. Just waiting till I can get a pond of some sort up and running outside for them.


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## Wicket_lfe (Aug 21, 2008)

This is great, Im about to start a lily vase as well.


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## Kehy (Feb 5, 2012)

Got my shrimp in yesterday, and did a minor rescaping of the tank. Update later today. (hopefully)


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## Kehy (Feb 5, 2012)

well sorry about the late update, been busy. Warning: pic spam

Did a minor rescaping, added a strand of anacharis...I hate that stuff, but I needed height, it was there, and it should help keep ammonia and such under control. I haven't been having issues really though, since I do daily water changes to remove uneaten food and such. 

before:








after:








I considered removing the anubias and replacing it's spot by covering a rock in xmas moss, but since this is the fastest I've ever seen it growing, I'll let it stay. I feel bad though, all the leaves are getting roasted by the light. 








new growth is really encouraging though. Maybe lower light, but keep the higher ferts?








The crypts are starting to grow like a proper jungle. I think their roots are finally finding the dirt under all that gravel. 








remember this was the tiny baby crypt?








the only problem with all this though is the algae...still everything seems fine despite that. 








This is the former baby val runner, it's gotten huge, and starting to get another runner off of it








the dwarf water lettuce loves it here








And to top off the bowl, here's the four amigos doing their thing:


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## Kehy (Feb 5, 2012)

Update #2- the blue pearl shrimp!
Warning: pic spam again

gotta love hijacking your own thread, but I may end up putting some of the less-blue shrimp in the vase and see how they fare. I'd like some permanent occupiers of the bottom/ middle of the vase, since the gups stay mostly either right at the top or on the bottom, foraging for food. I'd feel terrible putting more fish in here though.

well...these are still juvis, I'll give them some time to turn blue








(sorry for the blurriness) think they like the rock?








Not quite where you expect to see a shrimp...








This one's gonna look great all grown up! i hope...









my entire setup, including all the emersed farm stuff, and without the vase:


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## Robert H (Apr 3, 2003)

The potted grass was Lilaeopsis, (microsword), the stem plant was a Myriophyllum specie, either parrots feather or foxtail. Potted plants usually come with a name tag.


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## GMYukonon24s (May 3, 2009)

Nice vase shrimp,plants, and fish. Them are endlers right?


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## Kehy (Feb 5, 2012)

GMYukonon24s said:


> Nice vase shrimp,plants, and fish. Them are endlers right?


Nope, these are just regular feeder guppies. 5 for $1 at my LPS.


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## Kehy (Feb 5, 2012)

Robert H said:


> The potted grass was Lilaeopsis, (microsword), the stem plant was a Myriophyllum specie, either parrots feather or foxtail. Potted plants usually come with a name tag.


Lol the only plant that came with a tag on that bunch was the ludwigia peruensis...which everyone calls glandiosa instead. I'd have to diagree with you on the grass though, it's remained and is growing in with a hair grass type structure instead of a flat-bladed leaf type. It's in the shrimp tank right now.

As for the myrio though, I'm just calling it myrio and hoping it likes the name, lol. Only about 3" until it hits the surface


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## Koi Kameon (Apr 25, 2010)

so are the shrimp with red markings then? looks like one may have the beginnings....


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## Kehy (Feb 5, 2012)

Well....really bad news guys.

Lost one of the four amigos, the one without much color...he swam right into the airline tubing I was using to clean, and didn't make it.

Then this morning, I woke up to find 5/12 shrimp dead, a couple not looking so hot, and 1 missing entirely...Everything was normal, I have no idea what caused this die off...


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## Kehy (Feb 5, 2012)

Well, update time. Since I got a large tub to grow things emersed that might become a small pond, I might take the vase down in a few weeks/months. It was only meant to be a place for my tall plants to grow, but I've gotten really attached to it. I'm hoping I can afford a real tank soon, and move whatever plants aren't going into the pond into that. I might set it up as a low tech/low light vase for my mother dearest. Or use it as a pot for some regular houseplants. Either way, it'll be a bit until its fate is decided. 

Switched out the light over it to my floor lamp so I can have an emersed setup on the ground beside it. Neither is getting enough light though, so I might end up seeing the lilly pads again. May start introducing the 3 amigos to live food (bugs) so they can get used to it before I dump them in the hypothetical pond outside. Also, I've got more plants ordered that will be being shipped out on saturday, so expect a bit of a rescaping.

Tiger val is growing wild (lol) but I really like it, so it can grow as much as its little hearts desire. The myrio is finally getting close to the surface, so it'll need a trim. The bottom part of it isn't looking too hot though. The crypts seem really happy, growing like crazy still. The dwarf lilly is a nice little bush now...grr, it in the vase where I wanted it to have lilly pads too!

Pics - sorry for the odd sizes and how blurry they are...Trying to get decent pics of the gups, and it's really hard. 
FTS from a different angle than normal:









My apologies for the pics...I really wanted to show off the pretty colors though


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## Koi Kameon (Apr 25, 2010)

but what happened to the shrimp? this is like a fav soap. you can't leave me hanging on what happened to some of the characters. Did you move them in to Renoir's house before it had cycled enough? If you EVER want to get rid of that vase, i'll take it.


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## Kehy (Feb 5, 2012)

hahaha the shrimp are doing ok in Renny's old tank, after I wiped out nearly half the population in a little excel accident. >.> I do have one decent-sized saddled female, and even though these are exactly blue blue pearls, there's some really interesting colors...like some have become snow white, but otherwise seem healthy. They person I bought them from is having a bunch of his blue pearls turning white too, but otherwise seeming healthy. I would say to call them Zombie Shrimp, but that would really only work if they were green. lol

Currently got a rather bad snail problem in that tank though, it's bad enough that the snails are eating whatever food I put in there for the shrimp, within minutes of me putting it in. Lol, it's pretty funny seeing a half-inch shrimp fighting an inch long snail for noms. 

I have some great news though! I just saved a bunch of money by switching my car insurance to Geico! (does anyone remember those commercials?) But I was at my local Goodwill picking through stuff when I found a buried treasure! A 5 gallon metal frame tank for $4! It needs a lot of work, but it's really cool. I guess this is where I learn how to fix rust in metal, and how to re-silicone a tank. Once I get it fixed up (may take weeks/months) I'll be replacing Renny's tank with it. Hopefully, lol. If/when I get it up and running, I might move the shrimp there. I was thinking of maybe getting another betta, a couple of my friends are breeding them. If not, I might put the shrimp in the vase, once I move out the 3 Amigos.


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## Koi Kameon (Apr 25, 2010)

aren't they the same species as snowball shrimp just a different variety? my nano tank book says that they are a "mutation from white pearl shrimp. Offspring have different colors, selective breeding is necessary." So, uh, some may end up white, i guess?


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## Kehy (Feb 5, 2012)

lol maybe...but when blue shrimp suddenly turn white, it's a little uhhh, questionable, lol I assume genetics are what would make it blue, but they wouldn't have as much of an impact after that. I guess we'll have to see, the saddled female is just getting bigger and bigger, can't wait to see her berried! (and then can't wait to see babies)

Oh, and my plants should be coming in in a few hours


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## Koi Kameon (Apr 25, 2010)

oh, so they showed up at your house blue and then turned white. ok. sounds a little odd.


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## Kehy (Feb 5, 2012)

lol i need to post a rescape update, but my plants won't quit floating and I'm really tired...lol, maybe tomorrow (soon, I promise though)


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## Kehy (Feb 5, 2012)

Sorry about the late updates! Have a teaser instead!


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## Kehy (Feb 5, 2012)

once again, sorry for the update delay...been a lil crazy here!

-the 3 amigos had their first taste of their future food: bugs! They LOVED them.
-now have a berried shrimp! ...but I'm pretty sure she's the only female in the tank, and the rest are boys. Might move some of the boys to the vase.
-family was over, they noticed how much bigger the amigos are now. They're all colored up like freaking rainbows...pretty!
-have been having issues with plants staying down in the vase...more gravel, or not worth it now? 

so yeah, that, mixed with school life has me spinning in circles. I'm hoping I can get the pond set up soon though...it's decided to suddenly be 70+ weather. I should be getting pics up soon...oh and I have baby fish too, from some moss.


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## Kehy (Feb 5, 2012)

Alright, update time, FINALLY! Been busy being a college student 

Seeing some decent plant growth in the vase, but I split up the lilly plants since they were shading each other out, and really not growing as well as they could be. They aren't even the main focus of the tank anymore, which kinda sucks. Instead, the tiger vals and the crypts are really popping now, and the crypts are going insane, looks like a proper jungle now. I suppose they're MUCH happier without so much light- I moved the desk lamp to the 1.5 gallon shrimp tank so I could use the floor lamp to light both the vase and an emersed tub I've got going...not nearly enough light for the tub though. Starting getting collectoritis with crypts too...great. 

The three amigos are doing well, and they're acting like desperate frat boys who haven't seen a girl in months...sorry guys, you're outta luck! I don't want babies! Speaking of babies, my one female shrimp is nice a berried, has been for a week or two, can't wait to see babies! I did lose one shrimp though, to unknown causes, and I'm now officially calling these shrimp zombie whites. They seem healthy, just opaque white flesh. Nice red stripes on them, even if there isn't any blue really. I think I'm going to try breeding for the stripes. Should be easy, I only have 1 female and 5 males :icon_conf Also, anyone got an amano shrimp and assasin snails? My pond snail problem in the 1.5 is out of control, and the vase is about to experience a bad outbreak too. 

I redid the most boring bowl in the world, with some extra plants. I stuck one of the lilly plants in there since it should be getting more light/ferts in there and should start growing more. I have a couple other lilly plants, a different species, can't remember if it's zenkeri, looks more like a lilly than a lotus. Going to be trying a glosso carpet in there too, now quite sure how well that will work, can't decide between using co2 or excel in there...going to move some of the culls from the shrimp tank in there or in the vase. Unfortunately we all know how well shrimp and excel mix. :angryfire. It's only a 1 gallon bowl, so maybe co2 would be overkill? I want an actual carpet of something, and it was between glosso and HC.

And now, pics:








crypt jungle
















berried shrimp moma (sorry, forgot FTS of the 1.5 and the bowl!)
















bowl rescape
















My emersed setups...
















Someone need some HC?









And finally, since I thought ya'll deserved it for waiting so long, a video of the tanks:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EQXOV2aJ-g&list=UULP7s9TCOEkaa01mEv3qMig&index=1&feature=plcp


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## Kehy (Feb 5, 2012)

So it seems separating the lilly was a great idea. Only been a couple days (was a bit late updating), and there's already a big difference in leaf size! I freaking love how fast lillies react to improved conditions. Now if I could only get the bulb to stop floating...


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## Kehy (Feb 5, 2012)

Bad news about the shrimp...I've lost a couple over the last few days, fortunately only my males. But now I'm down to 5 shrimp from 7 from 12...gah. The tank params are reading fine and normal, I'm guessing it was whatever made the shrimp turn into zombies that is killing them....
Still have my berried female though, and hoping for the best


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## Koi Kameon (Apr 25, 2010)

Wow. I was thinking of getting into blue pearls or blue jellies if my crab doesnt' make it through a molt, but these guys seem to be a lot more delicate than my hawaiian red shrimp (brackish water). those things are indestrcutable. Is it possible they have milk disease? I have a book on nano aquariums with an extensive section on freshwater shrimp and this is what is says: " This disease almost always appears after transportation, probably a result of the weakening of the immune system by stress. It is caused by protozoan parasites...The whole body of the shrimp suddenly becomes white and sometime the water also becomes milky. The shrimp die very soon after changing color. No treatment." You've had them a couple of weeks right? So, I don't know if the "very soon" applies. So, maybe not milk disease, but something you may want to check out...


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## Tiger (Apr 17, 2012)

Koi Kameon said:


> Wow. I was thinking of getting into blue pearls or blue jellies if my crab doesnt' make it through a molt, but these guys seem to be a lot more delicate than my hawaiian red shrimp (brackish water). those things are indestrcutable. Is it possible they have milk disease? I have a book on nano aquariums with an extensive section on freshwater shrimp and this is what is says: " This disease almost always appears after transportation, probably a result of the weakening of the immune system by stress. It is caused by protozoan parasites...The whole body of the shrimp suddenly becomes white and sometime the water also becomes milky. The shrimp die very soon after changing color. No treatment." You've had them a couple of weeks right? So, I don't know if the "very soon" applies. So, maybe not milk disease, but something you may want to check out...


It could also be a bacterial infection, particularly if the seller said his were affected too. You could try to treat with Maracyn 2 or Paraguard.


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## Kehy (Feb 5, 2012)

Tiger said:


> It could also be a bacterial infection, particularly if the seller said his were affected too. You could try to treat with Maracyn 2 or Paraguard.


I might try that, but I am a bit worried about my berried female. Still, not to sound heartless, but I'm hopefully going to be taking the shrimp tank down soon (aka possibly a month or two) when/if I can get my 5 gallon fixed up so I'm trying to avoid putting too much more into that tank (yeah right, it's already eaten $100+!), but if I still have shrimp when it's done, I'll definitely treat them


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## Koi Kameon (Apr 25, 2010)

amazing how the money totals mount even if you're not buying supremo stuff...


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## Kehy (Feb 5, 2012)

Alright, it's been 2 weeks since my last update. Not a whole lot to report in the 2.5, aside from some aggression from the 3 amigos...They're acting like desperate frat boys who haven't seen a girl in months...which I guess they are, sorry guys! Now stop picking on Anchor! The tiger vals are really starting to stand out, they look great. Now if I only had 3 less of them in the vase, that'd be perfect. I might try growing them in the pond when I get it set up, I think they'd really like the extra light and growing room.

Big news in the 1.5, babies! I don't know how many, but mama was loaded with eggs! I'm hoping they didn't get caught in the filter though, didn't realize there was a part with no sponge before the pump part. The babies really like the filter though, and there's usually at least one or two on it at a time. Sooo freaking cute! I also got what was sold to me as an amano shrimp to help with the crazy hair algae I've got in the moss, but so far no signs of it doing anything with that. In fact, no sign of the amano at the moment, thanks to all that dumb dwarf water lettuce. I can barely see anything due to the roots, but I have a feeling my nitrates are a big fat zero. It seems that the other shrimp relaxed and were out and about more after I got the amano. I would be too, if there was a huge version of me, lol.

In the boring bowl...growth! Glosso's growing well vertically (grr), and so is the N. micrantha. The sword is happily just doing its thing, I'm not about to stop it from growing out of the bowl. I think the bowl needs more light though, but for now, that isn't possible. 

















dumb dwarf water lettuce...








babies and moma! Ignore the algae, it counts as baby food. 








The...amano? Seems a little brown...


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## Kehy (Feb 5, 2012)

Not too much to report really, except that one of my lillies is floating in the vase the tiger vals are getting much bigger, the three amigos continue to pick on one of their own, and I'm considering separating them to either protect the victim or isolate the aggressor.

Almost all of my shrimp except for 1-2 blue pearls have disappeared, including the babies and amano...noooo....I have no idea what happened to them, I haven't even seen bodies. Not even sucked into the filter.

The boring bowl seems to be puttering along. Too bad I'm one payment away from selling the sword...what I'll put in there instead...I don't know. Maybe a crypt. The glosso seems to be doing well, just growing vertically. I'll trim it when I get the chance.

Right now though, I feel really exhausted, and I'm busy with school work. I end up spending a long time staring into the tanks, and it does make me feel a bit better. So sorry if I'm not posting much I'm just...out of it..


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## Kehy (Feb 5, 2012)

Minor update: moved the guppy that was being chased to the 1.5 so he can recover. Unfortunately he seems to have liked it much better, and isn't showing his pretty black colors. Still, the vase seems to have calmed down since he's been moved. I'll be doing a minor trim over the weekend since I'm selling some plants, including one of the lillies. 

Started working on a written guide for beginners to plants. Would be doing better if I wasn't falling asleep, lol


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## Kehy (Feb 5, 2012)

Alright, it's been too long since I've updated.

Not a whole lot has changed, although I did have to remove the lillies from the vase since the pond snails were eating them like crazy. Ended up with one decent sized plantlet, and then 2 babies still attached to the bulb. I stuck them, and the rest of the lillies in the 1 gallon bowl. The snails have been going nuts and killing everything. I figured out how to take care of the snails in the vase though; hook up some co2, and all the pond snails rise to the surface, where I just wiped them off. I think I removed over 50 snails, most of which were hatchlings and tiny babies. The MTS in that vase seem to be doing ok though, I think. Hard to tell with them.

I replaced the lilly in the vase with a baby sword, an E. Parviflourus, which should stay small enough to work in the vase. 

Bad news on the guppy front though, one of the 2 gups in the vase disappeared. I literally saw it one minute, turned around to clean the 1.5, then looked back and it was gone. I couldn't find it anywhere, but the remaining boy in the vase seems fine.

In the 1.5, did a pretty big rescape, much happier with it now, although I don't know how well it will grow because I moved the light from the 1.5 to my emersed tub and forgot to buy another one for the 1.5, so now it's running off of sunlight. No idea how it's doing, since I'm on my one week summer break. Entirely certain every shrimp in there is dead and gone, working limiting the snail population now. The emersed moss on the driftwood is growing very nicely, but everything below that got bad hair algae, so I cut that part out, and I re-tied the moss. Immediate improvement there. 

pics to come


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## Kehy (Feb 5, 2012)

Left side








right side








crypt forest








the anubias is puttering along nicely








New baby sword








1.5 before rescaping








after


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## Kehy (Feb 5, 2012)

Back from vacation, and the vase pulled through mostly alright. The ludwigia was NOT happy, again, and I decided to pull it. The vase looks much cleaner and more open without it. Seems a lot brighter too, I guess the ludwigia was too dark for the vase. The myrio needed another trim, and the one guppy that is left in the vase is doing alright. Had a die-off of several of my MTS, no idea why. I think it has something to do with the co2 I added...maybe not a great idea. 

Also...I got *2* five gallon tanks now! My 5 gallon metaframe I've been working on got a crack in it during painting, going to see if I can't turn it into a pauladrium or something, it's too nice to waste. To make up for it, my family got me a new 5 gallon kit (the cheap type, oh well). It'll need more work, but hopefully soon I can say goodbye to the 1.5! Woo!

Also number two... I have the reddest dwarf sag I've ever seen anywhere in a jar of water I don't do anything to. It's really strange and kinda badass in a toxic landscape kind of way


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