# Hambone's House



## hambone870 (Feb 13, 2013)

My ten gallon is a low tech tank with MGOCPM with a play sand bottom. It's powered with one single cfl 16 watt spiral, AC 30, and a 50 watt heater. This tank is getting 6 hours of light a day and 1/3rd the amount of EI dosing per week. This started as a dwarf puffer tank but due to the feeding requirements I opted to exchange em for community fish.

*Current Livestock List*
8 endlers/guppies
4 juli Cory cats
4 ottos
4 nerite snails

*Current Plant List*
Dwarf sag
Vals
Crypt wenti (green gecko, bronze, Florida sunset)
Crypt lutea
Kleiner sword
Dwarf water lettuce 
Hydrocoytle Japan


Here's the tanks progression for the first few months its been around

Just filled with water-








Just planted-








After a month-








Yesterday after a rescape-








7-31-13


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## hambone870 (Feb 13, 2013)

a few fish from the ten gallon

the endlers have been fun but are proving to be hard to photograph. some of you guys must have some serious patience or know how to adjust camera setting better cause about 1 in 100 of my shots came out while following these fish around the tank










here's one of my cory cats, ive always had trouble keeping them in the past but this time im really trying to make sure they get plenty of good food and good water conditions. as a side note, i had a problem keeping the bottom stirred before getting these guys but they are keeping things tidy!


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## CheyLillymama22 (Jun 9, 2013)

Very nice!
I love my cories, they are so adorable.
Show us the dbp shrimp tank! Im considering buying one myself, i have a 20 long cycling right now for some dark blue velvet and am thinking of doing some yellow neos in a dbp 3 gallon long.


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## hambone870 (Feb 13, 2013)

CheyLillymama22 said:


> Very nice!
> I love my cories, they are so adorable.
> Show us the dbp shrimp tank! Im considering buying one myself, i have a 20 long cycling right now for some dark blue velvet and am thinking of doing some yellow neos in a dbp 3 gallon long.


It might be a day or so until I put the shrimp tank up but stay tuned. I've got the photos for the betta bowl to put up soon.

Dbp 3 gallons are good for a shrimp show tank and the price is good for its quality so don't hesitate. Have you seen the dbp club?

I'm struggling a bit with stems in that tank cause its height isn't great except for some moss, foreground, or clippings. It's real short...

I was thinking about maybe moving the betta to the 3 gallon after setting the 30 gallon in the basement for a cherry breeding tank. Time will tell.


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## hambone870 (Feb 13, 2013)

This 2 dollar pet smart betta bought by my son with his own money was the catalyst for getting me back into planted tanks this time around. This bowl has been one of the most enjoyable things to make and its shape and size has been fun to work with.

its MGOCPM capped with flora-max substrate, no filter, and a tiny marina betta heater hid behind the driftwood. it was originally lit by a desk lamp and a cfl spiral bulb but the lamp was changed out to a deep blue professional solar flare lamp instead. This bowl is getting 6 hours of light. I'm considering a drop of excel every day.


*Current Livestock list*
1 Betta
a few ramshorn snails

*Current Plant List* 
micro sword
hydrocotyle japan
bacopa
alternanthera reineckii (petco tissue culture)


filled









my first few plants









added some dwarf hair grass









time for everything to settle and adjust









the pinnacle of the dwarf hair grass









after a major rescape 7-14









over head shot 7-14


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## hambone870 (Feb 13, 2013)

my ramshorn snails, the few that made it to maturity are quite fun to watch and perfect bowl mates for the betta


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

I wish you would put the Betta in a 10g. He could probably go in the tank with the shrimp. Try it first with a few shrimp. He looks like a mild tempered Betta so I think it would work. 

The 10 G after its first scape followed the golden ration. Thus more appeasing. Rah hop shows how it is easily applied


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## hambone870 (Feb 13, 2013)

Hilde said:


> I wish you would put the Betta in a 10g. He could probably go in the tank with the shrimp. Try it first with a few shrimp. He looks like a mild tempered Betta so I think it would work.


do you feel like the bowl is too small for him?

the 3 gallon has been a consideration but mixing him with the shrimp wont work due to the 50 babies im currently raising in there, unless i relocate the shrimp


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

hambone870 said:


> do you feel like the bowl is too small for him?


Yes! Was thinking you could have shrimp and Betta in 10g. Have many hiding places.

My betta swims to slow to catch baby guppies.


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## hambone870 (Feb 13, 2013)

Hilde said:


> Yes! Was thinking you could have shrimp and Betta in 10g. Have many hiding places.
> 
> My betta swims to slow to catch baby guppies.


LOL, OK I know exactly what your saying about betta's and tank size 

:red_mouth


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## hambone870 (Feb 13, 2013)

A shot to the eye the first time ever doing filter maintenance on an Eheim...

At least I'm back to full force!


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## hambone870 (Feb 13, 2013)

A few new additions to our house in the last week

For the last 3 months we have been a foster home for 2 chocolate labs puppies. I'm happy to say that we placed them in some great homes. This weekend we picked up our newest foster, a border collie mix named bandit.









He's 5 months old and lived a truly rough life. Given up by his owners at a young age he lived most of his life in a cage and tied up to a water heater. He's really shy and smart and the few short days we've had him he's really starting to come around.









That's crusty the crested gecko and he's my wife's new pet. He's pretty chill and we like him a lot too.


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## hambone870 (Feb 13, 2013)

Thanks dprais1 for the dwl it was good to meet you and trade a few plants. I got enough to throw a few good handfuls in the 10 and the 20 gallon.

















Fish planet was un-boxing their plants today when I walked in and was able to pick a crypt bunch before they even got them unpacked. I'll have a lot more green wendti for you next time.


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## sacme (Apr 3, 2013)

That crested gecko looks awesome, same with the border collie, that's a real good looking dog.


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## hambone870 (Feb 13, 2013)

sacme said:


> That crested gecko looks awesome, same with the border collie, that's a real good looking dog.


its called a foster failure when the foster family ends up keeping the dog

we might be heading down that road, he fits in perfect with our two other dogs

you can tell he's not so trusting of people right now and its taken time for us to earn even a little


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## hambone870 (Feb 13, 2013)

This is a miracle grow bottom capped with Eco. Finnex ray 2 lights. Eheim 2213. GLA atomic paint ball regulator. 20oz tank. Ei dosing.

Current plant list

- stargrass
- ludwigia
- stargoyne repens
- hygro compacta
- blyxa

Current fish list

- 3 ottos
- 6 scarlet badis
- 8 Pygmy Cory cats

Planted








Two weeks








Three weeks








Five weeks








Seven weeks (flooded)








10 weeks








8-16-13









8-24-13









09-09-13


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## hambone870 (Feb 13, 2013)

Update my time line and stock list on my 10 gallon

Lost 2 endlers
Amano shrimp jumped ship
Took out wisteria

Added crypt lutea 
Added hydrocoytle Japan
Added dwl










I'm thinking about making this a crypt only tank... Or mostly that.


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## hambone870 (Feb 13, 2013)

So I'm currently dosing 2 of my 4 tanks with dry ferts. My 10 gallon is low tech and I'm doing 1/3 the recommended EI dose. That means just adding macro and micro just once a week.

The 20 gallon high tech is getting the full blown EI.

The schedule looks something like this

















I'm so new to all this so I don't exactly know what I'm adding and for what purpose. I'm just following the directions laid out by others. I will say the dry ferts with the combination of dirt has given me some plant growing confidence. I've failed terribly with plants the first go around so I'm feeling so much more confident this time around.

Big question here-

My dry fert package came with k2so4 and iron chelate. Neither one I've even touched. What is the potential benefit or risks of adding these into the tanks?


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## Xiaozhuang (Feb 15, 2012)

What trace are you using? Does it contain iron? If it does have adequate iron you can skip the iron chelate, if it doesn't you should mix iron chelate into your dosing.

You can use this calculator to figure out how much you're actually dosing:
http://calc.petalphile.com/

Your iron chelate will probably appear as either EDTA Fe or Fe Gluconate


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## hambone870 (Feb 13, 2013)

Xiaozhuang said:


> What trace are you using? Does it contain iron? If it does have adequate iron you can skip the iron chelate, if it doesn't you should mix iron chelate into your dosing.
> 
> You can use this calculator to figure out how much you're actually dosing:
> http://calc.petalphile.com/
> ...


For trace just planted CSM+B

So what do you think, iron chelate or no?


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## dprais1 (Sep 12, 2012)

I love your 20L the proportions are perfect, which means if I didn't know I would guess it was at least a 40.

I think that is the trick to a really good scape.

nice job


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## TankYouVeryMuch (Jul 5, 2013)

Glad i clicked on this from your raok!

Loving the tanks, im really digging all these 20Longs ive been seeing, making me scratch my neck and twitch a little


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## hambone870 (Feb 13, 2013)

dprais1 said:


> I love your 20L the proportions are perfect, which means if I didn't know I would guess it was at least a 40.
> 
> I think that is the trick to a really good scape.
> 
> nice job





TankYouVeryMuch said:


> Glad i clicked on this from your raok!
> 
> Loving the tanks, im really digging all these 20Longs ive been seeing, making me scratch my neck and twitch a little


thanks guys, im still looking at it as a work in progress but for my first go around with high tech im glad i havent crashed this tank yet


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## hambone870 (Feb 13, 2013)

Everyone be sure to check out my 500th post RAOK

Giving away a large Kleiner bar sword, 10 assorted crypts, dwl, and hydrocoytle japan, maybe a few extra stems

:bounce:


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## Xiaozhuang (Feb 15, 2012)

hambone870 said:


> For trace just planted CSM+B
> 
> So what do you think, iron chelate or no?


I use CSM + B and Fe in a 2:1 ratio and dose about 0.25ppm Fe in a dose 3X a week. You could use 1:1 ratio; if you wanted more Fe. 

You can check out this thread (from barrreport) :
http://www.barrreport.com/showthread.php/7888-Iron-Chelate-and-Ferrous-Gluconate-dosing


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## hambone870 (Feb 13, 2013)

Xiaozhuang said:


> I use CSM + B and Fe in a 2:1 ratio and dose about 0.25ppm Fe in a dose 3X a week. You could use 1:1 ratio; if you wanted more Fe.
> 
> You can check out this thread (from barrreport) :
> http://www.barrreport.com/showthread.php/7888-Iron-Chelate-and-Ferrous-Gluconate-dosing


Thanks for the effort in your response Dennis 

Sounds like a easy thing to implement 

I will read up on that link and add these into my dosing regiment


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## hambone870 (Feb 13, 2013)

Double post


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## hambone870 (Feb 13, 2013)

3 gallon long cherry shrimp tank

A deep blue profession tank, azoo palm filter, petco black sand, single bright led

This tank has had some ups and some downs. It's been hit hard with planeria and hydra and was remedied with de-wormer. It's substrate was changed from Eco to black sand halfway through it life. It's also been a challenge with finding the right plants because it as tall as a pop can.

Current livestock-

5 painted fire red shrimp
40ish baby shrimp

Current plant list-

Marsilea minuta 
Hydrocoytle Japan
Christmas moss

Just planted








Shrimp feed time








8-4-13


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## tattooedfool83 (Mar 15, 2013)

Looks good. I have an empty deep blue 3 gallon sitting around. Maybe now my bowl broke I should set it up. Are you using root tabs?


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## jpappy789 (Jul 28, 2013)

ham, love the 20 long. I'm setting one up myself and was thinking about going the dirt capped with eco complete route. Which type of eco complete did you use, and is it separated by mesh at all (I've seen that recommended)? What's the depth you used for each?

Has it given you any trouble? I've done the Miracle Gro Organic soil capped with PFS and it got messy at times. That's my main issue since I'm a pretty finicky planter and like to move things around. Just wondering if it's been a pain in terms of messiness, obviously it's doing very well in terms of growth which is why I'd like to see what you did to make it successful.


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## TankYouVeryMuch (Jul 5, 2013)

Ive been looking around for these 3g longs but havent found them anywhere except online... Which is good i dont need another tank lol


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## hambone870 (Feb 13, 2013)

tattooedfool83 said:


> Looks good. I have an empty deep blue 3 gallon sitting around. Maybe now my bowl broke I should set it up. Are you using root tabs?


you have an empty tank sitting around? that wont last...

serious, its a great shrimp/fry/betta tank

yup, root tabs just under the marsilea



jpappy789 said:


> ham, love the 20 long. I'm setting one up myself and was thinking about going the dirt capped with eco complete route. Which type of eco complete did you use, and is it separated by mesh at all (I've seen that recommended)? What's the depth you used for each?
> 
> Has it given you any trouble? I've done the Miracle Gro Organic soil capped with PFS and it got messy at times. That's my main issue since I'm a pretty finicky planter and like to move things around. Just wondering if it's been a pain in terms of messiness, obviously it's doing very well in terms of growth which is why I'd like to see what you did to make it successful.


Lord knows im the same way with moving things around. Just when Im happy with the looks i switch it all around. Even the wife gets pissed "why cant you stop messing around and just let things grow. Thats my new goal is to just let the plants do their thing

i did about 1 to 1.5 inches of the miracle grow with 1.5 - 2 inches of plain old eco black packed in the water. soil/miracle grow will always take a bit of finesse but my plants all grow with it. I dont think ill ever not use dirt unless i throw down the $$$ for aqua soil.

ive had more issues with mess in my 10 gallon with play sand. its so compact that the air pockets build up and when those push through it can leave some dirt on top. the eco is a larger grain so it doesn't trap any nasty air pockets. 

im not familiar with using mesh so just normal cap over the top of the MG



TankYouVeryMuch said:


> Ive been looking around for these 3g longs but havent found them anywhere except online... Which is good i dont need another tank lol


but they are so worth the 30$, come on :thumbsup:


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## tattooedfool83 (Mar 15, 2013)

hambone870 said:


> you have an empty tank sitting around? that wont last...
> 
> serious, its a great shrimp/fry/betta tank
> 
> ...




Yeah I need to grab a light and filter and ill be good to go. It sort of got pushed to the side but now that I lost the bowl I'm gonna have to push forward with it. I imagine it as a moss garden


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## sacme (Apr 3, 2013)

I am very very jealous of your 20 long HC carpet. It looks so lush, do you find the ferts and such help a lot?


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## hambone870 (Feb 13, 2013)

sacme said:


> I am very very jealous of your 20 long HC carpet. It looks so lush, do you find the ferts and such help a lot?


this tank was started to grow the hc carpet, mission accomplished

im over it and about to rip it all out, the trimming on this stuff is out of control 

millions of tiny little pieces floating all around my tank and netting it for hours

not fun...


im doing a heavy dose of ei and this week starting to add in k2so4 and iron chelate

id have to imagine its doing good for the plants, that and the dirt bottom

thanks for the compliment even though im starting to despise the hc

maybe in a nano cube

:icon_frow


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## sacme (Apr 3, 2013)

interesting! What do you plan on doing with the tank after tearing it up?


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## jpappy789 (Jul 28, 2013)

Thanks for answering my questions! I'm thinking of ordering the eco complete on Drs F&S but they have a coarse and a fine grade for the black. I like the fine grade from a looks standpoint, but not sure if either would be a better cap than the other?


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## hambone870 (Feb 13, 2013)

sacme said:


> interesting! What do you plan on doing with the tank after tearing it up?


i think glosso is next on my list, though i just bought some staurogyne repens, kinda expensive but that certainly is a plant ive never seen locally and wanna try to grow that out too. i also really want the stargrass to take over 



jpappy789 said:


> Thanks for answering my questions! I'm thinking of ordering the eco complete on Drs F&S but they have a coarse and a fine grade for the black. I like the fine grade from a looks standpoint, but not sure if either would be a better cap than the other?


id go with the fine grade if i could find it locally, should be much easier to plant in


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## hambone870 (Feb 13, 2013)

Huh... Guppy fry everywhere!

Feeding the 10 gallon tank I moved some of the floaters in the back and there they were. I know live bearing fish aren't anything to jump up and down about but still it's my first babies. I'm not counting the ones that got eaten

11 babies scooped out and moved to shrimp tank now. Isn't that a lot for 1 female?









They won't get eaten in here...


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## tattooedfool83 (Mar 15, 2013)

I was the same way when my mollies began breeding. Now when the fry are big enough they go into the turtle tank.


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## tylergvolk (Jun 17, 2012)

You have some nice tank hanbone. I like your scape designs. What camera are you using for the closeup shots?


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## hambone870 (Feb 13, 2013)

tylergvolk said:


> You have some nice tank hanbone. I like your scape designs. What camera are you using for the closeup shots?


Thanks for checking out my tanks, I'm still new to this plant thing

In post 3 and post 7 and the final shot of the dwarf hair grass in the betta bowl I used my cannon t3i. All the rest are just a plain old i-phone 4.


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## hambone870 (Feb 13, 2013)

tattooedfool83 said:


> I was the same way when my mollies began breeding. Now when the fry are big enough they go into the turtle tank.


The excitement has almost wore off after an hour 

My buddy has mollies and platies and just lets them do their thing. Survival of the fittest


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## hambone870 (Feb 13, 2013)

So excited. Fish eggs have arrived in the mail from the land far far away!









These killifish eggs have a best date of sept 18 on em. I will be sure to keep record of my progress of my hatching and raising these eggs on this thread.


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## tattooedfool83 (Mar 15, 2013)

Smear some on a cracker, yum!! Hahaha. I look forward to seeing how this goes


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## VJM (Feb 9, 2013)

Your 3g looks gorgeous! And, I <3 Bandit. 

What kind of rock is in the 3g, and where did you get it? I just rescaped mine, and am going with dhg, crypt parva (hopefully carpeting around 2020), downoi, stauro, and a cranky erio. No fast growing stuff this time!


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## hambone870 (Feb 13, 2013)

@ TTF83

These eggs are super tiny. We shall see how this goes.

@ VJM

Not really sure what the heck the rock is. I had it from my cichlid keeping days. It was actually one big rock and i tactically smashed it to pieces. It has some shallow wide pores and its white and doesn't swing parameters, that's all I know. Scale with these tanks aren't easy. 

My wood is 1/3rd a small piece of manzanita broken up.


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## tattooedfool83 (Mar 15, 2013)

U gonna use or make an egg tumbler? I have seen some nice DIY with PVC pipe and an air stone.


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## TankYouVeryMuch (Jul 5, 2013)

Egg ordering huh?

Never heard of it, sounds cool... Would be a nice raok sometime


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## hambone870 (Feb 13, 2013)

tattooedfool83 said:


> U gonna use or make an egg tumbler? I have seen some nice DIY with PVC pipe and an air stone.


these hatch a bit different, they stay dry in the peat moss for months, simulates the dry season

eggs come with a best hatch date, add aged water or rain water, simulates the wet season

you can dry and re-pack the peat and eggs and try it again a week or two later for some late hatchers a few times



TankYouVeryMuch said:


> Egg ordering huh?
> 
> Never heard of it, sounds cool... Would be a nice raok sometime


yes it would, im gonna be trying a this a few times


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## tattooedfool83 (Mar 15, 2013)

That's awesome man. I look forward to seeing this


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## hambone870 (Feb 13, 2013)

6 scarlet badis have just arrived from overnight shipping!

These are the days i hate working, maybe i should have taken the day off but the wife is on fish duty this morning

She has opened the bag and given it a shot of prime

The bag water is pretty cold so gonna float it until the temps even out. 

Then its a matter of scooping and dropping em in

They look pale but hope a steady diet of live food will get em in shape quick










thanks for all who have given me advice and insight on the badis

:bounce:


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## tattooedfool83 (Mar 15, 2013)

The badis are a gorgeous fish. I look forward to seeing them when they color up for you


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## sacme (Apr 3, 2013)

I can not wait to see these fish


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## VJM (Feb 9, 2013)

Love scarlet badis so much, but I understand they are fussy feeders. I am interested to see what your experience with them is. 

Which tank are they going in?


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## hambone870 (Feb 13, 2013)

sacme said:


> I can not wait to see these fish


they are going in the 20, i pulled the hc also


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## hambone870 (Feb 13, 2013)

VJM said:


> Love scarlet badis so much, but I understand they are fussy feeders. I am interested to see what your experience with them is.
> 
> Which tank are they going in?


i posted at the same time as you, yup the 20L

im feeding them 100% live cultures so i think the feeding should go smooth

praying that it does at least


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## sacme (Apr 3, 2013)

Pics pics pics ! :d


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## hambone870 (Feb 13, 2013)

yeah it was a big day yesterday

scarlet badis and my grindal worm culture arrived 

both on the same day, how appropriate!

my fish even got a sample 

this weekend ill put some time in to take some photos, the scarlet badis should be easy to shoot because they like to move in short burst with some long pauses

so flipping cute


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## hambone870 (Feb 13, 2013)

so as i stated earlier, i did pull all the hc

the trimming was more time for such a large patch that it was doubling the time i spent maintaining this tank 

i planted the foreground with some staurogyne, the right with blyxa japonica, the left with stargrass and a few stems of ludwigia not sure what species. A few stems of hygro kompakt in the back corner of the tank. 

i have been going through a saga with this stargrass but the plan now is to spread and grow it across the entire back of the tank. Once/If I grow out the stargrass, the hygro and blyxa will be moved . Here is a link to the stargrass saga. 

here's after the rescape










here's one of 6 scarlet badis i just received










Both i-phone shots, I'll pull out my T3i and get some good shots of the badis this weekend. This is just the fish that decided to play along last night, though i did miss a couple cool moments where all 6 were schooled up. I'm in love with these little guys. None are wider then a nickle as you can see that the little guy is the size of one of the leaves on the staurogyne. This tank has be running for months with no fish other then 3 ottos but it gave the tank time to build up a serious stock of micro-organisms. They are all feeding from what is already living in the tank and i dumped a good amount of grindals in last night that they took down quick. Great sign for the first fish that I've ever had shipped to me cross country. 

Full cultures and fat bellies


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## sacme (Apr 3, 2013)

You make me so jealous  if you don't mind asking where did you order em and how much were they? If you don't wanna answer you don't have to, I'm just interested in some for myself


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## hambone870 (Feb 13, 2013)

sacme said:


> You make me so jealous  if you don't mind asking where did you order em and how much were they? If you don't wanna answer you don't have to, I'm just interested in some for myself


Yeah, no worries. Glad you like em

Your in Ontario right?

Not sure how it works with customs so you might be better trying to source in Canada?

I bought on aquabid for 30$ for 6 fish but they really came from the wet shop in Portland 

Inverts by misjinx was selling em for way cheaper but didn't find them on the current stock list before I did here. Sorry for the spelling if I spelled that wrong. Pm her? Maybe she ships to you?

Shipping cost me more then the fish. Even with overnight my wife said the bag came in way colder then the tank.

Two days later everyone is still healthy. I'm glad I waited to get what I really wanted even though the empty tank drove me nuts...


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## sacme (Apr 3, 2013)

hambone870 said:


> Yeah, no worries. Glad you like em
> 
> Your in Ontario right?
> 
> ...


Thanks for the suggestions, i'll have to do some looking around. They are community fish correct? It was well worth the wait, theyre gonna look incredible in that tank of yours


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## hambone870 (Feb 13, 2013)

They are not aggressive to community fish, at least what I read. They don't do well in that situation though. They have a high percent chance of being live and frozen food dependent. They are small and don't move aggressive they seem cautious. I think they would get outcompeted for food by even tetras. They recommend species tanks. I'm looking at scavenger options but even Pygmy Cory cats will be big. My ottos now are twice the size!


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## sacme (Apr 3, 2013)

hambone870 said:


> They are not aggressive to community fish, at least what I read. They don't do well in that situation though. They have a high percent chance of being live and frozen food dependent. They are small and don't move aggressive they seem cautious. I think they would get outcompeted for food by even tetras. They recommend species tanks. I'm looking at scavenger options but even Pygmy Cory cats will be big. My ottos now are twice the size!


Wow, theyre that tiny?


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## hambone870 (Feb 13, 2013)

sacme said:


> Wow, theyre that tiny?


They top out at an inch!


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## hambone870 (Feb 13, 2013)

a few photos

*Bandit and Jax chilling*









*Scarlet Badis playing shy*









*One day later and much more active*









*pygmy cory schooling*










*A weeks growth from the last photo*


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## jpappy789 (Jul 28, 2013)

Man, Badis is just too tempting...great shots!


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## hambone870 (Feb 13, 2013)

My aqua clear on my ten is grinding 

I've done a full inspection, cleaning, and lube but my filter still grinds. Even worse, it is hard to prime and get spinning. The motor even seems a bit warm.

I ordered a backup to have on hand in case something does go wrong. I decided to head away from the HOB type and went with this










I'm exhausted or else I would already have this thing pumping h2o. In the beginning I think I be running both...


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

Beautiful tanks. That HC carpet was epic. I don't know how you dealt with it. I had a carpet in a 2.5 gallon and almost went nuts. That tank didn't last.

Love the badis. I want to get a couple for a 2 gallon hex I have now. I am thinking of getting a mated pair if I can.

Again, love your tanks. That 20 long is absolutely amazing.roud:


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## hambone870 (Feb 13, 2013)

cableguy69846 said:


> Beautiful tanks. That HC carpet was epic. I don't know how you dealt with it. I had a carpet in a 2.5 gallon and almost went nuts. That tank didn't last.
> 
> Love the badis. I want to get a couple for a 2 gallon hex I have now. I am thinking of getting a mated pair if I can.
> 
> Again, love your tanks. That 20 long is absolutely amazing.roud:


Thanks, Im just trying to figure this all out. The only thing I wanted to do with the 20 was grow a full hc carpet. After the first trim I was done. I kept it going a month or so before trashing it. 

Now I'm trying to master the next big hurdle in planted tanks- to leave sh*t alone. I have to let the plants really fill out and take over.

If I ever get a spawn out of these badis you have dibs on a couple free fish neighbor.


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

hambone870 said:


> Thanks, Im just trying to figure this all out. The only thing I wanted to do with the 20 was grow a full hc carpet. After the first trim I was done. I kept it going a month or so before trashing it.
> 
> Now I'm trying to master the next big hurdle in planted tanks- to leave sh*t alone. I have to let the plants really fill out and take over.
> 
> If I ever get a spawn out of these badis you have dibs on a couple free fish neighbor.


One thing I have learned with planted tanks. You will never be able to just leave sh*t alone.roud: Every time you look at the tank you will be unconsciously compiling a list of little tweeks you want to change. Move this rock here, move that stem there, change this filter here, that sort of thing. Next thing you know, you are yanking the whole thing apart to try new substrate and your fish are living in a bucket for a couple days. :hihi: It happens to all of us man.roud:

I am thinking of giving some HC a try again, but I would want to do it in a tank like yours. High tech, and LED powered. Maybe some day, but not this one. Lol.

That would be awesome on the badis! I would probably have some L144 pleco fry to throw your way if you wanted them, or some cherry shrimp. What part of IL/WI are you from, if you don't mind me asking?


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## hambone870 (Feb 13, 2013)

Now I live right on the east side of the fox chain 

work in Deerfield 

I grew up in wheeling

Believe me, I know exactly what you mean about tinkering around and moving stuff. At the cost of better plant growth I keep moving everything around. My last re-scape I must not have done a fast enough job. My crypts and sag were all in a bucket with an inch of water. Must of had them in the air for a bit long. I melted 1/3 of those plants...

There is 2 badis that look like they might pair up, but its early still. I've had them for a week. There are 2 ceramic spawning stones in there and one male has claimed one of these. I'm not going to do anything special. Feed them 100% live food and not keeping moving around their territory, maybe I'll get lucky. These guys were impossible to source local so I'd love to make more!

I'm also less then a month out for hatching out some killi eggs. 75 N. cardinalis eggs are what I have to try for my first hatch. I'm optimistic for good numbers of fry but also know that it doesn't always happen like that. If I have 20 of these guys I'll be trying to give some of them away local too.

Thanks for checking out my thread neighbor


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

hambone870 said:


> Now I live right on the east side of the fox chain
> 
> work in Deerfield
> 
> ...


Sweet man. I have an uncle in the chain area.

As for moving stuff around, sometimes crypts will melt like that just cuz you changed their home a bit. Most of the time they bounce back though. They are really hardy plants.

Good luck with the badis breeding attempts. Not sure if this will help, but if they have a rainy season in the wild, it might help to replicate that? I know with my plecos, every time I change the water, I get eggs.

And good luck with the killies too. I look forward to seeing how things progress with both fish.

Love to see other aquarists in the area.:thumbsup: If you ever make it to the southside, let me know, I know a couple of decent stores down here.:smile:


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## hambone870 (Feb 13, 2013)

cableguy69846 said:


> Love to see other aquarists in the area.:thumbsup:


with the lack of clubs, i know what you mean

TPT is really my only exposure to other like minded people


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

hambone870 said:


> with the lack of clubs, i know what you mean
> 
> TPT is really my only exposure to other like minded people


This is true. Speaking of clubs, GCCA swap in Sept. Just thought I would throw that out there.roud:

I know there are a couple other TPT members around here, but I am not sure how active they are as of late.


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## OVT (Nov 29, 2011)

Aha, found you 

v2


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## hambone870 (Feb 13, 2013)

OVT said:


> Aha, found you
> 
> v2


I didn't know you were looking!


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## OVT (Nov 29, 2011)

<puts on a fedora and shades>
<flashes gold Visa>
Bowl check. More pictures or come with us.

v2


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## hambone870 (Feb 13, 2013)

OVT said:


> Bowl check. More pictures or come with us.
> 
> v2


Sure but not tonight 

There's a little bit of work that needs to be done before that as that bowl has some floating temporary plants in it from the 20 long rescape. 

I'm brain dead after today and not even sure if I can move off this couch. 

Hell, my new finnex px-360 is still sitting in an unopened shipping box. Feeling uninspired right now. But on a brighter I did buy that filter on a recommendation you gave someone some time in the past. I like the search function. Kinda crazy but every question has been asked a lot here, even stargrass deficiency!

There may be a couple newer photos earlier in this thread that you may have not seen. Check time line in first couple pages


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## hambone870 (Feb 13, 2013)

Spreading the stargrass that seems to be doing a lot better with some extra ferts and hung the light a bit higher










Overall feeling better about this tank, as I spread the stargrass the blyxa will be removed


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## peachii (Jun 1, 2013)

Loved reading your journal, love the scarlet badis they are super cute!

Great idea for a journal, will have to spend some time making one for my tanks. Way to many tanks to just make one for all of them.


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

Looks good.

Is that a shelf above the tank? Is it used for anything?


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## hambone870 (Feb 13, 2013)

Thanks Peachii glad you like it, it's much easier for me to just do a little of everything I have going on the a separate journal for each one

Cable guy those are indeed bookshelves above my tank. I keep my ferts and live cultures up there. The lights are now also mounted to the bottom shelf...


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

Nice. Good use of the space. What live cultures do you have going?


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## hambone870 (Feb 13, 2013)

cableguy69846 said:


> Nice. Good use of the space. What live cultures do you have going?


Grindal worms, micro worms, daphnia on the way

Check out my signature for a link to culture club


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

hambone870 said:


> Grindal worms, micro worms, daphnia on the way
> 
> Check out my signature for a link to culture club


Nice. I will do that.


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## lamiskool (Jul 1, 2011)

oh thanks for he link! have been thinking of doing a live culture collection for my fish.


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## jpappy789 (Jul 28, 2013)

Coming along nicely! Have the Badis shown any preference to any culture?


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## hambone870 (Feb 13, 2013)

jpappy789 said:


> Coming along nicely! Have the Badis shown any preference to any culture?


They like the grindals the best over the brine shrimp, and micro worms. 

I hope daphnia will be a winner as well


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## tylergvolk (Jun 17, 2012)

Vibrant tanks! I want bandit! Cute pup!


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## hambone870 (Feb 13, 2013)

lamiskool said:


> oh thanks for he link! have been thinking of doing a live culture collection for my fish.


Stop by, there's already a lot of good info


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## hambone870 (Feb 13, 2013)

tylergvolk said:


> Vibrant tanks! I want bandit! Cute pup!


Thanks, he's full of energy. I'm working on an outlet for that one


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## andrewq (May 22, 2013)

I assume this is a 40 gallon breeder tank. Looks great, and I really like the repens and badis. I was wondering how did you remove the plastic divider on your glass top?


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## hambone870 (Feb 13, 2013)

andrewq said:


> I assume this is a 40 gallon breeder tank. Looks great, and I really like the repens and badis. I was wondering how did you remove the plastic divider on your glass top?


20 long actually, and for the glass top I used a skinny flat head screwdriver and just pulled.

My badis are awesome, so glad I held out and waited to order these. As they are in my first high tech tank I'm glad they weren't in there in the beginning. I threw a few guppies in there first and almost gassed them at 4 or 5 bps

We are down two 2.5 bps


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## nutbags (Aug 15, 2013)

*Sweet bowl*

Gday Hanbone nice journey mate loving that 1gl bowl. I myself have just gotten back into fish tanks and thought id give the planted tank ago.
Iv Gotta 3ft planted tank, 230lt water feature pond and the biggest Margharita bowl ever. 

I started the bowl off with 1" 1/2" gravel, a small water sprite sitting under a clay fert tab. small piece of drft wood and 12w CFL lamp 8hr PP. 

That's it Im being optimistic but im hoping it all works out. How do you think it'll go any quick suggestions?

heres some pics


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## dprais1 (Sep 12, 2012)

any update on the killis or did I miss it. 

These little fish have sparked my interest....may be time for a new tank.

maybe I can hide it from my wife under the rug.


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## hambone870 (Feb 13, 2013)

dprais1 said:


> any update on the killis or did I miss it.
> 
> These little fish have sparked my interest....may be time for a new tank.
> 
> maybe I can hide it from my wife under the rug.


Killifish are going to be hatched on the 18th of this month. Hope I get a good hatch. 

I'm on a side project this week at nights but plan an update of my tanks this weekend


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## hambone870 (Feb 13, 2013)

things on the 20 are really starting to fill in

heres a comparison of the growth

8-16







[/URL]

9-9







[/URL]

im still fighting with a bit of thread algae and a little bit of bba but still playing with the lights and co2 a bit

overall though im pretty stoked about the density of the stargrass

dprais1 im running out of room with my blyxa, cant believe it...


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## TankYouVeryMuch (Jul 5, 2013)

Wow thats really nice growth in under a month!


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## dprais1 (Sep 12, 2012)

hambone870 said:


> dprais1 im running out of room with my blyxa, cant believe it...



Well I was just thinking next Thursday would be a perfect day to swing by. Off on friday so my little rescape is in order


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## hambone870 (Feb 13, 2013)

dprais1 said:


> Well I was just thinking next Thursday would be a perfect day to swing by. Off on friday so my little rescape is in order


so tomorrow then? we could do that for sure


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## nerdariostomp (Aug 23, 2012)

Good luck with the killies! Make sure they're in one of the aquariums with glasstops. They are definite jumpers, but a blast to watch as they grow. I'm getting ready to build a new rack for some more killifish


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## dprais1 (Sep 12, 2012)

hambone870 said:


> so tomorrow then? we could do that for sure


ooops, next Thursday, 09/19.


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## hambone870 (Feb 13, 2013)

nerdariostomp said:


> Good luck with the killies! Make sure they're in one of the aquariums with glasstops. They are definite jumpers, but a blast to watch as they grow. I'm getting ready to build a new rack for some more killifish


thanks so much, keep an eye on my thread as i will be sure to update if i get a hatch!

T-minus 6 days


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## hambone870 (Feb 13, 2013)

dprais1 said:


> ooops, next Thursday, 09/19.


so when you said next thursday, you meant the thursday after this one...

i do understand now...

:eek5:


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## sacme (Apr 3, 2013)

How do you get your tanks to grow out so fast: P
Amazing work Hambone!


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