# 10760 Manchester part II Mini-M/Cryptocoryne+CRS playground



## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

The other thread for this tank encompassed over 35 pages and 3 years and 3 months of my journey from Planted Idiot to whatever I am now. So figured it was time to start a fresh one because this tank is completely different in just about every aspect from what it once was. 

Here is the old thread if you want some background info. 

I hope you enjoy the journey, 10760 Manchester part II Mini-M/Cryptocoryne+CRS playground. 

The tank- ADA Mini-M
Lighting- Walmart aluminum desk lamp with a 13w spiral CFL
Substrate- ADA Aquasoil II Ammazonia
Filter- Eheim 2213

This tank is a low tech place for my CRS. It used to have pressurized Co2 and all that jazz but IME CRS are much happier with nothing else being done to it. They are finicky creatures by nature so why try to make them angry? Since it is low tech plant choice is somewhat limited and I found that Crypts offer such a large variety of choices and are actually quite interesting plants. There is a piece of DW that I have had for a few years and it has had everything from Fissidens, mosses (flame/xmas/java) and whatever else you can think of attached to it. Well if you have ever had an old piece of DW you know that no matter what you do to it ( scrubbed and boiled this thing for over 2 hours twice!) something will remain and sprout back off of it. Right now I believe it has fissidens and peacock moss growing out of it. 

My CRS are from some stock I purchased from a member about 2 years ago. The lived happily and became berried when they should have but the babies never survived for more then a couple of days. Over the next 6-8 months they all died except for three from what I believe was old age. As hard headed as I am I thought that because I have AS the shrimp would be just fine if I used my rock hard tap water for WC's. WRONG. So there were three left and I had to make a choice, either let them all die and go back to snowballs or quit being stupid and get a RO system that would not only make your shrimp happy but be great for your discus and your tanks with harder to make happy plants. I purchased this system and ever since then my shrimp have bounced back from the 3 and are now a happy and thriving colony that includes some beautiful S+, SS and even a couple SSS. More about these when I get home maybe. There are also 6 Corydoras Habrosus, 5 clithon coronas (4 bumble bee nerites and 1 black nerite).

I had a good amount of C.Parva in the front as I wanted this to be my foreground. It has been a long time and is filling in but you cannot hurry c.parva, it will only grow slower. I also purchased a package from a member a few months back that included c.wendtii (bronze I believe) and c.willisi x lucens. You will see that in the back right corner the willisi c lucens has gone pretty crazy and the bronze is the main focal point I believe. 

About two months ago I purchased a C.Ideii from Aaront that was a gorgeous specimen. Of course it melted but after a month or so it came back and I now have 3. This was the plant that got my interest in crypts going. 

A few weeks ago I got a C.Nurii from GG. It melted and has yet to return but Im hopeful. 

Then just today I received a nice pack from Aaron that included
C.cordata'Thailand', C.noritoi, C.bangkanensis 'Dwarf', C.bangkanensis 'Giant',
C.zukalii, C.sp.'Kota Tingi', C.wendtii 'De Witt' and C.Becketii. These were just planted so please dont mind the cloudyness.

So here it is. 


































Habrosus

















Coronas

















left









right









everything in between


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

you can see my crypt labeling system comprised of cutting a plastic document cover into strips and writing on them with a fine point sharpie.


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## Newman (Jul 3, 2010)

1st post, 4th picture looks really nice 

will sharpie do anything in the water that could hurt your shrimps and other livestock?


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

Newman said:


> 1st post, 4th picture looks really nice
> 
> will sharpie do anything in the water that could hurt your shrimps and other livestock?


Thanks. Next time I'll try to turn off the KIA marquee so that huge reflection isn't in the pic. 

I guess well see about the sharpie but since we (people) usecthem all the time with no serious side effects I figured it should be fine. I actually put some staples white correction tape ( that roll on white out that doesn't need to dry before writing on it) on the back of one if them to make the writing more visible. But the closer I came to putting that crypt in the tank the more I worried about it. So I just redid another without the tape on it. Well see about that one.


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## AaronT (Apr 11, 2004)

Nice. You'll be needing a bigger tank in no time.


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## Cardinal Tetra (Feb 26, 2006)

Wow I'm following this one. I've always wondered how a few of those species would do submersed. What are your parameters (pH, KH, GH, etc)?


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

Cardinal Tetra said:


> Wow I'm following this one. I've always wondered how a few of those species would do submersed. What are your parameters (pH, KH, GH, etc)?


Not really sure. The last tests I did a while back was TDS ~80ppm and PH was 6.4. All of the WC are of straight RO/DI water and usually about 25% per week.


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

Couple of vids I took today. 

http://www.vimeo.com/18573732

http://www.vimeo.com/18573128


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## SNAKEMANVET (Jan 6, 2011)

Nice tank,really like the rimless look.


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## PaulThePlanter (Nov 17, 2009)

I LURV the shrimp! what kind are they so i can do more research on them.


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## Newman (Jul 3, 2010)

they all looks to be crystal reds. some very high grades in here too


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

AaronT said:


> Nice. You'll be needing a bigger tank in no time.


Yeah that's what the 60-p/37/55/12/37/20/10/10/10 are for! :biggrin:



SNAKEMANVET said:


> Nice tank,really like the rimless look.


It really is hard to buy another tank once you have setup,scaped snd allowed a rimless to mature. There just better looking IMO. 



PaulThePlanter said:


> I LURV the shrimp! what kind are they so i can do more research on them.


What Newman below said.



Newman said:


> they all looks to be crystal reds. some very high grades in here too


roud:

So I took the pre-filter off today as I always do on Mondays and the activity in the tank got really moving. Busted out the ole iP4 and snapped a few shots. Enjoy.


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)




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## chad320 (Mar 7, 2010)

Looks good Brandon. The crypts are growing along good. What are you going to do with the BBA? If you spot treat it, be careful of your subwassertang. Im sure you already knew that. Did some of the CRS have babies? It looks like theres more this time. Maybe its from taking the prefilter off and they came out of hiding though. How long have you been using osmocote? I love it for the $$  If you get tired of looking at it, you can poke them back down easily with a dowel rod or something to that effect. Excellent tank, I hope those crypts fill out nice!!!


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

chad320 said:


> Looks good Brandon. The crypts are growing along good. What are you going to do with the BBA? If you spot treat it, be careful of your subwassertang. Im sure you already knew that. Did some of the CRS have babies? It looks like theres more this time. Maybe its from taking the prefilter off and they came out of hiding though. How long have you been using osmocote? I love it for the $$  If you get tired of looking at it, you can poke them back down easily with a dowel rod or something to that effect. Excellent tank, I hope those crypts fill out nice!!!


I'm not going to do a damn thing about it! If your talking about the spot in the small clump of Parva, that has been there for months. Almost as long as I can remember. If your talking about on the DW (which makes sense because of the SWS reference) then again, nothing. That wood has had so much BBA on it over the years I now just look at it as some wood rug! :icon_mrgr SWS is some weird stuff. Seriously it was at least two years ago that I got a plant pack from some one when it was introduced to the tank. After a few weeks I took it out because I could find no aesthetic value to it whatsoever. But now that it somehow affixed itself to the DW (this DW is a plant Whore, its had every root in it at one time or another since I got it!) I think it looks cool and will allow it to do as it wishes. 

With BBA the only time I have found it to be a nuisance is when it is in a high tech tank and its growing on the plants. Sure, a few of the older leaves near to the surface might have a bit but I just trim them if they get to hairy. 

My CRS breed like their on hormones or something. Two-Three weeks ago I sent off a lot of them and was certain that I got rid of most the small guys. Its amazing what 3-4 berried females can do in a tank they like the parameters of in a short amount of time. 

Its RM complete. I actually forgot I had it in there until you said something.


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## chad320 (Mar 7, 2010)

Awesome. I hope my CRS get to doin it soon so I have a bunch as well


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## Zareth (Dec 13, 2010)

Maybe its just me but most crypts just look terrible IMO. 
Such an ugly plant. 
Do people like them because of light requirements or co2 requirements, or what? 
I love your moss though, and I'm sure it was posted but what substrate is that?


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## non_compliance (Dec 1, 2009)

It's just you...  Crypts are cool yes, because they are easy... but also because there are lots of varieties and I personally just like the looks of them.

Sorry for thread jack.... but here's some pics..

wendtii "green"









Under the driftwood, over 1' tall crypt undulata (I think)










You don't think these look sweet? I do. 



P.S. Sorry for posting pics in your journal BSmith... lol


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

Zareth said:


> Maybe its just me but most crypts just look terrible IMO.
> Such an ugly plant.
> Do people like them because of light requirements or co2 requirements, or what?
> I love your moss though, and I'm sure it was posted but what substrate is that?


Its understandable. I used to feel the same way until I started looking into them more and found more varieties then just your run of the mill wendtii's. Since this tank has CRS and is low tech there are only a few different routes you can go. Java ferns, Anubias or crypts. The crypts offer so much more diversity and complexity than the other two options and finding and growing/propagating some of the more demanding Sp. is a rewarding job. 

Check out this portion of APC and do some looking, you might just change your views about them. 

Crypts!

The substrate is ADA AS Amazonia I.



non_compliance said:


> It's just you...  Crypts are cool yes, because they are easy... but also because there are lots of varieties and I personally just like the looks of them.


I second your thoughts NC. There are so many different types and when grown prpoerly they display some beautiful markings. No worries about the pics. I do it from time to time.


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

Some better pics (maybe not) with the P&S I take pics of vehicles with to put on the net. 









The Kota and ideii are similar looking in patterning. They are both beautiful IMO. 









You can see a new leaf coming out on the Kota Tingii









I believe the root sticking up is from the Nurii that melted. Hopefully something will come of it soon. 









Ideii









































This all came from a single 2 leaf plant about 3 months ago!









Just a random shot of the roaches!


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## Newman (Jul 3, 2010)

can you send some roaches my way?


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

Sure $8/per.


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## Newman (Jul 3, 2010)

x_x, thats a bit more expensive than i expected. are these at least S grade shrimp you'll be parting with?


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

There SS. S/S+ are $5.


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## Newman (Jul 3, 2010)

oo, then maybe i will need to consider you as my other supplier of CRS  I will be buying a bunch of 5 in the coming months. just as soon as i can convert my shrimp bowl to soft water and not kill off my cherries in the process... If I succeed, ill be ready for crystals


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

My shrimp are special. Ill have a video that im currently recording up in a bit. Actually the typing you will hear is me typing this message!


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

http://vimeo.com/18978136


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## Newman (Jul 3, 2010)

i'm seeing shrimp. i'm also seeing two cories bulldozing all the shrimp lol.


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

Newman said:


> i'm seeing shrimp. i'm also seeing two cories bulldozing all the shrimp lol.


They do not have the best manors but then again neither do the shrimp! Still, as you will see from the video im going to post below the shrimp dont seem to mind them being in there. At least representative by the population! 

Sorry about the focus. Forgot to tap the screen before recording. Oh well, you still get the point!

http://vimeo.com/19957397


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## PinoyBoy (Mar 14, 2008)

Just wondering, how deep is your substrate? I'm also thinking of using crypts in my tank, but I don't want the substrate to be too shallow because of the roots and the tendency of rm complete popping up.



bsmith said:


>


That is one fat shrimp.


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

PinoyBoy said:


> Just wondering, how deep is your substrate? I'm also thinking of using crypts in my tank, but I don't want the substrate to be too shallow because of the roots and the tendency of rm complete popping up.
> 
> 
> That is one fat shrimp.


About 1.5" all around.


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

Some pics of the crypt progression. As usual with these guys, slow and steady wins the race. 

Idiee









Dewitt









Kota Tingii









Giant Bangkokanensis (SP?)









Zukali









Becketii









Dwarf Bangkokanenis (SP?)









Norotoi









This is the most exciting pic to me. I had a very small piece of the rhizome of my Nurii left and put it under the substrate in hopes of it sprouting and finally after 2+ months has shown some hint of growth!


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## Newman (Jul 3, 2010)

looking nice! i think i have at least one of your crypts in my 40 gal lol.


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

Are you saying that you got a crypt from me in the past or that you think you have a variety of one I have? It's really difficult to ID these plants without growing them emmersed and getting them to flower since they look so similar.


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## Newman (Jul 3, 2010)

my bad, i was saying that i have one of the species you have. the one in the first picture.


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

The idiee is a super neat crypt. It was the first of the crypts that I got that led me to seek out all the different ones that are in the rank now.


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## Newman (Jul 3, 2010)

yes the brown leaves with green wavy stripes are awesome x_x


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## soundgy (Jul 8, 2010)

Cool thread!


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

Here are some rec4nt pics. I will have some FTS a bit later. 

C.Moehlmanni

















Dwarf bankokanensis

















C.Noroti

















C.Beckitti

















Kota Tingii









C.Idiee

















Dewitt


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## JohnnyTran (May 11, 2010)

They are really really happy in your tank. i see everyone berried n fat n healthy


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## Senior Shrimpo (Dec 4, 2010)

Nice tank! I love all the fancy crypts.

Does them being in a small tank impact their breeding in any way? I guess not!


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

Senior Shrimpo said:


> Nice tank! I love all the fancy crypts.
> 
> Does them being in a small tank impact their breeding in any way? I guess not!


If you are talking about the plants, no. If the CRS, no aswell as far as I can tell they breed like its the last day and are very active. 

As you will see from the pics, GG sent me a new Nurii that was grown Submerged this time. So in all reality im glad that first one died because for the cost of shipping he sent me this huge beast submersed grown Nurii as replacement!!! Life is good. 

I also just received a couple C.Affinis from Mr.Chad Whittaker in exchange for one of my Norotoi's. Thank you sir!!!

Here are some fresh pics of the tank since removing all of the wendtii and willisi x lucens and rearranging to maximize floor space. Enjoy. :thumbsup:


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)




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## JamesHockey (Nov 10, 2010)

i wont some baby scrimps!


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

JamesHockey said:


> i wont some baby scrimps!


Shoot me a PM with what you r looking for. I'm sure I could accommodate you.


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

Nice! I love those little crypts! Great idea, labeling them.


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

ADA said:


> Nice! I love those little crypts! Great idea, labeling them.


I'm actually going to take them out and rewrite the names on them today. I think the Nerites enjoy the Sharpie!


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

Finally have some time to snap pics and post them up. Everything is doing great, slowly growing but not melting at least. Since last time I traded for an Affinis and a Keii I also received a new Nurii from GG to replace the one I had that melted and never came back do to inclement weather during shipping.


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)




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## TwoStrokeKing (Mar 24, 2011)

Dude that thing is sick! I want an ADA tank so bad!! Keep the pics coming!


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

bsmith said:


> Some pics of the crypt progression. As usual with these guys, slow and steady wins the race.
> 
> Idiee
> 
> ...


I love these two species.. never seen them before, but the leaves look amazing. Are they hard to keep?






bsmith said:


>


This one is really nice too!

Is that Osmocote PLUS? It's obviously shrimp safe? ....something I have been trying to find out for a while..


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## Geniusdudekiran (Dec 6, 2010)

I literally DROOL over your shrimp.


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## Newman (Jul 3, 2010)

His shrimp are good grade. My shrimp are from one of his tanks! =)


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

Geniusdudekiran said:


> I literally DROOL over your shrimp.


Thank you. It's taken a while but I think they are pretty nice. 



Newman said:


> His shrimp are good grade. My shrimp are from one of his tanks! =)


Thank you. How are they doing now?


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## Newman (Jul 3, 2010)

they are doing great.


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## chad320 (Mar 7, 2010)

Nice to see your Ideii putting out some new leaves. Mine just sat there looking at me so I pulled them and put them in my emergent setup. Now I know why. Slowest growing crypt EVER!!!! Makes others look like they are racing. When did you put yours in there?


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

Mine has been in there for at least 4 months. It sure does grow slow. The Nurii I just got from GG grows like a Hygro compared to it. Very strange that they are in the same family yet they grow so differently.


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## chad320 (Mar 7, 2010)

Im thinking it has something to do with substrate. I put mine in AS like yours and it didnt budge for 3 months. I pulled it and put it in emergent MGOC and it spit out a new leaf in two weeks. IDK? Maybe if you combined the two it would grow better? 

Those Nuriis are amazingly beautiful for such an easy grower. They put out runners like Wendtii varieties do


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

chad320 said:


> Im thinking it has something to do with substrate. I put mine in AS like yours and it didnt budge for 3 months. I pulled it and put it in emergent MGOC and it spit out a new leaf in two weeks. IDK? Maybe if you combined the two it would grow better?
> 
> Those Nuriis are amazingly beautiful for such an easy grower. They put out runners like Wendtii varieties do


I dont know. We all know that even Anubis grow 5x's as fast in an emmersed setup. If your Nurris are putting out runners then that will be a nice source of babies for you. I would think that a mid ground in a high tech tank with a dense stand of these about the size of a soft ball would be an amazing thing to see.


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## shrimpnmoss (Apr 8, 2011)

Is your spraybar always 1/2 way out of the water for aeration?


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

For the most part. I had not cleaned the 2213 in at least 8-9 months so the flow of the filter was cut down to a trickle pretty much. I finally cleaned it earlier in the week and the flow really came back to what it should be. So now I have the bar just under the surface and its giving me a nice ripple on the surface.


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## chad320 (Mar 7, 2010)

Where did you find Kota Tingi at? Ive looked high and low for it and cant seem to get one.


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

chad320 said:


> Where did you find Kota Tingi at? Ive looked high and low for it and cant seem to get one.


I got it from AaronT over at APC and here but seems to be more active over there. I could shoot him a message for you if you would like.


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## chad320 (Mar 7, 2010)

Nah, ive bought some crypts off of him before  I always have a bigger list of 'wants' and a smaller list of 'funds' :hihi: Yours look great though! I hope mine come along good this summer like yours are.


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

chad320 said:


> Nah, ive bought some crypts off of him before  I always have a bigger list of 'wants' and a smaller list of 'funds' :hihi: Yours look great though! I hope mine come along good this summer like yours are.


Well just like us and most other cryptheads, he would much rather trade then get money for them. He had a nice list of plants when we did the trade and im sure it has grown since then. Actually if you look on the first page im pretty sure that I listed all of the ones from him.


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

I just took a video of the tank and in it you can see the cool new Pink rams horn I just got and a few of the Nerites I got too. 

http://www.vimeo.com/23605122


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## Newman (Jul 3, 2010)

very nice.


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## chris.rivera3 (Apr 15, 2008)

any updated pictures?


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

I will snap some tomorrow when I'm back in the office. 

Not much has changed except the placement of a few crypts because they outgrew their old spots. 

The replacement Nurii I got from GG is turning into a monster though. It may have to be moved efore too long aswell.


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

And here we go...


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

Nice!


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

I have some really cool new additions! I finally aquired some Bucephalandra. this sp. is 'Kampit'!!!

FTS's

























Bucephalandra 'Kampit'

























C.Usteriana x walkeri

















C.Uenoi 'Sabal Kruin'

























C.Cordata Grabowski 'Pantu'

















And some Oldies but Goodies!!!

Kota Tingii









Nurii









Idiee









Keei









Affinis









Noritoi


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

I am waiting for the dust to clear as I have some other ones that I cannot ID because the dang snails pulled up the ID tags. Hopefully they will be easy enough to identify...


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## Cardinal Tetra (Feb 26, 2006)

Very impressive  How many species or strains do you have in there? I hope you're up for the challenge is identifying runners once they start popping up 6 inches away from the mother plant :hihi:


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

There are about 15 different ones in there. As long as they are attached to momma ill be fine.


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

A few more shots from today.


































































Here are the pics of the crypts that have to be one of the following... Bangkanensis 'dwarf', Bangkanensis 'giant', Zukalii, wendtii 'dewitt' or becketii.


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## Newman (Jul 3, 2010)

nice crypts. you havent been bothering them have you? i mean it would look very nice when they settle down and grow into more full plants with many leaves =)

also i thought I'd let you know that your shramps are breeding...in my bowl.


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

Newman said:


> nice crypts. you havent been bothering them have you? i mean it would look very nice when they settle down and grow into more full plants with many leaves =)
> 
> also i thought I'd let you know that your shramps are breeding...in my bowl.


Im always bothering things! Its tough when I get new ones then I notice that one or more of the plants in there are not getting their fair share of light so I have to rearrange. I just need to put a 60-p on my dest for some more space!

Im happy about your shrimp. Its a very gratifying accomplishment wehn your CRS begin to thrive isnt it?


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## Hyzer (Mar 9, 2010)

You have some stunning shrimp and I really like the crypts. Especially this one:


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## chad320 (Mar 7, 2010)

Hey Brandon, any updates on this tank?


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

Hyzer said:


> You have some stunning shrimp and I really like the crypts. Especially this one:


Thank you. That is Kota Tingii. It is a beauty for sure. I have found that the Kota, Nurii, Uenoi and I believe the giant bangkanensis all show that similar almost tiger like patterning. 

I love them! 



chad320 said:


> Hey Brandon, any updates on this tank?


There isn't too much going on. I actually brought my Nikon to work with me today planning to actually take some decent macro shots but I had an issue with my filter tubing (I have DIY acrylic intake/outflow pipes that a member made for me and I drilled a hole in the intake when I injected co2 in this tank to get the co2 in the filter and my patching was starting to fail and needed to be fixed). So because of this the tank was very cloudy due to that old co2 input allowing air to get into the filter and airlocking it. I shook it multiple times and the mulm got nicely deposited throughout the tank when I fixed the issue and restored proper flow!

I think I'll bring the Nikon back to work tomorrow and take those shots. It's needed IMO.


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## chad320 (Mar 7, 2010)

Yeah man, I follow this thread and would love to see how some of these hard to finders are looking. I cant wait to see that Kota tingii too! That ones my favorite for sure. Did your ideii melt or slow down? I had to pull mine for emergent before I lost it. Now its got 12 leaves and seems super happy


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

I just had a huge post typed up on my iPhone and I must have hit the 'next' button and erased it!!!

I'll re type it when I get done here in the basement with my L183's and my cat fish and head upstairs to jump on the laptop.


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

chad320 said:


> Yeah man, I follow this thread and would love to see how some of these hard to finders are looking. I cant wait to see that Kota tingii too! That ones my favorite for sure. Did your ideii melt or slow down? I had to pull mine for emergent before I lost it. Now its got 12 leaves and seems super happy


Okay, finally pulled myself away from the two breeding tanks in the basement. I swear man, I could sit there for hours and hours just watching the action in those two tanks. 

It's funny you ask about the Ideii. I have noticed over the past 2-3 months that it has a very strange growth pattern. There are probably 3-4 smallish plants with 3-4 leaves on each plant. It grows with the leaves almost completely on the substrate. With normal plants this would normally indicate that the plant displaying this tendency thinks its getting too much light, there for it tries to keep its leaves as far away from the light source as possible. 

That cant (I would hardly believe) be the case. I have a 13w spiral PC bulb in a WalMart desk lamp which is about as efficient at sending out the light as a black dish cloth! So I hardly have bright lighting. Also, the Ideii is about as far from being under the lights center as it could be and every other crypt (Kota, Nurii, Affinis, Uenoi, etc) grows as you would expect with their leaves pointing up toward the light at a slight angle. 

When I was down stairs I replenished the substrate in the S.Barbatus and 'black' Shcultzie with RootMedic fert tabs (Fe intense, Fe w/peat and Complete). I think I will take some to work with me tomorrow and replenish the substrate in this tank, paying extra attention to the Ideii and making sure it gets one of each in an appropriate proximity of their root system. 

What symptoms were your Ideii's showing in your submersed tank that forced you to move them to your emmersed set up? And does Ideii have some specific requirement that is different than the others that I may be missing?


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

It seems that all of the crypts are melting. I really have no explanation for this but there is also more BBA in the tank ( I assume because of poor plant growth). Ill try to post pics in a bit.


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## Newman (Jul 3, 2010)

!!!

are the shrimp doing any better?


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

Newman said:


> !!!
> 
> are the shrimp doing any better?


The shrimp have never had any issues.


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## Newman (Jul 3, 2010)

well now that crypts are dying, i hope they wont have any issues with any chemicals they might release...


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

Newman said:


> well now that crypts are dying, i hope they wont have any issues with any chemicals they might release...


The claim that crypts and anubis release any chemicals that are bad for CRS or any other shrimp is a farce. There is no scientific proof of any of that so I have no worries. Thanks for your concern though.


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## Newman (Jul 3, 2010)

ok, but experiments for testing that are easy to setup, I'm surprised there is no backing for those claims o_o
that's a good thing if the claims aren't true.


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## zachary908 (Feb 12, 2011)

Nice looking shrimp, Bsmith!


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

Updates?! =)


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

Newman said:


> ok, but experiments for testing that are easy to setup, I'm surprised there is no backing for those claims o_o
> that's a good thing if the claims aren't true.


Please don't take this the wrong way because i am just the type of person that tries to see all angles of ANY situation. 

I really don't see how an experiment testing if cryps/anubis can harm shrimp either just being in a tank with them or when under duress. First since that myth is just that a myth there has never been a specific chemical or composition that is claimed to harm the shrimp. Without that0 you cant even do an experiment.

Its not that the claims of crypts/anubis harming/killing CRS have been busted or scientifically dis proven; its just that so many people (obviously myself included) have kept CRS with these plants and had no issues it is pretty much just accepted fact that this myth is just one of 1,375,989 myths that have to do with CRS and crazy reasons they die that are completely bogus. 



zachary908 said:


> Nice looking shrimp, Bsmith!


Thank you! 



ADA said:


> Updates?! =)


Well as I posted a week or so ago, all of my crypts started melting. The only thing I could think of that could possibly have effected every single plant was the lighting and possibly the substrate since the AS in this tank is getting pretty old it is possible that its loosing its punch. The spiral PC bulb that was lighting the tank had probably been in there for over a year. After doing some research I found that of all the PC bulbs spiral PC's loose their intensity and shift light spectrum the fastest of all of them. So I had an extra one in my office and slapped it in. Concerning the substrate the more I thought about it the more unlikely it seemed that every single plant would have ran out of nutrients at the exact same time (could happen I guess but that would be very strange). So I loaded up the sub with RootMedic Complete and Fe+ and Fe intense just in case. Since I replaced the bulb and loaded up on fert tabs I cant 100% say it was the lighting that was the main culprit but that is where I would put my money.

The very next day all of the plants looked much better. I think I lost a few but hopefully in usual crypt form they will return from the substrate bigger and better then they were before!

Hopefully I will have enough time to take/post up some pics tomorrow.


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## Newman (Jul 3, 2010)

hopefully they rebound.


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

Newman said:


> hopefully they rebound.


Man I really hope so too. I put a decent amount of time and a good amount of $ getting some of these crypts. I love them and IMO they were perfect the way they were in the tank. 

Wort case scenario, everything does melt/die. I have been toying around with getting a slightly larger tank so I can cram even MORE cool crypts in the tank. But since its on my desk my options are kind of limited. 

I really like the mr.aqua 11.4g tank and I think it would fit like a champ on my desk. I already have an unused 2215 that only needs an impeller shaft and lighting would be a snap. 

Maybe it wouldn't be the worst thing that cold happen. I would still have my shrimp!!!


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## Newman (Jul 3, 2010)

those crypts must live D:


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

Obviously I have been slacking on updating this since the light caused all my hard earned crypts to melt with only maybe 50% returning from the slime. But today I made an acquisition that will hopefully be arriving next week sometime that gets me all amped up about this tank again! I'm going to find the proper name real quick so I don't butcher it!


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

Found it. 

I don't know if any of you have heard of Anubis design but I'm a member of their yahoo group. The owner Mark Denaro (might be Denero but I don't thing so) has been importing fish for a long time and being a member of the group everyone he is going to purchase something he shoots out the list of what they have. 

Normally I browse through it and delete but today I noticed something that I have been wanting for a long time, Parotocinlus sp. Nanay. 

These are (from my understanding) a type of Oto but they are a bit smaller and much more ornate looking. 

So I ordered 6 and should be getting them next week!


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## Geniusdudekiran (Dec 6, 2010)

Update demanded :hihi:


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## s thomas (May 16, 2012)

Geniusdudekiran said:


> Update demanded :hihi:


I'm pretty new here, so I won't demand anything, but I have been following this thread quite a while and would love to see what's up in the tank, especially with the new fish.

Thanks!


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

Its been quite a while since I have done much planted tank. All is excellent, family and work just have a way of cutting down/eliminating hobby time! Ill elaborate a bit later. 

Here are some shots of my M in its current iteration.


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## fjord (Feb 1, 2011)

BSmith,

Have enjoyed your thread. I even read the previous one. Just wondering, do you use a heater in your Mini?

Approximately how much AquaSoil is needed for the Mini M?


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