# Mikee's Nano Cube



## mikeemorales (May 19, 2019)

Hey everyone! It's been a while since I've browsed this forum, but I'm back with my little nano cube.

Still debating on what to house, but I'm leaning towards a betta. Theres a LFS near me and they have some beautiful halfmoons and dragons.

Enjoy a couple of photos taken a few hours after it had been set up! (sorry if the images are too large. I read the rules for the dimensions, but Imgur is not allowing me to resize for some reason)

Tank: Mr. Aqua 12" x "12 x 12" (approx. 7-7.5 gallons)
Filter: Azoo mignon 60 (with upgraded biomax media)
lighting: Nicrew LED (day and night modes available)
substrate: Fluval Stratum
Ferts: NilocG Aquatics - Thrive+ All
heating: Aqueon 50w (adjustable)


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## Mike00726 (May 23, 2011)

Looks good, man. The greens really pop.


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## Blue Ridge Reef (Feb 10, 2008)

That is going to be a great looking tank. I love how you were able to pretty much background it with mopani wood. And nice contrast with the stone. Only thing that immediately catches my eye as a concern might be the substrate, but please correct me if I'm mistaken. I only ever see soft round pellets like that when it's acid buffering substrate for Caridina shrimp. Which I personally keep and use those on. But unless setting up a Caridina tank would be loathe to use for plants and most fish for obvious reasons. I'm guessing I'm about to learn about a planted substrate that looks just like those that I use for crystals and bees, and not informing you of anything though! But if you don't mind, please let me know what you're using.


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## mikeemorales (May 19, 2019)

Mike00726 said:


> Looks good, man. The greens really pop.


thank you! It definitely does

Bump:


Blue Ridge Reef said:


> That is going to be a great looking tank. I love how you were able to pretty much background it with mopani wood. And nice contrast with the stone. Only thing that immediately catches my eye as a concern might be the substrate, but please correct me if I'm mistaken. I only ever see soft round pellets like that when it's acid buffering substrate for Caridina shrimp. Which I personally keep and use those on. But unless setting up a Caridina tank would be loathe to use for plants and most fish for obvious reasons. I'm guessing I'm about to learn about a planted substrate that looks just like those that I use for crystals and bees, and not informing you of anything though! But if you don't mind, please let me know what you're using.


appreciate the kind words. I'm hoping it fills out. I already see some of the java fern sprouting towards the back and can't wait for the staurogyne to cover the bottom and entrance to the cave (might be hard to see from the photos, but it's underneath the driftwood). No worries! I appreciate the concern. I'm using fluval stratum, which is definitely for plants and shrimp, but in my home we have a pretty high PH level of 7.2-7.3. Definitely not the worst PH, but I've used this substrate/seiryu stone combo before to achieve PH levels around 6.8-6.9. I've also housed bolivian rams in a similar setup, but for my larger tanks in the past. We have a LFS here that has a 50% refund policy on fish if there were an instance for me to return said fish. So if ever in the event that I see harm to the fish caused by the substrate, I would definitely return it. With all that being said, I've never had a proper shrimp tank, so this nano tank may actually be the perfect chance to do so!


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## mikeemorales (May 19, 2019)

*update*

The staurogyne are loving the nilocG ferts


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## livebearerlove (Aug 20, 2013)

Very nice setup. Kuddos to you!
Often times people scape one- dimensional or haphazardly. You either spent some time thinking about it, or very gifted. Either way, very nice. I cant wait to see it grown out. Shrimp tanks are nice... but shrimp tanks are better with Endlers!


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## Grobbins48 (Oct 16, 2017)

Well done! Seeing a beautiful tank like this want makes me want to do a small beta or shrimp tank!

Inspirational!


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## mikeemorales (May 19, 2019)

livebearerlove said:


> Very nice setup. Kuddos to you!
> Often times people scape one- dimensional or haphazardly. You either spent some time thinking about it, or very gifted. Either way, very nice. I cant wait to see it grown out. Shrimp tanks are nice... but shrimp tanks are better with Endlers!


Thank you! I will go with the former on that one lol. I spent about two weeks collecting the materials to build the thank and another week trying to figure out a scape that would look a) appealing at all angles and b) have a couple hiding spots for whatever I end up housing. Endler's may be a good idea. Have any experience with em?

Bump:


Grobbins48 said:


> Well done! Seeing a beautiful tank like this want makes me want to do a small beta or shrimp tank!
> 
> Inspirational!


Appreciate it! I definitely think you should make one! .. or two 

Bump: I've also been giving my videography hobby a little more time of day. Here's a little teaser of when it was set up. Going to do a 3-month update video, 6-month, and 12-month.


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## livebearerlove (Aug 20, 2013)

mikeemorales said:


> Have any experience with em?


 Experience? that's an understatement. I have been breeding them for 10 years developing new strains, etc. People dont realize how stunning the color combinations can be... smaller than a guppy, bright colors, but less flashy and very easy going. Personal favorites that are easier to find are Japanese Blue lyretail, Staeck or Blue Stars. Im perfecting my 'Blue Dragons' which will be my new strain for 2019 (I was to produce purple/blue/cobra with ice white/metalic accents). 



They love the same water as shrimp and are very docile- they wont eat your shrimp, very undemanding and non-aggressive. All of my breeding tanks are heavily planted with endlers and multiple varieties of shrimp/nertite snails. Happy communities!


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## mikeemorales (May 19, 2019)

livebearerlove said:


> Experience? that's an understatement. I have been breeding them for 10 years developing new strains, etc. People dont realize how stunning the color combinations can be... smaller than a guppy, bright colors, but less flashy and very easy going. Personal favorites that are easier to find are Japanese Blue lyretail, Staeck or Blue Stars. Im perfecting my 'Blue Dragons' which will be my new strain for 2019 (I was to produce purple/blue/cobra with ice white/metalic accents).
> 
> 
> 
> They love the same water as shrimp and are very docile- they wont eat your shrimp, very undemanding and non-aggressive. All of my breeding tanks are heavily planted with endlers and multiple varieties of shrimp/nertite snails. Happy communities!


Amazing. It's awesome to fall into a hobby like aquascaping, to join a forum out of pure curiosity of what other hobbyist have going on, and to find out someone has been breeding/developing new species. Truly amazing to discover. Will probably end up stocking this tank with endlers now! Do you have any links or photos to your endlers? Tried browsing your profile, but can't seem to find any photos.

How many do you think I can stock in my 7gallon?

So far, I'm thinking of picking up some otocinclus' and maybe 2-3 corydoras.


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## livebearerlove (Aug 20, 2013)

mikeemorales said:


> Amazing. It's awesome to fall into a hobby like aquascaping, to join a forum out of pure curiosity of what other hobbyist have going on, and to find out someone has been breeding/developing new species. Truly amazing to discover. Will probably end up stocking this tank with endlers now! Do you have any links or photos to your endlers? Tried browsing your profile, but can't seem to find any photos.
> 
> How many do you think I can stock in my 7gallon?
> 
> So far, I'm thinking of picking up some otocinclus' and maybe 2-3 corydoras.


 Real endlers are so small you could have a decent quantity of males (but it also depends what else you stock it with). I know I have a 6 gallon that hold 10 of them plus an otto and amano shrimp easily. I dont recommend females because as they breed fry go straight into the filter as they are the size of a dafnia! lol. So my tanks are fitted with sponge filters until they are large enough to go into the planted tanks.



I lost my pukebucket account and my photos went with it. I have a couple random photos here and there, but I really need to take new photos with a professional camera. My iphone just cant seem to capture tiny little swimming dots. I currently have about 150 fry in 7 separate tanks that are far too small to ship for a few months.

I added a video- these fry are 2 weeks old, so you can imagine how small they were when they were born! haha!


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## Thelongsnail (Dec 2, 2015)

+1 on endlers! I personally prefer the pure strains for various reasons, but there are lovely hybrids out there too.

I'd probably stock 5-7 purebred or endler/endler hybrids males in that tank, only 5 if it were endler/guppy hybrids. That would leave plenty of room for shrimp too - I've never had issues mixing the two.

Make sure that they can't get caught in the filter current at the top by the way - it doesn't look too strong, but difficult to tell from photos. Mine have never jumped, until swapping filters, at which 3 of my best were flung out of the tank overnight.

Family photo of my blue stars for tax:


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## livebearerlove (Aug 20, 2013)

Beautiful hybrid mutation of blue stars! very nice.
'purebred' the relative word of the century  I think anything of this nature will work well for Nano tank of the OP... but ensure there is no females, otherwise you will have a mas riot on your hands!


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## mikeemorales (May 19, 2019)

livebearerlove said:


> Real endlers are so small you could have a decent quantity of males (but it also depends what else you stock it with). I know I have a 6 gallon that hold 10 of them plus an otto and amano shrimp easily. I dont recommend females because as they breed fry go straight into the filter as they are the size of a dafnia! lol. So my tanks are fitted with sponge filters until they are large enough to go into the planted tanks.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


awesome video! I have a sponge filters as well on mine so I think I'll be okay in the event that I accidentally pick up a couple females. And with the chance of fry, it gives me the initiative to rebuild my other thanks lol.

Bump:


Thelongsnail said:


> +1 on endlers! I personally prefer the pure strains for various reasons, but there are lovely hybrids out there too.
> 
> I'd probably stock 5-7 purebred or endler/endler hybrids males in that tank, only 5 if it were endler/guppy hybrids. That would leave plenty of room for shrimp too - I've never had issues mixing the two.
> 
> ...


good advice! I have the current set 5/10 so it shouldn't be too strong. Just strong enough to keep the top from going stagnant. There is also a sponge filter to prevent anything from being sucked up.

Your endlers look awesome! Definitely will end up going that route knowing that more people have them (and to know who I can possibly bug if I have any questions lol).


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## Thelongsnail (Dec 2, 2015)

@livebearerlove thank you! I know they're not standard but I like them anyway.

Love all the photos I've seen of your endlers by the way, they're beautiful  I avoid guppy/endler hybrids more often than not just because they don't seem to be as hardy, and seem to be larger and more aggressive with each other, but I'm sure that's not the case with specimens that are actually well-bred, such as yours.
@mikeemorales it shouldn't be difficult just to pick males - females are much larger than males and have very little colouring if any. You can also look for the gonopodium to be absolutely sure


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## livebearerlove (Aug 20, 2013)

@Thelongsnail

I think generally people breed sloppy- its unfortunate but true. Females depends- see that yellow fish in my video? that is a blue japanese sword female- shipped straight from Japan. Its one of the reasons I love the Japan blue- yellow females! I think Aquaria has some in stock right now https://aquaticarts.com/collections/guppies-and-endlers


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## mikeemorales (May 19, 2019)

update*

So I’ve been out of town for the last 4 days and someone in my house opened my blinds causing this tank to get a lot of sunlight. I know it’s not the only factor, but it did enhance the growth of this hair algae + diatom outbreak I had before leaving. 

Tested my waters and looks like my tank has cycled enough to safely add fish. I’ve added an otocinclus and two julii corys. i discovered a while ago that the julii corys love munching on hair algae and diatom. Maybe not to the extent of termination, but enough to keep it at low levels. i removed most of the hair algae by hand and once they got settled in, they went to town. The otocinclus I feel is still trying to get comfy so he’s been a bit shy. It’s only been one day so I don’t blame him. 

When this tank is a bit more cleared up, I will look into the endlers. I’ve also had my eyes on some danios. Maybe 3-4 zebras. 



















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## Thelongsnail (Dec 2, 2015)

Very cute photos, especially the corys!

Corys really do need to be in groups of 6+ though, and that tank isn't really big enough for that many Juliis. Do you have a larger tank that they could go into with some more friends? If you're set on corys, a group of 6 of one of the dwarf varieties (pygmaeus/hastatus/habrosus) would probably be okay in that tank.

The tank is also too small for Zebra danios to be honest - they like to swim lengths and need 2ft absolute minimum. I know some people keep celestial pearl danios in nano tanks though - perhaps something to look into? I'd skip the endlers though and just go with 6 CPDs if that were the case. Not sure on the stocking levels on 6 CPDs, 6 dwarf corys, and an oto - it seems a little high, but doable. Perhaps someone else can help out.


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## mikeemorales (May 19, 2019)

Thelongsnail said:


> Very cute photos, especially the corys!
> 
> Corys really do need to be in groups of 6+ though, and that tank isn't really big enough for that many Juliis. Do you have a larger tank that they could go into with some more friends? If you're set on corys, a group of 6 of one of the dwarf varieties (pygmaeus/hastatus/habrosus) would probably be okay in that tank.
> 
> The tank is also too small for Zebra danios to be honest - they like to swim lengths and need 2ft absolute minimum. I know some people keep celestial pearl danios in nano tanks though - perhaps something to look into? I'd skip the endlers though and just go with 6 CPDs if that were the case. Not sure on the stocking levels on 6 CPDs, 6 dwarf corys, and an oto - it seems a little high, but doable. Perhaps someone else can help out.


thanks! and thanks for the advice. I've heard about the zebra danios needing a bigger tank, where I've had them before in a 36" long tank. Did not know about the 2ft minimum so I probably won't go with the danios. I definitely will look into the CPDs though! never thought of that idea. Once they clean up the algae a bit, I'll probably move them to a 40 gallon I have and add more of them. Maybe I'll look into the dwarf kind as I am a little set on corys. I just really love them lol.


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## mikeemorales (May 19, 2019)

*update*

It’s been about.. a day? Or two? And the corys are completely demolishing all the hair algae and diatom. All the java fern that had diatom growing has been cleaned off as well. Going to hand remove the remaining small pieces of hair algae!

First pic is from 6/11 and the second is from just now. 



















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