# James's Journals



## turbosaurus (Nov 19, 2005)

Wow- I took a look at the first pic with the multicolored gravel and was a little worried about you, then I saw the picture you drew and got a little more worried- 
but I am impressed with the rock lay out... it seems you are going to bring it togehter in the end! Can't wait to see it. 

Remember the godlen ratio - what is that again? Pi squared, minus half x+y.. no no, its a2+b2=c2, no no, that's not it... I usually go with "slightly off center"


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## dudleystinks (Apr 9, 2005)

Looks like its going to be good. Love that piece of wood and the rock formations. I think you should change the background. What substrate do you want to put in?

Out of interest what books are they you have. I think i might have the same ones!


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## Livebearer101 (Feb 7, 2006)

*The new Look... 25th Feb 2006*

Well i got some slate gravel today and so the master plan begun. I set everything out on the table and went through it swiftly. At this moment all the fish are in the holder 10 gallon as the plan goes. Tomorrow the x-rays and my betta should be able to be moved back. 

So here is the current look. Cloudy but you get the idea..

The rock is currently on top of the wood because it is yet to be waterlogged!










The cloudiness doesnt actually seem to show through on the pics but there it is. Seems to stretch out forever doesnt it  

Here's a couple more..










Theres a few little caves here and there and iv yet to add the java moss over the rocks but i hope it looks cool to you as much as it does to me. 

The planting has yet to fill in but give it a month and im betting it'll look mighty cool.

So what'd ya think? And any additions as far as fish go. They'd have to share a tank with a betta and a shoal of x-rays.


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## mr.gaboozlebag (Feb 22, 2006)

I would put some dark leafy plant in front of the rocks, and add some corydorous, but that's just my opinion.


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## Livebearer101 (Feb 7, 2006)

Yeh, the plan is to remove the unknown plants at the front on the right and put in a nice midground bushy plant (any ideas?)

Also some java moss perhaps for the rocks.


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## dudleystinks (Apr 9, 2005)

perhaps you could have a large anubias in the front right. You could try a tiger lotus but it would have to come small then you would have to trim it a lot. Looks good but i really think that background should be replaced and maybe you could get some smaller rocks with some stem plants behin them. I would move the wood forward slightly because you cant see it too well and its really nice i would also recomend growing something on the top just so it doesnt look like it has been cut off. The gravel looks far better by the way. You should get some more hairgrass. good start


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## Livebearer101 (Feb 7, 2006)

indeed i agree. Im still not completely happy with the planting. I was thinking of putting a baby tears on the right hand side to grow around the wood.

The java moss will also cover the wood and the rocks.

Will my mini dwarf hairgrass carpet?


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## Livebearer101 (Feb 7, 2006)

Well here it is today cleared up. Im so sorry the quality of my pictures are so crap. Im planning on getting a new camera soon.










How come you dont like the background Dud? I think it matches the rocks quite well.


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## dudleystinks (Apr 9, 2005)

Well I have found that the less I put in the more likely it was to die. But that’s probably because some dies of anyway. With the amount you have it will take a very long time to carpet but if you do what I suggested on your 10 gallon tank you will get a carpet in no time because you will have so much. You should trim what you have to encourage it to grow outwards not up. What substrate is that? Because I have has problems growing hairgrass in fluorite that’s why I got sand. I don’t know if its just gravel in general that hairgrass wont grow in but in my tanks it just wouldn’t grow in fluorite. I have found putting fertiliser tabs in the substrate helps it along to. Your gravel does look pretty fine so it might be ok.


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## Livebearer101 (Feb 7, 2006)

Its a fine slate gravel and its beauty isnt really captured in my pictures. It looks really realistic and natural. Its a bastard to wash however..

I might order some more hairgrass or just shove it and get a better carpetting plant.

Someone please suggest a really fast growing carpet plant.


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## dudleystinks (Apr 9, 2005)

Well i find glosso to be really really fast! but so is hairgrass you just need more go to the pond section of a garden centre you will find it in big pots placed in trays of cold water about £3 each 1 pot was enough to fill my 20gallon and a 2.5gallon. Hairgrass does look far better than glosso in my opinion because you can shape it with a pair of scissors!


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## Livebearer101 (Feb 7, 2006)

make things easy for me and pick one from here lol http://www.aquaticplants.eu.com/acatalog/Foreground.html

I was thinking of going with Glosso or ECHINODORUS LATIFOLIUS


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## dudleystinks (Apr 9, 2005)

4163 each SAGITTARIA NATANS (DWARF SAGITTARIA) 
DWARF SAGITTARIA
More...

Price: £0.50

cheap and easy to grow get a few 

but 2 pots of glosso should be enough for your tank it was for mine. Depends how much is in a pot


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## Livebearer101 (Feb 7, 2006)

does it carpet well? im guessing it does as it propagates through runners.


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## Livebearer101 (Feb 7, 2006)

Ok well heres my latest orders..

Shopping Cart (Prices in British Pounds)
DESCRIPTION QUANTITY PRICE COST 
----------------------------------------------------------------------
6163 per 5 SAGITTARIA NATANS 1 £1.60 £1.60 
(DWARF SAGITTARIA) 

6037 per 5 BACOPA MONNIERA 1 £0.95 £0.95 
(BABY TEARS) 

6176 per 5 (3cm clumps) VESICULARIS DUBYANA (TRUE JAVA MOSS) 1 £4.50 £4.50 

PKT 10 WEIGHTS 4485 1 £0.75 £0.75 

PRO aqua PLANT FERTILIZER 1 £2.39 £2.39 
BAGS Code 75 
======================================================================



Good prices ey?


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## Livebearer101 (Feb 7, 2006)

Well i scored on the plant front today, i got all that above plus some java fern and glosso. I also added some rocks to the tank ready for the arrival of my Rams. Its starting to look excellent and i really like how it looks. Il try get some pics tonight. Theres a nice bush of java moss over the rocks now with java fern spouting behind it. Very cool

Peace out.


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## Livebearer101 (Feb 7, 2006)

taa deeee










The blue streak you can see is the lovely betta 'midnight'. He is also below..

Bit of a crazy side shot here. Iv been messing with gravel etc so its still a tiny bit cloudy.. add that to the general haziness and crapness of my camera










And lastly a different angle..










enjoy.. breeding pair of rams go in soon..


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## Livebearer101 (Feb 7, 2006)

Complete list of contents

Foreground:

5 Glosso
5 Dwarf Sagittaria
5 Mini Dwarf Hairgrass

Midground:

5 Baby Tears
Clump of Java Moss weighed to the bottom
Small Hygrophilia Poly. Cuttings
Stalks of something wierd..

Background:

Around 7 Java Fern
Hygrophilia Polysperma Main
Small Crinium Thaium (sp) (yet to grow above the rocks)
5 Elin... something i cant remember (on the far left)
Stalk of Hygrophilia Salicifoli (yet to grow up)
Lots of Java moss on the rocks etc.
5 Red Myro

Other:

Around 8 random granite rocks piled up with plenty of caves
One piece of unknown driftwood, backed into a corner to form a cave (growing java moss on it)
Small Floating Amazon Frogbit (mini lily pads) (yet to really grow more)

Fish:

5 X-Ray Tetra (Soon to be 8 or 10)
1 Betta

comments and *feedback/questions/tips* more than welcome. Any.


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## Livebearer101 (Feb 7, 2006)

Well, day two and everything seems to have settled in and straightened out nicely.

Come on guys! There must be some constructive critisism or tips or feedback. Come on!


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## A Hill (Jul 25, 2005)

its looking good... one thing i hate to tell you is most if not all of your hairgrass is brown wich = DEAD  it should be a ncie green color. also that mossy stuff on the rocks looks dead...

on a much better note i like the scape and all the room for fish to hide

-=- fish newb -=-

o and on the rams.. buy them as adults because its VERY hard to sex them as little ones and you might get two males... like i did.


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## Livebearer101 (Feb 7, 2006)

My grass is Mini Dwarf Hairgrass aka Dwarf Parullus which is different from the other varieties of eleocharis grasses. Thats its usual colour. My java moss is NOT dead either 

Thanks for the comments. I tried really hard on the aqua scape.


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## Livebearer101 (Feb 7, 2006)

Can i add the colouring of my crap camera and the cloudiness of the water at the time made it look a little dead so i dont blame ya.


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## organic sideburns (Dec 22, 2005)

I think it looks unique. I can tell you spent a while aquascaping the tank and I like it. The rocks are nice, especially with the moss on it. The java fern looks out of place though. Maybe move it to the back right hand corner of the tank..


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## A Hill (Jul 25, 2005)

Livebearer101 said:


> Can i add the colouring of my crap camera and the cloudiness of the water at the time made it look a little dead so i dont blame ya.


lol ok sorry about that... must be the camera and the diff varieity... maybe im crazy :icon_twis 

sorry about that i have a regular hair grass and when it turns that color it is dead. and i mean that exact color.

-=- fish newb -=-


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## Livebearer101 (Feb 7, 2006)

Yeh i suppose your right burny..

at first i thought it looked nice growing from behind the moss but it does look kinda scrappy. Maybe il neat up its position abit..

oh and update..

my betta made a bubble nest on my amazon frogbit!!!! :icon_roll :redface:  :thumbsup:


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## Livebearer101 (Feb 7, 2006)

4th March

Another update here. The Hygrophilia, Baby Tears and Glosso have really taken off since adding the fertiliser satchel (found here: http://www.aquaticplants.eu.com/acatalog/Plant_Food.html) And dosing some Plant Food once a fortnight. I also sorted out those java ferns and as a quick question, what is growing rate of java moss?










There it is, filling in nicely. Tomorrow is finally new fish day and it's probably going to be the rams. Cant wait to add them to the tank! Did a water change today and Ammona and Nitrites are zero so woopie.

Apart from that, all going well and il keep you posted on the rams.

Peace


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## dschmeh (Feb 5, 2006)

tank looks good im sure glad you got rid of that old gravel.


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## Livebearer101 (Feb 7, 2006)

Thanks dude, i know the gravel sucked lol. I feel iv really got a crisp image in that picture and the planting just seems alot more in place and healthy.

Good stuff


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## Kiran (Feb 13, 2006)

How did you find that those satchels work and where have you placed yours. I saw them some time ago and have been waiting to see if anyone had got them? Nice tank btw


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## Livebearer101 (Feb 7, 2006)

Hey Kiran thanks for the comments.

Those satchels are great as they contain all the elements your plants need such as potassium, but nicely stored in a packet. It was around £3 which is about $5 and it works actively for 3 months so it saves money on buying the seperate bottles of fertiliser. All you do is pop the thing at the back of the aquarium out of view. 

Iv only seen them so far at this greenline site which is UK only but if you search for PRO-aqua plant fertilisers on google, you may get a US place for them.

EDIT = i saw you were from england Kiran so here try this: http://www.aquaticplants.eu.com/

realy good prices and quality and if need be, you can get it delivered in 2 days. I use it all the time now. My LFS charges £3 a plant, this guy charges pence.


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## Livebearer101 (Feb 7, 2006)

Ok well i went to the LFS today with tons of money and alas, there was no rams.. only these 'royal rams' and i didnt quite catch a glimpse of them..

so with lots of money in your pocket and free space in a tank and you're in the middle of a LFS, do the math, i bought some fish 

i got myself 3 female guppies and 3 male guppies, 2 more X-ray tetra and two baby ottos which are so cute!

Iv added them all to my 5 xrays and one betta. My betta checked out all the new entrants and then moved over to his corner. He's such a peaceful guy and doesnt touch anything.

Anyhow il try get some pics soon. The guppies have awesome colouration.


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## Kiran (Feb 13, 2006)

Cheers for the link. My LFS also charges £3 which is ridiculous! Online shops are so much cheaper. I have never seen ottos at my LFS either!


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## Livebearer101 (Feb 7, 2006)

Just a quick update. Havnt got round to doing photos yet. Tank is going well, The new x-rays i got were young and almost transparent when i got the poor guys but they've now got more colour and are fitting into the school of 7 well.

The female guppies are doing ok though when i was doing a water change today, i saw one randomly on the floor. I had no idea how it got there and thought it was dead. However i picked it up and dropped it back in and it just got on with its thing. iv been monitoring it and it looks fine like the other two.

Unfortunatley i cannot say the same for my poor 3 male guppies. 1 of them is cool, though i reckon by the morn, the other two will be gonners. I havnt quite diagnosed it yet but even though my parameters are perfect, i still did 2 water changes today to try and help them out for to no avail. They're hanging at the top and are swimmingly abit unbouyantly (sp?) and i think it's something to do with the whole tank they all came from (complete male guppy tank) and something to do with inbreeding as they all have the same features. I bet they're related. I just hope on holds in so i can have some breeders. I hope the other two make it through the night and i give them my love! Betta is fine, baby ottos are just cool.

Another thing which im doing right now is mission pursuade mum for another tank. I have this deal off a friend for a quality condition 20 gallon, with lightning, filter, heater, pump, airstone, that zyme stuff and lots of other things for just £40! THATS ALL! Thats like $55 frikin dollars. Thats cheap as dirt here. My other 20 gallon was around $145! So i WILL get that tank and i hope all my other fish are cool through the night.

Bye for now!


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## Livebearer101 (Feb 7, 2006)

Lost the male guppies today :icon_cry: 

I guess it was a result of in breeding and a bad bunch in the tank at the LFS, but i have located a new LFS to use which is even more specialised and iv had good feedback from there so lets hope for the best.

Other fish are fine, 3 female guppies, a betta, two baby ottos and 7 x-ray tetra - good ol' x-rays never let me down.. touch wood :icon_roll


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## Livebearer101 (Feb 7, 2006)

Ok just got back from school and i think my plants are coming tonight. Im going to use some to swap around in this tank and the rest are actually going to my 10 gallon tank journal which you might spot on the nano section so that'll be updated shortly.

I dont think anyone really reads this anymore but ah well. Im hoping to go on to replace the guppies with just two more males from another store after reading fully up on how they can bully the females for breeding etc. I dont think this was a factor in the last male guppies' deaths but it's nice to know for the future. This part should really go in my 10 gallon tank journal but just so everyone knows, im passing my flame tetra on and i may put a couple of the guppies from this tank into there perhaps with some platies or corys.

Ok that will cap off today, thanks for reading and sorry for lack of images.


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## 2wheelsx2 (Jan 27, 2006)

I suspect you're right about the males. Many of them are severely inbred and not in good health and often die for no obvious reason.


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## Livebearer101 (Feb 7, 2006)

yeh i thought it was the temp. to start as it's quite high at about 78F but even when i turned it down (or tried to) with the crappy juwel heater it still didnt do anything. I reckon you're correct.


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## Livebearer101 (Feb 7, 2006)

11th March 06

Well my temp. is down now, i guess the juwel heater worked. Water is good. I just added 3 more male guppies to the tank and these guys look A LOT healthier. There are two sunset red/orange guppies and one ice blue/deep purple coloured. Fin size ranges throughout the 3 and they really are beautiful.

Midnight, the good ol' betta was moved to the 10 gallon as all the fish in the 10 gallon (6 tetra) have finally been taken back to the store.

Im looking for a good companion for my Betta in his 10 Gallon. Any suggestions?

Last thing to note is im turning this thread into a joint journal of basically all my tanks which includes the new 20 gallon which is coming soon.

Pictures are definitley on their way.


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## A Hill (Jul 25, 2005)

people are still folowing it =-0 and good luck with the guppies... i have always had bad bad luck with them. i got 3 when i first started keeping fish again last summer and they all died. then when i wanted to try later with a guppy breading factory all but one died but that was also due to what i think was a HUGE amonia spike. so i have one very beautiful blue/black/purple female guppy. i might get a few more here or there in the future from diffrent lfs so i keep the bloodlines seperate. i also have a friend whos friend is breading them so i will most likely get some from him. as for the betta? get him a nice little 2g bowl and put some nice plants in there then use the 10g for something you really want to do? maybe shrimp and guppies tank? or maybe you could keep him in if he is that docile...

-=- fish newb -=-


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## Livebearer101 (Feb 7, 2006)

Well for those who dont know, the smallest sunset orange male guppy wasnt looking so hot today so i moved him into the 10 gallon with Midnight. He basically died about 4 hours later so R.I.P 

I guess they really aren't as hardy as they use to be.

The great news is the 2 icey blue/silver and sunset orange/red male guppies that are left are very healthy and active. They're already trying to get the hibbidy dibbidy going with my 3 females (silver bodies, yellow tails) and after learning alot more about guppies and breeding habits today, i think im going to need another tank lol 

I actually have a 2 gallon bowl with a mini sponge filter in my room but it holds 6 white cloud minnows. Maybe i could do some switching round or something or could i even add the betta to the bowl? The minnows have very low biomass and poop like once a year. 

I'd love to see the day where i could get shrimp where i live. The only time iv seen them was in a new fish store about an hour away from here and i saw 2 big shrimp and a crab which i am really interested in getting. 

Feel free to throw around ideas with all my tanks.

This includes my 20 gallon, 10 gallon, 2 gallon bowl and a 20 gallon that's on the way.


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## Livebearer101 (Feb 7, 2006)

*Mid-March Update - Coming to Life*










The tank is really starting to take off now. After the turbulence of adding the guppies, taking out the betta, adding a few more x-rays and a couple of baby ottos (phew) it seems to be all settling in now. I swear all 3 females are now heavily pregnant though im not sure. They do however have a big black patch with lots of little black dots that i am told are eyes but i guess we'll find out. Im not going to use my breeder net as im confident the babies will find a good hiding place in all that! Please again ignore brown looking plants, this i found out is due to shading and lighting with my crap camera (trying to get a new one for my birthday at the end of the month!)

The Hygrophilia Polysperma has officially reached the top and it's starting to grow roots out of the stem. Shall i just cut off under where the roots are growing and re-plant?

The Amazon Frogbit (mini lily pads) are starting to grow, most obviously the roots which are tangling down. Not sure about the glosso so i replanted each plant and it should be fine. About this dwarf sag. though, as you can see the leaves are very long but i want it to carpet a bit and grow more runners. Do i encourage this by cutting down the leaves or what? Help on that would be appreciated.

That shot actually shows my red guppy Flair and his girly. Aww what a cute couple 

I also hope you all like my blue and purple guppy, he's very friendly! Both male guppies bite off more than they can chew at feeding time - literally. I thought Flair was choking  Help with a name for the blue guy would be nice. If you look closely you can also see the school of x-rays who seem to blend in with the plants.

Enjoy, if you're glancing over please just give me a minute of your time for a quick comment, tip, suggestion or any other helpful knowledge.

Thanks!


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## cbennett (Oct 20, 2005)

wow, what a transformation! Things are really coming together and the plants look great. I personally am not a fan of the rock look in planted tanks but it's amazing how your rocks match the background just perfectly. 

You don't need a breeding trap for your guppy babies, all the lovely java moss will be perfect for them to hide in and nibble on little food bits that get caught.


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## Livebearer101 (Feb 7, 2006)

Thanks for the kind words 

It was a great coincidence how the background matched up! Im really toying with the idea of taking the driftwood out. Its not sinking for one and the cut off bit looks abit ugly. I would cover it with java moss but i already have alot of it. What do you think?


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## Livebearer101 (Feb 7, 2006)

Hoorah! Went downstairs this morning utterly knackered, switched on the light to see something dart over to a rock.

"hmm whats this..? HOLY ****!!"

It was of course a baby guppy, about a quarter of an inch. I quickly grabbed for the net, netted it and spotted another on the surface so netted that too and put them in my breeding nursery net thing. I think the rest got eaten or are hiding but the flow of babies has just begun. I knew the guppies were pregnant - my suspicions were correct! I am very excited over this as i have officially and finally conquered the guppy. Plus, in my 7 or so years of having fish tanks (not always personally mine) i have finally got fish to breed in captivity. Happy days! Can any give me anyone tips for these little critters? I am currently feeding them crushed brineshrimp and flake food.


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## Livebearer101 (Feb 7, 2006)

Bump the fry count to 5!


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## Pufferpeep (Jul 26, 2005)

Congrats on the fry!!!

Its always exciting finding baby fish. I bet you will find a few more soon. 

How many more pregnant guppies do you think you have or was that one the only one? Soon you'll have a tank FULL of guppies  

When those guppies get going, boy they never stop...:icon_roll 

Hope the fry do well,

Pufferpeep


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## GreenerSideofLIfe (Dec 24, 2005)

LOL when you have 500 fry... you will no longer find them amusing and will buy something to eat them instead  LOL 

But seriously. Yes, babies are great! I now have enough rainbow babies to probibly stock at least another 55 gal tank. The rainbows are breeding like guppies... but the endlers... they are too busy harassing each other. Go figure... )


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## Livebearer101 (Feb 7, 2006)

Heh, well since this is the first breeding iv pretty much ever done, im currently in the excitement stage. There is still 5 but they've grown from a quarter of an inch to half and inch. Im feeding them 4 times a day.

I still wake up expecting to find more and probably will soon. Two female guppies are currently looking alot slimmer and they were never heavily pregnant so i think either they have a few each, and some got eaten, or that one wasnt actually pregnant.

I still have one female guppy that is getting fatter by the day and i expect her to give birth soon. Could be a big one..:thumbsup: 

Thanks for the comments.


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## Livebearer101 (Feb 7, 2006)

*16th March Update*

Alright folks just a small update here on how things are going. Pregnant guppy is still getting fatter and earlier i was experimenting with foods. I hard-boiled an egg and mixed the yolk with a little water to make a paste. Stick a tiny bit in to the breeder net hoping to make the 'small' cloud of protein that is OH SO good for them - turns out i put way too much in and had tiny bits of egg flying round the tank for 10 minutes, its settled down now however but i reckon il do a water change tomorrow. 5 fry are still very happy and healthy.

Ran a few frozen peas under warm water, took the shells off them and broke them up abit, dropped them in the tank and the guppies seemed to like them - might try that as a weekly treat just so they're getting their greens 

I am very excited in tank land at the moment as lots of things are going down. Hopefully in about two weeks i will have the following:

2 Gallon bowl
10 Gallon No.1
10 Gallon No.2
20 Gallon No.1
20 Gallon No.2

Whats that you say? Where did all the tanks come from!? Well, basically my current 10 gallon im going to set up for my Dad at his new place, maybe throwin a couple of cories and some nice colourful neons just to brighten up the place, though it looks cool enough 

10 Gallon No.2 will be thrown together from scratch, will have no gravel, small sponge filter, tiny heater and some nice lighting. It'll basically be a growout tank for my waves of guppy fry.

20 Gallon No.1, currently featured mostly in this thread will eventualy turn into a mega guppy tank, probably holding about 10-15 of my colourfulest (sp!?) male guppies. Il probably keep the ottos in there to do some algae work.

20 Gallon No.2 is coming from ebay probably at the weekend and i will build a stand for. It'll become my main show tank, containing a sweet aquascape, my shoal of 7 X-rays and il probably go on the hunt for those rams among other things. Oh the excitement!

Lastly the 2 gallon bowl, i have at the moment will just hold my 6 minnows who are going to act as cycling fish. Il just throw them in the desired tank, let them do the work for a couple of weeks max, then put them back in the bowl.

As you can tell i have alot to do and am very excited. Hope it all goes to plan! Peace out!


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## Livebearer101 (Feb 7, 2006)

Today is Friday a.k.a Happy Day. Therefore in the mail this morning at 12:30, look what i got handed to me...










Taaaa daaaaa. Thats right people, the new 20 Gallon has arrived..










I am very excited and already thoughts are rushing through my head. It's round about 20 gallons, condensation proof hood, the lighting is very strong but im not quite sure about the specs on it yet, il have a look later. It came with a heater, and a Fluval 2 Biological and Mechanical filter. It also came with a spare pump and a bubble wand, zyme bacteria bottle stuff, PH test kit, water conditioner, themomitor (sp?) and background..phew! All that was about 60 bucks off ebay. No scratches or anything. 










So what'd you think?

Finally here is a very bad and blurry daytime shot of my other 20 gallon with breeder net containing 5 (1 inch long) guppy fry.


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## Livebearer101 (Feb 7, 2006)

I set my 10 Gallon up at my Dad's house today and it looks really good! I went down to the LFS and they had an excellent selection. I got 3 Black Phantom tetra, 4 Yamato shrimp and two dwarf frogs labelled as 'Congo Frogs'. I havnt quite got any information on them but they've all settled in well. Tank looks awesome, il try and get some pics later. Cant wait to setup my second 20 gallon!


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## Livebearer101 (Feb 7, 2006)

Forgot to add, walked into this fish store, looked at some cool pictus cats, turned around and BAM! There was like a 2 foot Black Pacu looking straight into my eyes, scared the christ out of me - thing was huge. It was older than me lol - it was born in 1983 but wasnt for sale  Though it was bigger than my 10 gallon lol.


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## Thanks (Oct 9, 2004)

Watch out with that 20 gallon; is the stand going to be able to take the weight of the tank?

Feeding egg yolk works very well, but if you overfeed and don't clean, you're fish will die very quickly.


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## Betowess (Dec 9, 2004)

That 20 G tank plus ~160 pounds water plus 35 to 40 lbs of gravel. That chest looks like it could handily take 500 lbs to me. Piece of cake. That will be a nice show tank, 101.


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## Livebearer101 (Feb 7, 2006)

Thanks, i checked the stand out throughly. It's fairly new and was a very expensive stand. It's made out of top notch wood and i also checked out inside it for all supporting frames etc. As Betowess said, i reckon it'll do the job.

Iv learnt from my egg yolk mistake  Only fed them a *tiny* bit this time and it made that tiny cloud of protein that was desired. Heading back home today, cant wait to check the fry - hope my Mom hasnt poisoned them.. 

The two frogs, four shrimp and 3 Black Phantoms are still alive and great - feeding them frozen atermia (sp?) today. The frogs are just too cool. 

I already have the show tank at home visioned. It'll use this moon red sand that just looks awesome. Im going to pair it up with some terracing, probably some nice gravel behind the sand to grow plants. Im going to put a red-tailed black shark in there and a couple more items that can withstand the shark wondering about. Just wait till you see it 

Can plants grow in this red sand btw? I was always under the impression that the sand compacts so the plant roots get crushed?


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## Livebearer101 (Feb 7, 2006)

Hi there guys, just a quick image update. Fry are growing very fast and since the 10 Gallon got revamped a threw the betta (not literally) into this tank and everyone is doing fine. That guppy is getting worryingly (is that a word?) fat and she's about to give birth any time now.

Big image for you all here, dive into this..










Trimmed the Hygrophilia and replanted, it's already nearly grown towards the top. Dwarf Sag is finally starting to carpet. Please note NO CO2 is used in this setup. Only regular LFS plant food on a fortnighly basis and a satchel of mixed fertilisers which holds in the tank for 3 months and is then replaced. Feedback welcome.


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## Kiran (Feb 13, 2006)

Growth is looking good. You got any pictures of your frogs?


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## Livebearer101 (Feb 7, 2006)

Im afraid they're at my Dad's house. Il get some as soon as i can though! Thanks for the comments!


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## Livebearer101 (Feb 7, 2006)

Well thanks for the vast feedback heh. Found some more guppy fry today but only managed to catch one. Im guessing the others are still hiding or have been eaten by my Betta who seems to explore every single corner of the tank which the other fish do not. One of my guppys was looking pretty run down and thin a couple of days ago but after a good feeding and abit of time out she seems to be coming back to 100% now. Im going to try and start up the main show tank tonight in the lounge. Get the gravel and hardscape sorted and order some plants. I actually cant wait to get it going. I reckon im going to go for a pair of rams which i have located at a LFS, a red-tailed black shark and perhaps transfer over my school of 7 X-rays. Then perhaps add a few algae or bottom feeders such as a small pleco. My other tank i think im going to turn into a male guppy tank using all the males i breed and different colourations i find on my travels. It'll just be a tank of about 15 of my best male guppies. I plan on getting another 10 gallon soon to use to hold females and fry.


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## A Hill (Jul 25, 2005)

good luck with the 20! i have one idea for you! if you want to use the red sand you could also go with a bag or two of the red/orange flourite it would look really good i think! also i would take the beta and the other fish out of the other 20? with the guppies so then make one tank a guppy and shrimp tank and one a nice show tank...:icon_roll i dont know just an idea! good luck tho!

-=- fish newb -=-


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## Livebearer101 (Feb 7, 2006)

Yeh, thats quite a good idea. You see i have a really nice betta but im running out of places to put the poor guy and he really likes it in the current 20 gallon but he's always in the way the poor soul 

My Minnow bowl temp. is normally between 71 and 76 but the filter in it is reasonably powerful and i dont know if he'd like the current. There are 5 other minnow in this bowl.

Im really keen on the idea of having a male guppy tank with all my best colourations and i really like the idea of adding shrimp - thanks!


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## Livebearer101 (Feb 7, 2006)

Large photo update coming this week! Be prepared!


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## Livebearer101 (Feb 7, 2006)

Small update to what it looks like now. It's going very well.










Sand for second 20 gallon coming tomorrow with plants. Should have pics tomorrow night.


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## organic sideburns (Dec 22, 2005)

Wow, looking great! Its coming along nicely and I dont see any algae do I?


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## Livebearer101 (Feb 7, 2006)

Not a single drop. I dont know if it's the fact iv not used CO2 or very powerful lighting but plants are growing like crazy and everything is healthy. I propagated the hygro about 4 more times today so that pick is already outdated 

All going well. Thanks for all the views guys - they're appreciated. 

Any questions or comments, be my guest.


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## organic sideburns (Dec 22, 2005)

Keep up the good work, looking forward to seeing your other tanks!


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## Livebearer101 (Feb 7, 2006)

Thanks, my other 20 Gallon should be ready for photos by tomorrow night! I predict it'll look alot better than this one!

By the way, can everyone just tell me the specific aspects of the tank they like so i can focus and emphasise and develop these more. Thanks!


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## PinkRasbora (Jan 22, 2005)

Ever thought of useing drfitwood instead of rocks? A nice java fern would match your current tanks overall look. I also like the way you bring plants from the bottom all the way to the water surface, makes in interesting layout.


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## Livebearer101 (Feb 7, 2006)

Thankyou for your planting comments - it's glad to know my hard work is appreciated. I actually have a bunch of java fern in the back left but had to move it out of place slightly for the breeder net for the time being. I dont know about the wood thing, i mean i really like my rocks but i can see where you're going with it. Might be a good idea for the future. What does everyone else think? There'd certainly be lots more room. 

Plants came today. Theres looaddsss more no sand! So photos tomorrow most likely.


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## Kiran (Feb 13, 2006)

Ye definately a nice bit of wood would look cool. Even better if you can get the rooty type piece. (not sure if you will get what I mean). The pieces where it has lots of little pieces coming off and one big clump at the bottom. Tht is terribly described. Liking the tank now aswell though. How many WPG you got on that?

Kiran


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## Livebearer101 (Feb 7, 2006)

Believe it or not, this thing is only run on 1 x 15 Watt lighting tube that came with the kit. I know compared to everyone else here it's not very much but it really seems to be doing the job - i wonder if i upgraded it what sort of growth i'd get :-O

My new 20 Gallon has a 68 Watt lighting tube so ALOT more powerful. 

Im really starting to consider using some root driftwood now instead of those rocks... I'l have to see what i can do 

Thanks for the compliments.


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## organic sideburns (Dec 22, 2005)

IMO, I like the rocks and they go well with the background but you could try some wood. It's up to you, I think it would look good either way!


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## Livebearer101 (Feb 7, 2006)

Well, ITS OFFICIALLY MY BIRTHDAY IN THE UK! HERES HOPES TO WAKING UP TO A 2000 GALLONER 

Thanks to all for helping me and making me enjoy this hobby even more. Cheers!


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## Livebearer101 (Feb 7, 2006)

Partayyyy!


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## organic sideburns (Dec 22, 2005)

Whoo! Happy Birthday


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## messy_da_legend (Feb 16, 2006)

> can everyone just tell me the specific aspects of the tank they like so i can focus and emphasise and develop these more


i quite like you rockwork, maybe some java fern "windelov" attached to it? lots of java moss would look nice, especially in between the rocks so it would grow out and attach


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## deleted_user_4 (Mar 8, 2006)

Livebearer101 said:


> Well, ITS OFFICIALLY MY BIRTHDAY IN THE UK! HERES HOPES TO WAKING UP TO A 2000 GALLONER
> 
> Thanks to all for helping me and making me enjoy this hobby even more. Cheers!


Did you get your 2000 gallon tank? :thumbsup:


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## Livebearer101 (Feb 7, 2006)

Nope  But i did get my driving license and the equivalent of $400 to put towards some tank stuff. Might come in handy in the future!

I put the sand in my new aquarium today. It looks awesome, im just arranging photos then il post the time line of it tomorrow when the tank water has cleared. Be ready!


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## Livebearer101 (Feb 7, 2006)

*New 20 Gallon Tank!*

Ok guys, here it is - hope it looks as cool to you as it does to me.

This is the 20 gallon i recieved in the mail a few weeks back and have been waiting to set it up properly for ages - finally i can!

Here's what it looks again, when i first got it - just one more look:










After fixing out some gravel and some wood, i set to work on the layout and positioned the wood:





























And after loads of plant ordering and a bag of sand later, here is the finished product so far:










It's still a tad cloudy but we're getting there. That was the best pic i could manage with my 'camera'. Hope you guys like it. Any questions or suggestions are welcome so just fire away if you have anything to say - thanks!


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## organic sideburns (Dec 22, 2005)

Looks great to me. I like the open beach look, and the posistion of your plants are nice, leaving some of the wood open. 

Next pic, maybe top off the tank so there is no water line showing just for a better overall look.


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## Livebearer101 (Feb 7, 2006)

Yeh sorry  I had it low down because i was putting my hands in the bottom of the tank whilst planting and didnt want the water to overflow. Its happened before...


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## Livebearer101 (Feb 7, 2006)

OK i added a purple spotted goby yesterday. The guy at the LFS who has served me before was telling me about how they're starting to stock in pipefish and other rarities. So as i wanted something interesting, and these were limited stocked at 8 bucks a piece, i bought one and now it's happily enjoying itself in the new 20 gallon tank. Plant growth is doing well and im dosing dry ferts and liquid ferts, as well as the fert. satchal thing.

Basically, the guy said you can mix it with anything as long as it's quick enough to not get snacked on. Anyone got any ideas for some other fish to go with this guy? He's about 3-4 inches long and likes the sand at the front. He also seems to like the little cave i made. He eats sinking pellets and some alge wafers whole so he has a good appetite  He was also raised and bred in freshwater so there are no brackish issues. Just need to find him some non-edible friends! Please put in any ideas!

Other tanks are doing well! Thats all for now.


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## Livebearer101 (Feb 7, 2006)

10 Gallon is going fine. Gravel had messed up over time so i replaced it with a little sand. The 4 shrimp didnt make it however the the two frogs and 3 tetra are doing great. Thinking of getting more tetra and a few cories soon to eat stuff at the bottom. Il try find a webcam and take a picture of it. Thats all for now!


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## awrieger (May 12, 2005)

Looking good so far. Did you just put the sand in on top of the gravel? I imagine the gravel will start showing through more eventually as the smaller sand settles to the bottom, so you may lose that beach look you have now.


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## Livebearer101 (Feb 7, 2006)

Thanks for the heads up. We'll see how it goes - hope i wont lose it too much as the goby likes it


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## mr.gaboozlebag (Feb 22, 2006)

your frogs are most likely african dwarf frogs. The other option is african clawed frogs, which grow very large, and eat fish. Here is a link to some pictures and info.
http://www.aquariumfish.net/catalog_pages/misc_critters/frog_african_dwarf.htm#top2


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## Livebearer101 (Feb 7, 2006)

Thanks for the great info, i think they're most definitley Dwarf Frogs and they are pretty cool. We feed them bloodworms but il look into getting some live ones.


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## Livebearer101 (Feb 7, 2006)

6/6/6

Hey all, havnt updated this journal for a couple of months now. Big update here.

To start this is how my tanks are doing.

My 2 gallon nano got emptied today and the 5 minnows are in a 6 gallon i customed out with 10 watt lighting with 2 reflectors and the aqua mini filter. No heater. Im planning on adding more minnows tomorrow. Its great how i can see them really well now because it was hard to see them in the 2 gallon as it was curved with little light. They look fabulous.

My 10 gallon is a long story. One of the frogs died so we bought another. Also a black phantom died so my Dad bought 4 neon tetras and i didnt really have a problem with that, they seem to be schooling together. He also bought a chinese algae eater which seems to be doing quite a good job with the rest of his friends.

The first 20 gallon is going very well but had some water problems about a month back. Both female guppies are now deceased along with one of the males. The male betta passed away from age, RIP! and the ottos are fine. The sturdy X-rays are still standing strong and these two fry are beautiful. Tank raised and they stick together like two peas a in a pod. A breeding pair from about 2 months up, a good sign 

Both fry, now nearly adults show characteristics of their parents so they're carrying on the legacy.

Im planning on getting some more stock for the 1st 20 Gallon tomorrow, maybe some more guppies.

Nothing has changed with 20 gallon number 2, plants have exploded and everything is going well. Getting rid of the last of the tannins this week.

Pictures tonight as my camera takes best photos in the dark as there's no reflection etc.

Thanks for reading!


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## Livebearer101 (Feb 7, 2006)

Well, no posts as usual, no surprises there 

Looks like no ones in a hurry so i think il post the pics up tomorrow, tired tonight.


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