# 12 gallon long Blackwater now not... lol



## kubalik (Jul 8, 2011)

this is a perfect setup for a pair of apisto


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## ngrubich (Nov 29, 2011)

Looks good! Just make sure it doesn't look _too_ symmetrical (I had that problem with my blackwater tank when setting it up). 
I've got a few pairs of german blue rams in my setup and love watching them sift through the leaves and dig in the sand.


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## pantherspawn (Dec 21, 2011)

kubalik said:


> this is a perfect setup for a pair of apisto


I agree.. I would go Apistogramma hongsloi ii


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## Shimagoma (May 15, 2012)

ngrubich said:


> Looks good! Just make sure it doesn't look _too_ symmetrical (I had that problem with my blackwater tank when setting it up).
> I've got a few pairs of german blue rams in my setup and love watching them sift through the leaves and dig in the sand.


yeahhhh I think with more leaf litter soon it should break it up a bit more! but yeah, im not feeling the platys JUST yet, though they are chomping down on the driftwood fungus 

suggestions are very welcome! as well as plant ideas, I was thinking some small anubias or something like cambodia to stick in small bundles just to add something unique, or at least something to pump the red color even more. green things just look black lol


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## pantherspawn (Dec 21, 2011)

If you want to stay traditional plants would be, swords, hornwort, cabomba, stargrass and vals.


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## Shimagoma (May 15, 2012)

pantherspawn said:


> If you want to stay traditional plants would be, swords, hornwort, cabomba, stargrass and vals.


they wouldnt have to be totally be traditional! there will be more leaf litter as the tank settles. Im just not totally leaning towards co2 because of money and space in my office. 

ooo though, i was hoping the tank wouldnt be too small for apistos!
ee now im all excited hah


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## pantherspawn (Dec 21, 2011)

Some people may disagree. But I think a 12 long is plenty room for a pair of apistos. As long as you don't keep to many other fish in there with them. Platys would lose their fry pretty quick. Maybe some small schoolers like neons of some sort with the apisto


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## pantherspawn (Dec 21, 2011)

Also, you shouldn't need co2 with any of those plants i mentioned.


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## Shimagoma (May 15, 2012)

doh! found out that those apistos are about 40$ :c hmmm... maybe something in the same family but of a more common variety? dah.. though they look so good! 

Aside from that im digging into getting a dwarf lily,letting the pads reach the surface, and maybe look into some red crypts and some stargrass (if i dont crush it!)

decisions! 
quick photo update of my fish, Anderson Cooper, hes enjoying the branches and perches right next to the computer screen.


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## pantherspawn (Dec 21, 2011)

Easy plants, though the lily likes a bit of light. I have red and green tiger lotus to do the same along with the crypt wendtii mi oya. Those crypt grow like crazy, super easy plant. As far as cost go, sounds about right for an apisto with good color. The cockatoo might be a bit cheaper, but any of them with the Reds that are vibrant are gonna be about that same range. At least from sellers I've seen. There might be someone here on the forums that can get them to you at a better price. Also, that apisto I mentioned is known for blackwater in the wild just like your setup. Just double check your ph for any of the south American cichlids to be sure it's acidic enough for them.


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## pantherspawn (Dec 21, 2011)

Also, good looking fish in that last post. I barely ever see our beta, he stays under my son's bunk bed on his desk.. Too short for me to get under there much.


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## AirstoND (Jun 17, 2011)

*Blackwater with floaters*

I've always loved these setups with floaters such as dwarf water lettuce, lilies, or lotus. The roots and green hue from surface leaves reflection really makes the tank punch.


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## Meganne (Sep 3, 2012)

I see AmericanFlag Fish on your list, if they are anything like Florida Flag fish they are very aggressive


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## Shimagoma (May 15, 2012)

Meganne said:


> I see AmericanFlag Fish on your list, if they are anything like Florida Flag fish they are very aggressive


ahh yeah thats what I hear, on the list but not probable 

@gus

oo! do post about them? id love to see the quality!
the triple reds im very interested in so...


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## Shimagoma (May 15, 2012)

some actually nice photos to update with


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## Shimagoma (May 15, 2012)

moooreee pictures! floaters are multiplying wonderfully! and I got my red roots in! now to corral them into the right spots


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## RedseaReefer (Aug 21, 2012)

Very nice my friend! love the betta and the floaters. Props to breaking the misconception that bettas hate every other fish!


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## Shimagoma (May 15, 2012)

RedseaReefer said:


> Very nice my friend! love the betta and the floaters. Props to breaking the misconception that bettas hate every other fish!


with some careful trickery hes actually come to get pretty lonely when there arnt people around! I introduced him to the tank with kuhli loaches already in, and it was enough to teach him he could seek out food with them, and then we added in danios, which are too fast for him to catch and just well behaved enough that they leave him alone  

as long as no one is pestering anyone! all is good!

:angel:


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## Shimagoma (May 15, 2012)

oh man long needed tank update! I liked all the sticks and all but now with the shadows it is feeling more and more grown in and the algae growth ads a lot of nice age to it. BUT having said that I did get some snails to help curb the CONSTANT diatom blooms lol


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## RedseaReefer (Aug 21, 2012)

*12 gallon long Blackwater*



Shimagoma said:


> oh man long needed tank update! I liked all the sticks and all but now with the shadows it is feeling more and more grown in and the algae growth ads a lot of nice age to it. BUT having said that I did get some snails to help curb the CONSTANT diatom blooms lol


Not to be too critical but if you used smaller fishes like noens or rasboras or anything really tiny it would make you tank feel HUGE!!  I can see it now but the fish throw off the scale. Also neons actually come from black water areas like the amazon, do you dose anything to keep it dark? i think "ich attack" actually contains mostly the same type compound as tanins. They also sell a blackwater extract type thing but thats just my 2¢ about it conceptially, It looks great though. ^.^


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## glndrifts (Jun 8, 2010)

Awesome tank, I remember seeing it on my deviant art watch list.  I've always wanted to do a blackwater tank with cardinal tetras, the way they appear in the light and almost completely disappear when they leave is really cool.


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## Shimagoma (May 15, 2012)

glndrifts said:


> Awesome tank, I remember seeing it on my deviant art watch list.  I've always wanted to do a blackwater tank with cardinal tetras, the way they appear in the light and almost completely disappear when they leave is really cool.


yep! the biggest problem I have is im so freaking attached to my danios! Ive had them for three years now, not one death and they were my very first PT fish! and they have all sorts of battle wounds 

Id love to get some neons or some teeny tiny feesh like endlers and really make the scape seem larger. Now if only there was someone to dump these platys on


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## 2Old4Reefing (Aug 13, 2013)

Looks great, I love the black water look, I just added a piece of wood in my 72 and I am going to have some pretty dark water for a long time to come I am sure.

My wife don't understand why I want black water, I tell he rlook at videos on youtube of the Amazon River or the Rio *****, the most beautiful river in the world then ask me that, hahaha! I may have threw the whole look off though with my substrate.


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## Shimagoma (May 15, 2012)

updates!

so yeah... getting rid of the platy pair and now im so tempted to try neons again. Though I wonder, any suggestions for reliable neon stock? Ive tried a few sources before and have failed each time :/ so I wonder, halp? good places to order from? 

I mostly want to move to something calmer and smaller for the sake of the betta, I think he thinks they are too rowdy and to be honest, something smaller would be nice and delicate


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## Shimagoma (May 15, 2012)

quick updates, replaced the platy with some neons! Ordered them from a place here in the USA that breeds neons that are a little more resistant to hard water so my hopes are high! So far too they seem rather brave and are cruising around the tank in a school. 

Aside from that im just hoping I have better luck with this batch than my previous horrible batch ;-; 

aaannd starting to wonder how many floaters I could cut back or what peoples thoughts on them were?


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## Grah the great (Jul 3, 2013)

Good move replacing the platies...livebearers in general do not like acidic water, which I am assuming is a must if you are going the blackwater route. I'm also planning a blackwater tank, but it will have a floor of leaf litter instead of sand and will use rainwater...if you can't tell I want the ph to be VERY low. The occupants would most likely be either wild bettas or licorice gouramis. Now that my rant is done...may your tank prosper!


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## Casardo (Jul 2, 2013)

So u want your water this color ?


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## tithra (Dec 1, 2012)

very pretty tank!


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## HuntCast (Aug 25, 2013)

Casardo said:


> So u want your water this color ?


I'll let the OP speak for himself, but yes, blackwater aquariums are meant to be that color. In fact, depending on what area is being represented, the water can be almost black like coffee.


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## Shimagoma (May 15, 2012)

Casardo said:


> So u want your water this color ?


y...yes lol its part of adding almond leaves to darken it as well as lower the PH, though the sand has some silicates in it, so it isnt TOO acidic but just enough to make everyone happy 

I like the dark water look a lot, it seems so peaceful to me, and since i have a clear water one at home it gives things a different mood. It feels more natural to me <3 and helps some of the more shy fish feel like they can explore a bit more. 

as far as the leaf litter, im always going back and forth on how much to add  some days I love a lot of litter! some days no so much  I would go with no sand and all leaves, but the floaters cast some nice shadows and it would get very very dark down there, and ive got loaches in there as well  

thks all! im really enjoying this tank <3


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## ua hua (Oct 30, 2009)

A pair of Apistos would look nice in there and feel right at home.


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## Shimagoma (May 15, 2012)

super long time between updates, tank slowly just ended up getting too dirty and too hard to maintain at work  clear water seemed the move too since I had to change offices at work and the office roomie didnt like the gloomy lol


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

Wow that's clear


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## sevenportsOFFICE (Aug 5, 2013)

I really love the layout and clean look of this tank now. A+++++


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## Shimagoma (May 15, 2012)

SevenportsJohn said:


> I really love the layout and clean look of this tank now. A+++++


ahh! thank you so much! 

I want to do a gif rotating around it. there is a sofa in my office that people get to come in, sit down on and look down the short end.

of course the neons do nothing but putts around all day and continue to be adorable. i think i need 2-3 more though.


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## lamiskool (Jul 1, 2011)

love the new peninsula look!


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## H2Ogal (Apr 27, 2010)

That is awesome. Love it. Definitely add more neons if you can.


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## AquaAurora (Jul 10, 2013)

lovely tank, must be a nice t o help relax on a stressful work day. Love the mustard gas female betta in there btw (fav color). Do you name your betta gals?


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## Chris_Produces (Feb 19, 2014)

Nice work, it looks great!


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## Shimagoma (May 15, 2012)

AquaAurora said:


> lovely tank, must be a nice t o help relax on a stressful work day. Love the mustard gas female betta in there btw (fav color). Do you name your betta gals?


oh wow thanks everyone! Im pretty happy with this tank so far but i need to get out the brush and scrub these rocks today 

as far as the bettas yes I do name them hah

the white/gold female is Glowworm (thank my boyfriend for that..)
big blue is Nefertiti 
little blue is Lil'blue
and the grizzle is Lady Murder


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## boxboy (Jun 1, 2013)

Nice looking tank. great job...


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## AquaAurora (Jul 10, 2013)

Shimagoma said:


> oh wow thanks everyone! Im pretty happy with this tank so far but i need to get out the brush and scrub these rocks today
> 
> as far as the bettas yes I do name them hah
> 
> ...


Awesome...Hope Lady Murder didn't _earn _that name .. "Yeh, fun fact, that one *points* likes to commit sororcide once in a while.. no biggie.." *shocked stares from guests/employes/customers*


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## limz_777 (Jun 29, 2005)

nice new layout


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## du3ce (Jan 26, 2013)

Shimagoma said:


> ahh! thank you so much!
> 
> I want to do a gif rotating around it. there is a sofa in my office that people get to come in, sit down on and look down the short end.
> 
> of course the neons do nothing but putts around all day and continue to be adorable. i think i need 2-3 more though.


how did u do the gif? thats pretty cool


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## Shimagoma (May 15, 2012)

du3ce said:


> how did u do the gif? thats pretty cool


my phone has a GIF recording option and then I take it into photoshop to make it a reasonable length 

(it is a galaxy s4)


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## Shimagoma (May 15, 2012)

Tank is growing wonderfully thanks to a few donations of plants and since the lilies have recovered some  

hooray! More growth expected, soon too the algae will calm down


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