# Riparian Zone: 12 Gallon Long Journal



## TaylorTurner (Mar 15, 2016)

*Aquarium*
Aquatop high clarity 12 gallon long

*Filtration and Circulation*
Eheim 2232 
Subtrat pro
Purigen
Eheim 1250 with custom intake

*Lighting*
Current Satellite Plus Pro

Photoperiod: 11:00 - 22:00


LED settings
Red: 100
Green: 50
Blue: 100
White: 100

*Substrate*
ADA Aqua Soil Amazonia (regular and powder type)
Seachem Fluorite
Onyx Sand

*Fertilizers*
NilocG Thrive: 1 pump M, W, F
Flourish Excel: 4.0mL daily
1000mg CaCO3 + 500mg MgO supplement: M, Th
50% water change Monday morning and Thursday evening

*Nutrition*
Frozen baby brine shrimp
Frozen daphnia
Frozen mysis
Frozen bloodworms
Repashy Soilent Green
Repashy Meat Pie

*Hardscape*
River stone

*Flora*
_E. acicularis_
_C. beckettii_ var. _petchii_
_C. dewitii_ 'Papua New Guinea'
_C. nurii_
_C. wendtii_ var. 'bronze'
_C. wendtii_ var. 'green'
_S. repens_
_Bucephalandra_ sp. 'black pearl'
_Bucephalandra_ sp. 'pink lady'
_Bucephalandra_ sp. 'penelope'
_Bucephalandra_ sp. 'royal blue'
_Bucephalandra_ sp. 'super mini'
_A. barteri_ var. _nana_ 'petite'
_L. minor_
_L. laevigatum_
_R. fluitans_
_P. helferi_

*Fauna*
_D. erythromicron_ x8 
_Otocinclus_ cf. _affinis_ x6
_T. albonubes_ x12


I planted and flooded the aquarium on 3.01.1 and am really pleased with how things are coming along so far. My hardscape shifted when I had to move the set up to its permanent location. I didn't want to traumatize the plants anymore than they had been, so I left it as it settled.

Frustratingly, all of the HC I had in the carpet was uprooted by sloshing during the move. I had a tremendously difficult time replanting it (my planting pincettes are not fine enough to make a clean retraction from the substrate without unsettling the plant). What was worse is that the plants got shuffled and were really just a tangled mess of tiny leaves, roots, and stems. Unable to psychologically commit to sorting through the mess and replanting each piece, I decided to try to arrange the strands of HC into mats, press them against the substrate and sprinkle some AS sparingly over top. While this isn't the most presentable option, the HC is growing and starting to take root once more. 

This is also the point at which I decided to intentionally mix other plants into the HC. Previously I had the HC as its own field and had planned to aggressively cut back any DHG and _L. mauritiana_ that moved in. After having to reset the HC I really thought about what I want the scape to look like. I decided that mixing together the carpet plants would lend a much more natural look that suggested the shallow marginal areas of flooded fields from which the celestial pearls and rosy loaches hail. Into the HC was mixed _S. repens, C. parva, L. mauritiana_ and _E. acicularis_. I have been carefully trimming plants to ensure that none are choking the others out as the more slow growing plants fill in. Once the plants are as nicely established and grown in as I would likeI plan on dialing the lighting back some, adjusting fertilization accordingly, and let this become a more low maintenance scape. Reading what Tom Barr and others have to say in regard to using less lighting and having a more steady system has really convinced me that's the way to go. Until then, as I am always very obsessive when starting up a project, the frequent care currently required is actually perfect. 

As for the rest of the plants, all of the crypts melted (as I was expecting). I helped mitigate the amount of crypt slop I had to pluck out of the aquarium by trimming off all large leaves prior to planting. Each portion of crypt has new growth coming up , so it's just a matter of time before things fill in as I would like. I think the _C. wendtii_ 'bronze' will be striking once it bounces back. 

Wow, typing this up has been a great distraction from studying for my finals tomorrow. :icon_roll Any way, thank you for reading this! I would love to hear constructive critiques, especially of the stones, as I intend to rearrange them a bit once things have settled in more. 

All my photos were taken with my iPhone 6, and are of according quality. A few are crooked, and while I generally would take the time to edit them to fix that, I have been far too good at procrastinating already.

*Day 01* 

After planting the tank, before flooding it:



Aquarium in temporary location:



*Day 04*

Murkiness has begun to settle:



*Day 09*

After moving the aquarium to its permanent location:



*Day 10*

Just a mess of HC. I added Purigen because of frustration from the cloudiness caused by disturbance to the substrate.



Looking nasty:



*Day 11*

Thank you, Seachem, Purigen is a miracle worker!



*Day 15*

The plants are recovering nicely and starting to look more vibrant.




*Day 17*

Not much to report today. Ammonia levels have been holding at 0.0 ppm since Monday. Nitrites are down to 2.0 ppm from >5.0 ppm the past several days. Nitrates were somewhere between 10.0 and 20.0 ppm yesterday, now there are down to 5.0 ppm. I have not done a water change since Sunday evening, so I assume the plants are accountable for the drop in nitrates. 

Full tank shot from this morning before work:



Aerial shot of the right side; some _S. repens_, sprouts of _C. wendtii_ 'bronze' and _C. parva_:



Checking the water after work (~12 hours after first reading), the nitrites had dropped to 0.25 ppm.

*Day 18*

Some of the crypts are growing surprisingly quickly, many patches of grass could use a trim, and I'm still fighting to keep my HC rooted, though some has taken hold and is creeping. 

Ammonia: 0.0 ppm
Nitrite: 0.25 ppm
Nitrate: 10.0-20.0 ppm (very difficult to tell difference in hues on API chart)

I also pulled the emergent plants out of the top last night.


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## ArchimedesTheDog (Apr 9, 2012)

Lovely tank, you're making me regret not getting a 12 long, haha.


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## touch of sky (Nov 1, 2011)

It is coming along very nicely. Where did you place the crypts in the scape? It is hard to tell in the photos


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## TaylorTurner (Mar 15, 2016)

ArchimedesTheDog said:


> Lovely tank, you're making me regret not getting a 12 long, haha.


Thanks! The dimensions have been fun to work with.

Bump:


touch of sky said:


> It is coming along very nicely. Where did you place the crypts in the scape? It is hard to tell in the photos


Yeah, they are hard to see because how much melted down. All the bronze wendtii is planted around and behind the rocks on the right side of the tank, with the green wendtii tucked in the right rear corner. The parva is peppered throughout the scape. I'm hoping that in a month or so it will have rebounded nicely. 

Thanks for checking it out!


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## II Knucklez II (Oct 31, 2011)

nice tank!!! I have a CPD tank with scarlet bad just wish the CPD's weren't so shy/scared


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## ArchimedesTheDog (Apr 9, 2012)

II Knucklez II said:


> nice tank!!! I have a CPD tank with scarlet bad just wish the CPD's weren't so shy/scared


I used to have a tank in which they were the focus of the upper strata, everything else was a bottom dweller, that helped a lot with the shyness. So does just plain time, as they get used to their environment. Captive-bred ones are better, too. IME


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## WaterLife (Jul 1, 2015)

Nice tank!

I keep rosy loaches and CPD's as well. Mine have been bold and adventurous since day one, never timid/skittish as many report. They spawn and all, not even scared of larger fishes, and mine are wild caught.

If you really want to do a biotope for the two naturally occurring inhabitants I believe they have been said to also have areas of taller dense vegetation. Though the biotope idea of dense plants might not fit the aquascaping look you might want.

I believe Blyxa aubertii gets quite a bit larger than Blyxa japonica. Might end up touching the water surface.

Seriously Fish lists some plant species in their natural habitat
Petruichthys sp. ?rosy? ? Rosy Loach (Yunnanilus sp. rosy, Tuberoschistura arakanensis) ? Seriously Fish
Celestichthys margaritatus ? Celestial Pearl ?Danio? (Danio margaritatus) ? Seriously Fish
Found some other info as well
The Celestial Pearl Danio: A Cautionary Tale | Details | Articles | TFH Magazine®
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danio_margaritatus


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## TaylorTurner (Mar 15, 2016)

WaterLife said:


> Nice tank!
> 
> I keep rosy loaches and CPD's as well. Mine have been bold and adventurous since day one, never timid/skittish as many report. They spawn and all, not even scared of larger fishes, and mine are wild caught.
> 
> ...


Yeah, I am trying to temper aquascape versus biotope accuracy. I read that thread and article along with countless others while I was doing my obsessive research for the tank. It seems to me that the rosy loach is kind of an overlooked fish. 

As for the blyxa, it was thrown in with the rest of my plants (can't say no to a free plant). I figured I would let it grow out in my tank then try to figure out something to do with it. 

Thanks for checking it out and passing along information. It's pretty cool that you also keep these two fish together. What is your set-up like? Do you have a journal on here for that tank?


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## WaterLife (Jul 1, 2015)

Nope, I don't do any tank journals. I didn't keep them in a biotope tank, just a regular community tank with tons of other fish. I've kept them in non-planted to sparsely planted to heavily planted, mine didn't seem to mind at all, but they do like some dense vegetation areas to spawn "play" in. Rosy loaches like to perch on objects/plants. They naturally come from brightly lit places (some areas are densely planted, some areas are open water) so I am sure a biotope of tall plants is not really necessary, so you'd be fine the way the tank is. Though personally, from the look of the tank now, it looks nice, but I could see it feeling rather bland/incomplete until you get more diversity in plant shapes. I think some red plants in there would look really nice. With enough iron and light, Blyxa should end up turning a nice red as well, which is a treat to see! 

Great to hear you do research your fish a lot!

Rosy loaches are definitely a great fish. To me, they are like a CPD and pygmy cory mixed together behavior-wise. They swim around and hang out on plant leaves like pygmy corys, but also like to stay mid water more and play around/in vegetation like CPDs. Whoever likes pygmy corys, would love rosy loaches even more! Definitely overlooked, though I think a big reason is that they aren't widely available (not as easy to breed like pygmy corys as well). Being in Portland, Oregon, I am sure you probably got yours from Wet Spot  That's where I got mine (shipped, WA state). My LFS don't really get them ever, just once a year or so and they get them from Wet Spot as well.

CPDs and rosy loaches don't really pay any attention/interact with each other, but they are very peaceful and active little fish. Nice colors as well.


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## TaylorTurner (Mar 15, 2016)

WaterLife said:


> Nope, I don't do any tank journals. I didn't keep them in a biotope tank, just a regular community tank with tons of other fish. I've kept them in non-planted to sparsely planted to heavily planted, mine didn't seem to mind at all, but they do like some dense vegetation areas to spawn "play" in. Rosy loaches like to perch on objects/plants. They naturally come from brightly lit places (some areas are densely planted, some areas are open water) so I am sure a biotope of tall plants is not really necessary, so you'd be fine the way the tank is. Though personally, from the look of the tank now, it looks nice, but I could see it feeling rather bland/incomplete until you get more diversity in plant shapes. I think some red plants in there would look really nice. With enough iron and light, Blyxa should end up turning a nice red as well, which is a treat to see!
> 
> Great to hear you do research your fish a lot!
> 
> ...


Yes, I will be getting them from The Wet Spot, and now you have me even more excited to get them. When I was younger I had some pygmy cories and really loved their whimsical nature. 

I think the bronze wendtii should add a nice pop of color once it fills in, but I have also be considering some _A. reineckii_ for something a bit more bold.


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## WaterLife (Jul 1, 2015)

A. reineckii is definitely a nice plant (get the mini version if you can). There are plenty of other smaller leaved red plants (such as some ludwigia and rotala species) available from members on this forum (check for sale section).

Let things grow out then go from there. Just a heads up, for new livestock (fish, shrimp), make sure to acclimate slowly especially when you are introducing them to co2 injected water. Constantly monitor the first days as well just to make sure you aren't injecting too much co2 for the fish to handle.


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## stingrayness (Feb 14, 2016)

So beautiful!


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## TaylorTurner (Mar 15, 2016)

WaterLife said:


> A. reineckii is definitely a nice plant (get the mini version if you can). There are plenty of other smaller leaved red plants (such as some ludwigia and rotala species) available from members on this forum (check for sale section).
> 
> Let things grow out then go from there. Just a heads up, for new livestock (fish, shrimp), make sure to acclimate slowly especially when you are introducing them to co2 injected water. Constantly monitor the first days as well just to make sure you aren't injecting too much co2 for the fish to handle.


Thanks, I will definitely do a nice, slow drip acclimation when adding stock.

Bump:


stingrayness said:


> So beautiful!


Thanks for looking!


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## TaylorTurner (Mar 15, 2016)

*Day 17*

Not much to report today. Ammonia levels have been holding at 0.0 ppm since Monday. Nitrites are down to 2.0 ppm from >5.0 ppm the past several days. Nitrates were somewhere between 10.0 and 20.0 ppm yesterday, now there are down to 5.0 ppm. I have not done a water change since Sunday evening, so I assume the plants are accountable for the drop in nitrates. 

Full tank shot from this morning before work:



Aerial shot of the right side; some _S. repens_, sprouts of _C. wendtii_ 'bronze' and _C. parva_:



*Update:* Checking the water after work (~12 hours after first reading), the nitrites had dropped to 0.25 ppm.


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## WaterLife (Jul 1, 2015)

If I'm not mistaken, the ammonia levels are supposed to be kept consistantly present (whether or not that requires dosing daily to keep ammonia levels at 2ppm for example to keep the ammonia-oxidizing and nitrite-oxidizing bacteria fed and growing).


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## TaylorTurner (Mar 15, 2016)

WaterLife said:


> If I'm not mistaken, the ammonia levels are supposed to be kept consistantly present (whether or not that requires dosing daily to keep ammonia levels at 2ppm for example to keep the ammonia-oxidizing and nitrite-oxidizing bacteria fed and growing).


The aqua soil leaches ammonia at pretty high levels for a good while, so I think these colonies should be nicely supported by this.


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## TaylorTurner (Mar 15, 2016)

II Knucklez II said:


> nice tank!!! I have a CPD tank with scarlet bad just wish the CPD's weren't so shy/scared


Hey, thanks for the compliment! Sorry, I missed this until now. 

Scarlet badis are such beautiful little jewels, I'd love to do a species tank for them one day.


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## TaylorTurner (Mar 15, 2016)

*Day 19*

Readings from this morning:

Ammonia: 0.0 ppm
Nitrite: 0.0 ppm
Nitrate: 0.0 < NO3 < 5.0 ppm

Full tank shot:



Some pearling:



I'll be doing a large water change this evening after work. I will also take the opportunity to trim back some of the dwarf hair grass and plant the HC that is hanging out at the surface.


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## TaylorTurner (Mar 15, 2016)

*Day 23*

As always, please forgive the image quality:









I feel like the tank is coming along very nicely. I added 6 crystal red shrimp on Monday night (one of them came berried). Today I added 7 celestial pearl danios, 6 rosy loaches, and 6 otocinclus. I did a really slow drip acclimation and all of my fish are taking very well to their new home. 

The loaches are particularly interesting. They are quite active and have alternated between shoaling with the danios, rooting through the HC, and investigating the otocinclus.

I have my filter outflow positioned to provide a rather brisk current along the back wall, which strikes the right end of the tank, curves around, and slows in the front middle of the tank; at one point the loaches noticed an otocinclus swimming in the current and went to join in, CPDs in tow. This has now become a game, where the shoal congregates in the right corner of the tank, then swims as fast as possible against the current until they get past the outflow pipe, circling back to do it again. 

Today I also added a _Bucephalandra_ (labeled 'black pearl') and replaced the _B. aubertii_ with _M. crenata_. The blyxa was growing much faster than I had guessed it would and thought it best to remove it before it got out of hand. Well, I'm glad I didn't wait, as the root system was kind of nuts already. 

My crypts are all steadily recovering, but still not much to look at just yet.


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## TaylorTurner (Mar 15, 2016)

*Day 31*

Here is day 1:








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30 days later:



Sorry for the exceptionally poor image quality.


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## WaterLife (Jul 1, 2015)

The last pic in post #19, the male CPD in the top center, looks to have a sunken belly. I would suspect he has internal parasites/worms.
If he hasn't fattened up to a normal round, full belly by now, I would recommend treating the whole tank with Praziquantel (you can get Hikari PraziPro). Prazi is fairly gentle on fish, and is safe for plants and inverts. Do one treatment course as directed and then do a follow up treatment 2 or 3 weeks after to kill off any of remaining eggs that may have hatched after the first treatment (the med can't kill the eggs, so you have to wait until they hatch).

Anyways, nice growth with the tank so far! Definitely looks like it could use some more "diamond leaf textures" though. Maybe even some reddish color plants too. Just personal opinion though. Might not be the look you are going for. Still looks good and it's your tank.

Almost thought that dotted rosy loach was a different species (who knows, it might just be a closely related similar species?, doesn't look like it though). I have also gotten a different patterned similar fish in my rosy loach shipment, but mine was undoubtedly a different species fish, never found an ID because it was rare to the hobby. Almost looked like a similar mini darter tetra species, but was clearly a loach from the barbels and being a bottom dweller. Definitely wasn't a rosy loach just from the looks and it wouldn't hang out much with the rosys.


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## TaylorTurner (Mar 15, 2016)

WaterLife said:


> The last pic in post #19, the male CPD in the top center, looks to have a sunken belly. I would suspect he has internal parasites/worms.
> If he hasn't fattened up to a normal round, full belly by now, I would recommend treating the whole tank with Praziquantel (you can get Hikari PraziPro). Prazi is fairly gentle on fish, and is safe for plants and inverts. Do one treatment course as directed and then do a follow up treatment 2 or 3 weeks after to kill off any of remaining eggs that may have hatched after the first treatment (the med can't kill the eggs, so you have to wait until they hatch).


Thank you for the compliments. That male has filled out since the photo was taken, along with a couple others that were a little on the thin side. 

The bronze wendtii is putting up some really nice looking growth, but from afar it's obscured by the (rampant) hair grass. There are about 7 crypts over on the right side of the tank, so once they finally grow up it should look a lot different. I'll have to get some pics of the growth over there, I am really impressed with the colors; very rich purplish with a near metallic sort of sheen. 

Do your loaches spend a lot of time swimming around touching one another?



I took that yesterday. They will swim around the whole tank, one kind of resting on the other, with different loaches trading out as they pass one another.


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## TaylorTurner (Mar 15, 2016)

*Day 36*











About two weeks ago my CO2 set-up failed. In response, I decreased my light intensity and increased my Excel dose. I feel like the tank has responded very favorably to the reduction light intensity. My _Bucephalandra sp._ and _A. barteri_ have both produced two new leaves in the last 8 days. The wendtii is coming on strong with some really vibrant new growth that is nicely compact. Each plant was very tiny when I planted it, so it's still going to be a few weeks I think before they really start making any visual impact. The _S. repens_ looks healthy and has rooted well but has yet to show any vigorous growth. The _H. callitrichoides_ is improving daily and has really started looking better in the last couple days. There was a fair amount of it that melted after it was uprooted and haphazardly replanted following the move, but most of that melt has now been consumed. The algae that had been growing on it (pretty lightly) has largely died off in the last 4 days. I feel that I have arrived at a really good level of lighting for the kind of growth I want to see. I have no plans to reinvest in another CO2 rig at this time, as I seem to have good results with glutaraldehyde and reduced lighting inducing healthy, but more relaxed and steady growth. 

I haven't mentioned that I actually have a 5 gallon tank that is Excel based and planted with HC, Java fern, wendtii, anubias, and DHG. The lighting is provided by a spare Hue bulb that I had, with its color set to 6700K; I have no idea what the PAR value for this light is, but I do know that it reliably grows my plants and a very modest amount of algae. The substrate is AS powder type and the dosing I use in the 12g is derived from how I dose this tank. The tank has been running since mid-February and has been very stable easy to maintain. It houses red cherry shrimp and ember tetras. Based on the success I have had with this set up and my preference for slower, yet still lush, growth, I want to try to replicate these results in the 12g. So far, so good.

The CPD have been displaying spawning behavior. There appears to be an alpha male who goes unquestioned by the subordinate males who spar with one another. The alpha male is very nicely colored and maintains a territory on the left end of the tank, though he is active throughout the entire tank. There are two other males who maintain small adjacent territories. The two territories are separated by a curtain of hair grass. Both are small clearings in the hair grass formed by crypt growth, and are bordered on the one side by rocks. The males which maintain these territories don't venture far from them and very actively guard them from other subordinate males. I don't think the entire shoal is sexually mature, so it will be interesting to watch how dynamics change over time. 

I don't expect to see any fry, even with how densely the tank is planted. The loaches and shrimp spend most of their time combing through the grass. The loaches actually swim underneath the HC carpet. The CPD can also be very frequently observed hunting in the same areas spawning has been seen. 

I lost two shrimp very mysteriously and suddenly last week. Tank parameters were normal and at no point have any shrimp shown signs of stress. I'm not really sure what to make of it.


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## ArchimedesTheDog (Apr 9, 2012)

HC looks to be doing great under Excel, what dosage are you using?


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## TaylorTurner (Mar 15, 2016)

ArchimedesTheDog said:


> HC looks to be doing great under Excel, what dosage are you using?


I am dosing at 2.0mL per photoperiod, so 4.0mL/day. I am actually in the process of raising my dosing incrementally to 8.0mL/day.

This thread was very encouraging for me. (I see that we have both commented on it). They dose 5.0mL/day for their 5 gallon.

Edit: Also, I would say the HC is doing pretty well overall, but has definitely shown improvement since lowering my light intensity and raising my dose of Excel.


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## TaylorTurner (Mar 15, 2016)

*Day 52*

Not much time for updates lately, but things are going really well! I was gifted 7 _H. amandae_, which don't fit with what was going to be a Burmese theme (that I obviously abandoned when I added the _Otocinclus_), but are a very welcome addition to the tank! They shoal with the CPDs and their colors nicely accent those of the loaches. 



Repashy gel foods are a massive hit with everyone in the tank.



Still waiting on the _C. wendtii_ to grow up past the DHG and become visible, but I am loving the aesthetic regardless. The tall grass in the back sways in the outflow of the filter and provides a very soothing effect.


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## TaylorTurner (Mar 15, 2016)

*Day 60*


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## TaylorTurner (Mar 15, 2016)

*Day 69*



I'll be doing a major trim tomorrow which should reveal the growth on the crypts hidden away in all that grass.


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## TaylorTurner (Mar 15, 2016)

*Day 70*

Here is pic of the tank post-trim:



I should have taken a picture of all the hair grass that I removed, as it was a prodigious amount. I didn't realize how overgrown it was until I finished trimming.



I had hoped that my CRS would have enough cover to breed and have some offspring survive to adulthood, but that has not been the case. I am considering adding six more CRS in the hope that greater volume can get the population growing.

I am also pondering bumping up the number of ember tetras to 15. With stocking as it is, I am dosing nitrogen and have ~10 ppm nitrate by the end of the week prior to water change, so I think the bio-load would be acceptable. As for overcrowding, I feel like the tank is spacious and densely planted enough that I have a good ways to go before that would become a concern with these small, gregarious species. I would love to hear others' opinions on the matter!

Thanks, as always, for reading.


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## TaylorTurner (Mar 15, 2016)

_Otocinclus_ hanging out near a glob of Repashy Soilent Green.


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## WaterLife (Jul 1, 2015)

Is the "..." referring to the Trigonostigma hengeli (rasbora) swimming sideways, dying?

Any symptoms exhibited that may help ID what is wrong with it?


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## TaylorTurner (Mar 15, 2016)

WaterLife said:


> Is the "..." referring to the Trigonostigma hengeli (rasbora) swimming sideways, dying?
> 
> Any symptoms exhibited that may help ID what is wrong with it?


Um, no, I posted from my phone and was really just trying to post a photo of the _Otocinclus_, but had to have three characters to post. All the fish are perfectly healthy, none swimming sideways dying. My phone doesn't capture movement or depth of field especially well, haha.


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## WaterLife (Jul 1, 2015)

Haha, I was hoping I was wrong. Now that I look at it, it just looks like the rasbora swimming away from the camera, but in the motion of turning up, toward the right. Thought it looked like it was sideways/tumbling from being weak or something.

Anyways, you are having great growth.
You should think about growing out a carpet (or even just the DHG) and selling mats of it.


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## TaylorTurner (Mar 15, 2016)

WaterLife said:


> Haha, I was hoping I was wrong. Now that I look at it, it just looks like the rasbora swimming away from the camera, but in the motion of turning up, toward the right. Thought it looked like it was sideways/tumbling from being weak or something.
> 
> Anyways, you are having great growth.
> You should think about growing out a carpet (or even just the DHG) and selling mats of it.


It's interesting that you say that, as I was thinking about trying to do that as a project over the summer. I was thinking that some coconut fiber covered in stainless steel mesh would make for an easy way to grow out some carpet plants. Any thoughts on that one?


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## WaterLife (Jul 1, 2015)

Quite a few people have grown plants in Coir mats (I believe those are coco fiber mats?), so it sounds like it should work, but I'm not exactly sure how well carpeting plants would take hold onto the mats. Let us know how it well they root to it if you try it.
I mostly just see people simply tie or weave the roots of the carpeting plants through the mesh (roots would grow into substrate). Otherwise they just grow them in the substrate (no mesh) and use something (like a plastic putty knife, or credit card, or anything really) to cut the sections out of the substrate.


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## TaylorTurner (Mar 15, 2016)

WaterLife said:


> Quite a few people have grown plants in Coir mats (I believe those are coco fiber mats?), so it sounds like it should work, but I'm not exactly sure how well carpeting plants would take hold onto the mats. Let us know how it well they root to it if you try it.
> I mostly just see people simply tie or weave the roots of the carpeting plants through the mesh (roots would grow into substrate). Otherwise they just grow them in the substrate (no mesh) and use something (like a plastic putty knife, or credit card, or anything really) to cut the sections out of the substrate.


Ok, thanks for the tips. Maybe in about a month I'll have some free time to get started on this.


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## TaylorTurner (Mar 15, 2016)

*Updates*

Well, I decided that I would add some more ember tetras and went to pick them up on Wednesday (5/11). I ended up leaving with 10 _T. hengeli_, which I have admired every time I was in the store. I must say that it was a bit of am impulse buy (though well-informed regarding their care needs), but I have a friend who I know will take the fish if they don't work out stocking-wise.

The tank is definitely fully stocked now and I'm completely in love with how it's come together. While a massive deviation from my original biotope concept, I'm kind of obsessed with how all the tiny fish complement one another. The ember tetras and the rosy loaches are nearly the same rich amber hue; the lateral stripe on the loaches echoed in the thin pork chop of the Hengel's rasbora, their neon orange marking handsomely matching the tetras and loaches; the translucent silvery body of the rasboras recalling the lighter portions of the _Otocinclus_; and all of the orange fish accentuating the red-orange markings of the CPD and contrasting their lovely midnight blue bodies. 

The rasboras are very active and explore the length of the tank together, mostly occupying the upper levels. The tetras fill in the middle levels, hovering around for the most part but occasionally joining the rasboras for a lap. Meanwhile, the danios stick to the lower levels, hunting through the plants, spawning, sparring. With more males having matured, the danios are very interesting to watch as they try to carve out little territories and woo passing females with greater intensity.

Since adding more fish, I have been seeing the rosy loaches much more as well. Previously they were hidden away in the grass, one or two occasionally hunting around or just loafing about in the open. Now they spend a lot of time shoaling in the open. They are very amusing to me. Something about their appearance and demeanor reminds me of little lizards; especially when they can be observed "basking" on rocks or plant leaves.


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## TaylorTurner (Mar 15, 2016)

*Day 80*

I scored some frogbit from @FuzzyMuffin (thank you!) and added that to the tank today. I decided I'm going to experiment with some surface plants. I love the aesthetic, but worry about the performance of the rest of the plants. I have increased the light intensity quite a bit to help with plants growing below. 




This is how dark the aquarium was prior to increasing the light intensity. 


And after turning the lights up.


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## TaylorTurner (Mar 15, 2016)

*Contemplating a re-scape*

While hiking last week I came across some gorgeous driftwood and have been considering the possibility of doing a small re-scape; just switching my rock out for driftwood. Though, what I would like to do first is tie on a good number of assorted _Bucephalandra_ species and spend the summer curing the driftwood in a small outdoor container. I've already started the process of acquiring some _Bucephalandra_.

I didn't harvest any of the driftwood just yet, but I did stash several very nice looking contenders with a pin dropped for their location in my GPS. I'll probably go retrieve the wood once finals are over. As for layout, I'll be removing all of the stones and placing the wood on the left side of the aquarium with a good amount of it jutting out the top to be covered with _Philodendron_. In the aquarium itself I want it to look like exposed roots in the marginal area of a flooded field. The right side of the tank will have neither wood, nor stone, but instead a lush stand of _Cryptocoryne_. I'd like to get some variation of _C. nurii_ to put in place of the stone that is on that end of the aquarium currently. 

I will have to raise my light up to accommodate the driftwood coming out of the top. My initial thoughts are to make a simple riser out of some plexiglass.


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## TaylorTurner (Mar 15, 2016)

A quick phone picture. I'll upload the original size image later.


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## TaylorTurner (Mar 15, 2016)

Here is the higher quality image of the above picture:


Today the aquarium is 91 days old. Once the sun has set, I'm going to take a full tank shot and some closer detail shots to post.


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## TaylorTurner (Mar 15, 2016)

*Day 91*



Wow, three months in already. 

For comparison, below we have day 1:










Day 31:



Now back to today:


Right side of the aquarium.


A little closer in.


Moving left, blurry.


Left side. The shoal follows me as I move the camera down the tank, hoping for food. 


Those tiny _C. wendtii_ leaves near the _S. repens_ have grown from minuscule portions of rhizome that I planted as an experiment. I didn't really expect them to grow.


Finally starting to get out of the grass.


I really can't wait until these _Cryptocorynes_ fill out.


My _Bucephalandra_ seems to really be thriving. It grows much faster than I was expecting based on research. This is only half the plant; the rhizome is long and makes about a 400º wrap around the top of the stone, with more growth on the other side.

Overall, I am very happy with this tank. Growth has been good and reasonably manageable. It's been about three weeks now that the _L. laevigatum_ has been in the tank and I feel that I have the light pretty well balanced to its shading. The _E. acicularis_ grows so quickly and I think I'm going to treat myself to some wave scissors to make trimming it less of a pain. I have plants in the tank that other people consider an eyesore, or a pest (_L. minor_, _U. gibba_, _R. fluitans_), and the tank is kind of a grassy, tangled mess from the roots hanging from above, but I love it this way and actively cultivate this look. 

The livestock is thriving and, despite the high body count, water conditions are very stable. I always test NO3 before the weekly water change and the test consistently comes back at ~5 ppm. After fully stocking the tank I assumed I would be discontinuing dosing with NO3. To test if this was the case, I tested for NO3 on the days that I was supposed to dose it. The first day of testing (three days after adding new stock) yielded a reading of ~5 ppm, lower than I would typically keep it during the week. By the next day I was scheduled to dose NO3 (6 days after adding stock), testing indicated that NO3 had bottomed out, so I dosed. I have continued testing before I dose the tank to ~30 ppm NO3 twice a week. By the time the two days has passed between the doses, NO3 levels have fallen to ~5 ppm. I'm pleased with that balance. 

The only complaint I have is the hardscape. As mentioned before, those stones are on their way out. Tomorrow a friend and I are going to collect driftwood, and an order of several _Bucephalandra_ species is shipping out to me from @sumer (thanks again). Thus, my plan to add some _Bucephalandra_ and _Anubias_ covered limbs commences. I will be looking to take home a a selection of particularly gnarled and twisted specimens that are slender enough as not to over power the space in the aquarium. I am set on having a good portion of the wood coming out the water. 

For the emergent portion of the driftwood tangle I will be attaching various epiphytes I have had success growing in my home already (_Tillandsia_ species, _P. bifucratum_), and some emergent _B. kishii_ 'Dark Skeleton King.' 

While I am going to take the summer to prepare the driftwood (curing, establishing good plant coverage), I will be removing the stones as soon as I have decided what _Cryptocoryne_ species to plant in their vacancy. For the right side of the tank I am still thinking I will go with _C. nurii_ 'Pehang Mutated,' but have been reading about so many options for the left side of the tank that I am overwhelmed by choices. Some of the species I have looked at are on the higher end of the price range, but once established would be really striking. One of the less expensive, but potentially handsome options is _C. becketii_. I think a lush stand of this growing about the driftwood would look lovely. 

Thanks for reading, and please feel free to throw out some _Cryptocoryne_ recommendations if you have them!


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## burr740 (Feb 19, 2014)

Looking good. Digging the wild grassy look. Floaters really add a nice sense of depth if you can spare the light.

I like the sound of your future plans. All that grass will certainly highlight any crypts and buces making them stand out, wood too.


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## TaylorTurner (Mar 15, 2016)

burr740 said:


> Looking good. Digging the wild grassy look. Floaters really add a nice sense of depth if you can spare the light.
> 
> I like the sound of your future plans. All that grass will certainly highlight any crypts and buces making them stand out, wood too.



Thanks for the compliments! With the floaters, my tank has a full carpet _and_ ceiling.


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## TaylorTurner (Mar 15, 2016)

Ramping down to darkness.

Driftwood collection today was mostly a bust, as I only found one piece that I really liked of suitable size. I will need to find one more piece. I have sketched out several ideas and am trying to find wood that would achieve the look. It'll be pretty spare, with much of the wood above the water level. Next week I should be able to hunt for wood again.


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## TaylorTurner (Mar 15, 2016)

A whole mess of _Bucephalandra_ arrived this morning. Thanks again, @sumer!



_Bucephalandra_ species added:
'Royal Blue'
'Super Mini'
'Penelope'
'Skeleton King'
'Pink Lady'

The single piece of wood I collected turned out to be _T. plicata_ and was releasing a lot of aromatics still, so I discarded it. I had to go to my LFS to pick up a few things this morning and, of course, I found a piece of wood while shopping. The wood was attractive and already prepared for the aquarium, so it was an easy sell.

As soon as I got home I embarked on a re-scape. I was feeling pretty apprehensive about the mess I figured I was about to make, but it was shockingly painless! The wood even fit into the spaces left by the stones perfectly. 

Here are some horrible pictures of how it turned out:


A little cloudy, but nothing terrible.


It's kind of hard to tell from the photos, but there is a good amount of _Bucephalandra_ tied to the wood. When I attached it, I thought the wood would be at a different angle than the way it went in best, so a lot of it is facing away from the viewer; just have to wait for it to spread, I suppose. Thinking the _L. laevigatum_ roots are going to get a good trim on Monday.


Can't wait to see these plants fill out.


Some _Tillandsia_.

All told, I'm really pleased with how this came together. I feel like it's a huge improvement from my previous stone hardscape. In three or so months it should be looking really nice and settled.


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## TaylorTurner (Mar 15, 2016)

*Day 98*


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## TaylorTurner (Mar 15, 2016)

*Day 101*






_C. beckettii_ 'Petchii'


Little peeper.





All of the _Bucephalandra_ has settled in nicely with a minimal amount of melt; I can see new growth on most it, as well. While there is some _H. callitrichoides_ growing in the tank, the _E. acicularis_ has largely choked it out. The _Cryptocorynes_ continue to grow steadily, with handsome foliage to boot. I added a _C. beckettii_ 'Petchii' that I got from my LFS and just ordered in a _C. nurii_ mother plant from a member here.

I am enjoying a brief break before summer term starts and plan to get an emersed-growth set up going on my next days off. I came across some pictures of the soda bottle greenhouses @Seattle_Aquarist uses for emersed growing and will be emulating that. I have room for at least twelve 2 liter greenhouses, most of which I would like to use for cultivating _Cryptocorynes_.


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## TaylorTurner (Mar 15, 2016)

*Day 108*






_C. nurii_ from @ddavila06.


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## TaylorTurner (Mar 15, 2016)

Well, my luck with keeping energetic fish in a shallow, open-top aquarium ran out this morning. There is construction going on about a block away from my house, and I don't know what it was that caused it, but there was a loud blast that made my walls shake and sent 6 _T. hengeli_ out of the tank and onto the floor. Worse still, my dog was faster to get to them than I and she excitedly ate them. I'm feeling pretty bummed about what happened, especially since I could have prevented it with some kind of cover. 
When I get home from work I will be looking into different options for covering the aquarium. I am thinking stainless steel mesh would be a good option for something low profile that I can cut to accommodate the driftwood and equipment coming out the tank.


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## TaylorTurner (Mar 15, 2016)

Yesterday morning I observed some eggs adhered to the glass, then when I woke up this morning I saw more on my _C. nurii_ and _Bucephalandra_ sp. 'Pink Lady.' I am pretty sure they are _T. hengeli_ eggs given their placement; "the spawning behaviour of Trigonostigma species has been described many times in the aquarium literature... The eggs are spawned on the lower surface of a large submerged leave or similar structure" (Kottelat & Witte). While interesting, clearly nothing will be surviving to adulthood in this aquarium full of hungry little mouths. Honestly, I am surprised that the eggs have made it this long without all being eaten.


You can see where two eggs have been picked off this leaf, leaving behind two white rings.


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## Cmeister (Jul 5, 2009)

A testament to the health of the aquarium though?


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## TaylorTurner (Mar 15, 2016)

*Fry*

*Day 113*



There is this little fish, the one behind it on the other leaf (blurry), another that is clinging to the glass, and three clinging to the _C. nurii_ leaf. More eggs were deposited on the glass and that makes me question the _T. hengeli_ being responsible for the eggs. The only other option is the _Otocinlus_, the rest of my fish are non-adhering egg scatterers. Either way, I'm shocked that these have made it!

In other news, I bought 6 _T. hengeli_ to replace those I lost to the jumping incident and also picked up some tissue culture _P. helferi_ at the store. I pulled up some hair grass and planted two small patches of _P. helferi_ in the aquarium and placed the rest in a humidome. 



I constructed a makeshift cover for my aquarium out of muslin to hold me over until I make it to the hardware store. 

I am expecting some _C. dewitii_ 'Papua New Guinea' and _C. matakensis_ 'Brown' to come in this week. I have a good place for one of the plants to go, but will have to pull some stuff out of the tank to place the other. I will likely remove most of the small _C. wendtii_ 'Bronze,' as once it fills out there will simply be too much of it. I will probably put together an ROAK package with what gets taken out.


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## fishboy199413 (Jan 20, 2010)

Based on the egg size, those appear to be Otocinclus eggs. I love what you have going here, I would love to try and emulate it


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## TaylorTurner (Mar 15, 2016)

fishboy199413 said:


> Based on the egg size, those appear to be Otocinclus eggs. I love what you have going here, I would love to try and emulate it


Thanks for the ID and the kind words. It would amazing if some of the fry survive to adulthood.


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## TaylorTurner (Mar 15, 2016)

_C. dewitii_ 'PNG' and _C. matakensis_ 'Brown' courtesy of @sonicpath.


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## ddavila06 (Jun 30, 2011)

nice tank!!!

could they be corydoras? I bred several species and they did love wider leaved plants..though they also used the roots of floaters, grasss, i even found eggs above the water line! great looking tank man, just wait for the nurii to settle down a bit more


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## TaylorTurner (Mar 15, 2016)

*Otocinclus fry and a crypt*


That's a tiny _Otocinclus_ feasting on some biofilm. I wonder how many more may be roaming about the aquarium. 


Leaf detail on _C. matakensis_ 'Brown.' Never mind the dirty glass.



ddavila06 said:


> nice tank!!!
> 
> could they be corydoras? I bred several species and they did love wider leaved plants..though they also used the roots of floaters, grasss, i even found eggs above the water line! great looking tank man, just wait for the nurii to settle down a bit more


Thanks for the compliment! The _C. nurii_ has had no melt as of yet, and has even grown some, so I think it is taking pretty well. I have been lucky with the last few _Cryptocoryne_ I have added not melting back, so I really hope this trend continues.


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## kdc714 (Jan 6, 2016)

I love this! I would love to see more of your outside the tank setup, especially the air plants! Also, what kind of rock was that? It is beautiful. Overall, amazing setup! I have CPD's, now I need rosy loaches!


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## TaylorTurner (Mar 15, 2016)

kdc714 said:


> I love this! I would love to see more of your outside the tank setup, especially the air plants! Also, what kind of rock was that? It is beautiful. Overall, amazing setup! I have CPD's, now I need rosy loaches!


Thanks for checking things out! Here's a couple pics of the _Tillandsia_:





The rosy loaches are definitely awesome. They are entertaining to watch and actually kind of remind me of lizards. 

As for the rock, I am not sure about its identity beyond it being some kind of igneous rock that I collected from the Mt Jefferson area. If you're interested, I could see about getting it into a flat rate box and sending it your way!


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## TaylorTurner (Mar 15, 2016)

*Day 119*




_C. dewitii_ 'Papua New Guinea' is growing well. I have only lost one leaf to melt on one of the plants; both plants are starting to send up new leaves. 


_C. matakensis_ var. 'brown' has also only lost one leaf to melt, and generally seems well.


_C. beckettii_ var. '_petchii_' continues to thrive and has sent out several new leaves, as well as a runner. 


_C. beckettii_ var. '_petchii_' from above. 


_C. nurii_ from above. 

Link: A short video of _C. wendtii_ 'Bronze' enjoying the current. 

I pulled seven small _C. wendtii_ 'Bronze' from the aquarium this morning and will likely be pulling more out to make room for a _C. striolata_ I am expecting this week. 

My _Cryptocoryne_ collection:
_C. wendtii_ var. 'bronze'
_C. wendtii_ var. 'green'
_C. beckettii_ var. '_petchii'
C. nurii
C. parva
C. matakensis var. 'brown'
C. striolata
C. dewitii 'Papua New Guinea'

This is definitely edging its way into addiction territory._


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## kdc714 (Jan 6, 2016)

Beautiful! I have just recently gotten into hanging terrariums and air plants so I love seeing what people do with them! And I would absolutely love the rock! That's such a nice offer. Just let me know what I owe you!


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## TaylorTurner (Mar 15, 2016)

A couple pictures from last night:





I hate how terrible my pictures look once uploaded as compared to how they look on my phone.


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## TaylorTurner (Mar 15, 2016)

*Day 122*

Since it's a little over four months in, I think it's time for another comparison shot:


Day 1


Day 91


Today


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## Cmeister (Jul 5, 2009)

I like this tank - its well thought through and executed. The slim LED lights, the grass. It all works. 

I'm curious though, in the right corner near the front - is the flow too high?


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## TaylorTurner (Mar 15, 2016)

Cmeister said:


> I like this tank - its well thought through and executed. The slim LED lights, the grass. It all works.
> 
> I'm curious though, in the right corner near the front - is the flow too high?


Thanks for the compliment and checking things out.

I've been experimenting with flow for the last month, as the driftwood has significantly altered the way water travels about the tank. I added the second Koralia 240 on Tuesday, having only one wasn't moving as much water as I wanted, and the MaxiJet that was in there was too bulky and forceful. I do think it's on the high end for current at the moment, but I will be tearing out a bunch of hair grass in that corner and adding in some more _Cryptocorynes_ (slated to arrive next week), which will cut that flow down some. I have things positioned such that the water leaving my filter, on the left, just makes it to the right corner and is pulled in by the upper Koralia, which pushes it toward the front glass and the second Koralia. The second Koralia is also aimed along the front glass, and together everything works to generate a nice circular current. So far the fish seem happy, especially the _Otocinclus_ and _T. hengeli_, so I'm going to see how it works over the next couple weeks.

Edit:

Actually, scratch that. There was definitely too much flow in that corner! I took out one of the Koralias this morning and it's much better. Thanks for calling that into question, @Cmeister!


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## TaylorTurner (Mar 15, 2016)

*Day 129*




At least one of the _Otocinclus_ fry lives on!


_C. striolata_ courtesy of @sumer. Please excuse my unscraped front glass. 


Another new addition, _C. fusca_.


And another, _Cryptocoryne sp._ 'Silver Bullet.'

Everything is pretty even keel in the aquarium. Much of the _C. dewitii_ 'Papua New Guinea' has melted back, so hopefully in a couple weeks it will makes its rebound. The tissue culture _P. helferi_ is starting to establish itself and take root; it's also doing really well in the humidome. The _C. nurii_ and _C. beckettii_ 'Petchii' are both going really strong. I should have to proportions of the _C. beckettii_ 'Petchii' to ROAK soon, as a matter of fact.

The _Otocinclus_ spawned a second time last week. I don't know if the fish pictured above is from that clutch of eggs, or the first, but I find it really encouraging that they are spawning and that somehow, in the midst of hungry mouths, the fry survive. I think the sheer density if plant matter helps aid in their survival. 

Thanks for reading!


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## TaylorTurner (Mar 15, 2016)




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## Cmeister (Jul 5, 2009)

roud:


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## TaylorTurner (Mar 15, 2016)

*Third Otocinclus spawn*


Some more eggs deposited on a _C. beckettii_ var. _petchii_ leaf.


Gravid female with clearly visible ovipositor.


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## TaylorTurner (Mar 15, 2016)

*Day 140*







There's not a lot in the way of updates this week. The _Cryptocoryne_ added last week have not melted, which is nice. The _C. fusca_ has put out a new leaf, and the _C. striolata_ has two leaves coming up. I believe the _Cryptocoryne_ sp. 'silver bullet' to actually be sp. 'silver queen.'

Due to my exceptionally soft tap water, I have begun dosing 1000mg of CaCO3 and 500mg MgO with my water changes. I started this on the 10th and will be tracking my observations. It is being delivered via a human CalMag supplement, which the shrimp seem to relish, as they swarmed the pill when added to the aquarium. 

I think that sums things up, thanks for reading!


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## bluebetta26 (Jul 14, 2016)

Just finished reading this entire journal so far, WOW. What a beautiful tank you have, and I absolutely loved the comparison shots of the aquarium in various stages. I didn't even know otocinclus bred in captivity, they must be so happy in your little aquatic paradise.

Gosh, now I'm thinking of forgoing my biotope idea, and just going crazy with the hairgrass and amazon frogbit in an attempt to emulate yours. I love how lush and green your tank looks in day 91! It still looks very nice and impressive as it is now, but I'm just drawn to the fluffy roots and grass look.


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## TaylorTurner (Mar 15, 2016)

Thank you for the compliments! A good amount of effort goes into this tank, so the kind words really are appreciated. Also, slogging through five pages of my ramblings is commendable. 

If you'd like, I can put together a little plant package for you in the near future for the cost of shipping; send me PM if you're interested.



bluebetta26 said:


> Just finished reading this entire journal so far, WOW.
> 
> Gosh, now I'm thinking of forgoing my biotope idea, and just going crazy with the hairgrass and amazon frogbit in an attempt to emulate yours.


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## TaylorTurner (Mar 15, 2016)

*Day 144*


_C. matakensis_ var. 'brown' has two new leaves.


A new leaf for _C. fusca_.


_C. striolata_ has three new leaves coming up.


A different view of the tank.


And another.

Things are humming right along 'round these parts. Notably, I am seeing a positive response to dosing CaCO3 and MgO. As stated, I am adding 1000mg CaCO3 and 500mg MgO after each ~50% water change performed (Monday morning, Thursday evening). This dose raises my Ca level ~22.2ppm and Mg ~11.1ppm; my tap water has negligible hardness (Fish & Stuhr, 2016), so is still quite soft with this addition. The plant that lead me to believe I was experiencing Calcium deficiency is _C. nurii_, which put out a new leaf a couple weeks ago that was very twisted and pinched looking. Another new leaf is coming up and it does not have this same growth issue. I will update this post once I am home and can take more clear pictures of the leaves in question.

Here is a bonus shot of my emersed culture of _P. helferi_:


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## TaylorTurner (Mar 15, 2016)

Here are the images regarding leaf deformation and CaCO3 and MgO dosing.


_C. nurii_ leaf displaying deformation as witnessed prior to dosing.


The newest leaf, though unopened, shows no signs of this deformation (as far as I can tell); the leaf tip is pointed and fully formed in contrast to the above image showing a severely pinched leaf tip.


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## TaylorTurner (Mar 15, 2016)

As of today, fertilizer dosing for this aquarium has been switched to Thrive by @nilocg. One pump will be dosed Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays; water changes of ~50% will be performed Monday mornings and Thursday evenings (same schedule). I have been pleased with my use of Seachem products, but would prefer to support a fellow Oregonian, save some money, and make dosing easier for those who care for my tank in my absence.


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## TaylorTurner (Mar 15, 2016)

The new _Cryptocoryne_ specimens arrived yesterday in great shape. 


_C. jacobsenii_ var. 'pink'


_C. ferruginea_ 'Bau' (sorry for odd angle)


_C. ferruginea_ 'Bau' for emersed culture.


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## TaylorTurner (Mar 15, 2016)

*Day 159*




Old growth (left) and new growth (right) on _C. nurii_. 




_C. striolata_, _S. repens_, _C. jacobsenii_ var. 'pink,' _C. parva_



I'm overdue for a more detailed update, but don't really have time to compose one. In its place are the above pictures and the following summary of how things have been going:


Lighting increased to 50% intensity on R, B, and W LEDs 
Small outbreak of hair algae, but I have disturbed the tank a lot adding plants and increasing the lighting; I suspect this will recede one things settle
Week 2 of dosing Thrive and I am enjoying its ease of use
On 8/02 I added some Osmocote Plus root tabs near _Cryptocoryne_ plantings (5 tabs added in total)
_C. jacobsenii_ var. 'pink' and _C. ferruginea_ 'Bau' seem to be adapting well with no melt yet to occur
_C. ferruginea_ 'Bau' in emerse-culture has melted quite a bit, but has two new leaves out
_C. fucsa_ is proving to be a strong grower
I am finally starting to see carbon rili shrimplets and berried females
regularly. Did my population reach a critical mass where they can no longer all be hidden in the plants; or, has dosing CaCO3 and MgO altered the water in their favor?
I will be giving away my _H. amandae_ and _T. hengeli_ so that I can refocus the tank on _D. margaritatus_ and _Petruichthys_ sp. 'rosy' as originally planned (the _Otocinclus_ still stay because I adore them).


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## TaylorTurner (Mar 15, 2016)

_C. nurii_ and _C. striolata_ in diffuse sunlight.


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## TaylorTurner (Mar 15, 2016)

*Day 170*



Last week I went away on a (brief) trip for the first tie since starting the tank. I reduced the photoperiod to 8:00 - 13:15 and instructed my friend on Excel dosing. All went well!

Today I pulled out the _B. aubertii_ (for the second time) and did a major slashing on the _E. acicularis_ along the back wall. Once I saw the result of cutting it back, I realized how out of hand I had let it get. 

_Cryptocoryne_ sp. 'silver queen' is putting out its first new leaf since being added the tank in June. _C. fusca_ has settled in so nicely and looks lovely in its corner. 



_Bucephalandra_ sp. 'pink lady' has sent out a spathe.


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## SeanOB11 (Jul 7, 2016)

your tank is inspirational! keep it up and looking forward to updates.


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## TaylorTurner (Mar 15, 2016)

Thanks for the compliment! 



SeanOB11 said:


> your tank is inspirational! keep it up and looking forward to updates.


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## doug105! (Aug 2, 2016)

Bump!

Any updates on this awesome tank thread?!

DougN


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## Mattb126 (Nov 13, 2016)

^ agreed, an update would be nice

Sent from my iPhone 8 (Dev) using Tapatalk


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

This is an absolutely gorgeous aquarium! You've got an excellent collection of _Cryptocorynes_, I'd love to see your emersed specimens!


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## BettaBettas (Aug 21, 2016)

Your tank is absolutely stunning! 10/10 love it! the tall grass in the back is really pretty and makes it look natural almost. Also like the way you mixed the plants a lot in the tank  keep up the good work!


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## Cmeister (Jul 5, 2009)

Any updates?


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## TaylorTurner (Mar 15, 2016)

*Day 304*

Well, life got very busy and I had no time for updates or much more than routine tank management. Things have been going well and very even keel, fortunately. I was able to give all of the _T. hengeli_ and half of the _H. amandae_ to a friend, so overall tank stock is down. The most notable development with regard to the plants is the aggressive expansion of _C. jaconsenii_ var. 'pink;' I'll soon be putting up a RAOK featuring some specimens of that _Cryptocoryne_, along with some other plants. I am having issues with my photobucket, but will be posting some images once I have that all sorted out.

Edit:
Here are some better pictures. In the coming days I intend to write a more detailed post about what has transpired over the past few months.

Edit 2: Removed garbage/spam links from pictures. Beware that hosting site postimg [dot] org apparently adds them into the tags of hosted photos. 

https://postimage.org/

https://postimage.org/

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## TaylorTurner (Mar 15, 2016)

Well, so much for regular updates. Here's a picture of a _C. nurii_ spathe:


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## BettaBettas (Aug 21, 2016)

pretty picture


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## TaylorTurner (Mar 15, 2016)

*Day 365*

This aquarium turned one on 03.01! Here is a picture of it bathed in golden sunlight:


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## TaylorTurner (Mar 15, 2016)

*Year 3 day 149*

It's been quite a while since I have been active on the forum, but I have maintained this aquarium and now seem to have enough free time to get more involved. I hope to be able to update this journal at least once a week as my new-ish aquascape grows in. 


It's been about a year since extensive carnage was wrought by an algal-apocalypse that struck while I was away backpacking. I lost most of my fish and some of my favorite plant specimens. That was extremely discouraging, so with the tank almost completely vacant of fish, I cleaned as much of the algae out as I could and dialed things back to _extremely_ low maintenance and refocused my energy on terrestrial plants. 


Expanding my _philodendron _collection made me think more and more of the _cryptocoryne _species barely getting by in the aquarium. Recalling how lovely the system was before, I knew I was ready to put in the effort to get things going well again. 



The new direction for the aquarium is very much _cryptocoryne _focused; due to some complications, I don't have a current and reliable species list. I am hoping that as plants mature I can work to ID those I am currently uncertain about. Many of my specimens were mostly rhizomes getting by on very minimal foliage, and I know I lost some species. Trying not to be broken up about the losses and the worries concerning _cryptocoryne _identification using only foliage. 



*Current know species:*
_C. nureii_
_C. dewittii '_Papua New Guinea'

_C. jacobsenii _var_. _'pink' (thankfully these kept thriving--they weren't cheap!)
_C. affinis _var.'metallic red'


_*Cryptocoryne *_*species known to be lost*
_C. matakensis_ var. 'brown'
_C. fusca_
_Cryptocoryne sp._ 'silver bullet' (believed to be actually be 'silver queen')
_C. parva_


This is a hurried post, but I intend to add more information and some pictures later. Thanks for reading!


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## TaylorTurner (Mar 15, 2016)

Poor quality picture of the emergent growth in its current state.

This is a temporary arrangement, as I intend to get several of these plants into shower caddies some time this week. 

*Species:*

_Stromanthe thalia_ 'Triostar'
_Scindapsus pictus_
_Epipremnum aureum_
_Philodendron hederaceum_
_Monstera adansonii_
_Aglaonema_ hybrid, maybe 'Siam Pink'
_Microsorum diversifolium_


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## TaylorTurner (Mar 15, 2016)

Quick full-tank shot taken on my way out the door this morning.


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## TaylorTurner (Mar 15, 2016)

Today I installed some shower caddies to hold the _Aglaomena, Stromanthe,_ and _Monstera_, in addition to some _A. nana_ and miscellaneous _Bucephalandra_ plantlets that I found while cleaning the aquarium. I also tucked some assorted _Cryptocoryne_ plantlets into the holes in the front of the shower caddies and am curious to see how they come along. 

The plants all seem to be responding to the current regimen and the algae has mostly subsided. For the moment, I am at peace with the algae that remains in the tank and will keep chipping away at it. This aquarium receives quite a lot of filtered indirect sun from two western windows filled with plants, as well as grow lights on the other side of the bookcase it rests upon; working off the idea that this light is fueling the algae but failing the plants, I have started an observational study of the effects of modifying my photoperiod. The goal is to provide just enough light to promote plant growth for the duration of the time the aquarium receives sun. I have dialed each set of LEDs down to 35 units for the 8 hour photoperiod. 

I am doing ~40% water changes every other day followed by a pump of Thrive+ and 2 pumps of Enhance (a glutaraldehyde product).

I will try to keep this space updated with results as they come along. As the tank gets more and more presentable, expect more close in shots. 


_Aglaonema_ and _Stromanthe_



Some of my terrestrial aroids. I love how reminiscent my _Philodendron_ x 'Imperial Red' is of some of my _Cryptocoryne_ specimens--I'll have to dig up some photos of its spathe.

Thank you for reading.


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## TaylorTurner (Mar 15, 2016)

I spent some extra time in the aquarium this week and have made several significant changes.

I finally suspended the light above the tank, instead of it resting on the rim. The light is now tuned to 100 on all LED channels and, at its new 12 inch distance, should be providing somewhere in the neighborhood of, maximum, 70 PAR at the substrate. The photoperiod is currently 11:30 - 22:00, and I want to work up to 14 hours in duration over the next month. The eventual photoperiod will be timed with the grow lights for my terrestrial plants that also strike the aquarium from multiple angles. 

I have been observing positive response to the most recent husbandry practices I have employed, as it seems that the plants are cresting a hill and really picking up in growth and vitality. I have been able to trim off almost all the older algae-afflicted growth on my _Cryptocoryne_ specimens and love seeing new growth that is vibrant and much more nicely patterned than what I cut off. I can't wait for a couple months from now, once those plants have grown back in. Speaking of grown-back-in, I pulled out and relocated much of the _E. acicularis_ growing around the crypts on the right side of the tank and put it in the foreground, in front of the wood. 


Striking new leaves on _C. nurii_




Added in some _P. helferi_ from my emerse collection.


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## TaylorTurner (Mar 15, 2016)

Terrible mobile photo update.


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## TaylorTurner (Mar 15, 2016)

I'm currently putting together plants to seriously rescape this tank. I want to ditch the wood and replace it with river stones (going rock hunting with some friends this week), some of which will break the surface, to be colonized by _Bucephalandra_, and plumb together a river manifold. I'm already anxious about pulling the wood and placing stones, with the attendant replanting that will be necessary, so I definitely am not keen to try to instal a manifold beneath the substrate. I have sketched up a couple plans for builds that would suit this purpose, but definitely need to do a good bit more research regarding pumps/powerheads, tube diameter, and so on. 

Updates coming.


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## TaylorTurner (Mar 15, 2016)

Preview of a big update. 










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## TaylorTurner (Mar 15, 2016)

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## TaylorTurner (Mar 15, 2016)

_C. pontederiifolia_ var. _Red lips Aceh highlands_ (L) alongside _C. cordata_ var. _cordata_ (R)









_Bucephalandra sp_ 









_C. wendtii_ 


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## TaylorTurner (Mar 15, 2016)

Spathe coming on _Bucephalandra sp_ ‘Pink lady’


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## TaylorTurner (Mar 15, 2016)

I have revised the tank to be more reminiscent of a hillstream. I am very excited about my new layout, and more so about growing back out my _Cryptocoryne_ and _Bucephalandra_.


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## TaylorTurner (Mar 15, 2016)

Taken this morning. 



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## TaylorTurner (Mar 15, 2016)

Never mind the algae. 


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## TaylorTurner (Mar 15, 2016)

Will get around to a proper update one of these days. 










Until then, please enjoy my algae. 











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