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Meow's 12G Long - "Bucephalandia"

25K views 68 replies 38 participants last post by  meowschwitz 
#1 · (Edited)
Current full-tank image: 11/30/2015



Flora:
Bucephalandra "varieties" (submersed):
  • Blue Hades
  • Blue Rose
  • Brownie 2011
  • Brownie Amanda
  • Brownie Cake
  • Brownie Fire Bird
  • Brownie Ghost
  • Brownie Grande Red
  • Brownie Jade
  • Brownie Marcie
  • Brownie Metallica
  • Brownie Phoenix
  • Brownie Royal Blue
  • Cherry
  • Chili Pepper
  • Cobalt Blue
  • Dark Godzilla
  • Dark Red Eliptica
  • Deep Purple
  • Elegant Purple
  • Giant Centipede
  • Green Sword
  • Gunung Lawit
  • Hades
  • Heron
  • Kedagang
  • Lamandau Mini Brown
  • Lamandau Mini Dark Magenta
  • Lamandau Mini Red ‘Valerie’
  • Lamandau Rusty Rose
  • Mini Spath
  • Mini Velvet
  • Nanga Pinoh 'Baileys'
  • Narcissus III
  • Peacock
  • Pink Lady
  • Quovadis 'Icy Blue'
  • Rainbow Frost
  • Red Sekadau Velvet
  • Sabulan
  • Sangau Mini
  • Silver Powder
  • Sintang
  • Super Blue
  • Sweet Maharani
  • Theia Blue
  • Theia Round
  • Theia Round Leaf
  • Theia V3
  • Theia V9

Emersed:
  • Alternathera reineckii 'Mini'
  • Aridarum caulescens 'Red'
  • Aridarum sp. 'Narrow'
  • Aridarum sp. 'Micro'
  • Aridarum sp. 'Mini'
  • Azolla sp.
  • Bolbitis heteroclita 'Cuspidata'
  • Bucephalandra spp.
  • Crepidomanes auriculatum
  • Crepidomanes sp. 'Calicut'
  • Cryptocoryne parva
  • Eleocharis sp. 'Mini'
  • Glossostigma elatinoides
  • Hemianthus callitrichoides 'Cuba'
  • Homalomena sp. 'Red'
  • Homalomena sp. 'Sedakau South'
  • Hygrophila pinnatifida
  • Lobelia cardinalis 'Dwarf'
  • Microsorum pteropus 'Windelov'
  • Pogostemon helferi
  • Ranunculus inundatus
  • Schismatoglottis roseospatha
  • Staurogyne repens
  • Utricularia graminifolia

Mosses/Liverworts (emersed):
  • Amblystegiaceae manaus 'Queen Moss'
  • Blepharostoma trichophyllum 'Mini Rose Moss' / Heteroscyphus zollingeri '[Mini] Pearl Moss'
  • Callicostella prabiaktana
  • Callicostella sp. 'Gunung Sumpti'
  • Callicostella sp. 'Pancuraji'
  • Distichphyllum maibarae
  • Fissidens fox
  • Fissidens geppi
  • Fissidens nobilis
  • Fissidens pauperculus
  • Fissidens sp. 'Miroshaki'
  • Fissidens splachnobryoides
  • Fontinalis antypiretica 'Gigantea'
  • Jungermannia pseudocyclop 'Rose Moss'
  • Jungermannia truncata 'Jade Lotus'
  • Loxogramme sp. 'Wave Moss'
  • Notocyphus lutescens
  • Pilotrichaceae sp. 'Pilo Moss'
  • Plagiochilaceae sp. 'Cameroon Moss'
  • Riccardia chamedryfolia
  • Sp. 610
  • Taxiphyllum sp. 'French Guiana'

Fauna:
Fish:
  • Boraras urophthalmoides

Invertebrates:
  • Caridina multidentata 'Amano shrimp'
  • Caridina serrata x cantonensis 'Tangerine Tiger x Pure Red Line'
  • Clea helena 'Assassin snail'
  • Neocaridina heteropoda 'Orange'

Fish Feed: Golden Pearls (200-300 microns), decapsulated brine shrimp, frozen baby brine shrimp, astaxanthin-loaded microworms
Invertebrate Feed:
Supplements: Borneowild Minerock, Borneowild Shield, Glas Garten Bacter AE

Tank: Mr. Aqua 12G Long
Stand: Target 6 Cube Organizer
Filter: 2x Internal filters, 5W each, rated 90 GPH
Lighting: Beamswork 36" LED 6500 lumen, 130x 0.5W 6500K LEDs, mounted 12" above tank, low setting
Heater: Finnex Analog Titanium Heater 50W
Substrate: Medium grain sand (submersed), small grain black lava rock (emersed)
Hardscape: Malaysian driftwood, Yamaya stone
Tank Water Parameters: pH = 6.8; KH = 2° (~36 ppm); GH = 5° (~89 ppm); TDS = 265 ppm; temperature = 24°C (75°F)
Tap Water Parameters & Treatment: TDS = 24 ppm; Salty Shrimp GH+
Fertilizer: 0.6 mL gluteraldehyde daily, 0.6 mL PPS-Pro Macro/Micro daily
Water Changes: 20% weekly
Date of Establishment: 09/06/2015
 
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2
#3 ·
I think I have the only Buce that you don't have off of the sales list from here a while
back. Mini Arrogant Blue. LOL...
Awesome looking tank.
I cover my tank in like manner/w a piece of custom glass cut to fit the 10g regular tank that I have/w open places on both ends for simple access and ventilation.
Previously I'd not put that much DW in my tank for want of clear viewing all of the tank
because I only have an Elassoma in there but would like to see it at least once a week or so...LOL..
But I'm in my mind designing a "scape" so this makes me think out the box on seeing in there by admitting the good looks of it first while thinking it may work in a limited amount of my new tank as one end is supposed to be the bank of the pond so DW next to the bank would not be out of place in there even if it were to come close enough to the front to allow a scraper in there. So thanks for the inspiration !!!
In more ways than one actually. I'm lease locked to 10g or less.
But I might slip by/w a 15g tank if it's not filled up/w water so I can let some of the DW stick out of the top which has eluded me previously, but still give me the extra 2" in
the front to back dimensions while giving me the length to use 24" bulbs in there thus opening up several bulb choices.
This tank has given me three new options...thanks a gazillion...
P.S. AND... Mr. Aqua I believe has a 17g tank in rimless that might work for this...
 
#7 · (Edited)
Thanks everyone.

This tank is definitely comprised of an ongoing collection of mini/small/medium-sized Bucephalandra varieties and other rarer aquatic aroids/ferns/mosses/liverworts. Currently on the lookout for Fissidens, Crepidomanes, Aridarum, Homalomena, Schismatoglottis, Bolbitis, and Hymenophylaceae species and others.

On the topic of Bucephalandras, I know most of these varieties are just total bull. It's none the less fun to collect, albeit expensive.

Emersed plants are slowly filling in with evident root development. There seems to be a small patch just slightly under shade by driftwood that kills/melts whatever plant I put there. Not quite sure what's going on since I doubt it's the lack of lighting that's melting the plants.

Starting with miniscule portions of each moss/liverwort, it's taken some time for them to adjust to their emersed forms, adhere to the driftwood, and finally begin putting out new fronds.

Jungermannia truncata 'Jade Lotus'

Plagiochilaceae sp. 'Cameroon Moss'

Fissidens sp. 'Miroshaki'
Will definitely post more pictures soon, but I'm waiting for things to grow in a bit more. And unfortunately the Bucephalandras at the moment are suffering from being covered in unsightly mulm and some algae, a problem which I've been working on by performing weekly siphoning/water changes and plans to obtain Short Nose shrimp (Caridina sp.) for their renowned cleaning abilities.

So far the only fauna in this tank are pond snails and Malaysian Trumpet snails. I'm planning to stock with Short Nose shrimp, Orange Neocaridina heteropoda, and Boraras urophthalmoides eventually. We'll see how that goes though. The tank may be too small for the Boraras.

I did not take pictures of the build while setting up the tank, but if anyone is interested, I'll diagram and explain my methods in creating the emersed portion and dealing with the filtration and heating, and take pictures of everything as they are currently.

As of now, this tank is receiving 12 consecutive hours of low-medium light, daily gluteraldehyde, weekly all-in-one macro/micro fertilizer, stays at approximately 78 degrees Farenheit and 80%+ humidity, and gets a 30-40% water change weekly.
 
#21 · (Edited)
It took a month or two, and cost a pretty penny as well with all them Buces.

You had me at "Bucephalandia"

Subscribed and cant wait to see more pictures

I am currently contemplating a trio of nano shrimp tanks with only buces and mosses, and your 12 long is an inspiration. Have you considered adding any critters to your tank?

Again, Bravo!!
Amano shrimp, Orange Neocaridina shrimp, and Exclamation Point Rasboras are the current inhabitants.

Oh, do you have any photos of your Fissidens geppi and nobilis? What is the difference between the two?
F. geppi is a very slow grower, taking an extremely long time to become established before pushing out new fronds. F. noblis seems to grow a bit faster. F. geppi also appears to have larger and more robust fronds than F. noblis. Once both have grown out a bit more, I'll try to get a comparison picture.

Beautiful!


Maybe a bit more livestock? :)
Maybe something small that will venture out onto the emersed area as well (no idea what though)
When I first put in the Amano shrimp, a few decided to climb up onto the emersed area, flippin' and floppin' around. They had trouble getting back into the water, needing my help to push them along. After a few weeks, no more emersed adventurers; I guess they've learned their lesson.

B. naevus is a bit more colorful than B. urophthalmoides and slightly smaller I believe. And B. micros is smaller still. If you're looking for REALLY tiny fish, then danionella translucida may be up your alley.
I like the look of Boraras urophthalmoides, with the stripe rather than the dots of B. naevus. I'm not sure Danionella translucida school/shoal much, but like B. micros, they're a little plain to look at.

Beautiful tank! But how do you categorize each plant so they don't get mixed up? After awhile, certain buces look the same to me.
Each Bucephalandra variety I have is identified by a unique number in an organized spreadsheet. I attach each specimen to a piece of black lava rock, using both cyanoacrylate superglue gel and black cotton string. I etch the number onto a small piece of translucent plastic and attach it to the specimen with a ziptie around the string. The ID tag can be hidden pretty easily, and even when it's visible, it's not too unsightly.



You did a great job on this tank. Awesome!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Thanks!

Some new inhabitants! 11 tiny Boraras urophthalmoides, or also known as Exclamation Point Rasboras. I took these pictures only a few minutes after introducing them into the tank, so their colors have yet to return from the stress of shipping and change in water parameters.

The size of these tiny fish compared to an Amano shrimp.



 
#15 ·
Get a fog machine/fogger or humidifier for a fog effect (or is that too much humidity/heat for the plants/fish?) By the way, how warm does the water get as it is now?

With the added fog it would look like a spooky, yet beautiful, Bucephalandia swamp :)

Haha, just kidding. Probably a little overboard.

Maybe once the Buces grow a bit more, you can get some plantlets from them and do a high-tech Bucephalandia tank. I hear low tech and emersed grown Buceph don't get all the wild crazy color and shiny specks that high-tech grown Buce produce. That way the show the other magnificent side of Bucephalandra.
 
#17 ·
The water temperature stays around 75F and the humidity at 85%. While fog would look nice, I have limited space around the tank to setup up the machinery. Same goes for a high-tech tank. No room for a CO2 tank. Also, I am and always have been in the low-tech club. Minimal maintenance is my main goal, aside from the aesthetics.

Have you ever heard of Sundadanio Axelrodi? They're very small, the smallest I've ever seen, and they would love the tank for sure. Plus they're a nice reflective blue color which would look really cool with the dark greens and purple colors you have
I like their look, but Boraras urophthalmoides is still smaller, maxing out at 16mm whereas Sundadanio axelrodi reach 25mm. Also, my water is likely too hard and alkaline for their liking.
 
#22 ·
Nice to hear the shrimp can learn to not venture out of water before they die.
What do you feed the Amanos? I've never seen their insides that red before.

Great idea on the plant tags as well. I might just have to copy that idea haha. But how did you get the zip tie into the lava rock exactly?

Great pictures by the way.
Have a particularly favorite Buceph yet?
 
#24 ·
The Amanos have been nibbling on algae and whatever gets fed to the Neocaridina, like barley, veggie sticks, and other shrimp foods. Not sure why that one Amano has such red innards, but the others do not look like that.

The ziptie goes around the string that's tied around the lava rock.

Favorite Buce? Honestly, I like them all. I think I'm more partial to darker varieties, or those with interesting venation. I quite like Giant Centipede. Unfortunately, since this is a low-tech setup, most of the Bucephalandra varieties I have look similiar, and without the ID tags, I wouldn't be able to tell most of them apart. Collecting different varieties was at first rather fun, but now I realize that it's pretty meaningless since so many just look practically the same. All of these trade names are just BS.

This tank is insanely nice, such a beautiful compact scape

Sent from my SM-N910T using Tapatalk
Thanks! I will have a more current full-tank shot up soon. I'm expecting a new camera next week.
 
#37 ·
Fungal growth

That is an interesting fungal growth!
These growths sprout up in various places on the glass all the time, and last maybe a day or two before they disappear. I doubt they're harmful in any way, and they add a nice natural look to the tank.



Thank you!
If I am correct that is called slime mold but it is not mold, its actually an groupnig network of single cells organisms that come together to become a multi-cellular form. There are not a lot of instance of it in the aquarium hobby but if you google you'll find some hits on it. The stuff actually moves around (all be it slowly). My husband's betta tank also has it, but not on the glass, instead it likes to form around a scuplty structure that has a different substrate in it. Its completely harmless just not visually appealing is all (like the fungus that forms on newly submerged wood for the first few weeks/months).
 
#36 ·
The back of the tank is built from eggcrate wrapped with a black substrate barrier (weed barrier). There is a trench that spans the width of the tank that is filled with small-grain lava rock that forms the emersed section. Underneath the trench holds the heater and extra filter media (large lava rock). There are two cut-out sections on either end of the eggcrate structure that houses two internal filters. The height of the internal filters matches the height of the eggcrate structure and water level. The tops of the filters are hidden/covered with large pieces of lava rock (some with moss attached), which with little effort can be removed and access to the filters granted. Outflow tubing connected to the filters are hidden by the wood. There are miscellaneous pieces of plastic mesh and barrier to block any gaps between the aquatic section from the hidden eggcrate section. It's a little makeshift, but it works and looks okay. It's difficult to explain, and I regret not having taken pictures when I was setting it up, but hopefully my description makes some sense.
 
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