Complexity Journal: 75g / NEW PICS 11-23! After the move. New plants!

[lauraleellbp]

I agree, I didn't think that winning female looked all that in the pic, either- but I also think she looked stressed, so perhaps the pic didn't show her at her glory?

I hope you can get some pics of your fish posted- I'd love to see them!

[Complexity]

I also think it's very hard to capture the true beauty of the fish in a picture. I've tried, and nothing I've managed to capture shows what my female Kienke really looks like.

I just got some more rocks in hopes that these will be aquarium safe. I'm not putting my heart into these fry because I've noticed that mom and dad will leave them unattended to eat. Mom seems to be more interested in breeding than being a mom, but dad is doing a good job of guarding the little ones.

I know I keep saying I'll get pictures, and I have taken some, but I've been really busy so I haven't processed any yet.

I also have a dark brown/red amano that I want to show. It's very strange in color, unlike any of my other amanos.

Oh, and quick update on the cardinal with the spot. It's still in Q/T. The spot CAME OFF! I've been looking for more spots, and nothing yet. I need to sterilize one of my Q/Ts to move the cardinal there so if the spot dropped something into the water, the cardinal will be moved out of that water.

I really haven't done anything for the cardinal other than feed it anti-parasitic food. Maybe that's what it needed? I'm actually surprised it's doing so well. It might be able to come back to the main tank one day.

[lauraleellbp]

Spot coming off sounds like an ich cyst to me

I have 2 red Amanos ATM- and both are berried females, I bet yours will berry up soon, as well. Does it have a very prominent stripe down its back? (I'm sort of coming up with a theory about these stripes and female shrimp...)

[Complexity]

Oh, I have tons of amanos that are berried. This one is just a different color. It's as if she was in the sun too long and got a dark tan!

The spot wasn't ich. That's what I thought it was at first, but it hasn't behaved like ich; plus, the close up pictures I took left everyone saying it wasn't ich (see this thread for pics).

I have never figured out what it is/was, but I will not reintroduce that fish into my 75g for a long time. I'm just surprised the cardinal has done so well!

[Torpedobarb]

good to hear that the cardinal is doing better.. also that you still have fry!

now get to the pics already!

[Complexity]

Update:

No more fry. I had a feeling they wouldn't make it. Both parents would leave them unattended to eat which was a bad sign. I also don't think I have enough caves for the parents to have much of a chance at success, but I'll keep working on it. I'm sure they'll breed again.

I was really busy this last week and missed my weekly trim and water change, and as a result, the hornwort has completely taken over! It has covered the surface so much, I have to move it back to get food into the water. Yikes! That stuff really is a weed!

I am finally about to try to do a real scape on my tank! Ingg was so kind in helping design a scape for me. I am truly design challenged. I love what he suggested!

I got some good sized rocks to use which are more pink or red colored than I had hoped, but if I really don't like them, I can always change them later. I'll post a few pictures in a minute.

Oh, the cardinal tetra with the spot? It's still in Q/T, but it's doing great! No new spots or anything that indicates an illness. I also didn't do a wc in the tank like I had planned so I'm not sure if it's safe to move the cardinal back to the main tank or not. I feel badly for the poor cardinal all alone in a 10g tank that's sitting on the floor with only a few silk plants. I almost never turn the light on, and when I do, it really stresses him. Any ideas of whether I should move him back to the 75g yet?

[Complexity]

Rocks! Rocks! And more rocks!

Okay, here's the rocks I finally decided to try. I think they're granite, but don't know. Anyone have any idea?

The rocks do have a pinkish/reddish tone to them, but for some reason, my camera really made them come out very red. They aren't that red in person. More of a tannish/pink color.

Oh, and don't freak out about the bathtub. I cleaned it out very thoroughly before putting the rocks in, including doing a thorough rinse with vinegar to ensure all soap residue was gone. Plus, I've washed the rocks much more after their first tub soaking. This was only to get the first round of dirt off and out of the cracks.

Okay, here's the pictures! More pictures than anyone could ever dream of for rocks! Tell me what you think (good and bad). The largest rock which I show at the end is 13 lbs. These rocks are very heavy!

[Church]

Wow, good pictures! They look very granite-esque to me too. Hopefully they work out, because they are beautiful!

[MikeS]

Have agree there, beautiful rocks.

[Complexity]

Thanks! It was hard to see what they really looked like when they were covered in dirt, but I'm really liking the color with the black speckles mixed in. They're also not overly smooth like river rocks while also not being so sharp that they'll cut anything.

I finally tried the stone yard off of 90, towards Richmond (for those in my area). At first, things went really bad. They said they didn't know anything about mineral content of any of their rocks, and told me they weren't cleaned in any way.

After talking to 5 different people there, I finally got through to one that I want rocks that won't dissolve in the water which she finally started discussing with me which rocks weather better than others. That led me to go ahead with these rocks. She did say something about these being granite, but would not guarantee it. So I decided I'd try them out anyway.

The whole lot of rocks is 40 lbs which cost me a grand total of $6! I got such a good deal because once we broke through the communication barrier, the guy helping me get the rocks was really nice. He couldn't find the price for the rocks so he marked them as the cheapest rocks they had (19¢ a lb). I made out like a bandit!

I've been working on how to place them in the tank. Ingg gave me a diagram that's very helpful. But I still find it amazing that I'm turning each rock every which way to figure out how I want them placed. And then I'm having to raise the height of some by adding rocks underneath (I'll attach them with waterfall foam).

Who would have ever thought rocks would be such a big deal?

[BiscuitSlayer]

It's been a while since you updated the thread Vicki. Anything new going on?

[Complexity]

Not a whole lot. I've removed all of the hornwort since it was completely taking over. With that gone, I discovered that the BBA is spreading. So I've removed all java ferns to be treated outside of the tank. That doesn't leave much as far as plants.

I'm hoping to rip everything out tomorrow, add some more substrate, and then begin a true aquascape. I've had to put this off because of my cut finger, but I think it's closed up enough to go ahead now. I also have some new snails in there that were supposed to be nerites, but they're just hiding. I can't find them. Some others of the same kind I have just hide all the time so I'm sure the snails are hiding somewhere in the 75g. So I want to rip everything out to try to find those snails and get them back out. Thankfully, I was planning to rip everything out anyway so this just adds to the motivation to get it done now.

I lost the first batch of Pelvicachromis fry which didn't surprise me. The parents are at it again! The female has taken over a coconut shell and has piled up a bunch of gravel in front of the opening so she can just barely squeeze in and out. It's a bit frustrating, actually, because where she is is where I need to add more depth to the substrate. She's also in the way of where I wanted to put some rocks. So I'll have to just work around her for now.

I've been getting some basic green algae in the tank, mostly on the back glass and tubing. While the 6 weird snails aren't doing anything, I also got 6 zebra nerites that have already started cleaning it all up. Very nice to have them! They're very pretty, too.

I'm hoping tomorrow will be the big day of finally getting a scape going. If all goes well, I'll try to grab some pictures before lights out. Wish me luck that all goes well tomorrow!

[dewalltheway]

Hope everything goes well. I cut my finger a couple months ago and had to keep my hand out of the tank too so I know what you are going thru. I am sure that you will create a masterpiece. Just take your time and enjoy and it will come together. Look forward to seeing pics. Make sure you do a before and after. Good Luck!

[Complexity]

Thanks! Well, the before pics are not possible now. I've been adding and yanking plants as needed for whatever reason. But what I had was never anything to consider a real "before". It was more of what I'd call "try to keep the plants alive, not kill the fish, and get rid of the algae" design.

Even once I do get it scaped, it's going to look pretty sad because I've had plants in low light tanks just to hold them while I'm messing with all of this. If I had planted them right away, they'd look nice by now. Instead, they're half ruined. But when I realized the BBA had spread so much, I was afraid to put them in the tank until I could get the worst of the BBA out.

There is a silver lining to this. Whatever I do, it will only get better since I'm starting out so low!

[Complexity]

Finally! I'm starting on my new scape! I have a number of pictures taken, and the scape isn't even done yet!

First, I want to start off with the before pics. These aren't truly "before" pics because I had already removed all Java Ferns (the big gaps is where they were) and I had also removed the hornwort. But this gives some idea of the jumbled mess I've had.

The plant that is growing wild is Hygro angustifolia. That stuff grows like crazy! It also puts out one massive root system along the branches. I had that in the tank to help compete with algae.