My ever-evolving tank (picture heavy)

[Amandas tank]

Originally Posted by driftwoodhunter

wow Amanda, we have so much in common, and we are at opposite ends of the country! lol
I had Dobes growing up (none now though), I got into tanks because my father had tons when I was a kid, and I'm 5' 4" - haha. I get the whole "balancing the bucket" thing.

I absolutely love what you said about the fish being able to hide when they want to - nothing bugs me more than tanks where the fish are forced to be front & center, with no recourse for when they are stressed. I'm learning more & more with each tank (thanks to all the great tanks I get to see here) about how to set up the hardscape and plants so the fish have quiet areas away from sight, yet not so hard to reach that I can't clean there or (Heaven forbid) net out dead fish. Hey, they get old too!
I also think that since your hubby brought in your first tank, he should relent on the 6' tank. With your skills you would create a dynamite tank.

Have those Diamond Tetras arrived yet???

That is crazy wild that you and I are so similar. I notice our personalities are the same too. Long lost twin? My Dad raised pitties and rotties when I was a kid. I had a pitbul for 7 years. He was great. One goofy dog! My Dober-Boy is about to turn 5. Thank God I'm hoping he will settle down some. Good grief he's like can of redbull and the energizer bunny rolled into one! I remember when I used to be that way! Ha! His name is Patroney-Baloney-Phoney-Dobie LOL! Aren't I awful? All my pets have goofy year long names...kids too! JK

I agree. I keep my tank for my enjoyment of course, but my fish are in that thing 24/7 for there entire life! So I must take their preference first and foremost! The 8 year old Angel trully deserves this scape. Poor thing spent 8 long years in terrible conditions with aggressive co-fish. His bent body is proof of those years behind him. I hope for him (or her?) to live out a few more years happily in this tank. Finally enjoying the "road less traveled" swimming about peacefully. I hope the Diamonds don't take this zen from him/her. I wasn't going to get them but my family really wanted a schooling fish.

I will have a 6 footer when we move down south. We already talked about it. I hope to have an art studio and I can have a few fish tanks in there. Woman Cave!!

oh almost forgot...no Diamonds yet. They are going to call me when they get here thankfully so I don't have to keep going in to check.

[OVT]

Diamonds are forever. Um, what was it I was going to say? Oh yes,
you need more plants.

[driftwoodhunter]

Originally Posted by OVT

Diamonds are forever. Um, what was it I was going to say? Oh yes,
you need more plants.

oh jeez - you folks have kept me way up past my bedtime! I just saw how late it is!

[Amandas tank]

Okay. Water change done. Stems replanted. Things moved around a bit.

FTS


Little-Blue got color!





Stems re-planted...


Stems re-planted (and I moved the rest of the L. Aquatica (please I hope I got that right) over here and moved the E. Tenellus elsewhere. (whoo hoo! I think I'm finally learning my plants )


Thought I'd try the Brazillian Pennywort along the substrate on this side instead of the E. Tenellus.


The little Tiger Lotus that could!


A nice Java Fern tied to a rock with some Java moss. This is especially for my lovely Kuhli Loaches.


The E. Tenellus is now on the right side of the tank.


I like the MT snails...I think. They do love to breed!


OVT the Water Sprite looks pretty good hu? I decided to attach it to the Manzanita so it can float without getting thrown around by the HOB's. This isalso for the Kuhli Loaches. Gwen the Betta has been having fun miandering through it though!

[Amandas tank]

Originally Posted by OVT

Diamonds are forever. Um, what was it I was going to say? Oh yes,
you need more plants.

You are an enabler!!! Just like Driftwoodhunter! Where do you people come from? LOL! I love you guys! Darn enablers anyway

Originally Posted by driftwoodhunter

oh jeez - you folks have kept me way up past my bedtime! I just saw how late it is!

Ahhh, can't hang with the big girls and boys no more? Go to bed then I say! Go to bed! Ha Ha!

You should be getting your beauty sleep darlin'! We'll see you tomorrow bright and early

[driftwoodhunter]

haha - it's 3:22am here! NOW it's off to bed...

the tank is looking great! I know your fish are happy ; )

[Amandas tank]

Here's a couple more just cuz I like them

[Amandas tank]

Can anyone tell me what these little critters are? They are new to me. My Angelfish was eating them. I hope they are fine what ever they are. (I posted a few pics hoping someone can make them out. I couldn't zoom in any closer)







And some on the glass only because I was doing a water change and they came off the leaf.

[Amandas tank]

Originally Posted by driftwoodhunter

haha - it's 3:22am here! NOW it's off to bed...

the tank is looking great! I know your fish are happy ; )

Okay yeah! It's almost bright and early as we speak! Get to bed! It's only 11:30pm here. Goodnight! And thank you for staying up with me It's good to have happy fish! They gone to bed 2 hours ago!!!

[Fishies_in_Philly]

Looks great amanda btw, get thee to petco, go to the reptile section and get yourself some feeding tongs. They cost about $6 or so and they are great for planting. You can get those stems down deep. I have had 10 kuhli's in my 125 before i rebuilt it and they couldn't move the plants once they were deep. Oh, and i always hated eco complete for planting. Nothing stays down, always a fight.

[AUvet14]

Those little critters look like little snails. As far as I know, it shouldn't hurt the angels if they are eating them. Not sure about kuhli loaches, but yoyo and clown loaches eat them too, so perhaps they'll have a tasty treat . Bettas will eat them too I think.

PS. Y'all (yes, I'm from Alabama where we use words like "y'all") stay up way too late. Lol. Apparently no one else on here has 8am classes they have to show up to . Lol

[Amandas tank]

Originally Posted by Fishies_in_Philly

Looks great amanda btw, get thee to petco, go to the reptile section and get yourself some feeding tongs. They cost about $6 or so and they are great for planting. You can get those stems down deep. I have had 10 kuhli's in my 125 before i rebuilt it and they couldn't move the plants once they were deep. Oh, and i always hated eco complete for planting. Nothing stays down, always a fight.

Thank you Bill. Every time I move something it gets a little better IMO. Thanks for the tip! I will definetely get some. Being here though I bet they'll be $10-12. Everything is so much higher here Either way it sounds like it is a good tool to have around!

The eco-complete is definetely light. Makes it easy to plant them and even easier for the stems to "float" away. Once the roots get going will I still have issues do you think since I am using EC?

Originally Posted by AUvet14

Those little critters look like little snails. As far as I know, it shouldn't hurt the angels if they are eating them. Not sure about kuhli loaches, but yoyo and clown loaches eat them too, so perhaps they'll have a tasty treat . Bettas will eat them too I think.

PS. Y'all (yes, I'm from Alabama where we use words like "y'all") stay up way too late. Lol. Apparently no one else on here has 8am classes they have to show up to . Lol

I thought they were snails at first but getting a closer look they are definetely not. They look like little mites honestly. Gross. Kuhlis don't seem to eat snails. I wanted a couple yoy loaches to keep snail numbers down, and they look really cool too! But, I read they are known fin nippers. Too bad. They would have added to the tank with their beautiful patterns. My Miss Betta refuses snails, even if I crush them. She is all about brine shrimp and blood worms. Spoiled brat My Blue Angel "hunts" snail eggs and pecks them till nothings left. Such a good Angel! S/he actually turns completely on it's side and sloats through the plant leaves to get to the best snail eggs. First time I saw this I thought s/he was dead LOL!

We do stay up too late! I must agree! I was sooooo sluggish this morning at 6am.

[Fishies_in_Philly]

Once the roots settle in, you'll be ok. I swear, the first time i used ecocomplete, i thought it was gonna float.....lol i found the key is getting the stems down as deep as you can, and these help:
http://www.petco.com/product/106226/...sultRedirect=1

The bugs may be gnats or mites, too tough to tell with that pic. Kuhli's won't eat snails. If you want to keep your snail population down, just feed a bit less. If they have no food, they won't last very long. The babies i mean. Although i don't mind snails. They keep stuff clean and if i have too many, well, that's why they make nets and garbage cans.....lol

[Amandas tank]

Originally Posted by Fishies_in_Philly

Once the roots settle in, you'll be ok. I swear, the first time i used ecocomplete, i thought it was gonna float.....lol i found the key is getting the stems down as deep as you can, and these help:
http://www.petco.com/product/106226/...sultRedirect=1

The bugs may be gnats or mites, too tough to tell with that pic. Kuhli's won't eat snails. If you want to keep your snail population down, just feed a bit less. If they have no food, they won't last very long. The babies i mean. Although i don't mind snails. They keep stuff clean and if i have too many, well, that's why they make nets and garbage cans.....lol

I think I completetly irradicated my Ramshorns during the rescape. I haven't seen a one since the last bag of EC. Time will tell though in that Jungle! I am happy not to see them anymore. I am very careful with feeding because I don't like a mess in the tank. I put some of the ramshorns in the QT tank because I just can't throw them out. Taken hundreds to the LFS. They are always happy to take them. Those in the QT don't get fed often...and for a time not enough while I was trying to balance things with them. They still produced rapidly and the snails were dying and eating eachother. So, I upped the food and they still breed about the same, but no more deaths at least so no more snails eating snails. I just have to make a snail drop off every 3-4 weeks.

I like the MT snails, but man do they reproduce! Wowza!!! I never knew how many I had until the black substrate was added and taking a peek into the tank after lights out. The substrate truned from black to tan!!!!! This summer I will have plenty to share with TPT folks

They look like mites. Are they a problem?

[AUvet14]

I kept a few yoyos for a while back when I had a pond snail population explosion. I couldn't tell that they made a dent in the population much but I didn't notice any fin nipping. I have found that assassin snails work extremely well for controlling the snail population but I can't seem to keep many alive for very long with the levels of CO2 I run now It takes quite a few assassins though to effectively control the pest population. I used 12 in my 30 gallon.