Trenton's ADA 60P Journal - Tank Planted

[trenton]

Aaaaaaannnnnddd I present fish (and shrimp)!!

Been to busy to post. Got three rummy nose tetras last monday and three RCS.

They were pretty pale when I first added them:





Tank parameters where still doing OK, so I added 7 more rummies and 3 otos on wednesday.



Two of the otos had stubby tails when I got them, apparently this is happens regularly. They are already growing back!





The otos seem to be pretty comfortable in the tank... the rummies on the other hand. When the lights are off, they will swim in the whole tank. When the lights come on, they all hang out in the deepest part of the tank in the front. Everyday they are getting better though. They were eating the first night I added them to the tank.



Current FTS (August 25, 2012)



Still trying to figure out the correct dosing/CO2/light combination. The HC was looking really good after I trimmed it but now it is covered in algae...

Last time I checked, all pH/Ammonia/nitrite=0 and nitrates at 40

-T

[styxx]

Amano Shrimp, that is all.

[SaltyNC]

Trenton, congrats on the tank cycling and the fish and shrimp going in. It's looking good.

[trenton]

Originally Posted by styxx

Amano Shrimp, that is all.

Added three the other day... haven't seen them since so I don't know if they are MIA.

Originally Posted by SaltyNC

Trenton, congrats on the tank cycling and the fish and shrimp going in. It's looking good.

Thanks!

[trenton]

Current Tank Stats

Fauna:

• 2 x GBR (I think they are male/female. Still unsure)
• 12 x Rummy Nose Tetra
• 3 x Oto
• 3 x RCS (Not sure if all three are alive still)
• 3 x Amano Shrimp (Haven’t seen them since adding them.)

Flora:

• HC
• Lilaoepsis Brasiliensis
• Juncus Repens
• Cyperus Helferi
• Rotala Indica
• Crytpcoryne Becketti 'Petchii'
• Echinodorus 'Red Flame'
• Anubias barteri var. Nana (Not planted yet)

Lighting:

• Weekdays – 6:45 to 7:15am and 4:20 to 11:30pm
• Weekends – 4:20 to 11:30pm

CO2:

• Approximately 2 to 3 BPS – 4 to 11pm

Feeding:
Usually twice a day, fasting one day a week. Feeding frozen food every couple of days (A quarter of a block is plenty!)

• NLS Small Fish Formula
• Hikari Blood Worms
• Hikari Spirulina Brine Shrimp
• Hikari Brine Shrimp

Dosing:

• 2 Pumps Pfertz NPK+Micros every other day
• 1 Cap excel every other day
• After water change, 6 drops each Green Gain and Green Bactor, 12 drops Phyton and 16 drops ECA

Filter:
Last night, after about five weeks running, I did some changes on the filter.

• Ceramic rings from LFS
• Eheim coarse filter sponge
• Eheim Substrata (Came with filter. Original biomedia in filter)
• LFS Biomax (Same supplier as Seachem Matrix)
• Filter Floss
• Purigen (250 mL)

Water Changes:
Trying for every seven days, but that is too long at this point. Usually go to the top of the biggest rock, so about 5 gallons.

-T

[trenton]

Tank maintenance day yesterday! Going to be gone for three days this weekend so I wanted the tank clean before we went. The tubing was pretty gross. Some of the algae stained the tubing. Does anybody else have this problem?


Current FTS:






Our new rams. I thought that I got a male and a female. Can anybody tell from these pictures? The female has a noticeable pink area on her belly (second picture), a bit rounder of a head and is slightly smaller than the male. A lot of the other things are common between the two. Since yesterday though the male has been hiding between the two main rocks while what I think is the female acts the same. Is this normal?





Shrimps coloured up a lot and I think all of them have molted!



Cheers,
-T

[styxx]

They're just shy because of the openness of the tank but they'll get used to is. Nice to see the shrimp are adjusting well. If they're molting that generally is a good sign that they're growing.

[orchidman]

looks great!! i love your fish choices! GBR's are a favorite of mine, so are Rummy noses! the scape is awesome too!

[maxwellag]

Looking good! What lily pipes are you using?

[trenton]

Originally Posted by styxx

They're just shy because of the openness of the tank but they'll get used to is. Nice to see the shrimp are adjusting well. If they're molting that generally is a good sign that they're growing.

They are starting to be a lot less shy now. Even came up to the top to eat today! I think it's just taking them time to settle in.

Originally Posted by orchidman

looks great!! i love your fish choices! GBR's are a favorite of mine, so are Rummy noses! the scape is awesome too!

Thank you kindly!

Originally Posted by maxwellag

Looking good! What lily pipes are you using?

The lily pipes are from evilbay. Aquatic magic. Thanks!

-T

[trenton]

So my male GBR has been clenching his tail... don't know what the reason is, so I checked my levels and I had an ammonia and nitrite spike! I found a dead shrimp in the lily pipe suction yesterday and didn't really think anything of it. I just removed it.

Did a PWC, so hopefully things will change with him. All the other fish became more active after the change, so i think this is a good sign.



Anybody else have dark coloured amanos? Do you know what the cause is. I happened to catch this although I haven't really seen them at all since adding them/the GBRs.


I also added some Anubia sp. Nana today







Cheers!
-T

[orchidman]

nice addition!

[monkeyruler90]

So pretty! I like that you can see right through the tank

[styxx]

I can tell you right now those Amanos are going to get straight to work! lol. And you're going to love that Val. Nana...I almost went with Cyperus Helferi but changed my mind at the last minute and it was a great decision.

[Rbp917]

Any updates?