SomeCanuck's 20g - nano critter tank (lots of pics!) - Blooming anubias!

[SomeCanuck]

Current FTS (2013/05/03)


So I took the 8g Ebi down about 6 or 8 weeks ago and moved everything to my new 20g! And I splurged on a 24" Finnex Fugeray fixture as a late Christmas present to myself at the same time.

And being the scatterbrain I am, I only documented about half of the process with pics because I'd keep forgetting to take the damn things.

The breakdown:
Equipment
-20g tank
-Fluval 105 filter (with DIY spraybar)
-24" Finnex FugeRay LED fixture
-100w Eheim Jager heater
-Flourite Black substrate with root caps spread throughout

Livestock
-Boraras brigittae (chili rasboras)
-Microdevario kubotai (emerald rasboras)
-Pseudepiplatys annulatus (clown killifish)
-A plethora of RCS
-Turbo the Mystery snail
-4 or 5 horned nerites
-Some Malaysian trumpet snails

Plants
-Marsilea quadrifolia
-Mini pellia
-Fissidens fontanus
-Riccia fluitans
-Vallisneria nana
-Bolbitis heudelotii
-Dwarf sag
-Crypt wendtii 'Red'
-Crypt wendtii 'Tropica'
-Crypt wendtii 'Green gecko'
-Crypt petchii
-Java fern 'Trident'
-Java fern 'Narrow'
-Ceratophyllum demersum
-Limnobium laevigatum
-Weeping moss
-Fissidens fontanus
-Moss ball

Tank's water tight!


Bucket of plants #1 from the Ebi's tear down


Bucket #2


Everybody's temporary home on my nightstand


15 chili rasboras and a buttload of RCS in a bucket. Consider myself lucky to have lost only 3 shrimp and 2 chilis during the few days they had to live in there.


The old DIY spraybar made out of 7/8" pipe (was the smallest I could find at the time) from the Ebi; big, clunky and blocked out a lot of light.


New spraybar, spray-painted, 1/2" pipe and fitted to the length of the tank


Manzanita! Yay!


One of about 1,000 practise shots I took trying to find the right combination of branches and placement


Made the branch hardscape by following a guide here on TPT. Drilled through a slate tile, screwed the branches into it and used some hot glue to act as a shim and hold them nicely in place.


I absolutely loved the colours and texture on this piece, and HAD to find a way to work it into the tank.


So, flame moss and anubias nana it is!


How the tank looked about 20 minutes after finishing planting and filling it.


I used all the substrate, as well as the filter and all the media from the Ebi, plus most of the water from the temporary bucket home for an instant cycle

The tank somewhere around 3-4 weeks ago


I moved the tank up onto this shelving unit (instead of the nighstand to it's right) 2 weeks after setting it up because I was tired of having the tank by my knees and only being able to look at it lying down in bed. (I stood on it and danced around a bit and it didn't budge, but I reinforced it anyways with a bunch of 2x4s.)

[chew]

Looks good! Ever think about angling the heater the other way so its kinda hidden?

[Bubba Shrimp]

nice crypts, where do you get the neting for the moss on the rock?

[SomeCanuck]

Originally Posted by chew

Looks good! Ever think about angling the heater the other way so its kinda hidden?

Thanks! I might be moving it around a bit if the val nana doesn't grow up to cover it like I was hoping it would. I'm not fully certain everything will be staying in the tank at this point. I might get rid of the riccia and marsilea in favour of moving the moss rocks around a bit and putting something like some crypt parva in between. We'll see.

Originally Posted by Bubba Shrimp

nice crypts, where do you get the neting for the moss on the rock?

Thank you! I owe the crypt growth to good old fashioned root tabs hehe as for the netting for the moss, it's the easiest thing ever. Find yourself one of those shower scrubbies for a buck and just cut pieces off to fit whatever you're tying stuff down to. I tried 2 different techniques to see which worked better. The mini pellia at the back has super fine fishing line wrapped around it and looks messier and was more difficult to work with. The fissidens at the front I just cut a bigger piece of netting, then twisted it round and round at the back till it was tied and knotted it. Cut off the excess, then burried the little knot in the substrate.

[SomeCanuck]

Some pics of the inhabitants:

Chili rasboras


Male clown killifish


Female clown killifish


RCS close-up


Tightrope walking


Emerald rasboras while they were being acclimated (can't get any shots of them in the tank because they just move constantly! speedy little buggers.)

[SomeCanuck]

The RCS come barreling out of the woodworks as soon as food hits the tank.



Come at me, bro!

[Jiinx]

What a lovely tank. I think it's great you've created a tank where shrimp and fishes are coexisting! My Amanos hide in my tank!!

[SomeCanuck]

Originally Posted by Jiinx

What a lovely tank. I think it's great you've created a tank where shrimp and fishes are coexisting! My Amanos hide in my tank!!

Thank you.

I think a lot of it has to do with the type of fish in the tank. Given that these are all nano fish (the clowns are the biggest at nearly 1.5"), there isn't really much chance of predation on the juvies or adults. Though I'm certain a lot of the babies end up eaten, given how there's been a big slowdown in the growth of the shrimp colony. But I'm fine with that. Circle of life and all.

I once tried putting some RCS in with Beta Ray Bob (my betta) and he hounded and harassed them so much they'd hide crammed in behind the filter sponge and only come out at night when he was sleeping. Bob lives with a big female Amano now and the one time I saw him try flaring and nipping at her, she gave him a little bop on the head and calmly swam away. He hasn't messed with her since.

[Jiinx]

Originally Posted by SomeCanuck

Thank you.

Bob lives with a big female Amano now and the one time I saw him try flaring and nipping at her, she gave him a little bop on the head and calmly swam away. He hasn't messed with her since.

lol that made me smile! Go amano

[SomeCanuck]

Not much has changed in the tank's appearance, so I'm not going to be posting a new FTS yet. I will be making some changes I think within the next little while to the left-hand side; I'm not liking how the val nana is growing in and the marsilea is just moving too slow (i.e. not at all). I have some new moss varieties coming in from the UK so I think I might end up making a sort of moss rock garden. We'll see...

It took a few weeks, but the shramps have finally come to love the blanched spinach. For the swarm!


Fat, happy berried momma.


One of the horned nerites from the cleanup crew.

[SomeCanuck]

Redid the scaping a little bit.


Most of the marsilea has died or disappeared and I suspect it's been snacked on by Turbo. Bought a small pot of crypt parva, which you can see planted along the front of the other crypts. I moved the riccia "lawn" and turned it into a sort of background decoration. Also moved then fissidens rock towards the back with the other ones. I think I like the open space in the front like this more. Looks a little more natural, I think, like the back right is nearer the shore of a river.

And here you can see just how much everyone loves Jake's Om Nom Nom food!


Went down to visit a friend in NYC and she had a box waiting for me of all sorts of goodies. Thanks, Jake!

[SomeCanuck]

As much as I love my Malaysian Trumpet Snails and think they're great looking little guys...


They're kind of a p.i.t.a. with new crypts that have apparently had all their roots either melt or eaten off...


I have to replant 2 or 3 of the new crypt parva every night almost. *sigh* haha

[SomeCanuck]

I don't know how I missed it, but my anubias nana is flowering! Never had that happen to any of my anubias before.

[SomeCanuck]

Flower's opened!


Edit: I've really gotta learn to start closing the bedroom blind when I try taking pictures of anything in the tank... *sigh*

[assasin6547]

This tank is luverly! Those shrimp look like they're having a great time. Nice job.