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xmas cherry shrimp vase

33K views 75 replies 18 participants last post by  Chyrol 
#1 · (Edited)
Updated 2-25-2013 fts






Flora
Alternathera reineckii
Bacopa monnieri
Bacopa sp. colorata
Lobelia cardinalis dwarf
Staurogyne sp. 'porta velha'
Glosso

Fauna
cherry shrimp- coming soon!




______________________________________________

from my wonderful husband! :smile:



For reference, that is my 50cmx20cmx22cm nano tank in the background. The bowl is about the same height and roughly 12" at it's widest. I'm guessing it could hold ~3g.

Now what to do with it... I'm considering either a wabi-kusa bowl or perhaps doing a shrimp bowl similar to davrx's.

Please help me decide. What do you think I should create in this wonderful vase?!!? :biggrin:
 
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#2 ·
wabi kusa semi emmersed above water and shrimp :)

sand on the bottom and a few rocks.

fill bowl 1/2 to 3/4, place sand, rocks and wabi kusa with a stem mix. the stems will grow out of the water and it will be a jungle and clean the water
then add a few shrimp

they show this concept similar in some ada videos.
 
#3 · (Edited)
wabi kusa semi emmersed above water and shrimp :)

sand on the bottom and a few rocks.

fill bowl 1/2 to 3/4, place sand, rocks and wabi kusa with a stem mix. the stems will grow out of the water and it will be a jungle and clean the water then add a few shrimp

they show this concept similar in some ada videos.
I like this idea! :smile: Other than the Opae Ula shrimp, are there other varities that could do well without filtration or an air pump? I was planning for a lamp over it, but otherwise, hoping for no other technology.

Planting wise, I like ADA's echinodorus mix wabi's and the look of Rotala rotundifolia when it flowers. I wish ADA sold their wabi-kusa in the US.
 
#5 ·
Why not a simple not exactly a wabi-kusa but a simple fen-shui based hardscape dominant scape with a buddha? Adding a pic of something I did in this line. Hope this helps.
Nice buddha! I have a dominant stone in my nano tank and am thinking I'd like to do just plants with sand in this setup, with less emphasis on hardscape, if any.

Given the height of my vase, it seems to call for a tall stem plant as part of the layout, or maybe a cool piece of driftwood protruding through the top?
 
#8 ·
Bourbon bowl... I see now why my husband might like this vase! :smile: I do really like the shape too.

I brought up the opae ula as an original idea for the bowl that TPT member davrx did.

Now I realize there are many shrimp varieties that can be housed safely in bowls without filtration or heaters. After reading up on Walstad bowls, I may give one a try with RCS shrimp. :smile:
 
#7 · (Edited)
I would personally look forward to a DW as you rightfully mentioned with H.tripartita coiming kindof round it with some terrestrial moss on the wood..that would look really nice..:) plus - if this is going to be a immersed setup (where plants will be actually trained to stay without humidity) you can also give lucky bamboo a try..;)
 
#13 ·
I love the white flowers that B. monnieri produces. :smile: I'm leaning a bit towards a walstad bowl, topping organic potting soil with some ADA Mekong sand that I already have.

But then, I really am loving the setups of wabi kusa that I've been seeing with crypts.

Seems like a walstad bowl may be easier to keep with shrimp though, while a crypts wabi may have a nicer lush look which might fit better in the living room, where I'm planning to house this little gem. :smile:
 
#20 ·
Yes, nice Maitreya!

Always good to have new opae ula keepers here, so please, join us! :)

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S III using Tapatalk 2
 
#23 ·
The plastic wrap came off the top yesterday, and the ozelot green sword is doing better, standing more upright.

Planted now are:

echinodorus 'ozelot green'
pogostemon broad leaf
dwarf red lily
hc










The rocks are from my garden, cleaned and sterilized in boiling water. I'm not sure the red lily works as it's a bit dark against the dark substrate, and I'm thinking of moving the broadleaf pogostemon to my nano tank.

Not sure about the water level either... it seems like it needs to go up and be just above the soil level. I'm thinking of lower the water level and giving emersed plants a try first.

Chyrol is sending an emersed plant pack for me to try... which should be here by the end of the week. I'm looking forward to giving them a go! :D
 
#25 · (Edited)
Thanks! Just got your note that the plants shipped... can. not. wait. :bounce:

somewhatshocked suggested B. monnieri, which I believe is one of the bacopa's in the package. I'm looking forward to giving them a go. :smile:

I'm wondering if I should add a small heater? House temps usually stay in the low 60s this time of year.
 
#26 ·
Yep, if my memory serves me correctly, I think there were 8 or so stems of b. monnieri in the package.

As far as the heater goes- I don't know that much about shrimp. The plants will definitely be fine without a heater, though. Perhaps someone who has kept RCS in lower temp ranges can chime in.
 
#27 · (Edited)
Look what arrived today! :bounce:



It's like opening a gift all over again. :biggrin: Thanks, Chyrol for putting together a great variety of plants!

I prepared the bowl to replant... the P. broadleaf and dwarf tiger lily found new homes in my nano & I raised the soil level to the top of the stones.




Here's the plant palette:



Lobelia cardinalis dwarf (I think this will be a favorite of mine)




Bacopa monnieri (blooms pretty white flowers)




Alternathera reineckii (in bloom :smile: )




Bacopa caroliniana (has a minty smell)




Staurogyne sp. 'Porto Velha' and Glosso (two plants I've wanted to try since beginning my nano)


As I began planting, it became more obvious that the Ozlot sword was just too big for the vase, and would shadow the other plantings too much. It came out... sometime I will learn to avoid buying in the moment. :icon_redf

Here's the bowl planted and in it's new home! It's growing emersed for the time being to let the plants get acclimated, especially the glosso.










Looking forward to semi-flooding it down the road and adding a pair of cherry shrimps. :smile:
 
#34 ·
I'd like to add a nice slender piece of driftwood (slender, with multiple, twisting branches). Does anyone have a good source? I remember a recent-ish post of someone who had a very small nano and worked with another member to get just the right branching dw... but of course, now I can't find it.
 
#36 ·
this turned out awesome! love the reds in your plants!!!
 
#39 ·
Only hard wood. If you can press your thumb nail into the wood and leave any indent that is noticeable, forget it.

There are a lot of hardwood trees though. Try to find something older that lost its bark. Near streams, rivers and lakes are prime spots.
 
#43 ·
small update: the b. sp. colorata is blooming. :) The flowers do not last more than a day or two, so here's a couple of pics trying to capture the latest flower before it falls. There's also another budding just above it. The b. monnieri also has several buds, but has yet to bloom.










and my cat Sam, photobombing... :icon_wink

 
#46 ·
I can't see why two cherries couldn't go in there!

I'd raise the water level a little. A neat look for a little tank like this might be a small rooted floater covering the whole tank.
 
#47 ·
Thanks, I am looking to try to increase the water level as the plant acclimate and fill in more, but not sure if going much higher would loose a balance with the bowl. I'll play around with it when I do the next wc and see how 2/3rds full looks.

I still plan to add in a piece of dw before adding shrimps too, and I have some red rooted floaters in my nano that could be added to the bowl if it helps. Would they be a little too competitive for the nutrients in the bowl though?
 
#48 ·
Oh that's a good question.......

My mind was stuck on duckweed. But that might also be too much. Do you dose any ferts?

But if you got some shrimp in there, you never know... Its worth a shot adding some and seeing how your plants look.
 
#50 ·
No dosing yet, still looking to keep it growing mostly emersed.

We'll see how it goes! I had duckweed once in a bowl home to two African dwarf frogs that sat on my studio desk at college. The stuff seemed to double over night! Not a problem in the bowl though and the frogs did enjoy the cover. :smile:
 
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