Lara's 25 gallon 'Fugue'--plants pearling 12/10

[Amazonfish]

I finally got some inspiration for this tank, so I did a full rescape two days ago. This is perfect timing for the arrival of my Apistogramma trifasciata trio, which should be arriving Thursday. I also ordered 4 more Corydoras pymaeus and 3 sparkling gouramis.

Tank
31.5x12x16"

Lighting
2x18 watts T5NO

CO2
DIY and excel

Fertilization
1/2 EI dosing

Substrate
Coarse sand and fluorite mixture (mistake...)

Flora
Ludwigia arcuata
Ludwigia repens x arcuata
Hygrophila polysperma 'rosanervig'
Hygrophila 'Tiger'
Blyxa japonica
Rotala rotundifolia
Marsilea minuta
Staurogyne 'porto velho'
fissidens
trident and narrow leaf java fern
Anubias 'nana' and 'petite'
Cryptocoryne wendtii 'red'
Cryptocoryne parva

Fauna
12 Celestial Pearl Danios
4 Corydoras pygmaeus
2 Corydoras habrosus
2 Dario dario
1 Chocolate gourami
2 Otos

The blyxa I have in here is very sad looking, and it came from this tank which had major issues before the rescape. I didn't like the previous scape at all, and I think that led to some minor neglect. On the left side, I'm trying out a couple of foreground options, so we'll see where this goes. Also, I may remove the piece of wood and tall plants on the very left and fill that area in with blyxa and whichever foreground plant I end up going with (marsilea minuta or staurogyne--they're both in there already but I want to see which I like best). The wood on the left is serving as an extra 'cave' for my Apistogramma trifasciata females. If they don't use it, I will remove the 'cave'. Please ignore the rock on top of the wood. It's just a temporary weight :-)

Photos!







Thanks for looking! I welcome any comments, criticisms, suggestions, etc.

Lara

[farmhand]

Noticed you have DYI co2 hooked up to the intake of your HOB filter. This is more of a question than a comment because I do not consider myself the expert. Would not most of the co2 be lost before it reaches the tank? Cool setup if it works. Nice tank!

[isu712]

I really like it. It should look great filled in.

[msnikkistar]

Originally Posted by farmhand

Noticed you have DYI co2 hooked up to the intake of your HOB filter. This is more of a question than a comment because I do not consider myself the expert. Would not most of the co2 be lost before it reaches the tank? Cool setup if it works. Nice tank!

To answer your question, no.

[Amazonfish]

Yep, msnikkistar is right. Although this isn't the best way to diffuse CO2, it works. DIY isn't particularly efficient either, but it's way better than nothing

Thanks, isu712! I really really like this 'scape. I'm imagining it all filled in with a nice green foreground. I hope the DIY CO2 will be enough to keep it nice and green. That's the only thing I'm worried about. I chose plants that have done well for me in medium light, so that shouldn't be an issue. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

[Hussain]

waiting to fill up ,it well look great

[dj2005]

I agree that this will be very pretty once it fills in.

[CanadianMatt81]

I'm glad to hear that your DIY CO2 into the HOB filter is working out because I'm currently doing the same thing and wasn't sure about it. I may still get a glass diffuser on ebay but for now I will let the experiment continue as is.

[Amazonfish]

My babies arrived today!!!!!

I got:

1 male and 2 female Apistogramma trifasciata
3 sparkling gouramis
4 Corydoras pygmaeus (to add to the ones I already have)

I got a really nice birthday gift--a Mr. Aqua 12 gallon long that will be replacing my saltwater pico (I started the tank 2 months ago, but I hated saltwater... I thought i'd love it, but I much prefer FW). Anywho, i think I will put the trifasciata trio in there and my Bolivian ram pair in this tank. I'm pretty sure the trifasciatas will do well in the 12 long-- 1. because they're one of the smallest apisto species and 2. the tank is 3 feet long.

I'll get some pics once they settle in

[benon]

Beautiful tank... love all the planting around the driftwood. Must be all the nice leaves.

12-gallon mr. aqua is really cool and has many possibilities.

DIY CO2 is fun. I know you can go out and buy a nice pressurized system, but to achieve good growth without any CO2 or DIY is more fun. Actually, I'm just saying this because I'm a cheap-o and I don't wanna shell out for that extra stuff.

[Amazonfish]

Photos!

1. The new fish definitely need to be fattened up. They all eat, but not very much. I've tried small pellets, which they occasionally spit out. I tried mysis shrimp, but they're too big for most of the fish. I've also tried bloodworms, which they all seem to like, but I know there are dangers associated with feeding bloodworms. I have cyclops eez which is for saltwater fish. I wonder if it's ok to feed it to these guys?

2. My important question:
Refer to the female apisto photos. There are two supposed females. They both have those spines on their dorsal fin, but they're not as long as the male's. Are these two fish really females? The camera really makes it look like they differ greatly in color from the male, but that's not reality. They're really similar color-wise.

3. The blyxa still doesn't look good :-( I don't know if this tank will be able to flourish with blyxa in it. I'm planning on a CO2 set up for this tank but I won't be able to afford it for awhile. I sell plants from my high tech tank on the SnS, and I'm saving that money up to get a CO2 setup for this tank. I know I can run tubing from my existing CO2 set up to this tank, but the tanks are in different rooms and my cat loves to chew on wires, electrical cords, and probably tubing, too! Bad kitty.

Male Apistogramma trifasciata


Female apistogramma trifasciata?




Female bolivian with male apisto behind her, possible female in front


The two female Bolivians are not enjoying each others' company...


Dario dario--he is one happy fish!


Sparkling gourami


hope you enjoy the pics

[goddessjen]

Nice! I love the Dario Dario! They are beautiful fish.

[pianofish]

Love the apistos! and nice tank layout. cant wait to see it fill in.

[mgdmirage]

Nice tank and i love the Dario dario! Hope it gets along with the apistos and bolivian rams!

[pianofish]

Hey Amazonfish, do you think it would be plausible to try keeping those apistos with shrimip? Are they aggresive?