My First Scape(!!!) Journal :)

[uncskainch]

Congratulations on the saddled cherries. It's amazing how fast the cherries will multiply when they're in a healthy home!

Isn't that feeling of setting up your first planted tank amazing?!? With my own tank, even in its sad early days, I was just so smitten with the live plants and the dramatic improvement over the rainbow gravel and castles that I'd seen so often! (Not that there's anything wrong with "alternative hardscape" -- my 2.5 gallon has Easter Island heads in it...)

I hope you continue to enjoy -- and watch out with setting up new tanks. It gets addictive. I started with one. I now have 3. When we move, I have ideas for at least two more floating around in my head...

[CampCreekTexas]

Thanks, Unk! Yep, I'm having a ball with this. And you're exactly right ~ I've already got plans for more tanks. I even had my eldest stepsons build me a nice shelf system custom made for more ten gallon tanks ~ I FINALLY got it painted this weekend. As soon as that paint is completely dry so that it won't dent, I'm loading that sucker up! I have four ten gallons that'll fit nicely in there.

Hey, I found your thread about your Easter Island tank and I really like it!! Do you have any recent pics of it? I'd love to see them.



Greg, I took your advice and hacked off the hygro on the right side. I figured I'd better wait on the other side 'til the first side grows back in a bit. Well, that won't be long ~ been two days and it's already grown an inch. I'm just amazed at this planted tank thing ~ SO easy and so much fun.

[uncskainch]

I updated that Easter Island tank (2.5 gallon) photo journal, so you can see pics in that thread (see my sig!)

10 g seems like a nice size for "bonus" tanks. I think I would like to up my 29 to a 75 at some point, keep the 29 planted but differently so, and maybe set up a couple of 10s (one for a betta and one for dwarf puffers) in addition to my two nanos (5 and 2.5 gallon). So many tanks, so little time!

[CampCreekTexas]

Yeah, I'm already feeling the yen for a larger tank. *sigh* Don't know whether to laugh or cry. I'm trying to be a good girl and limit myself to the ten gallon tanks I already have inside the house. I let myself go nuts with things outside ~ four tanks over 100 gallons (one WELL over at around 1200) and numerous pondlets set up in anything that'll hold water. MPS ~ multiple pond syndrome.

I've got 68 acres to play on outside, but inside the house is rather cramped ~ not TOO bad, but 1200 square feet with two teenaged boys can get to feeling a little small at times. Then again, they are moving to the bunkhouse just south of the main house, so maybe I can fit in a 30 gallon after all... hmmmm ... Uh-oh. This is how it starts...

I'm off to check out your Easter Island guys. I LOVE the way they looked in your tank before! Can't wait to see them again.

[sfcallen]

Have those teenage boys build you a fishroom. Then you will have more room in the house. Don't you like my logic?

[CampCreekTexas]

I love it! Only problem is Levi would forget to use a level and Mitchell would screw himself to a shelf support.

Can't wait 'til the oldest boys get back up here. Mark and Jeremy are the apples of my eye (because they can build things like aquarium shelves and porches and barn doors and steps and fish rooms Uh-huh, mama likes that).

[RESGuy]

Cool cool, sounds like everything is going well. And wow, already thinking about more tanks haha I am also starting to get MTS (Multiple Tank Syndrome). I've had a 55g turtle tank up since Nov. 2005 and a 5.5gg since Jan. 2007 and now I am starting to set-up a 20g tall tank, and yet I still have a 10g tank empty sitting on my floor

[CampCreekTexas]

Heeheehehe ~ yeah, already am wanting more tanks. Number one stepson brought me another ten gallon tank and a smaller two-or-so-gallon one he made. He keeps reptiles and spiders, so collects aquariums. These are a couple he wasn't using, so gave them to me. He's been thinking of setting up an aquarium himself ~ he said his wife is amenable to it and thinks his kids would get a kick out of it. Seeing my plants and such, he wants a planted tank now! Yesssss!!! Spread the addiction!!! LOL!

I already have a few different tanks "set up" sort of, if you could call it that. No clown puke gravel type ones, but all low tech ~ besides the one above (my first real aquascape) I have one with some plants just in pots and otherwise bare bottomed along with 4 gallon-or-so-sized jars with bettas and plants in them. A few days ago, I set up the handmade one from Mark ~ soilmaster and water just yet ~ have yet to add plants, but I'll get to that probably tomorrow. That's my "RAOM" tank ~ "Random Act of Malevolence".

[CampCreekTexas]

What a difference a couple weeks makes. Today I counted FOURTEEN berried females!! WoW! I'll be having a population explosion soon!

I also did a hack job on the left side about a week ago. You can see that the right side has already started growing back in nicely. I've still got some plants to trim, but until I get another tank up and running, I don't want to do a MAJOR pruning for fear that I'll take too many of the nutrient sponges out of there, those berried females will hatch a bunch of babies, they'll be hurt from decline in water quality and I won't have another tank to move them to.

Here's what it looks like today:

I gave a lot of the cuttings I've taken out of there to Jeremy, one of my husband's eldest sons, in the hopes I can give him a new addiction. *snicker* He loves gardening and exotic pets, so I think he'll fall in love with planted tanks ... and I'll have someone to talk to about it at family reunions. *Snort!*

[Gatekeeper]

dude...i am sorry, not to get off topic...but that picture in your signature has got me rolling on the floor!!!

[CampCreekTexas]

Heehee ~ thanks! I don't mind off topic chat on this thread, especially when it lets me brag about my Longhorns. That's my bull, Tuffy (registered name LYZ Texas Tuff). He's tame as a kitten, too. Wanna' pet him? *snicker*

[CampCreekTexas]

I HAVE BABIES!!!!
Man, I can't get ANY HAPPIER right now!!!! When I saw that first one, I screamed out, "BABIES! WE'VE GOT BABY SHRIMP!" All three guys in the house heard me, even both of the teenage boys who were in their room listening to loud music. Heeheehee! Of course I had to drag each one over to the tank and show them the babies! LOL!

I counted atleast six, so I imagine there are many more than that in there. I'm about to POP!

I've GOT to get a good camera so I can take pictures to post.

[dufus]

WOOOHOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If i were your son, i'd be right over there with you cheering!
congrats on the shrimplets.

[CampCreekTexas]

Thanks, Devin! I didn't really have to "drag" them ~ especially not the younger. But it did take a little coaxing to get the elder away from his computer where he is constantly IMing his girlfriend. So I wasn't too bothered ~ in his teenage boy world, girlfriends trump baby shrimp. *Snort!*

I'm still seeing tons of them! I also noticed there are two sizes. Can there be two different sizes in the same hatch? Or did two females hatch theirs out and I didn't notice the first 'til they were a few days old? Maybe another hatched last night. Questions, questions ~ I'm off to the shrimp forum to ask them about that and if hydras will bother baby shrimp (yeah, I noticed a few of those buggers a couple days ago *sigh*).

[yoink]

Congrats. You probably have different batches of babies with all those berried shrimp in there. They are really hard to spot the first few days because of their size. I had hydra once, they didn't kill any shrimp, although they did seem to avoid them. They went away after a few weeks.