amanda's 20g cat-warmer

[amanda huggenkiss]

I think this pic speaks for itself...



So far I've got hairgrass (still kinda clumpy, but I didn't have the patience to spread it out more ), a few crypts, a lysimachia nummularia 'Aurea', a cardamine lyrata, and a few clippings from my h polysperma (just to kick-start things -- I'll remove it later). And my LFS is keeping an eye out for some pearlgrass for me. I'll eventually be adding a piece of driftwood at the right -- either the piece from my 6g or a new piece if I can find "that perfect piece".

Substrate is aquatic soil, topped with fine gravel, topped with sand. I know the sand and gravel will eventually mix, but I'm ok with that. They're both natural colour so it won't look too weird, and I'm hoping the hairgrass will eventually fill out and you won't be able to see the substrate at all.

Lighting is a double 65W Coralife fixture. Since a lot of my plants have high light requirements, I'm going to run one light for 10 hours/day, with an overlap of maybe an hour when both lights are on. Does that sound like a plan? Or do you think a single 65W would be enough?

A Hagen ladder provides CO2. Since it's just a 20g tank, and it won't have too many fast-growers, I'm hoping this will do.

Filter is a submersible Fluval 3 Plus. It doesn't take up too much space at all, and because it's black in colour, it totally blends into the background.

I've had it set up for a few days now. I'm trying to speed up establishing a cycle by using Sera Nitrivec. My LFS swears by it. So I've already added a few fish (the furcatus I've had my eye on for awhile). Once things settle down more, I'll add a few more, and eventually will move the apistos over from my 6g.

[jart]

you're really a fan of that hairgrass i see amanda. should look great once it fills in. and maybe it's just the pic but you're right about the fluval i wouldn't have noticed it if you hadn't mentioned it.

that is one contented-looking kitty...

[Zach987]

my wife, " the cat lover " noticed something about your baby. In the second pic his eyes are open and paws are over the water. Are you sure you didn't interupt him while fishing?

[SCMurphy]

You did the perfect job of planting the hairgrass, after a week trim it down to about a half inch and it will spread like wildfire through the open area. If you want to let it spread through the tank do nothing, if you want to restrict it to that area use strips of clear plastic inserted into the substrate as far as you can push them, and sticking out above the substrate about 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch. This corrals the hairgrass and stops it from sending runners everywhere. You will still have to watch for the occasional stray that gets around the end. It isn't easy to see the plastic, when the plant club came to my house I had to point out the plastic I used to keep an open area in the front of my ten gallon tank. This was a group of people looking very hard into my tanks.

[amanda huggenkiss]

Originally Posted by Zach987

my wife, " the cat lover " noticed something about your baby. In the second pic his eyes are open and paws are over the water. Are you sure you didn't interupt him while fishing?

Hee. Actually, I tried to get another pic later where she was standing on the light, leaning over the glass, and batting at the fish. I hope she doesn't figure out how to open the glass top.

Hey Sean, if I let the hairgrass run wild, will it even grow under other plants, even if that restricts its light? Is there a problem, other than aesthetics, to letting it grow wherever it wants?

[Basilisk]

Nice tank. If you add the driftwood you want, it would add a neat contrast to the sand. Hairgrass will look terrific.

It seems like cats just love to be on top of the tank. I've seen at least a dozen pictures of tanks with cats on the hood. Even my LFS has a cat that does in every hooded tank in the store. Does yours also drink from the tank Amanda? Most cats think AquaClears are their private water trough.

[amanda huggenkiss]

Originally Posted by Basilisk

It seems like cats just love to be on top of the tank. I've seen at least a dozen pictures of tanks with cats on the hood. Even my LFS has a cat that does in every hooded tank in the store. Does yours also drink from the tank Amanda? Most cats think AquaClears are their private water trough.

I think it's mostly because of the heat from the light fixture, although with a glass-topped tank, there's the added bonus of providing personal cat entertainment. Luckily, all my tanks are covered so no, the cats haven't tried drinking out of them. They do, however, have their own fountain (they are so spoiled!)

[Mussa888]

That is so cute, I had to get a light on legs so my two couldn't lay on top. I have hairgrass and it has taken a few weeks to start to move out, I trimmed it and it is moving faster, I have eco-complete though. Good luck!

[unirdna]

Too cute, Amanda. I think your hairgrass looks fine. You might have spread it a bit thinner, but it should work as is, and I would leave it alone now. In the early stages, it is very important to just leave the stuff be. You know the phrase "a watched pot never boils"? Well, this applies to new hairgrass as well. Be patient. Good luck. And make sure your cat doesn't gain too much weight.

Ted

Oh yeah....and I let the hairgrass in my tank grow where ever it wants. And it does find its way under my other plants. I love the look.

[ninoboy]

Amanda,

I have a couple of tank with hairgrass as carpet plants. If you don't restrict them, they will spread everywhere including under other plants. I guess the runners don't really care about lights. I also wonder if they would cause any problem to other plants. I don't think they take too much nurients from their roots, do they?

[amanda huggenkiss]

Thanks everyone for your comments and advice.

Things are going well so far. I think the combination of Nitrivec and plants is helping the cycle along nicely. Haven't had an ammonia spike yet!

And this is a good sign...










The fishies seem to be doing alright too. Swimming around actively... a little too actively when I'm tryin' to take a pic! But I'll keep trying. They're such pretty little fish. I swear this guy was posing for me...

[Brennor]

wow, realy nice pics, very crisp. What camera do you use and also what is that lovely fish in the last pic?

[Stranger]

Originally Posted by Brennor

and also what is that lovely fish in the last pic?

It's Pseudomugil furcatus/Popondetta furcata. http://aquaworld.netfirms.com/Other/...ta_furcata.htm

Nice tank!

[amanda huggenkiss]

No new pics of the tank (it's just a jumble of fast-growers right now), but a few more pics of the inhabitants.

I managed to take a couple of better pics of the furcatus...






My LFS was expecting some red cherry shrimp, but they received japonicas instead...






And finally, I moved my two apistos over from the 6g. I had originally listed them as "cobalt apisto agassizii", which is how they were labelled at the LFS. But I posted a pic over at apistogramma.com and have been informed that they're actually a hybrid called apistogramma sp. steelblue. They also think that I've got two males, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I've posted a couple more pics over there and am waiting for clarification. Anyway, here's the apisto that's definitely a male...




The furcatus are working out great as dither fish so far. Both of the apistos feel secure enough to swim around in the open and they seem really happy in their new home. And so far nobody's eaten any of the shrimp, although three of them have moulted already which made me think the worst when I first saw it!

The hairgrass is starting to spread nicely, and my LFS has ordered some pearlgrass for me -- hopefully it'll come in this week's order.

Can't wait to get rid of all the h.polysperma!

Oh, and I forgot to mention someone laid a few eggs in there! I didn't notice until the day after I had done a bit of vacuuming of the hairgrass, and when I did see them, I could only find a few. And of those few, most of them were white. They seemed to be scattered about rather than all in one place. Unfortunately, I didn't have anything I could transfer them to, so I had to leave them. They were gone the next day. It would've been either the furcatus or the ottos (they were the only inhabitants at the time). So I've bought a breeding net -- if I see any more eggs, I'll be transferring them.

Would amanos eat eggs? Or strictly algae? How about red cherries?

[justincgdick]

Those pictures look awesome. Nice fish.