[Greggz]

Really great looking tank thanks for posting it! Not sure if you mentioned it somewhere in this post but where do you get your rainbows?

All of my Rainbow come from very good blood lines. I am fortunate to have a LFS that works with a local Rainbow breeder, so I usually have a good high quality selection locally. You can check with your LFS, tell them what you are looking for, and many times they will be able to help you out.

The other way is to contact Rainbow breeders. I have worked with many over the years. Typically they may have one or two species available at any one time. Many post their fish for sale on Aquabid. I have always contacted them, let them know what I am trying to do, and many are very happy to work with you.

Here are a few who are well known.

Gary Lange – aquabid Rainbowfish – MO - [email protected]
John Boylan – aquabid - Johnnyb
Eric Bodrock – aquabid - Alloddballaquatics –PA – [email protected]
Marcel Wuthrich - aquabid - Roseline17 WI - [email protected]
Jim Nowobielski – IL - [email protected]
Other know good on Aquabid Rfman, Justbows

I would also consider wetspot.com. I have never purchased from them but have heard good things. And I know that some very well known breeders have started to supply them with some very good blood lines.

Purchasing good quality Bows is well worth it in my opinion. Since they can live a very time, a few more dollars spent upfront means more colorful healthy Bows for years.

One thing to keep in mind. The little ones you start with won't seem like much at first. It takes some patience. But watching them color up and change shape is part of the enjoyment.

 

[johnson18]

If I could just focus on 1 or 2 tanks... I can't finish one project before starting another.

This. So much. If only I could not have 15 tanks going and another 3 in the works!




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[Dempsey]

Love it! Glad you started the video updates!! It really brings us into your tank and lets us see it more how you see it.:smile2:

 

[Greggz]

I really want a better looking tank, tame the jungle so to speak.
Not going to win a contest though, collect too many species, too many reds, fruit stand effects, Buce stem garden, and no moss walls.
Not to mention the Riccia façade right across the whole length on tank!
@Saxa Tilly made a great post, it's got me thinking.

I will look forward to this. Curious as to what it got you thinking about.

For me, I've given much thought to doing a proper Dutch scape for quite a while. After reading that Saxa Tilly post, it makes me realize just how far away I am from doing anything like that. I mean, you really need to be committed to the idea. It's not only about growing plants, it's about creating a work of art. And so many rules, then getting every plant to it's peak at one time for the photo shoot......well it makes what I do look like child's play.

So that gets me to thinking, is there a name for tanks like mine? One guy once called it a Rainbow Zoo Aquatic Garden. I like the sound of that. I usually just call it a fish tank with some plants.

 

[Maryland Guppy]

is there a name for tanks like mine?

"Jungle" would be the term, just like mine!:grin2:

One thing at a time for me, I'm not trying to win anything.
Neaten things up and remove many species of plants.
I'm thinking of creating a "street" and a centerpiece for that street.
The rest will be a fruit stand!>

I've been talking about taming and cleaning things up for months.
It will be a slow start but none the less a start for sure!

Had to hack 5" off of emersed L.cuba it already reached the surface in a week.
No transition to submerged yet, waiting????

 

[Greggz]

Had to hack 5" off of emersed L.cuba it already reached the surface in a week.
No transition to submerged yet, waiting????

Now I am seriously looking forward to that. Not much documentation out there on emersed to submerged transition. And this should be one of the more dramatic transitions. Pretty fascinating stuff I need to learn more about.

 

[Greggz]

Boesemani Rainbow, Lake Aytingo (Melanotaenia Boesemani)

Bump: Lake Kurumoi rainbowfish (Melanotaenia parva)

 

[ProndFarms]

Boesemani Rainbow, Lake Aytingo (Melanotaenia Boesemani)

Bump: Lake Kurumoi rainbowfish (Melanotaenia parva)

Fantastic pics. The kuromoi are beautiful!

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[Greggz]

Zig Zag Rainbow (Glossolepis Dorityi)

 

[Greggz]

Turquoise Rainbow, Lake Kutubu (Melanotaenia Lacustris)

Bump:

Fantastic pics. The kuromoi are beautiful!

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Thanks and yes they provide a nice splash of orange in the tank. These ones are not fully mature yet, so I am looking forward to seeing if the color will get even better.

 

[Immortal1]

Great looking bows, Gregg! One of these days I am going to have to get a Bosesemani I really need to work on my picture taking one of these days LOL. Now that I have found the manual picture settings, I thing there is also manual video settings. If so, will be shooting a new video soon

 

[Greggz]

Great looking bows, Gregg! One of these days I am going to have to get a Bosesemani I really need to work on my picture taking one of these days LOL. Now that I have found the manual picture settings, I thing there is also manual video settings. If so, will be shooting a new video soon

Thanks Linn. If you decide to get some, be aware that it's well worth getting a good blood line, probably more than any other Bow. Some of the over bred ones can have very poor color, more like yellow/grey.

The ones above are F2 Lake Aytingo variety. They show pretty close to mature colors even at a very small size. A few of those would look great in your tank.

 

[Maryland Guppy]

Now I am seriously looking forward to that. Not much documentation out there on emersed to submerged transition. And this should be one of the more dramatic transitions. Pretty fascinating stuff I need to learn more about.

@Greggz my Boes are looking good!:grin2:

My 3rd try to transition this stem.
They are in a better location for this go around.
Trying to keep the tops high up in the tank so they receive excessive PAR.
The bottoms are getting weird already, very fragile.
If the bottoms rot I'll crazy glue them to a piece of SS tig rod just to keep them up high.
Kind of like something a florist would do.

 

[Greggz]

@Greggz my Boes are looking good!:grin2:

My 3rd try to transition this stem.
They are in a better location for this go around.
Trying to keep the tops high up in the tank so they receive excessive PAR.
The bottoms are getting weird already, very fragile.
If the bottoms rot I'll crazy glue them to a piece of SS tig rod just to keep them up high.
Kind of like something a florist would do.

Maryland Guppy like I said, I can't believe they transition like that. I'm sure logically they do, but boy that is a huge change.

I wish you had posted this earlier, I threw away 3 nice long stems this morning with huge flowers. PM me if you want some, the next time I trim I will send you some.

I do believe you will like this flower. It's quite striking and a very good grower.

 

[Greggz]

Goyder River Rainbow (Melanotaenia Trifasciata)

Running Creek Rainbow (Melanotaenia Trifasciata)

 

[The Dude1]

I love the recent pics of the Rainbows Greggz. For some species it excites me for their continued maturation.... for others... Goyder River specifically... I don't think mine are of good quality. Well... in the 265 I guess there is room for underachievers. Can't all be show stoppers Greggz! Lol!

 

[Immortal1]

Damn Gregg - those are some seriously nice pictures! Really going to have to step up my photography game.
Got the general idea how you do it - guessing there is about a 500:1 ratio of bad to good pics? (or is that just my skills)

 

[Greggz]

I love the recent pics of the Rainbows Greggz. For some species it excites me for their continued maturation.... for others... Goyder River specifically... I don't think mine are of good quality. Well... in the 265 I guess there is room for underachievers. Can't all be show stoppers Greggz! Lol!

Much like Boesemani, Goyder River's can look very different depending on the breeding. The fish farm over bred LFS ones can be kind of a drab tan color.

The ones above are F2 originating from Gary Lange. The well bred ones will show nice color even when very small. Typically you don't see poorly colored little ones color up later. Much like Boesemani, even at a little over an inch, what you see is pretty much what you are going to get.

Bump:

Damn Gregg - those are some seriously nice pictures! Really going to have to step up my photography game.
Got the general idea how you do it - guessing there is about a 500:1 ratio of bad to good pics? (or is that just my skills)

Not quite that bad. More like 15 to 1. Of course, sometimes its zero no matter how many taken, so back to the drawing board.

I stand there and follow them around for a while, and hope they pause for just a moment. That's when you get the really clear vivid ones with detail.

 

[sdwindansea]

I'm still not sure what is more impressive. The plants, fish or photography skills in capturing them all. Very impressive Greggz!

 

[mbkemp]

It is all beautiful!


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