[Jeffww]

Here we go. Nothing much going on right now....but let's just get this thread rolling.

Tank: ADA 60P
Filter: Fluval 305
CO2: 10# tank w/ inline atomic diffuser
Substrate: Osmocote & Stratum
Ferts: Customized EI (No N dosed, extra K, extra calcium and boron, extra iron)
Lighting: 1 x24 T5HO 6500k bulb and a half covered 24 watt 6700K T5HO bulb.
Fauna:
Glowlight tetras
Otocinclus affinis
Snails <3
Soon to be home to some australian desert gobies

Flora:
S. 'porto velho'
L. Brevipes
L. Arcuata
Purple bamboo
B. japonica
R. Mexicana 'goias'
E. acicularis
H. verticillata 'low form'

Cheers:
The tank before in grow out mode. Lots of plant species (around 10-20 I think)

Amazing what you can do with point and shoots these days.

right now... after a topping and replanting..

And mr. giant pond snail.

 

[Higher Thinking]

Looks real good! Really like the driftwood.

 

[shrimpnmoss]

LOL that is a BIG pond snail. You are a kind man...he would have been squished in my tank long long ago. Tank looks great BTW.

 

[Jeffww]

So far so good. BBA is on its way out and the plants are growing slowly. Not sure why they aren't doing too much but I'm keeping my eyes on them.

 

[Jeffww]

Well good news. Gobies coming in soon. I've been doing research lately and I've got temporary housing set up for now. Here's just a bit of my correspondence with a technician at Australia's Monash university. Great read:


Thanks for the enquiry and I am more than happy to provide you with any information that you may require.

Your timing could not have been better! I received your email the moment we existed the desert and entered back into civilisation from ten days of Desert Goby collecting in the Lake Eyre region.

It would be great if you could provide me with more information regarding your expected colony, in particular the population type (if known)? Will these fish form the basis of a scientific study or are they for personal appreciation/hobby use?

We once again discovered some incredible water parameters for these fish. Most notable was the salinity for two of the populations we discovered on this trip. In an isolated body of water in a northern site we discovered up to 50 sub-adult through to adult fish living in approx. 120ppk (three times that of most ocean waters) and in a southern location we discovered several hundred juvenile and sub-adult fish living in approx. 110ppk. These are amazing results as we had only recently discovered them in salinity levels as high as 70ppk.

In relation to the pH and their tolerance for breeding in captive situations there is some variance. Generally speaking most of the sites which we collect or survey these fish in the field have an alkaline pH (usually ranging from 7.2 - 9). However, Desert Gobies are highly adaptable, as most animals in this dynamic habitat tend to be, and can in time adapt and breed in a wide range of water conditions including pH.

I have successfully bred several populations in a salinity of 5ppk, 8ppk and 10ppk and a pH ranging between 7.4 - 8.4. We also had incidental fish breeding in holding tanks where the pH was measured at or below 7. The key here is to note the population type and water conditions from which they were caught and try to replicate the water conditions. We mainly deal with wild caught individuals and at times first generation or second generation fish so our requirement to replicate their source water conditions are far greater than a captive bred colony for a hobbyist or private collector.

The key to breeding this species is a stable environment for a prolonged period of time and good conditioning of the females and males. The only water parameters that should concern you are salinity, pH and temp (general hardness not relevant) therefore you need to buy a good quality marine salt (Ocean Nature) and some carbonate hardness. Desert Gobies don't have the longest life span in the wild but they do tend to live for a year or more in captivity.

Good luck!

Regards,
Ricardo.

 

[Jeffww]

Woo! Fish coming in tomorrow (hopefully). I also traded my old pb set up for a small 5g tank, canopy and hydrometer. Probably like a 30 dollar value for something I spent 70 dollars on lol. But just sharing the love of planted tanks!

So hopefully massive pic updates with FTS + goby bin + gobies tomorrow.

 

[Jeffww]

Oh man I missed my updates quite a bit (you know, school and complications with the fish as usual) Not many updates. I'm due for my second trim and I've upgraded to a goby tank instead of goby bins. I'm thinking of tossing a massive amount of anubias into the goby tank to give it a little more...greenery.

So here are a few pics:

(new goby tank)

There seems to be a lot of confusion about this plant. This is the famed "Hydrocotyl verticillata 'japan' I see no difference between this and the kind I can get off my lawn. It's supposed to stay shorter but all I can tell is that it has bigger leaves or whatever...but that's more of something affected by tank condition.

Blue ramshorn snail.

Getting L. brevipes to pearl let alone grow unstunted has been one of my biggest challenges. It needs a LOT of co2 and very stable conditions meaning water changes only happen 1-2 months now.

I think my tetras are confused as to why their water is so bubbly.

 

[Jeffww]

Staurogyne sp. 'porto velho' in all its glory. It really should be a more popular carpet plant. It's moderate growing, it's algae resistant and has great colors and interesting leaves.

Quick fts. I swear my water isn't as cloudy as it looks in this pic...I don't know why it turns out like this in the photos but it's crystal clear in person...just really bubbly.

 

[oldbonehead]

Very nice tanks. Nice photography. Beautiful growth.

 

[2in10]

Beautiful tank, great photography