[James From Cali]

Laura, its coming along greatly and I love how the wood stands out against the green. Whatever you put in the Feeding/Foraging spot would be great, even though I personally would leave because it reminds me of exiting the jungle into a clearing .

 

[lauraleellbp]

Thanks, James. How are your tanks doing? Haven't seen an update on them in a while (hint hint...)

I keep flipping back and forth, but I may end up putting my Rose sword in that spot.

 

[James From Cali]

My 29g is doing well. I had to reduce the lighting on it as my income is getting smaller. I have a new crayfish in there that me and my friend caught and I am curious as to what it species but dont have a camera(mine broke )

I was trying to do a search for a pic on a rose sword. What is the scientific name of it? I think any of the smaller swords would look nice and go well with the theme of the tank.

 

[lauraleellbp]

No scientific name since they're a cultivar. I believe the more "formal" name would be Echinodorus sp. 'rose'

Here's pics of the actual plant (currently hanging out potted in my 46gal with a bunch of other miscellaneous plants...)

 

[James From Cali]

Ooooo, pretty plant. I think that will be really nice in the corner, but I would try it first to see how it looks in the corner first before making a final decision. I think it looks nice empty. I may have to get one of those for my tank lol.

 

[lauraleellbp]

Yeah, they're lovely plants. I really like the contrasts; yellow veining, new leaves are pink, then change into a lovely bright green as the leaves get older.

Still haven't made my final decision about placement, though. We'll see.

Paid for the XP4 today, and also snagged another Hydor 300 watt inline so that I can leave the other Hydor in the XP2 and run it on the 29gal.

I'm going to finally start on the setup for both my 29gal and my 10gal this weekend. We'll see how far I get.

 

[lescarpentier]

Paid for the XP4 today,

Hope it was cheap.:hihi: jk

How about some new FTSs

 

[lauraleellbp]

Less than $150 shipped, Les. :fish:
Nothing really has changed. I just realized now that I can actually take the sponge prefilter off the AquaClear 110- there's no more RCS in the tank to worry about getting sucked in. The sponge keeps growing algae b/c it's so close to the light, so I'm going to take it out.

Kleiner bar is flowering again

Best pics of my Cories to date

A cool pic of my Salvinia (or maybe it's Pistia??)

Stargrass is finally growing great in my tank this time around

A GBR wearing camo and going undercover to visit with the Plecos and Amanos

E. tenellus carpet is filling in slowly but steadily

E. angustifolius may try and take over

E. africanus are finally starting to grow taller, but my E. 'vesuvius' keeps getting pulled up

And a final parting shot

 

[lescarpentier]

Looks really nice LL.:thumbsup:

 

[CL]

Nice stargrass LL

 

[Karackle]

Tank is looking awesome! Wow, those cardinals really add some sparkle! :biggrin: That is a REALLY cool shot of the GBR in camo too! :thumbsup:

 

[fishboy87]

Great shots! I'm curious to see how the rose sword looks in your tank of you decide to put it in.

 

[lauraleellbp]

Thanks, guys.

The more I look at the tank, the more I don't want to put the Rose sword in there. I'd try Marselia minuta, but I'm pretty sure that the Cories would end up uprooting it all. That's about the only plant I can think of that would give the "look" that I want there.

 

[Tex Gal]

Your E. Africanus looks so baby compared to mine. I was surprised at how big they get. I think you are going to have quite a full corner back there! How many are back there?

You pleco did a number on your sword. If you pull off those leaves I think you will get new leaves faster. Glad you're doing the algae wafers!

Your tank is really filling in. I like your small grass look. It's really spreading! Looking good!

 

[lauraleellbp]

Thanks, Tex. Yeah, I can't wait for the E. africanus to really grow in. It will entirely change the look of the tank. They've been growing incredibly slowly for me, though. I've had these since April, and I've got 5, I believe? I may end up putting them back in the right corner (where the Bacopa is now) once they get a little bigger. I had them there to begin with, but they were staying so short that the corner looked too empty.

I actually butchered the kleiner bar sword just last week. There's only 1/2 the leaves now that there were to begin with; the worst ones are gone now, believe it or not. Once the sword has had a chance to put out a few more mature leaves I'll definitely trim these out. I just didn't want to trim too many at once. So far, the new leaves remain untouched. Hopefully they will stay that way.

My GBRs are showing breeding colors and aggression again. I think it's b/c I topped off the tank yesterday. There's 2 females with purple bellies this time, I'm not sure yet which will end up winning the male's affections. Looks like I may have been wrongfully accusing the Cories of pulling up all my E. 'vesuvius'- seems that the GBRs have picked their spot to dig their newest spawning pit.

 

[Tex Gal]

WOW!! FIVE!! I'll have to snap some px and show you how big my one is. It is at least 18" wide and as tall. Of course that is leaf span which you can lift them up some. I can't imagine having 5. You might not be able to keep 5 once they start growing. I don't think mine is mature yet as I seen no signs of blooms or what not....

 

[lauraleellbp]

I only bought 3, and Ghafanzar sent me 5 LOL I know they get huge- I saw how massive they were in his 300gal... at the rate they're growing (or not growing, as the case may be) it may be YEARS before I need to move them though! :hihi:

I originally had in mind 3 of them filling in the background and growing around and over the top of my driftwood. May still happen at some point..

(Now watch- they're gonna hit a growth spurt next week and you'll see "Massive Swordplants for Sale" in the S&S next week!)

 

[lauraleellbp]

So the Rena XP4 came in yesterday. I've started the assembly but my hands hurt ATM from fighting with the tubing and the plastic barbs LOL. I should have it up and running by tonight, though.

I was planning on setting up the Eheim 2217 on my 46gal, too, but doesn't look like I'm going to get to it. Oh well, there's always some other night.

Oh yeah- the GBRs are spawning again. I'm starting to be able to tell the blue females apart; he's spawning with the larger one that I believe is becoming the dominant female.

He just spawned with one of the yellow females earlier this week. Both spawns were in the same pit underneath the E. africanus. I think the eggs might be a little easier to protect there, and this female is usually the most protective mother... so we'll see what happens.

 

[Complexity]

LL, I had the worst time getting the tubing on when I got my first canister. That's when I was told of the magic of vaseline. Put the tiniest amount of vaseline on your pinky finger and swish it around the inside of the hose end. Then use a paper towel to wipe it down so there's only the slightest coating of the vaseline. Now you can put the hoses on without destroying your hands!

Also, I've completely given up on any of the hose clamps that come with canisters. I find them both difficult and ineffective for the most part. Instead, I now use metal hose clamps from any hardware store. They are very easy to use and hold the hoses in place without fail!

Click for picture: http://www.northernbrewer.com/pics/fullsize/clamps-worm-gear.jpg

They are very cheap and easy to not only put on, but are simple to take off and put back on if needed. I honestly don't know why these kinds of clamps aren't standard with canisters.

 

[fishboy87]

LL, have you had in swimmers yet as far as babies go? Are you going to try to raise a batch sometime? With the colors of the adults you have, I wouldn't mind taking two babies off your hands if you get any (I'm not joking)