29 gallon planted nano

Byron

I'd like to see how this grows. Once plants settle in, they can explode with new growth, runners, etc. I let the Pygmy chain sword do this in my 70g, until one day I took a hard look at the tank and realized it was a mess. I began thinning out the plants. They will suffocate one another in time, but otherwise it is really up to what you want. Later you will likely want to thin them out. You won't be able to see the fish.

blackwaterguy

I was forced to plant the 'bold' three stems to a hole to fit it all in. Even doing that I had to move all the 'Siamensis' closer together. It's no longer an inch apart like your profile suggests. I will keep my eye on it and let it grow out so that you can see. I mean at the very least with as many fast growing stems as I have I shouldn't have to worry when I add fish. Even without fish or feedings I can see nice growth, I think that's going to explode when I add fish.

I'm not sure I've mentioned it, and haven't been able to find what causes it on the net, but my red root floater has been flowering the last two weeks. I'm taking that as a sign that it really loves my tank. :D

blackwaterguy

Apologies for the pictures. I was playing around with settings to see which worked the best, hopefully these are a slight improvment.





I removed some of the 'compacta', moved the lancea in front of the driftwood, and planted the 'Araguaia' closer together to make a midground thicket. That's Staurogyne repens there on the left. A gift for me to try. Might look better without it, but I'll grow it for a while and see how it does. I'd still like to fix the background on the right, perhaps even tidy up the pinnatfida. Any advice on plants with runners? When can runners be cut off and planted, if runners are removed with the main plant grow taller?

What do you think Byron? Does that look a little better? Step in the right direction?

blackwaterguy

A couple quick questions I'm hoping someone could help me out with...

I have a mini canister filter that is only rated for 95 gph. That gives me a turnover of about 3.25X. That's a lot less than any other aquarium I've had. Should I add a second filter? It'll have to be a different brand, because the kind I have and am liking doesn't seem to be available any more.

What are the best and easiest to culture foods for Scarlet Badis? I would love to keep them, however I don't have easy/cheap access to frozen foods. I wouldn't mind culturing, I just need to find the right size food.

Byron

On the filter, no; what you have is fine. Planted tanks don't need filters at all, although some of us do like a mechanical filter for minimal water movement, and you now have that. Unless the fish are those that need stronger currents, obviously.

I cultured wingless fruit flies, mainly for my hatchets, but I expect they are small enough for Scarlet Badis. Daphnia is another; I have read articles on culturing daphnia outdoors in summer. Another is mosquito larvae, apparently simple to culture again outdoors in a pail of water. Then there is newly hatched brine shrimp.

Once you have an established and well-planted tank, especially with Java Moss on chunks of wood and floating plants like Water Sprite, you would be surprised how much microscopic plankton will be living in the tank and these small fish will eat this. I would supplement it with something else to be safe. Also, dried leaves (oak, popular, almond) will grow infusoria, more microscopic stuff for small fish to graze. And allow some algae mats to develop, like brush algae on wood or rock (but not on plant leaves), as this will develop biofilms.

If you have a garden, you may find those very small ants in hundreds, the ones that are about 2 or 3/16 of an inch. Drop some of these on the surface and i expect the fish will eat them.

blackwaterguy

Thank you! The Scarlet Badis are such nice looking fish and it seems like they would work well with both my water parameters and the other fish I have planned. The dietay requirements have scared me away from them and a few other species. The wingless fruit flies, mosquito larva, and ants were things I probably wouldn't have even considered. I had been looking into things like micro worms, grindal worms, and banana worms. Are some more nutrious then others or is it just similar to how crickets are gutloaded for reptiles?

I don't have any moss (one of the few plants I haven't thrown in that tank lol) or wate sprite. No signs of algae yet, despite the months I've had the plants. I have Indian almond leaves and oak leaves in abundance, although none currently in the tank.

I don'tknow if Scarlet Badis eat snail eggs, but I do have a thriving population of pond snails. It might sound cruel, but I'm also considering a large number of Neocaridina shrimp, both because I think they would be interested and because I think some of the shrimplets could also serve as food.

Byron

If the shrimp are small enough, they would be eaten by any fish, as crustaceans are usually in the diet of wild fish. I know of no fish that eat snail eggs. I havethe small pond snails in all my tanks and I see the small egg clusters on plant leaves and sometimes the tank glass, and nothing has ever even looked at them.

Worms are fine, but not as a sole diet due to protein and fat. Which is why I mentioned everything else i could think of. Once the fish start eating, it is often possible to slowly wean them onto prepared foods.

blackwaterguy

I started reading up and found an article on culturing daphnia indoors in a gallon container. That seems to be the best bet, along with grindal worms. I might even have room on my fishstand then for the wingless fruit flies, if the fish will eat from the surface. Do nematodes have the same proetin and fat content as worms or should I consider that as well? Variety is good I know and I want plans in place for the colder months when I can't collect outside.

Not even sure on the shrimp. They are nice looking, but if I had the space for either them or loaches/catfish then I would chose the fish every time.

blackwaterguy

I wanted to take a few pictures to show how the plant growth has been for the last couple of weeks. Of course my batteries died before I got any really good shots. I really need to buy some rechargeable batteries. Anyway, here are some lackluster pics for your viewing pleasure. The tank looks much better in person.








The Hygrophila sp 'bold' has in thelast few days begun to shot up. It is growing fast all of a sudden which is nice. It appears taller than the H. polysperma only because the polysperma doesnt grow straight up, but instead grows towards whatever light the floating plants allow it to have.

The red root floater has stopped flowering and lost all traces of red, which sucks a little.On the other hand it's growing even faster. It's probably time for me to cut back the Wisteria and red root floater again. In about two weeks they've once more taken over most of the surface. I wish I could leave thm for a while, until I've gotten my fish, but I don't know that the entire left side of the tank gets much light. The Staurogyne repens have at least rooted, so they might not mind. No sure of the other plants on that side though.

In sad news I think my Malaysian trumpet snails are all gone. Even checking at night with a flashlight I haven't seen anyin a few weeks. No clue as to why. Shipping stress? I didn't have them long. The pond snails are all ok.

My new goals are figuring out how much to trim back the floating plants, figuring out how to return the red root floater to red, updating my stocking plan (questions/thoughts on that tonight), and figuring out what happened to the trumpet snails so that I can get more.

Byron

Almost nothing will kill MLS. There may be some in there, just be patient. It took mine a few months before they multiplied to the extent that I began to see them, and now I have thousands.

Red-leaf plants need more light and slightly higher nutrients. One reason they tend to be much better in high-tech tanks.