25 Gallon Planted Community Journey V2

[Blondielovesfish]

Maybe some Ludwegia, dwarf hair grass or crypts.
Dwarf hair grass, near the vallis.
Ludwegia, near the sword.
Crypts, infront of wood.
 
Only suggestions and you could have a play around with where the plants were located and which ones you want.
The anubia will look great and I can't wait for more pics.

 

[Robbo89]

Maybe some Ludwegia, dwarf hair grass or crypts.
Dwarf hair grass, near the vallis.
Ludwegia, near the sword.
Crypts, infront of wood.
 
Only suggestions and you could have a play around with where the plants were located and which ones you want.
The anubia will look great and I can't wait for more pics.

There are about 8 Crypt Wendtii down in front of the the val at the moment just a bit difficult to see and starting to slowly melt I might try adding them around the base of the wood, could look quite nice actually! Thanks! Where I am I can only find full hairgrass about 10 cm long Could order it online though. If I was to add another plant, It would most likely be Green Cabomba but not sure where, just like the feathery leaves of it For now though, I'm just going to let it settle for as eagle said probably 3 weeks, give the plants a chance to bush up a bit and melt I guess thats what happens with crypts and val right? So should I cut all melting leaves off, or leave them to see if they come back? (Still running 6 hours of light per day at about 1 wpg.)

 

[Blondielovesfish]

Oh, lol, now that I look I can see the crypts
The Cabomba could go in that gap between the val and swords near the back.
Cut the melting leaves off (I think) as they will produce ammonia and nitrate. Unfortunately you can only let the plants melt, in about a month or so they should be fine. 
Looking forward to more pics as the plants grow more, also when you get the other fish.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Melting leaves don't bounce back - melting plants can.

 

[Robbo89]

Yeah good idea Those plants over to the left I believe are a species of Hygrophillia maybe? So they will eventually all grow up and cover that back corner well.
 
On another note, the most pregnant of the three female's came from a really interesting tank at the store, so I'm hoping to get some neat looking fry. Here is a picture of her (dark blue), how long before I should add her to the breeding trap? I don't want to stress her out by leaving her in a small box for 2 weeks, or stress her out by moving her last minute...  
 

 

 

[eaglesaquarium]

If you are going to go with the breeding box method - you always want to add her to the box at the last minute.  Those things have terrible circulation and they generally are very stressful for the mother.  
 
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/417438-how-to-tell-if-your-guppymollyplaty-or-swordtail-is-pregnant/
 
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/253113-how-to-know-if-your-livebearers-ready-to-drop-fry-updated-150412/
 
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/285369-a-mollys-story-from-one-drop-to-the-next/
 
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/200198-the-stages-of-a-guppy-pregnancy-and-more/
 
 
 
Have a read through the top posts in each of these and it should help you in seeing when to move your platy to the breeding box... 
 
BTW, have you thought of what you are going to do with all the fry, should you be successful???

 

[Robbo89]

It's not so much of a 'breeding box' as it is a breeding net. It's a pastic cube frame surrounded by a white mesh, identical to the stuff your normal fish net would be made out of. So assuming circulation isn't an issue, would you still recommend last minute? 
 
Will have a look through now, cheers.
 
 
Should I be successful, the best looking say 2 or 3 will be raised in my fishless but ready to go 10 gal, and the rest will go to my Flowerhorn breeding mate, who will either use them as life food or, if they are good looking enough, breed some for himself.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Circulation is ALWAYS an issue with those, regardless of how they are built.  They just can't get as much flow as the fish really needs.  They are fine for the fry, with two or three times daily flushes with tank water.
 
 
As long as you have a plan with the fry, you always need a plan.

 

[Robbo89]

Ah alright, just wanted to make a note that it wasn't one of those solid plastic box's that sit in the tank and allow next to no fresh water in.
 
After looking through those articles, and watching her for about an hour, I'm pretty sure it's almost time.
 
She looks circular from the front and above, and I often see her sitting on the gravel in a corner. She also appears to have the white spot where her anal fin is.
 
With this in mind, should I place her in now? or wait a few days to see if she gets any bigger? If she does give birth in the tank I could always try my best to catch some of the fry then. But adding her to the box at the last minute often causes them to abort the pregnancy from stress doesn't it?

 

[snazy]

The breeding net grows biofilm that also blocks the flow, so flushing with tank water won't harm. It used to drive me crazy when I used net breeder box because in mine the fry used to get stuck under the plastic frame and I killed a couple by accident too.

 

[greenmumma141]

The breeding net grows biofilm that also blocks the flow, so flushing with tank water won't harm. It used to drive me crazy when I used net breeder box because in mine the fry used to get stuck under the plastic frame and I killed a couple by accident too.

 
bane of my existence

 

[Robbo89]

 

The breeding net grows biofilm that also blocks the flow, so flushing with tank water won't harm. It used to drive me crazy when I used net breeder box because in mine the fry used to get stuck under the plastic frame and I killed a couple by accident too.

 
bane of my existence

 

You would not believe what just happened this afternoon... About to get the photos up on photo bucket so you'll see in a sec, but have a guess... 

 

[snazy]

I hope it's not what I am thinking lol.

 

[Robbo89]

Okay so turns out I was pretty good with the pregnancy judgement, placed her in the trap around 11pm last night and came home from school today (about 4pm) to find a much less inflated fish!.... and 5 babies! Wait.... 5? 5!? hmm..... at first I thought the mother might have eaten them, but then I looked closer...
 

 

 

 
So after counting again, and again.... and again.... I watched as one of these five tiny babies literally slipped out through one of the gaps in the net's mesh, floated down to the bottom corner of the tank, and went straight into the filter intake!! 

 

 

 
So I quickly attached a large sponge to the end of the pipe, hoping to save any other survivors.
 

 
But this seriously restricted flow, to a pretty much non-existent level... So I ended up finding an old stocking and tightly covering the intake with that, seems to have done the job! I also found two more babies hiding down around the new twisted val, and watched them pick about for food for a while. They seem to be doing well and avoiding the adults well.
 
But this leaves me with a problem, I now have 2 that could potentially be eaten at any moment and another 4 that could potentially escape the net and face the same fate...
 
In relation to your comment about the breeding nets and the frame snazy, not once, not twice but three times I watched a baby find its way through a hole in the mesh, get stuck in between the mesh and the glass, and then have to release it down and into the tank attempting not to hurt it... very frustrating. 
 
What are my alternatives to this net? If I had a heater I'd be able to raise them straight away in my 10 gal but right now it would probably drop to about 15C at night, far too cold. Should I try to make some sort of similar thing with a cup and stocking? Should I leave them to roam the tank? 

 

[snazy]

Your tank seems to have a lot of cover. Get yourself a coarse sponge, not fine like in the picture. It won't restrict the flow.
Then make sure to feed some finely crushed flakes that fall slowly to the bottom. Platy fry don't come up to the surface, but tend to choose a safe spot in the tank and hang around there waiting to be served . Many will survive eventually. Unless you are after raising all fry from each batch.
 
If the fry are too small, they'll escape the breeder net. My cory fry all went into the tank once hatched as my net isn't very fine. I think there are finer ones they sell too.