and then there were two

[seangee]

I was hoping this would be the same but I suspect the alternanthera rosaefoli is not going to make it in this tank. Health wise they are fine but her ladyship enjoys cleaning the leaves and even sleeping on them. Unfortunately her mouth is too rough for the leaves and they are full of holes. The one in the nano has recovered well though, a few weeks ago I removed all its leaves! The aponogeton bulb is roaming free for now. If I plant it so just the tip is sticking out the fish bury it. If I leave it higher than that it goes walkabout. Its not doing anything yet so I will just leave it in case its in a dormant phase and if I see it starting to sprout I'll have another go at planting it. All the stem plants have now been trimmed and thinned several times. As the Ambulia shoots reach the surface I am cutting them low to see what they look like if they get bushy. I do like the ethereal look the single stems create so I may go back to them - they grow fast enough to take them out and replant the stems if I do.
I haven't yet stopped the ferts. Immediatley after Easter I am off on 3 weeks hols so next weekend will be the last dose for a while. The frogbit still needs to spread a bit more and once the ferts run out the roots should start heading downwards in search of nutrients - so hopefully I come back to a well shaded right hand side. The only downside of not feeding for 3 weeks is I may have surviving lambchop fry. They went on a group spawning spree aftter last weekends WC. Haven't seen any fry yet but most of the activity was around the Anubias so there is a chance ... you can see the 3 miniatures that made it though the last round in with the adults joining the feeding frenzy at the surface.

 

[seangee]

Getting there

Edit: In other good news the water temp in my jerry cans (stored in an unheated room) has now reached 20C. Water changes are now going to be a lot simpler until winter arrives.

 

[seangee]

Oh no now I've done it!
I intentionally threw out the 2 surplus tanks so I wouldn't be tempted and today I ordered a new one.
In fairness my main constraint was space and I ordered a 29l (7.5 US gallons) tank for breeding and raising fry. And it will fit in the bottom of the Flex stand so no space required. The tank in question comes with a basic in-hood filter. May not use it but since most of the reviews complain it is too weak I just might . Disturbingly there are plenty of reviews about how much the owners' goldfish (plural!) love their new tank. Can't really fault the supplier because its clearly sold as a nano or betta tank. The only spare heater I have lying around that will fit is 100W and I have an Inkbird controller also lying around so can have precise temperature control even if the equipment is overkill. I also have a few lighting controllers lying around - which may or may not work. Not planning any plants though - just a base of astro turf, spawning mops dependent on species, and frogbit on the top.
And the logic? Mostly simple economics. My fish numbers are never going to increase in a community tank. So as the numbers decrease I have to replenish. And fish prices have gone through the roof since COVID. I am down to 3 nannostomus marginatus (had to euthenase the 4th last night ). I may actually have left it too late to breed these (especially if my assumption that I still have both sexes is incorrect), but buying 10 will cost more than I paid for the tank. I should also top up my ember tetras. 6 females and 1 male remaining so I would have to breed while the male is still around. For now I'm OK on everything else but of course it won't stay that way.

 

[seangee]

The rate of stemmed plant growth in here is now verging on ridiculous. I have already trimmed twice since the last pic I took on Friday. For anyone who says they need CO2 because plants won't grow you could do a lot worse than ambulia and hygrophila ...

I'm expecting to be greeted by a mini jungle when I get back from my hols. It seems the crater in the front left is here to stay for a while. It's her ladyship's current favourite bed and even if I fill it daily it always re-appears by morning.
Oh and the shaded area is starting to be noticeable, despite the fact that I raided some of the frogbit for the Flex.
Edit: Pic and typing from yesterday but I forgot to hit post

 

[seangee]

For better or for worse its in. Decription on Amazon was incorrect and the sizing means it can't go where I planned. I painted the back and sides with black plastikote. Grass mat is a bit floaty but I was planning on plant tubs anyway so I could have real plants but remove at will. I never expected the description of white sand to be quite so literal. On the plus side its super fine, clean and in a few weeks (judging by the lights which are not dimmable) will match the colour of the grass. I really don't understand the point of the 2 strips of blue led. Since the pic I have thrown a few frogbit leaves in the top and added liquid fert. I could easily have filled the top and started using the tank immediately - but I don't want to risk introducing any MTS.

This is not meant to be a display tank or visually appealing - so don't expect any more pics unless they feature wrigglers

 

[seangee]

Immediately after a 50% water change. I have reduced the lighting in this one (again) to half of its previous intensity - and the light meters are still starting to close, but the alternanthera rosaefolia won't like it. The berried girls are no longer berried, but its about 30 days since I spotted them so should have a fresh crop of shrimplets visible when I get back from my hols

Also put the little tray with an algae wafer in the front to attract MTS - its already working.
Edit: Tried the same for the community tank. I carefully put a separate wafer under her ladyship's nose so she would not get involved, but the cories and tetras are currently engaged in a football match (soccer for the Americans) with the wafer.

 

[seangee]

First full (75%) water change in the community today where I did no reheating. Makes the water change seem so much faster (I use the stand the water container in a sink full of hot water method). Tank temp only dropped 3 degrees from 25 - 22C.
Last night I also had a 3C drop with a 50% change in the nano - but that one is at 27C.

 

[seangee]

Quite a sunstantial trim this time around. The top of the front alternanthera rosaefolia has gone to live in the breeder tank. I managed to resist the tempatation to throw the ambulia cuttings in there too - but it would have taken a lot of effort to ensure no MTS went with them.

 

[AquaBarb]

Quite a sunstantial trim this time around. The top of the front alternanthera rosaefolia has gone to live in the breeder tank. I managed to resist the tempatation to throw the ambulia cuttings in there too - but it would have taken a lot of effort to ensure no MTS went with them.
View attachment 365711

Looking good Sean plants looking lush and i love the big schools, the Ember/Cardinal combo's cool.

Love Cardinals, so much colour for such a small fish and look great in numbers. Lost my last few from my first group i purchased 6 years ago last month. Just added a new group of 35 to my new scape its like blackpool illuminations when the light comes on in the evening lol

 

[seangee]

Those are lambchops (Trigonostigma Espei). The downside of consolidating tanks is they are no longer regionally themed - but its a really lovely combination. The embers are living in the Flex with the shrimp.
I haven't bought cardinals since well before covid so mine are probably all 6+ years - one of the reasons I am setting up a breeding tank. No eggs or fry are likely to survive in the community - and cardinals won't happen in there anyway.

 

[seangee]

View attachment 365711

Probably a good example of why I am always telling people you don't need a centrepiece! And also why I suggest larger numbers of fewer species. I have a small group of bronze cories in with them and 3 pencilfish (to be my first breeding project) along with a female albino BN. They are not normally in such regimented divisions, that pic was taken immediately after a 75% water change and my hands in the tank for pruning..
My favourite view of the cardinals is shortly after lights out. They sleep with their heads down amongst the foliage and look like hundreds of little lanterns hanging from the branches. There are somewhere between 30-40 in there but the walls are so reflective it always looks like more.