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[Rusty_Shackleford30 146]

So I swapped substrate today.
I switched out the gravel and put in Black Diamond Blasting Sand. It only took s couple of hours. I ran the filters for a couple of hours before returning the fish. Everyone is doing fine.
This tank will eventuality be a Rio Paraguay biotope-ish tank.
Next phase will be CO² and then biotope appropriate plants.

 

[GaryE29]

That's going to settle in very nicely.

 

[Rusty_Shackleford30 146]

That's going to settle in very nicely.

Thank you. I'm so glad I rinsed the heck out of that BDBS. No dust or cloudiness at all.

 

[Rusty_Shackleford30 146]

After looking at this for 48 hours, I think I want another taller piece of spider wood.
It's like the top 1/3 of the tankn is empty.
Opinions?

 

[MattW31 147]

One of the issues with having a tall tank is getting the hardscape tall enough! It has stopped my scapes from becoming what I wanted them to be

 

[Rusty_Shackleford30 146]

One of the issues with having a tall tank is getting the hardscape tall enough! It has stopped my scapes from becoming what I wanted them to be

What you see in the tank is actually two pieces of spider wood. A small and a medium piece. The small was described as 6"-8" and the medium 10"-16". No way either are close to the measurements.

 

[fishorama27 2]

I think you should let your scape grow in for a while. Plants grow slowly at times.

Your Asiatic val (the little corkscrews) seem to be too high above the substrate. Shove their roots underneath with maybe a root tab to give them the right idea. Your crypt? near the spiderwood would also benefit from a root tab.

 

[CassCats7 5]

Yay, more love for Paraguay fish!
Will enjoy seeing how this tank evolves.

If you want to swap to more Paraguay-native plants, you may wanna reconsider the vallisneria altogether and opt for some Heternanthera zostifolia, Potamogeton gayi, sagittaria sp, Echinodorus argentinensis, hornwort, etc.

 

[Rusty_Shackleford30 146]

I think you should let your scape grow in for a while. Plants grow slowly at times.

Your Asiatic val (the little corkscrews) seem to be too high above the substrate. Shove their roots underneath with maybe a root tab to give them the right idea. Your crypt? near the spiderwood would also benefit from a root tab.

That's because I just replanted them and the roots are long. They are temporary anyway.

Yay, more love for Paraguay fish!
Will enjoy seeing how this tank evolves.

If you want to swap to more Paraguay-native plants, you may wanna reconsider the vallisneria altogether and opt for some Heternanthera zostifolia, Potamogeton gayi, sagittaria sp, Echinodorus argentinensis, hornwort, etc.

That's precisely what my plan is.
I'm probably going to do three main species of plants with a couple of additional "accent" plants.
I've done my research on biotope appropriate plants and I've even seen a couple of in situ videos on YouTube.
I'll attach photos of my plant list.
My two concerns about plants is an E. amazonicus may get too big so I may have to substitute for a smaller sword, and the Ludwigia inclinata Pantanal is a difficult plant altogether so I may sub regular Ludwigia repent for that. CO² is a must for that Ludwigia inclinata and the Heternanthera zostifolia.

 

[CassCats7 5]

That's because I just replanted them and the roots are long. They are temporary anyway.

That's precisely what my plan is.
I'm probably going to do three main species of plants with a couple of additional "accent" plants.
I've done my research on biotope appropriate plants and I've even seen a couple of in situ videos on YouTube.
I'll attach photos of my plant list.
My two concerns about plants is an E. amazonicus may get too big so I may have to substitute for a smaller sword, and the Ludwigia inclinata Pantanal is a difficult plant altogether so I may sub regular Ludwigia repent for that. CO² is a must for that Ludwigia inclinata and the Heternanthera zostifolia.
View attachment 379950View attachment 379951View attachment 379955View attachment 379956View attachment 379957View attachment 379960View attachment 379961View attachment 379962View attachment 379963

You'd be happy to learn you dont need CO2 for Heternanthera zostifolia
I also recommend Bacopa australis from your list, it's a really good one.

Here is my Paraguay tank, no CO2 or plant substrate. Just sand and liquid fertilizer.

 

[Rusty_Shackleford30 146]

You'd be happy to learn you dont need CO2 for Heternanthera zostifolia
I also recommend Bacopa australis from your list, it's a really good one.

Here is my Paraguay tank, no CO2 or plant substrate. Just sand and liquid fertilizer.
View attachment 379974

I would love to keep the plants on the easier side as I really don't want the extra expense and hassle of co2. However I do already have a 5lb tank and a regulator.
I'm just not great with plants yet.

 

[CassCats7 5]

Heternanthera zostifolia grows like a weed if you have softer water. It doesn't do as great in harder water, so that could be why some folks are iffy with it. But it's one of my easiest plants.

Have you checked out sources like GBIF or EOL for range maps for species of plants and fish? They're great resources for setting up biotopes or themed setups.

 

[Rusty_Shackleford30 146]

Have you checked out sources like GBIF or EOL for range maps for species of plants and fish? They're great resources for setting up biotopes or themed setups.

Possibly, but I'm not picking up on the anachronism. Can you link the websites please?

 

[CassCats7 5]

Possibly, but I'm not picking up on the anachronism. Can you link the websites please?

Absolutely! You would need to search using scientific names of what you want to look up, but they're valuable resources

https://www.gbif.org/

Encyclopedia of Life

 

[Rusty_Shackleford30 146]

Absolutely! You would need to search using scientific names of what you want to look up, but they're valuable resources

https://www.gbif.org/

Encyclopedia of Life

Thank you. I've seen to the GBIF site before but the Encyclopedia of Life is a new one to me. Thanks for sharing.