90L
This tank has been doing really well in every aspect apart from the fish that inhabit it. For those who don't know, I lost 3 fish within a 1-2 month period. One was found at the bottom one day, another floating, and the last with a huge chunk of flesh missing, even while it was alive! Treatment was useless as the wound would've easily become infected, which probably delivered the final blow. I mentioned in the original thread that I had another male with an extremely large stomach. That is still the case, sadly. It does eat and isn't struggling to swim, but it's definitely not comfortable. It has slowly lost the orange colour in its face, which is probably a sign that it won't be around much longer. I also think this fish is beyond medicating, as I'm suspecting this one may be a tumour rather than the possible parasite that I believed killed some of my fish previously. I am watching local stores for Sawbwa just in case, along with any small-sized loaches that come from the same region as the Sawbwa, preferably Rosy Loaches.
60L
This tank hasn't changed much either, apart from the plants growing! Which I've had to deal with every other week now. I did remove one of the Crypt nurii 'Rosen Maiden' from the front, so there is now some form of an open area for feeding algae wafers. Changing the filter was definitely the right call. I've seen an improvement in the reduction of mulm buildup, and algae hasn't been as bad as it once was. That may also be down to increased WC's, though. I did clean it the other week and found both the course and fine sponge to have turned a complete brown colour, which shows it's working at least! The fish and shrimp are doing fine as well. I'm starting to spot smaller shrimp popping up every other day, along with finding fish eggs amongst the plants, too. I did spot that the eldest DRF male has an injury to its left eye. It did go cloudy, but within the last few days, the cloudiness has reduced, so hopefully it's healing enough so I won't have to medicate.
12L
So adding more plants to this one was a bad call on my part. Cleaning and vacuuming the bottom became a nightmare as the hose got clogged with Süsswassertang constantly, and I even managed to suck up a DRF fry. Luckily, it didn't get injured and was quickly released back into the tank. I've kept in all the epiphytes and moved them onto the substrate bag, so I have a large section of the tank bare bottom, which is easily cleaned. I decided to tie the Süsswassertang onto a knitting mesh wall that is suction-cupped to the back. The fry and shrimp love to hide in it, so I'm happy as it keeps it off the tank floor. I'm still doing WC's every other day around 2L max. This seems to be working well as I'm spotting new moults often and not much leftover food. I may be switching some of the male shrimp out for some more females, as the ratio is currently 7/2, which probably isn't the best odds for any future breeding. As for the fry, they are doing really well. I have started to feed crushed shrimp pellets so they have access to more food. There is one DRF egg on a water lettuce plant that is close to hatching, so the total will become 3 DRF and 3 Sawbwa.
. Enjoy reading about stuff I mess up or make work with blind luck!!
. I see that tank as a workhorse for its efficient design, while the other two are prized horses.
