The Kārubusshu

[Carlovel1]

My early birthday present!
Tank- LxDxH 35cmx35cmx41cm 50 litres
Lighting- 20W T5
CO2- DIY with Glass Diffuser
Ferts- Tetra PlantMins but will be TPN+ from Tuesday
Filtration- Aquaflow 2- 500LPH (10X turnover)
Flora- Undecided, just have to pop over to the LFS to see what plants grab my attention. Today I bought the first plants- Anubia nana, Alternanthera lilacina, Bacopa (probably B.monnieri), flowering Anubias barteri (I may not use this though) I will mostly be buying stem plants since I'm trying to achieve a Dutch sort of scape
Substrate- JBL Aquabasis Plus and JBL Manado on top of that
Livestock- 3 Sphaerichthys osphromenoides, 4 Parosphromenus deissneri, 4 Yunnanilus cruciatus with 1 accidental Tuberoschistura arakanensis. And also home to 3 1" pleco babies (3 L260) Stocking may change though.

JBL Aquabasis plus and equipment added

JBL Manado is added and I start filling with water

Will be updated regularly

 

[Biulu]

Sounds good, but are you sure you want to keep 7 gouramis together in a space that small?

 

[Carlovel1]

Sounds good, but are you sure you want to keep 7 gouramis together in a space that small?

Chocolate and Licorice Gouramis actually do much better when kept in groups. They are also are pretty small, getting only up to 2.5" (Chocolate Gourami) and up to 1.75" (Licorice Gourami) maximum.
Carl

EDIT: Forgot to add, Licorice Gourami are bottom dwellers whereas Chocolates are Surface Dwellers

 

[lljdma06]

I don't like this either, especially different species. Maybe 1 species with a dither fish. The planting sounds great though.

 

[Carlovel1]

I don't like this either, especially different species. Maybe 1 species with a dither fish. The planting sounds great though.

Too bad, I've already had them for a few months I've had the simple 1 centrepiece 1 shoal of small fishes in the past and I didn't like it much. I'd rather have 2 shoals of 2 tiny Gourami with some bottom feeders any day.

EDIT: also forgot to ask I've got a large bunch of Dwarf Hairgrass and its growing lots of babies Would it look right if I add the hairgrass babies to the foreground of the tank?

 

[necava01]

I don't like this either, especially different species. Maybe 1 species with a dither fish. The planting sounds great though.

Too bad, I've already had them for a few months I've had the simple 1 centrepiece 1 shoal of small fishes in the past and I didn't like it much. I'd rather have 2 shoals of 2 Gourami with some bottom feeders any day.

agreed! loving the new setup idea, keep us posted!

 

[Carlovel1]

I bought some more plants today. Won't plants them just yet until I've bought all the plants I need. Please tell me if there is a plant not really suitable for the 'Dutch' . I am think of buying Hemianthus micranthemoides and some species of Rotala too. Any suggestions appreciated

 

[ian]

if you're planting dutch then i would probably go for more than one pot of a certain plant, you'll need to pack them in to give it a dutch feel.

 

[Carlovel1]

Some planting has been going on today...
Won't reveal too much as I'm a bit sleepy and sleepy But will post more on whats been going on tomorrow.
But here is the tank. I'm not very pleased with it but it will do for the mo. Comments and criticism appreciated.

 

[Biulu]

I understand that for a Dutch scape you need to make linear lines of one species that go diagonally towards the back? Some of the plants seem a bit too densely planted and I am afraid the lower leaves will start dying off and leave you with empty sprigs.

 

[ian]

i agree with Lu, the stems need to be more apart from each other. Take for example, the Bacopa, these need to be spread out a little bit more. I would also get a few more pots of the same species. As lu says they need to be in linear lines, like that plan i showed you...

example

thanks to Maciek, of Poland.

it is harder in a cube to do, but it is do-able. Remember the pots you bought aren't fully grown yet and have got potential to wider as well as taller.

 

[Carlovel1]

OK tT
Will rearrange the plants a bit and will upload a photo shortly after the change, then it can be judged by the experts.

 

[Ludwig Venter]

Carl.... keeping Chocolates successfully is a fete in itself..... so!... Just do it!!... it'll work out fine.... (I myself is often a "victim" of "size per inch"....)...and I believe it differs substantially according to the types of fish you keep..... there is no "general" rule..... Just do it.

 

[lljdma06]

thanks to Maciek, of Poland.

it is harder in a cube to do, but it is do-able. Remember the pots you bought aren't fully grown yet and have got potential to wider as well as taller.

Haha, that is the cutest picture ever. Can we see the final scape, Ian? I see it's also featureing that new 1-2-3 Grow line of plants. Are those selling well? They look really nice from what I've seen.

 

[Carlovel1]

Haha, that is the cutest picture ever. Can we see the final scape, Ian? I see it's also featureing that new 1-2-3 Grow line of plants. Are those selling well? They look really nice from what I've seen.

Sent it to you via pm