We have a winner in Fishforums.net
December 2021 Tank of the Month Contest
We had 8 awesome tanks entered in this month's TOTM contest featuring tanks sized at 16 gallons and smaller, but only one could win...December 2021 Tank of the Month Contest
And the winner is.......
WhistlingBadger
Let's all congratulate him
Here's the winning tank and its description
...............click on video below................
WhistlingBadger
Let's all congratulate him
Here's the winning tank and its description
...............click on video below................
Welcome to Badger's Rice-Free Sumatran Rice Paddy Biotope!
I built the tank last winter. Planted it in January and stocked it over the following several months.
Setup:
36" long x 10" deep x 10" high home-made tank.
This is a Walstad-style setup. No filter; no ferts except what nature is kind enough to provide; light stocking; lots of plants; garden soil-under-sand substrate; 3w pump for water circulation running through a tube buried in the sand to a small spray bar on the opposite side. This gives a nice, slow flow through the tank.
Fluval Aquasky light set to a 10 hour on, 14 hour off cycle with about a half hour of dawn and dusk on either side and some cloudy weather around the middle of the day.
100w cheapo heater.
Home-made backdrop. It's supposed to look like a brick levy bordering a rice paddy or ditch. I made it from blue poly foam, Drylok paint, and concrete pigment.
Split bamboo to simulate rice. Because, you know, this is supposed to be a ride paddy, but I can't grow rice to save my life. See below.
The little pot is actually from Thailand, not Sumatra. Next time I get over to Sumatra, though, I plan to pick up the real thing. If the loaches know the difference, they don't seem to mind.
Params:
Temp 78F
Hardness <5 dgh.
pH c. 7.5-8
Nitrates: <10 ppm
No nasty stuff.
Stocking:
I originally wanted this tank to be stocked with licorice gouramis, in hopes of getting a breeding pair. Unfortunately, all of the LGs I could find were wild-caught, and since I am fairly inexperienced at breeding fish, I couldn't justify removing them from the wild.
3 male Betta imbellis, two of which were born in this tank. My female sadly died last summer, and I have decided for now not to replace her.
10 Dwarf rasbora (Boraras Maculatus). Six of them are new and haven't fully colored up yet.
5 Dwarf kuhli loach (Pangio cuneovirgata)
7 Amano shrimp (Caridina multidentata). These don't live in Sumatra, but related species do. Close enough.
More than a couple Malaysian Trumpet Snails (Melanoides tuberculata)
Several Bladder Snails (Physella sp.)
Assorted substrate critters: Blackworms, scuds, daphnia, copepods. I haven't seen any worms since shortly after I added the loaches, and I haven't seen any of the crustaceans since I added the bettas. It's a mystery, that...
Plants:
Paddy herb (Limnophila aromatica).
Crystalwort (Riccia fluitans)
Floating fern (Salvinia natans)
Clover fern (Marsilia crenata)
Cryptocoryne pontederiifolia
Java moss (Taxiphyllum barieri)
And nope, no rice. I am, so far, an utter failure at growing rice. I managed to kill off the latest batch just when it was almost big enough to put in the tank. Rice is not forgiving to those of us who sometimes forget to water our plants. So, for now there is split bamboo. Stay tuned for further rice-growing adventures.
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