purplecatfish

My favorites are Glossostigma elatinoides :bounce: and Lilaeopsis ruthiana. I find that in general plants are more tolerant of temperatures than fish and many wild plants will readily adapt. Check this out http://www.thekrib.com/Plants/Plants/NZ/

I've been plagued by these two snails :evil: for more than a year and every time I think I've got rid of them they pop up again (snail rid doesn't kill the eggs). The pointed one is the worst because it chomps through my twisted val before they are big enough for you to see them. I've got 5 species of loaches (chain, skunk, lochata/yo yo, clown, angelicus) and although they're good at keeping the numbers down they don't actually erraticate them 100%. The small flat snail is too small to interest most of the loaches although young chain loaches are pretty good. The JBL snail trap was great for getting rid of ramshorns (pleco chips as bait) but my guppies kept getting into the trap as well :-?

Here are some quick snaps of the set-up process for a couple of the tanks. http://www.imagestation.com/album/pictu ... 2101791905. I'll spend some time over the next week trying to get some decent photos to upload. :bounce:

I've just done the first major vacuum and water change on my big tank and its triggered another spawning of the Whiptails . And also in the Pepper Cories, I got to watch the whole process from the T-bar position to laying under the mat of Glosso .

I've finally managed to get some Royal Whiptail Fry past the week old mark 8) . I've recently moved them and their tankmates to a larger tank but I didn't move the Kuhli Loaches and The Yo Yo Loaches with them . I added some Peppered Cories though. The Whiptails were happy about the move and readily spawned in just over a week . They'd spawn regularly in their old tank but I only saw fry a couple of days old. Two mornings after spawn number four hatched I spotted 5 fry on the front of the tank and managed to transfer 4 to a small tank. Each evening's feed involved chasing them onto a slice of corgette :-? . Well this evening I got home to see Numer 5's alive and wouldn't you know it it's almost twice the size of the two that have survived in the small tank . Which just confirms that I know very little about breeding instead my fish breed themselves and all I do is try to make a nice home for them. :bounce:

I've been bitten by the MTS bug for nearly 2 years now. My 4 tanks: Tank 1 is my newest and has been running for nearly 2 months. 2.5m x .6m x .6m made by Tanks2U (thanks Greg). It has two 4ft arcadia T5s each with 4 x 54w plantpro bulbs, A Fluval FX5 with JBL micromec and sinomec, and a couple of Jager 300W heaters. It's on a 300mm high steel stand (thanks TomoVentures). It has 10 Dwarf Gouramis which are happily breeding, 4 Ottos, 4 Angelicious Loaches, 4 Pepper Catfish (I'll be getting a few more soon), 6 Clown Loaches, and my favorites 7 Royal Whiptail Catfish (S. festivum, thanks Psycho5) and finally 3 Royal Whiptail fry that are about 2 weeks old. It's planted with: Dwarf Sag, Glosso, Crypts, Pygmy Chainsword, Echinodorus Osirus, Anubias nana, moss, Broad and Narrow leaf Indian Ferns, Twisted Val, Red Pine, Ambulia, Java Fern Windlov and lilaeopsis nz. Tank2 is similar but 1.5m x .6m high x .45m wide, 1 light, 1 heater and a Fluval 405. The residents are 3 pairs of Platinum Angels who spawn regularly but are unsucessful, I probably need to part with a pair to ease the territorial disputes and reduce their stress. There's also 10 Platinum Mollies, 3 Skunk Loaches, 4 Chain Loaches, and The Bristlenose Gang. Mr and Mrs Ugly Bob who after a 3 day romance (it was love at first sight) are proud parents of a brood of a couple of dozen 2 mth olds. And then there's the group of youngster bristlenose that I won on Trade Me the day Ugly Bob moved in. The plant list: Glosso, E Osirus which is sprouting pups, Twisted Val which I'll use to replace the Ambulia which I'm considering removing, Red Pine, Crypts and a ruffled Echinodorus. Tank3 is a 1.2m x .45m x .45m, it has a fluval 304, a 100w AquaOne heater and 2 40w x 2 Aqua One 4ft lights The Bristlenose Population in tank 2 has to decrease so those I can catch end up in here with the Guppy Gang and 13 Kuhli Loaches. Also there's a tiny flatish snail that infests this tank, but at least it doesn't eat the plants. The planting in this tank is simpler, 5 Cyperus helfii along the back, Crypts to the sides and a carpet of Pygmy chainsword (E. tennulus) in the foreground. There is also a moss which I think is christmas moss. Tank4 is a .9m x .38m wide x .4m high, with 2 fluval 204, a 30w x 2 Aqua One light and an Aqua One heater. This tank is home to Yo Yo Loaches, Borneo Suckers (Gastromyzon punctulatus) and the male guppies that aren't needed in Tank 3. The aquascaping in this tank is different as it's a river type setup. There are Kiaua stones, Brightstone pebbles and Misty gravel. The other tanks all have brightstone gravel. The plants are C. helfii, crypts and a small Echinodorus that is often sold as tennulus but is broader in the leaf. The other tanks I have are destined to be dismantled as I simplify my set up. Unfortunately that means the end of the 2 pairs of Siamese fighters and their multiple broods. I got into the hobby because I was sick of watering indoor plants so it made sense to switch to aquatic plants. The fish are just there so I don't have to fertilise them :lol: . My favorite products: Flourish excell, Potassium fertilisers with absolutely no phospates. Stresszyme and Stresscoat. And the fish want me to mention JBL Novotabs and TetraMin Variety Wafers.