Nymox

Been messing with this for the last few weeks, it needs planting still but it gives an idea. That yucky HG will be pulled when I get some new stuff, it was already kinda gross when I put it in. Planning on just 2 plant types, hairgrass and rotala rotundafolia. Fish will just be the male and female DP/Malabar puffer fish, perhaps 3 otos but I want to see how these 2 get on first, the female is a right little so and so. Tank is built into a cabinet, lighting is 2x6500k energy savers and 1x AL-8 with t8(or t5) 8w grolux 15000k. roughly 46 ltrs after gravel. Its lidless as the driftwood is suspended and hanging down into the tank. PC processor fan in the cabinet to stop it getting too hot up near the lights. Filtration is just a simple HOB from aqua one. Managed to make up a bracket to use my sodastream bottles without paying through the nose for adapters and all the drama, can get it right down to 1bps using a model aircraft needle valve. Using the filter to defuse untill I get a defuser I like. Substrate is black silica with a 1cm layer of JBL aqua basis plus underneath. Male Female comes up to the glass but as soon as she spots a camera she takes off. Going to replace the background to black and fill it up with plants when they arrive next week.

YAY! :bounce: TY P44 for a quick reply, I iz learned fings!

This guy was sold as a Black Whiptail. I feel its a lancelota, what do you think? It hangs out with my royal whip but isnt too keen on the red whip. Tail extentions are only about as long as a red whip. Thanks

I dont want to imagine, last time I was on that chat room I came away not feeling quite right.

The Zeibells is stunning!

That looks tasty! MMM like a gernard. I remember frog fish on Our World all those years ago. That was a good series.

Nice one David!

Could be t8 not entirely sure, I didnt look at the tube untill I had installed the unit, and its far too cramped and fiddly in there to get a real look now. Once I get a camera again I'll throw up some pics of the setup, quite proud hehe. Finally tracked down my plants too so it should be all planted at the end of next week. :bounce: TY

Thanks for the replies I have all my lights on 10 hours photo periods at the moment, so Im hoping I can get away with it

I think I've gone a little overboard so I wanna see what others think lol. :roll: 48 ltr tank, 24 cm deep knock a lil off for substrate there so about 22 cm of water to penetrate. Lighting Ive added now is 2x 6500k 23w eco bulbs and 1 aquaone AL-8 with t5 8w grolux 15000k I think. Plants I plan on growing in there are Rotala Rotundafolia and Hairgrass.

Looking to set one up, 2 ft tank will have 1 eco bulb at each end of the tank Ill add DIY CO2 next week. Can I get some plant suggestions? All I have at the moment is indian fern one plant doesnt look quite right. Also a little out of topic but would leaf litter fit with this biotope? I just like the look and Im sure it would help keep the snails thriving. Im hoping the indian fern will grow out of the water, the plants have a good bit of space above the tank so it would be nice to make use of that feature, the tank wont have a lid.

Do we acually wanna do a sticky about DIY CO2? it comes up quite often might be an idea.

Baking Soda helps get more life out of your DIY CO2 mix. I use it and I get well over 3 weeks of CO2 from a 1.5 ltr bottle. The baking soda helps the yeast deal with the alcohol, so they dont die off so quickly. Ill add my mixture incase its usefull to anyone, 3 weeks is pretty good im guessing. 2 cups of castor sugar 1/2 a cup of brown sugar (can use castor but I find brown is what the yeast is still feeding on in the 3rd week) about 3 healthy pinches on yeast, make sure to get 100% active yeast, not brewers yeast or bread mix yeast. They work but not as effectively. 1 pinch of baking soda. not much but it makes a difference. 1 ltr of luke warm water. Mix the sugar and water out of the bottle to make sure that the sugar has completely disolved. Empty into a bottle, then add the baking soda and yeast. Give it a wee shake but not too much. I get this bubbling at about 1bps within 6 hours, tempreture depending. I put the bottle on top of my all in one tank and it gets heat off the light, at night without the heat the CO2 production dies down to just about nothing. Because its getting colder I've also wrapped the bottle in an old woolen jumper, any insulation will do though. HTH

SHUSH SIMBA!

Whoo! nice taste in music Zev Blackfoot - Highway song

:bounce: nice one seems everyone is getting nice spawns this weekend, all I got was another empty bubble nest from the hoplos

Well done Ryan, very good news indeed. :bounce:

Hello, welcome

I think its going a bit far IMO. Heres what I think on the subject. A person/s under the age of 18 are not likely to live on their own, pay their own bills ect. That means that it would be up to their parent or guardian to cover a good portion of the cost involved in keeping a pet. That being the case, the parent or guardian should be there at the time of purchase. I dont think you need to go into full or partial background checks on anyone considering the purchase of a pet, the only cases may be where its difficult to provide care for, rare or exotic species, or something that the seller would prefer the potential buyer to have intention of breeding. You cant deny a child the chance to keep a pet, its very benificial to their learning and understanding of the world we live in and all its precious living things. Dont outright deny kids the sale of a pet, educate them and ask them to return with their parents or guardians.

:lol: Dont be put off completely. Keep those water changes up, try do 2x 10% a day or something, I find splitting them into smaller amounts more often works best. Feed often too, very often, small amounts at least 3 times a day. They prefer to pick rather then just go for broke. Also be weary of where the tank is, as discus can get scared over next to nothing, if it needs to be in a busy part of the house use some sheets or towels to cover part of the tank. The water changes are important because they will release a hormone that stunts their growth, like most fish they do it to prevent them from out growing their enviroment. HTH

Some more plants wouldnt hurt, though I do love a green tank

Thanks interesting article :bounce:

Give it time to clear, also check the flow of the filter its a good time to do this as you can see the particles in the water moving. Try to make sure there are no dead spots where water is not moving. You can use some food to help follow the water flow as it will help cycle your tank anyway.

as far as I can tell the eupterus dont need to be in groups and some times wont tollerate other catfish. Reading through peoples posts and various different sites, pleco's seem to bare the majority of the aggression. Mine follows the leopard around and vice versa, they headbut each other occasionally and the eupterus does the cory thing where he pushes the leopard sideways. Mum said she was watching them last night and reckons they're in love lol

Wonder what my leopard is then im getting interested haha. Thats a cuckoo right? This is a decorus And this is Asani He doesnt have the flashy fin like a decorus but the head looks about right tho I havnt seen the barbels. Tail and fins look more like the cuckcoo. I guess I have to wait till I get to the lps but the investigation seems like it might be fun anyway hehe.