[Sakura8]

This is like the 4th time I've redone this tank because the plants keep dying. Each time I've learned something new so I'm hoping this time the plants make it. If not, it's curtains for this tank. Anyway, here is my 20 gallon community. It's running a Fluval C2 and a Marineland Duetto 100 for filtration and the light is an Odyssea T-5 HO with 48 watts for 12-14 hours. C02 is from Flourish Excel every day, fertilizer is Flourish. Any advice on keeping the plants alive is welcomed.

Residents:
5 firehead tetras
5 rummynose tetras (virtually identical to the fireheads)
5 kuhli loaches
4 honey gouramis
3 Venezuelan hifin red cory cats
1 rosy red minnow

Plants:
hygrophila corymbosa
hygrophila corymbosa "stricta"
nesaea pedicellata "golden"
rotala indicia
hygrophila difformis (water wisteria)
echinodorus kleiner bar
echinodorus parviflorus
the remains of an echinodorus angustifolia
riccia on the cholla wood

 

[Bombalurina]

That's so beautiful, Sakura! I hope I can make mine look that good!

Squee! Kuhli loaches.

 

[Sakura8]

Thank you, Bomba. Now that there are more plants in there, I actually see the little loaches more. Before, they hid under the sand all day. Now I can see their little faces peeking out beneath the leaves.

 

[ILLBETHEJUDGE]

That is amazing!

 

[Sakura8]

Thanks. I'm just really hoping the plants make it this time. I learned that I needed more light and I needed to raise the hardness of the water so hopefully that will do it.

 

[MaisyDawgThirteen]

Nice! Aren't rosy red minnows coldwater?

 

[Sakura8]

Maisy, they probably are. I dunno, it was a feeder fish that the girl just tossed into the bag when I got some ghost shrimp. I *think* it's a rosy red minnow but if it is, it's not the nice pink kind. It's kinda dull brown and really hyper. I'm probably going to try to toss it into the coldwater community soon.

 

[Romad]

Looking good Sakura :thumbsup: Wishing you lots of growth over the next few months. I'

ve been trying to sustain plants long term in my 75 gallon (which is why you don't see pics here) and it really is a long road of trial and error with the diff. plant types. One of these days I'll have it balanced right

Good luck.

 

[Sakura8]

Thanks, Roberta. I need all the well wishes I can get. And finding the right balance where the plants and fish are both happy is hard so I understand what you mean.

 

[MaisyDawgThirteen]

Maisy, they probably are. I dunno, it was a feeder fish that the girl just tossed into the bag when I got some ghost shrimp. I *think* it's a rosy red minnow but if it is, it's not the nice pink kind. It's kinda dull brown and really hyper. I'm probably going to try to toss it into the coldwater community soon.

Aren't they also called fathead minnows? What's in your coldwater community?

 

[Olympia]

Wow, I love this!
Is there plenty of room for all those fish? I have a 20 gallon too, and I feel like I'm understocking mine
Also, where did you get that driftwood with the holes? It's awesome!

 

[Sakura8]

My coldwater community has one golden dojo, one peppered dojo, two white clouds (had 6, 4 died), and one lonely male guppy because the females are in a separate tank while I wait for them to give birth. I've been waiting for 3 weeks now and they look like they are going to pop but they still have not dropped fry. I'm afraid to move them back because I heard if you move a pregnant guppy when she is really pregnant, it can shock her into aborting or absorbing the babies.

Yup, fathead minnows. You know your fish. I tried to get a pic of it but it's too fast.

EDIT: Fathead minnow. This is what the little bugger looks like

EDIT: Olympia, yup, there's room. I know I have a tendency to overstock so I even double-checked with aqadvisor to make sure and it said I was at 103% or something like that and that my filtration was "satisfactory." So I figured with all the plants, it was good to go. And the driftwood is called cholla wood or pleco chews. I got mine from
http://shop.plantedaquariumscentral.com/
but I've also seen some on aquabid. It's really neat stuff.

 

[kfryman]

I love the look of your tank! I really hope your plants do well, if not maybe I can send you some later down the road once my tank has lots of growth. Do you have ludwigia in there? I forgot what plants are in there.

I wish I could have more tanks, but I get to lazy lol. 3-4 is enough for me!

 

[Sakura8]

Thanks, kfry. Yeah, I think I've just about reached the limit on number of tanks but the 20g is kind of my show tank, the one tank that I want to make look really good. I don't have ludwigia but I'm thinking I might want to use some in the midground.

 

[kfryman]

Yeah, I don't even have one watt per gallon, lol some how I still have success, and I still get a nice light red. Maybe I can buy you some bunches at Petsmart as well, if they are algae few if i go there, I will grow them out first though.

What's the lighting on your tank? T5 HO?

 

[Sakura8]

Yeah, I was able to buy a very cheap T5 HO at my LFS. It's a lousy brand and it gets hot to the touch but it's putting out 48w. I think that's really awesome that you have managed to grow some great ludwigia with the lighting you have. Plants that like to turn red are among the hardest to grow.

Haha, we can start a plant exchange on the forum.

 

[Bombalurina]

Ludwigia repens - nicest plant ever! I'm in love with it. It's a bit prone to blackbeard algae, but it grows amazingly in 1.5wpg and keeps a good red colour if you dose with Flourish Iron every week or so. It also grows really nicely above the water surface.

 

[Sakura8]

Iron. I wonder if I should add that. I use Flourish and Flourish Excel but I have been wondering everytime I go to the LFS if I should pick up Flourish Iron too. I think perhaps I should. Thanks for the tip, Bomba.

 

[MaisyDawgThirteen]

My coldwater community has one golden dojo, one peppered dojo, two white clouds (had 6, 4 died), and one lonely male guppy because the females are in a separate tank while I wait for them to give birth. I've been waiting for 3 weeks now and they look like they are going to pop but they still have not dropped fry. I'm afraid to move them back because I heard if you move a pregnant guppy when she is really pregnant, it can shock her into aborting or absorbing the babies.

Yup, fathead minnows. You know your fish. I tried to get a pic of it but it's too fast.

EDIT: Fathead minnow. This is what the little bugger looks like

EDIT: Olympia, yup, there's room. I know I have a tendency to overstock so I even double-checked with aqadvisor to make sure and it said I was at 103% or something like that and that my filtration was "satisfactory." So I figured with all the plants, it was good to go. And the driftwood is called cholla wood or pleco chews. I got mine from
http://shop.plantedaquariumscentral.com/
but I've also seen some on aquabid. It's really neat stuff.

Yay me! :lol:

I googled the golden dojo loach. I want one. xD

 

[kfryman]

Is there soil in the tank? If so I would say you wouldn't need it, unless maybe you need a small boost...

I need to pick up some flourish Excel? I just want the one that puts carbon in the water as that is all I need for most tanks and I also have that API leaf zone. Which reminds me that tomorrow I need to add some to the 5 gallon.