Fishenthusiast's 30 Gallon Planted Tank

[fishenthusiast]

Pics:

I love the new reddish pattern that is developing on the Blyxa





A close up of the Kuhlis...well, some of them.

 

[RadMax8]

Your blyxa looks so cool! That's what mine looked like when I got it, but it has since turned solid green.

Is this a 30b?


Definitely not wasting time. Nope.

 

[fish wrangler]

Pics:

I love the new reddish pattern that is developing on the Blyxa





A close up of the Kuhlis...well, some of them.

Teasing me with those kuhlies! I want 5 so bad but my QT tank is being used by some fry now so won't be getting any more fish for a while.
Plants look really good!

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[fishenthusiast]

Your blyxa looks so cool! That's what mine looked like when I got it, but it has since turned solid green.

Is this a 30b?

Mine started to develop this just these past couple of days. 2 variables have changed in my tank: flow and lighting (better T5 HO bulbs I guess). What does the b stand for after the 30? I know many of the abbreviations on here, but not that one haha.

Definitely not wasting time. Nope.

Teasing me with those kuhlies! I want 5 so bad but my QT tank is being used by some fry now so won't be getting any more fish for a while.
Plants look really good!

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Thanks! Kuhlis truly are excellent fish. They will be well worth the wait.

 

[RadMax8]

30b is a 30 gal "breeder" tank. It's 30" x 18" x 12", So it's a relatively short tank with a large footprint.


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[fishenthusiast]

30b is a 30 gal "breeder" tank. It's 30" x 18" x 12", So it's a relatively short tank with a large footprint.


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Ah okay. This tank is actually a 30 gallon long. 36 in. x 12 in. x 16 in.

 

[fishenthusiast]

Hey guys, I'm thinking about getting a group of Otocinclus catfish. I know that they can starve easily and are wild caught. What diet would be the best to provide for them if I'd happen to get them?

 

[Fresh2o]

Hey guys, I'm thinking about getting a group of Otocinclus catfish. I know that they can starve easily and are wild caught. What diet would be the best to provide for them if I'd happen to get them?

Biofilm and algae. Mine enjoy various algae wafers and other foods that make it to the substrate. Zucchini is fine.


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[RadMax8]

Biofilm and algae. Mine enjoy various algae wafers and other foods that make it to the substrate. Zucchini is fine.

+1. Mine were almost exclusively on a diet of biofilm for a very long time and they all had fat little tummies. They quit eating offered foods and just graze on what's in the tank. The trick is to make sure they are "fresh", that is they haven't been in the store too long. What happens is that without food, the bacteria in their gut dies, so when you get them home and they try to eat, they can't digest it and they die.


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[fishenthusiast]

Thanks for all the info on the Otos guys. I think they would be a better option as an algae eater than Amanos since they would probably live longer.

 

[Brookster123]

Thanks for all the info on the Otos guys. I think they would be a better option as an algae eater than Amanos since they would probably live longer.

Get them all.. otos hit up the greens, amanos attack the dreaded bba..

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[fishenthusiast]

Get them all.. otos hit up the greens, amanos attack the dreaded bba..

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Do you know how long Amanos usually live? A duo of Amanos and Otos would be great for my tank.

 

[Brookster123]

Do you know how long Amanos usually live? A duo of Amanos and Otos would be great for my tank.

It all depends, pretty sure Fresh2o has had one for like 4 years?? I have some over a year old..

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[fishenthusiast]

It all depends, pretty sure Fresh2o has had one for like 4 years?? I have some over a year old..

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That's good to hear. The only invertebrate that I've had in my tank besides snails was a Mexican Dwarf Orange Crayfish, and it only lived for a couple months. I hear that Amano Shimp are more hardy though.

 

[Fresh2o]

Change of topic...what ever happened to the pieces of DW you picked up from OBX? I think that was last year or the year before that. I never ended up using mine in an aquarium. The pieces I picked up looked good but floated like cork. I threw it into a small pond outside and it took many months to sink. I pulled it out, boiled and dried it hoping to use it in the tank. However, it was somewhat soft and had a powdery residue (think of a giant pencil lead). It's probably better off in a terrarium or on a shelf. Just curious how yours turned out.


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[fishenthusiast]

Change of topic...what ever happened to the pieces of DW you picked up from OBX? I think that was last year or the year before that. I never ended up using mine in an aquarium. The pieces I picked up looked good but floated like cork. I threw it into a small pond outside and it took many months to sink. I pulled it out, boiled and dried it hoping to use it in the tank. However, it was somewhat soft and had a powdery residue (think of a giant pencil lead). It's probably better off in a terrarium or on a shelf. Just curious how yours turned out.


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I ended up never using the pieces I got. I thought one piece was too big, and I didn't feel like messing with the other one. Pieces were coming off of it when being soaked, etc.

 

[fishenthusiast]

The Crinum, Crypt Undulata, and Cyperus helferi are all going to be removed. I need some fast growing nutrient-sucking plants!

I'll need a bushy plant to be in place of where the Cyperus currently is. Hygro. difformis and Corkscrew Val come to mind.

In place of those crypts, I'd need a good plant that contrasts well with Java Fern. Pogo erectus (moved from its current spot), Limnophilia aromatica, and Echinodorus "Vesuvius" come to mind.

Other plants that I think would look nice in my tank are Red Tiger Lotus and Bacopa caroliniana.

 

[fish wrangler]

The bacopa would look good I think, nice small leafed stem plant

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[fishenthusiast]

Fishenthusiast's 30 Gallon High-Tech Tank

The bacopa would look good I think, nice small leafed stem plant

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Great! I'm leaning towards moving the Pogo next to the DW w/ Java Fern. That would allow me to put the Bacopa next to either Hygro. difformis, Corkscrew Val, or Echinodorus "Vesuvius". The Bacopa would also be right next to the AR.

 

[fishenthusiast]

Fishenthusiast's 30 Gallon High-Tech Tank

I moved my Hydor 240 at an angle so that the water hits the back of the glass, which would cause for a similar flow to what the spray bar puts out from my Eheim 2213. There are no longer any dead spots in the tank, it seems, from what I can see from the flow at the top of the tank. I removed the Cyperus (didn't look too bad; its just an algae magnet), and I think the Crinum will be the next to go. I'll be putting some Val in place of the Cyperus, and Water Wisteria will be replacing "Crypt Corner." The foreground looks like trash right now, but I expected that to happen since they are TC plants.