55g Dirt Planted

[Marconis]

Thank you. Went ahead and got 3 more Pristella's and a Rainbow Shark. I read a lot of mixed things, and it seems like it's hit or miss with the Rainbow/Tetras, so I took a shot! It's such a beautiful fish, but he was shy tonight. Hopefully I see more of him tomorrow.

 

[richpowell1989]

I had a rainbow shark I agree they are beautiful fish but just be careful they can be very aggressive I had to move mine before it killed everything and mine was in a 125 gallon. I went with rainbow fish in the end

 

[Marconis]

I could be imagining things, but I think my shark did some heavy algae cleaning throughout the night when the lights were out. Just looking into my tank I see a lot has been cleaned...I knew they nipped at algae but not like this.

 

[richpowell1989]

Never complain if it has got rid of your algae I used to be able spot mine gently graze on it but never anything much or for long so can't comment on that. But like I said if its eating algae that's never a problem haha

 

[Marconis]

Not complaining.

 

[richpowell1989]

Not complaining.

They are stunning fish though. They have such character to them

 

[Marconis]

Some photos I just took:

Never seen my Rotala grow like this:

 

[richpowell1989]

Some photos I just took:

Never seen my Rotala grow like this:

The only time my rotala or any stem plant grew like that was when they were planted to close together

 

[adadkins1]

Wow, that is some ridiculous growth!

 

[meegosh]

You have any current in the spot by the rotala? Sometimes the flow will push the stems down and they get stuck on the substrate. Either that or they are trying to grow out to get more light. Could be an indicator that they are getting shaded by something else.

Looks great though, some impressive growth to say the least!

 

[Marconis]

Nope, no current, the filter is on the other side. The only thing that is potentially shading it is the Rotala itself or the Water Sprite around it; also could be the Hornwort on that side, but I just removed it today.

Thanks for the words, this tank is growing like mad.

 

[Marconis]

Sorry if I am boring you guys, but I like taking photos of my tank. As you can see here, I removed hornwort from the right side, but left it on the left side. You can also see that there is no longer any algae on the hornwort either, which is good. Overall, algae has subsided immensely. I tried taking the rock off of the driftwood, but it still floats a bit...however, it is able to stay down with a lighter rock. Maybe another month of that and I should be good to go. I also pulled up that Rotala to try and get it to grow upwards, but I have a feeling the roots that I took out will just find their way back down to the substrate. This photo was taken after a PWC tonight:

 

[bruinsbro1997]

WOW your tank looks really nice! I'm not bored at all, those look amazing and awesome plant growth! Congrats and keep up the good work

 

[adadkins1]

GOOD LORD!!!

That is ridiculous growth. That is making me want to go to dirt and low light on some of my other tanks. That is a stunning tank.

 

[Marconis]

Thank you

 

[meegosh]

Very nice growth, like usual! Any plans for some more demanding plant sp? I'm curious to see how dirt would do with some of the more picky species. Also curious to see how it would do in a high tech setup... Maybe some day I'll set the 30g up again and try it out.

 

[Coleallensmom]

B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L. Great job

 

[Marconis]

Thanks for the words everyone! Meegosh, I was actually going to attempt to try that in about a week or so. I am looking to put some more red in this tank, perhaps to place in front of the DW on the left. Any ideas? I'm trying to let the dwarf sag run to in front of it (it's making its way over), but I wouldn't mind another nice plant over there as well to compliment the C. undulata.

Also, all hornwort has been removed, and it seems like this tank will stay algae free if nothing goes wrong. Hoping this will allow my C. undulata to grow better since it has maximal light.

EDIT: Forgot to mention that I completed my stock with 10 Pristella Tetras and 1 Rainbow Shark. He has really let me down; I know they are generally nocturnal, but he spends all friggin' day hiding in the wood on the right side. I want to see him more, as they are truly beautiful fish...maybe when he's bigger.

 

[Marconis]

Hey, I don't have any pictures, but my water sprite is yellowing in a lot of places all of a sudden. I was away for four days and I also had to pluck four yellow leaves from the bottom of my Amazon sword. Any idea of why this may happen so suddenly? It's worrying me.

Thanks

 

[Marconis]

Got some pics, this was the best I can do: