Diary of the 75G planted tank.... New pics 6/26/06

[Guest]

Yeah the 10 gal I had would get like that in about a week or so of letting it grow unatended. The anacharis would try to take over the tank. Hey the picture with all the duckweed reminds me of a florida back water minus the gators. Looks cool.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Did 50% PWC today, as well as heavy pruning. Now I see what you mean by roots coming from the leaves on the water sprite. After a closer look, and chopping some out, there's lots of roots. And everything is looking great....

Made a small change as well. I pulled out all the anacharis, and the female GBR was PO'd. LOL. But then when she saw me put in a piece of granite where she has been spawning, and then replanted anacharis fairly heavily around it, she was loving it, lol. She's still checking it out, lol. Now hopefully she will spawn on the granite next time, making it easy for me to retrieve the eggs. Will get you some new pics here shortly....

I also dosed the tank after the PWC, so now I'm ready for another week, doing my other daily doses. All is looking real good as well. I clipped all my vals, trimmed the water sprite, got rid of a bunch of the duckweed, clipped off a couple more sword leaves, and more. But my swords are still too thick, lol. But they are healthy and thriving, so I'm not too worried, lol.

Edit:

Here's some new pics....

 

[Lonewolfblue]

New Update....

I have a new species in the tank. The new addition is 6 Otos.

 

[FreshwaterJeff]

Nice addition - I love otos

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Here's some pics.....

 

[maxwell1295]

My otos are definitely some of the most entertaining fish I've got. Mine are crazy....always swimming around the tank at the speed light. They might be my favorite fish. Not very colorful, but they are funny to watch.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

New update:

The sword that sent out the shoot, well, the one node that was under water is now sending out roots. So I submerged the whole stem to see if I can get the rest to do the same. If I can, then I'll have several baby swords, and will put a couple in my 29G. Also, I have 2 more new shoots going out of the water, lol. Will need to prune to see if it's the same ruffled sword, or one of the others.

 

[dskidmore]

Here's some pics.....

What cuites! I love my otos, but they like to spend alot of time in hiding, I can usually only find a couple at a time. Just when I start to worry, a social group will go hang out on a log where I can see.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Update:

Not much new happening. The female still looks like she could drop some more eggs any day now. She's getting nice and plump. Can't wait til I get my order in, so I can go down and get the other 10G tank.

 

[Glenc]

Your tank is looking really good, lots of action in there, that sword is going to grow out your front door soon!

 

[Lonewolfblue]

I submerged the shoot, and now all nodes are growing roots. Trying to figure out where I want to place all the swords, lol. I have 2 other shoots as well.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

I'm just going to have to do some pruning this weekend, lol. The water sprite has taken off again, and have a ton on the surface. Also, the swords are getting so thick, lol. Need to do some thinning badly. Hope to get my root tabs here shortly. Would like to cut off the runner and plant a couple of the swords in my 29G and maybe my 26G as well.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Here's some new pics of my 75G.....

Female GBR....

Mr. Oto...

Male BN Pleco...

75G View...

Left Side...

Right Side...

Mid-Tank...

Felix with Male BN...

Another Oto...

My clover patch...

I took some clover out where it looks like some were pulled, and I put them in my 29G. Will see if I can get some ground cover going in there.

 

[czcz]

Thick forest!

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Yes, very thick... lol

Well, I have not seen my female now in 2 days. Wonder where she is. Usually she's the first to greet me. I see 2 males on the far right side of the tank, and one more male hidden way back in the thick vals. Wonder if she made a new spawning ground, and has layed eggs somewhere. I really don't want to disturb her for a day or 2, and see if maybe they will raise some on their own this time. If she's with the eggs, then it's out of my view, behind the big piece of driftwood in the back of the tank, lol. I hope she's just back there and is alright. Don't want to lose her.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Boy, I sure don't like the looks of things. My little girl came out and ate today, but has a gash right behind her right eye. And one of the other males, not the one she spawns with, but one of the others, is really aggressive towards her. Her tummy is getting big, and looks like she could lay eggs at any moment, but she keeps getting bothered by that male. I hope she makes it ok, as the last GBR I had that had a gash taken out of him didn't last more than a couple days. And didn't matter what I did, they just don't last. So I'm hoping she's got more strength than he did. And I think it's the little boy that's picking on her, as he's grown to just about full-size now, as big as the others..

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Well, I did it. lol. I ordered more GBR's, 7 females and 3 males, off aquabid. I need more, more, more, lol. I'm not sure if my female is going to make it after her injury. Has a small chunk taken out right behind her right eye. I hope she survives. So maybe with the added females, there will be less stress, as she's the only female right now. I got the GBR's for 10 for $32.00. He said he could send all females if I wanted as well. But thought I'd get a couple more males.

 

[dskidmore]

Good deal!

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Update:

Well, my female isn't doing very well at all. The wound is getting real bad, and she hasn't touched any food in 3 days. I've dosed the tank with Pimafix and Melafix, but I don't think it will help, as it didn't with the male I had when he had a chunk taken out. I'm just wondering who did it, one of the males or the red tail shark? hmmm... The red tail has been pretty aggressive lately. He's pretty plump, as he's had a lot of good food to eat. He's always grazing on the algae on the plants, etc. And occasionally gets some of the food. But I feel real bad for her, she's been a very good girl. It just goes to show that if a GBR get's sick or injured, there's almost no recovery. Seems like they just have no desire to continue. But will keep a close eye on her. The male is still very protective of her. I tried to remove her, and he quickly came to her rescue, and she darted with him into the thick jungle vals. If she goes, I feel he's probably going to be sad for a few days. But there will be more, as tomorrow, my 10GBR's are being shipped, 7 of which are females. Should have them all by 10:30 Thursday morning.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Update:

My female passed away today. Came home from work and she was floating. It must have been just recent, as she hadn't started getting all yukky looking yet. I was really hoping she's have the strength to pull through, but she didn't. And it was just a small nick too. Then it just got bigger and bigger, just rotting away. I didn't have any other meds other than the Pimafix and Melafix, which I was dosing. But just wasn't enough. She was my baby too. Probably the coolest fish I ever had. She always enjoyed watching me prune the plants, do maintenance, and just wanted to be a friend. None of the other GBR's are like that, not even the baby boy. But anyways, been a hard day. But tomorrow I get my shipment of new fish. Got the confirmation. So hopefully I'll get one just like her. She was the best.....