My 36 gallon planted adventure

[Hoobfoob]

I ordered new plants online. They should be arriving this week. Very excited! I'll be rearranging my current plants and maybe the wood too for better composition when the new ones arrive.

I bought 4 new panda corys, which brings their school up to 7. Hopefully now they'll be more comfortable and I'll get to see their cute antics again.

 

[Hoobfoob]

The new scape! I'm loving it. Much better composition, none of the plants are hidden anymore, and there's a clearing to see the fish better.

I REALLY need to upgrade the lighting.

I will add a list of the plants once I remember them, too tired right now.

 

[Hoobfoob]

Java fern
Trident java fern
Anubias
Crypt undulata
Moneywart
Dark red Ludwigia
Cabomba
One fake plant

One more I can't remember the name of

I moved the Marimo moss ball to the crayfish tank (thought they'd enjoy it a little more)

Anyone know if it'd be ok to place my heater horizontal along the bottom just above the substrate? It's pretty tacky looking where it is right now.

 

[Nuvo40]

Looks good.

 

[Hoobfoob]

Looks good.

Thanks! [emoji1303][emoji225]

 

[Hoobfoob]

Some updates!

Still no sign of the crayfish [emoji22] Been over two weeks since I added it and haven't seen it since day one, safe to say it's probably dead.

Everyone else is good though. The corys are schooling more often so they're a little more active than before.

QUESTION: Could I add some more fish? My BF says the ones we have are boring looking (rude! lol) and wants me to add a more colorful fish species. I was thinking lemon tetra but since they're schooling I don't know what the limit would be before the tank would be overstocked. I would also consider a single non-schooling fish (that's not a betta) to be a centerpiece fish.
To recap: 6 bloodfin tetras, 7 panda corys, and 2 nerite snails in this 36 gallon bowfront moderately-planted tank.

As for the plants, the cabomba has been growing so fast that I've had to cut two stalks in half already! Pic is after trimming, no before pic, but one stalk was horizontal along the water surface it was so long.

The Ludwigia melted, died, and disintegrated almost immediately. It happened so fast I forgot it was even in there. It was such a pretty plant, I guess my lighting and CO2 wasn't up to par though.

Having trouble keeping the moneywort from uprooting and floating around. I guess I'll just have to get more gravel to add to that part of the tank.

Thinking about taking out the fake plant since it's really no longer needed. Maybe I'll just move it off to the side, though. The back of the tank is crowded with plants though.

Speaking of crowded, my java ferns germinate like crazy. Is it possible to have too much java fern?! I'm running out of places to tie it to [emoji43]

QUESTION: Whenever I vacuum the gravel there are some spots I can't really get to. How practical is it to move the driftwood and branches in order to clean better? Is it worth disturbing everything?

Thanks in advance! Sorry for inactivity recently too, been crazy busy and also money has been tight. Still love my fish though...I try to take time every day to sit down and watch them. They're so peaceful and calming and entertaining.

 

[DreaminginBlue]

Tank is looking great! Your plants are beautiful

 

[Hoobfoob]

Hi everyone! Little update.

I made a forum about it, but if you didn't see, my corys had babies! There's 3 - two are adolescent, and one is just a bit more than a head and tail, starting to get a Cory shape so it's a tiny, tiny version of the adults.



Here's a pic with the two adolescents. One is right above the whiteish rock toward the left, facing forward. The others are toward the back. It's an adult and a baby right next to each other. You see the size difference. So cute!

My tank still looks good but the plants have seen better days. They're not as vibrant green as they used to be. The whole tank seems to be a shade more yellow, some plants showing more pronounced symptoms than others. I'm thinking a nutrient deficiency. Any advice? Almost all the Java ferns have black dots on otherwise healthy looking leaves, and the crypts have wavy/crinkled edges to their leaves.

I still haven't completely shaken that fuzzy fungus but it's improved a LOT.

That's all for now! [emoji1303] Hope everyone is having a glorious springtime!

 

[Hoobfoob]

Pics of my crypts and Java fern