Update!
See, while everyone is busy, hustling and bustling, no one's noticed that for the past month...bruins has been wanting to change his stock plan
So absolutangel, will you take PayPal or Check for the 1$ I owe you for changing my stock list again?
Needless to say, I was no very happy with these bentosi and black neon tetras. DO NOT school, not to mention these bentosis started to be bullies. They would not only harass each other but the black neons and my GBR and cories as well. And at that point I started to notice some deformites in my black neon tetras. That was it.
So, traded them in, got store credit, got seven nice threadfin rainbows. Except when I got home...they were dead...
So, I want back the next day, wondering why they were dead. Could have been cold weather, bad stock (which the LFS denies, saying they had these for two months), too much movement, lack of O2, who knows? Either way, I think they got tired of trading fish with me. It was closing time, and they said this would be the last trade for fish I'd ever get, so, I said, "Why not just seven harlequin rasboras?" I guess they just wanted it to be done with because they were gonna close up, because instead of seven, the lady gave me 14 harlequin rasboras. WHAT!?!?!?!
So, after an hour of errands, I drip acclimated those harlequin rasboras. Two have died so far. One during acclimation, and one being picked on due to its deformed spine, it died (and found in the mouth of my GBR the next morning).
Next problem...these ARE NOT harlequin rasboras. Quite a few of them are harlequin rasboras, but the rest ARE NOT. The lady just hurried catching the fish, I suspect she didn't know there were two rasbora species in there. My guess is that these are espei rasboras. Will they survive with my angel? Panther is already big, he now has a new hobby: herd the rasboras. And since I can't trade these fish in, I AM STUCK.
Also, some more updates!
Wanted to start with the planted/aquascape side of my tank. When my ludwiga and rotala were not growing red, I asked around, and said that some liquid iron supplement, like Flourish Iron, was the best. Although I don't have a CO2 system yet, I am planning to save up for one. So far, the plants are growing a lot faster and showing some more red with the Flourish Iron.
If you are reading this, @aquachem, what would you do to help me with my Co2 situation? I don't think DIY CO2 is not an option because of the tank size, and I can't really spend another 200+ bucks on a CO2 system. What do you suggest?
I have been filling out my rotala "forest" on the left as well. Got a few more of the plants so that way the whole half left corner of the tank is covered in rotala. It's really nice IMO, and good for some cories to chillax under
ALSO
Got some nice driftwood. I felt that the center of the tank needed a focal point, so I decided to buy some driftwood. It looks kinda nice IMO, it goes to the top so that it's almost at the surface of the water, looks cool!
Also have been threading java moss on there as well. So far, it looks like crap, but I hope it will eventually grow and blossom! Also, I added some java ferns and anubias on there as well. Hope they root! There's also a little opening under the driftwood, sort of like a cave. Here, it is only big enough for the cories to enter. It's like their private room for themselves!
That's it for now. Pics will come up soon!