journal DemonCat and his Tank

[DemonCat]

A journal of my tank that's been through many stages of life thus far!

Equipment, Plants etc as of September, 2016
Tank: 3 foot. 36 x 14 x 18 inch, 90 x 35 x 45 cm (length x width x height). Roughly 150 litres, 40 gallon. 
Filter: Eheim 2215 Canister
Light: 3ft makemyled LED tube/panel combo-thing.
Substrate: 16l of Kaito
Plants: Needle Leaf and normal Java Ferns, Java Moss, Bolbitis heudelotii, Hemianthus Micranthemoides, Vals, Chain Sword, Amazon Sword
Stock: 60+ Red Cherry Shrimp, 8 White Clouds, 17 Neons
CO2: No injection. Aim to keep low tech.

Day 1 - 5th Aug, 2015

Jan, 2016:

March, 2016:

May, 2016:

September, 2016:

January 2017

Edited January 18, 2017 by DemonCat

[jayc]

Noice. White clouds are so cool.

Any full tank shots?

[DemonCat]

@jayc - I will post some full tank shots hopefully tonight. Didnt get the chance last night. 

 

I quite like White Clouds. I know they are pretty common, but I love their dance and their striking colour when they feel at home in a large tank in a large group.  Plus I love large groups of small fish in large tanks... free range!

[jayc]

48 minutes ago, DemonCat said:

 Plus I love large groups of small fish in large tanks

Too true.

I guess that is why Tetras are so popular.

[Disciple]

I like the setup and the shrimp look nice and red too

[DemonCat]

1 hour ago, Disciple said:

I like the setup and the shrimp look nice and red too

Thanks Disciple! Unfortunately I lost my top grade (fire reds) recently and only have one remaining.. the rest are between sakura and low grade. 

 

All my shrimplettes appear to be of decent colouring/covering too.... as its my first batch I am unsure if this changes over time but we shall see!

[Unagi42]

Excellent coliur in the little guys so they should be nicely coloured adults.

[DemonCat]

Full tank shot... Taken and uploaded from my phone.

Full tank shot... Taken and uploaded from my phone.

And a few more close ups of each side

 

Edited December 17, 2015 by DemonCat

[DemonCat]

A family meeting:

 

[DemonCat]

I am thinking if getting an airstone for the back left corner although I am unsure if this is a good or bad thing for a tank which has no co2 injection and is planted.

 

Thoughts?

[jayc]

13 minutes ago, DemonCat said:

I am thinking if getting an airstone for the back left corner although I am unsure if this is a good or bad thing for a tank which has no co2 injection and is planted.

Why would it be a bad thing?

An airstone would cause CO2 to dissipate faster, but since you don't use CO2, it's not a problem. It will help with aeration and eliminate water dead spots in the tank.

[DemonCat]

Thanks jayc. I know in some instances too much surface agitation is a bad thing so just wanted to check - couldnt remember whether it was with or without co2. Might pop down the street and get one now :)

[DemonCat]

Only chucked it in the tank 5 minutes ago and the shrimp are playing near the bubbles!!

[DemonCat]

I was away for 2 days and just got home... I left my lights on the whole time!! Eep. Anything I need to do or look out for?

[FMuscle]

yup. Get a timer. lol

[DemonCat]

Ha-ha @FMuscle !!  The problem is I have a timer.... Somehow switched it off though! Some leaves purpled up which is nice lol.

So I don't need to stress?

[Matuva]

Should be OK.

Check if you have some green hair algae spotting somewhere. Other than that it should be fine

[DemonCat]

Lucky me. I must say the purple leaves on the sunset hygro look lovely!!! 

[DemonCat]

Hi all, just wondering peoples experiences with guppies and shrimp? 

Do they pick off shrimplettes, or try to take on bigger ones? 

 

Been offered some and wondering whether a) they will be fine with my white clouds and RCD, b) whether my 3 ft tank is big enough for the 10 white clouds, 50 shrimp and 5-7 guppies, and c) I guess I will need a heater!

[neo-2FX]

I have three endlers in my tank with Cherries. I don't see them touching the larger ones but they would definitely eat shrimplets given the chance. Just depends whether you care if shrimplets go missing. 

I prefer rasbora maculata. While probably not 100% shrimp safe, they're tiny and less than likely to touch your shrimp. They look better in my opinion anyway.

[DemonCat]

If I were to do that, I would also be interested in Boraras brigittae – Mosquito Rasbora.

 

My dream is to have an 8 ft x 1.5 x 1.5 built into a wall with 3/4 types of nano fish plus shrimp. 

 

Maybe I should wait till then.... not that it will ever happen!

[neo-2FX]

I may be mistaken but aren't those chilli rasboras? They're bigger than the maculatas?

[DemonCat]

Yep, also known as chilli rasboras. 

 

I thought that chili/mosquito rasbora were much smaller than dwarf rasbora, but I may be wrong...

[neo-2FX]

I thought it was the other way around. "Dwarf" (Maculata) are the smallest. Hopefully someone else can chime in here.

[DemonCat]

1 hour ago, neo-2FX said:

I thought it was the other way around. "Dwarf" (Maculata) are the smallest. Hopefully someone else can chime in here.

Had a look online at various sources and they seem to be about the same, however Mosquito Rasbora are ever so slightly smaller (apparently)

Mosquito/Chili Rasbora gets to 15 - 20mm in length. 

Dwarf gets to about 20mm in length.

 

Hopefully someone here has had both and can advise!!