15g Planted: Complete rescape, see page 3

[Anonymous]

'Fraid you all will have to wait for photos til this evening. Went to take some last night and the charge on my batteries died after the first pic.

The lobelia are gorgeous. Very good sized plants, 2"-3" tall and 2"-3" in diameter as well. Turns out these were grown emersed, though, which is obvious from the red/purple coloration of their leaves. Those will all shed and be replaced by immersed leaves of a more minty green color.

Anyway, pics will be up tonight so you all can see for yourselves.

 

[Anonymous]

Photo with the lobelia added.

 

[Anonymous]

That looks great 8) ...

Not too fond of the floating plants though

 

[Anonymous]

That looks great 8) ...

It's a start, at least
Things will look pretty different in 3-4 weeks, between the lobelia shedding leaves and changing coloration and with the ground cover spreading out. The HC's already grown quite a bit (compare the photo posted at the beginning of this thread to this one), but the plan is still to thin it out as the UG grows in to replace it.

 

[gpodio]

Looking great, I like how you're using the lobelia.

 

[Anonymous]

Holy crap cj, that tank is looking fantastic...great job!!

I can't wait to start doing the plant thing. 8)

 

[Anonymous]

Looking great, I like how you're using the lobelia.

Thanks. Believe it or not that's only 14 rhizomes of lobelia in there. Each has a ton of side shoots, though. I was surprised by how substantial they turned out to be.

I'm waiting to see how they end up looking once they switch over to immersed grown leaves. As much as I like them and am pleased with how they look, they really do seem to be blowing the sense of scale I was trying for. If that turns out to be the case I'll have to rethink trying to capture the feel of Knott's tank... maybe swap out the river rocks for something else and make a few other tweaks.

 

[Anonymous]

Holy crap cj, that tank is looking fantastic...great job!!
I can't wait to start doing the plant thing. 8)

Thanks Jim. Now get on the stick and set one of these up yourself

Quick question for everyone. You've seen, back on page one, what the initial planting of downoi looked like. You've seen what the initial planting of lobelia looks like. Any opinions between the two?

 

[gpodio]

Perhaps the downoi looked better but it's too early to say. Once the lobelia turns bright green it will have a different effect I think. Plus submerged growth is usually a little smaller... You could plant one corner with lobelia and the other with downoi then decide which one you like better once they both have grown in...

 

[Anonymous]

Just a short update. I'll try to get some new pics up by the end of the week.

The lobelia is settling in nicely, and is almost completely transitioned over to submersed grown leaves now. Actually was a little surprising how quickly it adapted.

The UG is really taking off, so I've broken up the plugs of it and spread it around a bit further. Before too much longer I'm going to have to start removing some of the HC to give it additional growing room.

The nuisance algaes I mentioned sometime back are well on their way out. Feels like the tank is finally beginning to come together again. The lobelia is ending up giving me a very different look than I was trying for, but it's really quite nice so I'm not inclined at all to change it. It does dwarf the river stones by enough of a factor though that they're rendered pretty irrelevent and I may end up removing them at some point. Not sure if I'd even replace them, or what I'd replace them with if I did.

Also, picked up a couple of sparkling gouramies.....

Charming fish, and smaller then a thumbnail. They haven't started talking yet (they're croakers), but hopefully soon

 

[Anonymous]

Still haven't gotten around to taking new pics. Things have been busy, Meredith just wrapped up her master's degree from NYU and we've had graduation and out-of-town guests this past week.

But be sure to check out this month's Featured Aquarium in Advanced Aquarist... http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2008/5/aquarium

 

[Anonymous]

awesome!

 

[Anonymous]

Kudos. 8)

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks. Good of you to make an appearance, I was wondering where you'd gotten off to

 

[Anonymous]

Any updates Charles?

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks. Good of you to make an appearance, I was wondering where you'd gotten off to

Thanks. I'm in a rather silent stalker mode at the moment, partly because I'm a bit conscious of my continuing fishless state.

Never fear though. I continue to watch what you do. 8O

 

[Anonymous]

Any updates Charles?

Well... yes and no. No, in that I still haven't gotten around to taking any new pics yet. Maybe this evening when I get home, overtime depending.

Yes, in that there are a few points worth mentioning.

The phyllanthus (the floaters) are multiplying out of control. I find myself removing around 50% of them at least once or twice a week, only to have them completely cover the surface of the tank again within just a few days. If anyone wants some, just let me know - $6 for USPS shipping will get you more than you know what to do with

The lobelia is almost completely transitioned over to submersed leaves now, I'd say about 95%. I lost one plant in the process, but the others are all doing well.

But now on to the bad news....
The utricularia isn't doing so hot, despite how it looked initially. Most of the patches have slowly dwindled away, blade by blade, and while there are still five or six patches left only one seems to be doing well. That one seems to be doing very well indeed, but it's a complete mystery to me why this one patch is thriving while all the others are fading away. The thriving patch is at least four or five times as large as it was when I received it, so I have some hope that it will continue to grow and spread even if the others fade out entirely. I can't say for sure, though, so it's kind of a waiting game.

In addition, since the tank has ended up as lobelia and HC at the moment (at least until such time as the UG can really take over, if it ever does) it's pretty much turned out completely different than how I'd planned. I still think it looks pretty, but it's not at all what I'd had in mind and I'm not sure how I feel about that. The real question I have right now is whether the UG will end up doing alright and carpetting the tank. Depending on how that turns out, I may end up doing a serious re-think.

 

[Anonymous]

That's a bummer . You have inspired me to try my luck with an aquascaped planted tank again, I was looking at ordering some UG from Aquaspot World , which is the only place that seems to be carrying the stuff :? and after reading about your experience I'm kinda reluctant now. I dunno how the shipping will wiork out being in PR and all, I guess there's only one way to find out :roll: .

BTW what kind of Noto is that in the tank? What are you feeding I have a N. Patrizii pair and the male has stopped eating for some reason. Any pointers as far as feeding go?

 

[Anonymous]

it's a complete mystery to me why this one patch is thriving while all the others are fading away.

quite possibly caused by the floaters sucking up available nutrients faster than the majority of utricularia can

 

[Anonymous]

That's a bummer . You have inspired me to try my luck with an aquascaped planted tank again, I was looking at ordering some UG from Aquaspot World , which is the only place that seems to be carrying the stuff :?

Just about, unless you're able to get plants from Tropica (Europe) into PR without needing a phyto certificate.

and after reading about your experience I'm kinda reluctant now. I dunno how the shipping will wiork out being in PR and all, I guess there's only one way to find out :roll: .

My own experiences with AquaSpot's shipping were pretty negative. I would suggest, if you're really determined to order from them, trying to find someone in Seattle where their domestic reshipper is, to have the order sent to. Then have them overnight it the rest of the way to you. Otherwise you'll be looking at USPS delivery from Seattle to PR, after having already taken several days to get into this country in the first place.

BTW what kind of Noto is that in the tank? What are you feeding I have a N. Patrizii pair and the male has stopped eating for some reason. Any pointers as far as feeding go?

It was sold to me as nothobranchius guentheri 'Zanzibar', but may well be an aquarium "mutt" strain of the species. As far as feeding, I've found most killies will take freeze dried blood worms without much problem, and of course they take live foods readily. When it comes to other prepared foods, though, it's very hit and miss - try a variety of options and see if any work.

Although if he's stopped eating, it may be old age. I've known killies near the end of their lifespans to just go off their feed, occasionally.