Matt_95

Getting my live rock tomorrow. Keen as a bean!

Thanks Les I can't scape very well though. I would like a presentation from Wolfgang one day on scaping, he is fantastic, I ask him for advice on my scapes.

Lost another two they are dropping like flies,

This method of growing aquatic plants is much cheaper and less maintenance than a high tech tank. Water changes are needed only every few months even with high density stocking levels. There are a large range this style of tank can grow, I have had luck with almost every plant I have tried, the few that have failed to grow include HC, erios, tonia and a few others. I can grow carpeting plants such as elatine, glosso and Japanese hair grass. For the soil I either use cheap topsoil from the landscapers yard, that I sift to remove the stones and twigs, or soil from my garden that I sift. Once I have sifted it I soak it in a bucket for as long as I can (for my garden soil I don't usually bother) there is advantage soaking it longer than 6 weeks. Once I have done soaking I mix in around 1 cup of crushed shells per 30cm2 to buffer the soil and ensure it does not go acid, most plants will actually prefer a neutral to slightly basic substrate, more nutrients are available at a slightly alkaline ph. I also like to add a small amount of clay for its high CEC if I feel there isn't much clay in the soil. I add 2-3cm of soil to the tank evenly spread, to deep and you will get hydrogen sulphide produced. Once I have added the soil I add a very light dusting of potassium sulphate as as soil based tanks age they often become K deficient as not much is added back to the tank through fish food and there is a limited supply in the soil. For the gravel I like to use zeolite but any gravel smaller than 3mm is fine, you don't want a fine sand though. Zeolite is good as it stores nutrients the plants can use and it will take up any ammonia present during the start up phase. Once I have added the soil I get my deep rooted plants such as lotus, swords any crypts and hold them where I want them. Once I have found where I want them I spoon enough substrate around the roots to hold it in place. I keep a mister near by to ensure nothing dries out. Once all the deep rooted plants have been planted I fill in the rest of the gravel to a depth of around 3cm. I then add a plate or something similar and slowly add water to the plate to ensure the substrate isn't disturbed. Once the tank is full I like to plant the stem plants. In the initial phases it is beneficial to have the stem plants out number the rooted plants, these take less time to establish and take up nutrients faster than the slower growing rooted plants. As the rooted plants take hold the stem plants can slowly be removed and replaced with more rooted plants. When viewed from above you want at least 75% of the substrate to be covered with plants. I usually add the fish the day I set the tank up or the day after, I use zeolite in the tank as a safeguard against ammonia though. I am yet to loose a fish from adding them this early. I make sure I test the water so that there is no ammonia and no nitrates present. The plants are usually sufficient at sucking up any ammonia released from the soil even without the zeolite. The tank should have stabilized around 3-6 months of age and you can hold off on the water changes now. For lighting I like to use T5HO as they are more energy efficient than T8 and brighter. I like to have around 2-3wpg. I have used much higher lighting but a few months in I have algae central. I turn the lights on for 4 hours, then off for four hours to allow more CO2 to build up then back on for another four. For filtration around 5-10x turnover is ideal. A filter will compete for ammonia with the plants so I just like to use power heads and I add in a sponge whenever I pull something up to filter out the particles.

4 more fry dead tonight still plenty left though. Some seem to be blind and not able to find food, they are hanging around the bottom and are quite week. I will dig out a light and add some hornwort to help with nutrient export.

The male endler has the most dominant colours. When you do a cross he will produce the most endler like fish. The endler colours ate very dominant and letting endler hybrids breed freely results in the later generations looking like endlers. Using female endlers results in a more random result as she doesn't have all the colour genes (I believe that is why, don't quote me) these ones are apparently easier to set the strain but don't produce fish as nice as using a male. There are many fancy endlers I have seen with longish tails and I want to avoid this at all costs, I believe using a male endler will avoid this.

I have had these guys a week. I was water changing the guppies from the new shipment at Fishchicks last Saturday (best shipment ever someone!) there were a few females which had dropped fry. someone said I could keep these guys for my work. I mentioned I wanted to start a platinum endler line so I really need a few virgins. The parents of these are absolutely stunning. I don't have pictures sorry. They arn't yellow like many of this strain are. They were born Saturday the 25th of Febuary and are almost 1 week old. I am giving them daily 50% water changes and feeding powdered tetramin crisps. I believe some of the fry are blind due to being albino, they struggle to find food and the last few days I have lost around 25%. I probably have 15 or so left. More than enough for a few virgins to breed with some endlers and to maintain a strain of these. The plan for the endlers is to breed a male endler with several virgin guppies (to ensure they have endler hybrid fry). So far I haven't found anything stating how the platinum gene works. I am hoping it's a recessive gene and not multifactoral. I will cross the most endler like male with the most endler like females to breed my F1. Of these I will select the best platinum looking endler male with the plainest female, also selecting for e doer characteristics. I will maintain one albino line and one normal line. If platinum is recessive I should get 63.5% endler coloured, 12.5% endler coloured albinos, 12.5% platinum and 12.5% albino platinum. Anyone have any thoughts?

I am now at $55! Thanks everyone I thought I had better check what the rules were for short hair at school, turns out if it is to short I get suspended until t regrows! Stupid school rules! So I sent the principle an email and I can't go shorter than a 3. After I sent him the email he quickly sent an email to every student saying they can't be completely shaved! What a killjoy! Anyways, I am having a friend shave it all of for me on Thursday the 13th!

Looks good Yanny Poo I really like LF corries do you mean Rotala macramanda "green"? I have never heard of maculata, if it is spelt maculata can you please point it out for me?

No betta clubs in his area Ness, he lives in the middle of nowhere! It's like just a bunch of trees... Then a random house.

No pictures of the manicatus bubs?

That's horrid! I am telling your mother!

OMG?? You keep scorpions? Gross! Have you been bitten? O.o Thought you needed the standard answer I get :P

*elongatus

Cheers Jim! Hope its after I have saved up some Money, I spent over $600 on inverts and fish thiS past month! Thansk Yan! Will send my lfs an email, they sell the pisces crickets.

We're did you find that? I looked around for them! Stunning! Hope she gives birth for you!

I believe you mean endoplasmic reticulum! We made cells out of jelly and lollies, then i started to be an elephant :-{)

I hope I do! I could raise a few hundred if school got involved. An old photo my girlfriend took in biology. My hair is a mess

Thanks guys! Really looking forward to it! Thanks Ness! I am now 46% of the way there. I was hoping to get school involved but it's not aloud lol so it's a secret shhhhh what are they going to do? Suspend me until it regrows? I have before pictures already but I look like a try hard Good luck Harry! I expect before and afer pictures!

I found a guy selling live rock for $4 per kilo, will have to ask if Dad will take me I'm going to fill it up with water this week. The chiller is keeping my shrimp tank at 26.5 degrees or below, works quite well :)

Hey guys, I have just signed up to do the worlds greatest shave, my aim is $75, if you have some spare money it would be great if you could sponsor me to show your support You can donate here if you want to http://my.leukaemiafoundation.org.au/personalPage.aspx?registrationID=433998 Really pumped for this, a boy at my school has cancer and my Grandfather just passed away from advanced cancer, I wish we already had a cure for cancer..... This one is to support leukemia.

Glad you came over Thomas! Put a picture of Boo up!

The tank is a bit dirty sorry, haven't cleaned it yet and as I said, its an ex display. Look at those sexy edges! This is my light, its super bright and great value! $40 for this one! LED set ups usually cost hundreds! You can get 10w for $20 as well for nano planted tanks if anyone is looking at cheap lighting. The chiller, bassically, a pump pumps water through the blue thing with the pipe sticking out, its a water block, this is connected to the peltier, it is touching the cooling side, there is a heat sink on the heating side and a fan to ensure it is cooled off. Does that make sense?

Yes, you can catch pretty much anything outside marine parks. No it isn't, it will just be a light and an empty tank lol, still have to buy the LR. Oh and I will grab a picturenofmthe chiller.

I have wanted to do one of these, I had a nano FOWLR with a pair of clowns I caught. Finally got everything I need. I got my chiller that Jeff made for me and an ex display tank from someone. Any advice? Tank: An ex-display tank from someone, around 20 liters, seem less. Need to measure it exactly. Equipment: 20watt LED, 6500K will need to get a new bulb so it looks less yellow. Pelltier chiller Jeff made for me, suitable for nano tanks so should be good. Cheap as well. Still need to decide on a pump, around 250 lph any ideas I may mod a HOB as a fuge and so I can add macropore. Livestock: A yellow clown goby or some guppies if I can adapt them, I know it is possible but not sure how long it takes, mollies take 2-3 hours. Sexy shrimp Zoos Sun coral Elegance morphs Fungia Blasto Favia A few others in mind but not sure yet, can't afford much. Pictures of what I have later. Will be using NSW with 50% weekly waterchanges and I will use rainwater for daily top ups, no dosing.