Journal 20 gallon Rotala florida tank

[Dennis Wong]

Fish close-ups:

Imperial lapis tetras
Yellow kerri tetras

Feeding well in the aquarium, but was told that these may not have the best genetics so I may rotate them out over time

 

[Dennis Wong]

Realized I've never posted a comparison of Rotala macrandra mini type 4 green and red.

 

[TRyan]

Hey Dennis, did you replace the offending tetras that were snacking on your rotala Florida leaves? I'm curious if you have any tricks to catch the fish without removing all of the stems from the tank.

I received some tissue culture rotala Florida stems a short while ago and am experiencing the same issues with my tetras biting chunks out of the leaves. I've watched both lemon tetras and blueberry tetras taking bites from the leaves. Frustrating to say the least.

 

[ElleDee]

Imperial lapis tetra is Hyphessobrycon melanostichos, right? I've never seen them in person and they look so inconsistent in pictures. Sometimes basically a silver fish with a black stripe, and sometimes quite prismatic.

 

[Dennis Wong]

Imperial lapis tetra is Hyphessobrycon melanostichos, right? I've never seen them in person and they look so inconsistent in pictures. Sometimes basically a silver fish with a black stripe, and sometimes quite prismatic.

I'm not sure if these are Hyphessobrycon cyanotaenia or melanostichos actually. (as usual local trading names isn't always accurate)
They take time to gain their full coloration. Genetics also play a role as I've see paler/richer colored fish within the same tank. Silver fish with black stripe tends to be newly added fish that is not yet acclimatized I would think. For many Hyphessobrycon species, good coloration can take a few months to set in. Planted aquarium lights also enhances their coloration compared to say aquariums using less quality light spectrums. Other side things also - when I kept Hyphessobrycon wadai, they had poorer coloration in a seiryu iwagumi, and only showed better colors in a lower pH wood & plants planted setup.

Hey Dennis, did you replace the offending tetras that were snacking on your rotala Florida leaves? I'm curious if you have any tricks to catch the fish without removing all of the stems from the tank.

I received some tissue culture rotala Florida stems a short while ago and am experiencing the same issues with my tetras biting chunks out of the leaves. I've watched both lemon tetras and blueberry tetras taking bites from the leaves. Frustrating to say the least.

I haven't removed them. Over feeding them seem to lessen the plant biting to an acceptable amount? I quite like the fish and don't have another large tank to house them so if the plants get destroyed further I'll likely just find ways to replace the plants with something else they wouldn't bite as much. Then it will be opportunity to redesign the tank I guess.

The tank is a lot more lively when there is more fish.

 

[Dennis Wong]

H. peugeoti pics today ~










Have gotton much fatter since their time in the tank.

 

[Naturescapes_Rocco]

Healthy plants and healthy fish, and amazing photos. Thanks for showcasing these species!

 

[BigWave]

I'm not sure if these are Hyphessobrycon cyanotaenia or melanostichos actually. (as usual local trading names isn't always accurate)
They take time to gain their full coloration. Genetics also play a role as I've see paler/richer colored fish within the same tank. Silver fish with black stripe tends to be newly added fish that is not yet acclimatized I would think. For many Hyphessobrycon species, good coloration can take a few months to set in. Planted aquarium lights also enhances their coloration compared to say aquariums using less quality light spectrums. Other side things also - when I kept Hyphessobrycon wadai, they had poorer coloration in a seiryu iwagumi, and only showed better colors in a lower pH wood & plants planted setup.

@Dennis Wong try feeding live foods like Bloodworms, Daphnia, Mosqito larva, etc. It makes them insanly color up. A trick I learnd back when I used to bread exotic tetras.

 

[Dennis Wong]

@Dennis Wong try feeding live foods like Bloodworms, Daphnia, Mosqito larva, etc. It makes them insanly color up. A trick I learnd back when I used to bread exotic tetras.

Yea, all the serious fish ppl eventually become live insect farms lol. I tried cultivating various worms before, nice to see the fish feeding but its another layer of work

 

[Dennis Wong]

Okie, last round of fish pics haa

 

[Dennis Wong]

Anubias white petite from the other tank.
In co2 injected tanks, they seem as easy to grow as the green type, unlike other variegated plants

 

[JayP]

This may be answered somewhere already, but what is the PAR at the level of the anubias white? Would love to have some of that. I tried some TC white and it melted immediately. Others online have discussed difficulties with it as well. My pinto grows well but has gone through cycles of reverting between green and more white. I haven't done enough experimentation to see what parameters might be affecting that. Of course growth is relatively slow so not sure any experimentation would tell me much.

 

[Dennis Wong]

This may be answered somewhere already, but what is the PAR at the level of the anubias white? Would love to have some of that. I tried some TC white and it melted immediately. Others online have discussed difficulties with it as well. My pinto grows well but has gone through cycles of reverting between green and more white. I haven't done enough experimentation to see what parameters might be affecting that. Of course growth is relatively slow so not sure any experimentation would tell me much.

Around 150umols at the substrate. I think the quality of the TC versions vary greatly, I actually have not come across good quality TC anubias white petite - what seems common on the market is the "snow white" crap that seems very unstable. Buying full size plants should work out better. However, as far as I know the larger farms produce Anubias pinto which has a bit more green and are a bit larger than Anubias white petite. Many hobbyists sell anubias white petite though.

Post-trimming comparison and some other pics of the day

 

[Dennis Wong]

Nice coloration from Inpaichthys kerri 'orange yellow' now that some of the fish have gained some maturity.

I have always thought of myself as a plant focused person but I'm really enjoying the fish selection in this tank.





Two algae eaters but only 1 is beloved. ha

 

[CincyScaper]

Two algae eaters but only 1 is beloved. ha

I got Otos to help with cleaning algae but I kind of just like them. From reports looks like all they eat is diatoms and biofilm but nice addition nevertheless.

Is that a nerite snail? Surprised that they are alive in low pH tank.

 

[Dennis Wong]

I got Otos to help with cleaning algae but I kind of just like them. From reports looks like all they eat is diatoms and biofilm but nice addition nevertheless.

Is that a nerite snail? Surprised that they are alive in low pH tank.

Its a ramshorn I think. They still reproduce well there are a lot of them in the tank. The last time I tried nerites in such acidic tanks their shells did not develop well.

 

[Dennis Wong]

Divided and replanted the Blood vomit. Fish has been biting it short, but it still propagated, more resilient than I thought.
Now that the fish are being fed more, hopefully these can grow to full size.






Close-up of Poaceae purple bamboo.
The purple doesn't show up all that well, and the plant generally looks shiny gray in most tanks.
Could be interesting if planted against a contrasting background.



Have been propagating the variegated water wisteria in the pond. I think its still more suitable for larger tanks. Biggest advantage to this variegation is that the plant grows much more slowly.

 

[Dennis Wong]

Rotala florida has mostly fully recovered, and summer is here again ~
Estimation from the last trimming cycle is that there are around 350 stems of Rotala florida in the tank.


Close-up of AR mini comparison to Lysimachia parvifolia


What's up for the next replanting cycle ? Hmm I wonder how many cycles I can trim the Staurogyne purple without replanting. It seems super resilient to trimming like S repens.

 

[Dennis Wong]

Ludwigia arcuata came back damn fast even with the hard trim, crowding out the mid again. So once again the trimming cycle comes.
Florida has fully recovered from the biting episode and looking good. Thinking about growing it taller to see how the bottoms do when the plant gets tall.

Some tall down shots for BG2011 and Anubias white petite

 

[JayP]

The contrast of the Buce over the Anubias white is awesome.