A River runs through it

Thanks man, I'm sure it'll look pretty sweet in your setup For now, I'll do some planning on a little setup for my room, perhaps with some bamboo... :blink1:

 

Loving the loaches, and the water is crystal clear!
I thought you wanted bamboo that you could plant and have it growing out the tank

 

The Java fern and bamboo is a great idea @azurekoi. I hope you get some soon as this is turning out stunning man.

 

@boebie -Thanx - Yeah,saw a clump in a neighbours garden the other day...need to go ask if I can cut a cane or two.... Just to get the time...lol

 

Unexpected day off today - so just a little update.

My 16 hours a day light cycle is beginning to pay off - ALGEA!!! The tank walls and rocks are starting to be covered by a thin film of fuzzyness and the Gastromyzons are wizzing around,chomping away like crazy.... Marvelous to watch their little territorial displays,fins flared and colours flashing from Caudal and dorsal fins... They seem to have moved off the glaas permanently now for little territories on the rocks and bogwood... truely fascinating watching them...

The Red tail squirel loaches are a treat too - just a word of warning on these little dudes - I would not classify these rascals as community fish at all - out of necesity,I had to house my small school of Endlers in this tank - They have decimated them from 40 down to about 10... - And they DIG!!! Making little homes for themselves in the high flow area beneath rocks - popping in and out and entertaining me witht the "loachy dance" all the time...

About 15 years ago,I was lucky enough to aquire 4 Sewelia lineolata - had them for a few months(friggin Columnaris infection...grrr) and loved them to bits.... but never found them again...
Managed to track down some from one of our suppliers to Pet Stop this week - getting 5 of them later this week!!! Cannot wait - feel like a kid on the night before Xmas...

 

Sewelia lineolata are a dream fish of mine. Nice addition to your tank indeed and they are going to love your well established tank

 

Thanx @jedigenie - Yeah - cried crocodile tears when I lost my last batch... Actualy dreamt about them last night (Spot the fish obsessed nutter...lol) - promise some pics as soon as I have them...

@Whipme - yeah,the clarity of the water comes from my little 2 sponge filter - have always found that they give you the most awesome water clarity in smaller tanks - love them to bits - see the loaches all feeding from them from time to time too,added bonus.

 

I bet you were sad, that was a major loss. Lost 1 of my Gstromyzon in a tank move (lost as in no idea what happened to it) and I must have moped for weeks because of it.

The hillstream loach I really really REALLy would like is Gastromyzon Ocellatus http://www.loaches.com/species-index/gastromyzon-ocellatus/?searchterm=Gastromyzon. Pure beauty.

Cant wait to see the pics

 

So its been pay day...he,he.... Added a school of 10 Rasbora agilis to the tank. Love those little guys,a much understated little fish... On the shopping list as well was some Flourish Excell and Complete... Might as well feed the plants as well as I do the fish...lol

The long lighting hours(up to 16 hours a day) are beginning to pay off,rocks and 3 walls of tank(I keep the front panel clean for viewing) are getting a good cover of various types of algea....sort of still seems weird encouraging the stuff to grow than rather trying to eliminate it...lol - love looking at the Hillstreams feeding on it and leaving little "C" shaped mouth prints of where they have been...

Stocking levels are beginning to come close to what I want... all I will still add is some Homaloptera orthogoniata and some Sewellia lineolata... + the little Stiphodon goby Vis is bringing me in 2 weeks time... The Endlers are gonna have to go,as they are eating a lot of the algea - gonna be a sad day to see them go..

Pics of the Gold line Rasboras to follow a bit later - want them to settle in a bit first...

 

Some quick pics of the Rasboras....1st without flash,2nd with - cant realy catch the intense flourescent gold line well

 

Nice school you have there.Always love to sit ans watch the hillstream loaches. Super funny when they fight.

 

Thanx @Vis.... been sitting watching the Rasboras all evening - Realy SUPER little fish... The Hillstreams doing their thing and the Redtail squirel loaches up to their usual antics...

It's funny though - this new tank is creating as many questions as its answering - fish behaviour,plant growth... it's all topsy turvy from what I'm "used" to... 3 decades in and every day I realise that I know sweet "F" all about these little habitats we are the custodians of... Having fun finding out though...

For instance - high flow aquariums seem to create a LOT more waste than tanks that are filtered in conventional ways - but it breaks down so much faster as well....Beginning to "see" in action what I've always told clients... Bacteria doesnt only live in your filter,but all over your whole tank.... "pimping" the flow to bout 10 times of what we accept as normal flow for a tropical aquarium,has completely changed those processes that I have used as visual cues my whole fishkeeping life long - detritus gets created on a daily - not weekly - basis,yet the accumilation of it is "slower" than in a normally filtered tank... it just seems to "melt away" in the oxygen rich environment...

Also - I'm doing this more on a gut feel than anything else - Yes,there is literature covering tanks for reophile fish(the Hillstreams),but they are more about creating flow and extra oxygen,than anything else... Begining to think/feel that flow will be an important factor in ALL aquariums I set up in my future...

 

Homaloptera orthogoniata WOW! What an amazing looking fish.

Have you ever thought about using an oversized HOB filter to create a nice strong flow? Reason I'm asking is because I have a AquaClear110 sitting about and wondering what to do with it

 

@jedigenie - I have been a HUGE fan of them since I got my 1st one for my 6th birthday(Cost my parents the grand total of R27 for a Aquaclear Mini then if the ol brain dont fail me...)

But what I was getting at in previous post is about changing the "flow and speed" of the way we conventionaly filter our tanks - the 6000liter/hour Flow/vibration pump BLASTING across this aquarium has made all the differance... Seems like all the big rock surfaces and the substrate has turned into a gigantic "extra" filter - by all means,use your Aquaclear 110 as the start of a high flow system,but get MORE flow... Beginning to scheme out a "wall" of those little Jepo 250l/hour micro pumps running off a home made relay board to create a random flow pattern from right to left in this aquarium.... DANG,I love playing with aquatic systems...lol!

As for the Mottled Lizzard loaches,Homaloptera orthogoniata - kept a batch of 25 of them in my planted 8foot system about 12 years ago when I lived in Cape Town - cant wait to land them @Pet Stop in about a month - even more... seeing what "contaminent" species come in as them...he,he.

 

Well,the Sewelia's did not apear,but plants are growingly amazingly well in the high flow...
Just some pics I took today...

, ,

 

At our Pretoria aquarium Fanatics braai yesterday I recieved a fishie thats been on my top 10 wanted list for a LOOOOOOOONG time... Thanx @Vis - he's happy and loving his new tank...



Stiphodon atropurporea.... Now I want more of them...lots more....he,he

 

Nice fishie, and he/she does look happy.

Setup looking great from what I can see

 

He,he - thanx Cornell.... yup,it's beginning to look a bit like the picture I have in my head... Finally located some bamboo for it as well - that will be going in on the weekend hopefully... the Stiphodon is such an amazing little fish - most probably a little female...

 

We all have that one species of fish that gets your heart racing....Well,I got one of mine today! Came home from work with 5 Sewellia's - one BIG male Sewellia sp.Spotted and 2 pairs of Sewellia lineolata.... Feel like I'm in fishie heaven at the moment watching them explore their new tank...

Will post some pics a bit later.... Oh,and the Endler's are finally vacating the tank tomorrow - now I can feel like its a "proper" reophile system....lol - not a half baked one with mini guppies....lol

 

Shawn! Pic's NOW! What's with this later bizz....? :sick::sick: (sick with envy! LOL!)