My Main Display Tank

Overwhelming response to the Glosso question...

But seriously - who here has some Marsilea Crenata? Come on - Dolphin sold out so somebody bought it!

 

I got some glosso mixed together with some Riccia from Gus. Planted a couple of small stems a week ago and they only starting to sprout now. Thats with 8X39 and pressurized Co2 into a powerhead.

I seem to remember Gus saying Glosso won't grow as a foreground plant with high light and an abundance of Co2

 

Great stuff, something I can aspire to!

 

Hi Lauré,

I cannot help you with the Marsilea, but I can make some other suggestions. If you read all the comments about the requirements of Glosso and you see how many persons are battling to get it to grow, I ask myself, why bother? Why not try some other foreground plants that do not have these requirements and there are actually quite a few to choose from. An easy to grow plant is the dwarf Sagittaria subulata, it spreads rapidly and grows well under far less stringent conditions. And what about Lilaeopsis? This is also available ever so often and not too difficult to grow, I think......

Kind regards,

Dirk

 

Never!!! Glosso WILL most certainly grow with high light and Co2. But if I recall correctly, it needs a good dosing of NPK.

 

Hi guys

Thanks for the replies and suggestions. I actually have a specific plan in mind here. I know that Marsilea consumes large amounts of PO4, to the extend where one definitely needs to dose PO4. Alternatively, I can probably increase my fish load and also feeding without expecting the algae that will follow with a higher PO4 content in the water. Considering I recently doubled up on my filtration I don't think that idea is too far fetched.

With respect to grassy foreground plants I have considered it but I need something that will not get any taller than about 5cm. Whatever my choice, it should fit my aquascape design plan and basically take the place of the Riccia carpet in between the rocks on the left side of the tank. Also I must keep in mind the large group of Aponogetons that actually cause a little bit of shade on that side. Glosso might then be a bad idea. So perhaps the dwarf hairgrass Prof Dirk sells? Only thing is I read it prefers slightly cooler water and my tank is at 28 degrees. Prof Dirk can you comment on your experience with the very small dwarf grass you sell?

Regards
Lauré

 

Just searched the M. Crenata, not sure it would be in my foreground plant list, but I hope you get some, I'd love to see how it works for you.

You have Discus in your tank? I know a guy who keeps his discus extremely happy in water at between 26 - 27 degrees... I'm also keen to get some hair grass. Been looking for quite some time. I think it would make a nice transition plant. I don't have too much width, so I'm trying a bunch of different things to try and create pseudo depth...

 

M. Crenata doesn't need high light like Glosso or HC. Lilaeopsis, according to a lot of posts on APC, is an algae magnet. Not really sure why, but people tend to always complain about it. Many plants like hairgrass will also grow in low light, but won't form a thick carpet unless you have high light. And high light on for a carpet usually means HID bulbs...

I don't have discus, but I keep the tank at 28 because then I keep my clown loaches healthy. For much the same reasons people keep discus at 30. Many people don't really know that clowns prefer the warmer side of tropical. I also have angels and cardinals and they all are happy at 28. I don't think it will be a problem to slowly drop it down to 26, but I don't want to do that just for the sake of growing hairgrass properly. Then I'd rather look at another plant. Fish health comes first, I think.

Perhaps I should try a moss carpet. Christmas Moss looks nice.
http://i10.ebayimg.com/01/s/000/77/5c/cea1_1.JPG

Or what about Hemianthus micranthemoides and just trim it down with scissors every week or so?

 

Personally, I like The Hemianthus Micranthemoides. It's a nice plant, looks good and is a pretty quick grower apparently.

I think you would seriously struggle with the Moss. It's a slow grower and would attract algae as well. BUT, you will kill the Christmas moss at that temp. Mosses prefer the cooler temps, except for java moss...

Oh ja... HID bulbs?

 

High Intensity Discharge, for example metal halide, mercury vapour or sodium vapour (street lights!).

 

Hi Laure if u going to be tossing the Riccia i would love to come get a little piece

 

I won't be tossing it. It will go to another tank. But I will let you know when you can come get some.

 

Very Nice

 

Hi

I am thinking of adding some Geophagus agassizii, possibly 1 male and 3 females. Is this a good idea with what I have? Angels, cardinals, clown loaches and soon a few corys (in quarantine right now).

I had to do some major trimming. I pulled out 2 x 50cm Ceratopteris Cornuta that was heading for total tank domination. I am also getting some new plants next week and will post updated pics.

Regards
Lauré

 

Oops. Correction - Apistogramma agassizii

 

Hi Lauré,

A. aggasizzi are dwarfs that definitely pair off, so you should rather keep two pairs. If you put pots on opposite sides of the tank they will be quite happy to keep separate territories, but with angels around they will not be able to raise their young, these will be eaten.....

I currently have four pairs of A aggasizzi and the one pair is breeding nicely. The male is actually moving around the tank looking after the first brood and the female is swimming around with the second brood which is about three weeks younger. The first brood has some growing to do before one can think of resale though.

Slagter, I want to indicate to you that keeping discus below 29C is not good, the fish are spooky then and they are much more prone to disease. In the German discus literature literature and in my experience keeping discus below 29 C for extended periods does not work.

Kind regards,

Dirk

 

Hi Prof Dirk

Thank you for the reply. Once again I have read some information on the web and said information indicates one should keep 1 male to several females. They do pair, but one male may take on several partners at a time. This is what I read and I have no experience with dwarf cichlids so that is why I am asking these questions. For the moment I am not too worried about the fry being eaten by the angels, but if I get serious about breeding I will move a pair to their own tank.

I would really like to keep some dwarf cichlids in my main display and my cause for concern was whether they would nip fins of angels? I would like to avoid any fish that would nip fins.

Regards
Lauré

P.S. Those angels are growing very nicely and are all still in very good health and looking pretty good. I will try to post some updated pictures when I get a chance. There seem to be the odd squabble between a few, but nothing serious at this stage. Looks more like "play-fighting".

 

They aren't fin nippers. I've had together with my 6 Discus without any issues

 

If you are looking for A. aggassizi then I would keep them in a harem. 1 male to 3 females is ideal. This setup has worked for many breeders. The dominant female will actually steal the spawns of the sub dominants. Good combination, without the risk of losing males to in fighting. Even though your tank is heavily planted, they can still squabble.

I have found them to be fantastic and peaceful little guys. They really are beautiful. If you can find them, try get the Santarem strain or wild caught. They are blue, not red. They are magnificent fish!!

Hi Dirk.

Yes, I know this. I was merely stating that someone I know does this, and has had his tank like this for quite some time. His fish seem happy.

I will not attempt this. I had them at a lower temp once before and they did not react well to the change. Even though I dropped the temp gradually to 27 over a 3 day period. They became shy, reclusive and, in general, very skittish. I personally wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

Kind regards

Sean

 

Slagter, do you have any or know of anybody who's got? I have not seen them around LFS ever...