Friday 28 December 2012

New year's resolution!

Well Christmas is almost a distant memory. My poor doggy went in for an op and the stupid vet made an awful mess of it which meant he was very poorly over the whole of Christmas :( He is now on the road to recovery, snoozing on the sofa next to me, but countryside walks are off the menu for a long time I'm afraid.

Poor doggy, not impressed with his ultra-festive cone of shame.
In better news, I got aquascaping tools for Christmas, and an ipad keyboard, so not only will I be able to take better care of my plants, I'll be able to update much easier too :)

And now on to the exciting bit... On 5th January, I will be picking up a new (to me) second hand tank. It is 240l and also a Fluval Roma. It comes with co2, which is fab, and is already lightly stocked however my plan is through rehoming some of my fish and some of the new fish, it will ultimately replace my 125l Fluval Roma and my 65l tank.

This is my plan!

200l with co2
1x large angel - stay
6 x botia rostrata - move to 240, swap for dwarf chain loaches
12x cardinal tetra - move to 240, swap for glowlights, rummynose or harlequins
7 x five banded barbs - stay
5 x danio - stay + 3 from 240
4 x male guppy - stay
3 x male platy - stay + males from 240
1x BN plec - stay
1 x blue phantom plec - stay

125l - all fish, plants and wood to move to 240. Close down tank & sell.
1 x female guppy - move to 240
4 x female platy - move to 240
4 x red rainbowfish - move to 240
1 x angel - move to 240
6 x peppered cories - move to 240
1 x clown plec - move to 240

65l - keep as QT tank
10 x rummynose tetra - move to 200 or 240
1 x krib - rehome, will stay in QT tank until somewhere is found
Assassin snails - to move in with betta

15l - stay as it is
1 x betta
7 x pygmy cories
+ shrimp/ snails

Eventually close down and sell QT tank (20l Arcadia Arc)

New tank

240l with co2
7 x dwarf chain loaches - move to 200 - replace with botia rostrata
1 x dwarf gourami - keep in tank
9 x cardinal tetra - add 12 from 200
9 x glowlight tetra - keep
4 x BN plecs - keep one or two. Rehome others
6 x harlequin rasboras - keep
3x danio - move to 200
3 x platy - males to 200 and females to 240
Plus shrimp, snails etc, move to 15l
All stock from 125 to move in.

Rehome list:

10 x female guppies - done :'(
1 x female krib
2 or 3 x BN plec
Possibly some platies

Now I am aware that, by conventional standards, my tanks may appear overstocked however I should probably mention that I do a lot of maintenance and also make sure I factor in the life span of certain fish - the livebearers have been with me for a year now, and several have died of what appears to be old age (gradually slowing and fading, no sign of parasites/disease) in the past few months, so by the time the loaches, plecos, angels etc have grown to adult size the guppies and platies will most likely have lived their lifespan. I read differing reports but it seems that two years from purchase is sadly a good lifespan for a platy or guppy these days.

I also have a lot of good filtration. I currently run an eheim 2217 on my 200l which is rated for up to 600l, and the new tank comes with two external filters. I will also have the 2213 which I currently run on my 125l if it is needed or in case of a breakdown.

I will also be taking it very slowly. For a few weeks at least I will be running all of my tanks, and break them down one by one, piece by piece. I will be very sad to part with my 125l Fluval Roma (particularly when it was so close to being part of a matching set!) but to make space for the arrival of the new tank it has had to block the back door in the living room so alas it must go!

My Fluval Roma 200 and Fluval Roma 125 - temporarily together.

Sunday 23 December 2012

Brief update - Fluval Roma 200 planted tank

Before and after (just over 1 month apart):

The glosso needs a trim and it hasn't really worked but everything else is looking ok.



I have a powerhead I am thinking of adding to get a bit more flow around the tank but the filter is pretty strong already. Any advice? Anyway not bad for a first attempt...

Friday 16 November 2012

Current tanks & stocking list

It's been a while! I've done a huge move around of all my stock and thought it was about time I added a new update and perhaps a few piccies too.

Let's start with the smallest.

 My Betta, One-eyed-Willy, has now moved to the kitchen in his fab Superfish Wave 15 tank. He couldn't live next to the TV any more as we got a dog and even though he's an exceptionally chilled out dog and here is the proof:


....I imagine it would be too tempting even for him to have a little critter swimming about at nose level! Here he is:


He now lives with seven pygmy cories who all managed to escape the camera. There are also a few shrimp in there. I had to forgo my shrimp tank for a QT tank, and it currently has just one elderly platy in it so I shan't post pics of that.

 The 65l community tank currently houses a shoal of rummynose tetras, four red rainbows and a kribensis. I know the rainbows will have to move and long term, they will be going in the 125l. Sorry about the state of the plants, I've been concentrating my gardening efforts elsewhere and it shows!




The 125l is a bit of a waste at the moment. It houses a single angel, 6 peppered cories,a clown plec, four platies and 11 guppies, all famels, 11 of which are identical...


I am not a big fan of guppies and I am waiting until these pass on (although I might try and get them a new home) as I'd prefer to stock with a nice shoal of tetra and add the rainbows in there. There are also BILLIONS of trumpet snails as you can see here! It's going to be a snailocalypse this weekend!


I still have the three goldies outside in my affinity pond. I've just purchased an outdoor heater to see them through the winter but they're doing very well in there at the moment, all healthy :) ...

And Finally...

 My 200l is now home to: One angel, six botia histrionica, twelve cardinal tetras, seven five-banded bards, five zebra danios, a bristlenose, a blue phantom plec and a smattering of male guppies and platies. It has also got co2 running - only for five days now.

We got a good deal on the JBL u402 at Aquatics Live - the whole lot for £149 and a ceramic diffuser thrown in! It took ages to clean out the tank entirely, re-scape and set the co2 up but first impressions are encouraging Day one (a bit misty!):



Day three:



And some taken today:




None of the photos are great but I think it shows even over the week, there has been some growth! Hurrah! Hopefully there will be some improvement over the next few weeks.

Monday 3 September 2012

Meet my new Betta!

Here he is...

My new Betta!



I really wasn't expecting to get a betta today but I popped into a fish shop on my lunch break, I saw him and I had to have him. So after work I went back in to ask how much he cost, and they gave him to me for free!

He's called One-Eyed Willie, no prizes for guessing why!

And here's his not-so-photogenic side!

I didn't notice the blue on him in the shop but he really is a lovely colour
He's been in his tank for a few hours now and he seems to be doing really well. He's on his own at the moment, am considering trying him out with some dwarf cories as I have some in my 65l which are so teeny tiny they tend to get a bit lost in there!

Here he is checking out his tank:


Sunday 2 September 2012

My new pleco, L128 (Blue Phantom)

I went out fish shopping today to find a red betta. Unfortunately no luck there so it will probably be three or four weeks before I get one. However I did end up with this cheeky chappy:

IMAG0268
Juvenile (under 2inch) L128 'Blue Phantom' Plec - photo really doesn't show his beautiful colour


It doesn't really show how blue he is but trust me, he's one good looking plec. He's living in the 65l for a few weeks so I can keep a close eye on him but he'll be moving into one of the bigger tanks when I know he's ok. 

Too cute!

Bonus post: My Blagdon Affinity Pillar Pond

Thought I'd get some pics up of my 'pond'. I was lucky enough to win this one in a competition about four months ago. It's quite small at 200l and is home to three goldfish (Bob, Bob and Bob), a few marginal plants which are doing really well (perhaps too well!), some oxygenating weed and some pond snails which I am hoping will help get rid of some of the algae. I don't mind scrubbing but the water is very cold!



I know that these have had mixed reviews but I really like it, particularly the portholes as the fish come up when you're passing and stare at you through them. It's a really nice looking addition to the decking and very calming to watch.

Saying that, I don't know what will happen through winter, it might have to come inside if it's particularly cold and that's not a job I'd relish. I should perhaps mention that I have a plan b, and if I can't look after them over winter or when they get too big they will be moving down south to my parent's large garden pond.

The LED light is a nice touch although I think there's algae on the sensor as it seems to come on quite early in the day. Ah well, a bit more scrubbing it is then...

Also I did have the waterfall feature on but it was just too loud and harsh, the fountain is less nice to look at but it won't drive you mad at night! Finally, the cover is home made because it doesn't come with anything to keep the cats, bird and foxes out. This seems to have done the trick and kept the fishes safe so far. 

Blagdon Affinity Pillar Pond

Goldfish have come to the surface to see what's what

Checking me out through the porthole!

A cable runs through the wall to power the included Blagdon pond pump which is rated for a far bigger pond.

This is my last tank...promise!

And I do mean that this time, as I have NO surfaces left!

First of all, updates on my tanks.

The loaches which I introduced in this post are clearly not YoYo loaches and I feared they were going to get much too big for the 125l so I swapped them with my peppered cories. They both went mad, the cories seem to love the darker substrate and settled down really well and the loaches are so active in my bigger tank they are almost exhausting to watch!

Unfortunately the female dwarf gourami also died so the tank is missing its centrepiece fish, the krisbensis is now behaving herself but as she is primarily a bottom dweller there is definitely something 'missing'... I'm going to think long and hard before I replace them though.

Have started dosing SeaChem flourish excel for the plants and it's made a real difference. It's likely to get expensive but not sure I'm ready for CO2 yet.

Some update pics of the 200l:
Fluval Roma 200



Two of the loaches which are too quick to photograph!

Cardinal Tetras gather at the back

And the 125:


Two Angels dominate this tank!

Fluval Roma 125

'Viv' - (s)he's the boss


Rummynose Tetras


No changes in the 65l really, that tank has never caused me problems at all . A recent picture:



And finally, my new betta tank! Well it will be once it gets a betta. At the moment it's home to two small platies and a guppy who are making sure it stays cycled. It came free with a subscription to Practical Fish Keeping magazine and is a 15l Superfish Wave tank. It's really neat as the heater and filter are hidden from view and you can change the colour and intensity of the light via buttons on the top. We've gone for a minimalist 'zen' feel to this one!

Superfish Wave 15

Will house a betta if I can find the right one!
Shrimp tank hasn't changed since the last update except there are now loads of baby shrimplets :D Too small for me to take a photo of...

That's all folks!

Tuesday 14 August 2012

New pics and some bad news :(

King boffer died after a long battle with DGD.

Poor boff.



And in better news, just a couple of new pics of my 200l




As you can see, quite hot in there today, but there doesn't seem to be a lot we can do. I don't know why it holds the temperature so well, the other tanks aren't anywhere near 28 degrees. Maybe it's just because it's the biggest tank? Or maybe the external filter has something to do with it? I don't know. I've tried cooling it but the fish seem to be alright, no deaths, no illness, no flashing for a very long time. Hurrah!




The 125 is still going OK although I decided that plants, minimal lighting and loaches was a bad mix so have some vallis and java fern and a few odds and ends but that's it, moved the rest to the 200 where I am dosing flourish and everything seems to be...well... flourishing!

Over the last month we have lost another rummynose to a mystery illness which turned its body white from the inside over several months, thought it might be Neon Tetra Disease but it hasn't spread at all - Phew. All other inhabitants fine. Thinking of getting a plec for this one as the algae is everywhere and the loaches snack on any snails they come across. Maybe I will go with a slightly rarer L number this time but I'm not 100% sure yet.


Some of my newest project a few months in

Thought I should get some pics up of the most recent project, the shrimp tank in the kitchen! It's been running perhaps six weeks or two months now.

It's an Arcadia Arc 20l and we started with around ten cherry red shrimp



Here are a few of the shrimp having a 'shrimposium', I have just noticed in the top left hand corner there appears to be a shrimplet :) Unfortunately their arrival has meant it's very difficult to hoover up after them as you can see!



Monday 23 July 2012

23rd July 2012

Ok so... Been a little while but all is going ok, thought i'd get some updated pictures up.



My 125 currently. Looking quite busy at the moment' current occupants are two angels, 11 rummynoses (lost one mysteriously, wasn't ill to my knowledge...) 6 loaches and a smattering of guppies and platies which were getting bullied in my other tank. I might re-introduce them as I am getting impatient for the perfect tank and three species is all I wanted in there.

I was sold these as yoyo loaches but I am now wondering if they might be Botia histronica?..

Any ideas??

Finally a few of my 200l, no new inhabitants and no one gone to fishy heaven. The dwarf gourami who I thought had DGD is living in my 65l with a bunch of female guppies and platies, he's not quite right - a little curved - but he feeds ok and he's no where near as bad as he was when I took him out of the 200l to treat him with anti internal bacteria meds.




Will try and take better ones but I am not a born photographer and my iPad isn't exactly an SLR... :X