Aura, I found this pic of the tank as it started out...

I will update this with a pic of how it looks now, so you can see how much the plants have grown in the short time that I've had them.

This tank houses 4 Bolivian Rams, (2 pairs if I'm not mistaken) a pair of A. cacatuoides who show absolutely NO interest in each other, 2 angelfish (to be moved when the need arises) 8 dwarf rainbowfish, and 6 rummy nose tetras.

I can't believe I haven't killed them all!

Here is a pic of one of the rams...They are colouring up nicely!


Here is the male cacatuoide...


Some of the rummy nose tetras...


This is by far the most interesting tank I've got right now! And, it's the cats' favourite tank, since we leave the lights on all day for the plants, they just lay in front of it and pretend it's their t.v.!

I'll post an updated pic of the tank and plants as soon as I get a chance! Just thought it would be nice to have a "before" and "after" set. We've only added 2 more plants, the red and green one in the pic behind the little ram and a "hornwort "or something like that. The bamboo is doing great, actually has new shoots on it, and those 3 fern-y looking taller plants you see in the "before" tank shot have now gotten so tall that they cover part of the water surface!

Maybe I do have a green thumb...Maybe it's just a WET green thumb! Wiggle it just a little bit!

Kim

It looks great Kim. Are all of those plants live ones? The one in the center looks too good to be real.

I'm going to check out what plants are available this weekend and try to follow in your footsteps. This is going to be very interesting.

The fish are looking good too. The cacatuoide is really pretty; I'm not at all familiar with them.

Thanks for the pictures and looking forward to more!

Yes, they are all alive! I don't know what that one in the center is, Larry sold them to us and I got 3 of them, they are growing better than anything else in the tank. The whole right side is covered at the top since they've grown in height. I don't know if I should trim them back or what!

Good luck with your venture! I'll try to get some pics up soon of the way the tank looks now!

And I'll try to post a pic of the cacatuoide from the front...You won't think he's so pretty then! They have some really ugly faces!

Kim

Hey Kim, that is a great looking set-up. Somehow a tank decorated with wood and live plants looks warmer and more pleasent.

Great shots too Good Job Good Job

Great looking tank so far, Kim! cheers

Can't wait to see the updated pics! Bouncy

Well, I got sidetracked last night and never did get that pic of the tank as it is now...I tried but they blurred, so I will have to try again...

But I did get a couple more decent pics of the little rams. They are starting to colour up nicely, even though they are still less than 2 inches.





These guys are the cutest little things! All that cichlid personality packed into a tiny little fish! I just wish I could sex them. They really act like 2 pairs, but who knows??? I don't think I would be able to raise any fry with all the fish that I have in the tank, but once I know I have a pair and confirm they are decent quality, I can move a pair of them to a 10G. Now that I've got the hang of this plant thing (sort of) I'm feeling very brave!

Kim

Those rams are really cute - they make your cacatuoide look like a brute.

Getting them to spawn should be really exciting. I remember when I was much younger and my angelfish started spawning. I never even thought about babies from them. I was thrilled.

I will also be thrilled if I can keep some plants alive for more than a few weeks. We are going out today to see what we can find. I'm going to look for some that resemble yours. Hopefully the selection will be better than the cichlids around here.

Aura, if I can keep plants alive, anyone can! The only thing I have been fanatical about is adding the Flourish, and keeping the lights on all day!

Here are some updated tank pics with closer shots of the tank on either side!







I think the hornwort is commonly sold for outdoor ponds and such. It is really growing like crazy and I'm sure I will have to cut it back, if someone will tell me how to do it!

Kim

Thanks for the updated pictures. Wow, some of those plants look like they've grown a lot. I wonder if you can plant the cuttings and get new plants like you can with a lot of non-aquatic plants?

I see a pretty blue betta in amongst those plants. That's another fish that I feel compelled to rescue every time I see them in those little cups. I wish I had the room to take more in.

Yes, the betta was put in the tank just for the heck of it, and really has settled in and gets along with everyone very well. He even gets kind of bossy with the rams every once in awhile! Brave little thing!

I've always kept them in my community tanks, Aura. I've never had a problem with them, but initially, I was afraid the little cichlids would have a problem with the betta.

I actually keep bettas sitting around in bowls (larger bowls) so that I can throw them in a fry tank or a holding tank to keep it cycled. It's like they get to go on vacation now and then!

I'm trying not to add anymore plants for a bit until I see how much these are going to grow. I've seen some other plants I would like to try, but these are all inexpensive ones until I make sure I'm going to keep them alive!

What did you guys wind up getting?

Kim

Very nice Kim! I'm putting my driftwood and getting plants for my discus tank asap and hope it will start to look as nice as yours! Love the little rams!!!

Thanks, Steph...

Have you already got your driftwood and plants? Superpet in St. Kit's has a huge 75% off sale on all their stuff, they're switching to Petsmart soon! If I understood the girl right, all the ones in Ontario are going to be Petsmarts, so their might be one closer to you. They have the real driftwood and the GEO system fake driftwood that looks very real.

Kim

Well, as I suspected, there wasn't a lot to choose from. We got some hornwort, the red and green plant - I think it was called ludwigia, another one called rotala indica and a moneywort. I couldn't find the plant that you have three of, but we got one that was labeled "frill" that slightly resembles it. These were all really inexpensive, so we got them in hopes that something will survive.

I also picked up some java fern because I've heard it's very easy to keep alive. We'll see about that.

They were all out of the Flourish, so we got a small bottle of Plant-Gro.

I have the plants in a lightly populated fry tank right now. After I got them home, I started wondering if I needed to quarantine them. They were in a plant only tank at the store, so I think they'll probably be okay.

I know it's still early for you, but I hope we can keep ours alive at least as long as you have. ohhh please ohh please

I didn't quarantine my plants either, Aura...But I did notice this week that I bought in some hitchhikers...Snails! Wooo hoo!!

Good luck!

Kim

In case this helps, here's what I'm trying. The local store has no idea what their plant stock is named, but they do keep the tanks clean.

1. A plant that has a large white bulb at its bottom and tall, fibrous leaves like the bulbs in our garden grow. It's prospering in two different tanks.

2. A broadleaf plant that's holding its own in my lotsa-light haps tank. Pretty generic look so I'll have to photo it for someone to ID.

3. My other broadleaf plant has leaves growing from its base, and then a long stem that grows out of its middle and creates tufts with new small leaves at joints going up that stem. With some light it holds its own. With more light its stem grow super long, and if it escapes the surface it will flower. With fast growth it seems like the bottom leaves start to die off and it gets stringy.

With the broadleaf plants I have trouble with brown leaf tips. Is this a sign of lack of nutrition? I'm doing nothing to help the plants except provide them with fish. :lol:

Oh, Don, I'm afraid we're all starting out on this venture together, and it's the blind leading the blind!

I can't even identify my own plants!

Maybe Larry will see this post and put in some information!

He helped me with some of my plants. I was going to buy that substrate stuff (the name escapes me) to help with the plants, but since the tank was already set up, I was concerned about mixing it in with the sand. (What is that stuff called???) Larry tried to help me pick out some plants that would do okay in my sand, and so far so good...

I do use the Flourish but only at about 1/4 the recommended dosage on the bottle, and I add it twice a week. I also keep it in the fridge because Larry told me to!

Kim

Kim was that substrate called Flourite? It's for planted tanks.

I have some cheaper stuff called aquatic plant soil that I'm going to try in a 10 gallon tank to see how it looks.

Good luck with yours, Don.

Yes, Aura, it was flourite! Can't remember my own name these days.

It was almost $25 for a tiny bag of it and since I didn't think I'd be able to keep the plants alive anyway, I didn't get any.

Don, if you do a search over on CF for planted tanks and Fogelhund's name, you will find pics of his planted mbuna tanks. They are amazing, and they've been that way for years!

Kim

I thought I'd add a picture with the plants that we picked up. It's only been a few days, but they are still alive! :D Gimme an A!

They are in a 10 gallon tank for a few days with the Aquatic plant soil I decided to try.




They will be going into a 20 gallon tank with sand after I take the driftwood out and try to get it soaked a little better. I'm tired of looking at that tea colored water.

Aura, your planted tank looks wonderful, too!

Gotta rearrange mine and take some pics this weekend so I can keep up with you two!

That looks really great, Aura...I'd hate to move them...I'm going to try to find some of that plant soil this weekend like you are talking about, just to put around the roots of mine. I'd like to add some more plants, too.

Kim

Kim, what are you using in the way of lighting for your tank?

Kelly, the tank is running on a single bulb, just the average garden variety plant bulb. I can't remember what they are called, but they specify for aquatic plants. I'd love to get a dual light set up for it, but I've got to light that SW tank properly first!

Kim