# i finally have pics



## strange_screams (Apr 10, 2005)

Well, I have been growing plants out in a 10 gal, and then moved, and I have had a 1 gal for 2 years that was actually looking filled in before I started raiding it for micro swords for my 29, I just set the 29 gal up 2 months ago and im seeing some growth of the plants, and I have a huge hodgepodge, but im just now starting to like the way it looks

that is untill i started pidling around on the forums and seeing all the beautiful pictures of other peoples striking aquascapes...

but , I have pics for the first time and im gonna post them

so, ignore the green spot algea, and the worn out/jerry rigged equipment, and the water spoted glass, and....well ill stop there

fyi, the java fern on the left got away from his string, he doesnt belong there

29 gal
dirt and pool filter sand, with a layer of coral sand and vinal screen sandwiched in between
lighting is one desk lamp with 100w compact filter bulb and another 15w light strip
fish are (way to many, hense the airstone)
4 redeye tetras
3 green corys
5 glowlight tetras
1 sunset platy
3 blackskirt tetras
1 dojo loach
3 black mollies
1 gold snail
1 million ramshorn and assorted pest snails
1 ghost shrimp (i know he is still in there, he appears a week after i assume he is dead)
(i know im forgetting someone too)

my plants include (i dont know them all, petco is horrible at labeling plants)
dwarf sag
what i assume to be regular sag
micro sword
2 different kinds of crypts (i think, i have no idea)
sunset hygro ( which wont grow)
parrot feather
japanese reed
java fern
java moss...i think
a spotty sword
baby swords of a different variety
what i think is an anibus
and some high light stem plant that i shouldnt have put in there
oh, and something that looks like a bamboo shoot

closeup of driftwood:








full frontal:








sideview from couch:









my one gal has been running for almost two years, sometimes with fry sometimes without, it has
dwarf sag
two different varieties of sword
native eel grass (aparently it turns red in high light)
and micro sword, and occassionally anicris


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## cs_gardener (Apr 28, 2006)

While I'm not normally a fan of manufactured decorations, I like how you've incorporated the arch into your tank. Your plants all look healthy too and this should be quite a nice tank once it fills in.


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## strange_screams (Apr 10, 2005)

thanks, i dont ussually either, this one did something for me though


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## newbie314 (Mar 2, 2007)

What are the micro swords like.
I have an amazon sword in the 20gallon long and it is starting to get big.


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## strange_screams (Apr 10, 2005)

the micro sword is like dwarf hairgrass but the blades are thicker and rounder at the ends, it spreads by runners

it has really slow growth and can pull out of the substrate easily, like if you get thread algea tangled in it and try to remove it, its more of a carpeting or forground plant

its whats all in front on the 1 gal, the thicker blades are dwarf sag, or eelgrass


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## strange_screams (Apr 10, 2005)

here is an update on my tanks:

The 29 HAS grown in a lot, some of the fish didnt survive and some of the plants didnt either...I had the bright idea of feeding an earthworm to the fish which set off an apocalyptic chain of events, first it had a bacterial bloom, it was so white cloudy that you couldnt see two inches in, then of course there was a nasty batch of green water. same thing, it was so thick you could only see a couple of inches in.

I blacked it out for 5 days because i went on vacation which fixed the problem. It wasnt untill that was all over that i realized that I had lost some fish.

the red eyes, black skirts, and all but one of the glowlights are gone , a yoyo loach,2 female guppies, a twin bar and red platys some more ottos and a 4th cory and a red velvet swordtail were added, as well as several other fish that didnt make it along the way, most were return to the fish store however.

The tank has pretty much acheived a balance.

Oh, and i added a submersable filter, a duetto 100 which i absolutly love, you do have to clean the sponges quite often for a NPT though.

I ditched the japanese decoration mostly because after only 3 weeks, all the red paint came off, so disapointing. Ive added a few more rocks and another small piece of driftwood.
im planning on trimming some of this up so i wanted to post a pic before i did.









and a closeup
notice how HUGE that amazon sword got?









this is a new tank i started, the goal is a pair of blue rams, its an 18 high and i cured the grapevine myself, it only took 5 months.it houses a gold danio, two random mollies and a guppy that is mostly endlers live bearer. 
java moss, java fern, sag, and some random stem plants i didnt know what else to do with.










and just for something random... here is a crawdad that hitched a ride in the local fish stores feeder comet tank:









more pics after a trim...and im thinking i need a background...


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## tames (Apr 18, 2008)

In your first post, you show a nano cube. What brand of tank is that? An ADA? Details please!


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## strange_screams (Apr 10, 2005)

i dont know, its all glass and slightly rectangular, I traded a pot for it, I love the barter system. It originally had plants in it, and she wanted to put the plants in dirt, I had a planting pot and dirt and she had a supercool little tank...its honestly something you could make quite simply. It had a sticker on it when I got it, but I took it off. It looks almost just like it did, I've added a betta and I take trimmings out and add them to the other two tanks on occasion.

I don't know the deminsions but I eyeball it at one to 1.5 gal. The edges are slightly beveled, unusual compaired to most of the tanks I have with an ultra fine bead of silicon.


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## tames (Apr 18, 2008)

Sure looks like an ADA. You gotta heck of a deal. They are pricey.


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## avmartin (Feb 12, 2012)

strange_screams said:


> my plants include (i dont know them all, petco is horrible at labeling plants)


I agree. I can't tell what half of the plants are in there. Someone should say something to the aquatics specialist about that. Who was the Aquatics specialist back when you got those plants?


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## aquabillpers (Apr 13, 2006)

Re: Feeding earthworms

If the fish are not large enough to eat an entire worm in one gulp, consider freezing the worm, cutting it into bite-sized morsels, and then rinsing the pieces in water while squeezing them to force the material from their intestines. 

Or perhaps better, raise your own Grindal worms and avoid that messy job.

Bill


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