# 60cm Scape2



## Ajax (Apr 3, 2006)

Here are a couple of quick shots of the new scape. It's been up about 2 weeks as of this weekend. I used the moss very sparingly in the hopes that it will fill in close to the same time as the Java fern and Bolbitis do. Tear it up, and let me know what you guys think!

Plants:
Anubias barteri var. nana 'petite'
Bolbitis heudelotti
Crypt. wendtii 'brown'
Crypt. lucens
Eleocharis acicularis
Hemianthus Micranthemoides
Ludwigia repens
Ludwigia arcuata
Microsorum pteropus 'narrow leaf'
Rotala rotundifolia 'green'
Rotala sp. 'colorata'
Taxiphyllum sp.

Fish:
aplocheilichthys macrophthalmus "lampeye panchax"
O-cats
Cherry shrimp


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## Amsterdam (Sep 17, 2006)

Realy nice! i am sure that when the moss kicks in, it will be super!


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## IUnknown (Feb 24, 2004)

Lookin good. I love when the branches stick out of the tank, need to do that in one of my setups one day.


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## xcooperx (Jun 24, 2006)

how big the 60cm for a regular tank? nice Aquascape i really like the white sand at the fromt, i will try that on my 10 gallon tank, lol


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## turtlehead (Nov 27, 2004)

Excellent is the word I'm looking for. Oh... you got the "new" inflow that makes me so jealous....... Will be following this tank as it grows.


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## Ajax (Apr 3, 2006)

Thanks guys! I had been planning this one out for the last 3 months. I was going to wait until Jan. to do it, but I got a wild hair one weekend and just did it.



turtlehead said:


> Excellent is the word I'm looking for. Oh... you got the "new" inflow that makes me so jealous....... Will be following this tank as it grows.


Yeah I got the REAL new intake that has the cracked off end to allow easy cleaning :lol: I busted the bottom 1/2" off sticking my finger nail into one of the slits to clean out the guts of a really big snail that sucked into it :doh: I even made a special tool to clean those out, but got in a hurry.


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## turtlehead (Nov 27, 2004)

Toothpick.  I'm very jealous now.


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## ed seeley (Dec 1, 2006)

Love that tank!

Agree with the comments about the wood sticking up above the tank too! I've got a huge echinodorus cordifolius sticking up against my cover galsses and just keep thinking how great it would look sticking out of an open tank amongst thin branches!

Love the choice of inhabitants too, but do the lampeyes not jump like other killifish? I had a thin gap above one of my tanks and Apyosemion bivittatum got out of it!


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## gabeszone (Jan 22, 2006)

Awesome looking tank! Good luck keeping the AS out of the brightsand. PS tooth brush works good for cleaning the small crack in your in take pipe.


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## Ajax (Apr 3, 2006)

ed seeley said:


> Love that tank!
> 
> Agree with the comments about the wood sticking up above the tank too! I've got a huge echinodorus cordifolius sticking up against my cover galsses and just keep thinking how great it would look sticking out of an open tank amongst thin branches!
> 
> Love the choice of inhabitants too, but do the lampeyes not jump like other killifish? I had a thin gap above one of my tanks and Apyosemion bivittatum got out of it!


Thanks, I really appreciate all the positive feedback. I think the wood sticking out of the water is really cool too. I saw Mike Senske's tank at ADG the 1st time I went there, and knew I had to do a tank like that at some point. The Java moss is just starting to creep up out of the water too which is really cool.

Yes, unfortunately the lampeyes are big time jumpers. I bought 3 to replace 2 that had jumped out, and then 3 more jumped out  It was only the males that jumped too. Guess the females are smarter :lol: I had one o-cat some how make it half-way across my living room floor before dying. I've also had 2 of my cherry shrimp crawl/jump out.


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## Ajax (Apr 3, 2006)

gabeszone said:


> Awesome looking tank! Good luck keeping the AS out of the brightsand. PS tooth brush works good for cleaning the small crack in your in take pipe.


Actually if you look real close you can see a few grains of AS on the bright sand, but because I use Malaya instead of Amazonia it doesn't stick out near as bad.


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## pyramid (Jun 19, 2006)

> the lampeyes are big time jumpers





> I've also had 2 of my cherry shrimp crawl/jump out.


I think may be your new substracte...is a reason. don't worry, after 2-4 weeks later, the lampeyes and red cherry will not jump again, gowning up and...give birth...
Your pics. too small...


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## turtlehead (Nov 27, 2004)

Your tank is probably going through a mini cycle, shrimps will only jump out then.


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## Ajax (Apr 3, 2006)

Here's an updated pic of my tank.


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## dennis (Mar 1, 2004)

That looks very nice. If you'd like a little criticism, I think the Anubias either needs friends or should be removed. It is a little to focal being only one. Also, that central leaf of Bolbitis should be trimmed or moved a little to the side. It is just a bit to distracting in that position. 

Looks good though. A very nice journal with excellent progress and final result. You should try to bring out the color of the red plants a touch more and enter it in the ADA contest!


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## Steven_Chong (Mar 17, 2005)

The background needs some shaping and variation. This straight-accross background is not good.

As Dennis mentioned, anubias group is too thin. Needs others. Bolbitis also comes accross as a bit thin (though bolbitis is a rather large plant for this tank size, though it can work).

I would let the moss grow to the front of the wood in some places, and remove it from others. It's a bit odd to see it perfectly evenly growing only on top of the wood at every point on the wood.

Overall, well balanced and attractive. I think you know that it's lacking in the creativity department.


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## Afroturf (Apr 15, 2004)

Nice tank as mentioned before i think the background need a little more shaping looks a little too much like a line of green rotala with a couple of block of pink added.

Also i think the left hand side needs a little work to, perhaps trimming the rotala more so you can see the tops of the stems more below the height of the wood, alternatively you could add a taller plant infront of it in place of the crypt wich looks to dark for the tank, 

Lovely overall look though. What the fish in the lower half of the tank?


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## Paid (Feb 5, 2007)

Very nice tank


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## SUBORPHAN (Apr 20, 2006)

Beautiful tank Ajax. those lily pipes are so fragile. i cracked my lily pipe(old style) when i was cleaning it with a thin ADA brush. 

the growth of the plants is fantastic, especially the background ones. personally i love the anubia as it is. it makes a beautiful central focal point and adds a different leaf shape to the foreground. 

and the wood sticking out of the water is the dog's b*llocks. i have the wood in my tank sticking out of the surface too. 

this scape is definately worthy of entering the IAPLC 2007.


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## Ajax (Apr 3, 2006)

Thanks for all the comments guys. This tank still has a few more months before it's finished. It's only 2 months old at this point. The moss & Bolbitis have the most growing to do. 

The vertical fronds of the Bolbitis will be trimmed before the final photo. I was given some advice to not trim those until the very last. This is supposed to force the lower fronds to grow horizontal. It seems to be working so far.

The background really has no shape at this point. I have been wacking it all down at some what of a slope during trims just to build up the thickness. I already have a plan for shaping the stems during the last couple of trims. 

I agree the Anubias is a bit of a sticking point. It may disappear altogether once the Bolbitis fills in. I originally had others in there, but they disrupted the balance terribly. I just love the way that one looks in that spot too Suborphan.

I also just trimmed the L. repens in the front right corner last week. It spreads out to the left very nicely, and makes a really good transition to the R. 'green' in the back when it's grown in.

I haven't used many ferts at all in this tank. Once it gets closer to a final photo I will be hitting it up with a few things I learned from my last tank to really get the reds to pop.

The lampeyes turned out to be a bad idea. I have lost nearly all of them to suicide jumps. They also turned out to be the wrong fish for this layout as well. As it progressed they seemed less and less like a good fit. I put some threadfin rainbows in there, and I think they may be the ticket. 

Steven C.: Those are Jae Barbs down near the sand. Really awesome little fish. The males are bright red with vertical black stripes. They spend most of the day sifting through the sand.

Suborphan: Tell me about it. I just barely stuck my fingernail in those slits to clean it out, and pop, off the end came. Broke my heart  It's turned out to be a blessing of sorts because I never could get the very end of those things clean no matter how hard I tried. Now it's real easy 

I really appreciate the comments guys. I am planning to enter it this year. I know just the size alone is a big sticking point, but if I can get it in the contest book (no matter where it is!) I'll be happy.


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## eklikewhoa (Jul 24, 2006)

Very nice scape there ajax!!

I think it just needs some attention with trimming and maybe some anubis nana petite to blend the anubias into the scape.

Where did you find those little stones?


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## Ajax (Apr 3, 2006)

I sent ya' a PM about the stones.


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## Robert Arnold (Apr 5, 2005)

That is really nice. What type of light are you using?


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## Ajax (Apr 3, 2006)

Robert Arnold said:


> That is really nice. What type of light are you using?


I have the 65W Coralife Aqualight on that one. I may eventually switch it out to the ADA light though.


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## HoustonFishFanatic (Feb 26, 2007)

hey Ajax any new updated pics? The tank looks awesome. where did u get those rocks from.


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## Ajax (Apr 3, 2006)

I'll be posting a few "possible" contest pics next week. I think I have time for one more trim before the May 31st deadline, but just in case things go haywire on me I'm gonna take some now. I sent you a PM about the rocks.


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## eklikewhoa (Jul 24, 2006)

Have you entered before John? 

I am a bit confused about what to send in and where to....Hopefully mine will fill in a bit more as well so I can enter.


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## Ajax (Apr 3, 2006)

No I haven't entered before, but I think all you have to do is send in this form: APLC 2007 It has a place to upload your photo & everything. There is also a sticky at the top of this forum with some info.


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## Ajax (Apr 3, 2006)

I had to clean the filter tonight, so I figured I snap a quick photo of it without all the equipment.


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## Paul Higashikawa (Mar 18, 2004)

Good job, John Looks like somebody has been doing his homeworks, haha!


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## eklikewhoa (Jul 24, 2006)

In that picture the Rotala's in the back are overpowering and the stones up front now look too small..... 



.....you think?


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## Ajax (Apr 3, 2006)

Well here's the final photo for this tank.


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## Jdinh04 (Oct 7, 2004)

WOW! John that scape is looking real sharp! Whats that plant on the far right that has the orangish/pink tips? It all looks healthy, keep it up!


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## HoustonFishFanatic (Feb 26, 2007)

Hey John its looking really gr8.


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## Ajax (Apr 3, 2006)

Jdinh04 said:


> WOW! John that scape is looking real sharp! Whats that plant on the far right that has the orangish/pink tips? It all looks healthy, keep it up!


Thanks! That is Ludwigia repens. It'll probably be up for a couple more months while I'm preparing everything for the next scape.


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## Ajax (Apr 3, 2006)

HoustonFishFanatic said:


> Hey John its looking really gr8.


Thanks man!


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## manini (Mar 18, 2007)

A great looking tank. Hope you do well in the ADA contest.


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## Afroturf (Apr 15, 2004)

It looks great, I love the mix of stem plants, I do feel the bottom left the crypts and hair grass let it down a little though. Beautiful scape overall though.


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## Ajax (Apr 3, 2006)

Thanks guys. The left side is definitely weak. It didn't develop the way I thought it would. I wasn't able to bring the stems up closer because that's where the intake was at. The left side, and the fact that this scape lacks depth are my 2 biggest gripes about it. Oh well, I'll do better on my next try.....hopefully.


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## houseofcards (Feb 16, 2005)

Very nice. Love the lushness, color and positioning. If anything maybe one larger rock to the left of the anubias, but without seeing the tank in person it's hard to tell. I think it's a very worthy entry to the contest, Good luck!


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