Loaches Online Forum

I'm still trying to get good full tank photos of the 90. This tank has 6 clowns, 5 striata, 3 sids, 3 angelicus, 2 rostrata, 2 yoyo, 1histrionica, along with other non-loaches.

JD,

What's the long skinny plant in the back that looks like seagrass? It's lovely.

Andyroo

Vallisneria

If I had to guess, its probably americana (gigantea). To give you some scale, that tank is 4 feet left to right and 2 feet top to bottom. The leaves on the Vals are up to 1 inch wide. It is a Pain in the ass actually, and if I had it to do again, I would make sure to find a smaller variety. This thing will produce leaves some 6 feet long.

http://www.tropica.com/productcard_1.asp?id=054

JD

Oh, that is really drool-worthy! Woooow. What size gravel is that? When I get a bigger tank I'd like to convert to live plants so I'm researching gravel size and lighting. I can't find anything in the local pet stores smaller than standard aquarium gravel, but I don't want to get sand either.

JD, do you never get algae problems? What's up with that? My brightest tank is a killer algae magnet.

Hello Kristina,
Thanks! For gravel, I bought Estes Aquarium Gravel, “Bits O Walnut.” It is a very fine gravel, or a course sand depending on you perspective. Back in the mid 90’s when I set up this tank, the general net wisdom for planted aquariums was use “sand” roughly 2-3mm in size. This stuff fit that bill, it was inert, natural looking, dark, and available. It is however pricey compared to other options but I preferred the look of this stuff. Here is a link to their catalog http://www.estesco.com/pdf/aqua.pdf Their stuff is available on the east coast, USA.

Mark,
Algae, there is some in there, it’s not plagued with it. That tank has been up and running for a decade now! Have you ever read my algae control article?

http://home.ptd.net/~jdietsch/algae.html

JD,

Are you injecting CO2 (pressurized) in this tank?

I love it
I don't know how you can keep crypts in a tank w large loaches!
Mine have melted to nothing from loachie attacks.

Rob, yes, CO2 injected from inception('96). Bottle in the basement feeds 4 tanks.

Newshound, if the conditions are right, and the plants healthy to start, they will melt away but come back. Crypts grow very specialized leaved setup to work with the water conditions. So typically there is a drastic change between the nursery conditions and the home aquarium. Let them melt, then leave them alone, they should regrow, but with different leaves. I have crypts in all my tanks, the loaches never seem to show any interest.

JD

Very nice!

JD wrote:Newshound, if the conditions are right, and the plants healthy to start, they will melt away but come back. Crypts grow very specialized leaved setup to work with the water conditions. So typically there is a drastic change between the nursery conditions and the home aquarium. Let them melt, then leave them alone, they should regrow, but with different leaves. JD

I had no problems with them melting and growing back. It is just that they seem to take a beating all the time. Always melting and 'mucking up" the tank. IMO it is kinda annoying and plan on avoiding them in my new set up. I do like the look though.
Once again I love the tank.

Newshound, that is interesting. I have never had issue with them and crypts. In fact I have always reccomended them since they seem loach proof in my tanks:) As they say YMMV. Thanks for the compliment.

Thanks Spanky, Too.

JD wrote:Here is a link to their catalog http://www.estesco.com/pdf/aqua.pdf Their stuff is available on the east coast, USA.

Thank you very much! It sounds just like the kind of substrate that I'd need.

Fabulous JD, and it's great to see a tank that's so long established.

Martin.

Crypts are funny. I have some in my 55 with clowns and they are growing like weeds. They melted first, got yellow leaves than came back with dark green leaves and dark red stems, tall and thin leaved.

The crypts I got from Martin and Momfish didn't melt they just went into the 30 g tropical (with the limia) and started sending runners everywhere. Now they are primarily rusty brown undersides and are crowding out all the other plants. Big bunches spread out all over the place...

The one's I stuck in the coldwater tank are also brown/red, but stay short to the gravel and spread like wide, flat-leaved ground cover.

So far, I haven't seen any popping of crypt leaves. Maybe because they prefer to snap off the limnophila?