Dantra

Congrats on bouncing back from the outbreak of ich. Thanks for the read, it was enjoyable and interesting. I have no doubt we will continue to enjoy your other journals as they come.

By the way, great looking tank!

davemonkey

Great looking tank and awesome journal. I'm really impressed with the keyhole cichlids, as the only photos I've seen in books showed them to be rather drab-looking. Yours looked amazing, especially in brood-care.

-Dave

nfrank

The pictures now start year 2.
First, here is a link to a Slide Show of my pictures hosted on photobucket:Slide Show of Neil's 120g
I suggest viewing this using photobucket's "full screen option."

For those who have been keeping up, here are the latest views.

Nov 18


On the 19th, did some more fern thinning on top of my driftwood. I think i am done for now. I can be sure the plants needed thinning when i cant see a difference when viewing the front of the tank. It is more apparent from the top, and the substrate plants now are getting more light. I also introduced a few new crypts:

• A group of Cryptocoryne crispatula var. tonkinensis, which very interestingly has reddish leaves. The ones i previously kept were quite green.

• I also got a crypt which the Florida grower called "C. willissii." It is supposedly hard to grow emersed by the Florida Farms. I hope that they retain these colors, but it is possible that the colors is derived from the Florida water conditions where they have been grown. I am keeping my fingers crossed. The latter crypt looks very similar to my submersed C. undulata (previously called C. willissii), but mine underwater are all dark green. I have no trouble growing these undulata emersed. My emersed plants came from the later Robert Gasser, which i have maintained for well over 10 years. My submersed undulata are visible a few inches to the left of the Lagendandra meeboldii.

• I also got some new C. parva (emersed) which i have planted on the right front corner of the tank... to see how they evolve compared to the other parva i have as my foreground plant.

Nov 19


Nov 21





BTW, the annoying dots on some of the pictures are the microbubbles from my CO2 injection. I am too lazy to turn off the CO2 to take the pics. I once did that and discovered the next day that i forgot to turn it back on.

bratyboy2

amazing still

HoustonFishFanatic

Wow, the C crispatula var tonkinensis looks awesome. You have a beautiful collection of crypts there. Can I call dibbs on the first C crispatula var tonkinensis runners you have for sale?

Phil Edwards

Neil,

That tank's a Crypt lovers paradise!

nfrank

is it too late to change the title of the journal?

nfrank

i found out the the tonkinensis were nursery grown in full sun. This accounts for its current red appearance. I suspect that this will change once the plant acclimates to my lighting.

I also learned that Florida Aquatic Nursery has parva in production! They offer it on their web site, as do several "dealers" who get their plants from FAN. They are available as emersed potted plants. From the Nov 21 picture, you can see the contrast between the emersed plants and the submersed ones which essentially loose the leaf blade.

Phil Edwards

Parva? That's awesome!!! I think I'm going to end up going broke...lol

nfrank

Mea culpa

In this thred and in a few other posts, i talked about using dry chemical additions for phosphate.

I use Potassium Phosphate Monobasic (KH2PO4), not Potassium Phosphate Dibasic Anhydrous (K2HPO4). I am sure that clears everything up!