Mathas' Planted 90 gallon

Amazing tank!! excelent job

hope oneday I can have a tank as good as this

 

Great tank! I love Platinum angels (I'm thinking of one for my 48gal when I get some plant cover in) espeically when when on mass! Isn't it funny how all the fish go for algae wafer? Have you tried your Pleco on cuccumber out of interest?

 

Have you tried your Pleco on cuccumber out of interest?

Nope, zucchinI only so far. They love it!

 

No stocking changes in this update, but I did play around with the aquascape.

I added 1x red tiger lotus (Nymphea lotus 'Red'), 3x Alternanthera reineckiI 'roseafolia', and 10x Blyxa japonica. The Alternanthera isn't doing as well as I'd liked, but I'll wait it out and see what happens. In addition to adding the aforementioned plants, I had to remove most the Marsilea minuta. Between the snails and the rams, I woke up one morning to find that most of it had been uprooted and shredded. There's still one small clump left, but I doubt it will last long enough to spread. Time to start looking for another carpeting plant, I guess!

I also added some weeping moss (Vesicularia ferriei) and a small terra cotta pot, but I apparently don't have the DIY skills to turn it into a moss-covered cave. So instead, I have a clump of the moss attached to a small chuck of wood right next to the pot, maybe it will spread

Anyway, onto the before/after! Yes, the first picture has been posted already, but it's on a previous page at 20 posts-per-page.

8-25-08:


9-04-08:


Not bad for only a week and a half You can really tell the difference the increased lighting has made in how the wisteria is growing. In the before picture, the leaves were very spaced out and thick, while they're much more dense and intricate in the after picture.

 

Still love it! Every time you post a picture I am even more amazed.

 

Oh my gosh! This is a beautiful tank you have here! and this also deserves a

 

No stocking changes in this update, but I did play around with the aquascape.

I added 1x red tiger lotus (Nymphea lotus 'Red'), 3x Alternanthera reineckiI 'roseafolia', and 10x Blyxa japonica. The Alternanthera isn't doing as well as I'd liked, but I'll wait it out and see what happens. In addition to adding the aforementioned plants, I had to remove most the Marsilea minuta. Between the snails and the rams, I woke up one morning to find that most of it had been uprooted and shredded. There's still one small clump left, but I doubt it will last long enough to spread. Time to start looking for another carpeting plant, I guess!

I also added some weeping moss (Vesicularia ferriei) and a small terra cotta pot, but I apparently don't have the DIY skills to turn it into a moss-covered cave. So instead, I have a clump of the moss attached to a small chuck of wood right next to the pot, maybe it will spread

Anyway, onto the before/after! Yes, the first picture has been posted already, but it's on a previous page at 20 posts-per-page.

8-25-08:


9-04-08:


Not bad for only a week and a half You can really tell the difference the increased lighting has made in how the wisteria is growing. In the before picture, the leaves were very spaced out and thick, while they're much more dense and intricate in the after picture.

Definate imprvement there. FOr carpet plants, why not try either Dwarf harigrass or HC?

 

DFOr carpet plants, why not try either Dwarf harigrass or HC?

I've kind of lost the desire for a carpeting plant, actually. If the one bit of remaining Marsilea spreads, fine... if it doesn't, that's fine too.

The rams and corys seem to really like the open sandy areas of the tank, so I have no plans go out of my way to change anything at this point.

 

I love the pic of all of the cories They are so cute!

 

My water change today seemed to trigger something in the angels, and two of them have finally paired off!

Here you can see the male doing his job and fertilizing the eggs:


Here's the proud couple together tending to the eggs:

 

Oh my gosh! My angels look almost exactly the same as yours! They're so pretty! Congrats on the spawn!

 

oh wow where did you get that wood with the holes in it love it lovely tank

 

That is so exciting. Thanks for posting it.

 

Your tank is great!!!!

Once all you plants fill in it will be amazing!

 

Incredible tank! I really like the spacing with the wood in relation to the plants!

 

Thanks for the feedback! As expected for a first-time pair in a community tank, the angel eggs were gone the next morning. That's not a problem in my opinion, as I'm not equipped to rear fry.

oh wow where did you get that wood with the holes in it

I'm not sure which piece you're referring to, but all of my driftwood came from various local pet stores. I got pretty lucky in regards to finding almost the exact driftwood I had in mind

Now onto other news...

I said the other day that the water change seemed to have triggered something in the angels and got them to spawn for the first time; well it wasn't just the angels! I went to feed my fish this afternoon, and noticed that only three of my bolivian rams were doing what I call their "FEED ME!" dance at the front of the tank... that's when I saw the other two guarding a batch of eggs!

Here's the female, with breeding tube still clearly visible from having just deposited the eggs:


Here's Mr. Fish-of-the-Month September 2008 himself, the male of the newly-formed spawning pair (excuse the food particles in the water, as I said, I just fed them)... note the obvious difference in tube shape/size between the male and the female from the previous picture:


The male fertilizing the eggs while the female hovers anxiously nearby:


Here's a slightly out-of-focus picture of the male keeping a close eye on a nearby bristlenose pleco while the female fans the eggs:


A wider-angle shot of the area the rams are keeping clear of other fish:

 

Yeah!! are the angels and the rams your first 'breeding fish'?

 

Yeah!! are the angels and the rams your first 'breeding fish'?

No, but they're the first I've had in many years that exhibit interesting breeding behavior. The black molly trio I have in the tank also breed, but I've only seen a molly fry one time... they tend to get eaten before I can notice a 0.25" black fish swimming around a tank.

 

Can you keep Rams with Discus? They have such beautiful markings.

 

Can you keep Rams with Discus? They have such beautiful markings.

I'm not sure. I know discus prefer (need?) water that is a bit warmer than the rams prefer, but I don't know how well the rams would adapt to that warmer water.

It might also depend on which type of ram you're talking about... I've never kept german blue rams, so they could be less tolerant of higher temps than the bolivians are for all I know.

 

Thanks, just curious. I already have a very full tank. : )

 

your plecostomus is beautiful ......WOW

 

GBRs like 80 to as high as ive heard 86

I'm keeping mine about 82 and they are spawning constantly.

 

Congratulations on your rams! I just love looking at your pictures. They're all so beautiful!

 

Wow mathas you really got some great shots. Your rams are gorgeous.
Thanks for posting them.

 

agreed. The Bolivians Rams sure colour up nicely when spawning!!

 

Your tank looks really nice. I am so envious of your pics. I have so much trouble taking good pics of my tanks. Congrats on your angels and bolivians spawning. That is so exciting

 

Thanks Mathas for sharing all the pictures and details of this truly awesome tank. It is my absolute dream tank. Great photos also. Have you taken any lately? Any eggs hatch?

 

Have you taken any lately? Any eggs hatch?

No, I haven't taken any pics lately. Nothing has really changed, and no further spawns (yet!) to capture, so I haven't really bothered.

If any of the eggs hatched, the fry were eaten. I never saw any, but the rams protected their eggs for 3-4 days, then suddenly they were gone. That's kind of what I expect in a community tank, though.

 

curious what's the approximate size of those two koralia's and what you think of them? I just bought a maxi-jet but am not liking how large it is. very nice aquarium by the way. beautiful photo's.

 

curious what's the approximate size of those two koralia's and what you think of them?

The smaller one is a Koralia Nano, which is approximately 2" x 3"; the larger is a Koralia 1, which is roughly 2-1/4" x 5". I liked them, but felt the fish were more active without all the extra circulation, so I've removed them from the tank.

They're now waiting for a future saltwater project, if I ever get rich enough to afford a second tank.

 

The smaller one is a Koralia Nano, which is approximately 2" x 3"; the larger is a Koralia 1, which is roughly 2-1/4" x 5". I liked them, but felt the fish were more active without all the extra circulation, so I've removed them from the tank.

They're now waiting for a future saltwater project, if I ever get rich enough to afford a second tank.

much thanks mathas...i'm definitely thinking of getting a nano then. its smaller and more powerfull than mine now.

 

QUESTION!

Were you using flash???

From the looks of your pictures, I would say no. However, if not, HOW DID YOU GET THEM SO SHARP???

My constant issue with photographing fish is that I have to shoot at around 1/10 of a second shutter speed at ISO 1600 so they're ALWAYS blurry. If I shoot at a faster shutter speed, they're grossly underexposed and grainy. My F-stop is usually around 3.2-3.5 .

All the pics are excellent.

 

I have thoroughly enjoyed this thread. Fantastic planted tank, beautiful angels, love the cories. How inspirational! Kudos to you!

 

QUESTION!

Were you using flash???

From the looks of your pictures, I would say no. However, if not, HOW DID YOU GET THEM SO SHARP???

No, I was not using a flash. I eliminate as much non-tank lighting as I can, actually. I wait until the sun goes down, I draw the curtains closed, and make sure all lights in the room and the TV are off.

My shutter speed is normally around 1/20 to 1/30, ISO 80, and aperture settings around F2.7 to F3.5. I think it helps that I have 220W of light over the tank, which combined with the lower aperture setting, is enough light to allow me to use the faster shutter speed and lower ISO setting.

Really, though, it was a matter of playing around with the various settings until I found a combo that worked. If you want to see some truly good pics, look up Slug and Macroman on this forum. Their pictures always make me jealous

 

would love to see some more pics Mathas and see how your tank is changing. Yours is the best aquarium I have seen.

 

What kind of sand are you using in your tank? It's absolutely beautiful.

 

No, I was not using a flash. I eliminate as much non-tank lighting as I can, actually. I wait until the sun goes down, I draw the curtains closed, and make sure all lights in the room and the TV are off.

Ill have to try that next time. When I take pics of my tank, I always get a big flash or a dark picture
Very was tank BTW

 

Mathas,
Your tank is absolutely amazing.
I am definitely planning my dream tank according to yours!
I plan my dream tank in a 75 gallon tank. What type of sand are you using and do you have to do anything special to keep your live plants healthy in the sand? Right now, I am using Florite, but I plan to get Cories, Loaches, and a Pleco. They won't like the Florite.

I know that Canons are great cameras. I have a friend that uses one and when we compared his pictures to the pictures that the professional photographer took at our friend's wedding, we thought that my friend's pictures were far better than the professional photographer. hoto: Of course, you have to have a good eye as well, to take such beautiful pictures. Very good job!

 

What kind of sand are you using in your tank?

What type of sand are you using and do you have to do anything special to keep your live plants healthy in the sand?

It's just regular pool filter sand from a local pool supply store. I paid $18+tax for 100lbs of it, and used 80-85lbs worth. As far as "doing anything special", I use Flourish root tabs under the swords and red tiger lotus, and dose Flourish/Flourish Excel/Flourish Iron on a regular basis. I also have a huge colony of malaysian trumpet snails, which help prevent the sand from compacting around any slow-growing roots.

would love to see some more pics Mathas and see how your tank is changing.

Sure thing!

September 4th, 2008

November 24th, 2008


Lots of aquascaping changes over the past month or so... the jungle val and water wisteria have been removed, several other plants have filled in and/or been relocated.

I also got a good shot of my larger male bristlenose's head a couple of weeks ago, which makes for a good comparison shot on how his bristles have started developing in the three months between the following shots:



And, of course, I got more pictures of my rams!

Breeding pair approaching an intruding male that encroached on their territory:


Dominant male(left) challenging the intruder, both are flaring nicely in this shot: