Somyavalecha’s 75-Gallon Tank Update: lake effect worked at last!

[11/24/2020] FINALLY SET UP THE AQUASCAPE AND I AM IN LOVEEEE. Got bubbloo he is a very happy guy, and, very shy.









I’m so happy with how it turned out, the plants are thriving! Instead of wood, I used a plastic sheet I found at Michaels. I also decided to make a lake instead of a river.
Stocking:
• 3 Angelfish (1 male, 2 female)
• 8 Glofish
• 5 Giant Danios
• 2 Three Spot Gouramis
• 1 red crawfish(?)

 

[11/24/2020] FINALLY SET UP THE AQUASCAPE AND I AM IN LOVEEEE. Got bubbloo he is a very happy guy, and, very shy.

Will the crayfish eat the fish?

 

He looks aready hungry

 

He looks aready hungry

XD don’t worry all my fish are way too big for him to eat and he only gets 4 inches big so I’m not too concerned. I think he’ll only be able to eat sick or dieing fish( by that point I’ll already know and have separated the fish)

 

XD don’t worry all my fish are way too big for him to eat and he only gets 4 inches big so I’m not too concerned. I think he’ll only be able to eat sick or dieing fish( by that point I’ll already know and have separated the fish)

I thought the same thing when I added an Electric Blue Crayfish to my tank. They are less aggressive then Reds. When it gets bigger it will try for your fish and at night it has a high chance of nabbing one of your Angelfish by their feelers. They are also surprisingly quick and can nab the Tetras when they get close enough. All of those fish are slower fish that will be easy for your Crayfish to catch when it gets bigger.

Be extremely Careful with the crayfish when it grows up. They are surprisingly quick and won't have trouble catching those fish at all given the chance. Also keep an eye on your Giant Danios, they can get aggressive especially during feeding time.

 

I thought the same thing when I added an Electric Blue Crayfish to my tank. They are less aggressive then Reds. When it gets bigger it will try for your fish and at night it has a high chance of nabbing one of your Angelfish by their feelers. They are also surprisingly quick and can nab the Tetras when they get close enough. All of those fish are slower fish that will be easy for your Crayfish to catch when it gets bigger.

Oh, how’s it going now? The fish store person said that reds get smaller than blues :/ I told her about my angelfish and she said he’d be fine with them too T-T do you think I might have a orange dwarf crayfish and not a red crayfish? Since she said these get smaller.

 

Oh, how’s it going now? The fish store person said that reds get smaller than blues :/ I told her about my angelfish and she said he’d be fine with them too T-T do you think I might have a orange dwarf crayfish and not a red crayfish? Since she said these get smaller.

They all get around the same size and the red/orange ones are super aggressive when they get bigger. I lost an Angelfish to my blue overnight. I would honestly rehome the Crayfish into his own tank.

 

They all get around the same size and the red/orange ones are super aggressive when they get bigger. I lost an Angelfish to my blue overnight. I would honestly rehome the Crayfish into his own tank.

I think I have a orange dwarf crayfish that only gets 2 inches big. I don't think he will ever get big enough to hurt my angelfish. If he does get too big for my concern I will look into rehoming him.

 

I think I have a orange dwarf crayfish that only gets 2 inches big. I don't think he will ever get big enough to hurt my angelfish. If he does get too big for my concern I will look into rehoming him.

I was unaware that there are Orange Dwarf Crayfish, as long as you keep an eye on him and are careful you might get lucky.

 

There are dwarf ones they are tiny.

orange dwarf.crayfish - Google Search

As opposed to these which are my fave yet far too dangerous Electric Blue Crayfish - Care Guide

 

As opposed to these which are my fave yet far too dangerous Electric Blue Crayfish - Care Guide

I have one of those right now lol I plan on breeding them so there are more available in my local area.

 

As opposed to these which are my fave yet far too dangerous Electric Blue Crayfish - Care Guide

I was looking at them but aside from being too dangerous, I have black sand so they wouldn’t stand out as much.

 

I was looking at them but aside from being too dangerous, I have black sand so they wouldn’t stand out as much.

They stand out really well on black sand, that is what I use for my crayfish tank and she POPs!

 

I was looking at them but aside from being too dangerous, I have black sand so they wouldn’t stand out as much.

Right I just mean it sounds like you have the safer version. Those larger ones are awesome but honestly they will wipe out a tank so fast. They’re nocturnal so that’s when they get them.

I have one of those right now lol I plan on breeding them so there are more available in my local area.

They’re my favorite. I love the ghost white ones.

 

I was looking at them but aside from being too dangerous, I have black sand so they wouldn’t stand out as much.

Any of the larger ones are super dangerous they all hunt though so even the dwarf ones can potentially kill some of your fish.

 

Any of the larger ones are super dangerous they all hunt though so even the dwarf ones can potentially kill some of your fish.

His pinchers are so small, I think he has more of a risk to being eaten tbh

 

You would be surprised when mine was only 2" It caught my 8" Angelfish and killed it.

 

[01/14/2021]
THE CUPRAMINE FINALLY ARRIVED!! About 2 weeks ago I started losing some fish and I diagnosed it as velvet. About 1 week ago I FINALLY found a good velvet treatment that wouldn't harm live plants. Today I dosed the cupramine in all my tanks and hopefully, it'll work. I saw somewhere that the fish will get better in 3-10 days so let's hope. I'll do another dose in 2 days and then wait 2 weeks to see the results.

 

Lovely lake effect! How did you do it?

 

Lovely lake effect! How did you do it?

I got some plastic from Micheals and cut it out so that it would fit in my tank. Then I just covered the sides of the plastic with substrate so that the part that’s showing would look like a lake

[01/24/2021]

It’s been 10 days since I dosed Cupramine. My betta fish seems to be doing good today. I saw that a lot of the velvet had disappeared overnight. I’m glad that he’s more active

Over the last few days I went from 10 fry to 7 fry, and I switched my female angelfish from my 36 gallon with my male in my 75-gallon. This was due to aggression between the breeding pair.

In my 36-gallon, I think 1 multifaciatus has died, but I haven’t found the body. One of the julies isn’t doing to good. Also, yesterday I saw my remaining shell dweller pooping white poop. I thought that velvet was killing the fish but not sure if it was actually a parasite all along?? However, the remaining shell dweller seems fine for now.

 

[01/26/2021]
I dosed the tank with general cure, I’m hoping it will get rid of the problem with my fish not eating. I also did a water change for all tanks. 25%+ for the smaller tanks and 5/75 gallons (4%) for the big one.

 

[01/30/2021]
An angelfish fry died, and one of them is looking weak. My betta is getting better since I put him into the 10-gallon, I'm thinking of possible tankmates for now. I'm hoping the fry grow a little bit faster so that I can put them in the main tank. The skinny julidorchromus is also getting better now that I treated with general cure.

 

[02/03/2021]
3 angelfish fry died since the last update. Now I'm down to 3 fry. I think it's a parasite or something because not all of them are sick, one gets sick after the other one dies. That's why when I saw the 4th one was weak I put him in my 75-gallon. My 75 gallon has hardier fish (danios, tetras, gourami) and I think the problem should go away. I'm not sure though, I don't really know what I'm going to do if the problem doesn't go away.

 

[02/14/2020]
Thankfully no more fry have died. I got rid of the divider in the 10-gallon so that the betta and the angelfish fry have more space. Both of them seem to co-exist nicely Yesterday I took out the plastic sheet that was there for the lake effect because it was growing algae inside the sheet. I rearranged the tank a little and now am using the bottom of the tank to serve as the "lake effect". I honestly like the tank better this way. I'm going to buy some algae eaters today since I have too much algae and not enough algae eaters.

 

I got 3 plecos overall
Updated picture of my tank:


Updated stock:
75-Gallon

• 5 giant danios
• 2 female angelfish
• 8 glofish tetra
• 2 gourami

36-Gallon

• 1 multifaciatus (will add 3 more eventually)
• 3 julidochromus
• 2 calvus
• 1 angelfish
• 2 algae eaters

10-Gallon

• 1 betta fish
• 3 angelfish fry (will shift to large tank soon)
• 3 algae eaters

 

[03/29/2021] Did a water change 3 days ago. Don’t remember the last time I did one though

 

[04/25/2021]
I combined my 36 gallon with my 75 gallon tank. The 36 gallon is now shut down. I’m planning on giving away my giant danios to my LFS tomorrow.
Current Stock in 75-Gallon (This will probably change in the upcoming days based on how the fish react to each other and what other fish I decide to get rid of):
-3 angelfish (the males and females are separated by a divider)
-2 gourami (separated by divider)
-8 glofish tetra
-4 giant danios (will give away tomorrow)
-3 plecos (not the common pleco)
-1 multifaciatus
-2 calves (1-2 inches)
-3 julidochromus
-1 betta fish (hes going through something right now so I put him in the 75-gallon for now, I’ll move him back to the 5-gallon if he gets worse in the 75)

10-Gallon:
-2 angelfish fry

 

[04/25/2021]
I combined my 36 gallon with my 75 gallon tank. The 36 gallon is now shut down. I’m planning on giving away my giant danios to my LFS tomorrow.
Current Stock in 75-Gallon (This will probably change in the upcoming days based on how the fish react to each other and what other fish I decide to get rid of):
-3 angelfish (the males and females are separated by a divider)
-2 gourami (separated by divider)
-8 glofish tetra
-4 giant danios (will give away tomorrow)
-3 plecos (not the common pleco)
-1 multifaciatus
-2 calves (1-2 inches)
-3 julidochromus
-1 betta fish (hes going through something right now so I put him in the 75-gallon for now, I’ll move him back to the 5-gallon if he gets worse in the 75)

10-Gallon:
-2 angelfish fry

[04/27/2021]
Gave away my danios and got twig catfish(?)

 

[05/09/2021]
Did a water change

Updated Stock:
75-Gallon

• 8 glofish tetra
• 1 multifaciatus
• 2 three spot gourami
• 3 angelfish
• 3 julidochromus
• 2 calvus (1-2 inches)
• 1 twig fish
• 1 pleco (4 inches)

10-Gallon Tank

• 1 betta fish
• 2 pleco (3-4 inches)

36-Gallon Tank

• 2 angelfish fry

 

[05/28/2021]
Yesterday one of my Angelfish died I was suspecting something was wrong but I didn't expect him to die so suddenly. Today I did a small water change in the 36-Gallon. The fry will be free swimming soon so this is the last water change in that tank for a while. I also took the divider out of my 75-gallon. As I only have a breeding pair of angelfish, there's no need for it anymore. I'm thinking about redoing the scape of the 75-gallon sometime next month. A lot of the plants have died so it isn't as full looking anymore. Plus, I've taken a lot of fish out of it. I'm thinking about getting more multifaciatus, 1 more green glofish since one died, and maybe another centerpiece fish. I won't get more angelfish for sure unless another one dies. No more gouramis either. Whatever I add I'll make sure it's peaceful since I don't need more stocking problems.

Updated Stock:
75-Gallon

• 7 glofish tetra
• 1 multifaciatus
• 2 three spot gourami
• 3 julidochromus
• 2 calvus (1-2 inches)
• 1 twig fish
• 1 pleco (4 inches)

10-Gallon Tank

• 1 betta fish
• 2 pleco (3-4 inches)
• 2 kuhli loaches
• 2 angelfish fry (I need a better place for them. I REALLY want to add them to the 75 but I don't think tiny angelfish fry would do good with aggressive Tanganyikan cichlids.. I might add them to the 36 again once the new batch of fry are big enough to not get eaten.)

36-Gallon Tank

• 2 breeding angelfish (+fry!!)

 

[05/28/2021]
Yesterday one of my Angelfish died I was suspecting something was wrong but I didn't expect him to die so suddenly. Today I did a small water change in the 36-Gallon. The fry will be free swimming soon so this is the last water change in that tank for a while. I also took the divider out of my 75-gallon. As I only have a breeding pair of angelfish, there's no need for it anymore. I'm thinking about redoing the scape of the 75-gallon sometime next month. A lot of the plants have died so it isn't as full looking anymore. Plus, I've taken a lot of fish out of it. I'm thinking about getting more multifaciatus, 1 more green glofish since one died, and maybe another centerpiece fish. I won't get more angelfish for sure unless another one dies. No more gouramis either. Whatever I add I'll make sure it's peaceful since I don't need more stocking problems.

Updated Stock:
75-Gallon

• 7 glofish tetra
• 1 multifaciatus
• 2 three spot gourami
• 3 julidochromus
• 2 calvus (1-2 inches)
• 1 twig fish
• 1 pleco (4 inches)

10-Gallon Tank

• 1 betta fish
• 2 pleco (3-4 inches)
• 2 kuhli loaches
• 2 angelfish fry (I need a better place for them. I REALLY want to add them to the 75 but I don't think tiny angelfish fry would do good with aggressive Tanganyikan cichlids.. I might add them to the 36 again once the new batch of fry are big enough to not get eaten.)

36-Gallon Tank

• 2 breeding angelfish (+fry!!)

[05/31/2021]
My angelfish pair were fighting since yesterday so I moved the male to the 75. He really has a problem of injuring my females :/
75-Gallon

• 7 glofish tetra
• 1 multifaciatus
• 2 three spot gourami
• 2 julidochromus
• 2 calvus (1-2 inches)
• 1 twig fish
• 1 pleco (4 inches)
• 1 angelfish

10-Gallon Tank

• 1 betta fish
• 2 pleco (3-4 inches)
• 2 kuhli loaches
• 2 angelfish fry

36-Gallon Tank

• 1 breeding angelfish (+fry!!)

 

[06/02/2021]
My betta fish finally flared his fins after what has been months. I'm really happy that he's more active now! His swimming issues have also gotten better and his tail biting has gone away. I'm glad that he's getting better now

 

[06/05/2021]
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!!!!!
I went to my local LFS to trade my male three spot Gourami and 2 Julidochromus for 3 pearl gourami (female) and 1 GloFish. I came out with 2 pearl gouramis, 2 three spot gouramis (female!!), a hillstream loach, and a breeding pair of Multies . Ive been looking to start my multifaciatus dream for months now after 3 of my multies died. I think it might finally happen now!!!! Also, I’ve wanted a hillstream loach for soo long but I’ve never been able to find one. I can proudly say that my stock is perfect now I only need that glofish tetra..

75-Gallon

• 7 glofish tetra
• 4 multifaciatus (+1 baby)
• 3 three spot gourami (female)
• 2 Pearl gourami (female)
• 2 calvus (1-2 inches)
• 1 twig fish
• 1 pleco (4 inches)
• 1 angelfish
• 1 hillstream loach

10-Gallon Tank

• 1 betta fish
• 2 pleco (3-4 inches)
• 2 kuhli loaches
• 2 angelfish fry (will move with the other fry in the 36 soon)

36-Gallon Tank

• 1 female angelfish (+fry!!)

 

[06/06/2021]
I did a water change yesterday. I did 10-20% for the 75, 20/25% for the 36, and 50% for the 10 gallon.

 

[06/07/2021]
Twig Catfish died today... I noticed he was weaker than usual yesterday but didn't think much of it. Today I saw him lying upside down breathing heavily. First I thought it might be starvation so I put him in my 10-gallon and gave him some boiled cucumber and algae wafer. I don't remember ever feeding him so this may be the reason he died. He wasn't interested in the food though so I thought it might be because of the plant fertilizer I added yesterday (since I know that they're sensitive to water parameters). I moved him to my 36-gallon because I didn't put any fertilizer in there as it has no plants. Unfortunately, he didn't end up surviving. I'm not 100% sure what it was. He lived well for the little over a month I had him. I would like to get another as they are so fun to have but I'm not sure it's the best idea. Maybe after my new plants arrive and I've reorganized the tank I'll try again.

 

[06/11/2021]
Plants have arrived !! I totally didn’t just buy $90 of plants… I bought mostly plants I’ve kept before. I got 2 swords, 1 tiger lotus, val, 3 crypts, frogbit, cobomba green, and anarchis narrow leaf (they didn’t have the normal kind ;() I’ll let the plants grow out a bit before I rearrange them for good. I’m hoping for an ADA style tank but knowing myself it’ll probably turn into a jungle tank. Hopefully I’ll make it look better this time!

 

[06/30/2021]
My thrive root tabs and potassium arrived so I decided it was time to rearrange the tank and try to make it look good. I also added some more black substrate and finally fixed the shell. I finally got the black tubing for it so it’s less noticeable than before. I’m really happy with how it turned out!
Before:


After:

 

[12/11/2021]
Rescaped my tank! I found that heavily planted tanks aren’t for me, so I wanted to focus on the hard scape this time. After lots of time finding, buying, curing, and cleaning the wood and red lava stone, I’m finally done! I’ll add root tabs tomorrow after I’ve had time to figure out if I want to change anything. The wood is of a maple tree outside my house.

My tank before:



Finding what type of rock I like:



Initial scape without rocks:



My inspiration:



My tank now: