Northwest_Scapes_

Update on the Ich situation: I did beat it, but the last 4 of the Sundadanio did pass. When I heard they were an "Ich Magnet" fish, I wasn't expecting them to be this sensitive to it. I'd love to add another group of either the Sundadanio or maybe try out a Boraras species like the Chili. The good news is, none of the other Samurai passed and are all doing good. Now onto more positive news, this was an exciting week since those surface dwellers I was talking about arrived! Meet the Borneo Redline Halfbeak (Hemiraphodon tengah) ! (I just call them Tengah halfbeaks for short). This species has been on my bucketlist for a while ever since seeing them from Alex Bell (Alexb_aquatics on insta) and Ruben Rensink (also on insta), they're a gorgeous species and arguably the most stunning of the Hemiraphodon genus. Another cool fact about them is that they're the sole egg laying species of the genus, every other species is a livebearer. It'd be cool to see them breed and try to raise the fry since this is a pretty rare species. When the light hits them just right, they have a super bright iridescence, especially the males. These guys just got through velvet so they're a little skinny which is what I was expecting so I'll be fattening them up in a bit. The main concern is that they tend to do better in pairs since the dominant male gets territorial, though the damage isn't anything to worry about i heard and they tend to stick to their own areas anyways. I have 6, so I'll see if I need to remove everyone but the pair in the future. Enjoy these pics!

Unfortunately I have some sad news. Looks like the introduction of the Samurais caused an ich outbreak I wasn't expecting. I don't blame the store since they didn't show any signs of ich and are overall healthy. Perhaps changing water parameters / environments caused something to pop up. I haven't dealt with ich in forever since the store I normally buy fish from does a great job at QT so this caught me off guard. The losses so far are unfortunately 1 of the new Samurai (a big male who I'm assuming must've been patient zero for the outbreak) and 8 out of the 12 Sundadanio. It hurts losing them since they were the first additions and have done amazing so far. But they're one of those "Ich magnet" fish so it spread like crazy amongst them. The other 5 Samurai surprisingly are doing just fine despite having a slight case. I started the Ich X treatment today do hopefully over the next few days it clears up. I didn't have it on hand when I first noticed it 2 days ago but I know the tank will bounce back from this.

Well earlier this week I managed to get a new group of Samurai Gouramis from a store in Seattle! I'm very excited since they've been doing really well so far (eating Pellets!!) and it's a good mix of Adults and Juveniles. There's at least 1 Adult Male and 1 young female. The others are too young to tell but hopefully I get another female or 2. The male I had before has perked up a lot since adding the new 5. I would whole heartedly say these are fish that need to be in a group which is why if you're going to keep them, invest in a group instead of just 1 or 2. Some other news is that the last species that was supposed to arrive last week ended up getting velvet the day before they were going to ship so the store reached out and refunded. Though I'm first in line for when they're healthy again / the others make it out of QT which is awesome. Once those come in, I think this tank will be done in terms of stocking. There's still maybe a few plants I'd like to add that aren't from Asia (I saw a really nice African Lace at the store I wanted to get but held off) but then I think it's time to sit back and let nature do its thing. I'm also getting better at my Sundadanio photography 🙂

It's been a quite a while since I've last given an update. Unfortunately there's both good and bad news. The Bad | The group of Samurai Gouramis did well for about a month, but we got hit with a heatwave out of no where towards the end of August that was pretty devastating for me (I lost a lot of Non-Photosynthetic Corals from my Saltwater tank due to the temp spike) and unfortunately a majority of the group didn't survive. I still have 1 (Male I believe) that's doing okay but he definitely needs a group. Hopefully I'll be able to introduce some more to finish off the stocking of this tank sometime before the end of the year. Thankfully that's all I have for the bad news. Good News | Tank is still running well for the most part. The mulm bed and biofilm have skyrocketed which is nice to see. I ended up taking off the black background to see what it would look like, and I think it looks better this way, the lighting in the pictures looks a lot better. Somehow (I say that since I thought the heatwave would've effected them) I still have most, if not all the Sundadanio. I counted 13 but they're so fast its hard to count. The Tannins have actually settled down so instead of the dark murky brown, it's now a light gold tint which is what i was wanting and because of that, you can truly see the iridescence on these guys now. It's so cool to see them school when I'm at my desk doing school work. I've actually got some top dwellers coming this week that I'm very excited about. A species I've been wanting to keep for a while and they came back in stock this week so I had to grab them. As much as I was thinking about doing a species of Khuli Loach or Bumblebee Goby (like the new Brachygobius sp. 'Ocelot' that have been coming in recently that seem to be fully freshwater) for the bottom, I think these guys are so much better. P.S. I did upgrade to the Sony a7iv a little after my last post and this camera has been a beast. The AF is insanely fast and sharp and has allowed me to finally get some decent photos of the Sundadanio in the tank. Still a WIP cause of their speed but I'm getting there haha

Backstory | My Mom is an Elementary School Teacher and has had class Bettas before but they were in bowls (they did surprisingly well, most lived for about 2.5 years). When she brought up the idea of having another Betta, I jumped in and offered to setup something special. This year she's teaching 1st Grade so hopefully this will inspire some kids to get into the hobby like myself and learn about how to care for a living animal the proper way. I wanted to make this tank as low tech as possible since while my Mom does have experience with Bettas, I still wanted to make this tank easy going while giving the fish a nice life. Tank | UNS 30A White (7 Gallon) (the new model with the lily pipes). This tank is super clean and sleek. It's an all in one so all the filtration is in the back and the lily pipes just add to the sleekness of the new model. Lighting & Equipment | Twinstar 30B / Aquarium Co-op 50W Heater set to 78F / Biomedia and Pump apart of the tank Hardscape | Spider Wood / Black Lava Rock / White Sand Plants | Anubias Nana 'Petite'/ Java Fern / Flame Moss Ferts and co2 | No co2, though I am dosing Easy Green at the moment just to give the plants a boost before going to the classroom. I'll have to see if my Mom wants the easy green bottle in her class. Stocking | 1 Betta / I would love to add a Nerite Snail & Shrimp for clean up crew purposes + I think little kids would be pretty interested in shrimp. However it'll depend on the temperament of the Betta so hopefully it works out. The tank is already cycled and the plants look like they're doing well. The Betta is already ordered and I'm excited to see how it'll fare in here. It should arrive next week so I'll keep this thread posted. It'll likely be another 3 weeks or so before I take the tank to the classroom so I can get the Betta adjusted and thriving + so I can test to see if he's shrimp compatible. Enjoy! (I'll get more photos later tonight)

Thank you! Funnily enough, the photography 'tank' is just a container from the Container Store and a piece of black window film. It's been great so far but I'm definitely looking at getting a UNS 5N as my official photography tank. That'll bump up the photos in terms of sharpness.

Wow it's been a while, the tank is still up and running and actually better than ever. Some exciting new additions yesterday, I added a few Crypt. Wendetii 'Green' between the branches just to add some plant life but you can't really see them through the Tannins. But for the actual cool additions, introducing a group of 6 Samurai Gouramis! (Sphaerichthys vaillanti) Was in Portland yesterday and picked some up. After adding the Sundadanio, I automatically knew that these would be the main fish in the tank. 5 of 6 the are still pretty small and all 6 are still showing juvenile coloration, though I do see a small amount of striping in some so maybe those are sings they could be females? To my surprise, they're super active. Most likely because they feel at home in the soft water and Tannins. The Sundadanio are still all here but interestingly enough, for a majority of the day they hang out in the back right corner and only come out towards when the light turns off. I'm not sure why, but the Gouramis seem to be bringing them out more which is ironic since you'd think it'd be the other way around lol I'm super excited to finally have a group. I've been wanting them for a long time but couldn't build the right setup. The amount of branches in this tank and Tannins make this the perfect habitat. If these guys do well, I might add another 2 or 3 to the group. And of course, pictures! The tint level makes it pretty hard to shoot but I did my best at getting rid of the noise.

Well, I guess we can scrap the "South American" part of the name haha In the end, I didn't go with any Tetras since all the species I wanted are at least $30 per fish, and with the ideal group of 10-12, that adds up pretty fast. I would usually go for it, but since I'm really looking forward to upgrading my camera soon to the A7iv or A7rV, I'm going a little budget mode right now. So that led me to my next option: Introducing the group of 15 Blue Neon Rasboras! (Sundadanio axelrodi) These fish have always been on my buckelist but I wasn't sure if they'd be a good fit in any of my past setups. I can say that so far, they've been really cool. They still have some coloring up to do since I just got them yesterday, but they're shoaling and feeding behavior is really cool. They're already eating flake which is shocking! These guys are known to only thrive in very soft, acidic water so I'm very fortunate to live in Western Washington where our tap is insanely soft so I'm just keeping these guys in Tap. I"m not sure what other inhabitants I'll add. I was set on a group of Pygmy Cories, but since these Sundadanio are from Asia, things like Indostomus paradoxus or I. crocodilus have sprung up in my mind. Or maybe even a small group of Samauri Gouramis (eventually ending with a pair or 2). Still undecided. These are probably the only 2 photos I'll ever get since they are FAST but the more they color up, the more they should shine. I'm very happy I settled on these guys. Especially since they were more budget friendly at $4 a fish surprisingly.

The branches water-logged pretty quickly, so I was able to put the Scape back together. I messed up the placement of the seed Pods but I left it since i felt like it looks more natural. I'm still playing with the Tint levels since I want to make it a bit lighter, but it's coming together! Should be getting the first fish for this tank next Sunday! Very excited for the Tetra species I've seen come in lately

The tank is going through a big tannin bloom right now, I've never used this many at the start so it's a bit of a learning curve. It seems to be settling down, but I'll be doing a few water changes to get the tint level to where I want it. Also it turns out having the wood even just 1 day out of water managed to un-waterlog them they floated to the top when I filled the tank unfortunately. The good thing is it's just two branches so it'll be easy to put back together. I put a big rock over them to help waterlog them so hopefully it doesn't take too long. Good thing is biofilm is already appearing everywhere, and I got the cycle going. I'm most likely going down to Portland in 2 weeks so hopefully I'll be coming back up with some fish (It was darker than this just yesterday but it seems like things are settling down)

I spent a while tinkering with the Scape and figuring out placement for the Bael Pods and how to get the depth right, etc etc. But I think I've settled on the finished product. I added more sand, oak leaves, and the Palm Pods to the back right corner. It'll take a few days for the tannins to settle but I'm excited for this tank. Some progress pics: The Initial Scape Somewhat filled, more sand added to the back right and more leaves added. Now we wait for the tannins to settle and for the water to clear a bit

Well well well, I'm back with another Blackwater Tank! I recently had the flooring in my house replaced so all of my tanks except my Non-Photosynthetic Reef Tank (since it's in a spot that didn't need to get replaced) had to be taken down. Now that it's all set, I can start rebuilding. Since I still have 1 year left before I go to Uni, I want to try and go all out with the displays I'll be creating. If you've seen the other two blackwater tank threads I've made on the forum, you might recognize this tank. This one used to be an Asian Blackwater Tank with Emerald Eye Rasboras and Green Line Licorice Gouramis. Instead this time, I want to do a more South American centric Blackwater Tank. It's not a true biotope since the Plants and Botanicals mostly aren't from the Amazon or South America in general, but the fish will be. Now let's talk about the specs: Equipment / Scape Tank: UNS 60U (20 Gallons) [24 x 14 x 14] Lighting: JCP (though I'll probably switch to Twinstar soon) Substrate: Pool Filter Sand Hardscape: Manzinita Wood & Melatsoma Root Filter and Heating: Aquarium Co-op Sponge Filter + Aquarium Co-op 100W Heater Plants / Botanicals Cryptocoryne Wendetii 'Green' Java Moss Bael Tree Pods Jacaranda Pods Palm Pots Sappan Wood Catappa Leaves Jackfruit Leaves Fish TBD but I do have a couple ideas in my mind. Pygmy Cories will definitely be in here though, I can confirm that😎 I'm currently still setting the tank up since I ran out of sand and the rest will be coming this weekend. But the final hardscape is setup, all the botancials are already here, and once the sand comes, it'll all come together. I hope everyone enjoys this one. It's looking good so far. Some early progress pics

I've been out of the Medaka game for a bit but recently got a group of 5 Platnium and 3 Black Orochi from Aquarium Co-op. They cleared out all the mosquitoe larvae that were in their tub, and seem to be eating the bugs. But I was looking through some of the water Lettuce and water hyacinth and found what appears to be eggs of some sort. Do these look like Medaka Eggs that are early in development? I did find some others that look like had fuzzed up. I'll go out tomorrow early in the morning to check if theyre spawning but i didn't think they were mature enough to spawn yet.

This topic came into my mind after I discovered a unique individual within my group of fish. I recently acquired 12 Loreto Tetras (Hyphessobrycon Loretoensis), and at first I thought this guy was a bycatch (not the same species as the rest) but it turns out that its a Loreto Tetra, it just never developed any color! It's totally transparent but besides that, everything else is the same as a Normal Loreto Tetra. Do you have any schooling fish that are unique in appearance to the rest of the group? Albino, Xanthic, Transparent, etc? (1-3 is the Transparent individual, 4 is what a normal Loreto looks like)

Hello everyone! I hope you all had an amazing Christmas! I went down to Portland yesterday and to my surprise, the store had in a fish I've been looking at for a while but never saw in person before. But after watching them for a bit, I decided to grab them since I thought they'd be the perfect fit for the tank. Sadly they weren't the T. Ornatus (Hummingbird Tetras) but they're still very cool: Meet the new Loreto Tetras! (12x) Loreto Tetras (Hyphessobrycon Loretoensis) is a fish I was looking at a couple months ago when deciding on a schooling fish for this tank. They're more colorful than some of the other Tetras that are on the smaller side but they were realistically #4 on the list after species like the Hummingbird, Tucano, and Morse Code Tetras. But seeing a fish in person compared to online can put a whole different view on how you see a fish, which is exactly what happened here. I didn't see them on the website, however sometimes there are fish that are only in stock at the store and not the online location, which is why they don't get listed sometimes, so these were a real surprise to see. They're real stunners in person. With a Yellow / Orange Iridescent Stripe, Black Belly, White Tipped Fins, Red Tail, and some Blue iridescence as well, they're a highly beautiful but super underrated Tetra that's not seen often (Which can be said about a lot of underrated Characins lol). They get under an inch, are pretty outgoing once established, and have some amazing colors. What's not to like? Although I will say, they're definitely more shoaling than schooling in terms of sticking together in a group. They've already proved to be a good dither fish since the Pencils are out a lot more now and sometimes even school with them whenever I get near since the Loretos are still getting used to my presence. I'm super excited to see how much more colorful they get! An Imposter among the group (or so I thought) I noticed in the store tank that there were 2 fish that didn't match the Loreto Tetras. These fish were transparent but looked very similar. Bycatch is normal with large quantities of fish, so I thought nothing of it. But it turns out, one snuck into the bag with the Loretos that were netted! I couldn't tell what species it was at the time in the bag, nor the container. I thought it was some other species of Hyphessobrycon or Hemigrammus at first. But after being in the tank for a while, someone suggested the idea of it being a Loreto Tetra that just never developed any color for some reason. And I think they're right. I'll still have to ask an expert, but besides the color, the body shape, fin shape, eyes, etc all match up to the other Loretos, the only difference is that this guy is transparent. It even has the little bit of orange shine on the eye like the Loreto. We'll see what this guy turns out to be but for now I like to think of it as the stand out of the group.

Unfortunately, they were out of both species I was looking for which were the T. Ornatus and Tucano. I'm not sure if much is being imported now since Winter is here (It's already snowed 4 times in my part of Washington!) so the hunt is still on. I did a massive trim today on the Dwarf Aquarium Lily. This plant is doing so well, and I haven't even supplemented root tabs for it, the mega bulb really has mega growth! But with that, the leaves were overshadowing each other, and growth wasn't looking very healthy, so I trimmed (not even exaggerating) around 50 leaves! Being a shallow tank, the leaves were growing over each other, which is also why I think I was getting the emersed growth. Hopefully during this time where the tank is getting more light, the crypts will have a growth spurt since the Crypt. Lucens is doing okay, but the Crypt. Tropica isn't doing that well so maybe there will be more growth during this time since a bush of crypts would be the cherry on top. Here are some new photos of the Green Striped Pencils! I thought I lost 1 for a few weeks but I did see all 8 again. I haven't seen these guys for sale recently, they're still rare to find unfortunately, so the next time I see them, I'm definitely grabbing another 4-6 to make a good-sized group.

Nothing new for this week. I did spot at least one of the Parotocinlcus Haroldi hanging out on the Manzanita Branch which confirms there's at least one of the two doing well in here since I haven't seen them since introducing them. Going to be another case of "not seeing them for a few weeks, then just seeing them randomly" type thing again lol I should hopefully be getting some new fish for this next week when I go down to Portland! Unfortunately, no sign of the Hummingbird Tetras being in stock this week. Hopefully next week some come in but I know how rare they are so not very likely. At this point, I'm actually thinking of doing Tucano Tetras instead. Their color is a lot more vibrant and they're more active than the Hummingbird Tetras, but just something about Trochiliocharax is holding me back. We'll see what happens. Interestingly enough, some of the leaves from the Dwarf Aquarium Lily are growing emersed. I didn't know this plant was capable of growing emersed but reading on it, if the water is shallow enough / if the leaves reach the surface, they can grow emersed out of the water line.

Happy Saturday everyone! I hope everyone is having a good weekend so far. Thanksgiving + Black Friday is almost here! There are a few updates with this tank that I'm very excited about. A surprise addition If you followed the previous Blackwater Tank I did called "The Roots", you know I had 4 Galaxy Otos (Parotocinclus Hardoldi) in there I got last year. I thought I had given every fish away after breaking that tank down but turns out I missed 2! They were hiding under a bunch of the leaves that got mixed around. I haven't had time to remove everything out of that tank yet, so it's been sitting on the ground for a while. There's only 2" of water and it's super cold so I'm extremely surprised they're alive. I saw the slightest movement out of the corner of my eye last night and found these 2. I moved them to this tank and I think they're doing well. Just like the other tank, I don't see them much, but they do like the Seed Pods and Biofilm. Parotos weren't something I was expecting to do in this tank, however some more species have been popping up so maybe something like the Peppermint Oto (parotocinclus eppleyi) or the Orange Oto (Nannoptopoma sp.) could be really cool since they only get 1.1 inches and are a cool "Hide and Seek" esc fish. Or if more Galaxy Otos pop up, I'd love to get another group since I already have 2 and they're just so cool. Ideas for another species to add Before I added the Otos, I was thinking of a potential 3rd species to add (well, 4th now I guess). I already have the Green Striped Pencils that are doing amazing and I'm still set on getting the Hummingbird Tetras. I was thinking of maybe another small schooler that could add more character and a unique look to the tank. The Top 2 on my mind are either a group of Pygmy Cories or a group of Crossband / Cherry Chocolate Gouramis (Sphaerichthys selatanensis). The Pygmy cories would add a lot to the foreground and help with uneaten food, and they're cute. The Cherry Chocolate Gouramis are a rare species that I've only seen for sale for the first time recently and this tank is PERFECT for them! Low light, Really Soft Water, lots of Wood and Biofilm, and lots of shade thanks to the lilies. I'm very torn but I think I'll make up my mind soon. The stocking does sound a bit heavy but I'm pretty confident thanks to the sheer amount and size of the lilies. Nothing so far exceeds 1.2", if I did go with the Cherry Chocolate Gouramis they'd be the biggest at 1.3". Along with the sponge filter and crypts but at this point I'm pretty sure the Dwarf Aquarium Lily does more filtering than all three combined lol. We'll see what I end up choosing. Other than that everything has been doing amazing so far. The crypt lucens is taking off but the crypt tropica is melting as usual. It is time to add more root tabs so I bet it'll perk up. I finally got the best photos of the Pencilfish! You can really see why I'm enjoying them so much. Such a beautiful species. (First 2: Green Striped Pencilfish) (3rd: Parotocinclus Haroldi) (4th: A Macro of some Live Baby Brine I fed just a few minutes ago)

Happy Halloween everyone! Not much else to update on. I was super close to getting the Hummingbird Tetras but they sold out 1 week before the start of the 20% off Anniversary Sale 😭 Oh well, time to wait again. They were in stock for like a month right up until they point. Super unlucky lol, oh well time to wait again. Although I am looking at other Tetras potentially like the Morse Codes. The Lilies are still flourishing. There seems to be a cycle where the pads grow really big, melt away, and then it fuels growth for another 2 or 3 Lily Pads that go through the same cycle, super cool! Acting like it's own fertilizer perhaps. I still have all 8 of the Pencils, I think I can add another 6 to make a group of 14 since they're super small, and the Hummingbird Tetras are even smaller combined with the plants, the bioload shouldn't be too much. They go crazy for Live Baby Brine Shrimp, they'll eat crushed up Xtreme Flakes but Live Baby Brine does wonders. I did see what might've been sparring? Although I'm going to assume it was just minor aggression from the feeding response. Any other time I try and photograph or video them, they're super camera shy but once food is in the water, all they care about is eating and it's super easy to get pics of them. Since it'll probably just be them for a little while longer, im going to attempt to see if I can get a breeding response by them by feeding heavy into the Live Baby Brine. They absolutely love the tank, I just haven't been feeding them as prolific up to this point. I'd love to see if I can breed this species, I'm not sure it's done before due to how overlooked and uncommon they are. Time will tell! Here's a new FTS and some new shots of the fish! I hope you all have a great week!

Back with some updated pics! Since the Lilies took over, it looks insanely beautiful. It makes it look really natural and the giant Lily pads at the top block out a majority of the light that give it a really nice vibe. It also provides great cover for the fish, which switching to the Pencils They're doing great still! No jumpers so far, I think the Lilies have to be given credit for that but I would like to add a lid soon just as a safe measure. They do eat really crushed up flake and the Live Baby Brine seems to be their favorite. I'd like to try the Xtreme Nano pellet as well since I've heard that's really good for other Pencils as it floats a bit before sinking slowly. Everything is looking good so far!

Thank you so much! I always liked the look of how light only filters through some areas, I owe a lot of that to the Dwarf Aquarium Lily in here that exploded in growth and covers a lot of the top. I think it makes the Pencils feel a lot safer as well. Speaking of the Pencils, I've noticed compared to other species, these school a lot more. Maybe it's because there's no dither fish or because I only have 8 (they recommend 10+ which is what I'm doing to do soon) but they stick together a lot more. Which makes for good photos where multiple are in the shot

Thank you! So far they're doing pretty well, although I think their mouths are too small for normal pieces of Brine Shrimp. They seem to be picking at the little microfauna in the biofilm which is cool to see. I have some Baby Brine hatching out right now which I'm confident they'll eat

Happy Sunday! Yesterday I went to Portland was able to pick up the first fish! Green Striped Pencilfish (Nannostomus Marilynae)! CD_Scapes on Instagram told me about these a while ago and i didn't see the hype at first, in person these guys are GORGEOUS! The pictures online don't do them justice. They're not as colorful as the Dwarf Pencil (N. Marginatus) or Beckford Pencil (N. Beckfordi) but they have an Iridescence down the side of their body that makes them look Gold, Green, or Turquoise depending on the light. I also saw them in Scott's article he did about them where they got mixed up with another Pencil species but that photo wasn't too great either. I can definitely say they look and behave the best in a Blackwater Tank though. Not only because they come from the Amazon but also the Iridescence between the Store Tank (No Tannins) and my tank (pretty heavy Tannins) and the difference is Day and Night. I picked up 8 of them, however due to their size I think I can probably fit another 2 to 4. I love these guys already. I saw they were picking at the biofilm the minute they went in which was awesome to see. Hopefully today I'll feed them some Live BBS to get them going. Hopefully I'll get an update a week from now. But here are some pics! The first 3 are in a Photography Container, but the rest are in the Tank where they really shine.

The tank turns 4 weeks old this week! The tank is doing pretty well. I love the look the lilies give off now that it's reaching the surface, although the Crypts need some love (going to get more root tabs soon). Maybe it's a bit too dark lol Hopefully we can get fish in here this week!

Thank you! I like the way lighting looks on blackwater tanks as well, I'm hoping with the way the light is setup it'll bring out the best of fish like the Green Line Pencilfish and Hummingbird Tetras who really look the best when the lighting is a certain way