My Ikebana and Nature Style Aquariums

[Miranda Marie]

Hello, everyone! This is my first attempt at a journal, and it's likely going to involve updates on both my current aquariums: a 20 gallon long I have had for the last three years, and a newer (six months old but recently rescaped) 6 gallon cube purchase.

The 20 gallon long has undergone a huge amount of changes since it was first set up, and is currently rocking a natural, messy style that I'm pretty in love with. It's been a long time getting it to a place where I adore it, and right now, I'm thoroughly enjoying it.

After the (wild and fun) journey of learning curves and rescapes of the twenty gallon long, my sister and I recently decided to get a second, smaller tank to try a vastly different style of aquascaping. In particular, we wanted to create an aquarium based on the ikebana style of bowl-gardens/flower arrangements. So we purchased a dishwasher/microwave/oven/freezer safe bowl, filled it with seachem flourite, and ordered every kind of crypt that Aquarium Co-op sells (which were in stock at the time of placing the order). It will be stocked with a single female galaxy koi bettafish who is presently chilling in the quarantine tub while her palace gets finishing touches. We're using an Aquarium co-op sponge filter and heater, which are going to be hidden nicely behind the bowl. (Presently the sponge filter is in the quarantine tub with the betta, so a hang on back filter is running on her tank.)

Now just to wait for the plants to finish adjusting to our water and grow in! (And play with the small wood pieces until I am satisfied with their placement 😆)

Let me know what you guys think!

Edited November 11, 2022 by Miranda Marie
Clarification :)

[TheSwissAquarist]

On 11/11/2022 at 2:21 AM, Miranda Marie said:

Hello, everyone! This is my first attempt at a journal, and it's likely going to involve updates on both my current aquariums: a 20 gallon long I have had for the last three years, and a newer (six months old but recently rescaped) 6 gallon cube purchase.

The 20 gallon long has undergone a huge amount of changes since it was first set up, and is currently rocking a natural, messy style that I'm pretty in love with. It's been a long time getting it to a place where I adore it, and right now, I'm thoroughly enjoying it.

After the (wild and fun) journey of learning curves and rescapes of the twenty gallon long, my sister and I recently decided to get a second, smaller tank to try a vastly different style of aquascaping. In particular, we wanted to create an aquarium based on the ikebana style of bowl-gardens/flower arrangements. So we purchased a dishwasher/microwave/oven/freezer safe bowl, filled it with seachem flourite, and ordered every kind of crypt that Aquarium Co-op sells (which were in stock at the time of placing the order). It will be stocked with a single female galaxy koi bettafish who is presently chilling in the quarantine tub while her palace gets finishing touches. We're using an Aquarium co-op sponge filter and heater, which are going to be hidden nicely behind the bowl. (Presently the sponge filter is in the quarantine tub with the betta, so a hang on back filter is running on her tank.)

Now just to wait for the plants to finish adjusting to our water and grow in! (And play with the small wood pieces until I am satisfied with their placement 😆)

Let me know what you guys think!

Love the idea of the crypt bowl!

Any pics of the betta?

[Miranda Marie]

On 11/10/2022 at 11:43 PM, TheSwissAquarist said:

Love the idea of the crypt bowl!

Any pics of the betta?

Thank you! I'm excited to see how it fills out. I think it will be a lot simpler to manage the plants in a more controlled environment. XD Plug easy root tabs every couple weeks and enjoy - hopefully. Time will tell!

I'll definitely try to get pictures of her once she is in her permanent home. For now, all I have are a few slightly blurry overhead shots of her in the quarantine tub. She's stunning though so I can't wait to get proper pictures and I'll share once I do!

[TheSwissAquarist]

On 11/11/2022 at 7:58 AM, Miranda Marie said:

Thank you! I'm excited to see how it fills out. I think it will be a lot simpler to manage the plants in a more controlled environment. XD Plug easy root tabs every couple weeks and enjoy - hopefully. Time will tell!

I'll definitely try to get pictures of her once she is in her permanent home. For now, all I have are a few slightly blurry overhead shots of her in the quarantine tub. She's stunning though so I can't wait to get proper pictures and I'll share once I do!

Can't wait to see her! Here's my old one who I kept & bred:

[Anjum]

I love Ikebana! What a neat concept for an aquascape. I look forward to watching the progress. 

Your 20L is gorgeous too! I love the natural look. 

Edited November 11, 2022 by Anjum
Typos

[Miranda Marie]

On 11/11/2022 at 4:44 AM, TheSwissAquarist said:

Can't wait to see her! Here's my old one who I kept & bred:

What a gorgeous fish! I've only ever kept one betta before, when I first started out, and he was a plain blue PetCo betta LOL. So this is a somewhat new experience for me, in getting a more high quality betta. ^-^

On 11/11/2022 at 11:33 AM, Anjum said:

I love Ikebana! What a neat concept for an aquascape. I look forward to watching the progress. 

Your 20L is gorgeous too! I love the natural look. 

Thank you! I thought it would be really fun to mix the two concepts and see how it goes. I'll post updates as the plants fill in and get established. I've never kept crypts before and I have been told they can be a little finicky, so we'll see. 😆 

I'm really enjoying the natural look right now too, and it doesn't require much maintenance currently. Just the occasional trim, root tabs, and small water change. Otherwise, it mostly just takes care of itself these days.

[Patrick_G]

Nice looking tank! I think you need a big school of Kuhli Loaches in there. A noodle bowl! 😁

 

[Anjum]

On 11/11/2022 at 10:38 AM, Miranda Marie said:

I've never kept crypts before and I have been told they can be a little finicky, so we'll see. 😆

Fwiw, I got a crypt wendetii from the co-op. I separated one pot into 6 plants, put a root tab under each one. I had a total of ONE leaf die back. A couple months later, I had one more leaf start to die back, so I gave each one another root tab. They're each about the size of the original plant now. I am a crypt convert! I'll be getting some different types next time I get to the co-op. 

[Miranda Marie]

On 11/11/2022 at 11:56 AM, Anjum said:

Fwiw, I got a crypt wendetii from the co-op. I separated one pot into 6 plants, put a root tab under each one. I had a total of ONE leaf die back. A couple months later, I had one more leaf start to die back, so I gave each one another root tab. They're each about the size of the original plant now. I am a crypt convert! I'll be getting some different types next time I get to the co-op. 

I plopped the crypts into the tank for a week and a half still in their pots and let them acclimate until I saw new leaves growing on all of them. Then I planted them into the bowl on Tuesday. So fingers crossed they do well! The bowl has a ton of root tabs in the substrate, and I'll add more every few weeks, as needed. I'm really hoping they do well, since I have struggled with stem plants (I never seem to be able to keep enough nutrients in the water column for some reason.)

[Miranda Marie]

On 11/11/2022 at 11:43 AM, Patrick_G said:

Nice looking tank! I think you need a big school of Kuhli Loaches in there. A noodle bowl! 😁

 

XD A noodle bowl does sound rather funny, and Kuhli loaches are a bucket list fish I'd love to keep someday. I wasn't sure if a 6 gallon would be too small for them though. 

[Miranda Marie]

In a slightly unrelated topic, I am trying to figure out a cave or two for the twenty gallon long. I have two hillstream loaches in quarantine (one of which will likely be going to my cousin's 29 gallon aquarium if they don't get on, since aqua huna only sells in two packs) and they have both taken to the aquarium co-op heater. It is by far their favorite spot in quarantine, I think because they believe it to be a cave? They both hang out between it and the tub wall when they aren't eating/exploring. During my research before getting them, I didn't see any mention of giving them caves to hide in, but now it seems rather obvious as they are loaches... The twenty gallon long has a large piece of driftwood in the front that has a nice "hole" under it that they might like, but I think it would be good to give them a couple other spots.

If anyone has any thoughts/suggestions for cave ideas, let me know!

Edited November 11, 2022 by Miranda Marie

[Schuyler]

If you're interested in a craft project you could make a coconut cave. Bonus is you get to eat coconut.

Sundering you could do is put one half in immediate and keep the other to do a dry start of moss. Then once that's established you swap the other one out and do a dry start on the one that was in the tank.

I like them because the moss just makes it look less obvious and unnatural than the clay caves you find in most stores.

[TheSwissAquarist]

On 11/12/2022 at 7:18 AM, Schuyler said:

If you're interested in a craft project you could make a coconut cave. Bonus is you get to eat coconut.

Added extra: Adding some java moss on top and keeping it on with a rubber band. Remove rubber band after 1 month & enjoy!

[Schuyler]

On 11/11/2022 at 10:23 PM, TheSwissAquarist said:

Added extra: Adding some java moss on top and keeping it on with a rubber band. Remove rubber band after 1 month & enjoy!

Do this out of the water or in?

[Minanora]

On 11/11/2022 at 10:25 PM, Schuyler said:

Do this out of the water or in?

Either? 🤔 In the water is best if you have co2 or are propagating other moss that's already in the tank. But I've only done this twice.

[TheSwissAquarist]

On 11/12/2022 at 7:25 AM, Schuyler said:

Do this out of the water or in?

Both work fine, and the method also works on Anubias & Buce 

[TheSwissAquarist]

Bonus baby endler!

[Miranda Marie]

On 11/11/2022 at 11:18 PM, Schuyler said:

If you're interested in a craft project you could make a coconut cave. Bonus is you get to eat coconut.

Sundering you could do is put one half in immediate and keep the other to do a dry start of moss. Then once that's established you swap the other one out and do a dry start on the one that was in the tank.

I like them because the moss just makes it look less obvious and unnatural than the clay caves you find in most stores.

 

On 11/11/2022 at 11:23 PM, TheSwissAquarist said:

Added extra: Adding some java moss on top and keeping it on with a rubber band. Remove rubber band after 1 month & enjoy!

I live so far inland (within a couple of hours of the exact middle of the continent LOL) that finding fresh coconuts is nigh on impossible. But doing a moss covered cave does sound really cool. I wonder if I could find coconut husks somewhere online. 🤔 

Edited November 12, 2022 by Miranda Marie

[Schuyler]

On 11/12/2022 at 9:12 AM, Miranda Marie said:

 

I live so far inland (within a couple of hours of the exact middle of the continent LOL) that finding fresh coconuts is nigh on impossible. But doing a moss covered cave does sound really cool. I wonder if I could find coconut husks somewhere online. 🤔 

I bet if you can find an Asian market in your area they'll have them. They have a really long shelf life, I bet you could find some around you (at least if there is a moderately size town near you)

[TheSwissAquarist]

On 11/12/2022 at 6:12 PM, Miranda Marie said:

 

I live so far inland (within a couple of hours of the exact middle of the continent LOL) that finding fresh coconuts is nigh on impossible. But doing a moss covered cave does sound really cool. I wonder if I could find coconut husks somewhere online. 🤔 

A fish friend does it all the time in his breed for profit tank: Java Moss caves, Snowball Shrimp & Endlers.

[Miranda Marie]

On 11/12/2022 at 1:37 PM, Schuyler said:

I bet if you can find an Asian market in your area they'll have them. They have a really long shelf life, I bet you could find some around you (at least if there is a moderately size town near you)

 

On 11/12/2022 at 2:12 PM, TheSwissAquarist said:

A fish friend does it all the time in his breed for profit tank: Java Moss caves, Snowball Shrimp & Endlers.

Okay, I'll check around my area then!

[Miranda Marie]

Today, all the new fish made their move to their permanent homes! The ember tetras are excessively less shy now that they're with the neon green rasboras, but moving the hillstream loaches was agony. Thank goodness for the aquarium co op breeder box. The only way we managed to get them out of the tub at all was to use two hands and scare them into the box while it laid on its side LOL. We were too chicken for the credit card and net method to work, unfortunately.

This little lady (the breeder box's original occupant in the quarantine tub) was by far the simplest to move. As promised, here's a picture.

Yes, there are shrimp in with her. I know she will likely eat them, and that's fine, since they were never meant to be there in the first place. They hitch hiked over months ago on a sponge filter and bred like rabbits (or like shrimp, as I have learned LOL). There's hundreds more in the 20g long.

[TheSwissAquarist]

On 11/14/2022 at 1:32 AM, Miranda Marie said:

Today, all the new fish made their move to their permanent homes! The ember tetras are excessively less shy now that they're with the neon green rasboras, but moving the hillstream loaches was agony. Thank goodness for the aquarium co op breeder box. The only way we managed to get them out of the tub at all was to use two hands and scare them into the box while it laid on its side LOL. We were too chicken for the credit card and net method to work, unfortunately.

This little lady (the breeder box's original occupant in the quarantine tub) was by far the simplest to move. As promised, here's a picture.

Yes, there are shrimp in with her. I know she will likely eat them, and that's fine, since they were never meant to be there in the first place. They hitch hiked over months ago on a sponge filter and bred like rabbits (or like shrimp, as I have learned LOL). There's hundreds more in the 20g long.

It’s so painful catching RHLs! I don’t even want to think about when I have to catch some out of a 30 gal!

[Miranda Marie]

On 11/13/2022 at 10:53 PM, TheSwissAquarist said:

It’s so painful catching RHLs! I don’t even want to think about when I have to catch some out of a 30 gal!

You have my sympathy. Even in the bare quarantine tub after we removed all the hiding spots, getting them to detach from the walls was really hard. It ended up taking us over an hour for 2 of them. 😶

[TheSwissAquarist]

On 11/14/2022 at 7:02 PM, Miranda Marie said:

us

How many were you??

Team of 2 ? If so, then imagine the time it would take alone!