Complexity's 29g Planted Tank Journal

[Complexity]

I thought I'd put up a little journal for my 29g planted tank. I had intended on breaking this tank down when I got my 90g tank, but I've ended up keeping it. I'm not doing a lot of work on it, but it's coming along anyway.

Eco-Complete substrate
2 Rena XP2 filters
Injected CO2
uv sterilzer
2 Coralife T5 dual bulb light fixtures, running 1 fixture for 12 hours, both fixtures varies

The plants are mostly extras from my other tanks. Other than the main design for the wood, I didn't do a whole lot on design for this tank. The java moss was thrown in there to grow out for my 5g RCS tank, but it's done so well, I haven't wanted to move it. I have some java fern in there just because I have it on hand and it needs to grow out. It's helping to fill some of the gaps in the scape.

I don't have a lot of fish in this tank. A couple of female guppies, two dwarf chain loaches, 2 amano shrimp, and 5 Pelvicachromis pulcher "Red" (Kribensis). I grabbed 6 juveniles, hoping to get one mating pair out of them. One of the 6 died the first night, but the other 5 have been growing nicely. I have 1 definite female who is trying to attract any of the boys she can. Of the 4 males, 1 is looking really nice and seems to be her favorite, but there is one other male that's coloring up nicely. The other two males are still pretty bland looking, probably because they're subordinate. In the end, two of the kribs should pair off and kill the other males, but we'll see.

Anyway, here are some pictures.

[cameracorpus]

Very nice. I wish my on-purpose tanks looked that good!

[Roujin]

Another masterpiece. Beautiful!

[Kittysnax]

its the perfect mix of red and green! i love it! ;3

[Complexity]

Thank you! I have to admit that this tank has surprised m a little. It just seems to be maturing into its own somehow. Sometimes I think the less you fuss with planted tanks, the better they are.

Here's a few pictures of the kribs. Not the best shots, but they do show the female's colorful pelvis. These are some of my favorite fish because of their breeding colors, behaviors, and how they work together to raise their young.

This is the little female. She is wanting to breed so badly! She flashes her colors at any of the males that are close to her. Her colors are incredibly rich!



This is my favorite male. He's not as red as the other competing male, but his overall coloring is beautiful. I'm hoping the female breeds with this guy. He does seem to be the most dominate male right now.



This picture shows only a tiny part of the second dominate male. He doesn't have the overall coloring that the other male has, but his cheeks are really red which is a sign of wanting to breed. If the female pics him, I'll be disappointed, but it's not my choice to make. Kribs pick their own mates.

[screename]

Absolutely WOWWWWWW

[TaTeR ToT]

Incredible!!!

[Complexity]

Thank you!

I need to get the CO2 running on this tank again so it should start growing out more.

[wesleydnunder]

Nice job, Vicki. I just love kribs... raised the little guys for about 10 years and sold/traded gobs of offspring.

Mark

[Complexity]

Thanks, Mark! Kribs are my favorite fish of all. I had them way back when I first had tanks as a kid. I was taken by the way both parents care for the fry, especially as the fry got older and the parents began showing them around the tank. I swear they would take the fry around to different parts of the tank, telling the fry, "and this is a good place to get food; this is a cool plant; watch out for that fish," etc.

I have P. taeniatus "Malawi" in my 75g, but I've had the worst time getting them to breed. I think the tank is just too overstocked with other fish for them. Plus, the male I have in there is a dud. He's beautiful, but seems to have no interest in breeding no matter what the female does. I've heard of this happening with Kribs. At $35-$50 a pair, I haven't been willing to get a bunch of them to see if two will pair off.

So when I ran into these P. pulcher "Red" juveniles for a cheaper price, I decided to get a bunch in hopes of finding a compatible pair. It's looking promising so far.

The first time I had Kribs, I ended up with 3 generations in the tank with a 4th generation on its way. I never protected the fry so many were eaten, but enough survived to make a nice group of them. I think I had about 10 survive (the 2 original parents and then 8 or so more of subsequent generations).

If I could, I would adore having a large tank filled with primarily Kribs. It's too bad they can't be housed together like. They aren't just beautiful fish in general, but are the most interesting fish to watch raise their young.

[Complexity]

I've added about 20 Orange Von Rio tetras that I got from TaterTot, and they look fantastic in the tank!

I got the tetras about a week ago while I was on the north side of town. I ended up at Ultimate much longer than I ever expected so I didn't get the tetras home until 4.5 hours after getting them. Thank goodness I brought a battery powered air pump or they would have never made it.

I've had them in my 20L planted Q/T this whole time, and they colored up incredibly. A beautiful soft peach and red combination! They tended to stay low in the tank which I attributed to the tank not having a lot of tall plants. I thought the tetras might have been keeping within the safety zone of the lower plants.

I had hesitated in putting them with my Kribs since I want them to breed, but I decided their personality would be okay so I just moved them there. Sure enough, with the taller plants in the tank, the tetras are swimming higher up in the tank. They are absolutely gorgeous in the tank. They look like little jewels swimming around.

I'm going to let them settle in for a bit, then I'll try to get some pics. Really pretty fish for a planted tank.

[emmanuelchavez]

I really like all the reds in your tank!

[Complexity]

Thank you! The new fish blend in really nicely with the red plants. They are a perfect color match.

[TaTeR ToT]

awesome vicki!
im so glad you like the tetras:)

i knew they would love your tank:)

[TaTeR ToT]

btw, i love your signature pictures!
your african tank is the nicest ive ever seen no joke.

its breathtaking to see the african with the plants. its so natural looking.