135g Peruvian Biotope re-scape... Again...

[GrantA94]

Okay, so, if anyone knows me they will know I am forever changing my tank around.

Well, this is the newest 'scape', I decided that the previous scape was more generic amazonian biotope as apposed to highlands Peru biotope (where the stalsbergi are from). So this one was just pieced together today after a large water change. I haven't quite positioned everything quite to my liking, but the wood needs weighing down as it still floats.

The next step is to remove the SDs to a happy home and heavily plant the tank up. With some vals at the rear and lots of swords, some dwarf hair grass or micro chain swords + some leaf litter.

Let me know what you think, Ideas for improvement and feel free to comment on my wood!



Here is how it was...

 

[Mr. Rain Cloud]

NICE! I knew it, a new piece of driftwood!

I've been contemplating on rehoming my SDs as well

I have to say that I like this new scaping much better than before. As you know I thought the previous one was messy regarding the rock arrangement but I think you hit the spot this time! It looks great, I wouldn't change a thing personally because I can already imagine it with plants all over(sides and back)! I think a small area of green carpet would be a nice touch in the middle or towards the front but I'm not sure if it will thrive with your setup. I like the arch(home/entrance) and the clear sand in front of it(front yard) with rocks around the sides(fence). The only thing I would add is at least one piece of your older driftwoods that comes down from the top to the bottom. This is my opinion on the aquascaping alone though.

There will be nothing to break the line of sight here. Isn't aggression going to be an issue in this open set up? This might work for an established pair(if Andy doesn't harass his partner) but I'm not certain it will work for a community.

The water seems a bit tanned or is it just the sand?

 

[doomiedee]

That set up looks awesome . I might do a peru set up for my gt

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[GrantA94]

NICE! I knew it, a new piece of driftwood!

I've been contemplating on rehoming my SDs as well

I have to say that I like this new scaping much better than before. As you know I thought the previous one was messy regarding the rock arrangement but I think you hit the spot this time! It looks great, I wouldn't change a thing personally because I can already imagine it with plants all over(sides and back)! I think a small area of green carpet would be a nice touch in the middle or towards the front but I'm not sure if it will thrive with your setup. I like the arch(home/entrance) and the clear sand in front of it(front yard) with rocks around the sides(fence). The only thing I would add is at least one piece of your older driftwoods that comes down from the top to the bottom. This is my opinion on the aquascaping alone though.

There will be nothing to break the line of sight here. Isn't aggression going to be an issue in this open set up? This might work for an established pair(if Andy doesn't harass his partner) but I'm not certain it will work for a community.

The water seems a bit tanned or is it just the sand?

I'm going to play around with getting some more rocks to form a few more caves and to create a few more visual barriers low down. The pictures really don't do any justice compared to how it really looks. There is surprisingly far more caves than there appears to be. So I am keeping an eye on them as regards aggro.

I am hoping to create a mated effect with either the dwarf hair grass or the micri swords. Likely the latter of the two given that DHG never really thrived in my medium light with no CO2. I plan to use liquid ferts and root tabs, given that the swords are heavy rooters.

Andy has got himself a girl already She is in full breeding dress (very dark with white stripes and black dots below the eyes). She is fiercely defending an area and Andy will occassionally protect it too. Her ovipositor is very low, so I am thinking that maybe the cool water change has spurred them into breeding action. I'm not so sure I want them breeding so small. But, if it happens, it happens. There are at least three females in the group so hopefully he can rotate.

Its really funny to see Andy being beaten by a much smaller (half the size) female who is now called Sally. Because any of the other fish would be beaten! Its also funny to watch Sally use the SDs as punchbags, sounds bad I know, but she is tiny by comparison and has to force them out the way!

I have tried a several pieces in there to top it off but they aren't to my liking. I think the one large piece is enough. It extends right to the glass on the right, however is covered in sand and rocks to weight it down. So once these are removed I think it will look more impressive.

Here is how it looked with more wood in:

I added another 25kg of sand, so the water is a little tainted. I have stirred it beyond belief and will continue to do so to avoid gas build up. But I couldn't resist! I like to have it flowing from high to low (which it does, the far right is a very thick bed of sand, to low in the near left). I tried to colour match as best as possible, but I think the new Flora Glo (Hagens plant bulb, I don't know if thats the correct model?) bulb changes how it looks anyway.

Thankyou for the kind words

I'm still not satisfied, but I think they've had enough trauma for now.

 

[bbortko]

Sounds look a solid game plan. For a carpeted area in my fluval chi I superglued some Java moss to a flat rock and embedded the rock in the substrate. Not exactly Peruvian but works well in a low tech setup.

 

[TripleW]

Hmmm, I was a big fan of the last "scape"! I really like this one too Grant. I agree with MRC that it seems like it needs something coming from the waters surface. I also think that once you get the plants you plan on getting it will really look awesome! Nice job once again!

P.S. There is a guy locally that is selling an F1 5 inch Stalsbergi for $25 and I am having a really hard time not buying it.

 

[Leptoe]

Sweet looking set up!

 

[3dees]

really nice . much more natural looking than the other scape.

 

[COG Commando]

Beautiful!!! Looks much better IMHO

 

[Mr. Rain Cloud]

I'm going to play around with getting some more rocks to form a few more caves and to create a few more visual barriers low down. The pictures really don't do any justice compared to how it really looks. There is surprisingly far more caves than there appears to be. So I am keeping an eye on them as regards aggro.

I am hoping to create a mated effect with either the dwarf hair grass or the micri swords. Likely the latter of the two given that DHG never really thrived in my medium light with no CO2. I plan to use liquid ferts and root tabs, given that the swords are heavy rooters.

Andy has got himself a girl already She is in full breeding dress (very dark with white stripes and black dots below the eyes). She is fiercely defending an area and Andy will occassionally protect it too. Her ovipositor is very low, so I am thinking that maybe the cool water change has spurred them into breeding action. I'm not so sure I want them breeding so small. But, if it happens, it happens. There are at least three females in the group so hopefully he can rotate.

Its really funny to see Andy being beaten by a much smaller (half the size) female who is now called Sally. Because any of the other fish would be beaten! Its also funny to watch Sally use the SDs as punchbags, sounds bad I know, but she is tiny by comparison and has to force them out the way!

I have tried a several pieces in there to top it off but they aren't to my liking. I think the one large piece is enough. It extends right to the glass on the right, however is covered in sand and rocks to weight it down. So once these are removed I think it will look more impressive.

Here is how it looked with more wood in: View attachment 798871

I added another 25kg of sand, so the water is a little tainted. I have stirred it beyond belief and will continue to do so to avoid gas build up. But I couldn't resist! I like to have it flowing from high to low (which it does, the far right is a very thick bed of sand, to low in the near left). I tried to colour match as best as possible, but I think the new Flora Glo (Hagens plant bulb, I don't know if thats the correct model?) bulb changes how it looks anyway.

Thankyou for the kind words

I'm still not satisfied, but I think they've had enough trauma for now.

Congratulations on the new pair! It sounds like the fun is about to start

You seem to like adding sand every month or so, I have to warn you, keep this up and half the tank will be sand by the end of the year! Hahaha!

Well, good luck on getting the SDs out, I can't wait to see this thing planted up! I think having a floating plant as mentioned before would add a cool effect as well. About the taller dw, have you tried adding one at the front, left side? You could then add/tie some plants on the dw and this would add depth as if you're looking at the inside from a distance.

Hmmm, I was a big fan of the last "scape"! I really like this one too Grant. I agree with MRC that it seems like it needs something coming from the waters surface. I also think that once you get the plants you plan on getting it will really look awesome! Nice job once again!

P.S. There is a guy locally that is selling an F1 5 inch Stalsbergi for $25 and I am having a really hard time not buying it.

I can see why you liked the previous one better, it's more your style, hahaha. I think you should go for the TGT, it sounds like an amazing deal! Don't lose the opportunity