My sister-in-law has a smallish tank that is overgrown so she brought me some plants. It's a couple of swords and some java moss, but I think it's made a huge difference. Besides the obvious aesthetics, the fish really seem to like it. The big sword in the middle has given a sort of border to the big jags' chosen spawning site. And the plants give the smaller Convict females a little more refuge from the TSN's that have terrorized them and depleted their numbers a bit. I've probably lost 4 or 5 of the six Convict females. They were all under two inches. There are still 2 or 3 female cons and the original 7 males. The males are much larger and are wise to the TSN's and avoid them at all costs.
Also, so this isn't strictly a photo thread, I'll give you guys a couple of small updates. Albie, the big albino Oscar, still is displaying some early breeding behavior. She has dug in a couple of different places, but didn't seem satisfied with either. The other Tiger Oscar has become very protective of the space around Albie. It's mostly the TSN's that seem to aggravate the oscar's. And the jags too for that matter. Both pairs seem to view the TSN's as a threat to their spawning and both the jags and oscars are paying them a lot of attention. I have an offer to buy the TSN's from a buddy and will probably take him up on it. I will add another synodontis or two just to help with the janitorial duties.
Since I mentioned the jags, it seems as if they're getting comfortable enough in their new surroundings to spawn again. Also, the new male mota and the female mota are spending almost all their time swimming together. They seem to have really taken a shine to one another in a short period of time.
Everything else seems to be going great with the new tank. I haven't run into any issues with leaks or water levels or really anything. I'm finally able to use the full capacity of my pump, a QuietOne 6000 (1,506gph minushead loss). The drains and the return are both operating at full capacity. I had to turn down the pump with a ball valve on the old tank. Overall, I couldn't be happier with the way things have turned out so far, knock on wood, lol.
How do you guys like the plants?
I'll try and get some photos without the reflections later tonight when it's nice and dark. I'll probably take a bunch and put them in the Photo Lounge. Thanks for looking and thanks once again for this great forum. If it wasn't for all you guys (and gals), I wouldn't be where I am now in this hobby. Thank you.
Also, so this isn't strictly a photo thread, I'll give you guys a couple of small updates. Albie, the big albino Oscar, still is displaying some early breeding behavior. She has dug in a couple of different places, but didn't seem satisfied with either. The other Tiger Oscar has become very protective of the space around Albie. It's mostly the TSN's that seem to aggravate the oscar's. And the jags too for that matter. Both pairs seem to view the TSN's as a threat to their spawning and both the jags and oscars are paying them a lot of attention. I have an offer to buy the TSN's from a buddy and will probably take him up on it. I will add another synodontis or two just to help with the janitorial duties.
Since I mentioned the jags, it seems as if they're getting comfortable enough in their new surroundings to spawn again. Also, the new male mota and the female mota are spending almost all their time swimming together. They seem to have really taken a shine to one another in a short period of time.
Everything else seems to be going great with the new tank. I haven't run into any issues with leaks or water levels or really anything. I'm finally able to use the full capacity of my pump, a QuietOne 6000 (1,506gph minushead loss). The drains and the return are both operating at full capacity. I had to turn down the pump with a ball valve on the old tank. Overall, I couldn't be happier with the way things have turned out so far, knock on wood, lol.
How do you guys like the plants?
I'll try and get some photos without the reflections later tonight when it's nice and dark. I'll probably take a bunch and put them in the Photo Lounge. Thanks for looking and thanks once again for this great forum. If it wasn't for all you guys (and gals), I wouldn't be where I am now in this hobby. Thank you.
I've actually heard of really big oscars in big tanks tolerating plants (never had any luck personally) but with that many cichlids I'm thinking somebody's bound to try a little underwater clear-cutting 
