My First Photo Thread - 29g Comm

[Desert Bus]

Let's see if I do this right... These are photos of my 29 gallon planted community. Some are older than others, if they nicely showcase a particular fish, but the majority were taken tonight. I re-aquascaped the entire tank last night, so the plants aren't as lush as usual. I'm working on full tank shots, but i'm not so good with cameras. Below find a complete stocklist (including plants), followed by pictures.

1 Opaline Gourami (Trichogaster trichopterus), female, 5"
5 Betta (Betta splendens), female
1 Stickfish (Farlowella acus), 6"
1 Stickfish (Farlowella gracilis), 5"
2 Fancy Guppy (Poecilia reticulata), male/female, 1"
1 Gold Nugget Pleco (L18), 3"
1 Peppermint Pleco (L31), 5"
1 Leopard Frog Pleco (L134), 3"
1 Queen Arabesque Pleco (L260), 3.5"
1 Spotted Raphael Catfish (Agamyxis pectinifrons), 1.5"
4 Siamese Algae Eater (Crossocheilus siamensis), 1.5-3"
6 Amano Shrimp (Caridina japonica), 1.5-2"
3 Cherry Shrimp (Neocaridina denticulata sinensis "red")
3 Hillstream Loach (Beaufortia kweichowensis), 1.5-2"
Malaysian Trumpet Snails (Melanoides tuberculata)
Ramshorn Snails (Marisa cornuarietis?)

Java Moss (Vesicularia Dubyana)
Marimo Ball (Chladophora aegagropila)
Madagascar Lace (Aponogeton madagascariensis)
Java Fern (Microsorum pteropus)
Red Crypt (Cryptocoryne wendtii)
Anubias nana (Anubias nana)
Amazon Sword (Echinodorus amazonicus)
Unknown Ludwigia

 

[tydus]

Your pics are great man. Your fish are also nice and good looking. Awesome tank.

 

[Jory]

do you have any territorial issues with your plecos?

 

[Desert Bus]

do you have any territorial issues with your plecos?

There are 6 caves and one slate overhang so they've plenty of spots to choose from. The Peppermint is the most territorial of the bunch, but it only guards one particular cave. The Leopard Frog and Queen Arabesque happily hop from cave to cave and sometimes share a cave. The Gold Nugget is a new addition, so i've only gotten to observe it for about 12 hours now, but it seems to get along fine with the Queen and the Leopard Frog, as well as seeming to be more OK with being out in the open than my other Plecos. The pictures of the Queen, the LF, and the GN all sharing a cave didn't come out, unfortunately.

Oddly, despite being super-protective of it's cave, the Peppermint shows no aggression towards the Spotted Raphael Cat and lets it spend most of it's time in the same cave unmolested.

 

[0386]

the pleco look good.

 

[Hawkfish3.0]

You have some stellar plecos!!

 

[Cohazard]

Nice setup! Where's the FTS?

Your madagascar lace plant is doing extremely well! What is your light and fert dosing like in this tank?

 

[Jory]

i think some full tank shots would be awesome...

 

[Desert Bus]

Nice setup! Where's the FTS?

Your madagascar lace plant is doing extremely well! What is your light and fert dosing like in this tank?

The lighting is a Coralife 65 Watt 6,700K Power Compact bulb in a matching Coralife fixture. The big Amazon Sword, Crypt, and Lace all get about half a Flourish plant tab every few months. I dose Flourish Excel Daily, and dose Flourish, Flourish Trace, Flourish Iron, and Flourish Potassium when I do my 5 gallon water change every three days. The substrate is about 2/3rds EcoComplete, and 1/3rd mixed black gravel and black sand.

That's an older picture of the Madagascar Lace, when it was going through its second growth season with me. Right now it's only about 5-6 inches tall again. For a better write-up as to how I've managed to keep it alive and healthy, read this thread I posted on Aquaria Central about it:
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=150276

Still working on the FTS. They seem to be the hardest for me to get right, and all of the ones I have from past photo shoots are obsolete, as they're all at least 2 months old now.

 

[Desert Bus]

You have some stellar plecos!!

Thanks! The Gold Nugget was a bit thin when I bought it yesterday, but it's already fattening up. I plan on getting a Longfin Calico Bristlenose once they drop a bit more in price or I find one available locally, and I don't know how much longer I can ignore the impulse to buy a Clown Pleco because they're so cute and tiny and cheap.

Eventually I need to get a bigger tank so I can get a Three Beacon (L91), a Mango (L47), a Scarlet (L25), and a Para (L75).