Rob's 9g Journal

[misterking]

Thanks for the comments guys The plants I'll be using are Vallisneria spiralis, Cryptocoryne lucens/nevillii/beckettii/wendtii "green", or probably a mixture to get some nice colours, shapes and sizes going on, and dwarf hairgrass.

@Thyra, Microsoft paint is a really basic piece of software where you can draw pictures, all I've done here is copied and pasted a load of pictures onto a photo of my tank over and over. It's not exactly how it'll look obviously, but that's the idea that I'm going for, perhaps less hairgrass on the front and a few more bare patches of sand.

Laterite is a special type of soil found in hot, wet, tropical areas. It's high in iron and aluminium, so it's very very good for plants and sold as an aquarium substrate to make the substrate rich and provide proper nutrients to plants.

Any suggestions on a background? I'm thinking of just backing it with black card personally, make the colours pop a bit. I don't have the space in there for a textured background and card would secure nicely in the silver braces on the back corners. I used to use those printed leafy backgrounds but they don't appeal so much anymore.

Stocking so far is looking to be a single male or female betta, some form of shrimp (probably cherries but possibly bamboo shrimp or something else interesting? Suggestions?) and perhaps some pygmy cories zipping around the bottom, if I can get hold of them. Any feedback and suggestions on this are more than welcome

 

[misterking]

*too late to edit, meant bumblebee shrimp not bamboo shrimp lol.

 

[lauraf]

Definitely pygmy cories if you can find them! They'd add lots of action.
I agree about the patterned backgrounds - and if you are going well-planted, you don't need anything other than a plain one-colour background.

 

[misterking]

If I can get hold of them they're a definite And I guess I'll go for black, will mean everything else in front sticks out a bit more.

As for my centrepiece.. I was settled on a betta, now I'm thinking a honey gourami instead. I'm a sucker for naturally coloured fish rather than those bred to have bright colours, though if I can find a natural-looking male betta I'll get him no questions. Also just found an online supply of scarlet badis.. they're not the best centrepiece fish though coz they're just so tiny, but so cute aswell..

Suggestions? What would you guys personally use for a smallish (but perhaps not as small as scarlet badis) centrepiece with as natural colouring as possible?

 

[misterking]

Ahhh the plans that are going round in my head! Here are a few scenarios I like the sound of:

5 scarlet badis
5 dwarf cories
Maybe shrimp.. bumblebee shrimp if anything.

1 male honey gourami
5 dwarf cories
Bumblebee shrimp

1 male/female betta
5 dwarf cories
Bumblebee shrimp

1 male honey gourami or betta
6 hengel's rasbora
Bumblebee shrimp

Thoughts? They're the most likely scenarios I think. Probably a bit overstocked I'm sure but I can keep on top of it no problem.

 

[riseabovethesun]

Woo! I'm a bit delayed but hoorah for all the tank set up and ideas getting started! Love it

I like the 2nd idea or the last idea the most. I love rasboras, they're fabulous. I do only have one so I can imagine how great they'd be in a proper school. Bee shrimp are great too! I'm such a shrimp fanatic. They're pretty easy to maintain and breed pretty easily with proper water parameters. I know CRS are pricey, I only have 2 in my tank but they are absolutely gorgeous. I always thought "oh what's all the hype, sheesh!" Well I understand now, they're wonderful and stand out like no other in the tank. Which they are just a hybrid from the bee shrimp so bees are pretty similar in markings and standing out, instead of a candy-cane pattern though it's usually black/white.

I have to say the cories or the rasboras are a must! I have an upside down catfish who is too amusing, they're really pretty neat if you like those.

 

[littletankbigworld]

I like the 2nd, 3rd and 4th ideas but I'm a bit biased; I love bettas/gouramis.

I love my upside-down catfish, but I have to disagree that they need a tank 30 gallons or larger because they need a lot of places to explore and stake out as their own. They also prefer to be kept in a school.

 

[riseabovethesun]

Ah, yeah makes sense about the catfish -- I completely spaced the 9 gallon aspect.

I think I read that you just have one? I got stuck in the same boat of only finding one , I wish I had more! Kind of like my microkubotai rasbora is supposed to be in a school, but he's a lone soul who schools with the black neons.

 

[misterking]

Kind of like my microkubotai rasbora is supposed to be in a school, but he's a lone soul who schools with the black neons.

I'd kill for some microrasbora (or microdevario as I think they're called now) kubotai, I LOVE them. If I saw them available then there'd be no doubt whatsoever over getting them.

I won't stick by a stocking plan for now, I think it more depends on what's available and for how much when the tank's cycled, I guess I'll have to be flexible. I might go online if there's a fish I can get that I REALLY want. Problem is then being in during the day when they get delivered with my erratic student schedule.

I'd love to see something shoaling in there. Of course I'm a bit thin on space but I think I can make it work if I can get a small enough shoaling fish (the smallest rasboras). Might bump the shoal to 10 if I can. In this case, with a honey gourami or even licorice gourami if I can get my hands on them, it'd be either/or on the shrimp and cory situation. Again which I go for depends on which I can find at the time.

 

[misterking]

I've found a website where I can pretty much get everything I want.. Ok kick me if I'm crazy, but how does this sound...

6 of a small rasbora species (what exactly I'm undecided - any that stick around 2cm, they have loads on this site)
6 pygmy cories (they do a deal of buy 5 get one free)
A few bumblebee shrimp
POSSIBLY a centrepiece pygmy gourami or 2.. if I can get hold of them. Much smaller (3/4cm) and prettier than honey gouramis, much more hardy than licorice gouramis. Extremely cute.

Is this just me going absolutely mad? I can just see it working but I may be looking through rose-tinted glasses just a tad. I'd get them delivered slowly from around halloween ish (my reading week - free week to get them delivered in). Seriously please stop me if I'm going mad. I'm torn between what I want and what I've drilled into myself over the last 15 or so years. Starting to wonder if there's such a thing as MFS - multiple fish syndrome..?

Help..?

 

[Twiggles]

6 of a small rasbora species (what exactly I'm undecided - any that stick around 2cm, they have loads on this site)
6 pygmy cories (they do a deal of buy 5 get one free)
A few bumblebee shrimp
POSSIBLY a centrepiece honey gourami or licorice gourami.

Definitely too many fish. I'd say stick with the small rasboras and shrimp, nothing else. Keep it simple IMO

 

[misterking]

Definitely too many fish. I'd say stick with the small rasboras and shrimp, nothing else. Keep it simple IMO

You must have posted just after I edited, I changed the honey/licorice gourami to a pygmy gourami because they're much smaller and prettier than honey gouramis, and much hardier than licorice gouramis.

Still, I think you're probably right. But my thoughts are:

Depending on what rasbora I get, they wouldn't reach much more than 2cm. Pygmy cories reach about 3cm tops, same with the shrimp (of which there wouldn't be many), and pygmy gouramis roughly the same. It'd be a tank of nanos, meaning minimum crowding and maximum amount of fish. Heavy planting and frequent water changes would keep parameters in check.

I'm probably going mad. The saddest part is, 5 more gallons and it'd definitely work..

Perhaps lose the shrimp and just have the 6 cories, 6 rasboras and 1 pygmy gourami?




(I've decided I change my mind far too often.)

 

[lauraf]

Hah, are you turning into Fishman1995?
Pygmy cories will be very active. They can be like your 'school' instead of the rasboras. Add the pygmy gouramis or betta. Done.
Could you get a really wee tank to satisfy your desire for shrimp???

 

[ZackLanduyt]

That's a good point laura, I know they sell little 5 gallons for around 10 bucks at my lfs, could make one of those preety sweet with some shrimp!

 

[misterking]

Hah, are you turning into Fishman1995?

You know what, I think I just might be Now where's my acei cichlid...

(Having said that, he's disappeared a bit of late, hasn't he? :S I'm him in disguise! muahahahahaaa.....)

Haha nah I won't overstock hugely, don't worry. As I said, multiple fish syndrome I think it secretly hits all people stocking a tank! I've just got to choose between those fish I like. I want to stick to natural colours as much as possible so I'm not sure about a betta. They're just so bright and a bit bigger than the "nano" look I'm going for.

I've been looking at mini rasboras, one of my favourites I've seen are Sundadanio axelrodi, they're just gorgeous! I've just been thinking, most, if not all of my substrate will be covered by hairgrass eventually. There's barely anywhere for something like pygmy cories to actually properly shoal and root for food. Also because of the dimensions of the tank there isn't a great deal of floor space anyway. Though I love them I think if anything they'd be the ones to take out of the plan, they'd make most sense.

So:

6 Sundadanio axelrodi,
1 pygmy gourami (should I be able to get hold of one!)
A group of bumblebee shrimp

Slightly overstocked but with plenty of space for the fish and nothing that can eat each other Thoughts?

 

[misterking]

Well I've been having a big think and been doing a but of research.

Turns out, the reason the smaller rasboras like those I want (sundadanio axelrodi, chilli rasboras etc) aren't imported very often because they're actually quite fussy. Hard to feed, very temperamental with water quality, and probably not what I'd want for my tank when I'm as busy as I am. So I've been looking around the net and on the site I'll be buying my fish from, and found a couple of nice and small (2cm ish) tetras, ember tetras and ruby tetras. My favourite by far out of these are ruby tetras, they'd look so nice in my tank.. Fair price aswell.

So yes. Ruby tetras to replace the rasboras. Pygmy gourami centrepiece. Few bumblebee shrimp. How does this sound?

 

[achase]

You know what, I think I just might be Now where's my acei cichlid...
(Having said that, he's disappeared a bit of late, hasn't he? :S I'm him in disguise! muahahahahaaa.....)

Lol! That's bad but very funny.

 

[ZackLanduyt]

That sounds like a good stocking plan, should look amazing with the driftwood and the hairgrass in there, I can't wait for pictures of the finished product!

 

[misterking]

That's the plan for now Pygmy gourami definitely depends on availability. If I can't find one by christmas I'll have to replace it with something else.. perhaps a female betta. I can't seem to find them for sale anywhere online so if I can't get them at my LFS where I live for university I'll have to look into something else. Hmm choices are certainly limited (though I know riseabovethesun would love me to get an ADF ).

Anyway, the sale of my 67g finishes on thursday, if anyone bids on it this time round. Until it goes and I get some money in my pocket it'll be all quiet for a while on this project! Someone's trying to haggle me to sell it for less than £50. Not happening when if he wanted it new he'd be paying 7 times that or more, and I think in its current condition it's worth at least 3 times that. Hmm, here's hoping someone snaps it up!

 

[Fishman1995]

Personally myself i like the idea of either a pygmy gourami or a betta with, a small group of BB shrimp and 2 ADF's btw you seem to have caught the stocking bug im so often known for