The aquascape utilizing plants native to my area is now 2 weeks old in my 54G corner aquarium. Starting last week, I began getting lots of green spot algae on the glass indicating that the initial burst of phosphates in the ADA Aquasoil was starting to run out. So, after conducting a few tests, I did a water change, and began dosing phosphate, potassium, and traces, and soon after, the plants (and algae) are responding well.

After my initial planting, I have added Elatine americana and Eleocharis acicularis. I wanted the hairgrass around the rocks to be a little bit taller, so I used Eleocharis acicularis there. I’m in the process of acquiring Eleocharis parvulus, which is much shorter to use in the more wide open areas. Elatine americana is the beautiful fine-leaved plant to the right of the large rock, which some club members collected in NJ, but is also native to Maryland. I’m still planning on putting Proserpinaca palustris and Rotala ramosior in this tank once I grow out a few more stems in other aquariums. Once my plants are little more established, I’ll add the fish, but that’s likely at least a month away. Comments/critiques welcome!

This weekend I finally got around to tearing down my old aquascape in the 54G corner aquarium, and setting up the basis for a new one that I’ve been wanting to do for some time. The theme of this aquarium will now be all native plants, rocks, and fish. I do not consider this a biotope tank as it currently stands because I plan on using plants from the Maryland, Virginia, and D.C. area, but not necessarily plants that all reside together in the same waterway in the wild.

The hardscape is made of up slate that a few GWAPA members and I collected several years ago. I would have liked to add more rocks to this aquascape, but many of the rocks in my backyard are frozen in the ground, as I reused a number of them this past summer to fill some groundhog holes. (Not the greatest foresight, admittedly!)

For fish, I will be moving my Blue-spotted Sunfish and Banded Killifish into this tank once it settles in. For plants, I’m hoping to fill in the foreground with a field of Eleocharis parvulus (dwarf hairgrass) once it comes into my local shop. Otherwise, I’m using Ludwigia palustris, Proserpinaca pectinata, Proserpinaca palustris, Lobelia cardinalis, Potamogetonaceae sp. (looks like P. diversifolius or Stuckenia pectinata), and a local Eleocharis species that gets about 1 foot tall. I’ll likely add Rotala ramosior once it grows out for me a little bit in another tank.

One of the things that had been preventing me from doing this tank is the fact that these corner tanks are so difficult to light. Previously, I had a JBJ 2x65W PC fixture on top, which did an okay, but would never grow hairgrass in the foreground. So, I saved up a little bit, and ordered a nice fixture from Catalina Aquarium, which is 4x24W T5, with a 250W metal halide bulb in the center. I made an ADA knock-off stand out of electrical conduit to hang the light from, and now should have more than enough light to deal with. I hooked up the CO2 tank, added some ADA Powersand and Amazonia Aquasoil, and am ready to go. Hopefully these plants will grow quickly into a great centerpiece for my livingroom, where I’ll have collecting stories for many of the things within.

Across two months of GWAPA meetings, I brought home four Goo Obo Gudgeons from the auctions. The Goo Obo Gudgeon is a small unidentified fish that was collected at Goo-Obo Falls in Papua New Guinea. According to the documentation that I got from the seller, while unidentified, this is probably either Allomogurnda or Mogurnda nesolepis.

When I brought home the first pair, I was admittedly a little bit disappointed. Shortly after adding them to my 54G tank, they disappeared into the hardscape, and weren’t seen for at least another week. Eventually, I started noticing them, hiding in the shadows underneath large anubias or cryptocoryne leaves, or between pieces of wood and rocks.

That’s when I decided to try adding 2 more to the tank, in hope that with four total, I’d see one of them more often. Fortunately, this strategy seems to have worked. Also, I started feeding the tank blackworms, which has definitely drawn them out of their hiding places!

According to the Baensch Aquarium Atlas Vol. 4, these gudgeons “inhabit small, frequently swift-flowing, gravel to mud-bottomed rain forest streams.” They also enjoy the cover of vegetation and plant roots, which exactly what I’ve experienced in my tank.

As young fish, they were not very attractive, but since feeding them blackworms, they have increased in size (max about 3″), and have definitely gone from rather drab looking to fairly colorful with bright yellow fins. I doubt that they will be able to successfully raise any young in this tank due to some very active catfish, but they’re very interesting fish to keep. (And they’re great additions for rainbowfish themed tanks.)

It’s been almost two months since I setup this aquascape, and it’s finally starting to fill in a little bit. The crypts in the foreground are beginning to cover up the substrate, and everything else is fanning out a little bit. The only thing I have been dosing is a few milliliters of Seachem Flourish every day, which seems to prevent most of the deficiencies that would creep up otherwise. I also have Flourish tabs in the substrate to feed the crypts.

I do have one sad note regarding this tank. One of the two oldest fish, both chinese algae eaters, I had had since I got back into aquariums nearly 6 years ago passed away last weekend. All of the other fish in the tank are healthy, so I’m guessing that he simply died from old age. RIP CAE. As far as the aquascape goes, if anyone has any comments or criticisms, please leave them in the comment section — I’m always looking to improve my scapes. 🙂

In my 54G corner aquarium, I’ve got quite a few different kinds of catfish. All of them are different looking, and each has a unique character.

The Ancistrus sp. L279 bristle-nose plecos stay around 3-4″, and are usually found sucking on the driftwood in the tank. They’re fairly timid, but do come out often enough to enjoy.

The Siamese Algae Eater, SAE, is a very common algae eating fish. They are commonly confused is the Flying Fox, which is not nearly as effective an algae eater. Becoming popular once they were observed eating black brush algae, they are often recommended to new aquarists as a means of algae control. Unfortunately, most people do not initially realize that the small fish they purchase in the store, turn into 6-7″ blimps. Despite their size, they’re usually lazy enough, lounging around most of the time in their old age, that they do not disturb the aquascape.

The Botia sidthimunki loach is a fantastic little catfish that stays small, is constantly active, and is very social when kept in a group. I have five of these in the tank, and they’re always scurrying around, chasing each other throughout the aquarium. They do not harass other tank mates, however, well, except for snails or shrimp!

I have a couple varieties of corydoras in this tank. Cories are also very social catfish, constantly searching the bottom areas of the tank. Occasionally, you will see one shoot from the substrate all the way up to the water surface, and then dart back down. Apparently, cories have adapted to be able to breath air from the surface, allowing them to survive in poorly oxygenated water. I’ve also witnessed them playfully swimming upside-down at the water surface for awhile before swimming back down to the bottom.

Overall, I can highly recommend all of these catfish, for different reasons. The A. sp. L279 are great little plecos that eat algae, but don’t overwealm the tank. The SAEs get bigger, but are peaceful, and also eat algae. The “sid the monkey” loaches are a great, active, addition to any tank, and will eliminate snails from your aquarium. And corydoras are just plain fun to watch!