I wanted to post an updated picture of my 54G, anubias, java fern, and crypt tank. I’ve really let this tank go wild, partly because I like that look in some tanks, but largely because I’m gearing up to really downgrade the maintenance requirements for some of my tanks. That means that I’m going to go back to tanks that are largely free of stem plants requiring frequent trimming. So, at the past few GWAPA meetings, I’ve tried to stock up on crypts, and guess where they’ve been going to grow out?

The anubias in this tank may not be pristine, but they’re actually looking pretty good. I have four separate plants flowering right now, so that’s never a bad sign. Just as a reminder, this tank does not use CO2 (infact I run an airstone), and I only occasionally add a few milliliters of my own PMDD mix of trace, K, and P. I figure the fish provide enough N. Finally, it’s a corner, rounded front tank, so the pictures never truly reflect how it looks. The curve in the glass seems to distort the picture, removing a lot of the depth that’s in the tank. Comments are welcome.

I had my camera and tripod out last night, so I decided to snap a picture of my 54G corner tank. This scape doesn’t change too much, but that’s a good thing. As a reminder, there’s no CO2 on this tank, and the light is mostly deflected some the Phyllanthus Fluitans floating on the surface. I have an Eheim Liquidoser on top of the tank that dumps in a few milliliters of PMDD every day, but otherwise I don’t supplement this tank with anything more than fish food.

Melanotaenia splendida australis is a beautiful, but fairly common, rainbowfish. I think this was the cheapest rainbowfish that I have in my 54G, rainbowfish, tank. I believe I paid $1.99 for the juenvenille, drab-looking, fish. Despite it’s youthful appearance, as an adult, I think it might be the most prolific fish, both in spirit and color, that I own. I’d recommend to anyone who wants to try rainbowfish.

I was fortunate to catch it displaying to another male rainbowfish in the tank (below). These fish truly are a marvel to watch, especially in the morning, when they’re especially spirited.

A few weekends ago, I emptied everything out of this tank, except for the SeaChem Oynx sand substrate. Previously, I also had a “wall of wood” with anubias and java fern plants attached to them. Unfortunately, I had that scape in place for about 2 years, and most of the plants had overgrown themselves into places that were no longer aesthetically pleasing. So, I basically wanted to keep a similar scape, with just a few adjustments that would open up more free space for the rainbowfish, who had grown quite large since I introduced them to the tank.

(54G Tank – 10/18/2006)

The foreground itself is quite bare right now. I have a few varieties of crypts planted there that, in time, should fill out the foreground quite nicely. I want to remind you that this is the tank that I don’t do anything to except for bi-weekly water changes. I have phyllanthus fluitans floating on the surface to soak up any extra nitrates. I rarely dose the tank, and I don’t supplement any CO2. I have a JBJ Formosa fixture on top that sports 2x65W PC lights and some NOISY fans. All in all, so long as the powerhead and filter keep a fairly high amount of circulation going in this tank, I have zero problems. I’d welcome any low-light recommendations for the foreground.

Last week, I ordered a few new compact flourescent bulbs from AHSupply to replace some old ones over my 54G. Previously, I had always had 6700k bulbs over that tank, and I always thought that the tank was a little bit off in color. So, this time I decided to mix one 6700k bulb with a 10,000k bulb.

Dozens of tiny phyllanthus fluitans flowers

Now, I’ve had phyllanthus fluitans in this tank for 2.5 years. Basically, we had an agreement: I did nothing, and it grew like crazy providing the rainbowfish shade, and sucking up any excess nitrates. One of my goals for the pond this past year was to get my “red-root-floater” to flower outside under the full sun. It turned bright red, but never a single flower. So, anyways, I opened the lid to the tank this evening to feed the fish, and low-and-behold, dozens of little white flowers are sticking up from each phyllanthus fluitans leaf. These aquariums never stop giving me nice surprises!