At both the Catfish Convention and the Aquafest auction, I picked up a bag of Ancistrus sp. L279 dwarf bushy-nosed plecos. After keeping them for other a year, I think this species is a fantastic match for a planted aquarium. They max out in length around 4 inches so they’re not going to inadvertently uproot plants from their size. Mine are not shy, so I see them on wood or lounging on open substrate, and they’re fairly active algae eaters. Plus, they’re very attractive fish with white markings on the tips of their tail, and many have very nice spots on their body. I’m guessing that the spots are a gender distinction because some of mine have very pronounced ones, and others not so much.

I don’t have any with huge sections of tentacles/growths on their snout, but they do have some small barbels. I’m hoping that as my latest batch grows up, they’ll develop these further. I’ve seen this species posted on Aquabid, sometimes called Ancistrus sp. ‘Huaca Mayo,’ so if you come across this listing, give them a try — they’re a great little ancistrus!

I generally haven’t done many aquascapes using moss as a key feature. There’s not any reason in particular, besides the fact that it’s sometimes more work to keep it looking nice and algae-free, but basically, I’ve just done differently styled scapes. (The same is true for the classic Amano riccia scape — note to self, do a riccia scape.) So, for this reason, I’m pretty happy to see the moss in my 75G tank starting to attach itself and cover the manzanita wood I tied it to.

You can see new growth by the brighter green fronds on the tips of the moss. Now, I’ve got to make the decision whether to go for a bushy effect, or to trim it tight and close to the wood to achieve more of an astroturf’d wood look. I think I’m leaning toward the bushy look for now, but I suspect that may change if piece start disattaching and infiltrating my anubias. In any case, trimming moss is a bit of a chore, as you don’t want the pieces you cut off going everywhere in your tank.

A common technique to avoid this is to trim while siphoning during a water change. Hold the siphon right above where you’re trimming, and those pieces should get sucked right out of the tank. I’m definitely not an expert at grooming these mosses, so if anyone has some other tips/suggestions, please comment.

I decided to take a few snapshots of the fauna in my 75G. As I mentioned a couple weeks ago, all of fish in this tanks were obtained in the auction from Aquafest. I haven’t had any losses, and all seem to be quite happy settling into their new surroundings.

There are 18 Corydoras paleatus in the tank that are constantly scurrying around the tan. They’re very social creatures zigging and zagging throughout the plants with at least one other companion in tow. Some lucky (or unlucky) plump females draw a crowd of male suitors up and down the glass. No eggs that I’ve seen yet.

The pair of Nannochromis nudiceps have taken up residence underneath two rocks on the right side of the tank. I’m a little bothered by their persistent efforts to dig up powersand from the bottle of the tank, and litter the large ugly white pumice stone across the top of the prettier aquasoil, but if they end up spawning I’ll forgive them.

Lately, they’ve decided to start covering the top of the rocks with aquasoil too. I hope their little “underground lair” doesn’t collapse on top of them!

And of course, there’s a huge population of cherry shrimp in the tank. I dumped in about 200 from the pond before the weather turned cold. I’m sure a few made a nice snack for the cichlids, but there’s still a ton. I did a quick trim of some plants, and I had to chuckle as 5-6 shrimp abandoned ship after I trimmed a single stem that they were occupying, and it began floating upward.

Hopefully, the shrimp will clear up the bit of algae that still remains on the rocks and wood. The only other inhabitants are some nerite snails, and 5-6 dwarf Ancistrus sp. L279 “Huaco Mayo.” I’ll try to profile those on their own at a later time.

It’s been 3 weeks since I rescaped my 75G tank, and things are finally starting to grow in a little bit. After getting home from my recent trip to Williamsburg, VA, this tank looked pretty terrible. The water was yellow in color, and algae had gotten more than a small grip on the hardscape. Over the last week, with water changes, Seachem Excel, and one use of flocculate to help the filter clear the water, it’s finally starting to look halfway decent.

The Utricularia graminfolia is growing well, even though it’s getting much taller than I usually see it. Hopefully that’s just a temporary thing. I still have some algae on the manzanita and rocks, but it’s coming under control. And, if you haven’t noticed already, my attempt to do a stem-free tank isn’t going very well, as I’ve got plenty of stems in there. I think that I may end up keeping them in after all. Or at least until the next time I get tired of trimming.

It’s been a few days since the 2007 AGA results were announced, and I’ve had a chance to go through all of the entries. I thought it might be fun to display my own “best of” list for this years tanks. Not surprisingly, my tastes differ from the judges, as their Best In Show doesn’t even make my list. No offense to anyone if I didn’t pick your tank, as this is as much personal taste as anything.

So, here’s my top seven in reverse order.

#7
The first tank I really liked isn’t a true aquascape as much as it is more of an art piece. The wood is really nicely organized, and I could just imagine having this on a coffee table. The rock work in the sand is appealing, and the plants themselves, while somewhat minimalistic, all go together.

Entry #86: 63L (17 gallon) Aquatic Garden: “Permeate worlds”
Piotr Suty, Warszawa mazowieckie Poland

#6
This is one of those tanks that I feel I shouldn’t technically like, but I kept coming back to. On paper, you’d say that the left side is too cluttered, and the symmetry is a bit off. That said, I really like the colors, the wood, and just the feat of maintaining all of these stems and making them look this good requires a lot of work.

Entry #149: 250L (66 gallon) Aquatic Garden: “Passage Across The Wood”
Fabio Lorusso, Bologna Italy Italy

#5
As a rule, I tend to really like hillscapes. I love the negative space, and the colors are great. Some of the plants could be a little bit better groomed, but in a way, the wild look of some of the stems gives the hill a bit more character.

Entry #159: 217L (57 gallon) Aquatic Garden: “”Puntius in harmony””
André Luiz Longarço, São Paulo SP Brazil

#4
Another hillscape! This one is a little bit more refined. It also incorporates more rocks nicely into the hill itself, and is quite serene.

Entry #112: 243L (64 gallon) Aquatic Garden: “Sonata”
Guillermin Nicolas, Poissy France

#3
I’ve seen this tank before, as Jason is a GWAPA member, but really isn’t clouding my judgement. I’m not exactly sure how to categorize this aquascape. It’s not exactly a nature aquarium style, but it isn’t quite dutch either. I love the use of color in this tank, and the moss work on the rocks is fantastic. It looks more like an illustration than a real tank, and I love its uniqueness.

Entry #146: 284L (75 gallon) Aquatic Garden: “Valley to the East”
Jason Baliban, Phoenixville PA USA

#2
A fantastic scape that was ranked highly in this years’ ADA contest, and one that deserves any accolade that it receives. I love the use of the petrified wood-looking rocks, as you don’t often see these used effectively in many aquascapes. The moss is trimmed masterfully, and overall everything is almost perfect.

Entry #190: 160L (42 gallon) Aquatic Garden: “Field of Dreams”
Hui Kam Man, Hong Kong Hong Kong

#1
What may be my favorite scape of all time, all you have to do is mention “the tree scape” at your local club meeting, and everyone knows that this is the tank you’re referring to. The surrounding ground cover around the tree could be fuller, but the tree itself provides such a focal point that none of that matters. The moss is groomed perfectly to look like a tree. The fish resemble birds in the sky, and the use of negative space and depth through sloping is fantastic. What else can I say, this is my Best In Show!

Entry #20: 57L (15 gallon) Aquatic Garden: “Syrah”
Filipe Alves Oliveira, Porto Matosinhos Portugal

Do you agree with my favorites? Are there tanks that I’ve forgotten. Please sound off in the comments.