15 gallon - Southeast Asian Biotope

[jasonG75]

No matter what you do they are not OUT FRONT fish. They love to hide in anything and everything. Sometimes I will catch mine hanging out on a branch of my Sprite and sometimes I will find them hiding under the ledge of either my large rock or wood. They are very timid creatures and look for dark hiding places UNTIL it is feeding times.
Clearing of the rocks is just for their playfulness, they do like to play with one another.

 

[waldo12]

I've noticed that. They don't come out much most of the time, except for when it's dark. But they do a LOT during and after water changes. Also, they routinely spend about 30 minutes just swimming all over the tank every day.

 

[waldo12]

Anyway, some pics.

Kuhlis (coming out more often now):

I like this guy's color pattern

Also, it seems like theres a whole lot of particles floating in the water and on the decor, like dust. There's layers of it on the plants and wood. I don't think it's algae. How do I get rid of the dust/whatever it is out of the water and off of the wood? Just do a water change and vacuum it out?:

Thanks in advance

 

[fishycat]

You can gently swish water during siphoning to remove... what are you using for filtration? You could up the water flow, and/or use polyfil to help polish your water.

Eehehe, cute kuhli pics! Nice & clear - I love #2. Keep it up, your guys look so happy!

 

[waldo12]

Ok Ima try that (the swishing). My filter is some internal filter that came with the tank. Thing is, all the media is just one block of sponge (and the 'prefilter'), so I'll cut the sponge in half, throw away one, and get some polishing media (would this work?: http://www.juwel-aquarium.de/en/filterwatten50.htm) I have the flow on the medium setting, I want the vals to really root first before I put the flow up, because the filter output is right next to them. And if I really get some anabantoid, the water flow needs to be a bit slow (I think).

Anyway, thanks

 

[fishycat]

All you really need is polyester quilt batting sold in craft/sewing stores. It comes in sheets that you can peel to get thinner pieces. Supposedly you don't want the ones treated with flame retardant (look for "warning: flammable! and you should be good, ironically.). Depending on the size of your internal filter, you may need to peel and use a thinner amount around your sponge.

Check out the DIY section - we were just discussing this (Dundadundun started the thread about Gunner being a genius ).

 

[H2Ogal]

Love the latest photos! Your kuhlis are beautiful. Had a thought ... since you haven't had fish in the tank for a while, the bacterial colony might have shrunk. Adding your kuhlis could cause a mini-cycle, so you might want to test for ammonia every day for a while. If you're reading any amount at all, do daily WCs for a week or two until the bacterial colony catches up. Kuhlis are sensitive to water conditions and damage from exposure to ammonia can be cumulative, so best to avoid any!

Pardon my paranoia, but better safe than sorry.

 

[fishorama]

Don't throw the extra foam away! I agree filter floss or batting will help plus some more water movement to help keep the debris from settling everywhere before the filter gets it. Try a sprinkling of small stones around the base of the vals to help them stay put in the flow.

I like the new pics too. The stripes on some of mine changed as they grew.

 

[fishycat]

Okay, so I thought I'd show you my "moss projects"...

First, I spread some snipped java moss onto a piece of slate and wrapped it with a hair net. Voila! Nice little lawn for my betta! Note: If you do this, do NOT put it where water flow will hit it - I did a water change and it was a gross moss blizzard in there.




And this is the same piece of slate, about 4 months later. I'd had it growing upright like this for some time now... after the moss blizzard incident, the moss started growing but there was a gap between the hairnet/moss and the slate - so I stood it up.






And this is a piece of wood that I wrapped java moss around (uncut) and ran a piece of thread around to secure it.



A little over 4 months later... (pardon the ugly/messy tank)





And my moss rock, right after I first made it. (same technique as the slate)

 

[fishorama]

Very nice fishycat! I like the betta staring at the dragon & of course, the habrosus