15 gallon - Southeast Asian Biotope

Hm some of the kuhlis have been acting weird. They'd suddenly swim up to the surface, do a couple of laps, crash into the glass, and swim down to the bottom again. Is that normal? Or should I be worried?
 
Have you tested the water parameters? Even with exisiting media it could be a bioload spike perhaps? With brand new fish, I imagine it's gonna be a guessing game :(
 
Problem solved :) it was the paradise fish chasing them, so I moved her to the 120 gallon temporarily, until I find her a new home.

Anyway (BTW this is a bit off topic & disgusting), bought some rice today. Look what I found:
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Live moth larvae (I think), about 50 of them in under 1 kg/2 pounds of rice... O.o

At least my congos and angels had a nice meal :D
Dashing to the food:
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I love my congos. I can never get a good picture of them, they're too fast. Only OK pic is in my avatar T_T
 
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Ew, that is kinda gross (for being in your rice), but yay buffet for the fish! I love Congo Tetras, gorgeous fins. Does your digicam have an ISO feature? That's what I use + macro to take my pics. And I take them at night with the tank lights on.
 
Yeah I always have the ISO on 400, I've been told it helps. I usually take pics at night as well, then there's no reflection, if that's what you mean. But it was so funny how they raced for the worms (one actually jumped and hit the lid T_T) I had to take a pic right there :P

I just took some pics of the congos right now when they're not swimming like crazy, these are my 2 oldest/the ones with most developed finnage and color:
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Anyway, the 15 gallon updates (not much, just 2 kuhli pics):
I can never get the focus to go the way i want it to...
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I love how they wind up in the most awkward places:
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Ahh, cute kuhlis! Nice coloration. We need video! :thm:

Have you though about a black background for your 120? Might be tough to do now... I just thought your fish colors would pop more, even with the tea-colored water. Great pics!
 
Ahh, cute kuhlis! Nice coloration. We need video!

Have you though about a black background for your 120? Might be tough to do now... I just thought your fish colors would pop more, even with the tea-colored water. Great pics!

Thanks :D the only thing I don't like about the khulis is that they spend most of their time hiding during the day. How do I make sure they're getting enough food? I sink some crushed flakes and bloodworms (the bloodworms are like 1/3 of the kuhlis size) right before I turn the lights off. Also, how do you uplaod videos? Is there an upload tool here for videos or do you have to use youtube?

And about the 120 black background, trust me, I've tried and failed multiple times, each with a different approach. Probably the best solution is to take out most of the water, move the stand & tank out, and then stick a black sticker there or something. Problem is, I'd have to move around everything else in the room, and I don't even know if that's worth it.

Cute pics, looks like that last kuhli tail is attached by suction cup LOL. What is it really?

Oh the dude (assuming it's a dude) was startled by me rearranging the tank so he did a couple of funny laps around the tank. He snuck between the filter and the glass to hide I guess. He wasn't stuck, he got out of there as soon as I was done.
 
I think the kuhli's have adapted to their new environment, I see them out more, even if for only 10 seconds or so. They stick their heads out of their hiding spots once in a while. And when the lights are off, they're starting to behave normally, foraging around the substrate for food. I've decided the tank looks kind of empty, so depending on wether I have time tomorrow, I'll go out, buy a few plants, and rescape the tank.

Here's the tank layout now:
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Here's how I want it to look like when I'm done:
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Also, I've kind of decided on the stocking (besides the kuhlis). The plan is to get 6 or so Trichopsis pumila/Sparkling gourami. I like how they look, and since they seem to be perfect tankmates for kuhlis, they're my #1 choice so far. If they're not available, I guesss we have to look for something else :)

And now some pics...

FTS:
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Kuhlis are bolder:
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Well, that's it for now :)
 
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