My 55 Gallon Planted Tank

[Riso-chan]

Everything is doing fine since I updated my lighting as far as the plants go.
The anacharis is taking slower to grow, but I don't want to move it around too much. I think because I moved it several times might be why it's taking longer to grow than the others.
About a week ago, I noticed their were still swordtail fry in my tank. I was surprised that the danios hadn't eaten them by now. Two or three of them are too big for the other fish to fit in their mouths. So, I don't know really what to do with the fry, but I don't want to keep them for my tank. I guess as they get a little bigger, I can take them to the lfs.
The kuhlis are doing well. They really chowed down on their sinking nutrifin tablets this morning. Aside from that, alot of my ottos have died over the months, and now I only have one. I feel bad for the little loner, so soon I'll get him/her another tankmate. But I'll do just one this time. I asked my lfs how long they usually live, and they said 2-3 years. I found conflicting info that said 4-5 years online. This is a decent store too, but I guess that's normal for their costomers, plus their stock is wildcaught. (Caught with river nets, supposedly.)
I noticed a few days ago one of my zebra danios was very thin, and that it wasn't eating whenever I fed. Yesterday he ate some though, but it seems almost like he's picky of the size of the flakes. He wouldn't eat the internal parasite food I gave him either. I don't know what to do for him. Any advice would be appreciated. I don't know what could be causing this, unless he was skinny before. One of the females seems to be on the other end of this spectrum, as she seems to be swollen with eggs. She is swollen enough that her abdomen tapers to a point near the middle, is this normal?

 

[CorydorasLover]

Sounds like a cool tank. Perhaps you can upload a picture of it?

What kind of gravel do you use? Do you also use a CO2 injector? Do you use some kind of fertilizer? That information might help me or even a few others that are trying to run a planted tank.

By the way, it is very common for Otos to die after you bring them home from the LFS. One of the reason is the way they were shipped from the "breeders" to the LFS. A lot of Otos are starved then and when they finally get in touch with food, they eat themselves literally to death. Usually it is best to buy a bunch of them and hope that a good number of them will survive in your tank while you keep a close eye on your waterlevels.

I have read somewhere that somebody had a specific tactic to keeping the Otos alive by first putting them in a smaller tank and keeping them on a specific diet. I am sorry, I can't find the link.

Good luck!

 

[Riso-chan]

No, I don't use a CO2 injector or anything like that. Just big-ol' lights. I have river-type gravel, it's like medium to large size pebbles of differing earth color tones, no sharp edges. I'd like to upload a pic of my tank soon, but I'd like for the plants to grow out a bit more before I show off my tank. Thanks!

 

[buddha_red]

ahh common post a before then

 

[Avenolpey]

Unfortunately, I think you will find with time that high lights and no co2 spells limited success with plants. If you stick with plants iIMO you will eventually conclude that you need co2.

 

[Riso-chan]

Unfortunately, I think you will find with time that high lights and no co2 spells limited success with plants. If you stick with plants iIMO you will eventually conclude that you need co2.

Actually, I've turned the filter flow to a trickle to give as little surface agitation as possible. Also I read that having a canopy over the tank helps to keep CO2 in, rather than having no top and the air carrying the CO2 out. I'll see how this goes, and I'll let you guys know. Thanx.