A New Day's 180l jungle

@TankMaster thanks! Yes it is one of the new setups with the LEDs. I might consider a CO2 setup in future when I'm more experienced / confident, but for now dosing liquid CO2 (Seachem Exel).

To be honest, so far I'm quite happy with the plant growth I'm getting and have chosen low tech plants. In addition to Flourish root tabs for the heavy root feeders, I'm doing daily doses of Seachem Flourish, Exel and Iron. I roughly work out the recommended weekly dose and divide it into smaller daily doses.

 

@ Toy thank you! I buy from 2 different lfs. Your question and @TankMaster 's response to that made me think further about the trends. I think a big factor (not the only factor) in the losses of the pandas and diamonds is the amount of time they've had to settle in at the fish store after shipping. Also the size/maturity of the individuals.

E.g. the ottos and pearl gouramis come from different stores, but I know for a fact that they have been in their tanks for at least a couple of weeks if not months. While still juveniles, they are of good size.

The first batch of diamond tetra has been in the store for less than 24h, and they were small. I lost 2 of these. At a later point supplemented the school with a new batch (same store). This second batch was definitely a slightly better size fish, and they have been at the fish store for 3 days which is probably still not enough but luckily they are thriving. They're probably around 2,5 cm now but will eventually reach 5-6cm so large for tetras, and will look totally different as adults. Interestingly enough, one of the diamonds (the one in the photo above) has a trident tail in stead of the normal forked tail. It's my biggest diamond and certainly doing well.

The pandas were tiny (about 2cm but probably smaller). I ordered 7 but 2 of them died at the lfs before collection. I gave them 3 days after shipping (same day & store & shipment as the 2nd batch of diamonds above). Which, in hindsight, is probably not nearly enough to help them recover from the whole shipping ordeal. I lost 4 out of the 5 within 3 days. Add to this the possible inbreeding and stocking issues etc going on with pandas worldwide at the moment.

On a lighter note, the lfs kept my pandas in their display tank with a note saying "All panda corys reserved for (A new day)". Apparently some guy looked at them and said "Hi, I'm (A new day) and here to collect my pandas". Luckily the staff know me by now and didn't fall for the trick. If the culprit is reading this...tsk tsk Play nice

As mentioned, the remaining single panda seems to be doing just fine but I would like him to have some company. I think it might be worth my while to find a local cory breeder (similar water, better sized individuals, not stressed from shipping etc). Wondering if I should give pandas another go with a local breeder, or if I should go with C. Sterbai or S.Aneus which might handle 26C better. I particularly like the markings and slightly smaller size of the pandas, but like the other corys too and would rather want to do right by the fish. Does anyone know of such a breeder in Cape Town?

Think my issue with the khulis was something totally different - poor judgement i.t.o. the hardscape / physical environment and their burrowing habits, like @MariaS said. I've come to accept that I probably see the same individual khuli all the time - a particularly large individual I call Braveheart This means that, out of 7 khulis, 3 are confirmed dead, 1 is thriving, and 3 are missing presumed dead Braveheart seems happy though and he's becoming more and more entertaining - playing etc.

 

@Toy look! Added 5 Sterbai, you sold them to me Good sized juveniles (I reckon they way 3 or 4 times what my panda does, and the panda has grown a bit since a week ago). Have been in the tank at the lfs for a couple of weeks, so that's also promising.

 

I'll wait until Tuesday before I sell the TV. You know, wait and see if they survive 3 days in my tank?

 

3 days after I've added the 5 sterbai. Lost 1 yesterday but other 4 seem fine.

Very worried about one of my pearl gouramis though. Yesterday / the day before noticed a 'grain of salt' on dorsal fin and wondered about possible ich. When I switched on lights this morning his dorsal fin looks horrible. He is lethargic and not himself, think he might be in pain. Added Microbe-lift Herbtana and Artemiss to the tank. Will see what he looks like tomorrow morning. Any ideas? I see no signs on any other inhabitants (at this stage).

This is what I get for not quarantining. Who knows what I've released into the tank already.

 

Day 48

 

2 months 1 week. Added Aponogeton crispus, ludwigia glandulosa, bacopa monierre, susswassertang and bolbitis difformis baby leaf fern.
Braveheart the khuli loach is also doing great, just couldn’t get a decent pic of him.

 

Thank you but don’t be like that A thread is so useful to keep track of plant & fish growth, changes, additions (and lossess ). You’ll be pleasantly surprised I think at the growth you’ll get within a couple of weeks!

 

Thanks @f-fish !