Newman's 40 Gallon Planted Tank

Newman · 11-09-2009, 08:30 PM

bought two more otos...now there are 7.

Newman · 11-09-2009, 09:12 PM

and here are some update pics on it. theres an out break of brown diatoms and soft green algae on...everything.

First pic is some of my male otos. second pic shows one of the females in comparison xD

kenny1tothe6 · 11-09-2009, 09:55 PM

Eeeeekkkk!! That's a lota algae!!

Newman · 11-09-2009, 10:05 PM

ROFL
yah its pretty gross. ive stopped dosing everything but iron once a week and flourish twice.
Hence i got all the otos. Theres more food for them this way :P

kenny1tothe6 · 11-16-2009, 08:13 PM

Any change in the algae coated mess??? My 29 is the same way, so I've been considering Zebra Otos! At 10$+ a pop, these goldfish will go out into the pond if I got them! ROFL

Newman · 11-16-2009, 08:39 PM

Hehe, no change in the algae.
I clean each side of my tank every few days with an algae magnet. that way one side gets clean, and the other has enough algae for the 5 otos that are in there. The algae only tankes around 4days to completely recover on a side. and now its predominately green. they love this stuff, and they cant even control it, theres so much food for em. i dont think ill have to feed them for a loong time as long as i keep my lights on

The dwarf hairgrass tho is getting owned by brown diatoms. the otos are too busy with the glass to help it out. although it has started to send off runners i think...

Ive stopped dosing everything except for flourish once, iron once, and excel twice a week. since ive stopped dosing the nitrogen, the Nitrates at the end of a normal week show up as 10ppm. the otos dont seem to mind it.

However im concerned about one female oto that has a big bruise on her head. It the oto i found in the garbage. her ripped off tail is really growing back nicely, but the face wound is pretty bad. im hopind it will heal on its own. its a really old female, the way its almost 2".

kenny1tothe6 · 11-18-2009, 09:53 PM

Do you clean the front glass at all? I would just clean the 3 sides and leave the back glass/plants/driftwood for them...

Is your hairgrass finally beginning to carpet or is the crazy goldfish attempting to eat it still?

Newman · 11-19-2009, 12:09 AM

lol yea thats what i do, i clean the front and side glass panels with the algae magnet, and leave the back for the oto. i sometimes clean the bak too when the green alage has grown so much that the otos cant even dent it. by then its usually too hard for the otos to scrape off. I understand that the algae madnets simply dislodge the algae from the glass so that it reattaches somewhere else, but i actually want that to happen, so the otos constantly have stuff to eat. the water clears fast from that anyway so its not a visible problem.

As far as the hairgrass goes, it has done minimal carpeting and the goldfish continues to bulldose it every now and then. ive given it a trim cuz the existing peices were growin a bit tall and were getting demolished by brown algae. I added the gold apple snail to this tank cuz it had no business in the 2.5 betta or the soft-water 10 gal. it just sticks out like a sore thumb now.. a very big, yellow sore thumb =/ Its almost as big as my goldfish..JK but its really comparable.

I'm waiting every day for new fry but they never show up... the female should be gettin close, i can tell by the darker matter near her tail...

The blackworms in my 2.5 gal have showed up again. ive actually seen one specimen show its face yesterday out ofthe gravel, extending over 3" out. thats a big worm 0_0 its bigger than the betta. ive seen another smaller one the next morning so theres more than two by now. im surprised they managed to survive the gravel cleaning, and grow from the tiny red worms i've seen in the filter media.

Future plans entail for a 5-10 gallon breeding tank setup in my basement, and perhaps a pair of plakat bettas next week =/
I can't seem to stop myself here Dx

Newman · 11-20-2009, 11:26 AM

New fry showed up. theyr so small...but there are a lot more than before. i moved them to my 10 gal in time.

also i noted that the three fry that are still alive from the first brood are now just over 1" and are a month old.

Newman · 11-20-2009, 08:10 PM

Time for a pic update.
There are still around11+ fry in this tank, not counting the 20+ i have in my 10... i figure ill leave them among the floating plants and they can do the rest.

First is a pic of the newborn fry: see if ya'll can find some of them in the plants :P

Following is a pic of the 1 month-old fry in comparison to the 3" mother. also theres a pic of all the fish together.

Lastly is an overall pic of the tank.

View Poll Results: What do you think of the tank as a whole?
"I don't really understand what youre doing here...it looks weird"	2	9.09%
"The idea is half decent, but could use some improvements"	5	22.73%
"Overall it looks natural and good"	6	27.27%
"Awsome habitat for the fish and looks outstanding"	11	50.00%
Multiple Choice Poll. Voters: 22. You may not vote on this poll

11-09-2009, 08:30 PM	#121
Newman Super Fish Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Northern NJ Posts: 2,828	bought two more otos...now there are 7. __________________ Credit goes to Lludu

11-09-2009, 09:55 PM	#123
kenny1tothe6 Medium Fish Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 413	Eeeeekkkk!! That's a lota algae!! __________________ 10gal, 24gal Nano-Cube [Nano-Reef], 29gal Riparium, 35galHEX, 55gal, 125gal, & 5,000gal Pond

11-09-2009, 10:05 PM	#124
Newman Super Fish Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Northern NJ Posts: 2,828	ROFL yah its pretty gross. ive stopped dosing everything but iron once a week and flourish twice. Hence i got all the otos. Theres more food for them this way :P __________________ Credit goes to Lludu

11-16-2009, 08:13 PM	#125
kenny1tothe6 Medium Fish Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 413	Any change in the algae coated mess??? My 29 is the same way, so I've been considering Zebra Otos! At 10$+ a pop, these goldfish will go out into the pond if I got them! ROFL __________________ 10gal, 24gal Nano-Cube [Nano-Reef], 29gal Riparium, 35galHEX, 55gal, 125gal, & 5,000gal Pond

11-16-2009, 08:39 PM	#126
Newman Super Fish Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Northern NJ Posts: 2,828	Hehe, no change in the algae. I clean each side of my tank every few days with an algae magnet. that way one side gets clean, and the other has enough algae for the 5 otos that are in there. The algae only tankes around 4days to completely recover on a side. and now its predominately green. they love this stuff, and they cant even control it, theres so much food for em. i dont think ill have to feed them for a loong time as long as i keep my lights on The dwarf hairgrass tho is getting owned by brown diatoms. the otos are too busy with the glass to help it out. although it has started to send off runners i think... Ive stopped dosing everything except for flourish once, iron once, and excel twice a week. since ive stopped dosing the nitrogen, the Nitrates at the end of a normal week show up as 10ppm. the otos dont seem to mind it. However im concerned about one female oto that has a big bruise on her head. It the oto i found in the garbage. her ripped off tail is really growing back nicely, but the face wound is pretty bad. im hopind it will heal on its own. its a really old female, the way its almost 2". __________________ Credit goes to Lludu

11-18-2009, 09:53 PM	#127
kenny1tothe6 Medium Fish Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 413	Do you clean the front glass at all? I would just clean the 3 sides and leave the back glass/plants/driftwood for them... Is your hairgrass finally beginning to carpet or is the crazy goldfish attempting to eat it still? __________________ 10gal, 24gal Nano-Cube [Nano-Reef], 29gal Riparium, 35galHEX, 55gal, 125gal, & 5,000gal Pond

11-19-2009, 12:09 AM	#128
Newman Super Fish Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Northern NJ Posts: 2,828	lol yea thats what i do, i clean the front and side glass panels with the algae magnet, and leave the back for the oto. i sometimes clean the bak too when the green alage has grown so much that the otos cant even dent it. by then its usually too hard for the otos to scrape off. I understand that the algae madnets simply dislodge the algae from the glass so that it reattaches somewhere else, but i actually want that to happen, so the otos constantly have stuff to eat. the water clears fast from that anyway so its not a visible problem. As far as the hairgrass goes, it has done minimal carpeting and the goldfish continues to bulldose it every now and then. ive given it a trim cuz the existing peices were growin a bit tall and were getting demolished by brown algae. I added the gold apple snail to this tank cuz it had no business in the 2.5 betta or the soft-water 10 gal. it just sticks out like a sore thumb now.. a very big, yellow sore thumb =/ Its almost as big as my goldfish..JK but its really comparable. I'm waiting every day for new fry but they never show up... the female should be gettin close, i can tell by the darker matter near her tail... The blackworms in my 2.5 gal have showed up again. ive actually seen one specimen show its face yesterday out ofthe gravel, extending over 3" out. thats a big worm 0_0 its bigger than the betta. ive seen another smaller one the next morning so theres more than two by now. im surprised they managed to survive the gravel cleaning, and grow from the tiny red worms i've seen in the filter media. Future plans entail for a 5-10 gallon breeding tank setup in my basement, and perhaps a pair of plakat bettas next week =/ I can't seem to stop myself here Dx __________________ Credit goes to Lludu

11-20-2009, 11:26 AM	#129
Newman Super Fish Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Northern NJ Posts: 2,828	New fry showed up. theyr so small...but there are a lot more than before. i moved them to my 10 gal in time. also i noted that the three fry that are still alive from the first brood are now just over 1" and are a month old. __________________ Credit goes to Lludu