Where to go from here?

W

WhosUrDadi

New Member
LuminousAphid said:
So here is the tank today, decided to clean it out a bit and take a picture

jFkjJ0I.jpg


Things are looking good, and it seems like the less I mess with it the better things go. I have stopped using flourish excel and I can only see good differences, like the hygro seems to be doing much better without it.

edit: also, does anyone know what this plant is? Still haven't figured it out...

86RpYBl.jpg

Mystery plant, starting to grow nicely
Click to expand...

that Mystery plant that you have there looks like a "ammania sp. bonsai"  :) :) 
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Sure, this is half the fun with aqua scaping. I am doing the same thing with a 140g tank that's filling out. Moving stuff around, making adjustments, ect. Your tank looks like mine on a mini scale. I see a few background plants that could be moved or removed from the front. A neatO fern I don't think I've seen before in the middle.
 
L

LuminousAphid

New Member
I think that's just a lace java fern, but I have it stuck down there under the bog log with java moss surrounding it so that it doesn't get too much intense light. That's one of my favorites, and I got it at the Aquarium Co-Op plant swap a couple of months ago.

I think I might get rid of the cabomba eventually, and also take out a lot of the guppy grass in the background. Also, once the little italian val in the front left gets going, I plan on pulling the jangle val out and putting it in another tank.

edit: and thanks WhosUrDaddy, I have been wondering about that for one for a while. At first I really didn't like it, but now that it's happy and growing top full size, it's quite nice. The only confusing thing to me is that info online says Ammannia Bonzai (now classified as the "true" Rotala Indica, apparently) has very small leaves, while the leaves on mine have begun to get bigger as it nears the light, and some are now almost 1" long near the top. But all the pics do look just like mine, it's probably my lighting that gives a bit more size to the leaves.
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
LuminousAphid said:
The only confusing thing to me is that info online says Ammannia Bonzai (now classified as the "true" Rotala Indica, apparently) has very small leaves, while the leaves on mine have begun to get bigger as it nears the light, and some are now almost 1" long near the top. But all the pics do look just like mine, it's probably my lighting that gives a bit more size to the leaves.
Click to expand...
Interesting. I did a little reading tonight. Seems the name Ammannia Bonzai was the common name of this plant years ago when it was 1st introduced to the U.S.
Now the common name is Rotala Indica. The reason I am interested is because there is another plant that gets confused name wise. This other plant is a plant I have and for months tried to find out its common name. I was calling the plant I have Rotala Indica when in fact what I have is Rotala rotundifolia. I think you nailed it on the head. I am not 100% sure but I think your plant may be this "Rotala Indica".

Here is a picture of my plant that I thought was Rotala Indica. With the research I did I now think it's called Rotala rotundifolia.
 
PokeSephiroth

PokeSephiroth

Member
Not sure if this has been answered yet, but that Mystery Plant you were asking about (LuminousAphid) Looks a lot like Lemon Bacopa (Bacopa Caroliniana) . . . I have that stuff growing in my tanks and I love it, because it has this distinct smell of lemons/limes when you rub the leaves out of the water. :D

Stuff is awesome, when exposed to higher light, the leaves turn bronze / reddish green, and when they grow above water level, they have tiny purple colored flowers. :D
 
L

LuminousAphid

New Member
Wow, it's amazing how similar those two plants look.... I really don't know which one I have, haha! I will have to look into that, although it looks a little more like the Rotala in most pics, it also looks very similar to some of the pictures of Bacopa I am seeing, and growth can depend a lot on light and fertilizer levels.

Thanks a lot, I thought I had it all figured out! :p
 
L

LuminousAphid

New Member
Update: got together the last 4 photos of the tank, lets see what the recent progress looks like

aXkmnMP.jpg

December 1

BvQKbQP.jpg

December 13

wyqCZXE.jpg

December 15

sqa0b4x.jpg

December 21
 
L

LuminousAphid

New Member
its all about the lights, and I also usually have pretty high nitrates (though that is changing, see my thread on my german blue rams). I use a Finnex Ray2 24" on this tank, and recently also got a Monster Ray to go with it, and with help from the south-facing window it has really taken off the last month or so. Once you get things in balance, and the plants get established, it just takes care of itself... I didn't do much to it really to get this- no CO2 or excel, just a once-weekly or so dose of Flourish, and weekly water changes are all you need!

edit: and lots of snails!
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
:spoton: looks goOd! Almost time for a trim on that background plant :)
 
L

LuminousAphid

New Member
Here's an update on where I went from there

fJhFNNS.jpg


battery dying

edit; looking back i realize that my plants look like crap now, there was a while where i neglected this tank and didn't dose ferts but still had the same amount of light or more, so i think that's why it looks so bad now. the ludwigia is really starting to recover, but it's going to take a while to get back to the way the stargrass and pretty much everything else looked back then. i also really need to clean the glass off from all the green spot next time i take a picture, but at least i keep it real

edit again; also i think i need some guppy grass back in this tank, i think it really helped even out all the fluctuations in nutrient levels due to my neglect. it helped the other plants a lot, i believe, now that i look back on it. plus it's easy to grow and looks pretty good
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top