6.6 gallon planted rcs nano journal

[finfan]

i got around to getting my 6.6gallon out this weekend and attempted to start my first planted nano tank, just so everyone knows, the dimensions of the tank are 23.75" long, 7.5" deep, and 9" high (so the footprint is almost like a 20 gallon and definitely larger than a regular 10 gallon)

i got 10 RCS from Brownsnoutuk and i could not resist getting 3 celestial pearl danios and 3 pygmy cories, i had the filter for this tank running on another tank for the last year, so i just moved the filter with the media... walla instantly cycled tank (at least i hope so, readings are good)

i made the mistake again of not getting all material beforehand and just scrambled through my storage aquarium supplies and got some driftwood and rock and some sand, it is a start, i will rescape in a few months

the shrimps have colored up quite a bit in the last 24 hours, but my camera is no good on these little bittie shrimps, they are very active and acting like they have been here for a while, the rcs are surprisingly not too shy and come out of the back quite often, the cories are the most social and go around the tank as a group, i could not get good pictures, also for unknown reason the water is cloudy!

here are some pix:



3 cpd





few more shots of cpd







please make comments and suggestions, i'm new to this nano thing - so don't crush me

[TaTeR ToT]

looks good imo
this is how i had my amano shrimp tank setup, the java moss will fill in nicely in a couple months or so.
all in all i think its a good start.

[naps]

Looks like a nice start to me, maybe some more plants (Annubius or java fern maybe). Where did you buy your pygmy cories at if I may ask?

[finfan]

thanks earheater and naps, got the pygmy cories from FRII, i have added a few plants and will be changing it up a little shortly, will post pix in the next few days

[Mzungu]

Looking forward to seeing more pictures! I'm guessing the cloudiness cleared pretty quickly? What kind of sand are you using? It looks like small gravel in the pictures with the CPDs, lol.

I would get more CPDs and cories, if I were you. Pygmy cories are great little fish, and look awesome when there's a large group of them schooling together. :) Not to mention cute!

[finfan]

a quick update, i have not been able to find time to get some more sand for substrate and do a rescape, but i did put some trimmings from my 65 gallon a few days ago and they have alreredy grown a little, heres a full tank shot as of 10 minutes ago



here's from the other side



i do not intend to keep any plant in the front, i will put them all in the back when i do rescape, also, i really think i need to put a background, that filter looks awful in the back

the shrimp have all colored up, some more than others, here's a fat one, is she pregnant?



here's another one, sorry about poor pix quality, my camera is really not for shrimp pix



here's a shot of cpd, they have really colored up and they are not really as shy as i have read in most places, i went back to FRII for more but they have all sold out, anyone know where i can find them locally?





here's all three, i could not get a clear one, they move very fast



so far i don't think i have had any losses shrimp or fish

any advice is welcome

[TaTeR ToT]

looks great man!
the rcs you think might be prego,
if she is prego, she will have a couple dozen little yellow balls on her underbelly.
those will be the eggs, she will carry them there until they develop into tiny miniature versions of the adults.
they do not undergo the larval stages, but rather fully develop on the mother underbelly.
its very interesting to watch, she will fan her pelvis to oxygenate her young ones.
very cool stuff.
the light colored shrimps are the males.
they dont get much color at all.
hope this helps:)

[TaTeR ToT]

also, i believe fish gallery often carries cpd's

[Rico]

i will ask Mike to get you some more of those galaxy rasboras. have you seen the red badis we got? im not good with planted tanks but i think they would look nice in there.

[newb]

im pretty sure Dan has some of those rasboras at HAW now

[finfan]

thanks guys, i hope they are preg, would love to see the whole process

i almost got a pair of the red badis - i got those from FRII and put it in with my angels where there is plenty of plant cover and even then they got eaten by them

i think for this tank i will stick with cpd's and red cherries just to enjoy the two species more... of course i do have the 3 pygmy cories in there too

[finfan]

quick update, i have not been able to add more sand/substrate or change the scape, the plants have grown a little bit, the moss actually has some growth, although you can't see from pic, all inhabitants doing well, here's a FTS



i added a sparkling gourami couple of days ago, this little guy is really neat looking and got comfortable right away and already colored up a little bit...brilliant blue irridescent, i tried to take pix, but my bad camera is just not working for this tank, so it does not do the little thing justice





btw, i went to HAW and they did not have cpd's