Pix: Planted arowana tank update 19 Feb 2003

[Vican]

Hey Vinz,
Sorry I saw this thread late. Like your tank a lot. I like the 3rd pic best, looks like an add for jurassic park...heheh..

Are the vals still in the background? Can't see them from your pics.

Your aro looks mighty fine too. How is the recovery on the pectorals?

My aro also seemed to be stuck at 11" for more than a month, but recently, I've gotten it to eat bull frogs and SW and it has started growing slowly and last night, showed it to be 12" from snout to end of tail.

My tank is still not heavily planted enough, so I still need to do near 50% water change per week.

How much is your aro eating nowadays?

My aro has acquired a taste for SAEs and otos. It has systematically reduced the population of them in my tank. The clown loaches are safe though, but nowadays, they hide most of the time compared to a couple of months ago when they even snatched my aro's food. I'm trying to catch some of the large clown loaches out too as they've been feeding on some of the plants.

Thanks for the update! Post a update monthly if you can

[Plantbrain]

I wish more folks would keep nice fish like this in planted tanks, this is one of the nicest aro tanks I've ever seen.
V:
- once the fish is full grown it will not eat shrimp BTW.
You might try feeding the shrimp sinking algae pellets also.
Dang nice though.

My idea for this type of tank I can came up with that works on all large fish displays and accents the fish colors very well and the back of the tank is simply covered in 2cm thick cork and Bolbitus is attached to the cork with U shaped 18 gauge wire "nails".
Then you eventually have a wall of Bolbitus.

Bolbitus grows very well on cork.

It also has a nice very dark grren color which accents fish colors much more.
Since it's attach to the entire back wall, the rest of the tank is left for swimming etc.
Even a stingray can be kept in such a tank or Bare bottom tanks etc.
But you can also plants the rest of the tank also any time later.
Another nice thing is that the plants hide all the equipment in this type of display.

I look forward to the future of your tank Vincent. It's a winner.

Regards,
Tom Barr

[vinz]

Thanks Victor.

I removed half the Vals and put Bolbitis heteroclita in their place. Also installed a moss wall above them a few weeks ago, but the moss hasn't grown out yet. Planning to remove the rest of the vals once I decide what to put in their place.

The pectoral fin has grown back about 60%... recovery seems to have slowed down. Crossing my fingers that it will still grow back to it's full glory. []

This fella's growth have slowed too... took along time to get from 10 to 11 inches. He can take about 3 inches of market prawns in a day.

As for otos and SAEs, same here. He doesn't actively go looking for them, but it they get spotted in an open enough space, he will make a move for them. So far the population is stable at 4 otos and 7 SAEs. All remaining are smart enough to stay under cover when he's nearby.

[vinz]

Thanks for the compliments, Tom.

I guess when he gets big enough, he'll start to ignore the smaller fishes and shrimps. There's a LFS (Sam Yick's show room in Joo Chiat, for locals who are interested) that has a 1.5ft red arowana sharing a planted tank with a large school of Neon tetras.

I'll keep the bolbitis wall idea in mind... good one. However, Bolbitis heudelotii here is hard to come by and relatively expensive too. Right now, I'm waiting for moss wall I installed a few weeks ago to grow. I'm thinking of trying B. heudelotii too... most likely I'll mix it in together with the moss wall.

[Vican]

I'm contemplating on removing all the vals and putting dwarf swords in their place, so it'll look like an aro over a grass land look. Dunno if it'll look nice or not.

The reason I'm thinking of doing it is because the vals is quite dense and is blocking some of the swimming space. The bullfrogs are also smart enough to hide themselves among the surface leaves.

So far, only my $10 pencil fishes and clown loaches have not been eatened. Think I need to get more otos soon.

[vinz]

Vican, Do you really need more otos? I thought I needed 10, but it seems that the current 4 is doing a decent job, so I'm not adding new ones. Anyway, I can't be sure whether the arowana ate the rest or they died from starvation.

[Plantbrain]

That's the good thing about bolbitus, it always commands a fair price. But I'll tell you that you will be very please at the rate of growth and you will be able to trade most of the plant for fish/feeders etc at most places. CO2 and PO4 will help it grow very nicely.
It grows very rapidly on cork versus other substrats.
There is also an ectomycorrhizae associated with the plant that I found growing amongst the rhizoids/roots.
I had a 120 cm tank and was routinely removing about 100 leaf plants monthly. It's a weed. There are two types, a shoprt curly and tall straight. I like the curly much more.

I kept a large male neon blue Hap compressiceps in a 75 gallon a long time ago that was planted. Snails were the only algae eater. There are many interesting fish tank folks never seem to keep in planted tanks. I like schools of fish etc, but I also like a big predator and other so called "unsuitables".

Regards,
Tom Barr

[vinz]

Tom,

Hmmm... interesting... but do you have any ideas on how to install a cork wall in a tank that's already setup? Short of draining out the water, using silicon to secure the cork and giving the silicon at least 24hrs to cure before refilling the tank?

[scang7]

hi

where can i get the dwarf saggitara from?
the one that is seen on the foreground of the tank. Thanks.

Chris

[vinz]

Me... after my next trimming... if I remember.

[Plantbrain]

Just silicone the cork tiles on to glass or slate and sit along the back wall.

I've glued it to the back walls when a tank was dry and 10 years later removed it and it was not that bad. The glass looks fine again. I used a fresh razor blade to get it off and any left over silicone.
TFH has an old article with pic's of mine on cork aquascaping.

Regards,
Tom Barr

[modyas]

Hi Vinz,

did you add black water extract for your planted tank? If you do how would it affect the plants?

[vinz]

Modyas,

No, I don't add black water nor ketapang leaves. No need to... my CO2 brings the pH down nicely.

Blackwater tinges the water, so one effect on plants is the reduction of light.

[benny]

Hey Vinz,

The tank looks good in these pixs. But to be honest, it looks even better in real life!!! Thanks for sharing.

Cheers,

[modyas]

Thankz Vinz,

Well ill be setting up a aro and planted tank in the near future and foresee that i would need a lot of advice from u since im new in both areas. So hope u can help me out

[vinz]

modyas,

Do come for the AQ planted tank workshop if you can. The basics of any planted arowana tank is the same. Specific things to look out for in a planted tank for an arowana, or any large fish, are:
- tank mates
- suitable algae crew
- choice of plants (ease of maintainance, suitability...)
- layout (ample swimming space, hiding space...)
- waste (i.e. ammonia, nitrate) control
- appropriate lighting levels

[modyas]

Ya I think i should try to find the time to go for one of these workshops.
any idea when will be the next one?
I think i also need to find out like all the equipment needed to set up one and learn more about how the nutrient levels affect the plants
Thanks for your help vinz

[vinz]

Err... the last time we did a workshop was about 2 yrs ago. Do try to come for this one, probably won't be another one anytime soon by AQ.

As for equipment, look in our Aquatic FAQ forum. There's a thread called "Things needed to start a planted tank" or something like that.

[kc]

Hey Vinz!

With tank like that, have you ever thought of going full time? I really envy you.

[Allen_1971]

Hehehe KC don't encourage him... people like vinz (and myself) have constant dreams about going full time...