The beginner's nano aquarium

[Kenny Leong]

Ok, so my seahorses didn't make it in the end but now I've commenced work on converting my Dymax IQ5 (13 litre) into a freshwater — and hopefully less maintenance — tiny aquarium.

Started the cycling process on Tuesday with some camomba, Windelov's fern (java fern with triple-split edges on each leaf?) and (I think) dwarf anubias, planted in a layer of shrimp-and-plants aquasoil I bought from C328, with funny Japanese words all over the packet. I also have some Christmas moss in the background and a moss ball that I tore apart and squeezed on one side of the aquarium.

On Wednesday I added two guppies — a male and a female — followed by 6 neon tetras on Thursday.

Everything in the tank is brand spanking new. I have carbon rings and filter sponge in one column and ceramic biorings in another. The water pump is adjusted to med-low to give a decent amount of water flow in the tank so at least there is good circulation.

The fish seem happy so far, feeding enthusiastically and chasing one another occasionally. Th guppies have made friends with the neon tetras shortly after being introduced to each other, and now they even shoal together. The neons are also a little less timid now, occasionally swimming away from the pack to explore the plants, forage for snacks, or take a little rest under the shade.

I committed a mistake by attempting to introduce red cherry shrimp into the tank before cycling is complete. I regret this move, as I've been picking out dead shrimps everyday. There are some survivors, and I hope they live.

The Windelov's fern seems to be doing ok, but it's too early to tell. The camomba, however, is growing like crazy and needs trimming real soon. I intend just to chop off the tops and discard them, and leave the bottom parts growing.

I'm watching the aquarium closely whenever I'm at home, picking out dead stuff with a set of bamboo pincette. Funny thing I noticed — the fish like coming to check out the bamboo pincette every time I try to remove something in the tank with it!

Some pictures:

Front view:


Front view again:


Ah, shy shrimp:


Out foraging:


They move too fast for my silly point-and-shoot Sony cam!

[Mr.Oink]

Is cabomba your foreground plant? If yes, it will grown very fast and tall, I suggest you move it to the back

[Kenny Leong]

Actually i just did that! But I wonder if I had just upset the cycling process.

Well it's just a matter of shifting plants around, I hope it doesn't stress out anything in the tank.

So now it's the dwarf anubias, Windelov's fern and then cabomba, with Christmas moss in the background.

[hayabusa]

try using shorter plants for your foreground, your plants are mostly mid-background plants. maybe you can try out hairgrass as a foreground.

[Kenny Leong]

Hairgrass?

Thanks for the suggestion! I'll have a look the next time I'm at the LFS.

[Cloud-Strife]

Mixing guppies with shrimps might not be a good idea. Guppies tend to peck on whatever things they like. If they are hungry, they might 'peck' on the shrimps. In the end, you might end up collecting dead shrimps.

[Kenny Leong]

Oh dear... I haven't seen the guppies pecking so far, but I probably should remove them to another tank already.

Thanks for the tip!

[Alexem]

Nice layout!
You can try to change cabomba with pogostemon helferi for a wild effect!!


Natural Aquascaping - Planted Aquarium Blog

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[ilubit]

felt sad for the shrimps...hope they will live will after you remove the guppies...

[Kekwa]

Tried this combination before, and after few weeks, all the shrimps disappeared!

[xXXXx13]

I also had this combo for sometimes till now. i think if you have enough hiding places for your shrimps and feed the fishes enough, the shrimps will be safe. I have been spotting shrimplets in my tank every now and then

[Rooster]

Nice idea on the flora really.
But I feel that there might be a little too much fauna in the 5 gallon - but I guess you already know.
Also, the slits on the top left for the overflow are actually big enough for RCS to get through so you might want to put a thin piece of wool there to stop accidents from happening.
Actually, I had a IQ3 (which is slightly smaller than yours) about 2 years back and I found it too small and hence too unstable to keep a significant amount of shrimp - the water parameters are really inconsistent. I'm not sure if you'd agree.