sharing my sulawesi tank

[Draka]

Well, I have got to say you are wrong here. They do dig into the sand and I have seen them bury their bodies into the sand leaving the shell on the sand surface. I woke up this morning to see a few of my grass floating on the water (didn't had time to root them down as I was rushing out for work already), and there really isn't any thing else in the tank beside the snails that would dig into the sand. The grass has already been planted as deep as I could so leaves you to figure how deep they can reach. If I ever get to catch them digging in, I will be sure to video the process and post it up here . It's actually quite fun to see them digging (probably singing "Bob the builder" while they are doing their thing).

Mine used to dig. For roots of plants. That's what I suspect anyway cause in my new attempt no digging has been seen yet and there are no rooted plants. And when I had them last they always were seen near the rooted plants if they dug.

I spotted this on my frogbit earlier; it's a whitish substance. I had this on hand while I was doing my water change the other day and wiped it off. I finally saw it again and wanted to ask if anyone knows what this is? My guess is that this is forming because of the alkalinity of the tank. Any idea?

Attachment 28917

Err sometimes tylos produce a white slimy gooey thing when the parameters fluctuate or when they are first acclimatised and it can be present for very long if the shrimp are not hungry. If the shrimp are hungry it disappears very fast. Not sure if its what happens in your case though, seems unlikely.

[mincedmeat]

Thanks for identifying it. To tell you the truth, I had a hard time distinguishing which is what! Haha. These guys are elusive, and besides that one time I had spotted him out in the open, most times I fail in located them. I just hope they are hiding in the cracks and crevices I had provided with the rocks and not lying some where contributing to the nitrate levels

Those are mini riccia actually, as claimed by seaview. So far so good, still green and I can see parts of it growing. I was hoping that it overtakes the entire rock and enough for me to cultivate and tie it on a larger piece of rock and save me some 'moolah'.

[mincedmeat]

Mine used to dig. For roots of plants. That's what I suspect anyway cause in my new attempt no digging has been seen yet and there are no rooted plants. And when I had them last they always were seen near the rooted plants if they dug.

Err sometimes tylos produce a white slimy gooey thing when the parameters fluctuate or when they are first acclimatised and it can be present for very long if the shrimp are not hungry. If the shrimp are hungry it disappears very fast. Not sure if its what happens in your case though, seems unlikely.

I gave up and took out all the grass in it and replaced them with the free hortworts from the LFS when you buy shrimps (read: new purchase ; so let's see how long these last in the tank). The gooey substance you mentioned is actually part of the product when they defecate (nice term use, just in case you are having a meal whilst reading this ) or at least that's what I think it is. Pretty irritating at times as this goo-like substance can stretch a distance from where it is attached, very unsightly.

[Draka]

I gave up and took out all the grass in it and replaced them with the free hortworts from the LFS when you buy shrimps (read: new purchase ; so let's see how long these last in the tank). The gooey substance you mentioned is actually part of the product when they defecate (nice term use, just in case you are having a meal whilst reading this ) or at least that's what I think it is. Pretty irritating at times as this goo-like substance can stretch a distance from where it is attached, very unsightly.

Err, actually no. Their poop are grey and more like detritus for mine leh.

[mincedmeat]

more photos to share:

fighting for food! you can probably see the white spot tylomenia snail here.



Malili Red Bee (especially for fans of fire red)



Yellow Striped Red Bee



Another Red cardinal



*insert lion king song here*



One more full tank shot



I added hornworts into the tank over the weekend, but the tylo snails sniffed it and headed towards that direction. I woke up this morning to find half of the hornworts floating around . I think I will give up putting in any other plants, and if any would be just nanas on driftwood. They are ripping my mini riccia on lava rock also.

[Matt]

Nice tank bro.

For the plants, you can have them in the tank but strategically placed. Since you have rocks, you may want to place the plants in between the rocks and/or behind the rocks against the tank as a backdrop or around corners where it will be hard for them to reach. As for hornworts, I would usually just stick them behind my filter inlet hanging around and they would just grow around it. The Otellia that I had planted in my tank with tylos never got uprooted as they are almost impossible to reach. just my 2cents worth.

[mincedmeat]

I prefer the tank in your office! but thanks for the compliments!

Good tip..will probably try it out when I am back home later. See where else I can stuff the hornworts without the tylos reaching it. Even though they are big, they crawl at some amazing speed, and the areas they can reach in to..OMG. haha


Oh, about the next MO you mentioned. I can't wait for it! Hoping to introduce more into the tank.

[Draka]

Anyway don't worry about the hornworts, they try to generate leaves that are unpalatable, and anyway they grow fast ^^

[Matt]

Ehhh... If hornworts are growing fast, do keep a watch on your "nites". It may indicate that there is a constant high of NO3 which may be quite fatal in higher temps like 27 Deg.C onwards.

Bro, you like my tank? Which one? I'm growing tired of them fast... And I didn't do much to them also.

[Draka]

Haha thanks bro, don't worry, I'm watching the parameters. I'm currently having to dose fertilizers in order to get them growing green, so the nites are definitely under control. Anyway you might be interested to know that I'm adding Ferrum, Borneowild and since then the Mambo have resumed coming out.

[Matt]

I have that Ferrum in my Doraemon Drawer as well but have resisted to using it in my Sulawesi Tank since they are doing quite well there. Might try it out soon though. 😜

[Draka]

Haha I was always tempted to try it out, but since the Gravel really doesn't seem to do much for the parameters, I need to fertilise the tank, and Ferrum contains, to my surprise, both MN-EDTA and Fe-EDTA...

[Matt]

It is a highly potent substance to add. A small drop goes a long way. I am trying it out in my PRL/BKK/BB tank only as the lightset does not overpower the prowess of "blackness". Will be posting a new thread on that tank soon.

Review seems not bad for this product anyway. (Maybe you want to carry on this discussion alongside with all OT posts to my thread?) we are way way OT ALREADY!

[mincedmeat]

Haha! Just slightly out of topic I guess but no harm done.

Anyway, I like your Sulawesi tank. Simple and easy to spot your shrimps, though I think they would prefer more hiding spaces. So it's a compromise of you of seeing them and them hiding from you?

[Draka]

Haha paiseh paiseh...

[Matt]

Haha! Just slightly out of topic I guess but no harm done.

Anyway, I like your Sulawesi tank. Simple and easy to spot your shrimps, though I think they would prefer more hiding spaces. So it's a compromise of you of seeing them and them hiding from you?

Yeah agree. I can see most of my shrimps even at a distance. But I do it this way cos I spend lesser time "ogling" at them and more time netting them out. The display tank, which is a much smaller tank is totally different concept. The new scape is done such that they blend in totally with the shrimps. But yours is good for the shrimps in the long run.

[mincedmeat]

Probably so that this is better for them in the long run, since they are not your usual kind of shrimps that wouldn't mind being ogled at.

I just saw my Malili Red Bee lying at one corner. Used my planting tool to lightly prod it and it responded. Any idea what is happening? My hunch is that it's going to go "off" soon. sigh.

[Owls]

Bro nice setup. I am waiting for mine to finish cycling, is going to be a long wait, 3 more weeks. Ready to search for the shrimp. Cheers.

[Matt]

Probably so that this is better for them in the long run, since they are not your usual kind of shrimps that wouldn't mind being ogled at.

I just saw my Malili Red Bee lying at one corner. Used my planting tool to lightly prod it and it responded. Any idea what is happening? My hunch is that it's going to go "off" soon. sigh.

Check your water bro. I think something may be wrong with your water.

[mincedmeat]

Well, I did a check the day before this happened. NO2 and NO3 were pretty much at 0. gH, kH and pH seems optimal to me. Molting problems? Actually I have not seen any molting at all, or at least none that I could have seen since they have pretty decent cover to do whatever they need to do. Could this be the reason why?