[liquid_krystale]

Hey guys,

Picked up a used rimless 15 gallon 24" x 12" x 14" tank that fits snugly onto my kitchen countertop, where it will act as a focal showpiece of my apartment and bring much-needed light into my small space.

Though I wanted a new tank, I had to buy used because I couldn't get a new rimless locally for under my tight budget. Realized when I got it home that it had a TON of calcium buildup crud that came off only with a razor and liberal applications of Barkeeper's friend, interspersed with a lot of swearing. Seriously...the product saved me.

Filtration: AC30 HOB
Media: hydroton, filter floss, sponge
Lighting: Chihiro doctor 60 cm LED
Heater: elite 50 watt

Substrate: pool filter sand
Hardscape: Dragon/Ohko stone
Veggies: moss, hitchhiking BBA

Current inhabitants: 5 habrosus cory, 2 whiptail catfish, one very unhappy white worm

Future plans:
I want to take this in the direction of a shrimp tank, but want to sort out the vegetation and make sure tank parameters are fully stable and mature first. Would love to get a moss bonsai going on to complete the scape since the vision is a low maintenance yet striking scape.

Work in progress...

 

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

Looks great so far. Can you keep whiptail cats with shrimp? This sounds incompatible to me.

 

[liquid_krystale]

Looks great so far. Can you keep whiptail cats with shrimp? This sounds incompatible to me.

*sigh* I know. I've read that they are somewhat carnivorous, but I look at them and their itty bitty mouths and convince myself that they couldn't manage to take down a full grown shrimp. Maybe a shrimplette or two, but I'm willing to sustain a few loses for the sake of having them.

 

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

Unfortunately, it wouldn't be just one or two shrimplettes. It would be ALL of them. The full size adults may survive but all the babies would be food for the whiptails since they're so slim they can stick their snouts (and mouths) everywhere.

 

[2wheelsx2]

There are a lot of fish called whiptails. For instance, the Red Lizards (L10a) are whiptails and are Rineloricaria species. They are completely harmless to the shrimp and baby shrimp as I had them breeding in my 20 gallon cherry tank for a long time. Many Farlowella species are also mainly herbivorous. So unless you know for sure yours is a carnivorous species, I wouldn't worry about it since your cories are likely more carnivorous than they are.

 

[liquid_krystale]

I'll start off with cherries and see how it goes. If it comes down to it I won't begrudge them the babies.

For sure they aren't farlowella. Can someone id them?

 

[2wheelsx2]

I'm pretty sure it's a Sturisomatichthys leightoni based on the 3 that I bought from Charles years ago. At that time they were sold as Royal Farlowella but I asked on Planetcatfish and checked around and that seemed to be the consensus. I can't imagine that guy eating any meat. As a matter of fact, I've never observed them to eat anything so I assume they eat algae and microorganisms in the tank.

 

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

I'm pretty sure it's a Sturisomatichthys leightoni based on the 3 that I bought from Charles years ago. At that time they were sold as Royal Farlowella but I asked on Planetcatfish and checked around and that seemed to be the consensus. I can't imagine that guy eating any meat. As a matter of fact, I've never observed them to eat anything so I assume they eat algae and microorganisms in the tank.

Well that's good news. I might have a couple stray cherries in one of Felicia's small tanks you can try out (found them running around in the goldfish cube tank of all places). If they survive well then you can replace them with nicer more expensive shrimp.

 

[liquid_krystale]

I'm pretty sure it's a Sturisomatichthys leightoni based on the 3 that I bought from Charles years ago. At that time they were sold as Royal Farlowella but I asked on Planetcatfish and checked around and that seemed to be the consensus. I can't imagine that guy eating any meat. As a matter of fact, I've never observed them to eat anything so I assume they eat algae and microorganisms in the tank.

Yeah, I never see them eat, ever.

Well that's good news. I might have a couple stray cherries in one of Felicia's small tanks you can try out (found them running around in the goldfish cube tank of all places). If they survive well then you can replace them with nicer more expensive shrimp.

Thanks! Will definitely take you up on the kind offer when I'm ready.

 

[mysticalnet]

You probably need to add more plants soon or algae will start to grow. Looking forward to see more updates!

 

[liquid_krystale]

Newest development:

I wanted a bonsai in the tank to give it that extra "oomph", but had a really hard time finding something suitable. Finally, I went to a bonsai grower and bought a dead baby bonsai. Really didn't think this through because I only realized afterwards that it was a type of softwood. Since it had languished for too long in the bonsai graveyard, it was already crumbling a bit at the roots. I took it home, shook off the dirt and dead needles, and proceeded to spend too much time stripping off the bark and thinking about how to keep the damn thing from dissolving in my tank. I ended up coating with a couple coats of epoxy resin to keep it waterproof and will silicon it to a piece of slate to weigh it down. Green netting and xmas moss for the foliage.

Stay tuned for the big reveal in a few weeks time.

 

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

That's exactly what I would have done to if I wanted to save that piece of wood and use it as a bonsai in an aquarium. The epoxied bonsai looks good. Looking forward to seeing the final product.

 

[Dou]

O_O! I didn't think of that... My friend was looking for a bonsai tree - will let him know that this is also an option. Thanks for sharing and excited to see how it turns out =)!