50G Tanganyika Planted Riparium I haven't been back to planetcatfish in a long time!! This new journal thread is a continuation of one that I maintained here a couple of years ago. Here's the link... http://www.planetcatfish.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=28088&p=257343&hilit=riparium#p257343 I have ...

I haven't been back here to Planet Catfish in a long time. Years!

I have a few new tank projects going on and I mean to share some pictures and observations here.

I'm pondering a new riparium setup to feature a nice group of cories.

I can't stop taking pictures of these plants, especially with the Cyrtosperma johnstonii looking so cool. Here's another view. http://hydrophytesblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/10-ii-10-tank-i-m.jpg I re-painted the wall with plain white, which sets up a much better contrast for the green ...

I got a few more quick pictures today. That plants are all looking happy enough. I think that the Cyrtosperma johnstonii and Pilea cardierei go together nicely. http://hydrophytesblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/6-ii-10-cyrtosperma-johnstonii-i-m.jpg I am setting up for some full-tank shots. Here ...

Here is the full-tank shot.

I got some new pictures of this tank tonight. Here is a view from above.

Really nice Glenny. You certainly have a lot of cool little creatures in those tanks of yours.

Today I was admiring the Echinodorus cordifolius 'Tropica Marble Queen' that I have growing in here. http://hydrophytesblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/22-i-10-echinodorus-cordifolius-tropica-marble-queen-i-m.jpg This is such a nice plant. It is the perfect size and shape for growing in a ...

I don't quite see if whether have an opinion on them but I would like to cast second vote for Corydoras pygmeus . At least on our side of the border they are cheap and readily available and have such an entertaining way of swimming about, especially in a largish group. My all-time favorite group of ...

Yes I was surprised to learn that pictus cats grow so large. I saw a fish that one guy had that must have been at least 7".

I like my Synodontis lucipinnis a lot.

Last night I also finally got a picture of one of the little S. lucinpinnis.



It will take some effort to get a few good pictures of these--they are skittish.

Really nice shots. I gotta try to get more macro pictures of fish with my camera.

That fly picture is cool too. Flies are in fact handsome little animals if you view them with magnification.

I have another quick update from tonight. I have moved the stones around some more.



This is not such a good picture--the water was still cloudy from my disturbances.

Thanks Fish!

Here is a quick shot from today. http://hydrophytesblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/8-i-09-tank-i-m.jpg Algae is growing on the rocks, which I sort of like. The fish like it too. The tan wall is imparting that yellow tinge to everything. I think that I will paint the wall white for picture taking ...

Wow thanks so much for those species determinations Mike. I must write those down before I forget. The familiar and pretty-easy-to-find "aluminum plant" ( Pilea cardierei ) is another good choice for this kind of planting. Here is a group of stems freshly-planted on a nano trellis raft. http ...

Maybe it's just a slow connection. Sometimes pages from Europe serve very slowly for me.

Are those pictures useful? I was up all night photo-editing.

Really? I can see them alright. Maybe just wait a few minutes and hit your browser refresh button again. Please let me know if you still have trouble viewing them. I hope that there isn't anything wrong with my image host(?).

I have tried many different kinds of plants in ripariums. Among these have emerged some very useful selections. I have also encountered a few that were unsuitable for riparium culture, either because they did not adapt to culture in water under artificial lighting, or because their growth habits and ...

My centerpiece plant, the Cyrtosperma johnstonii , is still growing and looking healthy--I wondered if this environment would be suitable for it. Here it is with a new leaf slowly unfurling. http://hydrophytesblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/6-i-09-cyrtosperma-johnstonii-ii-m.jpg The leaf ...

Thanks very much. I do plan to add some more underwater plants, probably Amazon swords. However, I don't want to have too much in the way there because the I. furcidens and the synos are very active need the room to swim around. In other ripariums that I have put together the emphasis has been more ...

Thanks. I think the white is better too. That yellow wall seems to turn all of the leaves yellow and it is not a good contrast against foliage either.

That's a good idea. I might also just purchase a big piece of that hollow-core presentation board, which is light in weight.

I have an update for this tank. I don't much care for the tannish-yellow wall as a background, so I tried a white sheet. I know that it is wrinkled, but it gives an idea of how the foliage looks against white. I think that the color and contrast are improved. What do you think? http ...

Nice work. Your pictures are great and this is excellent documentation too.

This isn't the best picture, but the plants are looking pretty good. Everything is growing well. http://hydrophytesblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/32-xii-tank-i-m.jpg I have been pruning and training the plants to cover up the edges of the foam trellis rafts. I really enjoy the carpeting effects ...

A small amount of that kind of growth is normal on "mopani" and other hard tropical woods used in tanks, but you have a great deal more growing on that piece. It is generally not a good idea to use grapewood in water. It just starts to rot right away and foul the tank.

Wow, what a cool fish. Where are you located?

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! Here is a quick update. http://hydrophytesblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/23-xii-09-tank-i-m.jpg The plants are all growing pretty well. You can still see the trellis rafts there along the front edges of the bacopa and other carpeting plants, but they will be ...

That is really cool.

I wish that my Olympus SLR would take video. I need to figure out some other option.

That chalk line that tends to form is easy to manage. If you clean it off routinely it never builds up very thick and comes off easy. I use an old plastic phone card to scrape it off every time that I do a water change, about twice per week. A little bit of white vinegar can be used to remove more ...