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Sverting wrote: 20 x Boraras maculatus
8 x P. bintan ‘Sentang’
unknown number of Melanoides tuberculata, and Anentome helena.
Answer: If you intend merely to keep the licorice gouramis, then this is a perfect community. But if you itend to breed them, you will probably be not successfull. The tank is too big and there sould be only one pair, at most two of the gouramis. A small cave is the most important requisite.
Filtration consists of one Aquael Versamax FZN-1 cascade filter with specification availible here
– first chamber is filled with peat moss granules
– second chamber is with ceramics and sponge
Answer: Filtration is of secondary importance. All chambers should be filled with peat. The streaming should be very soft.
Temperature is set to 25 +/-0.5 degress Celcius.
Answer: OK, but it could be 23 degrees or 26 degrees, it does not matter much.
Lighting consists of two Aquael Ecolight 11W Modules working in a set 24h cycle
– firt module 9 – 16
– second module 12 – 20
Answer: Lighting is of importance only for you and your plants. The licorice love subdued light.
I used normal sand I got from a river.
Answer: The gravel is for the licorice gouramis of minor importance. You need it for the plants (see below) But there is no “normal sand”. You must test it whether it contains calcium. Then it is useless. The most important thing is not mentioned by you: Leaves of beech or oak, soaked shortly in boiling water. A layer of that is recommended for all licorice tanks.
Plants used are:
–Vallisneria spiralis
–Cryptocoryne wendtii
–Ceratopteris thalictroides
.…
Answer: Mind,that you must use nearly destilled water with very low pH! You will be unable to grow Vallisneria ranks of Ludwigia, and the Ceylon-Crypts (C. wendtii and others) in it! The only useful plant you mention is Ceratopteris. You should use Javamoss and perhaps Javafern, too. Some ranks of Ludwigia, that’s all. Very few plants grow in extremly soft and acid blackwaters!
it’s 70 litres tank measuring 50×40×35 cm.
Answer: As I said before, a nice tank, but not useful for breeding Paros. Too big, you will be unable to find the young and to feed them. Maybe, a few will grow up feeding on whatever, but not in company with the nice Boraras.
About water parameters: I’m not sure of them, but it comes from RO filter with a peat chamber, so it is soft and acidic, of that I am sure.
Answer: The water parameters are the most important thing. They need not to be at a very special value, but definitely without calcium, the conductivity well below 100 microsiemens/cm, better below 50, the ph well below 7.0, better 5.0 to 6.0, stable. Paper stripes are useless, too inexact. Take at least a measurng kit with fluids. Electronid equipment is best, but expensive and must be calibrated rightly, otherwise the values are often wrong.
Summary: I t will be a nice tank for keeping a small south-east Asian community, but some plants are improper and breeding will hardly be possible. You must realize that a blackwater aqaurium is something different than a normal planted tank. In such a planted tank the biochemical activity of the plants constantly feed on the contents of the water and actively change them. You cannot copy this for the blackwater organisms. Therefore you must omit plants altogether or use only those which adapt to the very special conditions of the peat swamps.
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