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About a month ago I decided to rearrange one of my tanks. It is a 63 liter tank. Normally thats far too big for me to think of paros in such a big tank, but since I actually at this moment is lucky enough to have too many off springs of one particular species, I thought this was the only way to give some of those a good place to live, and then also an opportunity to try creating a tank that met the paros needs.
The species is P.nagyi ‘Cherating’, and at this moment I have about 50 all in all. In this tank is 12 at the moment.
I used a gravel which I have not used before, – Fluval shrimp stratum. It reminds off peat granules, and should have a slight effect on lowering the ph, – however not much, but at least its not the opposite. I wanted to have a fairly dark tank, so it seemed like a good gravel to use. I think the only disadvantage might be that if I need to catch any fish, it may become really cloudy.
Then I have used quite a few small pieces of wood, and stuck some caves (cat-fish caves, clay) underneath, I think 3 caves. Lots of leaves, oak. And some spagnum, which I have bought from killi breeders, its quite good, the fishes really like to hide in it, – it sinks, but can be arranged a little, so that theres almost like a wall at the back of this.
Then a few hardy plants, java fern, another water fern, ceratopteris, java moss, – and a few very big ketapang leavesThe water is my normal RO water – ph 4.7-5.0
Heres the first picture, – before the spagnum had actually sunk.
And one of the first fish in the tank, a P. nagyi ‘Cherating’ male
I have a small filter running, – where I have slowed down the outlet of water, so its streaming very gently, otherwise it would create total cloudy conditions I am sure.
After a few days I put in a few fish, and after a few days more, some more fish, – now all together 12 all young off springs.
I also added two very big ketapangleaves which have been floating now for a week, but one of them now fell down. I might arrange it a little different, but the fish seem to like it as it is. I know that some people say that ketapang leaves can affect the ph very much, so it may seem a lot with 2 big leaves like this. I have not found these particular leaves to make a lot of difference, it may be that they are not very good ketapang leaves. But they are fine for decoration purposes.
In such a tank, the size and the decoration, which makes it actually really difficult to ‘interfere’ in, – catching any fish that looks ill, or changing anything, – and I have been thinking that I think I wouldnt do that if I did not have the experience to the extend that I know the water values is not a problem, that I can keep it stable, – or also in a way that I know the fishes 🙂 … – if I didnt have that with me, I would be lost, because one they are in there, – I probably will not get them out without tearing everything down. And I can never ever count them, – so I just have to trust they are all well and safe in there.
So I have to feel really confident in what I am doing. I quess I do feel that by now, but that is only recently 🙂Here some more photoes
Yes, that’s what I thought!
Please share your further observations, it will be interesting in not only one aspect.
Helene, do you already have experience in keeping sphagnum moss submerse? I understand you used living, green sphagnum? Does it stay green and vivid for long, being totally under water?
I have thought about the idea of using sphagnum as green pads on the ground of a paro tank before … the water conditions should be very suitable, but I wasn’t sure how it likes it being completely submerged.Hi Stephanie, no, I think you misunderstand me, – or maybe its the word spagnum which means something different. I google translated it, and of course the right english word is peat. Heres a link where you can find it down on the page named ‘peat’.
http://www.aquariumslife.com/aquascaping/planted-aquarium-substrate/substrate-materials-planted-aquarium/Killi breeders use it a lot for breeding tanks, – you just put a small amount of it, and it lies at the surface for a few days, then sink. It has of course to be the kind thats specially for aquarium purpose.
Ah, I see, Helene.
These are peat fibres.
If we use the word sphagnum in German, we talk about the living green moss – which later decomposes to peat. I was interested in using it in an aquarium.
Sphagnum is the latin name of the most important genus of peat-building mosses in the northern European and American bogs. Stefanie obviously did not think of peat but of living plants that grow in peat ditches and built our peat over thousands of years.
It’s good an idea since Sphagnum needs very acid environments with rather low pH similar to those in the homelands of our fish. The only problem I see is temperature. I do not know whether Sphagnum tolerates higher temperatures. I tolerates very low temperatures since it exists in the north of Norway and equally in northern Canada. Unfortunately I do not know what it’s southern border is. There might be a need for high concentrations of oxygen bound to those low temperatures, but that should be tested. Another problem could be light. Living Sphagnum needs much light. It is constantly growing at the uppermost end, the surface of the wet peat, and it immediately dies to peat if overgrown by itself. In the case of dying it lacks light and it does not need it any longer, but living it needs a great amount of it. One must try.
We do use some European plants in or near the water in tropical aquaria that normally do not live in countries with higher temperatures, for instance Lysimachia nummularia or Hottonia palustris. Maybe our Sphagnum stands it, maybe not. But equally other Sphagnum species may exist in the homelands of our fish, too, participating on the peat building processes over there. Is there anybody here who knows? It would be not astonishing that the aquarium trade has not discovered them as Aquarium plants for they would be useless for the standard aquariums and without use commercially. They really need very low pH, do not only stand it.
Well, one should have a try. But you may not remove those plants from Nature reserves; it’s rightly forbidden. Try to find a region where this is possible without harming the biotope.
I thought it was time for a little update on this particular tank. It has now been running for around four months and everything is going well.
There are times when I wonder, how many fish is in there still, – are they all there ?
It clear to me that they have split the tank in two major ‘areas’ – and two dominant males have found my preplaced caves. So there are two males, one in each side of the tank, – some females very clearly ‘belonging’ to one of the caves, always around the same area, – and then there are som ‘loose’ fish, a few less dominant males and a few smaller females. They occupy the main area of the tank, sneaking around underneath the leaves.If I feed with moinas suddenly there are many fish in there 🙂
One day I found out that there were two little fry swimming. I have posted photoes in another thread, but will post them again here.
Since that day I have counted at least 5 fry. That is a surprise to me that they spawned in there. Since then I have added 20 boraras. This may of course mean there will be no more or less fry, – but then that will have to be. It was never intended to be a breeding tank. And I am actually not so sure boraras are a big thread to fry ? They dont seem to move in those areas of the tank where I would think fry is moving.Here some photoes of one of the males, the fry and one of the bigger females.
Helene, nice photos! (Hope I will see some of these nice mini-nagyi in my tank too, one day)
For me it’s very interesting that it goes that well – so many fish of one species in one tank, and they’re breeding! What you tell doesn’t sound as if there was much aggression?Concerning the Boraras ………… I think they are real “fry-catchers”. I have B. maculatus in my Badis kanabos tank – and I had a lot of fry when the pair was alone. Since I put the Boraras in that tank, there are only very few fry – although the male Badis is breeding …. and breeding …. and breeding …. I am not worried about this, because I still have more fry of Badis kanabos than interested aquarists …. But never trust the Boraras ……..
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