Tank for C. pyrrhogaster

[Erin]

I've finally regained custody of my two old (20+ year old) pyrrhogaster ladies. Right now, they're in the basement being not very photogenic, but their future home is all ready for occupancy.

This will be a riparium-style tank when I get the whole thing filled in: it will have planters that hang on the back wall eventually. For now, the wood makes a shelf for the pothos (and an anubias which I just added).

Here's a shot of it from when it was first set up:



Heather was kind enough to provide a very sexy young boyfriend for the ladies, and I moved him in first:



The tank has a lot more plants in it now. Unfortunately, I can only take pictures of it at night because of the window glare. Also unfortunately, it's currently experiencing some kind of bacteria bloom (I guess because of the wood), though the water parameters are all fine. So now there are tons of teeny critters swimming all about. Also, also unfortunately, I moved some plants in a few days ago that I didn't realize were covered in Noto eggs, so there is now a larvae infestation Maybe everything will sort itself out.

I'll try to take some updated pics and post them later today.

[Molch]

love the tank, esp. that cool piece of wood sticking out! What dimensions does the tank have? In the pic, it looks almost cubic? Is it glass?

I think Mr. Boyfriend will get those old ladies all abloom again. Nothing like a nice little May-December romance under the java fern..

[snow4aaron]

Very cool tank. Looks great.

What type of substrates are you using?

[Eva]

It looks beautiful, especially the wood - is it just standing or is it attached to to the tank somewhere?

[Erin]

Thanks for the comments!

Molch, I hope so - he is very sexy. I think the tank is a 29 gallon? Or maybe it's a 25 tall? You'd think I would know that, but I don't...

Originally Posted by snow4aaron

Very cool tank. Looks great.

What type of substrates are you using?

Just playsand. I've had good luck with it. I did put root tabs in for the plants. I was thinking about trying soil, but I tend to mess around with the tanks a lot, so I figured I'd go the easy route.

Evut: I just set it in there - it's pretty stable. I really like it except I suspect it's causing all of my bacteria woes right now.

[Heather Jewett]

Erin, that looks so nice! I bet the male I didn't send to you would be seething with jealousy if he only knew about the awesome digs his brother is living in now! Update with pictures in a few months when things have grown in a bit.
Heather

[Saloli]

I was wondering why did you use troPical plants when you could easily get plants from Japan. Also which race/ local are yours? Mine is sasayame I am currently trying to find mates/ friends for her.

[Niels D]

That's one wicked tank you've got there! Makes me want to put on my scuba gear. Congradulations with the noto eggs of course.

[Erin]

Thanks Unfortunately, I think all of the eggs I left in their old tank got eaten, but the larvae in this tank are doing well.

I worked a lot more on this tank during the past week. The bacteria bloom is still going strong, but the water parameters are all good. I guess it's just one of those things that I'll have to wait out. Here are some updated shots:



And the above water portion:





The plants are growing well so far, but I'm really good at killing them...

[Saloli]

Use special blend and nite out II which are bacteria cultures that will start your biological system. Just so you are aware if you give your newts a cold period (winter) it would kill your tropical plants. Also check your ammonia, nitrites, nitrates and pH of your water. Special blend is digesting bacteria and denitrifying bacteria. Nite out II is nitrifying bacteria which oxidize ammonia and nitrites.

[Erin]

Originally Posted by Saloli

Use special blend and nite out II which are bacteria cultures that will start your biological system. Just so you are aware if you give your newts a cold period (winter) it would kill your tropical plants. Also check your ammonia, nitrites, nitrates and pH of your water. Special blend is digesting bacteria and denitrifying bacteria. Nite out II is nitrifying bacteria which oxidize ammonia and nitrites.

Thanks for the input, I'm well aware of all that. I just don't really believe in buying commercial products when I've got perfectly good bacteria already from my established tanks. The water levels are fine, there's just some fungus growth on the wood that's feeding the bacteria for now. Although it looks gross, is actually working out pretty well because it's providing food for all of the microcritters that my larvae are eating.

As far as the cold, the newts go into the basement during the winter (if I want to breed them), and the tank stays in the living room. The crypts might die in water that's 68F, but I have hopes for them. Everything else I've grown for years in my tanks.

[Erin]

Time for a tank update (and small newt update)!

The tank has grown in a lot, and the bacteria problems seem to be over. I still haven't moved the Cynops in - I'll have to fish out all of the Noto larvae. They're growing fast, but are still too small for me to catch.

I was mucking around in the tank so apologies for the murkiness:



The emersed plants are growing well:



Some new leaves on my Anubias:



And newt update:

I introduced the young male to the large female (the skinny female is still enjoying life in her own place). I was slightly worried she might eat him, Fortunately, she prefers bloodworms. Poor Mr. newt was horrified at first to see a creature the size of a 747 cruising around his tank, but now he seems pretty okay with the idea of sharing his pad with a giant older lady.

I can't get these guys to sit still even for a second, so these are some of the worst pictures I've ever taken. Sorry!





Mr. newt tries to steal the limelight. This picture doesn't really show the size difference, but she is twice as big:

[snow4aaron]

Erin
Your tank and newts look great. Very inspiring to see your success.

[Erin]

I don't have much in the way of a tank update: still infested with Noto larvae, but the plants are doing really well.

However, the young male I got from Heather has turned into quite a stud He didn't seem that interested in the females at first, but now he's obsessed with courting the skinnier one (though she's not so skinny anymore).

It's a little odd because the bigger female is spending a lot of time laying eggs all over everything, while Skinny only cares about eating. Little Dude (my newts get the worst names!) doesn't seem to mind that she totally ignores him. Here's what I imagine them to be thinking:

Dude: If I could...Just... Get.... My foot.... ON HER HEAD!!!!

Skinny: Food.Food.Food.Food.Gotta find some Food....

They're in a big tub in my basement. Unfortunately, it's not very photogenic - just a bunch of oak leaves, moss, java fern and other assorted water plants. The newts have a little raft that they use only at night, as far as I can tell.

I don't think I'll have any successful breeding this year - the females are just not interested yet, and they may be too old - but at least Little Dude is trying, so I have hopes for next year.

[Molch]

lovely tank, really awesome. The emersed Anubias are really cool too. I gotta try putting those on my rock-shelves; maybe they'll take

[Erin]

Originally Posted by Molch

lovely tank, really awesome. The emersed Anubias are really cool too. I gotta try putting those on my rock-shelves; maybe they'll take

I bet they would do well. I would just make sure the roots are submerged and keep the humidity up. Mine flower all the time now that they're out of the water. Of course, Anubias do everything really slowly, so it takes about 2 months for the flower to actually open.