# Got it going



## Mossybottom (Jul 28, 2013)

I toke a vacation day today so I could visit the doctor. Since that was this morning, I figured, what the heck, I might as well get my planted 29 started up. 
First off, I have had tanks for years. More than I would like to mention. For personal reasons, I got out of the hobby a couple years ago. I've kept everything from live bearers to Shubunkin Goldfish to cichlids. I have caught the fever again. I pulled out a 29 that I kept when all the others (8) went away.
I have put some thought into it before starting to set it up. I want to do something different this time. I think that humans, myself especially, are creatures of habit. We get comfortable with something & we tend to stick with it. We don't seem to challenge ourselves at all. Watching my 10 month old grandson learning about his little world, I got to thinking. We challenge babies all the time, why not our self??? Think it's not a challenge to learn to work their hands? crawl? walk? talk? How scary is that to them? yet, they keep trying. Why not me??? He's supposed to do what I say to learn his world, yet I can be comfortable & relaxed in mine? NO!
With that said, back to the tank...
I am doing all native. What I mean is it's going to be planted and all the plants are native to the United States. The driftwood was collected here. The fish will be native also. Heck, even my gravel. I did a mineralized top soil substrate. I think some folks know it as The Walstad method. I got that done today. I toke "DIY" pictures if anyone is interested.
The gravel I have was collected from a river bottom in Alabama by a friend of mine. I think it's very cool. It has some interesting looking pieces of something in it including some things that look like petrified shells.

Anyway, wish me luck with this venture. Stay tuned for more...


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## jamnigh (Apr 24, 2013)

Awesome!!! Would love to see some pictures! What are you thinking of as far as stocking?


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## Mossybottom (Jul 28, 2013)

I have gotten my livestock list narrowed to 4 choices...

Heterandia Formosa-- Least Killifish
Jordanella Floridae-- Florida Flagfish
Leptolucania Ommata-- Pygmy Killifish
Gambusia Holbrooki-- Mosquito Fish

H. Formosa has such a small bio-load! One could easily house 1000 in a 29
I like the Flagfish. It's a great help with algae cleaning in a natural type tank.
I am leaning hard towards the L. Ommata. They are not seen a lot in aquariums. I have a friend in Alabama who can catch some wild ones for me. We know a place to get them.
The Gambusia Holbrooki- If I decide to go with those, I can catch myself. There's a drainage pond not far from my house where there are very abundant.


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## Mossybottom (Jul 28, 2013)

Link to pictures...

29 Build Photos by mossybottom | Photobucket


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## Mossybottom (Jul 28, 2013)

Ok, Plants are ordered. They will be here Monday. I got 6 species, 5 are natives, 1 some say was introduced & naturalized, some say is native.
Plant list
1. Giant Baby Tears- 2 plants (Going on the driftwood)
2. Red/ Round leaf Ludwigia- 10 or 12 stems
3. Ludwigia Palustris- 25 stems
4. Narrow leaf Anacharis- 25 stems
5. Money Wort- 15 stems
6. Ludwigia Ovalis- 10 stems
Going to get some "ground cover" & moss a bit later.

I also have decided on livestock
Jordanella Floridae-- Florida Flagfish
Leptolucania Ommata-- Pygmy Killifish
& a couple Nerites


It's coming together!


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

Tank is looking good!


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## Mossybottom (Jul 28, 2013)

OH, I forgot, Last Sunday I picked up some "feeders" to cycle the tank.


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## Mossybottom (Jul 28, 2013)

One week later... planted & a couple feeders cycling...


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## Mossybottom (Jul 28, 2013)

This tank now has fish. I stopped by a drainage basin the other day. I wanted to see what, if anything, was living there. I went in, armed with a 5 gallon bucket, and a couple size nets. This area was covered with cat tails. The water wasn't deep at all. I found a small clearing on the bank and just sat there watching. There must have been a gazillion bull frogs! I was surprised there were no turtles at all. After just a few minutes, there were what appeared to be minnows of some sort swimming all around. They seemed to be as curious about me as I was about them. After maybe 20 minutes, I had approx. 30 to 40 of these little fish in my bucket. I put a couple at a time in a small clear plastic bowl so I could examine them. They were fairly easy to ID. Gambusia Holbrooki, common name, Eastern Mosquito fish. They are not colorful, but I am wanting natives, not color. I culled out 10. I kept 8 females & 2 males. Now just over a week later, all 10 are doing very well. I was worried about them eating. Their usual diet in the wild is mostly larvae. They have easily made the transition to flakes. I know I am feeding them enough, but every time I walk to the tank, they all are right there, eagerly awaiting feeding time. They pounce on the flakes like Piranha on a bone!
Got my fingers crossed they continue to do well.


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