Excalibur 4 'Tis the season'

[rheann]

Christmas is approaching...

My tank is really now starting to come together. My Red Ludwigia I trimmed and pruned, and it loves me even more now

. I think I even heard it say "Thank you!" lol. My duckweed now has to be thinned out about once a week it grows so much, and I prune the tank about once a week. I rearranged the rock cave and the tree root and also the rock with the java moss. I've been able to plant one of my bulbs, but my axolotls keep biting the leaves off the others lol so they are growing rather slowly.

Also as of recent I added some ghost shrimp to help keep the tank healthy. They eat dead plant matter and axolotl waste so they will help with tank maintenance

.

The next plants I plan to get next will be:
Anubias
Banana Plant - Very easy to grow

Dwarf Lilly - Need more sea shells
Java Fern
Ludwigia - both green and red

And various other plants.

Comments most appreciated of course

How does it look so far?

I'm looking forward to putting my other two axolotls in when they get bigger

 

[sharn]

it looks like axie paradise to me! good work Rheann

 

[hailz]

I love it! can i make one suggestion? what about a background? i always seem to suggest these,lol
I think the right background can look great! especially in a tank like that!

 

[john]

Yes a background would be cool, but in my opinion, it is awesome.

~John

 

[rheann]

LOL thanks Hailz and John. I have been trying to get a background for the tank, but having a hard time finding one that will fit. I finally saw at Petsmart that backgrounds can be custom cut to fit the tank, so I will be also getting one of these soon. yes I agree, it would look much, much better with a background

 

[rheann]

Or I might just make one hehe

 

[andrew]

Your tank is looking good Rheann, and your axies look really healthy, even Bobo.

Its good to see lots of pictures as you add things to your tank (your previous posts). I'm hoping that your efforts might help newbies restrain themselves from jumping in the deep end and adding a heap of stuff to their tanks without really planning anything.

I dont think you need to add too many more plants, your existing plants will grow and occupy allot more space than they are now. They might make things look a little cluttered. It might have to be one of those try and see things though.

Have you thought about growing some java moss onto your tree root? That might look nice.

And I too think a nice backdrop would make a huge difference. You will be supprised at how a backdrop helps you focus on your pets more than looking at the wall behind.

Would you be able to post a few pictures of your duckweed? I'm just curious how it looks from the top of your tank.

Top work there Rheann keep the updates coming.

 

[rob]

looks really nice Rheann

ur plants are coming along beautifully and look really healthy, i think it looks even better now uv'e re-aranged it...

 

[rheann]

Thanks Andrew and Rob

Lol Andrew, Java moss was one of the first plants that I put into my tank and it is attached to the log in two places and a rock. It has grown some since I got it

I'll try and get some close ups of the duckweed. Will get on that later today

.

I don't plan on getting too many more plants. the plants I mentioned that I may get next are only in thought as I want to start focusing on adding a few foreground and medium sized plants to give it depth. I'm not too worried about making it look over-crouded yet

My goal is to make it look like an aquatic garden, the focus both the Axolotls and the plants.

Also I will add just a few rocks to help anchor the plants in the background and also the background and then I will be finished

I received several plant buds from the pet shop when I purchased the duckweed. They were floating with the duckweed and since I have purchased them have grown, but are still too small to plant into the sand. The plant bulbs will also contribute to the future plants, and anything extra that overcrowds the tank will go into a 20 gallon aquarium that I plan to set up just for tropical fish here in the near future.

 

[jojo]

Very nice Rheann.
I cant stop looking at the lucky bamboo (im addicted) and the tube/log. It looks awesome!! Did you make that yourself??

 

[rheann]

Thanks Jojo

Yes, I made the rock cave for my Axolotls. What I used was a large white PVC pipe, black aquarium silicone, aquarium gravel, and some beach agates and rocks that I found along the coast in the state of Oregon and some polished rocks.

The lucky bamboo is pretty neat. If you would like to get some, you could try at flea markets or at local Asian stores if they have any there in Australia. I just got mine at a local store here called Wal-Mart hehe.

 

[suzanne]

I love the real plants Rheann...I'm not game enough to try them..I think I'd kill them off.

It looks great!

 

[rheann]

Thanks Suzanne

If you try with just a few plants at a time, you will probably have success. The Key is to just start out with a small number of plants, like two or three or less. This is what I do. If you trim them or pick off dead leaves weekly, this also helps to keep them healthy.

I'm happy to say that my plants are still doing well

 

[jojo]

The rock cave is awesome!!! You did a good job wth it Rheanne

I have too big stalks of lucky bamboo on my desk at work.. so l have some... i'm just addicted to the look of them in a tank - its very creative that all