# Tagawa’s Tank



## bluesamphire (Nov 20, 2018)

Phew!
One of the things I have been most impressed with on this forum is the quality of the pictures you are all taking.
Mine are awful in comparison.
This was taken just now, and is the best so far.


One good thing is that I have just spotted a thread in this subfora on how to take better betta pics.
So I am off read every post.


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## bluesamphire (Nov 20, 2018)

Another attempt.


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## bluesamphire (Nov 20, 2018)

Tagawa has only been With me for 3 weeks, and only recently has been extending his dorsal fin properly.
He kept it clamped the first few days, so I think it was injured, either during or before arrival.
Poor little chap.

No sign of any fungus or finrot, and he seems to be using it comfortably now.
I can now see that the front edge is stripped down to the bony ‘spine’ and there is a tiny hole too.
It is obviously getting better.  since he is stretching it and using it.

But do you have any idea how long it will take to heal?


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

I do not see a thing wrong with your photos. They look really good to me.


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## bluesamphire (Nov 20, 2018)

RussellTheShihTzu said:


> I do not see a thing wrong with your photos. They look really good to me.


Thank you. I’m wrestling with the focus. Some of the pics around here are beautifully crisp. :smile2:
I expect Tagawa will get plently of practice at modelling... :wink3:


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

I agree with @RussellTheShihTzu, lovely Photograph's. I can't see an issue with the Focus, I mean I can see Individual strands on the Moss Ball and the Fin detail. For me that's a great photo, but look forwards to your efforts to improve anyway. In regards to the fins, maybe a couple of weeks, I would be tempted to do small water changes to make sure that the conditions are as great as possible to assist him healing. 

And yes, he looks like a model


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## bluesamphire (Nov 20, 2018)

Introducing Cracker. Who is crackers.

I was just watching tv when Mr Samphire came in and squinted at the tank, saying 'Er... have you seen this?'
Turned out we had a shrimp exploring in Tagawa's floating log!
Or is that trespassing?


Fortunately, Tagawa hadn't noticed, and just continued goofing around. 


We had one hairy moment when we thought the jig was up


But no, back to cruising the territory.

Apparently, hanging upside down makes you less visible...

Oh, and I am delighted to report that Tagawa is not using his dorsal fin comfortably, and it looks like it is growing back.


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## bluesamphire (Nov 20, 2018)

That is ‘now’ using his dorsal, not ‘not’ using it!


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

You should do a photo journal! Oh, you have 20 minutes to edit or, you can PM me and I will do it for you if it is over 20 minutes.


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## bluesamphire (Nov 20, 2018)

Delighted to say that Tagawa has put on a bit of weight this week.
I stepped up to 4 tiny meals a day, instead of 2 small meals.
He is eating the same at each meal, so is now eating twice as much.
No bulge on the tum, and he is definitely looking more prosperous.

the other fish in the tank (cherry barbs and neons) are loving it, but it is a v fine line and I can't keep this up for long, or they will all be spherical, because I don't want them to put on weight too.


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

So glad he is eating for you. Who knows why they do some of the things they do? Only the Betta, I guess.

Thank you so much for sharing the photos....they make me smile.


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## bluesamphire (Nov 20, 2018)

I find it frustratingly ironic that the best pic I have taken so far, have been on my phone.

Tagawa, is rocking a new look. As you can see from my avatar pic, he started off peacock teal and red. He has now shifted to royal blue with a teal tints in certain lights. And his fins are now rimmed with 3 mm of what looks black, but is really v v dark midnight blue.

Valentine is the most flamboyantly New Romantic 80s popstar of a fish. Busy lounging on the floating plants. And happy. And greedy. The kind of fish who really needs an entourage fetching him mineral water and strawberries.

And Kham,(the koi) is still dashing about his new home exploring. Far too busy to pose for pictures! Will keep trying for a good one of him.


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## bluesamphire (Nov 20, 2018)

Time for an update. 

Big changes in the Samphire household.
We have a 200 litre tank incoming (T minus 4 days), and there is only one spot in the house it can go. That is 53 US gallons and 43 UK gallons, for non metric people. 
At the moment, Kham’s tank is in the spot. So that has to move.
It is going to be like musical chairs.

Tagawa’s tank has been moved into the kitchen. With a major revamp, new substrate, black background and some black beard algae decimation. The bba was already in retreat, but it has just been blasted by undiluted Flourish Excel, which should polish it off nicely.
That was today.
Tomorrow, Kham’s tank moves to Tagawa’s old spot, and the space is free for the new 200litre.
Pics to follow.
@RussellTheShihTzu or any other mod, would you be so kind as to move this thread to Journals, and re-name it ‘Tagawa’s tank’
Thank you! Hugely appreciated.


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## bluesamphire (Nov 20, 2018)

Good gracious, I am too old for this lark 😉
Everything aches!

It was always awkward doing water changes for Tagawa’s old tank position (in alcove beside sofa), and hoiking out 15 gallons, including fish and plants, moving, cleaning and setting up (including cabinet) in an equally awkward position in the kitchen has left me with aches in places I didn’t know I had!
Thumbs, back, neck, shoulders, even the soles of my feet!
Absurd!
Still it is good practice for setting up the 200litre
Maybe I should get to the gym before that. Lol.

Tagawa seems happy with the new spot though. He kept his happy dark colour throughout the whole move, and took command of the tank in minutes, which is always a good sign. And he is loving the 2 new catappa leaves I have floated in there.


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## Old Dog 59 (Nov 11, 2018)

bluesamphire said:


> Good gracious, I am too old for this lark 😉
> Everything aches!
> 
> It was always awkward doing water changes for Tagawa’s old tank position (in alcove beside sofa), and hoiking out 15 gallons, including fish and plants, moving, cleaning and setting up (including cabinet) in an equally awkward position in the kitchen has left me with aches in places I didn’t know I had!
> ...


He is a beautiful boy. Those colors are simply fantastic. 
As for the aches and pains. I live with those every day. But my wife keeps telling me it's old age. (Old , Old, I'll show you Old, just as soon as I can straighten up and the cracking of my knees stop.) LOL. If you get my drift Young lady. LOL I'm not being nasty LOL


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## bluesamphire (Nov 20, 2018)

Oh, I hear you, Young Man! I hear you! Haha!
Can you remember when things *didn’t* hurt? Seems like a distant dream...

T minus 3 and I am falling behind on schedule.
Mainly because I had a brainwave (which may prove a disaster) to get some of those sliding foot thingies to go under the corners of Kham’s tank stand. They arrive tomorrow. I am hoping that this will prevent the need for a complete drain before moving the tank and cabinet a whole 8 feet from one end of sofa to the other.

I reckon if they can raise an entire Venetian palace on hydraulics, then I can lift a half empty 12 gallon one centimetre to get it onto the sliders.
Wish me luck!

The 200litre tank suppliers rang today, apologising profusely for just discovering that the tank in question had arrived with them with black sealant, instead of the expected clear sealant.
Was I OK with black, or would I prefer the clear? In which case, they would order a replacement. Delivery still scheduled for Thursday.
Yes please, said I. Clear for preference.

I plan to use a black background, but I still think clear sealant offers more neutral looks for if I ever change my mind and remove the backing.


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## bluesamphire (Nov 20, 2018)

Have had a chance to inspect the floor in the corner under where Tagawa's tank used to be, and where Kham's tank will be by this evening.

I had some mild concerns due to a problem with guttering last year, and water pooling on the ground outside that corner of the house. All sorted now, and judging by my knocking on the skirting, floorboards and wall, there is no change in sound from that corner, to other parts of the room. No soft wood or smell, or sign of damp or mildew.

Good news.

So the floor is obviously (according to my highly scientific test) OK to hold Kham's tank.


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## Old Dog 59 (Nov 11, 2018)

I always go by if the floor will hold a refrigerator It will hold a tank up to 75 gal. anything past that I would want concrete under it. However in your case I think your safe.


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## bluesamphire (Nov 20, 2018)

Time for another update.

The tank was moved a couple of months ago, and completely rebuilt with new Tropical soil substrate, instead of the old gravel. Reused most of the plants and roots and so on, but in a slightly different layout. Same Fluval power filter.

The old look:


The new look:


It looked pretty dreadful for a while, with an algae bloom. The cycle wasn't broken, but the change in position, and that dratted Finnex light (I like the light, the auto features and the price, but it has caused havoc with algae) have made it quite difficult to tweak the lighting to the correct level.

In the end I moved 2 nerites back in to keep the glass clean, and got some Amano shrimp (my first ever Amano) to keep on top of it. That and manually removing algae regularly, has helped to settle things down.

Actually, I consider this tank rather a science project. Or is that a botany project? So far, in the last 4 months, I have seen green spot, green dust, black beard algae, stagshorn algae, blue green algae and both brown and green filamentous algae. All at the same time as using Flourish Excel, a little liquid CO2, adjusting the light, and removing the algae manually.

This tank is a chamption aglae grower! haha! 
The snails and the shrimp are very happy with this, of course.

I have also got good growth starting on the low plants, and no brown algae growth, so I am seeing that as a win. They will thicken up nicely soon.



There are 2 wood shrimp in the tank, who have gradually changed from dull grey brown to a rather lovely orange. They hang around on the power filter and the betta log filter feeding all day. And they are more than twice the size they were. So I assume they are happy.



There are actually 3 shrimp in this shot. 


2 nearly invisible Amanos, walking along the horizontal wood, and a single bigger wood shrimp sitting in the betta log sticking his head out filtering.

I used to have cherry barbs and black neons in here, but have moved them to another tank. Everyone says that harlequin rasboras are good betta companions, so I went out and got 12 purple rasboras (the purple is just a colour variant on harlequin).



This has not turned out as well as I had hoped.

Tagawa has to be the most timid better EVER. I would call him a wimp if that wasn't derogatory. He doesn't like the rasboras. They make too much fuss at feeding time, and they hang about in the top third of the water column far more than he would like, which is where he used to rule. So he now spends most of his time scooting and lounging about the bottom, or snuggled behind/against the power filter. He used to take absolutely no notice of the cherry barbs and the black neons, but he doesn't like the rasboras much.





I suspect all this plant-hugging is what is causing the odd split fin. But he loves the plants so much, I am OK with a bit of damage if he gets to play and explore so much.

He is very handsome:



and his colours continue to shift somewhat. The turquiose is brighter, the navy edging has stopped increasing, and the blue is speckling into the red now. He has been with me nearly 6 months, grown significantly, and has a lot more tail.

I'm, currently feeding the tank a rough rotation of
Omega One
Tropical micro pellets
Repashy Soilent Green and Super Green and Bug Pie
King Shrimp high protein
Frozen bloodworms and daphnia


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## Old Dog 59 (Nov 11, 2018)

That tank looks so very beautiful. You should be very proud of what you have created for your troops. They all look happy and well fed.
Hows the new 55 doing?


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## bluesamphire (Nov 20, 2018)

Old Dog 59 said:


> That tank looks so very beautiful. You should be very proud of what you have created for your troops. They all look happy and well fed.
> Hows the new 55 doing?


Thanks!
Will do a proper photoshoot of the 55 soon (after tonight's water change), so will be able do an update on that too. No algae problems there, am pleased to say. And goodness the plants are growing fast.
Am really enjoying it all.


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## Old Dog 59 (Nov 11, 2018)

I knew you would.They are a labor of love. 
My Grand daughter (Lennon) has been non stop with her new 10 gallon. She sits in front of it from the time she getup in the morning talking to her fish. She has taken to putting her table and chair right in front of it. She eats lunch with them, but We do make her come come to the dinner table and join the family. As soon as she finishes it's right back in front of the tank. If it were up to her she would feed the fish every time they swam in front of her. Her father thinks it will be easy to teach her to tell time. And so far I think he's right.

Her Grand mother wanted to take her shopping for cloths. (that didn't go over too well with Lennon.) The first question from her was (can we stop at the fish store Nanna?) When Nanna said No the response I thought was priceless. (Then why are we going shopping. I'll wait for papa to take me.) Her father, and step mother heard the conversation, and lost it. The response was just too much for Nanna, she lost it too. 
So Papa took her shopping and yes we did get her cloths, and a betta of her own. Now she has two tanks and knows exactly how to take care of them. Papa is so proud. (can you tell?)


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## bluesamphire (Nov 20, 2018)

Aha! And another Enthusiast is Born.
Good for you. And her. And her parents. lol.

At that age, I was more into furry animals (we had guinea pigs), but whatever works.
I hope it is the start of a life long interest for her.


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## Old Dog 59 (Nov 11, 2018)

With the way she has taken to the tanks I would say it will be an easy and long interest. She now sits and checks out the pictures in the aquatics Magazines I get. and will come up and ask me to read the (story's) to her. And all the questions we get. I really hope it continues.


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## bluesamphire (Nov 20, 2018)

Major excitement!

We have a baby cherry barb hanging out in the moss (top centre of whole tank pic above)

Soon after I moved this tank through to the kitchen I noticed the temp had dropped a little. Maybe the setting got nudged in the move? Anyway, I tweaked it back up to normal and thought no more of it.

It must have triggered spawning.
Anyway, weeks later (yesterday) I was doing my daily Tank Staring and Occupant Potting, and saw this tiny streak of red jazzing about in the moss. Closer inspection and it is a 1cm (ish) cherry barb.

Amazing that it survived, completely unbeknownst to me. No protection, no special food, in a tank of marauding Betta, black neons, cherry barbs and nerites. 

Will try and get a pic, but it is looking tricky. May have to wait til he/she grows a bit more confident.


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## Old Dog 59 (Nov 11, 2018)

congratulations MOM. :wink3: There will be many more to come. :surprise:


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## bluesamphire (Nov 20, 2018)

Haha!
I am indeed a VERY proud Mum! 
Yesterday I thought i saw a boy.
Today I definitely saw two girls.
So maybe there are three... or more... or just two...
They are only coming out of the moss when I feed the rest of the rabble, and hover within an inch if the moss, so early days yet.


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## Old Dog 59 (Nov 11, 2018)

AHHHHH Yes it is spring. I'll bet there are a few more that you don't see in the moss.


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## bluesamphire (Nov 20, 2018)

The cherry barb babies have finally started free swimming, and I removed a huge clump of moss which was growing across the whole centre top of the tank and blocking the view, so I got a photo of them (top right):

Still not sure if they are boys or girls. They look redder or yellower depending on the light cycle as it goes through dawn to dusk.
There are 4. Three tiddlers (1cm) and one nearly twice the size. All active and eating from the sinking fish food and off the moss. They LOVE Repashy.

One is much braver than the others - one of the small ones.

The plants are really filling out now.

And the shrimp are loving standing ‘surfing’ on the tossing foliage and feeding.

One of the wood shrimp.
They both turned bright orange, then one turned back to brown. Here he is:


No pics of Tagawa this time.
He was far too busy blowing bubbles behind the filter to want to model today. Busybusybusy. Just in case there was a passing lady to impress.


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## Old Dog 59 (Nov 11, 2018)

This tank is beautiful. The barbs are really growing. The plants are amazing. Good Job all around.


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