A guide on tying moss to Stainless Steel Mesh

Here is a guide I made tying moss to SS mesh to produce moss pads which are perfect for shrimp and foreground planting in aquariums. Tying moss to SS mesh enables the aquascaper to fully mat out their foreground with a carpet of moss and is perfect for breeding shrimp as it increases foraging surface area. 

My favourite moss is weeping moss but you can use flame moss, peacock moss, willow moss, christmas moss and other mosses to the same effect.

Click the video to watch the guide.

Bucephalandra species

It appears Bucephalandra has become very popular in the aquascape hobby the past few years. Bucephalandra is a rheophyte that is found native to Borneo. It grows next to streams and fast flowing water and can be found attached to rocks. The plant has become very popular in the aquascaping hobby due to its unique properties when submerged underwater. It appears to have properties of Anubias barteri in that it grows via a rhizome. It also gives off very unique colours that change under different lighting conditions. This plant is very easy to grow but also grows extremely slowly.

This is a huge disadvantage as this plant is susceptible to becoming endangered as it cannot grow fast enough to replace those taken from the wild. However its price is coming down which may be a good thing as there is less demand and more plants kept in the hobby. At first I did not like this plant as it looks a little messy however the species has grown on me. Here are a few photos from my aquarium.

Bucephalandra brownie phantom

Favourite Anubias species

I thought i'd share some of my favourite anubias species. As for most of the plants i have kept over the years, I prefer miniature plants as they not only make the scape look a lot larger, they also do not take up much room. 

 This is anubias nana petite (or anubias barteri var nana). It is one of the smallest anubias species I keep and a personal favourite due to its size and colour. It can be glued onto driftwood using Loctite or the rhizomes can be buried. Contradictory to popular belief i have never lost this plant by burying the rhizome.

Next is white anubias. Not many plants are pure white like this one and another interesting perk is that it does not grow very large. This plant forms an amazing contrast to red plants and can be planted adjacent to them.

Next is Anubias pinto. This is larger than the white variant and has more green streaked through its leaves. I find this plant easier to keep compared to anubias white and also looks very beautiful. Currently this plant is rare and therefore quite expensive.

[EHEIM OPAL] Deep Blue Bolt

Hi everyone,

A very long time since my last update. I almost forgot about this blog until i was reminded of it this afternoon. Family commitments have kept me busy but i still have a love for this hobby. Here are a few recent pictures id like to share.

I have been breeding and fine tuning blue bolts for quite a while now. Here is a picture of one of the parents. Absolutely stunning.

They have been breeding for quite well for a while now but it has slowed considerably due to the recent summer heatwaves.

My black cherries have been getting darker and darker due to intense selective breeding as well. I have many happy new owners to share these with. Here are six selected for sale during last years auctions. Notice how their shells are so shiny they look like they have been waxed?

Moving to Youtube

Hi Everyone
I am currently moving my future efforts to youtube under the username Emboli Aquatics
I will try make videos in future on things that i have leaned over the years of aquarium keeping to
help others enjoy the hobby as much as i have.

I will not retire this blog but will do updates in my own free time

Thanks

Below is a link to my first video: How to make Mini Pellia Meshes

[1ft IWAGUMI] Bonsai Aquascape

It has been a long time since my last post. I have been too busy with moving house and had to leave for the hobby for several months. However I will still be updating the blog from time to time. I recently purchased this piece of driftwood and have planted it out with miniature bucephalandra species. Here is the tree before and after planting. I will be placing this tree in my nano to see how it looks as it grows out.

[1ft IWAGUMI] Equilibrium reached

Just a quick update on my nano aquarium.

It seems to have reached an equilibrium and is in need of a trim. A few things:
- HC is growing very well under the Comboray LEDs 3+cm high
- Mini pellia is suffering a little with BBA
- Pogo helferi is being overtaken by the HC
- All plants seem to be responding well

Overall quite happy with the progress but it does need some maintenance

[EHEIM OPAL] Sandy Paradise Aquascape

The time comes when for no reason you decide to turn your tank into a muddy mess and do some back breaking heavy lifting and mud siphoning.
Then comes the endless waves of anxiety as you pull out plant after plant and rescue the fish for the inevitable Armageddon that lies ahead.

Here is a list of items that I purchased

- About 20kg of Seiryu/Yingshi rock
- Bag of La Plata Sand
- Bag of Caribsea Rio Grande
- Bag of River Sand
- Driftwood

I love looking at white sandy beaches so I wanted to do something that would remind me of the Isle of Pines. Here are a couple of photos.

Rocks to be used in the scape

Pre-Sand Layout

 La Plata Sand added

Experimenting with sand colour tone

 Full Tank Shot

Water Filled

[1ft IWAGUMI] Algae War Over. Aquascape photo

It has been a hard battle for my nano. The 3 day blackout did not help and killed all my HC but the water changes did seem to help a little. 

I dont know what exactly i did that destroyed the algae but here is a list of things i performed:

- Put in a few fish (pleco + cardinal tetra + darwin algae shrimp)

- Water change with water from my other aquarium

- KNO3 dosing

- Turned UP temp to 24 degrees

Here is a photo of how the nano Aquascape looks today. Enjoy :)

[1ft IWAGUMI] Algae Battle Begins

 Wow it has been a while since I have put up an update on the 1 foot Nano cube.
Sometimes i wonder if anyone actually reads my blog. If you are a regular to my blog please let me know as it gives me motivation to update it more often.

Since filling the nano I have been plagued with problems.

Here is a quick summary of the highlights:

1. HC has finally rooted. time to fill

2. Tank filled at the beginning of August. I am very happy and excited. CO2 ordered and has arrived. Light put on a timer for 6 hours a day. Fingers crossed. Diatom battle incoming. 

3. Outbreak of Rhizoclonium ( I believe that is what it is called). I tried nuking some of it with H202 in a 1mL syringe but ended up destroying the HC carpet on the right front corner of the tank. Now i resort to daily 50% water changes. I have also planted the back of the aquarium with fast growing stem plants. As of today (25/8/14) I am double dosing excel and adding 10ppm of KNO3 in an attempt to beat the algae infestation. To reach 10ppm I have added 20g of KNO3 powder to 500mL of water and mixed it into a bottle. I am dosing 10mL of this solution daily then as needed.